Forgot to Mention.....

Oops...I forgot to mention Joel's newest trick! He has his name on the wall in his room, and recently he has started "spelling" his name with us. It is so cute! Actually he mostly says "O-E", but occasionally you will get "J-O-E". Usually he just repeats it from us, but sometimes he will do it on his own, especially when we are changing his diaper or trying to put him to bed. He is adorable and we love him SOOOOO much! :0) More later....

Happy Birthday to Me......

Driveway art!

FINALLY some sunshine and some outside time!

Busted! Caught playing with the doorbell, which is a big No-No because he keeps breaking it...

So cute! Monkey see, monkey do....one goes up the steps and the other one has to follow. Unfortunately then they are BOTH too scared to come down the steps without help!

Mommy's MVP....and shorts from Aunt Lisa that actually FIT!

I call this one "jazz hands"! Not sure what he is doing.....when I went in to get him from his nap he had put his two lions on the railing and was talking and wagging his finger at them. So darn cute!

Being silly with Daddy and sunglasses from the Easter Bunny. He was so wound up!

Happy Easter!...

Happy Easter! Joel had a big day already. We got up early and went to Easter breakfast at church and then went to the family Easter party before the service. Joel ran all over the church and got lots of attention! He was not too excited about the egg hunt...he was more excited about what else he could get into! He fell asleep almost as soon as we got in the car and is still sleeping (2 1/2 hours later!). Last night we went to Wauseon and had an early Easter dinner with Grandma, PawPaw, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jason. Joel got to ride the Gator and get some goodies from the Easter Bunny. He has a good time playing with everyone and being the center of attention! After he wakes up we may go outside for a while. He was so cute with his Easter basket this morning! He found his Henry train immediately and didn't care about anything else after that! We love him so much.....it's so easy to spoil him but we are trying to be good! More later...

Bailey Bunny!

Our happy little family at the St. Paul's Easter party.

Sweet smile! :0)

Woo Hoo! The Easter Bunny made it!

Kisses with Uncle Jason.

Bunny Ears and his new Gator from PawPaw Bunny!

Easter Eggs!....

Joel and I attempted to color Easter eggs this morning before his nap. He was not interested at all while I boiled the eggs and got everything set up, but once everything was on the table he suddenly decided to get involved! I specifically bought the "no-spill" egg coloring kit to avoid a mess....let's just say there was some serious false advertising there! Joel did well at first, but his curiosity got the best of him and he spilled the blue cup everywhere. I felt kind of bad for him...he FREAKED OUT when he saw the dye on his shirt and started screaming and flailing his arms. I was able to clean the table and keep the dye from getting on to the carpet. Joel calmed down once I got his shirt off. Amazingly enough, the dye came out in the wash. He does have a couple of spots on his hand and fingers, but that doesn't seem to bother him. I have three blue fingers! He was interested again once I had the finished eggs (all 5 of them!) in the carton. Maybe we'll have a more positive experience next year (funny, I think I might have said that last year!). He is so much a little boy now and is talking so much more. We continue to be amazed at his ability to point out specific items in his picture books. He is also getting more and more ornery! He and Bailey definitely have a "love/hate" relationship! He loves to play with her and try to get her to follow him. She tolerates him pretty well, but he pushes it sometimes! The last couple of days he has been trying to brush her teeth with his toothbrush. She is NOT a fan! It is sweet though when we get ready to go somewhere. We say, "Bye, Bailey. We'll be back" and he has to go up to her and wave good-bye right in her face. Sometimes he kisses her head. She grumbles, but not too much! More later...

"Hurry up, Mom!!"

Joel started off a little cautiously, but once he saw there was a mess to be made he was really into it! :0)

So enthusiastic!

Very curious little helper!

TaDa! The finished product! Notice the t-shirt...had to lose the messy one!

Crisis du jour...

Sigh. Mommy's tired tonight. Joel was really good all day today, but Mommy has not been sleeping well, so Joel's bedtime is a welcome hour tonight. Yesterday Joel and I were playing with putting money into his bank and in the blink of an eye I think Joel swallowed a dime. I say I think he did this because it was gone, I couldn't find it anywhere, and when I asked him where his money went he pointed in his mouth (four times). :0( I called Urgent Care and the ER to see if there was anything I should do, and they basically said I could bring him in for an x-ray if he seemed to be having any issues. I talked to his pediatrician's office this morning, and the nurse called back to say that we needed to make sure he got plenty of juice and fruit to keep his stool as soft as possible so that he can pass it. They don't recommend x-ray unless he stops pooping, there is blood in his stool, or he complains of abdominal pains. She also said to check his stool for the next week to see if he passes it. DISGUSTING!!! I'm hoping it doesn't take that long! Anyway, he acted great today and was fun. He is learning so much and seems recently to be responding very appropriately both in his actions and his words. He's learning new words and isn't afraid to use them! He has been laughing a lot lately, and cracked up the whole time we were walking tonight. He is the light of our lives! Hopefully the whole "dime" situation works itself out (no pun intended!). More later...

Easter Bunny!...

Today Joel had another big day out! I took him to Wauseon to visit my parents and Grandma, PawPaw, Aunt Lisa, and Uncle Jason all came along to go see the Easter Bunny at Bass Pro Shop in Perrysburg. Joel was so well-behaved. He's growing up so fast and is so much like a big boy sometimes it is frightening. The place was really well organized and we waited in a long line but it moved quickly and Joel stayed cooperative. He was a little wary about the big rabbit, but actually did better than he did last year with the live bunny! Plus, this bunny gave him jellybeans, so that was a bonus! After the bunny we did some shopping, went and played at Grandma and PawPaw's house for a while and then came home. He only slept about half an hour all day but was still in a pretty good humor. About the last half hour we were in Wauseon he just ran back and forth between Grandma and me, laughing and giggling like a crazy boy! I thought sure he would fall asleep on the way home, but he didn't. Now he's in bed sleeping....all clean and smelling good after his bath. We love him so much......More later.....

Our little bathing beauty....

Bath time cracks us up these days!

Easter Bunny at Bass Pro Shop! Joel was so good! He wasn't really thrilled about sitting on the bunny's lap, but he tolerated it well for Mom! :0)

The current use for the training potty.....step stool!

Tiny's Dairy Queen with Mommy, Grandma, and Aunt Lisa. He LOVED it!

Hold on....Joel-y's driving!!! :0)

First Gator ride of the season!

Love this picture!

Guess who's feeling better!

Welcome, Spring...

Boy, it was warm today! We had to break out the shorts! I discovered today that Joel only owns two pairs of shorts, and one pair is too big (although it is sized 18 months...go figure!). We'll need to work on that! Rob has had a nasty cold for a few days now and unfortunately Joel seems to have picked up some of his germs. Yesterday we met Grandma, PawPaw, and Aunt Lisa for lunch and then they came over to set up a playset they bought for Joel. It took quite a bit longer than expected, and Joel went down for his nap before they were done, so he didn't get to play on it then. He was sneezy and stuffy when he went down for his nap, and when he woke up he was miserable. He was puffy, coughing, and had a horrible runny nose. We gave him some medicine and he was better when he woke up this morning. Rob and Joel stayed home from church, but I went because it was our week to man the nursery. No one showed up! We relaxed and Joel slept this afternoon. He was really uncomfortable and grumpy before his nap and barely ate lunch, but was MUCH better after his nap. We were able to go out and enjoy the sunshine for a while. We even took a walk with his wagon. He rides much better in that than he does the stroller any more. It's funny....a little girl from church who is about 7 or 8 lives on our walking route and has spotted us the last few times we were out. You can hear her yell, "Hey Mom, it's JOEL!" and then she stands in her yard calling to him and waving at him. He, of course, ignores her! Rob keeps telling him he needs to be nice to the ladies, but he's playing hard-to-get I guess! More later...

"Hey PawPaw....need some help with that?"

One..two...three....GO!!!

Nothing is more fun than running cars down the slide!

Pure delight!

Joel LOVES looking at his scrapbooks! He really does concentrate on them and picks out people and things in the pictures. He's so cute! :0)

Joel's outfit of choice for the day! He absolutely refused to wear anything else and brought these out of the pj drawer. Sharp-dressed man! :0)

How I found him when he was supposed to be napping! Everything out of the crib on to the floor...NICE! :0)

Joel no longer wants to wear pants! He pulls them down and then runs around the house like this! SUCH a weirdo! :0)

Guess who is a little excited about his new Matchbox cars! (Notice how hard Bailey is trying to ignore him!)

Makes my heart happy! :0)

LOVE this one! Joel was playing in my heels. I think he is more coordinated in them than I am!

Two Year Check Up.....

Just back from Joel's two year check up with his pediatrician. Good news! The doctor was very happy with his development and said that he is exactly where he is supposed to be. He is in the 78th percentile for both height and weight. He weighs 32 pounds and is 36 inches tall. And no more shots (other than flu shots!) until kindergarten! The doctor answered some minor questions we had. The best news is that he said Joel does not need to see a speech therapist and that his speech is appropriate right now. The nurse had said last time that she thought he was lagging behind.....WRONG!!!! So happy right now with things. He is officially our PERFECT boy! More later....