Life continues.

Caleb enjoyed the 4th of July. He was really excited about seeing the fireworks, he saw some "over there", and "over there" etc. He liked pointing out where they were coming from as if each one was a discovery and each one brought him happy amazement. Josh slept through the majority of the evening displays (and noise). And for those of you who care, our newest little Tigger was AWESOME with the fireworks. He seemed not to notice unless he was outside and they were exceptionally close and directly over head and the exceptionally loud ones. Other than that he didn't care, but he did prefer to be inside.

We had a picnic at the club and then went for a swim in the pool. Caleb was very happy about that. He likes playing in the water. Having Grammy and Papa in the pool was very fun too.

Josh is the one that continually surprises me on how much he likes the water and how much interaction/movement he has in the water. He waves his arms and paddles, and he kicks his legs. He lets me put him on his back and face the ceiling. He laughs and coos. He is just happy to be in the water. He really is the water baby.

After swimming, we came home and did the normal household routines. And then watched the fireworks from the house. The best place to watch from when it is raining. Both kids went to sleep before the fireworks had ended, but there was no way they would have been able to stay awake until after midnight.


This last Sunday, the boys and I drove up to see Uncle Jeff and Aunt Danene. It was a nice visit. Aunt D got her Jockey time and she made a delicious fruit salad. We took a walk around the neighborhood. They met Tigger. Uncle Jeff and Caleb picked strawberries in the backyard. I think that Caleb had a good time, but in a new environment he was testing the boundaries. Alot. And little Josh was testing everything by mouth!
Well, Caleb must have had a great time because this morning he went on and on about Uncle Jeff's motorcycle and truck. Unlce Jeff has a motorcycle, he saw it in the garage. Uncle Jeff's motorcycle is cool (pronouced coooal), and it makes loud noises, and it is big, but Uncle Jeff also has a little motorcycle (as Caleb holds his fingers to show the size.... the size of an ant). It all made an impact on Caleb. Of course, for the overall evening, his behavior was sub-par and just ask him about sitting in the bath tub by himself. It was the nearest thing mommy could find to a safe/padded room for a time out.

But life goes on. Joshy can walk about 4-6 feet, but he really chooses not to because crawling is so much faster! He's of the opinion that if he wants something why wait or try hard to get to it when the shortest distance between him and that object is to crawl! Josh does love the outdoors though. He finds so many interesting things to put in his mouth. Yikes. Good thing a little dirt/grass never hurt anyone.

Caleb is very helpful with Josh, sometimes too helpful. Lately, Caleb really likes helping Joshy walk. It is fine in theory, what a nice big brother to take such an interest in his little brother, but in practice... Josh could end up landing on something hard or at the bottom of a pile up. For such a little guy, he weathers it all great and with huge laughs, which is very surprising. Josh must be an attention monger and of the opinion that ANY attention is good attention. Josh really does find joy in watching, playing with and trying to be like Caleb. Just a day or so ago, Josh was walking/pushing Caleb's big wheel trike around the backyard, just like big brother! It was cool because it was a new thing to see him do, a surprising display of his new abilities, and it was just like a little Caleb 2 years ago when we spent time in the backyard that sunny summer.

Caleb and mommy also had a camp out. We slept under the stars in the backyard. We got all cozied in and I read a couple stories out in the night. The only thing missing was a camp fire. Caleb kept creeping out of the covers and running to get raspberries (picked in the dark, how many do you think were actually red?) and then he would run back with raspberry breath as he whispered "hold me mommy". We looked at the trees, felt the breeze, and pointed out stars. We fell asleep. Fortunately for mommy, Zuma came out and sniffed and I woke up and switched out with Daddy who then took the second shift. The second shift woke up to rain. But I heard it and rushed outside to get them and all the blankets inside before anything got wet. Caleb has now asked to sleep outside again, but I told him we had to wait until after the 4th of July because it was raining. I'm sure that we will sleep outside again if I can figure out a softer surface to sleep on. And if Daddy can take the Jockey shifts inside.

I'm praying for the night that Jockey starts sleeping through the night. I'm trying not to feed him during the night, but he still wakes up crying and needing comfort. So until I convince him that he is not hungry, I still have to hold and rock him in the middle of the night, multiple times.

On that note, Mommy is tired and calling this posting to an end. Catch ya later.