Where does the time go?!!!

There is so much to tell.

First, Jockey is just about a total walker!!!! Can you believe it?! He gets up on his own without pulling himself up on anything! I wouldn't take him for a walk to the mailbox, but he gets around the house and backyard completely! He is still wobbly as a new colt, but he is determined to get around.... still with the priority to get to the next thing to put in his mouth!

Speaking of mouths, Joshy has gotten his 7th tooth! A molar. He is a little early (a month) for molars, but with an appetite like his, the teeth were needed to keep up. I can't keep the kiddo full. He has eaten all sorts of crazy things because his biggest joy in life is the permission to eat the things that we are eating. So when daddy eats marinated mushrooms, so does Jockey... the list of those food daddy eats and Jockey tries is endless. My 11 month old eats the same foods as the 3 year old. Fish sticks, chicken nuggets, pasta, daddy's pizza. He is allowed just about everything, the exceptions being peanuts (and peanut products), shellfish, honey, raw things. But other than that, for a kid who wants to put everything in his mouth it is better to supply food than allow him to find dirt and oddball things in the backyard.

More Jockey news. He is sleeping through the night. There have brief exceptions but wholly nomimal in light of the entire night's hours. I'm soooo glad. I needed the option to sleep through the night myself. I think Josh is actually happier, if that was possible.

Also, Josh has picked up the habit of drinking from the bottle. He likes it, and I suppose he likes what is in it. I think the formula holds him better. He sees the bottle coming and can barely get it to his mouth fast enough. In this heat, I've been happy to provide additional fluids. Things are going so well in the realm of the bottle that weaning has begun. We are down to 1 to 2 feedings in a day. And he wouldn't really need those from me (I want him to have a couple weeks more of natural nutrition though), if I was to give him more food or formula. He is going to be an easy weanier (that sounds funny). This is a huge landmark, and although getting to the bottle is late and unexpected, I'll take it for the blessing that it is.

Jockey's other unconditional joy... Water. He LOVES the water. He wants to swim in anything from the swimming pool to the bath tub to the dog's water dish. Like Caleb there is a certain fascination with the really big, large dog water dish that is big enough to sit in. I finally had to give up and just take his clothes off and let him enjoy this last week. But in this nice hot weather it wasn't a big deal. He loves the water and it's thrown by water splashing him or even getting his face wet. Such a little water baby, but he pushes off from me in the pool and wants to have an independence that his skill level doesn't permit. I guess it is time for a floatation device to enable the freedom in the water and maintain safety as well.

Caleb is being a 3 year old. Endearing, smart, curious. Testing the limits, seeing if what the rules are really apply to him or just there for show. I love that little guy, and he says he loves me. He melts my heart when I say my tummy hurts and he puts his little hand on me and prays. But I shake with frustration when he dumps a few tablespoons of white powdered plaster on the floor after I've told him not to touch it. It's a phase, luckily. And until then, Caleb has gotten more familiar with the quite aloneness of his room, a punishment that seems to work and doesn't require spanking and actually allows me the break I need to calm down and clean up the latest tragic mess.

Caleb his spent the last week sleeping in the tent in the backyard. He is having a blast. It is something fun that all kids should get to do, and with the heat, sleeping outside wasn't such a strain for the rest of us. Daddy has taken most of the shifts, they needed guy time, and hey...let's be honest, the air conditioned bedroom was still cooler than outside on the days that it reached to over 100 degrees. Plus, I needed to be near Jockey if he woke up, wink wink. But regardless, Caleb has a great time, and I think he would love it if Uncle Brian brought his tent over and they had a camp out together. We'll see, the summer has many more days in it.

Well, I have more to say, but I'm just out of time. I've already stolen precious time from the other numerous things that I have to get done. I can't believe how little time I get to post here, it must be because so much is going on that I don't have time to talk about it. Well, to all those who are reading, I hope that you are having just as happy and busy a life as we are. TTFN