A Lot of Random

Well, we've been enjoying our summer so far. The beginning of May found John without work again. There just wasn't enough work at the cabinet shop and they didn't know how long it would be before they had more. (boy, that sounds familiar... this has been the third time that's happened in the past couple of years!) So Joseph and I have been enjoying a lot of time with him. Joseph loves his dad. If he's not around, he always signs "daddy" and asks for him.

John and I began this series from the beginning. I had never even seen a single episode before, nor had any interest in doing so, but conceded to watching them with John who wanted to watch them. His sister got seasons 1-5 for her birthday, so we've been borrowing them. We're in the middle of season 4. It's been keeping my attention for sure. There's a lot of mystery and unknowns, so that's fun to try and figure out. I heard someone say recently that the entertainment industry is attacking the institution of the family, so I have been interested in watching this series with that in mind. It's given me a lot to think about. I haven't drawn any concrete conclusions, I'm just allowing everything I observe to mull itself around in my brain.

John took on a project he's always wanted to do of making a cedar chest. It turned out quite beautiful. These pictures are just the chest. His sister was working on a cushion for the top.

And speaking of his building projects... I never got around to posting a picture of the toy hutch bookcase that he built for Joseph's room. I really love the way it turned out.

Joseph has been learning lots. He is learning his animal signs right now. He loves the song Old McDonald Had a Farm and imitates the animal noises of cows, horses, pigs, roosters, cats & dogs. He's also learning his colors and numbers too. He loves to hold up his fingers and do his best to count "three, two, one" so that we'll tickle attack him.

this is him counting

And as much as he likes us to tickle him, he also likes us to start counting down and then he'll stop us with a "no" and we'll stop and say, "okay." For some reason that is hilarious to him. Maybe he likes the feeling of control over us. It is really fun to pay attention to the things he notices in the world around him. I love being his mom.

*sidenote* notice the bumpy rash on his chin in this picture... anyone out there know what could cause that? He gets it frequently. I can't figure out if it comes because of an allergic reaction to something he's eating (if it is, I can't figure out what it is), or if it's from his drool (he salivates like a mad dog), or if it's cause his face doesn't get cleaned off well enough, or what! help?

He has really begun saying a lot of words. The only phrases he says so far are: "nice shot!" and "go Jazz!" Any guesses at where he learned those? It's really cool to be able to understand him and communicate with him at this age. I love the signing! As his parents, I'm sure we're the only ones who can really understand most of what he says just because we watched him and helped him learn how to say what he does.

this is how he signs "flower" and it is accompanied by some adorable sniffing noises

One of his favorite things to do is to play in the car or truck. He can sit in there for a surprising amount of time, entertaining himself with all the buttons and knobs and steering the wheel. We just make sure the windows are down and the keys aren't in there with him and let him play.

and he also loves this little crazy coupe... he plays in it at his cousin's house and a couple of friends' houses. I would love to get one for him.

He started nursery about a month ago and does, eh, *okay* in there. I am actually one of the new nursery leaders, so that is nice to be able to be in there with him, but he still has a hard time leaving my side. Our church is from 1-4, with his nap time falling right smack in the middle of it. Needless to say, by the end of nursery he starts to lose it. Last week we all played ring around the rosies in circles around him while he laid on the floor and whined at us.

All in all though, I think he enjoys it. He definitely enjoys snack time, and always seems to be the last one at the table still stuffing his mouth. I really do love being in there with him so that I can watch how he interacts with other kids and other adults and how he responds to the little lesson and singing time.

He loves to go outside and likes putting on his shoes. He says and signs "shoe." I even caught him one day trying to put on both daddy and mommy's shoes.

Around the house he usually is wherever I am. He is much more interested in pulling things out, especially after they've just been put away.

A sure guarantee to get him to play in his room for a little bit is to clean it up perfectly for him. Every time he walks in his room he has to go turn on the music in the cd player. He knows exactly how to work it. I love when he sings and dances. Even cuter is when he is enjoying someone else's music and dancing... he puts his hands above him in the air, bounces up and down, and snaps his fingers. Yes, he snaps. He's actually snapped for a couple of months. Wasn't something we taught him how to do either.

Memorial Day we took a trip to Fillmore for a little family get together on my Dad's side. I was able to get a four generation picture with Joseph, my dad and my grandma and I love how it turned out. It was really nice to be able to spend a couple of hours with family. I am glad that they are a part of my life and a part of who I am.

And yes, I chopped my hair off. I haven't had it this short for over 5 years and I love it.

A couple of weekends ago while I was enjoying visiting with my grandma, aunt & uncle, John & Joseph were enjoying a massive thundershower accompanied by hail. There was a LOT of rain in a short amount of time.

Well, that gets me almost current. Okay, not really. But I'll blog again soon. The boys flew out to Ohio last night. I'm leaving tomorrow. We'll be back east for two weeks. Oh, and remember how I said John was out of work? Well, last week he was able to work all week at the cabinet shop, and it's sounding like there will be work to do when we return too. I'm hoping it's work that will keep him busy for a while!