Joshua's first birthday party!

Yesterday, February 27, 2011, we celebrated Joshua's first year of life with a party! And of course. It snowed.

I woke up bright and early because Joshua was too excited to sleep (haha... just like every other day?). I opened the blinds, and what do I see? About four inches of snow, and it was still coming down. So I had myself a mini panic attack, then turned on the news.

Vote for Joshua!

I have entered my little model into yet another contest! :) But this time, he NEEDS your help! Rebecca Deaton Photography is running a contest on her facebook page to win a free photography package of your choice. All you have to do is enter your fave photo or your little one on her wall and get the most votes!

Everyone can vote once. Just click HERE and 'like' her page on facebook, and find Joshua's photo on the wall there (below) and click "like" on his photo to cast your vote!

Joshua really wants a family photo shoot, we don't have any good shots of all of us! :) Thanks for voting!

Meeting baby Ethan, Joshua's newest friend.

Joshua and I took and lunch trip today to see my friend Katie and her new little man, Ethan. Ethan was born on February 11th and is absolutely adorable! I was holding him, and it was hard to remember when Joshua was that little now! Both boys were over 8lbs when they were born, and just about the same length too. So Joshua WAS that little. It just feels so long ago now!

Joshua had fun playing with some of Ethan's toys. Ethan was very nice and let him share :) Ethan also bought Joshua a birthday present! Now he has a couple new books and a new toy, and we was very excited about it (and the box it came in, of course!) 

So here are some pictures of little Ethan. We can't wait until he is a little bigger and they can play together!

love his little squinty face!

Joshua among some of Ethan's toys

Resting on his Mama

GERMS! with a capital G!

It's winter. In case you were unaware. It has also been an exceptionally cold and snowy winter. I didn't really realize until today how lucky we have been to have escaped the majority of the colds and viruses that have been floating around. But lately, they seem to be getting closer and closer. And I am getting more and more nervous. Joshua's birthday bash is fast approaching! Just today alone, I counted at least six or so people who I directly know and am in contact with on a fairly regular basis who have all been either recently sick, or are sick as we speak.

I just hope we can make it through the weekend without catching anything! I can't imagine Joshua would have much fun at his party if he got sick, nor would I. I'm sure it will happen sooner or later, since it is winter, as I noted before. I think I may put a container of lysol wipes in Joshua's diaper bag for the rest of the week. Heck, maybe even a full can of lysol spray! Must. Not. Get. Sick. I sure hope that darn ground hog was right this year and winter get's outa here sooner rather than later! I've had enough of the cold, snow, and all my friends and family getting sick! blech! 

So, everyone who is ill, I hope you feel better soon! And I just may put Joshua in a bubble until Sunday. If you are looking for me, I'll be the crazy lady with the baby in the bubble suit.

OH and whoever invented germs, the common cold, and the flu . . . he was a jerk! and clearly it was a HE because, ummm, have you SEEN men when they get sick? Worse than the real babies. (Most of them, and I say that in the most loving way possible . . . and yes, I know germs and things were not 'invented' :-) )

That is all. 

What's a Mama to do!

What is a Mama to do when her now one year old decides he does not want to nap anymore? Well, at least not as often, or as long!

I had gotten into a nice little routine with Joshua taking two good two hour naps a day. He used to go down easy for both, and was very predictable. Now, not so much. Now he has decided, he likes getting up at 5am instead of 6am and then he's tired right after breakfast, so he naps for about an hour around 6:30am most days, then usually he will nap again around 10 or 11 for maybe two hours (tops).

I know a lot of people have told me that this is around the age when kids sometimes don't need more than one nap a day anymore. So it may just be a matter of adjusting nap time to fit the day better. But he seems soooo tired in the afternoon and just won't have it. And I am soooo tired in the afternoon, and have so much to do, I think I miss his afternoon nap more than he does! Our house is such, that when he is awake, I can't take my eyes off of him for long. Where we are during the day is open concept so the living room, kitchen, office, and dining room, are the same space. And he is very sneaky. I think he waits for that one second that I look away so he can try to climb down the stairs (bad mama, leaving the gate open... woops), eat a small rock, bite the cats tail, or do whatever else tickles his fancy in that moment.

But I must say. I do not enjoy having to stay up way late at night to get my work done, only to wake up way early in the morning with Joshua. I am not a fan. 

Thank goodness for German Chocolate Cake flavored coffee this morning. Rant complete. :-)

Happy First Birthday, Joshua!

Dear Joshua;

It's been one fast, fun year since you made your grand entrance into the world. And I just want you to know. It was the best year of my life and I love you more than I think you will ever understand. And even though I know as you grow, there will be times where we test each other's patience, and argue, and you won't like what I have to say, no matter what, you will always be my best boy.

I hope, even though you won't remember this birthday, one day, you will be able to look back at these posts, and pictures, and see just how special you have always been to everyone around you.

Thank you for making my world more than I ever thought it could be.

Mama loves you.

A year in photos

Sappy birthday post, check! Now, time for a flashback. A year in photos of Joshua. Hard to believe how fast it's gone, and how much he's grown. Sometimes I don't notice how big he has gotten until I look back at some of the old photos of him. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

Last year at this time . . . part 2

So where was I. 

Ah yes, February 18th, 2010. It was a couple days before my due date (2/20) And I was feeling pretty normal, for the most part. My feet and ankles had grown larger than any person's feet and ankles should, but I can't complain because I only had that lovely side effect for a couple of weeks, at the very end, and I know people who have had much worse!

So 5:15ish in the morning I wake up to the call of nature, as many very pregnant women do I think. So I rolled . . . literally, rolled myself out of bed to go to the bathroom so I could hurry up and go back to sleep. Much to my surprise, not only was nature calling, so was the baby. My water broke. I think I stayed in the bathroom for about 15 minutes trying to figure out if it was real or not before I finally decided it was and I should wake up Jay, and my mother, who had stated the night before, that if I wanted to have the baby before she left, that would be great! :)

$20 amazon gift card contest!

Want to win a $20 Amazon gift card?

I do.

Because I want THIS

If you could use an Amazon gift card. Play along HERE

It's the one year anniversary of the Living Like the Kings blog, and this is the celebration! :)

Last year at this time . . . part 1

I've decided, since I didn't start this blog until Joshua was four months old, I am going to share the story of Joshua's arrival into this world.

The story shall begin on February 15th of 2010. Last year, February 15th was a Monday. The previous Friday was my last day in the office until Joshua came since my due date was the 20th, and I work a half an hour away from home on a good day. I felt better not driving too far close to the due date. I decided that I needed a manicure and pedicure, because, clearly, my toes and fingers should be pretty while the rest of me couldn't be haha. And also, I had been told the old wives tale that getting a pedicure close to your due date could induce labor. My mom was planning to come up later in the week for a couple of days to help me finalize things at home, and keep me company since Jay was still working.

Tuesday (16th) Mom came up... and nothing eventful happened.

Wednesday (17th) was Ash wednesday. So we went to church. Rewind back to the day time, I felt kinda funny, and thought maybe I was "leaking." I was scheduled to have a checkup on the 18th so I called to see if I could switch it, and they did. My mom and I anxiously went to the Dr. hoping she'd say...hooray! go to the hospital and have a baby! But, alas, she did not. Nothing unusual, and I was only dilated a "fingertip." So we went home. Fast forward back to post-church and dinner time. I decided I needed to try fish again (note... I strongly dislike fish of all kinds. Except for tuna.) So we went to the grocery store and got the fixin's to make salmon with... something else. I realized I still did not like salmon.

yuck!

Thursday (18th)  to be continued in part 2 . . . 

The things Joshua did today to make me laugh.

Joshua's been a bit of a terror (on and off) for a few days know... I am pretty sure he has his one-year molars working their way out. But in between temper tantrums I must say, I have a pretty hilarious child. I think he just knows how to work it so we don't go totally nuts when he's having mental breakdowns. As he is getting bigger, as all kids do, he is learning new things. For example. This morning, I went to put on my boots to run and start my car so we could go to the gym, and what should stab me in the bottom of my foot? A triangle and a square. From Joshua's shape sorter. I didn't see him do that one, but all the rest of the day he's been thoroughly enjoying putting things on or in other things. This is a change because he has kinda been trying (I think) to work his shape sorter, and put the rings back on the ring stacky thing, but he never can do it and eventually just throws whatever he is holding and moves onto the next thing. Not sure if this can be considered a milestone? I don't think so. But I think it's progress none the less. Here is what we found around the house today:

Dog dish on Daddy's desk chair.

Stacking rings in the basket with the remote controls

Plastic ball in Daddy's boot

Sharp shapes in Mommy's boot

a spoon wedged under the cushion of the chair

and blocks in the laundry

I think that was all for today. We'll see what tomorrow brings on that front.

The other thing he is doing though, which is HYSTERICAL, I need to get a video of it, but I need an assistant, you'll know why in a minute. Just to preface this story, Joshua loves our animals, he loves to pull their tails, give them sloppy kisses and hugs, and "pat" (hit) them. I sit on the couch when I give him his bottles, and the cat is usually down the opposite end of the couch on "his" spot. Every time Joshua finishes his bottle, and spots the cat, all bets are off. He squeals like he has never seen him before and it's his long lost best friend. So I usually let him crawl across the couch (keeping an eye and hand on him of course) and say hello to his furry friend. But recently, he is less interested in the cat, and more interested in the couch. He will pet the cat for a second, then he stands up against the back cushion and hops and squeals and laughs. And today, he decided that wasn't quite enough entertainment and decided to stiffen himself up and completely free-fall backwards. Thankfully I stay right with him when he's pulling these shenanigans and  put my arm behind him so he wouldn't fall on his head on the floor. Then he realized if he stood at the end of the couch, by the armrest, he could hop back when he fell and bounce more. I am telling you, it is the funniest thing I have ever seen! I am just praying now that he doesn't decide to try that when he is on the floor. Hopefully he remembers how much it hurts to smack his head on the hardwood from when he was learning to sit up!

Once I manage to video tape this hilarity, I'll share :-)

HELP!

HELP . . . me pick out Joshua's birthday shirt. Perhaps 2... I dunno. In true "you know you're a mom when..." form I am more concerned with what Joshua will wear to his first birthday bash than myself. Most likely I'll roll up forgetting I am unshowered and still wearing slippers and sweatpants (let's hope not) but, would anyone be surprised if it did? Probably not.

Anyways. Back to the task at hand. I have found a few onesies for my little birthday boy, and I need to order them soon if they are going to be here in time without me having to pay ridiculous overnight shipping fees for a shirt he will probably wear once ever.

So here are the three options I like best from what I have found. If you know of any other websites, or great "I'M ONE!" let me know!

A.

B.

C.

I am stumped. I am thinking two, so he can show up in one, and have one to change into if (when) he ends up with his entire cake all over him. Also I am planning to dress him in on on his actual birthday for his final monthly picture! So everyone vote! Help a Mama out! And tell your friends to come vote too :-) And to follow me while they are here... because so far there are only eight of you who read this thing, which is pretty lame :-P

Also, I opted to not get a birthday hat, or crown, or whatever, because Joshua currently detests hats. They stay on his head for about 3 seconds and that is all. If you have a child who has turned one already, did your small one have a special hat our outfit? What was it... I'm curious now.

You know you're a Mom when . . .

YOU KNOW YOU'RE A MOM, WHEN . . .

• You feel like you've forgotten something when you leave the house without a baby on your hip.

• At least once, while driving, you've looked in back where baby usually sits and panicked when he/she wasn't there.

• Picking someone else's nose is normal for you.

• Sleeping until 6:30am IS sleeping in . . .

and lastly,

• When you look at the small human being you've created and wonder what you ever did (or talked about) before they graced you with their presence.

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Just a fun little game for all you mommy bloggy people out there. If you're a mom (or I supposed a Dad can play too if he wants . . .) Repost your own and share the link here, and on the Living Like the King's post (which is where I got the idea from). Just for fun! Happy Sharing!

I don't have cute pics to go with mine like Kat over at Living Like the Kings did. But I will have some on the 18th when I take Joshua's one-year monkey pictures :-P You know you can't wait!

In the mean time . . .

it seemed appropriate. :-)

Just a couple things. That don't have much to do with babies, or motherhood.

So my baby has been visiting with his Grammy for the past few days and I have been missing him like crazy! After work today I am going to pick him up and even though it'll be about his bed time, I am SO excited to have him back and cuddle him and play with him. Who ever thought you could miss such a small person SO much!

That's the first thing. The second thing, is the continuation of the story from my birthday night out, about how my friend had her phone stolen by a crazy person. That's this story . . . 

So a brief recap of the night- We were out singing, dancing, having a merry ol' time... we made it to about 1am at the second bar of the evening, and decided it was time to head home for some beauty sleep, if you will. Now, one would never really know that their phone was missing, unless they needed to make a call, or were expecting a call... at least, most people I know. 

So we get back, I get dropped off at my house, I got locked out for about 15 minutes or so. It was cold out. But I got in. So don't worry about me.

The rest of the gang went a couple blocks over, to the friend who hosted the pre-party's house, because she had more space for guests to sleep. At around 1:30am, my house phone rings and wakes up my husband, who answers disgruntledly. On the phone was my friend's (who was missing her phone unbeknownst to her) Brother-in-law. Here is what I recall of that conversation  

Me: Hello?

B.I.L: Hey Anna, it's Tyler, is Regina there?

Me: No she's at Vy's house. (he has no clue who I am talking about)

B.I.L: Is she OK, how do I get ahold of her... a man called us from her phone.

Me: Call Jess. (Again... he has no idea who that is)

B.I.L: OK what is her number?

Me: (Gave him the number and hung up, wondering why he was so upset that she lost her phone...)

So the next morning, I woke up, said goodbye to my little man, and my husband, and headed back to rejoin my compadres. Everyone was pretty cheery, and awake, for having been up so late at night. Then I remembered about the phone call. So I asked Regina if she got her phone back yet, and told her about the call telling me a man had her phone, and how angry her brother-in-law seemed. We wondered why they were so upset about the missing phone. So we decided to call them and see if this man had left a number to call, or said where he left the phone or anything.

Much to our surprise, they had VERY good reason to be upset. Apparently, a crazy person had gotten ahold of her phone and was going down her contacts and leaving obscene messages, and telling them really awful things, like that she was dead in a gutter somewhere...(not an exaggeration) The police were involved by the time we called, they were actually searching the area for a body, and her car. So, to wrap this up... we have our suspicions about who may have stolen the phone, but She got a new phone, and canceled the old one, and calmed her family back down, and made it back home safe and sound.

But, what are the odds! and how crazy must a person be to do something like that! The good news is, the police thought they might be able to trace the calls and make an arrest for that, since they were using police time and resources looking for a body when she was alive and well in NH.

I guess the moral of the story is...don't lose your cell phone in a bar? I dunno. I just wanted to share, so everyone who was curious to know what happened! 

The end. :)

Happy birthday to ME!

A tale of what happened the night I decided it would be fun to pretend I was turning 21 instead of 28.

So I'll give you the short version of this, since that is all that really needs to happen. So, long story short. I am a lightweight. I've never really been a big drinker in the first place, but ever since I had the baby I am REALLY not a big drinker (for obvious reasons). But, my friends were throwing me a birthday party to get me out on the town and out of my house for a night, and I was going to take full advantage. 

So we began the night with some snacks and beers at a friend's house

After we had some good laughs, and some good food, we decided it was time to head out for some singing and dancing and craziness. We headed over to a Chinese Restaurant called the Yee Dynasty. We drank some scorpion bowls, some shots. There was some dancing that happened. I may or may not have lost my sweater.

Next we were off to another bar, for dare I say, more drinks. At this point, I believe we had lost/misplaced one camera, two cell phones, and my sweater. Luckily, all but my sweater and one of the cell phones was found, and THAT is a whoooole other story!

Over all, we had a great night out, we all laughed so hard our stomachs hurt and had selective memories from the night before. Thankfully, today Joshua got to spend the day playing with his grammy, so Mommy could spend the day laying on the couch, and napping. I will tell you the story of the last missing cell phone in the next post to keep them relatively short. 

I will leave you one last picture. This, is what the cake looked like the morning after. I think she had a rough night.

Parental Jealousy

So I know this is completely silly, I KNOW that. But, that being said, I don't know any parents out there who have not experienced this to some extend, at one time or another. And if you are a parent, and you say you haven't, I think you're lying, you yourself, and everyone else (Either that, or your child hasn't started reaching the milestone things yet, or you HAVE the kid who is one day ahead of everyone else's haha). 

I'm talking about parental jealousy. You know, the kind of jealousy you get inside when you see another kid who is around the same age as your kid, doing something your kid can't yet. I don't know if jealousy is really the correct word here, but I can't think of another way to describe it. And yes, I do know that all kids develop at different rates, and there are so many elements that play into when they learn to do all those big firsts, like crawling, and standing, and walking, etc. But I just can't help that little voice in my head... 

I was checking out another blog of a new mom, whose son is one day older than Joshua. And she had a video of him standing up on his own. As in, not holding onto anything to stand up. Joshua can pull himself to a stand, with one hand, or two, and he walks around with his walking toy and all along the furniture, but he has yet do do any of that on his own yet. Of course, he was the same way with crawling. He never cared to do any of the scooting, or comando crawling, he did nothing until one day, we put him on the floor to play, as usual, and he just popped himself up off his belly, and started crawling! I have a feeling the same will happen one day with walking and standing unassisted. But the waiting....ohhhh the waiting! And I know he can stand unassisted because he lets go of things he is holding for support all the time and hops, he just hasn't gotten himself up without help yet.

And like I said, I knowwww he is young still, especially for a boy of his size (I have been told that boys are a little slower sometimes to do these things than girls, especially boys on the upper end of the growth charts... I'll take it), and there is nothing wrong with him or learning things at his own pace. But there is just something, I think, in a parent, especially (maybe?) a first timer, that says "I want mine to do that too!" or "How come mine isn't doing that yet!" Wouldn't you other parents agree? Anyway, I don't think I can turn mine off! And I ignore it, and tell myself I am being silly for thinking these things. And I have a strange feeling once he DOES do these things I always wish he would suddenly do, I'll wish he couldn't at some point. Sort of like how I now miss the days when I could swaddle him and plop him on the couch next to me, and he would just lay there, and not roll, or crawl away, he would just sleep. Oh how I miss THAT one sometimes, especially when I am working from home trying to finish projects! 

So that's my rant for now. Thanks for reading! :)

Name change

So you may have noticed that I changed the title of the blog. It is no longer called, Joshua Paul - The Blog. It is now "Confessions of a Mom." I changed it because I think I am going to start writing more that just stuff about Joshua and what he's up to. I want to start including more about me, and my adventures as a first time Mom as well. Of course, it will still be about Joshua, mostly, but still!

So make sure you follow me here, and check back for new posts if you want to see what types of things we've all been up to, and such! Thanks for checking in!

A couple new videos

I know I already posted these on facebook, so for you readers who I am also friends with there, I am sorry for the repeat. But I figured I should get them on here too so everything is in one place for when he gets bigger and wants to see this stuff (if that even happens!)

So here they are. My little (almost) walking boy. He doesn't go without the dino yet, but MAN is he fast with it! And the other is his newest trick, whispering. He only does it for a second but it's still really funny, and cute.