Maybe . . . just maybe

the yuckiness is behind us. After a day of crackers, water & pedialyte . . . and a little couch napping on daddy. . . . I think we may have kicked it. But don't stop praying! I just picked up the new prescription for the ear infection so we'll start that in the morning.

This saga . . .

is brought to you by the numbers 4 and 5 and is sponsored by Verizon. . .

4 = the number of times that Joseph & Momma have gone to the doctor in the last 2 weeks

5 = the number of times that Joseph has thrown up on Momma in the last 24 hours


Our sponsor = allowing sick boys to still be entertained by talking to their daddy on a cell phone (even though he's only a foot away). Note* - I wish I would have taken a picture of Joseph's favorite yoga pose in which he was positioned during this conversation. Usually it consists of Joseph draped between the sofa & the coffee table (upper back and head on sofa, feed on coffee table). During this conversation though, Joseph's upper back and head were on the bed and his feet were on daddy's leg while daddy was sitting at the desk. Next time I'll get a picture of that.

18-months old!

Today Joseph is 1 1/2 years old! We made our way to the doctor this morning for the 3rd time in a week and a half . . . this time for his well-baby check-up.

Joseph's stats:

Weight = 27 lbs. 14 oz. = 75%
Height = 34 3/4" = still off the chart

The weight is a little deceiving because at our first of these three visit he weighed 29 lbs. He's dropped a little over a pound in the last week due to being sick. If he were still at 29 lbs. he would be in the 85th percentile. . . which is where he's been for the last 6 months or so.

Joseph's latest activities:

Talking/Signing - Joseph signs "Please" along with saying "pee" when prompted. Lately he has been saying it for anything he wants. He also signs and says "all done." He also signs "food" and "more." Other new words: "ki" for kiss - "sto - it" for stop it.

Discipline - If Joseph gets in trouble for touching something, then he turns around and shakes his finger at that thing that got him in trouble . . . "sto - it" . . . .

Running - Joseph runs everywhere. And if he's not running. . . he's walking backwards . . . with his eyes closed. I don't know why . . .

Someday We'll Feel Better. . .

We've been passing a cold around our family. Joseph & I had it first . . . Christopher got a bit of it . . then Joseph & I got it again. But poor Joseph has truly had the brunt. In his first year he went to the doctor once for a sick visit. He's been twice in the last week. Last week I took him in to get drops for conjunctivitis (a.k.a. nasty mucus eyes). Yesterday when he woke up from his nap I noticed that he just wasn't acting himself and he just wanted to snuggle and not even have a snack. Then I thought he was pretty warm. So we took his temp and it was 102.8. yikes. I called the doctor about 4 minutes before they were closing and then said to bring him in. Christopher pulled a Dukes of Hazzard jump over the Ashley River Bridge and we were there in no time. Poor little guy has a double ear infection. Equipped with antibiotics and motrin, maybe we can finally beat this thing!

Our Bathroom

Finally I'm posting pictures of our "finished" bathroom. It still needs a new light fixture and the ceiling needs a little work but for all intents and purposes . . . . it's done! Here are before and after pics.

Before: Remember when it was Joseph's Room?

In progress:

Finished!

Busy Busy Day

First thing this morning we had a play date with our friends Maggie, Jack, Connor, Madeline & Mack. We had an Easter Egg Hunt and then Joseph decided to climb up the slide. . . and he made it all the way to the top!

Then we decided to go meet Amanda at the beach for some "running around and splashing" time.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Stacking Cards

One of Joseph's funny quirks is that, when his hands are full, he will bend in half and lean his face way down to the floor to pick up his pacifier with his mouth. We've been trying to get this on video to no avail. So we set up the scene = get Joseph occupied with some toys and place the pacifier strategically on the living room floor. Once again our best laid plan was thwarted as Joseph was far too interested in building his tower of cards. Which in the end turned out to be a pretty good video so here it is:

The JoeHank Mullet

All business in the front . . .

and a party in the back.A little bonus to this post: Joseph got ahold of the camera today and this is one of his self-portraits.

When you have to go outside on a rainy day . . .

you need a rain poncho!

Musical boy

You've seen the videos of Joseph dancing and clapping. . . . but would you believe that he never stops? Last night during American Idol, he danced and sang along the entire time. After each song he would lay down the toys he was holding so he could clap. Then he'd pick up the toys and start dancing and singing again. And right now he's singing in his crib. We turn on the radio for him during the night to muffle the street noise and he's singing along with it. He also loves musical instruments. We take him with us to choir practice on Thursday nights and early on Sunday morning and he is very distracted by the piano, guitars and drums. In fact, Sunday morning before we actually started, he was pounding on the piano and all of the sudden began playing a beautiful song. Everyone's heads turned as we beheld this brilliant and gifted child . . . and then realized that he had pushed the "player piano" button.

Carolina Boy

Every little boy being raised in Charleston needs a good pair of flip-flops.
And a duck to sit in to watch TV.

More pictures from the weekend

Cookies

Joseph loves, loves, loves cookies. And as any cookie lover knows, you can't have just one. No! You need two - one for each hand! After church on Sunday there is always a snack table and there are usually cookies. Yesterday the cookies were of the sandwich variety with a chocolate filling. Chocolate filling = messy.

Also . . .

Joseph wanted to send a great big "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to his Aunt Alissa . . .

Chris & Megan visit Charleston

Uncle Chris & Aunt Megan came to Charleston to celebrate their 1-year anniversary.
Joseph got to spend some quality time with them and, although he wasn't too sure about them at first . . . . .he warmed up and hammed it up for them.