Overheard: Trip to the pediatrician

I'm taking a trip down memory lane because I have nothing better to share. I found the following post languishing in my Drafts folder on my blog...it is something I wrote but didn't finish in March 2010.

Pediatrician: Are your ears bothering you?

Grace: No.

Pediatrician [perplexed with Grace's response, since this was the stated reason for our visit]: But don't they hurt?

Grace: Yes, but only a little.

The pediatrician thought it was because she used such a big word...I explained that Grace tends to be rather stoic when it comes to ear pain. I have to ask her if her ears are hurting (usually after a rather sleepless night), and only then will she let on that they've been hurting for a few days. So, in her mind, while they hurt, they weren't "bothering her." "Bothering" and "allagating" (aggravating) are words usually reserved to describe what her brothers are doing to her. ;) And, yes, she had a double ear infection.

What a great big brother! Josiah (age 7) reading Fancy Nancy books to Grace (nearly age 4) while waiting at the pediatrician's office.
March 2010

You Capture: Play

When I saw that this week's theme was play, I figured I could just follow Grace around for a few minutes and have my post. Grace, like most 4 year olds, knows a lot about playing. And she can play all day long with her "babies" in a hundred scenarios...or just one scenario, run into the ground. Whatever.


I was right.

Here is Grace driving all her children in what must be her 15 passenger van and keeping both hands on her pretty purple steering wheel. Note that she is sitting in (and buckled into) the doll-size toy Graco car seat as her driver's seat. Plus, she's wearing a ballerina leotard/tutu, of course. The footrest of our recliner is up because she had "buckled" me in, too, and told me that she was my Mommy and we were going for a drive. I climbed out to get some shots, and she wasn't terribly happy about that.


Oops...distracted driver!

As she talked to (and occasionally reprimanded) her babies, she told them that she stopped at Dairy Queen and got "pink and blue cookies." Now she is preparing to share the pink and blue cookies with everyone.


They look suspiciously like the pink and blue cookies Jason and I have been force fed served every evening this week.

Check out other You Capture entries at I Should Be Folding Laundry, and join in on the fun!

Summer skies

We've had some particularly gorgeous skies lately. It doesn't counteract the humidity, but at least you have something pretty to look at as you "glisten," right?

This is the only shot that isn't SOOC (straight out of camera)--I photoshopped away a parking lot light.



The last three shots were on the same evening.




As summer vacation is drawing to a close, thoughts turn to the start of the school year. We'll be starting back mid-August...maybe. I'm not really ready, and neither are the kids. When does school start back in your area? Are the kids ready to get back to school?

Wordless Wednesday: Summer storm

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday participants.

You Capture: Black & White

This week's theme for You Capture is black and white. I have to admit that just a few minutes ago I checked to see what the current theme was because I had...ummm...forgotten. However, even though I (obviously) haven't been taking pictures with the theme in mind, I immediately knew the perfect shot for this week.


This was taken as we were leaving Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse...but in black and white, it really looks like we're not right next to a mall, doesn't it? ...Especially with Josiah looking all tourist-like with his binoculars around his neck. ;)

Check out other You Capture entries at I Should Be Folding Laundry, and join in on the fun!

Wordless Wednesday

Oh, I am so happy! I am posting a Wordless Wednesday photo that I took today with my camera that is finally working again after being soaked...even if I have to go through a whole elaborate process to get it to work much of the time that goes something like this:

1. Turn on camera.
2. Wait. Nothing happens. Turn off camera.
3. Take out memory card.
4. Turn on camera again.
5. Wait.
6. It comes on!  Yay!  Reset date and time.
7. Wait.
8. Insert memory card.
9. Wait until the display shows how many photos remain that can be taken with the memory card.
10. Take as many shots as you can before the camera turns itself off.

So, clearly, it still has issues...but at least I am no longer having to use my 8 year old son's digital camera that doesn't even have a flash and takes crummy photos. (Don't feel too sorry for Josiah--he is 8 years old, after all, and so far he has not managed to wash his digital camera in some article of clothing YET but that is still a distinct possibility. Which is why he got the cheapo camera for Christmas last year.)

But back to Wordless Wednesday...Here's a little critter who recently showed up on our front porch and made himself at home in our container gardening project. He choose the peas over the cucumbers.


Grace said, "I don't know why he's in the peas!" as she shook her head in wonder. Because it's hot--that's why.

Visit 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday participants.

Overheard: Josiah

While we're in the minivan (read: Josiah thinks he has Mom's undivided attention), Josiah will talk, and talk, and talk about whatever comes to mind...usually in rapid succession, so you'd better keep up. And he's good for coming up with a lot of blog-worthy comments...which is bad, since, well, I'm driving. This is what I managed to copy down while sitting at a traffic light one day this week.

Josiah: Spiders would be man's best friend if it weren't for the poison. You know, eating all the bugs in the house, stuff like that.

~~~~~

When I said that he didn't always have to talk to me the entire time we're in the van but could perhaps talk to Grace who was sitting right beside him, Josiah had his own thoughts on the subject.

Josiah: But, Mom, you're the one with all the answers. You read the Bible, you've probably read most encyclopedias, you can speak Spanish a little bit...so, yeah, you're the person with all the information.

I was speechless with laughter.

And now he is "ate"

Happy birthday to Josiah, who is now eight years old!

He told our pastor that instead of being called Burger Boy, he should be called "Digested Boy."

(Since he is now "ate." Ahem.)

Well, he made it through his birthday without being eaten by anyone, and we managed to make it through his birthday without eating any Chuck E. Cheese pizza. (Whew!!) We made a deal with him that we would eat lunch at Chili's and then go spend an hour or so letting the kids play games at Chuck E. Cheese.

After all the noise we could stand leaving Chuck E. Cheese, we ate some delicious cake



after we sang "Happy Birthday" to him.


And he's spent hours playing with Grace in one of his birthday presents this last week. (This was one he specifically requested.)


Josiah has always been in a hurry to grow up

December 2002
6 months old and already a chunky monkey ;)

...and had the bruises to prove it.

May 2003
11 months old and starting to walk
Pictorial proof of the perpetual bruises he kept on his forehead during the first two years or so of his life. It really got worse after he started walking!

He spent a good deal of time trying to be as old as his big brother, and happily went along with most anything Robert came up with.

April 2004
Both boys are dressed as "Aladdin"...note Josiah's light saber and cape. His Aladdin character apparently lived a little differently. I'm not sure why he looks so somber in this shot.

He began riding a bike with training wheels (at his brother's urging) at least three months before his 2nd birthday.

March 2004

He had a long-term love for cowboy boots and his "superhero"--a blue baby blanket clipped at his neck as a cape.

January 2005
2 1/2 years old

And you know Emily, Grace's beloved baby doll? She was Josiah's doll first--his way of preparing for his new baby sister. My sweet boy gave his doll to Grace by the time she was a year old. (Oh, and at one time Josiah had named the doll Candy Blues Jo Beth. ???)

December 2005
3 1/2 years old

June 2006
4 years old

July 2007

5 years old
I love this photo! It's about the last of the photos I have of him with all of his baby teeth, since he began losing baby teeth shortly after this was taken.

When he decided he was ready to learn to ride his bike without training wheels, he took the training wheels off himself, and rode down the little hill in our backyard by himself! Really--he called us outside to show us what he had learned to do.

March 2008

July 2009

One of his favorite things to do...climb trees.

Happy birthday, Josiah! We love you!

May 2010

Happy 4th of July!

I ran across these photos tonight...these were taken 6 years ago when we went to look at a fireworks display. Since my camera has not come back to life, I thought I'd share these.

July 4, 2004

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Overheard: Happy Birthday

My son Josiah has a keyboard with songs programmed into it, where he can learn to play along with a wide variety of songs with or without the computer voice giving instructions. Just a few minutes ago, I overheard Grace (age 4) singing along to one of the songs she chose on the keyboard to listen to today:

Happy birthday to You!
Happy birthday to You!
Happy birthday dear God!
Happy birthday to You!

I love You so much
'Cause You created me.
You're the best friend ever
That's why I sing happy birthday to You!

Now, isn't that the sweetest version you've ever heard?