Not Just Another Post

Depending on how you look at it, sometime this fall our home will feature something like one of these:

Confused? Got a lot of questions? There are three posts I have been hiding for months that should answer anything you wonder. You can find the first one here, the second one here, and the third one here.

"Getting Free"

Look, it's a boy! A little baby Josh, who burst on the scene unexpectedly early 3 years ago. Josh likes to talk a lot lately about when he was born. I told him about how the first time I held him he stared right at me. He seriously stared right into my soul, like he was sizing me up. I felt like he was determining if I was a good enough person. Ever since I told him that story a couple of weeks ago, Josh will say, "Remember when I was a baby and I looked at you like this?" And he'll look right at me, but it's funny with his little grin attached.Then suddenly he was one, loving his birthday party, but shy to be the center of attention once the cake came out.

The second birthday really made an impression, because he has talked about this cake ever since then. He was so excited to get a new bike he kept saying, "Thank you, dad, thank you," over and over.

The second birthday was such a big deal to him he has been planning on the third birthday for months. He sung the birthday song, had us all practice blowing out candles, and told me quite often, "Right now I'm 2, but on my birthday I'm getting free (3)." I'm pretty sure he expected to literally be bigger on his birthday.

Well, the big day arrived, and even though it was low-key, I don't think it was a disappointment to him. I love little kids! My mom invited us to her house for his birthday so we could all celebrate together. There's nothing better than cousins to make Josh happy, so it all worked out. It all started out with a waffle breakfast made by my dad. In this breakfast picture I said, "Smile like it's Josh's birthday!" and this was the result. (Sorry, Tate.)

Josh played with his cousins outside all day, so much so that he got blisters on his nose from sunburn. Oops. Josh and Tate decided drinking water from bowls would be a great activity to keep the party going right.

So this year's cake wasn't as adorable as last year's Elmo, but it looks like he still loves it, right?

Finally, the dream coming true . . . (Was it mean to spread the candles out so, or did it just keep the dream alive longer?)

He was excited about this gift from grandma (Gary's mom). He's been building with it ever since.

Gary and I gave Josh these trucks. When he opened up the package he said, "Holy cow!" and then he saw that it came with a hard hat and said, "Oh, a hat, too!" He knows how to make his parents feel like a million bucks. (He also loves his jacket, shirt, and swimming pool from grandmas, by the way.)

Oh, Joshy, I love you so much. You make me laugh and smile every day. I hope that when you sized me up that day 3 years ago I seemed up to the standard of being your mom, because you are a precious gift to me.

Bonus Josh stories from the day:

We took Josh to a community baseball game because my brother in law in on the team, and Josh loves baseball. He loved pretending to bat while the real batters where hitting. A lady saw him and thought it was cute and asked, "How old are you?" Josh looked up at me like he was trying to make sure it was okay to say what he was planning to. I gave a smile and he proudly said, "THREE!"

I took Josh (and myself) to the bathroom at the game. The bathroom door was bolted open, and I foolishly chose the stall that opens right in front of it. The door locked, so no big deal, right? Well, when it was my turn Josh unlocked and opened the door wide open. I was panicked, "Josh shut the door or everyone will see me going pee!" And I slammed it. As soon as I let go Josh opened the door and yelled, "Hey, everybody, don't watch my mom going pee!" Gary said, "Oh, man, that's the oldest trick in the book." Thanks, guys.

Arizona Knows How to Party

While trying to title this post, for some reason a certain Tupac song (um, the only one I know) kept running through my head. Trying singing it - Arizona has the same number of syllables as California, so it's a perfect head-running classic . . . um, yeah, so we went to Arizona last week! Gary's brother Christian and wife Candacy live there with "Josh's cousins," and have for two years, so we finally snuck an opportunity to go down and see them. I had never been to Arizona beyond driving through the corners, so it was fun for me to see what it's all about. Surprisingly, I did not hate the heat. There's plenty to do to beat it, and swimming to avoid the heat is fun, much better than going to McDonald's playland to avoid the cold, so I say hooray, Arizona!

Anyway, as for the visit . . . we went swimming at the pool and in the back yard, went out to dinner, got to see our nieces in their end-of-school shows (cute, for real), visited the "ice-cream store" (that's Josh lingo for Coldstone), celebrated Mother's Day (two Dads are better than one when giving Moms a break), went to "the movie place and ate popcorn and soda in the dark" (quote by guess-who), and got to talk lots with our awesome and very welcoming hosts. Oh, and bonus: Got to watch Deadliest Catch, which we have been missing due to my axing of most of our channels. (Gary might think watching the Laker games was more of a bonus- ESPN got axed, too- but Gary has yet to get me to care about the Lakers, sorry hon . . . and go Jazz.)

Here is Josh with Sydney in their princess pool. Sydney is so good with Josh, he really adores her, and does not at all mind that the pool is princess-emblazoned. Sydney even listened to Josh when he starting going off about the time he went to a basketball game with Dave . . . thanks, Syd. This contraption in their back yard was Noah's dream come true. Yeah, we got a list of ideas to get for our kids now . . .

Here's Jill and Josh at the splash pad. Besides sharing a common first-letter, they also share a love of silliness, so they get along. He still talks about how Jill misses him.

Noah loved the splash pad, too, and did not mind getting in the water one bit.

This tunnel was Josh's favorite feature at the splash pad. He said when he runs through it "it is so awesome." He didn't know the names for the other water features, so in classic Josh fashion he made one up. Me: Josh, what were you doing just now? Josh: Running with Jill in those pazizms.

Josh and Leah loved riding on these plasma cars together. Leah also loved playing with Noah, and Noah thought following her around was a hoot. Click here to see how Leah likes to pretend she's Noah now. (Oh, yeah, Noah walked more than 3 steps for the first time on Mother's Day. I think it was about 10, but now he's starting to really go.)

On the way home we drove over a very small piece of the Grand Canyon. It was a first in all of our lives, so we stopped to view the beauty. I look nutty in this picture but Noah is funny and the scenery is great. The sacrifices I make.

Gary and his boys enjoying a rest at Navajo Bridge. Very pretty stop.

And then we made it home safe and sound, the end.

The Easter Blessing

This is my niece Madeline with my parents on her blessing day. Isn't she adorable? She was blessed on Easter Sunday, so our festivities were spent with my family. I posted earlier about how there were concerns about Madeline's health, but never followed up on that. She has now been officially diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, and I want to get out some of my thoughts about it, but first a little bit about the Easter frivolities. All the cousins on Easter, looking great in their Easter best, except Gary and Emily's kids . . . it seems they were given new shirts from San Diego by their grandmother, and couldn't wait to wear them. Oh well, I still think they're cute, and I am amused that Josh is the gorilla amongst the church-goers.

A little egg-dying action. (Nope, can't wear a shirt for that.)

Noah celebrated Easter by crawling around trying to get people to feed him. Everyone obliged, so it was a great day for Noah.

The Big Egg Hunt.

Easter was a very sunny day, but even so Sophie and Josh found a puddle of water to play in. It was hilarious to me because the puddle was so small but they were determined to take advantage of it.

I was there, too! Here's Josh's bounty, and also his face while saying, "Cheeeese." I'm trying to think of a word that will bring about a different expression. Then again, I like this face.

Now a small digression. Madeline was officially diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis about 3 weeks ago. When my sister called to tell me, I started out by trying to list all of the positive things I could think of, but then just stopped and said, "This really stinks, though, go ahead and cry." So she did. And I did. I cried on the phone with Sarah and afterwards, because my poor little niece has a lot to deal with in life, and because my poor little sister was crying about her baby. I was able to dry my tears and have a fine evening, but then woke up with a start in the middle of the night. Josh has had a lot of digestive issues in his life. I have a 50% chance of being a CF carrier . . . could Josh have CF, too? I was gripped with panic. I shot out of my bed and ran to Josh's room to lick his forehead. (One of the symptoms of CF is that they taste salty. Licking the child's forehead is something parents are actually told to do when CF is in question.) Josh passed his 3 a.m. lick test, which should have made the whole thing amusing to me, but it wasn't. I was sad to hear about my niece having the disease, but the thought of my own child having it was a dagger to the heart. I realized at that moment that not only is my sister going through more than I can imagine, but that none of us can really know what others are going through unless we experience their sadnesses ourselves. To that degree, I want to be a better listener, a better helper, and extend more sympathy towards others.

Which brings me back to Easter. Although we didn't know exactly what was wrong with her at the time, we knew there was something. And as she was blessed that Easter Sunday, I felt a special significance in the occasion. Madeline's body has a lot to deal with right now, but it won't forever. Easter is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which makes it possible for everyone to have their body forever someday, free of problems. So in the long run Madeline's body will be as perfect as her little spirit. My sister and her husband are doing much better with this whole thing now, and we know that Madeline will have a great life, pretty close to normal. But whenever there are problems, we can be comforted by the promise that has been extended to all, that we celebrated on the day of her blessing. Someday all of the physical ailments will be gone and death will no longer separate us from loved ones, because Jesus Christ was resurrected. That is a reason to celebrate!