The Day Aliens Snatched My Boy's Bodies ...

Really ... is there any other explanation for this picture?

What Kind Of Duck Is That?

Starting off the big TURKEY day with a bit of synchronized milk drinking ... Followed by our family tradition of Einstein bagels ...
And this cute face waiting for his FIRST Thanksgiving bagel ...
YUMMY!
And watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade ...
And apparently we have a lot to teach our kiddo about what type of feathered friend we eat on this day. "Mommy! Look! What kind of walking duck is that?" Silly Joshua ... it's not a duck ... it's a TURKEY!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Life ... According to J. Howard ...

Joshua:  Where is Dada?  Is he in Florida?

Me:  No.  Dada was supposed to come home but he got stuck in Atlanta.

Joshua:  I'll get a rope and help him.

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Me:  Where does Jesus live?  In your heart?

Joshua:  He not live in my heart.  He live in a house.

Me:  That's right.  Your heart is like a house for Jesus to live in. 

Joshua:  Yeah.  Jesus get on that boat.  And He get soaking wet and I fix it with my toes. 

Um, what??

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And in other news ... Pedal Therapy appears to no longer be necessary.  He's even offering free rides on the back seat.  Just be sure to buckle up.  

I DO ...

After waking up to this view .... And walking on the beach with my favorite How ... We got dressed up and drove a few miles to this gorgeous spot ...To witness the wedding of these two ... Jennifer (Ben's sister) and Robert (now affectionately known as Uncle Bob) ... Who were married by Pastor Ron (Ben's dad) ... or shall we say .. Deputy Sheriff for the Day?
Who then said I DO and smooched ... Followed by lots of pictures and questions like ... Who has Joshua? (We were standing on the edge of a cliff ... I was surprisingly calm! I even impressed myself a bit!)The whole crew ...
The Bost Crew ...
Congratulations, Jennifer and Robert! So ... seriously ... when are the little cousins arriving!

A "Brief" California Interruption ...

I've kept telling myself that Joshua is potty-trained. Sure, he wears a pull-up but that's just because I'm lazy. We have twenty pairs of underwear ... sporting all different sorts of Thomas the Train engines. Who wouldn't want to wear those? Sometimes the pull-up is wet ... but that's rare. However, he NEVER tells me he has to go potty. I just remember for him.

So ... I figured it's time to get with the times. BUST out the real undies. All day ... all the time. All was going well until yesterday afternoon. Joshua waddles over to me and says, "I went potty." Normally ... this means he went a little and we can still make it to the bathroom before anything gets soaked. But his waddling made me look up. I glanced in the direction of the fridge ... to see a LAKE. Not a puddle ... an all out LAKE.

In my mostly calm voice, I tried to explain that he can stop the flow. (At least I'm assuming that's how the plumbing works??) WE GO POTTY ON THE TOILET. Not in our pants. Not on the floor. Okay?

He looked right back and me and said, "Mom. Stop for a minute and take a deep breath."
And in other news ... after screaming "Mommy! Rescue me. Save me!" I ran upstairs to see this. Joshua turns to me and yells, "Mom. This is not safe!" REALLY? Would it be silly for me to ask him THEN WHY ARE YOU UP THERE, ON THE CAR, ON THE TABLE? Of course it would ... because he's a boy ... and I'm slowly learning ... this is what boys do!!

What We Learned in California ...

To stay in the lines ...To slide down the stairs (both flights in less than thirty seconds!!) ...To be the official baker's taste tester ... To be patient when the official baker said you couldn't eat the Elmo cake until the party ...
To point UP ...
To drool over the wedding cake ...
To dream that this was the view you woke up to EVERY morning!!

THE BIG SURPRISE ...

I am usually great with digging up a surprise. I stumble upon some little detail and unravel the whole plan. Apparently, my detective skills were off on Sunday. They must have been busy searching for my voice because ... I didn't notice the extra place settings at the table. I didn't notice all the text messages. I didn't even pay attention to the doorbell ringing and my mother-in-law saying she wasn't expecting company ... So ... I was COMPLETELY surprised to see two of my favorite people peek their heads around the corner! Of course, I had to greet them with a big hug and SILENCE (since I was still among the non-talking) ... but I've known Emelye since I was five. She can read me like a book ... heck, we used to make up sign language dances to DC Talk songs ... she doesn't need me to talk!!
Emelye, Tim and Joshua watching a little You Tube fun ...
Does it get any better than wrestling with Tim?
Yeah ... I think we had a good time! Thanks for making the extra drive down to see us! Hopefully, the 18 hour trek back to Portland was SUPER fun!!! LOVE YOU GUYS!!

I Think I'm In Love ...

Sure ... I love those gorgeous blue eyes ...
And those cute chubby toes ...
And that smile ...
And that look ...
And those cheeks ...
But today ... I'm in LOVE with all those things ... and that I get to capture them all with my NEW CAMERA! There are more buttons than I can figure out how to operate and a manual the size of a small dictionary ... but I figured out how to charge the battery, format the disc and snap a picture! I think that's a pretty good start!

THOMAS THE TRAIN IS ROLLING ALONG ...

Out the door, bright and early. Dressed in our fabulous conductor wear ... Joshua was bouncing out of his seat with excitement! I, on the other hand, was not so happy. Somewhere between Blythe and Palm Springs ... I lost my voice. Zippo. Zilch. Silence. So ... Joshua and Ben chatted about Thomas and I ... well ... I did a lot of pointing, poking and nodding!!
The big moment ... Thomas the Tank Engine pulls into the station. Joshua decided to ride on "Annie." I tried to sit next to him but he said, "No, Mom. You sit over there. I sit with Mookers."
A little Thomas photo op ...Notice that Joshua is never looking at the camera? He was so busy trying to figure out what we were going to do next or trying to spot Thomas ... that getting him to look at the camera was nearly impossible. Even when we were standing next to a real, live CONDUCTOR!Riding on the tippy top part of a caboose. This was maybe even more fun than riding Thomas?Showing off his Thomas tattoo ...Again ... why look at the camera when you can see Thomas down the tracks???


A little Thomas and a lot of grooving! Perhaps Joshua's motto should be: "Have dance skills. Will travel."We had a great day! We even met up with friends ours who live in CA ... not that I could talk to them ... oh well! I think these past 3 days might be the first time in our marriage that I've asked Ben to talk for me. I thought he's LOVE the opportunity ... but apparently ... he too misses all the chatter! Up next ... a SURPRISE visit and ... a wedding! Stay tuned!

In a Couple Weeks ...

About a month ago, SOMEBODY... (obviously not me because I know children of Joshua's age have no concept of terms like ... yesterday, tomorrow and "in a couple weeks") ... told Joshua that we were going to see Thomas the Train. Yeah. That was a big mistake because Thomas and only Thomas has been the topic of conversation to ANYONE who will listen. And usually, he follows his chat about Thomas with an invitation. The latest invite ... the purse lady at Dillard's who seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the possibility of ditching work and heading to CA.

Just yesterday, I told Joshua we were going to California and were were going to see Thomas in TWO days. "No, Mom. In a couple weeks."

Much to J How's surprise ... we'll be hitting the road tomorrow.

So ... what's going on around here as we prepare to see THOMAS?
First, a little supervised MIRROR drawing. A pain to wipe off the mirrors but oh so much fun! And ... a little mimicking of mom's face when I walked into the room to see How teaching Eli how to climb into the toys and crawl up on the car.
Yep ... obviously the chat about cars staying on the ground went over real well ...
And then ... I decided it was time to vacuum out the goop in our car and managed to grab a sock (or 2) in the process ... and fill a large plastic tub with other odds and ends. I like to think of my car as a second closet!
Ahhh ... and then the packing. And laundry and more packing! Not only are we going to see Thomas but Ben's sister is getting married. That requires much wardrobe planning and trying on.

I can't wait to get to CA because I ordered a fancy new camera that was shipped to my in-law's house!

And ... in other big news ... I'm an AUNT! My brother and sister-in-law had a baby boy yesterday! Robert Howard Coleman was born on my grandma's birthday! Such a fun present! We're 3-0 in the family ... WE LOVE BOYS!

Off to finish packing.

Halloween 2008 ...