Monday, March 23, 2009

The Delicious-ness of Spring Break

Josh is on spring break this week, and it's already been soooo nice. This morning we went to the park to play, which is something very normal for Howie and Mama to do alone, but Josh got to come this time!! It was marvelous. Howie has discovered the bouncy horses at Heman Park and is completely obsessed with him. There are two of them in the park, one behind the other, and Josh put him on the front one this morning and Howie went to town bouncing. He's at the stage where he has definite ideas about what he wants to say but doesn't always know how to say it in a way that we'll understand, so it quickly became clear that Howie was dissatisfied by the wrinkled face and the "oohs" and other noises. Then comes the next step in this process: try to figure out what he's saying. I ran through a typical list before figuring out that he wanted Josh to ride the other horse behind him. (He's learned how to say yes and no, not with words, but with full-body shakes- it's really funny) So Josh got on the other bouncy horse behind Howie and the two of them rode off into the sunset. (metaphorically speaking)

Ahh, the simple joys of spring break.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Slow Blogging Month

The past 5 weeks (which I think is what it's been since I've blogged) have been pretty crazy!! I'll give you some updates on what's been going on...

1. I have a beautiful new nephew!! Pax Nathan Carlile was born Friday Feb. 27, and he is just as sweet as can be. I went to see Marnie, Chris, and Pax in Texas shortly after his birth with Howie in tow- yes, that's right- we drove. It was one heck of a long (and at times painful because of a toddler in the car) drive, but worth every second to hold my precious new nephew! He is growing bigger and doing great. He and Howie have paci love in common already- I'm sure that they'll be great friends.

2. Josh has been busier than ever with school! He's up to his neck in school work, so somehow that makes me busier as well. He's really enjoying his classes but they're kicking his butt.

3. The weather here has been GORGEOUS!! Therefore Howie and I have been outside as much as possible. We reopened the sandbox, and Howie has loved digging in there with his friends. He's discovered sidewalk chalk in the last week or so, and he loves drawing on anything outside now. We've all been having a blast walking to the swings, reconnecting with neighbors we hadn't seen much over the winter, and just getting rid of our winter blues. I'm so happy it's warmer.

4. I've been making preparations for my garden! I've started celery, onion, and broccoli seeds indoors in little yogurt cups and I've been trying to take good care of them so we can transplant them outside in a little bit. I know next to nothing about gardening but it's just fun to see what happens when you put seeds in. I've got big plans to grow lots of stuff!! I'm most excited about watermelons, which is definitely my fruit obsession!!! Josh was digging today to get the soil ready, so I'm looking forward to getting dirty out there in just a little while.

5. I participated in my first consignment sale this weekend!! I've gone to lots of consignment sales as a shopper, but this time I actually sold some baby/kid stuff that we didn't need and it's the best feeling to see it go home with someone else!! It's good to remove it from your house and also make some money.

6. I've been busy trying to keep up with Howie!! He is changing so fast right now and turning into a full-blown toddler right in front of our eyes. He is so much fun and makes me laugh all the time. He's always on the go so I have to reserve energy for caring for him.

I hope that the beginning of spring finds you all well!