2 1/2 going on 16

Look at this little man! :)

(photo courtesy of Debbie Welch)

Easter & A Vacation

10 days before Easter, I told Josiah about the trip we would be going on after church and lunch with my family.  Well he was so excited and kept asking if it was Easter yet, so I had to make him a little daily countdown so he'd know when it was time to go.  Just Josiah and I went with my cousin Amy, and her son, John (a.k.a:  Josiah's best friend) to Massanutten with my Aunt Jeanie and other cousin Alexis.  Amy & I drove together with the two boys (2 1/2 & 4) Sunday afternoon.  What should have been a 4-5 hour trip ended up taking more like 6 due to terrible traffic and multiple potty/food/missing 1 boy's Happy Meal toy stops.  We thought for sure they would nap in the car, but nooo... Although I understand they were cooped up for a long time and overtired, Amy & I were ready to pull our hair out by the time we finally got to the mountains!  Josiah ended up falling asleep at 7:30 in the car... and got to sleep about 30 minutes before we arrived and of course he was too excited to stay asleep and go straight to bed.  Oh well, it was vacation. 

The next morning, we made breakfast and then took the boys to a couple of the playgrounds at the Resort.  They burned lots of energy and came home and napped well after lunch.  Then we got to go to the indoor waterpark.  Josiah was soooo excited since we had been there a few months ago.   He loved riding on the intertube with me in the Lazy River, wearing his "goo-goo-goggles" so the water wouldn't get in his eyes, swimming in the pools.  And then I did what I can't believe I did.  We had walked up to the smallest of the big slides, and I asked the lifeguard if Josiah could ride down with me and he said no, but then he said that he could go by himself, but he had to take his lifevest off.  Well, knowing how he hates getting water in his face and how timid he can be with slides at regular parks if they're new,  I didn't think he'd even want to, but I asked anyway.  And he said yes!  So, since Amy & John were on another ride, I sent my 2 1/2 year old down this big, fast waterslide all by himself.  And as I saw him turn the first curve, he got flipped over and that dumb 16 year old lifeguard wouldn't let me go down to get him until he was all the way off at the bottom.  I couldn't see the rest of the slide, but I could see the little landing part, and to my surprise, he just got up, stood there wiping his eyes and waited for me.  And he was so excited when I asked him about it!  He definitely had fun!

The next day, we went to Safari Park which is about 1 1/2 hrs away near Natural Bridge.  It was the craziest thing I've ever experienced.  You buy buckets of animal feed and then drive all through the property and llamas, camels, deer, ostriches, zebras, buffalo, and all kinds of animals just come right up to your window and eat out of your bucket.  HILARIOUS and soooo worth it with little kids.  Josiah loved it.  We weren't supposed to feed the zebras, but before we knew it, one came to our window, stuck his head in and we were freaking out!  So Amy threw some feed out on the ground to get him out so we could drive away!  It was the craziest thing to have these huge wild animals sticking their heads in my car!  Afterwards there was a great petting zoo too and the boys just loved it. 

The next day we planned to drive home, and then I had a great idea.  It wasn't exactly on the way, but we decided to drive across the state to IKEA!  Amy & I both love shopping there, and we knew that if we made it there by lunchtime, we could eat there and also, they have a kids' playplace where you can drop the kids off while you shop!   Perfect!  It made for a long day, but thankfully the boys had fun, we had fun shopping and then they crashed for most of the ride home. 

What happened???

Since he was 9 months old, Josiah has been an amazing sleeper. He hasn't woken up in the middle of the night ever (except that one time at Grandma's house that he told her he needed to go potty at 3am). He loves his bed and has been taking a 3 hour nap daily. He has actually NEVER gone an entire day without a nap... EVER....Until today. Even if he didnt nap at the normal time, he has always crashed by 4pm. Today he sang and talked for two hours during naptime... Then played hard at Chick-Fil-A, and I thought after a bath and getting in bed at 8:15, he would crash instantly.. But no, he is in there singing away! Where did my awesome sleeper go??? :(. Oh and did I mention he also has an ear infection and bad allergies? Why oh why is he not asleep?!

Still reading?

Three posts in one night?! I'll try to keep this one short :) just a little of what we've been up to:

1. I've been picking up Josiah's cousin, John, from school a couple evenings a week and he spends a few hours with us. The boys have been having such a blast together! They are 18 months apart... The same as me and my sister... And its fun to know they'll grow up together!

2. Danielle and I did another freezer cooking day on Saturday. This time we made lots of breakfast meals (baked oatmeal, pancake & sausage muffins, whole-wheat/flax Belgian waffles), toffee nut and chocolate chip cookie dough balls, a ton of empanadas, plus 14 dinner meals each! It was a rather relaxing day and I'm really excited about trying everything!

3. I made another wreath today. Just wanted something a little brighter for Spring.. But the other one will definitely come back out in August for football season.

4. I gave Mike a haircut and I love it! I never knew how good he could look almost bald but he wears it really well! :).

A first time for everything...

So I love food, right? I love to buy food. I love to cook food. I love to read about food. And more than anything, I love to eat food. I do NOT like diets! I have little experience with dieting because I've rarely even been committed enough to try... I think the most I've ever done was make it through 5 days of the 7 day cabbage soup diet back in high school! So when I was browsing through popular apps to put on my iPhone, I haphazardly installed one called My Fitness Pal. I decided to just see how many calories my typical food added up to (not intending at all to change what I was eating). Well... I realized that I had used up my recommended calories for the day by lunchtime!!! Holy cow! I knew I wasn't eating light intentionally, but I didn't realize quite how bad I was! Shame on me!!

I linked up with a few friends that use the app and got Mike on board too, and for the last three weeks, we have been doing great! I've lost 6 pounds and although I'm still not real excited about exercising, I have been doing more than I was... And Mike is a great motivator because he is so disciplined... It almost makes me mad but really I'm just jealous :)

Sooo... There's my little unpaid plug for My Fitness Pal. :). Because if it can motivate ME, then I promise you, it can help anyone!

Isn't it Ironic? Dontcha think?

Now that you all have Alanis Morisette stuck in your heads... On to my point :) After my last post, Josiah had two daytime accidents (after almost 4 months of none) and then he sang and played in his bed for two hours instead of napping and the next day, Mike found him out of bed, playing in the dark during naptime. Well... I guess he is normal afterall. :). Hopefully those won't become the norm... Sleep or not, he is going to have quiet time in his room until he is at least 5! At least that's my plan! :)