I Jinxed it

I KNEW better!!!  I wrote that post about Josiah being this amazing sleeper, and then he woke up at 5:20 the last two mornings!   Little stinker.

Thankful for Friends :)

After Josiah was born, we quickly found that it was really tough to make it to our care group.  Care group was at 7pm, and that definitely wasn't his best time.  We loved our friends and hated to get disconnected from them, so for several months, we just didn't go.  Then we realized we really needed more frequent connection and encouragement from other Christian families, so we decided we should try a new group that met at a better time for our family.  

We've really enjoyed getting to know most of the young families at church through this new group, and it's been a blessing to be around other families with young kids.  Even though we are the same age as everyone in the group, we often feel like the youngest because we are one of the only families with just one kid.  Most have 3, or at least have a 3rd on the way.  So it's chaotic, but it's nice to know you're not the only ones who can't do everything and who don't get to go out every weekend, or who are just in that season of life where it's definitely not about you.   It's fun, and it's neat to see Josiah interact with other children.  Now our group is bursting at the seams and we're praying about how to manage it.  With over 20 children under age 6, the adults are outnumbered and it's definitely a struggle to have uninterrupted time to allow for Bible study, prayer and open sharing, so we will surely split soon.  Mike and I would love to step in and lead a group, but at the same time, we are in such a state of transition and we're not sure how long we'll even be here.  But we are here now, so we'll see... we're praying about it. 

Anyway, it's a blessing.  The friendships we have made definitely push us closer to Christ and challenge us to want to know Him more and to work at loving each other better.

Dare I Jinx It?

For the last couple of months, Josiah has been sleeping like a champ!  His typical day is this:

• Wake-up @ 7:00.
• Nap @ 9:00 for 2 hours.
• Nap @ 2:30 for 2 hours.
• Go to bed at 7:30.

He's averaging around 15 hours of sleep a day!  I think he's making up for the first few months of his life, and believe me, I am NOT complaining!   It still shocks me every time he naps more than 2 hours because it seemed like he was a 40-minute napper for sooooo long!  I'm sure our move might throw him off for a few days, but I sure hope he keeps this schedule for as long as possible!   He may sleep a lot, but he is active enough when he's awake that he makes up for it! :) 

Home Sweet Home

Well, we move out in 18 days... but who's counting?   Although we have had the possibility of moving in our heads for 3 years now, I think I am finally ready.  Anytime we've had people come look at our house, it's been kinda hard for me to imagine not living here.  This house does hold a lot of sentimental significance for me over the last 4 1/2 years:

• it was the first real place of my own
• it is the first house I ever bought
• it was where my sister and I were roommates for about a year (and we painted, renovated, redecorated every inch of it with the help of great friends that first year)
• it was where I spent thousands of hours talking on the phone with Mike when we "dated" long-distance
• it was where he first kissed me
• it was where he proposed
• it was our first home together as a married couple
• it is the only home Josiah has ever known

So it's not just a house... it's our home.  And it's FULL of great memories.  But that being said, as Josiah has grown from a baby to a toddler and he bonks his head on the pretty laminate floors and I cringe as he comes toddling around the glass top tables, and every time we put a leash on Shelby to take her out to go potty for the hundredth time, and our yard isn't really "our" yard so we can't have a swingset or fun outdoor toys for Josiah, or I ride through a neighborhood with kids playing outside and wish we had that... it helps me let go.  It's not that I haven't loved our condo, but we're ready for something more family-friendly.  It's definitely harder to get excited when we can only see what we're letting go of, and we don't yet know what is next, but we are trusting that God is leading us and we know that the best is yet to come.  

Party Time

I have been excited about planning Josiah's first birthday party since he was born!  I know he may not have totally understood what was going on and he may not exactly remember it, but I know he had a really fun day and he can look back at pictures and see how excited we were to celebrate him!  

At first, I struggled to come up with a theme because when I started planning several months ago, he wasn't exactly "into anything."  But I came across this adorable "Little Red Car" idea on a blog and I just loved the color scheme so I decided on it.  Well literally within days, Josiah's fascination with cars began!  He LOVES cars!  He is often found crawling with one car in each hand or standing up at the couch and letting them "race" & "crash" off the sides.  He says his version of "vroom vroom" and his face lights up when he sees his cars. 

So here's a little party recap, for anyone interested!

The invitations (6x9 flat cards from printed by vistaprint.com): 

The cake and cupcakes (design by Pizazzarie, baked & decorated by Christy Johnson):

The Birthday Boy with his cute color-coordinated cars outfit that my mom found!:

The Decorations: Red, White & Baby Blue.... balloons, streamers & homemade birthday banners:

The Menu: 

Hotdogs

Chicken Skewers

Potato Salad

Baked Beans

Squash Casserole

Chips & Cheetos

Lemonade, Water & Blue & Red Kool-aid Coolers

The entertainment:

The Treats:

Treat bags for each child had stickers (I designed and had printed on vistaprint.com) that said "Vroom.. Vroom.. Let's Play Again Soon! ~ Josiah" & a "Fill Up Station" full of red & blue candy to take home. 

What it was all about:

Josiah's First Year

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Josiah turns ONE on Tuesday and we had lots of fun celebrating his birthday this weekend! (pictures/party details to come soon)  It was so hard to narrow down a year's worth of memories into a five minute slideshow, but here is a little recap of the fun we've had with our sweet little man who makes us laugh every single day and is always 100% boy (well...except when he hands me my makeup and brushes my hair while I get ready in the morning....but that's just because he doesn't know any better and I need to keep him entertained so I can get ready... haha!)   

Feeding the Whole Family

I've gotten in a bit of a rut with meals lately and I think it's largely due to the fact that I need some new recipes or ideas to feed the whole family.  Josiah loves to eat our food, but a lot of the things I used to cook for just Mike and I aren't quite right for him yet.  (We tend to eat a lot of spicy foods, mexican, or sometimes meats that he doesn't have enough teeth yet to chew up.)  I'm also much more conscious of feeding Josiah only healthy, balanced meals... so I hesitate to give him a casserole or something we might eat that's probably not good for any of us!  Actually, I think this will be good for Mike and I too if I focus on preparing meals that all 3 of us can eat. 

So I need your suggestions!!!  What are some healthy family meals that you fix -- that would work for a one-year-old who mostly eats what he can pick up with his fingers!  He's quickly getting tired of me feeding him with a spoon and prefers to try it himself, but that's obviously a big mess... so most of the time I give him simple finger foods like chicken, cheese, peas, pasta, brocolli....etc.