Halloween #3 (Last one) :)

So here's the video of Josiah holding Katie's hand.  :)  He did it all on his own...how cute is that?!

Halloween #2

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween, but how could I resist the chance to put Josiah in a cute costume and take lots of pictures?  :)  Yes, he was a Tootsie Roll!  Hopefully he won't hate me for it later... but we couldn't help it... he was so stinkin' adorable!  We spent the afternoon with our friends Melissa, John & baby Katie, and then headed over to hang out with our Care Group friends.  Josiah was very happy to see his little princess friend, Katie today... he smiled at her and actually reached out and grabbed her hand... (video to come)!  Uh oh!  Watch out... he's movin' fast! Here are a few pictures of them today:

Halloween #1

Today I had just finished feeding Josiah and I had to sneeze... which I expected to startle him... instead, he thought it was the funniest thing ever.  This is the most he's ever laughed... it was so contagious!  (Excuse the wobbly camera view, I was holding him in one hand and the camera-phone in the other!)

Our Big Boy!

No wonder he likes watching football so much... Our 6 Month Old 3 Month Old just might be a future linebacker!  He weighs 18 lbs 8 oz!!!  Holy cow!  I was guessing 17 lbs, but wow!  So yeah, he's definitely off the charts... although he is about 26" long too, so he's just a big boy all around! 

We had him at the pediatrician's office today after a rough night and morning.  His reflux started getting worse over the last week (he's been arching his back and turning away during feedings) but the poor thing was really hurting last night.  After just an hour or two of serious fussing/screaming/crying, Mike and I looked at each other and said "can you believe he was like that so much during his first 6 weeks?!"  He's been such a happy, mellow baby for the last 2 months, that we kinda forgot how hard that was!   Anyway, he's started a new medicine and today she recommended that we thicken his bottles with baby oatmeal (rice cereal is constipating... and that's the last thing we need to add to the mix right now).  This afternoon he's felt much better and was back to his happy self, and hopefully it'll continue.

This boy is going to outgrow his carseat, swing, bouncy chair and more before he's 6 months old!  :)  According to his doctor, babies do grow the fastest during their first 4 months, so he'll likely start slowing down in a few weeks.  :)   He is becoming so coordinated and so interested in everything.  He loves grabbing and playing with anything we put in front of him.  And he loves to sit up or stand so he can check everything out!

The Day Has Come

Most of you know how much I have wanted to quit my job at CBN, long before I was even pregnant. I have worked there for 2 years and have basically been frustrated with it for a year and a half.  Don't get me wrong, I know what the economy is like, and I'm certainly grateful that God provided me with a source of income for the last two years.  But until about 3 months into my pregnancy when I finally realized I had to either quit or learn to cope, I used to come home in tears at least once a week, and was so stressed out, angry and frustrated on a daily basis.  I won't go into all the details, but let's just say I've never been so perplexed by leadership that could refuse to improve their department, could ignore employees who wanted to go above and beyond, and who could waste resources so selfishly.  It used to really really stress me out.  But then I finally realized that it was wearing me down too much, and I was either going to have to quit, or I'd have to just learn to deal with it until I was able to quit later.  Well, with a baby on the way, we needed the extra income, so I swallowed my pride, took on a bit of a "whatever" attitude and managed to survive another 9 months.  Going back 2 days a week during my extended maternity leave was definitely manageable, but I knew I'd never go back full-time.

So since they aren't willing to work with me in a part-time capacity (surprise, surprise), today was my last day.   It's a very delayed sigh of relief.   It'll definitely be a stretch for us until we sell our house, but we've been planning for this and we're trusting God to continue to provide for us.  I really am excited about being able to stay home with Josiah full-time.  I know in this "day & age" it's definitely not the norm to make it on one income, but it's something we feel led to do, and while it will require a lot of sacrifices, we're excited about it.  I'm definitely up for doing some creative odds & ends to earn extra money, but now I'll only have one full-time job:  taking care of Josiah and Mike.  :)  Pray for us as we get ready to list our house again.  We're dropping the price a bit and hoping that this time we'll have more luck. 

A Day with Friends & Family

Josiah got to see two cousin Amy's today! My cousin & Mike's cousin both came over to see him. 

And in between their visits, we went over to Senneca's house to deliver her baby gifts from work, and boy did Lyric & Josiah have fun together.  Lyric just loved him to death and Josiah just watched Lyric's every move.  Lyric kept bringing him toys, and hugging him and kissing him on the forehead.  He wished Josiah could walk & talk with him, but even though of course he can't do that yet, it didn't stop Lyric from playing with him:  He even put these Mickey Mouse hands on Josiah - haha!   He didn't want us to leave, it was so adorable.  Lyric is going to be a great big-brother to little Lenox.  

Could it be?

Could I finally be free to leave my ridiculous job?  Tomorrow morning is the big day:  The day I tell my boss that I'm willing to keep working part-time, but I'm not coming back full-time. My FMLA time runs out Monday, so Tuesday is the last day they have to let me work part-time.  I'm really not sure what will come of it.  They'd be pretty stupid to let me quit right now, considering that Senneca just left for her maternity leave and Christy would be the only Project Specialist left.  But frankly, they don't have a track record of making wise/reasonable decisions.  I'm really okay with whichever way it goes.  If it weren't for the fact that we could use some extra income while we wait for our house to sell, I wouldn't even consider staying.  I'd love to be able to stay home and take care of Josiah everyday.  But the two days-a-week schedule isn't so bad and it's much more profitable than any other part-time work I could look for.  So we'll see what happens. I doubt I'll have an answer tomorrow... considering we've still been waiting over a year for a revised job description!!  But they'll have to let me know by Tuesday... because no matter what, I'm not coming in on Wednesday!