200th Blog Post

I can't believe I've made it to 200 posts.  What fun it has been watching my family grow!  I've enjoyed going back to look at the pictures, laugh at the stories, and sigh with contentment at how wonderful life is.

I play the Wii game!

A couple days after Grandottie and Jerry Pop left I took the boys back to the dr's office.  This time I had two little boys with 4 rotten ears. I also found out the boys are now 8 1/2 lbs apart.  Joshua was excited because the nurse gave him 3 Toy Story stickers.  He was wearing a Toy Story shirt and when the dr came in he said "Look at my shirt." Then they had a nice conversation about Buzz and Woody and how both characters are both their favorites.  As for Noah, it turns out it is possible to have another ear infection when he just finished his antibiotic 2 days ago for a previous ear infection.  He was not a happy camper!  In time, both my little pumpkins were feeling better.

Silly Monkey! (Thanks Maw-Maw!)

A couple days later I went to Birmingham for a celebration lunch.  A project I worked on was nominated and received the Generation One Team award.  As a bonus, I was able to take the boys to Birmingham for the weekend since the luncheon was on a Friday. They traveled well and we had a great time visiting Grandma, Grandpa, Maw-Maw, and their aunts.  They were spoiled with love and covered with hugs and kisses.  Apparently we had so much fun I forgot to take any pictures.  I'll try to remember next time.  Also Noah turned 6 months old which will get its own posting in a few days.

We ended up staying a few extra days for a sad occasion.  Our dear friends Erin and David lost their beautiful baby, Elizabeth Anne.  Our hearts are broken for them and we continue to pray for them and big sister Sarah Katherine.  We love you!

The rest of February

February has been a busy month for us.  Joshua went to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate his best friend Xavi's birthday. It was fun to watch him light up and run around.  I should note that Joshua now likes to end his bedtime prayers "and God bless Xavi. Amen!" Joshua did end up getting sick (he was questionable in my last blog entry) and going to the dr's office a few days after Noah went for similar symptoms.  He also wound up getting an X-ray and was prescribed steroids and breathing treatments, but unlike Noah, they made Joshua wired. He was cranky, emotional, teary - a pitiful sight to see. Fortunately he bounced back pretty quickly.

I pet the rabbit!

Bump, Bump with JerryPop

A couple days later Grandottie and Jerry Pop came for a visit.  It was great to spend time with them.  We went to the Gulf Breeze Zoo on Saturday and hung out at Pensacola Beach on Sunday.  The Zoo was interesting in that it didn't have many signs so it was hard to know what you were looking at most of the time.  Joshua liked petting a baby rabbit and seemed really impressed by the giraffes which would lean over the fence and eat out of people's hands.  There was a really strange whooping gorilla that was loud and scared Noah.  We had to move him away from that area.

For the first time ever Joshua didn't seem scared by the ocean.  He played in the sand near it and watched the waves crashing without much fuss.  Noah was awake briefly then took a nice nap.  Noah was under an umbrella, wearing a hat, and covered by a blanket except for a small area on his face so he could get fresh air, yet he wound up with a vertical stripe on his face. He wasn't sunburned, you could just tell he got some sun in an unusual pattern.  Joshua did get too much sun on his face (as did his mommy) and I felt terrible about it so I'm packing the sunscreen into the diaper bag for all future excursions.  But really, a sunburn in February???

Valentine's Day

So a lot has happened in February and I'm trying to play catch-up.  I think the reality is that I'll never *really* catch-up but I will keep trying.  So here are a few things my Joshua has been up to.  We took him for a haircut over a week ago and it looks ok.  The bangs are shorter than I like and I can't shake the feeling he looks like young Spock in the most recent Star Trek movie.  Matt and I did try to teach him the Vulcan greeting "Live long and prosper" though it didn't make much of an impression on him.  Joshua correctly picked the Packers to win the Super Bowl.  We don't follow professional football so we didn't care who won.  It was pretty cool that he started saying "Go Packers!" when we asked him who would win the SuperBowl, Packers or Steelers.  He is officially 2 1/2 so here are my guy's stats:
Height: 34 1/2in 11th percentile
Weight: 27 lbs 17th percentile

Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger

One last note about Joshua, his favorite phrase these days is "I do it by myself." Now this can be cute, annoying, time consuming, and impressive given the setting.  I'm sure family will be quick to remind me he comes by it honest, or you reap what you sow, or ha ha ha - you've earned this, so I won't complain.  I'm just trying not to show frustration and add an extra 30 min to whatever activity I'm planning.

This has been a rough week for the Chathams. Daddy, Noah, and Mommy were all sick and went to the doctor at various times.  And Joshua has been questionable, but at present seems ok.  Noah had his first ear infection, a sinus infection, and wheezing.  He's miserable, but the breathing treatments seem to make him feel better or at least wear him out so he'll sleep. One funny surprise was that the nebulizer is shaped like a panda.  The nurse told me "I'll bet you didn't realize you'd be going home with a pet today."

The church had a Valentine's Dinner and silent auction to raise money for the Ecuador Mission Team.  We had a great time at the event which also included baby sitting and we went home with 3 of the items we bid on: a spa certificate, a sonic toothbrush, and a rotate & balance tires certificate.  It was fun to get dressed up and spend time together. Yea for Date Nights!

Pre Hair cut but awfully cute!

Lastly after church we went out to lunch.  On the way Joshua said "Mommy, you an octagon." And he said it with such confidence.  Now I'm not really sure what he means - do I look like an octagon? is my head as big as a stop sign?  But I do know one thing, his favorite shape is an octagon so maybe that was his special way of saying I'm his favorite.

Joshua blessing

Knock, knock...

A couple Joshua stories:

Joshua knows one “joke” which he likes to repeat over and over.  It goes like this:

J: Knock Knock (and he knocks on as imaginary door)

Me: Who’s there?

J: Joshua

Me: Joshua who?

J: Joshua Chatham ha,ha,ha,ha…

Oh and he will say “Knock, Knock…” over and over getting louder until you acknowledge him so the joke can continue.

Joshua still likes talking about Buddy Elf from the Christmas movie Elf.  This morning he kept saying he wanted waffles with syrup for breakfast.  Well there is no way I’m letting him eat syrup in the car so I just told him he could have waffles with syrup and bacon.  As we were driving down the road he started asking for syrup saying “There not syrup on my waffle.  I want waffle *with* syrup.”  So I talked up eating his waffle with pretend syrup and went so far as to hand it back to him and he poured it on his waffle.  I told him to take a big bite which he did and then said “I not taste it. I not like pretend syrup.”  He eventually ate his waffle and bacon sans the syrup.

One last story, recently Joshua was watching Toy Story 2 and got really upset when the other toys started chasing Buzz.  We turned the movie off and daddy consoled Joshua but he keeps bringing it up.  As J was getting ready for bed last night he told me “I not like Toy Story 2.  They chase Buzz.  It makes me cry.  I not like that.”  Matt and I are hoping he forgets about it and we’ll watch it together later.  We’re not talking about it in front of him but he is.

One last important note.  We recently took Noah for some professional pictures.  The link is on the right side of the page.  Check out my handsome boy as well as some pics of some brotherly love.