Ho Ho Ho!

Merry Christmas Family and Friends! Here are a few pictures from our Christmas Eve and Christmas morning in Ashland.

On Christmas Eve, Will reads a pop-up book of The Night Before Christmas by Robert Sakuda. It started out as a picture perfect reading experience.


But quickly it turned into a "Oh Boy! A new book to eat!" session by Josie.




Then we put cookies and milk out for Santa and a celery stalk for his reindeer.


On Christmas morning, Santa brought Marshall a new sled.


Josie got some new dolls.


And Daddy and Mommy got some fire extinguishers for the next time we go camping.


Nana and Papa sent a whole bunch of clothes and toys from Massachusetts too!


It was a wonderful Christmas! We hope you all had a wonderful holiday! God Bless Us Everyone!

Adventures in Ashland

We've been having a ball here in Ashland with Grandma, Grandpa, and Double G! Marshall and Josie are loving all the extra adult entertainment....well most of it. Sometime when Marshall gets out of his element, he gets a little cranky. He is currently having a tantrum in the family room by himself. But, hey, that gives me some time to post some pictures on the blog. It's a win-whine situation.

We set up Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas Tree, including the train that runs along the bottom (big hit with the three year old crowd).


At Grandma and Grandpa's house, the kids take baths together. They both absolutely love it. Josie adores anytime she gets to spend with her older brother. Poor Marshall, when she starts to be able to move on her own, there's going to be a lot of tagging along.


We went to Jacksonville to see the Victorian Christmas. We rode in a horse drawn carriage. The horses were Tom and Kurt. Marshall loved that. Then we went out to lunch at the Bella Union Saloon. Marshall loved that even more. He's really big into "a hot dog with a piece of bread on it" lately. He uses the bread first as a holder for the hot dog (not actually eating the bread) and then as a second course of the meal. It's quite a production.


And finally, our Jo Jo is getting to spend a little quality time with the Original Joe.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Sorry I haven't written in a while! It's been hectic around here trying to get ready for Christmas! I've been packing and baking and wrapping like crazy because we were supposed to leave for my parents' house in Oregon today. But Mother Nature had different plans. There's about 4 inches of beautiful snow here on the ground in Shoreline. Now for our loved ones back east, you are probably thinking this is nothing. However, snow removal isn't quite as efficient out here in Washington. We don't actually get that much snow during a winter season. Anyway, the local roads are not safe and to get to my parents' we have to go through quite a few mountain passes and chains are required. So now after all that hustle and bustle, I have a pleasant calm. It's delightful. I actually loved being snowed in. It forces me to slow down and enjoy winter.

I'll post some more pictures this evening, but in the mean time, here is a link to my friend Erin's blog where she has a couple adorable pictures of Josie the Hulk. (Wait until you see Josie compared to her 4 month old Hazel.) http://erinzackey.blogspot.com/2008/12/twins.html

Go Navy, Beat Army!

Today was the Army/Navy Game, and the kids were all decked out!

I love this picture. It is so Marshall. He has a thing with loud noises.

(I swear they were both looking at the camera and smiling but the lighting was off and it took the camera too long to take the picture.)

Roid Rage....

So I wanted to post a picture so that you all could see that, thanks to steriods and antibiotics, Josie is getting back to normal. However, she lifted up the couch all by herself the other day....just kidding. :) But we are waiting for a terrible temper tantrum. (Isn't that what steriods are supposed to do?) So far, even-tempered, generally happy baby remains. No updates yet on the medical front.

Josie Update

So here's the latest on our little leopard......

Last night when I was getting her dressed for bed I noticed that some of the spots were turning more into bruises under her arms and on her legs. I called the doctor's office and she had us go to the emergency room. So Josie, happy as a clam, and I headed off to the emergency room. They took some blood (boy was that difficult....the evening lab technicians were not used to working with babies and it was hard on everyone. They felt bad, I felt bad, Josie barely cried....go figure.) and ruled out a potential blood clotting problem. But they found out that she might have a urinary tract infection....WHAT? How does a 7 month old get a urinary tract infection? After 5 hours in the ER we were able to go home. (Which was a super relief because I overheard them trying to arrange a bed for her at the hospital and I was really hoping we wouldn't have to spend the night there.)

So while we wait for the culture on her urine to come back (results on Saturday probably), she is a heavily medicated baby. Antibiotics, mild steriod to reduce the spots, and Benadryl....all of these, mind you, have different dosing and time frame requirements. I just had to go write it all out to figure out when I will be giving Jo Jo her medicines.

So that's where we are right now. We will be going to an allergist to figure out if it is allergy related. I think it's a virus that is looking like a UTI. But we will be waiting for those results too. In the meantime, Josie is loving all the attention and is playing the role of easy going baby. Hilarious. You would think my high maintenance girl would be extra fussy during all of this, but it's like the spots have an opposite effect. Either that or she gets to be held all the time and that keeps her ultra happy. :) I'll keep everyone posted if there are any new developments.

The Red Spots are Coming, The Red Spots are Coming!

So the red spots (more like blotches) are back. They came on last night, and THIS is what she looked like this morning.

It's hard to see in the pictures but she had blotches all over her arms and back and head. When I went to get her first thing in the morning, her right eye was almost swollen shut, but it went down some. Clearly, it didn't seem to be bothering her in the least. She was all smiles and practicing her new "word" : dadadada.

I brought Josie to the doctor (again) this morning and she said it's most likely allergies. So the first thing we are trying is peanuts. That's something I eat that could be effecting her. And I don't eat it every day which might explain the disappearing/reappearing spots. Ay ay ay! I just hope it's not dust or pet dander. Because then we will have BIG problems.

"Josie! You are a princess!"

Josie was baptized this Sunday. It was a lovely day with both sets of grandparents, her godparents Sarah and Chris Daniels, and Chris and Blair Carter. Her other set of godparents, Chris and Carey, were sending lots and lots of love in from Philadelphia. (I think that's what kept the rain away!)

Josie was beautiful. I mean, beautiful with red spots. On Wednesday, I had the flu with 103.1 fever and everything. But once the fever broke on Wednesday night, I felt much better and I thought we were in the clear since neither of the kids were showing any symptoms. That is until Josie broke out all over in red spots on Friday. Literally. Big red blotches everywhere. Her doctor said that is was just a random virus. Apparently, that's how her body dealt with it. She was a little irritable too (more than usual :)), but she never had a fever. Anyway, the poor girl looked awful. They went down by Sunday, but were definitely still visible. The doctor said to keep her away from small children, but other than that, she was good to go.

So back to the baptism. It was a beautiful service. The Bishop was even there!

After the baptism, the Bishop took Josie around the church to meet the congregation. I was a bit nervous since she was being a little persnickety/momma's girl right before the baptism, but clearly I had no reason to be concerned. We joked that she just needed to get her Miss America wave down pat and she would be good to go.

And everything was going well until Josie decided to take out the Bishop. (She succeeded in getting his portable ear microphone.)

Marshall was the best big brother. I thought he might be a little jealous with all the attention that Josie was getting, but he didn't act out at all. The first time he saw her in her beautiful baptism dress, he said, "Josie! You are a princess!" and he held her hand. What a great big brother!

Grandparent Heaven

Two sets of grandparents to shower attention on us for a whole weekend? Does it get any better than this?

Marshall's Official Third Birthday

While Marshall has believed that he is three for the whole month of November, he officially turned three this past Thursday. On Thursday, he brought in cookies to preschool and got to be THE LEADER. (I didn't even know he knew what it meant to be the leader but when Teacher Connie told him he got to be the leader when the kids were washing hands for snack, boy was he into it. "No, you are not the leader. I am the leader." I think he knows what he wants to be when he grows up now..... :))

On Friday, we had a three year old dinner extravaganza of chicken nuggets, tater tots, and sweet potato fries (I had to put something of nutritional value on the table.) Nana and Papa were here from Massachusetts and Grandma and Grandpa drove up from Ashland. There even was a balloon. (Probably the best thing ever in Marshall's book, excepting the cake.)

I love the look on his face in this one. This boy LOVES him some birthday cake. So I couldn't find the number 3 candle, I could only find the number 1 candle. Will's mom and I were joking that we would just say it's because he's number one. Well, Mr. Big Ears must have heard us because as I was bringing him the cake he shouted,"I'm number one!"

That is his birthday crown from preschool.

My little angel....

So here I am writing about letting go of my preconceived ideas about what Marshall should be, but not even contemplating how I think about Josie. This weekend we went to a baby shower where there was one other baby girl who was 6 months old as well. The other mom and I were sitting on the floor and the girls were sitting with us. My diaper bag was near so I pulled out 3 toys so that the girls could have something to entertain themselves with. As usual Josie sat up for about a minute before deciding that she would rather roll all over the carpet. The other little girl sat nicely and played with Josie's dragonfly. Well, I was talking to the other mother and we look up and Josie has managed to corral ALL 3 toys in her arm space, effectively taking the dragonfly right out of the other baby's hands. Sigh....here I am thinking that because she is a girl AND a second child she will automatically be a better sharer than her brother. But alas, it starts already, at 6 months. I can see the battles between Josie and Marshall already.

In other news, we have decided to move to the Edmonds house in February. We hate to leave our neighborhood, but the idea of a playroom and a master bedroom with ITS OWN BATHROOM is too enticing. We already rented out this house to a cute young couple who are expecting a baby and we are very happy! (At least we will have more space so that when the aforementioned battles occur, I can send each child to their own play place.)

Look at what I can do!

I was just telling Will the other day that I didn't think that Josie was ever going to learn how to sit up by herself because every time I would sit her down on the floor, she would immediately force her way over so she could roll around. (She is quite an efficient roller. She is completely ignoring the baby toys I have put out for her and going straight for Marshall's fire trucks and Little People.)

But lo and behold, this week, she just started sitting up. She's pretty good at it too!

(I love this face! Look at those pursed lips! Check out the incredible Roberts family torso too... :))

Smiling and sitting up is apparently a little difficult. Seconds after I took this picture she fell backwards and clunked her head. Crying ensued.

Peek A Boo!

Josie is totally in love with her brother. Her eyes follow him around the room. She really dislikes being put down to play by herself, but if Marshall is there, she is happy as a clam. Every time she sees him her eyes light up. Car trips without Marshall involve lots of yelling, but when he is there....well, I guess there is still some yelling, but a lot less.

However, up until now, Marshall has had only fleeting moments of recognition that his sister adores him completely. Sure, every morning when she wakes up, he says,"Look who's awake! Isn't she a cute little baby?" And whenever we meet someone new (and they inevitably gravitate to the cute, smiley baby) Marshall says, "Hi! That's my sister, Josie. And this is Mommy. And I am Marshall." But other than that, there's not a lot of interaction. Until he discovered that he can crack Josie up when he plays Peek A Boo. They sit at the table while waiting for dinner and entertain each other and it is soooo sweet. I hope this brotherly affection continues!

Call the Fire Brigade! Marshall's turning 3!

We had a wonderful day at Marshall's 3rd Birthday Party yesterday! It was a lot of fun, but definitely exhausting. Of course, it didn't help that the party was held during what should have been nap time. (It was the only time the room was available.) Our fireman party was modeled closely after preschool, lots of things to do and very few organized activities. Just the way Marshall likes it. The kids had a blast. Will and a friend from work made this amazing bean bag game of a burning house. (Which withstood the 3 year olds, but took a beating from the 4-6 crowd) We also had a firetruck play tent and some tunnels (courtesy of Erin and Quin). The Shoreline Fire Department gave us a 3 year old size fire fighter outfit for pretend play and plastic hats and goodie bags for all the kids! It was a great day. I don't want to brag (but I will). I made a really cool firetruck cake. I think that was Marshall's favorite part. When he came into the room, he grabbed a fork and tried to go at the cake. Will had to put it up high. :)

My favorite part was the spontaneous present opening. We hadn't planned on having a formal present opening time because, with that many little kids, we figured it would be a bad idea. However, I was going to have M open presents on the side and thank people. Well, the minute Marshall started to open his first present from a friend that had to leave early, the kids declared a free for all. Presents were being opened left and right. It was great! I just hope that I can figure out who brought what for the Thank you cards! The pinata was hilarious too. The little kids went first and they weren't making a dent (even without a blindfold). So I told Donna's daughters, Marie (6) and Lindsey (4), to go last and finish it off. HA HA! Will saw his life flash before his eyes. Donna has decided that apparently they need a punching bag at their house to get right of all that pent up aggression. :)

And with all this, Josie was great. I think it helped that there were so many willing arms to be held in. :) (Although you can see from the pictures that she was a little hot. Everyone was. For some reason it was really really HOT in the room. We couldn't figure it out and tried to open up the windows and doors, but we definitely decided that we should have put "Tropical Firefighter Party" on the invites.)

Check out this great slideshow of pictures!

Independent soul

Will came to Marshall's preschool class today. He showed pictures of animals he took on his trips to Africa. I think he was overwhelmed by the crazy two year old energy in the room. It did not help that today it is raining and so outside play was not possible.

He also got to see Marshall in action in a large group of kids for the first time. Marshall is definitely not one of those kids who will sit nicely in the circle and listen to the teacher. He is not a big fan of following group directions. This worried Will a little. Inevitably whenever parents see their child in a group of peers, they are going to start comparing and wondering, "Are we doing a good job? Is he where he is supposed to be?" It worried me a lot at the beginning of preschool too. Marshall is definitely a force to be reckoned with at preschool. He makes his desires known. :) However, he does have his moments of sweetness and sharing. Although he can be aggressive, he is getting much better and really loves to play with the other kids. He's just still figuring out how to do that.

As a parent, it's taken me a bit to come to the point where I accept Marshall just as he is. I am a pleaser. In my head, I always envisioned my child sitting and listening in a group, participating as he is supposed to, and being that "perfect" kid. But that's not who he is. He's an independent guy. He has big ideas and isn't easily swayed. He isn't effected by peer pressure at all. And frankly, I really like that about him. I wish I had a little bit more of that in me. Sometimes it's difficult to parent an independent child, but it's always absolutely fascinating and completely rewarding. I just have to remember to step back and appreciate the positive and not focus on the negative. He is so creative it astounds me. He creates elaborate stories and loves to act scenes out with anything. This morning, he was playing "trains" with the three pieces of his banana peel. He is continually creating conversations with his toys and I think he is talking to me. He is also incredibly observant. He makes me stop everyday to look around and take in everything around me. I learn from Marshall everyday and, while it might be a little less exhausting having a child that followed directions and went along with a group, I wouldn't have it any other way.

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Six Month Stats....

Josie had her sixth month check-up today and here are her new stats. (Boy am I glad we aren't required to post our annual stats. :))

Weight: 18lbs 9 oz. (90%)

Height: 27.5 in. (95%)

Head circumference: 17in. (70%)

So she is slowing down a little (compared to her 97% height and weight at 4 months) and her head is catching up with her body. She did really well and then was completely outraged by the shots again. Luckily, both Marsh and Josie have the ability to get over pain quickly. (Marsh fell off our bed and slammed his cheek into my dresser this weekend. He only cried for a little bit too. Which is surprising considering the large line of bruises he has across his cheek. I swear, CPS is going to take him away one of these days.)

Happy Halloween!

When I was prepping Marshall for the night, he did not want to go out. "Mom, how about I just go to bed?" Then I promised we would walk with a flashlight and he got a little excited. However, when he started ringing doorbells and got candy, it was on. "Mom, you and Josie will go home. Dad and I will go do some more." A good time was had by all. :)

Marshall is an alligator. Josie is a chick hatching from an egg. (I am a lady with a bandana in her hair. All my creative energy was spent by the time it came for adult costumes.)