Photos Much Over Due

These are my favorite photos from our photo shoot with Sonya. I was extremely pleased with how well they turned out. I can't wait to do another shoot, hopefully outdoors next time. The first one is my absolute favorite of all. Thanks Sonya, I'm sorry it took me so long to post them.

"Normal" Stuff

Joshua had an appointment today with the pediatrician. He did great! He weighed 18 pounds 3 ounces which was up 2 pounds from his 4 month appointment. He also gained two inches and is now 28 inches long. He got a couple of shots, cried for just a minute and then went back to chattering happily. His doctor said it was fine to start giving him whatever food we really wanted to give him. He said to stay away from nuts, eggs and honey until at least one year, but we're free to give him any soft table foods that he will eat and we want to give him. Things like mashed potatoes, smashed fruits and veggies, yogurt, ice cream, etc.. Plus he said it's fine to start giving him Cheerios and that kind of thing. I need to head out and get him a box of those!! I love his doctor. He's not the kind of doctor who just reads the "doctor manual" and spits out what it says, he actually uses the years of experience he has to tell you what works and what's really best for your child. I love that. We've been really blessed with the medical team that has surrounded us lately. We've had this same pediatrician for awhile and I've always loved his style. But we've had surgeons and doctors dealing with Joshua's care that I have just loved also. His main surgeon is incredible. I just sent him a little email the other day with a picture of Joshua in Mickey ears and he was so kind in his response. He really is a good guy.

Tonight we had a nice family night out. We went to Pizza Tower for dinner and then went to the park to play. I am really enjoying the weather lately. I'm ready for spring! Joshua went down a slide (with his siblings help) and swung in the baby swing for the first time. The park was empty for most of the time we were there, so we just ran around like we owned it!!

The homeschool convention is coming up in about 3 weeks. I am so excited. One of the speakers that I loved two years ago will be here again this year and I can not wait to see him again. He was really the beginning point of the transformation in my way of thinking about what schooling means to me and my family. I can't wait to see what else he has to say. I get so energized at the convention. Homeschooling parents are such a minority and it's so nice to be surrounded by like minded families, even if it's just for a few days. It's nice to know you're not the only one.

The last two nights, we've watched the International Space Station fly by. It's really kind of cool. It looks like a star that moves across the sky in a minute or two. It doesn't flash or blink, so it's easy to tell it's not an airplane. When it gets to a certain point in the sky, it loses it's sunlight reflection and seems to "go out". I think that's the coolest part. It's supposed to do it one more time tomorrow night between 8:11 and 8:17pm, but I think it's going to be cloudy tomorrow, so we probably won't be able to see it.

We've also been watching Molly the barn owl as she eagerly awaits the birth of her owlets. You can see the live cam here. Isn't she cute?? Oh and I heard a man fishing found a nest of bald eagles a couple of miles from our house here. It's pretty rare to have a nest here. That's pretty cool.

I've finally gotten back into couponing. I'm doing it a little differently though. I just don't have the time to clip coupons right now, so instead of buying newspapers every week, I go to couponclippers.com and order the coupons I want. I end up spending right about the same amount I'd spend on newspapers every week, and I only get the coupons I want, in the amount I want and the best part is that they're already clipped for me!! I went to Kroger yesterday (they're having one of the mega sale things) and my order was 57 before sale and coupons and I walked out paying only $11! My coupon box has shrunk a lot, but it works for me right now. I'm happy to be back on the wagon saving money at the grocery again. When things were so crazy around here, I was lucky to actually make it to the grocery store, let alone worry about couponing. Now I'm back to where I want to be!

Our house is sooo beautiful!! Well, it was beautiful when we first got home from vacation anyway. We got the whole downstairs interior painted and I love it so much. It was a Christmas present from my parents and we ended up splitting the costs to make sure we could the trim, ceilings and everything done. I am so thrilled. We've lived in this house almost 6 years now and it feels so good to have the downstairs finally "done". I'm working to get everything put back away, but I had forgotten how hard it is to get things done with a baby in the house!! Especially this baby, because he sure does love his Mama!! I cut him some slack though, because we both missed out on a lot of mommy/baby snuggle time when he was in the hospital for 105 days. The housework will get done eventually, maybe when he's 10!! I am hoping to get a lot done this weekend. I should be rested up because tonight is my night off from overnight baby care. Daddy does Friday night to give me a break. I actually don't mind getting up with him. I love cuddling him at night, but it is nice to get a full night's sleep.

I guess you could say life is just normal now. I could not be more happy with normal. Oh, and here's a tip. If you haven't already, you need to go out and buy some Wal-Mart brand (Great Value) peach sherbet. It's about 2.83 or something like that, but it's so good, I'd pay 5 bucks for it!! Trust me you won't be disappointed!! (Thanks Dad!!). Also, if you have a cell phone that doesn't include a camera, may I implore you to reconsider that. I was one of those people who for so long said I have a camera to take pictures and all I need a phone for is to make calls. Then one day my husband convinced me I needed to get an Iphone. He couldn't have been more right!! Without that camera, I would've missed pictures of: Joshua's first smile, Abby and Noah at Meijer's "pumpkin patch", Abby and Noah on Big Thunder Mountain in Disney, Joshua's first ride in a shopping cart and first visit to the park. Maybe I would've gotten over not having those pictures, but I'm so glad I was able to get them. All of the pictures in this post were taken with my phone. Just something to think about.

A Synopsis of Our Disney Trip - March 2010

When we arrived in Disney, it was chilly.
Joshua's first ever ride was the parking tram!!
I was overcome with joy, and even shed a few tears when I first saw the castle!

Ok, so Joshua's first REAL ride was Peter Pan.

He eventually rode all he was big enough for!

The weather was pretty nice, not too hot or cold.

The kids swam in the pool a lot!!

The pool was heated, so even on the chilly nights we could swim, that was nice.

The pool was themed about an ancient city and had a huge Mayan pyramid and a jaguar slide - very cool!

I carried the baby in the sling as much as I could. We both enjoy that.

Abby got to meet her favorite character - Jessie!

Joshua met Mickey and Minnie together in Mickey's house.

Joshua was wearing a Mickey outfit that Minnie loved.

We found out that Joshua loves to touch the characters noses!!

We had lots of great meals.
At many of our meals, we also got to spend time with characters.

We had an awesome early morning safari.

We saw elephants, cheetahs, lions, flamingos, crocodiles and a pregnant giraffe to name a few.
The safari is my favorite ride in all of Disney.

We had lots of fun interaction with the characters.

Joshua slept through a lot of it, but we got pictures!!

Abby has become the family daredevil.

She rode Everest with me, the Tower of Terror with Daddy and many others.
She rode the Rock n Roller Coaster for the first time (Noah rode that too).

Both kids rode the "mountains" of the Magic Kingdom.

Daddy and I love riding the big rides with the kids, it's so much fun.

Joshua wore a lime green Dumbo shirt while riding a lime green Dumbo.

That matching stuff makes me happy!!

We saw Remi from Ratatouille at the french restaurant in EPCOT.

It was really cute and funny as he reacted to us at our table.
Even Joshua was interested (can't you tell?).

The Flower and Garden Show began at EPCOT began while we were there.
We loved strolling around and looking at the beautiful topiaries.
Someone gave us their pink Mickey balloon because they couldn't take it on rides!

We stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort.

The grounds at our hotel were just stunning.

Our room was on the top floor facing the water, the view was gorgeous.
We could see EPCOT and Disney Studio's nighttime shows from our window.

Noah is always ready for some audience participation.

This time he had a turn driving our Jungle Cruise.

He is never shy about that stuff, I love that about him!

Abby always looks for nuts or acorns to give Chip & Dale.

They are always gracious receivers!!

We got to meet the characters from Up for the first time!

Our last day was at EPCOT.

I loved this picture with Joshua and the "big ball"!!

Our little viking family!!

We can't leave without our yearly viking photo in the Norway pavilion.

Well, that's about it. It was a long trip but lots of fun. On both ways we stopped in Atlanta (we drove). On the way in, we spent the night with Steve's family. It was so nice to see them. On the way home we stopped to eat lunch at the Varsity which is a drive-in we've seen on many Food Network and Travel Channel shows. We're not sure when we're going to go again. Only time will tell I guess!