Happy Easter!

This year we spent Easter with some of our good friends! We had crepes for breakfast, watched a special broadcast for church, and came home and had steaks and shrimp for dinner. Joshua also got to participate in an Easter egg hunt with his favorite friends! We then had a yummy carrot cake for dessert. (It was a little more brown than supposed to be but tasted pretty good for my first attempt!) It was a great day!

Updates on Joshy and Chasers

I know- silly me with the nicknames- I'll try and drop them before they start to embarrass them! Joshua is growing by leaps and bounds! He can actually carry on conversations now and is getting so tall! He has been average on the height charts, but at his last visit, the growth line instead of following the curve went straight up! He will probably be tall like his daddy (which we have guessed from the beginning by the size of his feet!)  Some cute things he has said/done as of late:

The other morning when he woke up he came into our room and said, "I need to go to the store to get some more toys, I just need some more toys, otay?"

He randomly sings Happy Birthday to random people.

Whenever we have flies/bugs in the house he says, "I don't like bugs in my house!" (I wonder where he has heard that?!)

He constantly says to Mike and I, Mommy or Daddy, "I Know you" I'm still trying to figure out what that means- because he does tell us he loves us at other times!

He said his bedtime prayers all by himself tonight!

I can't believe he's going to be 3 in July!!!! We're so thankful he's ours.

AN UPDATE ON CHASERS:

Chase is now walking!!!!! He took a few steps at a time a few months back, but now he is mostly walking without help! We even went and bought him his first pair of outdoor shoes because he LOVES to be outside with all the neighborhood kids pushing his little walker around.

Chase LOVES to eat.

He started pointing just yesterday, and has been pointing and babbling to things he wants. He is very observant of what we are eating and whether or not he has the same thing. Joshua wouldn't eat his dinner tonight and so I gave him a bowl of cereal. Chase noticed immediately and I ended up putting some cereal on his tray as well!

He is in the process of getting his 3rd and 4th teeth. (kinda late- I think?)

He LOVES his brother, Joshua. He is his greatest source of entertainment. 

He is still our happy, smiley, easy-going boy who, for the most part, loves to take his naps and sleep at night (when his teeth aren't bothering him!) We love him so much!

Easter Boys!

This picture of the boys in their Easter best was too cute not to share! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the cute shirts and ties! Joshua didn't want to look at the camera for the family picture- but the flowers in front of our house are sure pretty!

What's been Goin On!

Well I have been terrible about blogging because it involves consistency- which is a trait I will go to my grave trying to master!  We have had an eventful last few months! The boys are GROWING up so fast! Chase will be 1 next month. He cruises along the walls all day long and will take a few steps at a time but always resorts to crawling for efficiency and speed! He waves bye bye, and we think he says "hi" and "all done" He LOVES his brother, Joshua, as he is a great form of entertainment! Joshua continues to amaze us with his vocabulary and insight. He seems to observe and say things far beyond a 2 year old's comprehension- but we are his parents and are probably pretty biased! We have to try and stay 2 steps ahead of him at all times or disaster is sure to ensue. Just recently we took a trip up to the North Shore to Turtle Beach. It is named this because it is a spot where you can see turtles coming in to sun themselves on the beach. It was really neat to see them up close! I always love going up to the North Shore- it is such a beautiful part of the island! We also spent a wonderful day in Waikiki for my birthday this past week. I woke up to a wonderful breakfast and flowers on the table! After my shower, I came down to find a Kitchenaid mixer on the table!!! (something I have been wanting very badly as of late!)After spending a wonderful afternoon at the beach with the boys we ended the day with Cheeseburgers at Cheeseburger in Paradise- downtown Honolulu and birthday cake! It was a great day! I am old- but so happy with what I have been blessed with in life! Life is good! Here are just a few pictures- we just bought a new video camera and we've been taking more video than anything lately- and I will spare you those!!!!

More "Joshua-isms"

Our spirited little Joshua has said so many funny/amazing things over the last several weeks and my mom keeps reminding me to write them down- so here it is for documentation and giggles!

Joshua came running from the kitchen into the living room last week yelling, "Mom the fly is not working!, the fly is not working!", after following him to the place- there surely was a dead fly there. Too cute.

Joshua is my bug catcher (the dead ones) he picks them up with a paper towel and throws them in the trash for me! He gets a kick out of me acting all disgusted by the bugs (which I actually am)

I was scolding Joshua for something not to long ago, and in the midst of my little lecture he yelled right into my face, "Happy Birthday To You!" I  had to laugh at his really good attempt to change the subject!

Speaking of birthdays- he is obsessed with them! He can sing the Happy Birthday Song really well and LOVES birthday cake/candles, etc. His 3rd birthday this July should be really fun!

One morning we had some scattered clouds in the sky, and he acted concerned and said, "Mom, the sky is broken." So- we had a little lesson on clouds!

He is communicating so well right now in complete sentences, and sweetly asks me all the time, "Mom, are you okay?" (I think we ask him that a lot) He also asks me if I'm awake, or sick, or tired. It's so sweet. 

He loves to play with friends, and asks to play with them in his sandbox.

He knows all of his colors, most of his letters, and a lot of shapes- most surprising to me are shapes like cones, cubes.  (Thank you Starfall.com)

He really likes to be read to, which makes me really happy! He knows many of his books so well if we leave words/phrases out he can complete them.

He still pinches skin (particularly elbows) to comfort himself or when he's tired.

WE LOVE OUR SWEET JOSHUA!  Sorry it this seemed like a bragging post- but I have to document his progress or I'll forget!

SAND BOX

I have been wanting a sand box for Joshua for months now. However, we could never find exactly what I had envisioned and I know we live in Hawaii, but we couldn't find play sand anywhere! Well, this past week we finally found some sand for sale on base, and I asked Mike to build Joshua and Chase a "custom" sand box. I just couldn't see spending 50.00 on a flimsy plastic turtle box. (no offense to anyone who may have one). Well, Mike did an amazing job!!! He's so handy. I love being able to have him build whatever I ask him too. He was even more excited to do the job when I told him he could purchase some more tools to make the job easier (a circular saw, electric sander, and a few other things!) The boys absolutely LOVE it! Both of them have thrown fits at different times when it has been time for baths, dinner, etc. I'm glad we've finally found something to really keep them busy and away from the TV!!!!  Go Dad!!!!!  There was one mishap, as Mike was screwing in the final seat, the wood split and broke, so that seat will have to be replaced, but otherwise all went well! Mike even made a cover for it at my request. (We have lots of birds and cats in our neighborhood!) Hopefully the kids will be able to enjoy it for many years to come.

The "Apple Train"

We visited the Dole Plantation this past weekend so Joshua could go and ride the Pineapple Express Train. Have I mentioned that this boy is OBSESSED with trains? He received his first train set for his birthday this past summer, and has been hooked ever since! It was so fun to watch him as the train pulled up, and during the ride. Hank and Danica- this is the place to get a Dole Whip! Chase had a following of Korean tourists! About 15 of them were Oohing and Aahing over him and even asked if they could take some pictures with him- it was pretty funny. Of course we think our baby is cute- but it was so funny to see other people so interested. We think he won them over with his gigantic blue eyes! He has certainly won us over!