30 Questions about MEEEEE!

Where are you right now?
I am in the two-year old class at my daycare. I have been transitioning for over six weeks and am happy to report I am full-time as of one week ago! 
Are you bored?
No, I’m fast asleep right now in nap time!
Are you happy?
All of the time! Sometimes I get so excited about things that I scream in amusement while jumping up and down. I also have a “happy” strut! 
Do you have a lot of friends?
Yes! Isaiah, Carter, Raymond, Atty, Ava, Malek, and I’m sure others that Mommy isn’t aware of. 
Are you close with them?
Yes, I see them all the time at school. Malek and I are particularly close. Ask my dad sometime to tell you a GREAT story about my buddy Malek.
Who do you tell everything to?
Usually random people I see in restaurants or stores.
Is that person your best friend?
If the person happens to be providing me food, then of course!
Does your best friend call you their best friend?
Nah, most of them can’t say that easily yet.
Does your best friend have other best friends?
Hmm, maybe the kid playing with the coolest toy at the moment might be considered a better friend than me, but I can’t imagine how!
Do you ever fight with your best friend?
Not as much lately, but there for a while, we would bite each other.
Does your best friend know everything about you?
No. None of them know how much I love watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. I particularly like the “Cappen” (Captain) and Commander “Wiker” (Riker).
Do you have facebook?
No, I use live journal. My mommy is considering using Facebook to update on my future sister or brother though (huh? future what????)
What are you wearing? A red t-shirt that says, “Mountain Trails” on it, camo shorts and my dirty New Balance tennis shoes. Mommy keeps promising to get me a new pair soon.
Do you have plans for the weekend? I
I am planning to get potty-trained this weekend!
Will you be with your friends this weekend?
I hope everyone is still my friend this weekend after I have several major “accidents” while potty-training!
What was the last movie you watched?
Finding Nemo at school.
Who was the last person you talked to?
My teacher during lunch.
What did you say?
More.
Do you wish you were somewhere else?
Yes, I wish we could go outside already!
Are you a nice person?
I am the sweetest person evar!
Do people like you?
People love me!
Do you have friends from out of state?
Yes, that’s why I *try* to keep this journal up-to-date so they can read about me!
Where do they live?
Utah, Washington, Texas, Colorado, and more!
Do you have friends from out of the country?
The UK. He is in a band called Kibuka. He sent me my first piece of mail with an autographed CD and personal letter to me since I was spotted dancing to his music a couple of weeks earlier!
What song are you listening to?
Uh, I’m napping.
Are you getting bored of this survey?
And right when you asked me about it, too!
Are you close with your parents?
No, not really. I mainly play unattended, walk by myself 5+ miles to/from daycare, make my own meals, and change my own diapers….ummmm, yes I’m very close to my parents! They love me sooooo much! 
What's your favorite thing to eat?
How about several favorites? Yogurt, tapioca pudding, mac & cheese, and Cheetos. If you are ever in a store with me and I happen to see a bag of Cheetos, be prepared to buy it for me or you will have one miserable shopping experience!
What’s the thing that you hate the most to eat?
Well, I wouldn't say I hate tomatoes, because I specifically demand to eat the salad tomatoes in Mommy and Grandma Cheryl’s salads. When I bite into it, however, I immediately spit it out all over the table, my shirt, my lap, or all three.
Do you think 30 questions are too many to answer?
Not at all. It’s the least I can do since I have not updated my journal in SO LONG!

My second birthday is rapidly approaching! I'm having my birthday party the day after at my Aunt Brandee's house where my cousins Atticus and Layla live. It's going to be so much fun...I can't wait! The theme of my party will be Spiderman, or "My-man" as I call it. Yay!!

Mommy and daddy met with my teachers today to discuss the transition from my current class to the two-year old room. I'm really going to miss my toddler class teachers, and thankfully I won't be in the two-year old class for good until the first week of June. I start the transition during the first week in April. I'll have new teachers in June but happily, most of my friends will be moving up with me. I'm super excited that I'll finally be reunited with Atticus, my cousin who is already in the two's room!

Other talking points during this meeting included the many milestones I have met since the last parent-teacher conference. I came in as the only "toddler" that couldn't walk and am leaving the class running and almost jumping. In addition, my teachers commented several times about how smart I am. I can sing songs with them from start to finish, word-for-word, unless they crack up laughing at me in amazement during the song. I guess that sorta throws me off. My teachers also said that I can't get enough of listening to stories and reading books. They said I get really mad once they run out of books to read to me, and that if they could, I would let them read to me all day long.

Apparently, I made a really good friend in my class, and we always had these inside jokes going no matter how far apart we were in our classroom. If I started giggling then he would giggle. We would not eat our lunch if we could see eachother because we were too caught up in giggling and acting out. We also caused a bunch of commotion during nap time with these loud, obnoxious, fake-sounding laughs, so we got seperated. Mommy and daddy don't even know who this friend is because the teachers can't tell due to certain rules they must adhere to. To mommy and daddy, my best bud is forever named "another child" until I can tell them myself.

Now, for the bad part, which, considering I was seperated from "another child" that I really clicked with and the fact that I couldn't go to the two's when Attie did, I think it is understandable. I have screamed a lot, bit a child out of curiousity, and I sometimes tell my teachers NO. I also sit in time out more than ever, but that's it! The rest of the time, I'm singing and reading and being a smart little Joshie! :)

I'm so excited because I get to spend the night with my Grandma Cheryl tomorrow! To top that off, Grandma is preparing one of my favorite meals -- beans, cornbread and fried taters! MMMmMmmMm!! I can't wait for mommy to get me from school tomorrow evening so we can make our way over to Grandma's house.

Did you all know that I can count to ten? Mommy and I have been practicing and it sounds a lot like this when we do:

Mommy: Hey, Joshua? ONE!
Me: Two.
Mommy: THREE!
Me: silence
Mommy: Joshua, THREE!
Me: Poor?
Mommy: YAY! FIVE!
Me: Cease?
Mommy: Oh my goodness! SEVEN!!!!
Me: A?
Mommy: Yes, EIGHT!
Me: Nine!
Mommy: TEN!!!! YAY! YOU AREN'T EVEN TWO YET!

While that is a great story, I must admit to a not-so-good "problem" I'm having lately. I received another yellow light on my daily behavior sheet yesterday because I "would not listen to the teachers, told them no, and screamed." I do that at home with mommy and daddy too. Any mommy's out there have any advice for what my mommy and daddy need to do to help me stop this?

I can't wait until tomorrow night!

In addition to my school Christmas events, I attended three family gift-exchange gatherings!

I'll begin by displaying not only my LONG hair that Mimi cut on Dec. 20th but also the awesome present Aunt Lynda sent me! It's a step stool that I love using when I brush my teeth, and it's also a puzzle containing all the letters of my name.


I show my temper when I can't get the pieces to fit right immediately. You better cover your head lest you get hit by a flying letter of my name!

My first family Christmas gathering was at Mimi and Papa's. I was able to see all my cousins Reagan, Riley and Harper and Logan was there too! We had such a wonderful time playing together and eating sandwiches and snacks Mimi prepared for us.


All of my cousins and my sissy!


We also loved opening gifts! Mimi and Papa got me a horsey! I love to ride it and hear it trot and sing, but daddy always is turning the sound off, for some reason.


A TRUCK BOOK! I LOVE TRUCKS!


Me trying to convince Harper that the "Y" block tastes better than the others. Reagan awaits her reaction.

Next, we celebrated Christmas at Grandma Cheryl's. Unfortunately, I don't have many pictures because we didn't get to spend as much time there as we anticipated. Mommy ended up getting very sick right in the middle of the Benton family visit! However, I did get the following picture of cousin Luke, Phoebe Dog and I.


Luke asks: Uh, Joshua? That bed belongs to the dog, young Padawan. Are you aware that Phoebe rolls around in dirt and on other, very gross items in the backyard before laying there?

The following pictures are from the final family gift exchange at Aunt Brandee and Uncle Brett's. I had a BLAST there as you can see!


My cousin Kylie giving me a big hug!


Opening presents! I got a really cool train!


I mean, I got a really cool train!


My always beautiful cousin, Layla.


While I enjoyed Attie's motorized, four wheeler, I was truly captivated by and preferred playing with Laylas pink baby stroller. Daddy would not allow photographic evidence of this, but for the record, I was spotted pushing it around the house around ten times.


Atticus is my cousin and my best pal, too! We were both watching the Noggin channel, quite intently I might add, as this picture was taken.


By this time I had decided to definitely lay off the egg nog. We soon went home and I'm pretty sure I passed out.

I had a great Christmas. Thanks for the gifts, fun and fellowship, everyone!

Tune in later today or tomorrow for a surprise! I had new professional pictures taken!

I had a lot of Christmas activities at day care and am glad to report I have pictures and video to show you all how much fun it was. We participated in functions two days in a row, and mommy and daddy were there for both.

First, our class had a Christmas party and gift exchange and all the parents were invited. I had fun eating my snacks, although I felt sorta bad for the parents because while all of us kids ate snacks from a very delicious meat tray, they were not offered a single morsel and had to stand in an awkward silence around us watching us eat our goodies. Mommy contemplated trying to sneak around and make herself a nice cracker, ham and cheese sandwich from my plate but, she figured someone would see her, so she refrained. She couldn't keep her stomach from grumbling, however.


See? My theory behind the teachers not offering the parents food is they were plotting to make them all suffer because of the thousands of poopy diapers they have changed of ours over the year. Honestly, I think they would have been better to hire a culinary chef who specializes in cooking on those hibachi grills while throwing around the cooking utensils, like at Benihana! That would have been the ultimate revenge for the parents, and we could have enjoyed some fresh fried rice!


Closeup of our yummy food.


I'm a big kid now!

After eating, we opened presents. We determined who to buy a gift for by a random drawing. I drew Noah and I got him a Mr. Potato Head and cute little stuffed froggy. In fact, I found it so cute that I just decided I wanted it back after he opened it.


But, it's really mine! My mommy bought it!

 
I opened my present from Aden, who was not there that day, so I could not thank him.


I sure did like that present, though!

 
Well, I liked it for a minute or so, anyway, but then I decided I'd rather lay in the floor for a moment.


After that, I stared at my handsome self in the mirror for a bit.


Aunt Brandee was there with my cousin and best bud Atticus. I'm trying to teach him how to stop sucking his thumb, and, in exchange, he's teaching me how to get more red lights on my daily behavior reports since I seem to be stuck in this green light only pattern. So far, I haven't been given a red light, but give me some time and I'm sure I'll get a great big one soon!


One of my classmates actually looked like a Christmas present!

The next day was my very first play! I had to go up on stage in front of at least a couple of hundred people and I did great! I was a reindeer and was supposed to shake and rattle my hips according to the words in this song that this strange man was singing, but didn't know when I was supposed to do what, so I just shook whatever I felt like shaking whenever I felt so inclined or simply shook nothing at all. But I clapped at the end because I know I did a wonderful job for sure!



Oh, by the way, here's proof I look like so many people in my family besides just my mom and dad.



Just to name a few, I look like: my daddy (duh), my Uncle Jim, Papa, Great Great Unk, Uncle Willie, Art, Tommy Webber, Larry Watson, Ed Herber, Leon Hagar, Charles Steinman...oh wait, several of those people aren't official family members, but they may as well be. I also look like some of my guardian angels too, like my Grandpa Don, my Great Grandpa Firpo and my Uncle Tom. Check back for the family recap soon.

Time to play catchup! Mommy just about decided to not update my journal anymore because it is so time-consuming and she worries about getting behind. However, she changed her mind, at least for now.

Thanksgiving was so much fun! I celebrated with lots of family in Gainesville, TX. I met numerous cousins for the first time, stayed in a hotel room for three whole nights, got to go swimming and more!

When we first arrived, we had our Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant my Great Great Uncle Jim (Unk) picked out for us. Uncle Chuck, Great Grandma Bwana, Unk, Grandma Cheryl, Mommy, Daddy, Logan, my third cousin Terrie and her fiance, Andrew as well as my Great Great Aunt Sandra were there. We had a great time.


Andrew, Terrie and Aunt Sandra.


Sissy enjoying a piece of cake for desert.


Me instructing the wait staff that I would prefer the ribeye over turkey and dressing and would appreciate prompt service because I'm not exactly patient when I get my heart set on a ribeye.


Me after consuming my ribeye and delicious desert.


Unk wondering how on Earth he's going to have enough money to pay for my ribeye and contemplating ways to never invite me out to eat again.


Group photo after dinner in the parking lot. Everyone appears so upset except me. What's up with that?

After dinner, we checked into the hotel and then headed out to Unk's. Mommy missed THE BEST photo ever. You see, my Unk lives in the coolest home on the shore of a very pretty lake. When we arrived, we immediately walked down to the beach and the water was so still that it looked like a mirror reflecting the trees on the opposite shoreline and the sunset behind. It was breathtaking. I believe sissy got a picture on her cell phone of this awesome site. Maybe I can get it from her and post it at some point.

The next day, my third cousin Michael arrived with his beautiful wife Bekkah who is pregnant with TRIPLETS!!!! They have a son who's just a little older than me named Ethan. I met all of them for the first time and shared my toys with Ethan. He was a very sweet, laid back boy and I so wish I could spend more time with him.







The next day, Uncle Jim Benton and his family arrived! Mommy, Daddy and Emily and I all went swimming at our hotel. I had so much fun!


Yay! Swim!


Luke demonstrating other ways that legos can be used.


Me with Emily in a rare photo op during the OU football game. People basically started ignoring me around that time.


Luke was watching the game behind me so I decided to find something else to do.


I stuck out my tongue for entertainment.


Ahem, Emily? It's me, Josh. Oh yeah, you're watching that OU game. Let me know when you're free.


Although I was not the center of attention for a few minutes of my life, I was still a happy baby!

I was in my first play today! I was a reindeer and mommy shot video.

I'm so excited for Christmas because I get to spend time with Grandma Cheryl, Uncle Jim, Aunt Lisa, cousins Luke and Emily, Mimi and Papa!

As expected, my mommy did not post a Thanksgiving entry and all the pictures that go with it. I guess her only option is to do two separate entries -- one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas, even if it ends up being Valentine's Day before it gets done. I'm very sorry to you all about that. However, in her defense, uploading pictures is not the easiest chore. She goes to great lengths to make sure the photos are properly edited, including adjusting the picture quality and resizing the photos as to not make my journal look funny. Then she has to send them to the web and type crazy html code in my entries to get the pictures to show up nice and neat -- centered with two spaces between them all, blah blah blah. To post videos takes quite a bit of time too, but mainly because of the amount of time it takes to upload videos, especially the long ones, to YouTube. THEN, on top of all of THAT, she has to compose the text to the entries, preferably mildly witty, and this whole process can take her hours. I'll admit I don't make it any easier for her when I stand at the door whimpering while she sits at her computer desk. This is why mommy has become the "pro" in "procrastinate."

It took mommy long enough, but I am finally ready to post my Halloween recap. I’m sorry for the delay; mommy’s sole motivating factor for getting these up now is Thanksgiving next week. I’m going to have a bunch of photos to sort through and post then and she certainly will never get it done if I’m still overdue on Halloween!!!??!!


I will begin with the Halloween Carnival at my daycare. During this event, the cafeteria and computer room is completely transformed into an orange and black array of decorations and activities. All of the teachers dress up in costumes and run a dozen booths containing carnival-like games of all kinds. You can participate in the cake walk, send a CPN employee underwater in the dunk tank room, or go through a haunted house, which, I did not investigate because I was scared enough walking through the main areas! Outside, you can buy lunch from a hot dog stand, which Grandma Cheryl, mommy and I did. Daddy was unfortunate enough to be the CPN employee assigned to the dunk tank while we relaxed and enjoyed our hot dogs. Mommy and I made sure we were the first to dunk poor daddy before we went outside, and we were given permission to manually push the target instead of wasting time throwing silly balls at it all day. The only bad part with that is you end up getting soaked from the big splash he creates when he falls in!


When we arrived at the carnival, mommy realized daddy did not take off my long-sleeve shirt and jeans prior to putting my fleece costume on me. The temperature was in the 80’s that day, so mommy caught this problem before we went in. This is the cause of the scene below -- a half-naked Franken-Toddler in the parking lot!

















Mommy, daddy and I did not get to play many games while inside the carnival. As soon as I saw my teachers dressed up as wicked witches, I refused to walk on my own anymore, and mommy and daddy carried me the rest of the time until they tired out. I enjoyed the cake walk and I did walk on my own for a short time after my third go at it. This time, mommy won me a carrot cake! I did not like it at all.




Ewwww.




On Halloween night, Logan was staying with us and we all went to Mimi and Papa’s to trick-or-treat! That was definitely a neat experience for me! All I had to do was sit back and relax in my wagon while someone pulled me up and down the street from house to house, and all of these different people would put candy in my bag! Sissy and mommy played around with camera poses along the way. Good times!




OK, people, can we go trick-or-treating now?






Sissy and I.






Spooky Sissy!






Can someone please give me candy? Gaw!






Mommy and Mimi dress alike.






CANDY!






CAUTION! Sissy!






Logan made a new friend and they sat and talked on a police car!






YAY CANDY!




My Thanksgiving adventure is right around the corner, so keep checking for updates. Hopefully mommy will have it posted well before Christmas!

I had so much fun on Halloween and got SO much candy! Mommy took some great pictures of sissy and I, but she has to get them ready to post in my journal. She said something about them having severe "red eye" issues. Hopefully, she will have time to correct this problem and post them soon. I think you all will enjoy seeing how much fun we had!

Keep checking back for pictures!

Mommy and Daddy have been whispering to each other about how they think it it's time for my first haircut. This is because my hair is really curly and the length is making it quite unmanageable. They don't realize I can hear them, so, to makes their lives easier, is there anyone out there that cuts hair? I am beginning to look like a mad scientist when I wake up in the mornings. Help someone! :D

Hint: Me me me me me me.

Would you like to give me my first haircut? I just need a widdle-bittie trim. Nothing drastic.

My whole family got sick all the sudden! It started with me Sunday night when I had a very "awful" diaper. Shortly after, Daddy became sick to his stomach and had to go lay down. He had chills and ended up getting sick in all different directions all night long. When daddy went to lay down early Sunday night, mommy assumed he was just faking to get attention. She played along and brought him some medicine anyway. Then, around 3:00 a.m., mommy woke up with a belly ache. She too began getting sick in all different directions! Daddy tried to go to work but ended up coming back home and slept all day! Mommy wanted to stay home but had to work because she doesn't have any leave time. My day care sent me home because "I looked pail" and was not eating. Well, I WAS faking it because I had the BEST time with Grandma Cheryl all day yesterday! Then, to top that off, I got to spend the night with Mimi and Papa and get to go to school late today!

We though it might have been this meatloaf we ate Sunday night but that's not the case. My poor sissy was throwing up all day yesterday too. :(

My poor sick family.

Mommy, Daddy, Logan and I all went to the zoo yesterday! Mommy decided it would be the best time to go to the zoo because of the nice weather and she had this theory that everyone would be at the fair and the zoo would not be crowded.

On the way to the zoo, sissy and I took a nap in the car.



When we arrived at the zoo, Mommy realized her "theory" about the zoo not being crowded was WRONG. Daddy points out how wrong she was.



When we first arrived at the zoo, we had "lunch," or rather, nachos and pretzels. I didn't care for the pretzel but I liked the nachos. Very nutritious!



While waiting for lunch, I attempted to give these animals a ride somewhere but since none of them could make up their mind where they wanted to go, I became frustrated.



Here are a few of the animals I saw at the zoo!















I saw a giraffe!



He was a singing giraffe!




Logan looks so cute in her pictures.




Sissy, myself and a lion. Rawwwr!



This gorilla was deep in thought.



This is the lake at the zoo.



I'm not sure how to describe the following picture. Mommy said she was taking the picture "in the spirit of her father" (my late grandpa Don). Apparently, he would occasionally take pictures like this for some reason.



Maybe she was trying to show that this animal looked like a zebra on its bottom? I don't know for sure.

Moving right along! I got to ride my first carousel and Daddy filmed me and Sissy, who rode the ostrich behind me. Mommy didn't ride on an animal for some reason. Instead she held onto me the whole time. I guess she was scared she might fall or something.



The following video has nothing to do with the zoo visit. It is actually from the powwow I attended earlier this summer. As you will see, I liked dancing to the drumming!



Well, that's it for now! Love you all!

My cousin Emily can do a back handspring! She was just moved out of her regular gymnastics class into the advanced class! I'm so proud of her!



Weee!

That's right, folks. Mommy bought me a small pool the weekend before last and I had so much fun swimming and splashing around. I pretty bummed that I couldn't swim last weekend but I have had, uh, stomach problems to put it mildly. Needlesstosay, this type of stomach ailment would make it inadvisable to swim.

Here are a few (dozen) pictures of me when I swam the first day mommy got the pool and daddy inflated it for me!


Look mommy! I'm swimming!


What should I do next?


Wow. I need to go on the Baby Craig diet like, YESTERDAY. I'm beginning to look like my daddy!


Come on mommy! Get in with me; the water feels great!


Fine! See if I care if you don't get in with me.


Splish splash, I also do this in the bath!
(and mommy, daddy and/or Logan get soaked!)


I like to eat crackers.


And this green ball ain't bad, either.


Something over there must have been VERY intriguing.

When I get well, mommy plans to film me swimming and post the video here on my journal. And, I'm super excited to see my big sis again for a whole week! She comes this Friday. Maybe she would like swimming with me! Logan is one of the only people that I enjoy hugging obsessively. Mommy gets so jealous because I usually don't hug her at all. But I do hit her sometimes!

Once again, I'm fortunate to have my mimi to watch me while I get well from my recent illness. I'm pretty excited that I get to miss yet another day of school tomorrow and spend the whole time with mimi. YAY!!!!

Up next: Pictures and/or videos of:
- Me swimming (with sissy, hopefully!)
- Me at my daddy's 20th high school reunion picnic
- Hopefully video of me walking
- And more!

Well! I officially have nicknamed my mommy “slacker.” This is because she has neglected my journal and has probably lost many readers as a result. I bet many have come to my journal hoping to see several new entries to read only to find the same entry that has been there since Christmas. OK, I’m exaggerating a LITTLE bit there, but, I’m making a point.

I have to tell you about my orphan shorts! Mommy picked me up from daycare one evening to take me out to eat with Grandma Cheryl and one of her friends, Jackie. I had never met Jackie before, so, I wanted to look nice. Well, earlier that day at school, I spilled my sippy cup all over my nice shorts and had no change of clothes. My teachers found me some replacement shorts, but they didn’t exactly match my shirt. The shorts were at one time blue and white checkered pants but someone cut them into shorts and didn’t do a great job. That person also wrote “TODDS 1” on the back of them in permanent black marker. So, this is how I looked when my dear mommy took me into public for dinner and to meet Jackie! Mommy joked and said that since gasoline was so high, she couldn’t afford to buy me clothes and instead started sewing clothes for me. She told Jackie she was still learning how to sew but felt she did a great job on my “TODDS 1” shorts!








I’m pretty sure my daycare needs to send out a memo requesting clothing donations!

Here is a picture of me getting a big bear hug from my Uncle Jim when he was here for a short visit recently. He likes to hold me and is so gentle with me when he picks me up. I wish I could have seen my cousins Emily and Luke too; I miss them!




For the 4th of July, Daddy, Mommy, Sister and I went to Mimi and Papa’s and I got to swim again! Uncle Willie, Aunt Andi, and cousins Reagan and Riley were there too. That night, I got to watch fireworks. I was pretty tired by then and probably wouldn’t have been too upset missing that, but I watched anyway.

OH! I almost forgot to tell you that I was student of the month in June! All month long, this picture hung on the wall just outside my classroom for all to see! I guess my teachers really like me as well as my super-cute sunglasses picture!



I have been painting, coloring with crayons, making designs with stickers and other crafts at school. Mommy has a stack of my artwork about 6” thick and she needs to figure out what to do with them all. I’m not even 1 ½ and I have a zillion paintings already! Mommy says mine are the best in the class and that she’s not just saying that because she’s my mommy. 

I’m getting much stronger on my feet and will likely be walking soon. Please send your condolences to my Mommy and Daddy who will no doubt be busy keeping up with me. Mommy would like to catch my walking on video but I don't cooperate. It's too fun, really.



Well, I guess that’s it for now. Check back for more videos and pictures.