Josh 19-24 months

Josh is a climbing monkey.  He's always reaching new heights that terrify his mom.  Just this evening, Josh climbed our ceiling-high linens shelf near the bathroom.  In addition to climbing, Josh attempts other dangerous feats.  The other day I caught Josh going up the concrete stairs at the entrance of our basement apartment wearing Eliza's roller blades.  I didn't get a picture because I was too worried about him breaking his leg.

Josh is pretty independent.  He walks out the door, says "Bye Mom" and heads out to play.  Lately he has been spending time (sometimes over an hour), in the mud pit that we made for Caleb's monster birthday party.  It's all dry now, but he comes in absolutely covered in dirt.  He likes to throw the dirt in the air and pretend that it's smoke from a fire.

This is my view standing on the stairs of our basement entry.  I pop my head out every now and then to check on Josh.  Do you see the top of his head sticking out of the hole?

  No need for matching clothes.  They're coming off before he comes inside anyway.

He is very conscientious about closing doors. Inside and out, this kid will never leave a door open.  We're trying to teach him that if someone is behind him, it's okay for him to let them through first.

Josh is still a big eater, especially at breakfast.  He is usually the first kid to wake up.  He comes into our room (more on that in a minute) with a "Hungy Mommy."  He persists until we get up and get him something to eat.

He sure is messy though.  Plums are especially fun to squeeze in your fist, in case you're wondering.

Josh loves books.  He plops down on your lap with a book and says, "Read it peez Mommy."  I love leaving off the end of the sentences to let Josh fill them in.  Even with books he's only heard a few times, he can usually finish the sentences.  It makes book-reading more entertaining for me.

While I was making dinner, Josh was perched on the tool bench reading to himself.

Of all our kids, Josh is the most polite.  When ever he puts in a request, he includes a "please" and includes the person's name.  He also says "thank you" without being reminded.  He also apologizes (something the older, more stubborn ones have trouble with).  He says, "Sorry _____" with the person's name and gives them a hug.  It is heart-melting.

 Grandpa always leaves his muddy boots on the porch.  Josh loves taking them for a stroll.

 Josh loves the outdoor cat, Heeshe.  When we first moved here, Heeshe would have nothing to do with the kids.  She has really warmed up to them now.  She lets Josh pet her even when he is by himself, and even though he usually ends up pulling her tail.

 I started doing product review videos for a company called Expo*.  You earn points (that actually add up fast) for gift cards. They also have a "Tryology" program where you try out products for free, then do a video review for them.  I was selected for the Pampers Swaddlers program, so they sent me a full package of Swaddlers (which they now make in sizes 3,4 and 5).

 We gave Josh a bath just before recording the video.  I had Josh in the video with me (to show off the diapers), but then he wiggled away.  We kept recording to finish off the video.  A few seconds later, we heard a splash.  I tried my hardest to stifle my laughter and end the video quickly (and awkwardly).  Sure enough Josh hopped into the bath, diaper and all.  What a stinker!

 Josh is also an artist.  He enjoys marker tatoos and raiding the preschool craft bin

 It's fun to see the boys playing together while Eliza is away at school.

Seeing Josh in underwear (above) reminds me that a few months ago, Josh was nearly potty trained.  He was to the point where we would have an accident or two, and even one day that was accident free.  He would even wake up dry from naps.  Then we had a busy weekend where we were out of town, followed by some busy weeks.  Potty training is always hard when you aren't at home, but I think it's even harder when being out means being out all day long (with an hour between possible potty stops). Life is pretty crazy until after Halloween, so I haven't even put underwear on him for a couple of months.  Sometimes he tells me he needs to go, but I have stopped encouraging him and I have him in diapers full time again (which costs nothing, when you use cloth).  After Halloween I'll get him potty trained hopefully.

Speaking of diapers, I sent in some pictures of Josh in some Alva diapers for a promo they were doing a while back.  It's a Chinese company, and I have fixed some of their English product descriptions, and provided other feedback.  They always reward me in free diapers.  Getting free diapers is part of the reason that we've only spent about $100 in cloth diaper investments.  I randomly went to their website the other day and saw Joshua.  In the header there was also a picture I had taken of my niece.  All the Photoshop work, including weird image stretching, was their doing.

  Chubbiest diaper model ever :)

We sure do love this boy! 

*So the Expo program is really quite nice.  I have already earned about $60 worth of gift cards (they have Amazon, and pretty much anything else you would want) and have only uploaded a handful of videos.  The videos are just 1-2 minutes and are just your opinion of the products.  Within a couple weeks of signing up, they will send you invitations to review different products and you can choose the ones you want to accept.  Sometimes they are general (review your conditioner), and other times they are brand specific (review a Tide product).  Points vary for the different opportunities.  Anyway, I think it's great because I have been able to get points and earn rewards much faster than any other program I've tried.  Anyway, if you want to sign up, you can ask me any questions and you can use my special link here (of course I will get some points for referring you if you after you upload a video).