Milestones

These past few weeks have brought several achievements for the kids. Nothing earth shattering, but still it's always fun to watch them grow and become more accomplished!




Lydia is five months old tomorrow and the days, weeks, and months continue to fly. She's reached the big event of starting "solid" foods this past week. What a messy happening given the relatively small amounts of milk and seemingly harmless rice cereal flakes! She made some confused faces at the beginning, but now just a couple of days later she opens her mouth like a champ and is quickly frustrated if she doesn't think you're re-filling the spoon fast enough. Joshua was so excited that Lydia could finally eat "real food" and loved helping me make the baby cereal. (Here are some pictures from her first cereal feeding.)

Finger Licking Good!

Joshua is continuing to work on potty training and had a couple very successful days this week. We had a nearly dry day on Wednesday (one accident and one completely missed event in the diaper) but he went all by himself and there were no hassles. I've been surprised by his potty-training preferences. I'd been prepared for a toddler who refused to go in any potty but his own and who I constantly had to remind and coax to try. However, now that he's realized that nearly every place we go (stores, friends houses, church) has a bathroom he prefers to try a new one. Also, he refuses to go when prompted, but more often that not he tells me he needs to go and he's almost always right. I also thought "big kid" underwear were supposed to be a motivating factor, but instead he is staunchly opposed to the idea of undies (he only wants to wear an "undie diaper" pull-up.) I have no idea however when we might be officially done with the process, my emotions regarding the subject swing like a pendulum depending on the day, and some days it is just too much to attempt!



Nothing much is new with James and I, we're just trying to get ready for a week-long trip that begins on Friday and takes us back to see both sides of the family the following week, ending with the wedding of James' brother Justin (Joshua is the ringbearer).

Tag, You're it.

For some time I've seen "tag" games going around my friend's blogs. They all have slightly different rules and questions, but are pretty the same. I've figured at some point, I'd get tagged.
Well, I was right. Rebecca at Life, Love, and the Pursuit of Happiness tagged me yesterday so here goes.
The rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What were you doing ten years ago?
Wow, the end of my freshman year of high school--it's been a long time! I was probably pondering what it would be like to be grown up, and how college was right around the corner (even college seems a long time ago now). Thinking about college sent me into wondering where I should go, etc. I also was asked out for the first time that year.

What are five non-work related items on my to-do list today?
Watching game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals with my hubby. Go Wings!
Playing with Joshua and Lydia.
Reading the book our small-group is discussing.
Cooking something fun for dinner.
Trying to find order to my house (that's pretty much on the list every day with two kids).

Five snacks I enjoy:
Definitely ice cream and/or frozen custard
Rolos
Pizza
Doritos
Cookie Dough (baked or not, I don't discriminate)

Five things I'd do if I were a billionaire:
Give alot of it away (put it into a foundation or trust probably) since I couldn't possibly wisely spend most of that amount of money.
"Retire" (i.e. James and I could stop working for a paycheck, maybe take a few years off to focus on kids and volunteer, then probably start a business doing something we love or have a job we've always wanted to try)
Travel and/or live internationally (there's a lot of world out there, I'd love to see and interact with more of it--although this might have to be delayed until the kids are a bit older.)
Help my parents retire comfortably.
Pay off debts (although in the scheme of a billion dollars these seem relatively minor!)

Places I've lived:
Nothing too interesting here. Durand, MI; North Branch, MI; Hastings, MI; Spring Arbor, MI; Ann Arbor, MI; Verona, WI

Jobs I've had (in order of appearance):
Baby-sitter
Farmer's Market stand worker
Instructor of Private Lessons (Piano)
Tutor
Camp Counselor
Administrative assistant
Resident Assistant
Nanny
Wife & Mom

Tagged Friends:
Julie
Angie
Jen
Kristin
Amy