Where There's a Will...

...there's a 1-year-old.

I'm rather at a loss with how to deal with Josiah's newfound will. I know this phase of motherhood will soon pass, but for now I can't help but be fantasitically impressed by, and curious about, and even charmed with each new manifestation of Josiah's development. Today was the first time he responded to me in toddler defiance. He was pitching food off of his high chair tray, and my firm "NOs" were met with clear understanding on his part: more throwing while casting first curious and then knowing looks in my direction. I started off strong and consistent in my response, but alas, I suddenly found the entire thing hilarious and delightful. I couldn't hide my grins, which turned to outright laughs, and my cause was entirely lost. Oh dear, Daddy. You'd best get back soon!

Best Friend

Josiah's very dearest friend is a yellow fleece bear known not-so-creatively as Teddy (well, occasionally as Teddles). He figures in many photos in this blog. This morning Josiah shared some of his Kix with Ted, and Mama Casler happened to have a camera ready to shoot just as it happened. The onset of pretense -- a beautiful thing! A couple of hours later, Josiah stayed in the nursery at church quite happily while Mommy went to service. This is a first since his infancy, and you guessed it, having Teddy along made it possible. :)

A Busy Day

Mama and Pop Pop Casler arrived yesterday and leave tomorrow. We accomplished a ton of household projects today (painting, sewing, shopping), fit in lots of playing, and celebrated Mommy's 30th birthday (youch, this has been a HARD one for me to stomach...). Especially exciting, though: Josiah did his first coloring, as you can see in the lower photo, and he really mastered saying the word "ball" quite properly today!!

Wakin' Up Is Hard To Do

Josiah awakened early this morning, but with a cuddle and a little bottle, he fell back asleep. A small miracle. However, despite working until 1 a.m., I couldn't go back to sleep. Turned out this was a good thing, as my human alarm clock had to be roused, snoring away with Teddy on his face, at 8:30! I hated waking him. I began by quietly tidying his room, then opened the blinds, eventually vacuumed the room across the hall... Nothing but snores! He woke happily enough in the end as I began undressing him in the crib, but then was understandably sad when he realized all of his normal morning routine was being ditched in lieu of hurrying straight off to day care. So, Daddy, we hope you're having a great time in the Dominican Republic, but mornings just aren't the same without you!

Back to the Stated Mission!

Daddy's in the Dominican Republic, then Haiti, for about a week, so we're returning to our roots here and blogging as we ought: for Daddy. Of course, I failed to take out the camera today so this post is photoless (sorry Honey). I'll paint word pictures instead, as the day has had its share of color:
1) PURPLE - for the nasty bonk Josiah got on his forehead after straining forward to reach a toy, and slipping, on the ceramic tile of the bathroom. Mommy felt terrible. Fortunately, the little egg that rose up disappeared by evening.
2) GREEN - for the VERY runny nose Josiah's had all day (which he's been busily licking, smearing on Teddy, or smearing on Mommy's shoulder!).
3) YELLOW - for the paint we went to buy at Home Depot, where Josiah sang and crowed and laughed up and down the aisles (to the softening and amusement of many otherwise gruff looking men!).
4) BLUE - for how we feel when Daddy's not here. During dinner, Josiah snapped to attention with every noise. Was Daddy at the door, home from work?? No, just the ice maker. No, just a truck going by. No, just Uncle Timmy and Auntie Holly stopping in.
We miss you already!

Black Tie Required

Another post when Daddy's at home! (Family and friends have been asking to see a photo.)

Last weekend was the fanciest of the many inaugural / dedicatory / celebratory events for Krista's new work digs -- a fifty million dollar facility! The event was by far the classiest event, and surely the costliest, we've ever attended. The first floor of my building -- and the surrounding area, with white tents -- was transformed into a beautiful party venue. You name it, it was there: gorgeous flowers, amazing sushi, ice sculptures, valet parking, live jazz, silver, crystal, lanterns and candles and copper fire pits, filet mignon, and a sea of tuxedos and gowns. We should have had a photo taken somewhere lovely on site, but all we have is this quick snap taken in our kitchen before we headed out!

Hoppy Halloween, everyone!

Josiah was a very adorable kangaroo for Halloween this year. He had a pouch and a joey, but hopefully that didn't make the outfit too girly! At the end of the work day, all of the HOPE staff kids came to the office for some treats and pictures.

In other exciting news, Josiah's gross motor skills are improving significantly. Two weeks ago he tested at three standard deviations below the mean (putting him in the bottom third of a percent of kids his age, or last out of 200-300). But...this week he pulled up to a stand entirely on his own at day care and has begun walking all over the place just holding on to our fingers. He's also exploring and reaching further and further while seated. Still no crawling or independent motility, but wow, what a difference the past two weeks have made.

We've been enjoying two additional milestones: Josiah has begun giving kisses and he loves bopping and dancing about to music. He's a very fun and funny little kangaroo, that's for sure. :)

Sick Boy

We had a rough week while Josiah fought a nasty chest cold. We acquired a nebulizer after our first visit to the doctor, to deal with a wheezy, tight chest, and a week later we came home with antibiotics for an ear infection. Josiah's mood wasn't bad throughout, but he clearly felt rotten. And Mommy and Daddy had to be creative with his childcare since day care wasn't an option. One day (since Daddy had to be away at the end of the week for a conference), Josiah spent the day on campus with Mommy, helping to give a psychology exam and meeting with students!

A Few Family Pictures

Josiah's personality has continued to blossom now that he has his glasses. He's becoming increasingly confident and playful since he can see and interact with the world in meaningful ways. Enjoy some of our favorite fall photos here!

(FYI - Daddy's not away right now, but I'm putting up a few updates this month nonetheless.)

The Millers

In early October, we enjoyed a weekend visit from Steve, Marcia, and Zach Miller. Although Zach is three months younger, he crawls circles around Josiah, so Josiah enjoyed Zach best from the safe perch of his high chair! We have a feeling the two will be good friends as the years go by. :)

Jeepers Creepers Part II

Due to the fact that Daddy was in transit for a couple of days (and now is home as of tonight! Josiah just hugged him and hugged him!), I didn't post anything over the weekend. The update absence, however, has resulted in many requests. So, Josiah's making progress with transitioning to the glasses. He hates having them actually put on, they slide down his nose until he gets annoyed and rips them off, and the nose pads sometimes poke his eyeballs if they get knocked askew. You can imagine that this all makes the experience less than fun for him. In spite of it, he's worn them for several hour-or-two stints, and I'm confident that wearing them makes a visual difference for him.

I've mostly posted about the worries of the past week, and I don't want that to obscure what a wonderful, normal, happy little munchkin Josiah is! Daddy was delighted to see so many changes in just over a week away ---- Josiah says "uh-oh" all the time now (when his toy goes out of reach or he drops a Cheerio on the floor) and is starting to say "da-da-da-da" and "ba-ba-ba-ba" for Daddy and ball; he's cutting his two front, top teeth; he continues to have the best, most hilarious foot coordination of any child I've ever encountered (see him holding his bottle with his toes?!); he can catch and throw a ball back and forth beautifully; he eats anything and everything I offer; he loves to laugh and play the stupid games I do with him; and he does lots of clapping and has begun giving high-fives. Not bad for a monkey whose vision, uncorrected, qualifies as legally blind! :)

Jeepers Creepers

So today marks the beginning of the rest of Josiah's life. His glasses came in. For those readers not in the know, not too long ago Josiah began crossing his eyes from time to time. Turns out he's got terrible vision and the eye crossing was his way of trying to bring a badly fuzzy world into focus. I had thought I had come to terms with the diagnosis until I actually put his super-thick little glasses up to my own good eyes today and looked out at a completely blurred, confusing, mosiac world of jumbled colors... It made me quite emotional to realize how amazingly, fantastically he's been navigating his life under those circumstances. His response to wearing the specs has been terrific thus far, too; I feel as though I've been privy to our own little miracle unfolding as Josiah began this afternoon to see things as they really are --- indeed, to see his mother's face properly for the first time! That's not to say he hasn't ripped the glasses from his face and flung them down several times (they already have a scratch in the middle of one lens!! ack!!), but we were prepared for him to barely wear them at ALL during these early days. So here we are.

How ironic that today I had to adjudicate at a cognitive science class debate on the topic, "Is the visual world all an illusion?"

Wednesday's Child

Another full day, a busy one. Josiah truly seems to be happy at day care now, though, which makes all the difference in the world as I work. The remaining downside is just that he doesn't get more than a catnap there. On the drive home the sun was in his eyes so he squidged them shut with his little fists in front...and fell asleep like that. :) What a sweetie. Eventually his arms drifted down; I left him asleep in the car for a little bit when we got home. And Daddy, you'll have so much fun playing ball when you get back. He devised a new trick after supper: taking two balls, one in each hand, clapping them together, then throwing them simultaneously!

Pediatrician Appointment...

We have good news and bad news on the heels of Josiah's 1-year appointment. Really, the good news comes in the form of confirmation and an action plan for two pieces of suspected bad news. First: Turns out Josiah weighed a teeny bit less at his appointment today (about 21.5 lbs) than he did at 9 months. Might just be a blip on the chart as our chubber thins out...or it might be a bigger deal. "Have you ever heard of Celiac Disease?" asked the nurse after she weighed him. Um, yeah. As in, our entire extended family is currently enrolled in a Celiac study through University of California. So we're off for a blood test to know for sure. Second: We're setting up a consult with early intervention since he's still not even crawling. I had planned to ask for one if the doctor hadn't suggested it, although really I think this piece will catch up soon enough on its own, especially once he can actually see with his new glasses later this week. All that said, it's been a tougher few weeks of being a parent. None of these problems are huge ones -- they're the sorts of things I'd request if I had to choose from a list of illnesses, problems, and issues to give a child! -- but, wow, I love that boy to pieces and wish I could snap my fingers to give him perfect eyes, perfect health, perfect everything.

Monday, Monday

Mommy is not a fan of single parenting while working a full-time job and fighting a cold! (Single moms have my hands down respect -- awe even.) The good news? Josiah had his best day yet at day care. Miss Juliette wrote these notes on his card: "Josiah had a great day! Josiah was laughing very hard. JD gave him kisses. He was turning pages in a book." What rejoicing this inspires in a professor-mommy who's been on the brink of throwing in the towel for the past horrific several weeks. Doesn't he look like a big boy in his "school clothes" here?

Mama & Pop Pop Casler's visit

Daddy is away again, this time in Kigali, Rwanda. He just got a Skype call out to me and he sounds good! Definitely in Africa: Yesterday he took a taxi ride with, no joke, 21 people in a van suited to 10 or 11 passengers. :) Anyway, Mama and Pop Pop came down from Rochester for the weekend to visit the birthday boy, which has kept us from feeling lonesome yet. Josiah enjoyed lots of ball playing and walks, and Mommy was so thankful for help with meals and a fresh-cut lawn!

First Birthday!

Josiah turned 1 on Thursday (9/13). Here are some photos from our day. Dinner was definitely his favorite part; we had rotisserie chicken and lots of veggies, his favorites. And after a few initial minutes of skepticism, he concluded that cake is very yummy too!

The Weekend in Loudon

Daddy's away again, this time just outside of Cusco, Peru for a little over a week. (Yes, I'm envious that he's seen two of the seven wonders of the world in the space of a few months -- Machu Picchu and the Great Wall of China -- without me!) Josiah and I have flown the coop and are with Nannan and Papa White in Loudon, NH. This actually works out great as Nannan has a standing offer of nearly full-time child care if we simply get here. Outcomes: Josiah's having tons of fun; I'm getting piles of work done; and we're not home alone. Perfect!

The baby milestones keep coming. Josiah cut his first tooth on our 8th anniversary, July 31st, which was the day our little family had to part ways. The second tooth seems to be following immediately (today). Lazy bones boy also has made two apparent efforts at putting a Cheerio in his mouth this week, although regrettably neither has been successful. (Yes, he's an funny little duck -- has beautiful fine motor skills but disdains putting them to use in self-feeding at nearly 11 months old.)

Kara drove up today with the two new, adorable kittens. Josiah was quite fascinated by them. Thinking of pictures, we showed Josiah a close-up photo of Daddy's face yesterday, and he got so very excited. His arms shot out in characteristic quivery fashion and his eyes got wide and happy. Daddy, we miss you!

The Countdown Concludes...

Well, it looks like we all made it!
Enjoy our parting shot, and thank you for counting down with us!

1 Day and counting...the hours!

We started out this countdown on the day Daddy left with a picture at the rose garden. That was before any of the roses were out for the year. Now many bushes are blown and past, a whopping eight percent of Josiah's life later! Even as we speak, Daddy is winging his way homeward. (He's quite literally connecting world dots in a downright crazy 46-hour journey back.) We can't wait for supper time tomorrow when he finally makes it home!

2 Days and counting...

Sunday. Church this morning meant another go at nursery, meant another apologetic lady finding me to fetch my quivering, shaking baby who had sobbed uncontrollably almost since my departure, meant I don't think we're going to do this again in the near future. :( The rest of the day was much better, though! We had fun with Mama and PopPop and took them to the new house for a look around. Josiah spent most of the "tour" sucking the baby carrier and practicing bubble-blowing. He's always enjoyed doing funny things with his lips, but this past week has really seen the dawn of his awareness that those lips can be used both to vary the sounds he can make ("muh" "duh" and "buh" sounds have definitely arrived on the scene) and to mobilize vast quanitites of slobber (bubbles, raspberries, and general slimy drooling are likewise now common activities)! Another great accomplishment that Mommy's excited about? Imitation of clapping! How fun!

3 Days and counting...

Today involved several errands with Josiah in the Ergo (our baby carrier, pictured in "14 days"). In one store, he laid his cheek on my chest and just cuddled in for a while. I don't think a single person passed us without smiling. We're happy to report that Mama and PopPop Casler arrived late this afternoon. We're even happier to verify that PopPop truly has the magic touch; Josiah -- who gets beyond distraught with anyone new -- was completely content in PopPop's arms for the longest time. (Perhaps Josiah simply thinks that Daddy has returned but aged more than expected in the past few weeks!)

4 Days and counting...

Yet another morning in the office with Josiah hard at work! He's definitely got more street cred than most child developmentalists. :)

This afternoon Josiah discovered the wonderful world of tissue paper. After just crinkling it for a while, he figured out how to rip it. At one point he had huge pieces waving like mad pom-poms in each hand plus a third piece working away between his feet (his feet, FYI, are fantastically dexterous). It was pretty hilarious, although of course all movement ceased when I fetched the video camera.

5 Days and counting...

Josiah's changing so much all the time. Daddy, you're going to have a whole new boy to get to know next week! The quasi-raspberries he started doing last week have "matured" into full-blown (yes, pun intended!) raspberries; his mouth gets positively frothy! He loves hugging Mamma and playing games with her. He's getting especially good at actively, knowingly seeking to continue interactions. Shortly after we've been laughing and silly, he'll catch my eyes and start laughing and reaching for me in order to get it going again! Of course all of this fun gets us both pretty tuckered out...

6 Days and counting...

Today's photo was meant to be shot in Mommy's office this morning, while Josiah worked next to me on his booster seat. Alas, when we got back home I realized I'd never done it! No problem; I'd also planned a walk at the very end of his day to the rose garden, which is now in overwhelming bloom. Alas, once we got there and I had everything set up, I realized I'd left the camera at home. (Clearly Mommy is a little exhausted at the moment!) So, enjoy option #3, the stuffed animal shot.

7 Days and counting...

A week from now we'll be counting down the hours and minutes, not the days. Hooray!
Tuesday means market again. I'm not sure what I'm happier about: the exquisite peonies on my dining room table or the delicious corn on the cob and fresh sliced tomatoes on toast I just had for lunch. Or maybe it's the adorable boy with whom I had a backyard picnic! (He had pears and outmeal, the relics of which are festooning his delightful smiley lips in the photo.)

8 Days and counting...

Josiah is sporting the stars and the stripes today in honor of Memorial Day. We had a quiet day in the wake of a very noisy evening: Last night we were hit by a nasty storm. It only lasted half an hour, but in that time we got an inch of hail on the ground and our street temporarily became a raging river! Fortunately, nothing was damaged, although the yard is now a complete mess. In any case, enjoy the shots of Josiah having fun with Teddy. He's suddenly VERY into stuffed animals; he loves hugging them, jibber-jabbering to them, and eating (kissing?) their faces!

9 Days and counting...

Isn't it great to be well past the halfway point?!

Josiah had yet another good day today (aside from a bout of GREAT sadness at being left in the church nursery this morning). This afternoon we went on an excursion to the new house and had lots of fun as we realized it's basically finished at this point. Wow. Mommy's still in deep denial about the move, though. Literally not a single thing has been packed or organized, although I'm proud to say I did actually manage to ask a clerk for some boxes when at the grocery store last week. Of course the boxes remain in the car...but we're focusing on baby steps here! :) Speaking of babies, enjoy Josiah's "9 days" shot. He remains entranced with sticks, pens, and poles of any sort; here he's taking a brief spell from playing with the little wand that operates the miniblinds.

10 Days and counting...

It was a hot one today! Late afternoon we went to Uncle Tim and Auntie Holly's house for supper. Tim made BBQ chicken sandwiches for us with his baby (their snazzy grill). Alas, MY baby was Mr. Whingy-pants because he hadn't napped super well today plus was pretty warm...but we managed to find some smiles for the photo!

11 Days and counting...

We started the day -- early, while it was still cool out -- with a walk to the office. Midday we visited the F&M childcare center, which is where Josiah may go when the fall semester begins. A few more hours at the office and some errands rounded out the afternoon. Far more interesting than the daily to do list, though? Two separate times Josiah did some reduplicated babbling on the "d" sound: da-da-di-da-da-YA. Is someone asking for Daddy? :) Okay, so there wasn't any meaning in it, but Daddy, we both miss you!

Enjoy our foamy "11" from tubby time tonight.

12 Days and counting...

After a morning in the office, and an afternoon at home, this evening we had several students over for a potluck style supper. It was beautiful in the backyard tonight. The only part Josiah didn't enjoy was the group photo, when Mommy was several feet away! (Separation anxiety is in full bloom.) In any case, the girls menu consisted of chicken, rice, salads, cookies, and pineapple upside down cake. The boys menu consisted of pureed sweet potatoes. Good thing Josiah was the only boy.

13 Days and counting...

Another first for Josiah: Today he sat up in a cart while we shopped for groceries -- what a big boy! He listed a bit from time to time, and I thought about stuffing out the seat with big bags of jet-puffed marshmallows, but in the end it wasn't necessary. (Check out the gorgeous cart cover made by Nannan, by the way, complete with pockets for cups and velcro straps for toys. Makes the ride more comfy, a bit safer, more fun, and definitely drier and cleaner.) Other events of the day have included a big snuggle-and-tickle-fest and a walk to Mommy's office. We found out that if we dance for Dolly, she'll dance with us!

14 Days and counting...

We've been enjoying another beautiful day in Lancaster. Tuesday is market day, so Josiah and I went off to get fresh fruits and veggies. I weighed everything when we got home: 36 pounds of baby and produce. Mommy needs to find a good chiropracter! Another fun event of the day? Josiah has started to blow raspberries...or a version of raspberries anyway. He does it against the top of his mouth, sort of like rolling hard, spitty Rs. We both find it unbelievably funny. :)

15 Days and counting...

We spent the morning in the office with Adrienne (my summer research scholar), and Dolly helped us out with our photo before we headed home for lunch. Dolly's an African Grey Parrot who summers in Whitely with all of us psychos; during the year she lives in one of the college houses. She loves chewing up paper almost as much as Josiah does, so we barely managed to get our photo in before the sign was happily ripped to shreds!

16 Days and counting...

Kara graduated from Boston University today with her MSW. Unfortunately, Josiah and I weren't able to make the trip back to New England. But...that didn't keep us from celebrating! Josiah's decked out in full BU regalia to show his love, support, and congratulations. Well done, Auntie Kara!! We love you!