Fast Friends

We can't wait to be reunited with Jesse on Saturday (at London Heathrow to fly back to the States), but that reunion will mark another separation: Josiah and his second cousin Grace have, in the past 3 weeks, become such good friends. They play together, learn tricks from one another, and share hugs and kisses before leaving each other. Grace is a few months older and incredibly talkative and clever, so she and Josiah are not on a perfect par, but it's close enough. Today they enjoyed playing in a nearby playground and, this evening, read Thomas the Tank Engine books side by side before their bath. They're going to miss one another sorely...

More Fun in the Sun

We hope you've made it safely to Russia, Jesse! We've had another downright hot day here in southern England, so after a quick round of Scrabble -- see photo! -- we and the kiddos were off to Moors Valley Country Park. It's a fantastic, enormous park, with miles of wooded nature walks and bike trails (including a wooden walkway through the tops of the trees), huge sand play areas, and the most amazingly fun and creative structures for scrambling on and in and under. Some portions are clearly "playgrounds for adults" -- a high wire adventure course, zip lines, climbers, rope structures, and slides all designed for non-child bodies. We only did a few bits of it today with the wee ones, and we were happy and sweaty and completely tired out by lunch time. After naps during the warmth of the afternoon, Josiah and Grace had a bath too cool down, with about three inches of water and fifteen inches of bubbles!

Fun in the Sun

Sorry we didn't post anything yesterday, Jesse. I didn't take any pics -- but in compensation, today brought lots of photo opportunities. We started off the morning very early with Josiah up before 6 a.m. He watched some "Elmo" in his Spiderman jammies while I showered, as depicted. :) We attended Holtwood for church, as usual, followed by an enormous and fantastic lunch with all the family here, also as normal. By mid-afternoon it was very warm indeed for an English day (mid-80s, perhaps?), so we lubed Grace and Josiah up with sunscreen and had fun with them in the garden. Ann had bought a bubble blowing machine that Josiah LOVED; he stood in front of it for ages on end, simply enjoying the bubbles bursting on his face. Ann also produced a slip-n-slide which got doctored up with water and bubble bath solution. Grace was the one who enjoyed that more; Josiah only went down a few times and then got a bit frightened. Later in the evening, after supper, Josiah enjoyed a second round of bubbles, followed immediately by snuggles with Sasha. I'll leave you to imagine what he looked like after first getting completely slimed with bubble mixture and then cuddling a very furry, heavily shedding kitty!

A Quieter Day

We don't have quite as much excitement to report to Daddy today, as we've kept quieter on the heels of several busy days this week. Grace was here while Danni worked, and we all enjoyed playing with toys (inside) and playing with water (outside). Josiah and Grace especially enjoyed stamping and jumping in water puddles they'd made on the back patio.

Swanage

Daddy's still in Geneva, Switzerland, and we hope he's had a day as enjoyable as ours. This morning we (Ann, Chessie, Danni, Grace, Josiah, and I) headed southwest to the town of Swanage, where Josiah enjoyed his first proper beach excursion. It was a bit cool, but the temperature didn't prevent Josiah from charging toward the ocean (gleefully chanting "wah-gee! wah-gee!" -- his unusual pronunciation of "water") and having a fantastic time with waves of "wah-gee" coming up over his feet and occasionally to his knees. I think he could have happily stood holding my hands and digging his toes in the swirling sand the entire time, but occasionally I managed to lure him up onto the beach to dig. We enjoyed a yummy lunch of baked beans and sausages at a local restaurant, and then we headed back to Danni and Grace's for a peek at their three new hens. Loving all things animal, Josiah was keen for us to get right in the coop with them, although Charlie, Lola, and Lotta were a little less thrilled about our proximity than Josiah was. :)

Giggles In England

We've been in England since May 19th, and for the remainder of our holiday here Josiah and I will be blogging regularly because Jesse is now traveling in other parts of Europe for HOPE. He left for Geneva, Switzerland this morning. Our travels today were much less extensive than his but far more fun! This afternoon Josiah and I, along with Ann, Danni, Tasha, and Grace, went to Giggles, a young children's indoor play place. Josiah also LOVED his first dinner of salmon this evening ("pink chicken"), eating twice as much of it as any of the adults!

The tomato doesn't fall far from the tree

One of the less impressive stories from my early childhood: I had never encountered a cherry tomato until I was at least in kindergarten, and the first one I saw stole my little heart. It was soooo cute and tiny! Despite my parents' remonstrations, I managed to hide one away in my bedroom. Unfortunately, the long-term outcome wasn't pretty despite the best of care tucked under my baby bassinet cushions. :) Today Josiah got his hands on two cherry tomatoes of his own and fell equally in love. They were VERY fun playthings for ages this evening...but we know that playing with Daddy tomorrow night will be even better!

...and Mama makes three.

Three words, that is. Today Josiah said his first three-word sentence: "More cheese, Mama!" While mealtimes aren't quite the pinnacle points of his day that they once were, Josiah heartily enjoys his food, so it's no surprise that his vocabulary involves a lot of food terms. :) He's getting better and better at using his spoon, too. In contrast to these successes, we have some work to do on steering. Our little next door neighbor boy, Riley, gave Josiah this popping push toy this afternoon, telling us with sincere 2.5-year-old wisdom that "it's for babies." Josiah immediately forged a deep love-hate relationship with the thing. He thinks it's tremendously fun, but he sort of follows where it goes rather than steering it, so he's constantly (i.e., every 5 or 7 seconds) yelling "stuck! stuck!" as he has it jammed under a chair, run into a wall, or pushed against piece of furniture.

Havin' Fun

We were too busy having fun today to dig out the camera! This morning consisted of a trip to F&M: Krista visited with a former student who was in town while Josiah had a wonderful time playing ball, chasing bubbles, and running all around the vicinity where we sat outside. The afternoon included many highlights, chief among them blowing up the queen air mattress for a huge jumping-tickling-tackling-climbing surface, playing outdoors with the neighbor kids, and finding a mama mallard duck on her nest behind our next door neighbors' front shrubs!! We can't wait for the ducklings. :) And while it might be unrelated to the surgery and Josiah having tons of fluid removed from his ears (i.e., perfect hearing reinstated), it's been intriguing that Josiah's been chatting up a storm for the past 48 hours. He's had dozens of words in his vocabulary for a while now, but this is the first he's begun jibber-jabbering away while playing. It's almost entirely unintelligible, but so fun and so cute! Come home soon, Daddy!

Daddy's in the DR

With Jesse off to the Dominican Republic for several days, we're back to blogging for him. It's been a busy 24 hours: Three house guests with us last night (one arriving after we went to bed), Jesse rising at 3:30 a.m. for a crack-of-dawn flight out of Baltimore, guests rising by 5 a.m. for a morning flight out of Philadelphia, Josiah and I out of the house by 6:15 a.m. for his surgery. Yep, surgery. Just really minor -- tubes in both eardrums. Josiah's been on antibiotics more than he's been off of them since October with ear infections that just won't go away despite increasingly strong drugs. The procedure went well and, as is clear in the pictures, he was right as rain by afternoon.

In Memoriam

Jesse is away, but the purpose of this post is not to keep him "in the loop," as is our norm when he travels, but to reflect on the reason for his absence. Last Thursday, April 10th, Ma Penha -- Jesse's maternal grandmother -- passed away. Josiah and I have not joined Jesse for the 3-day trip to Brockton, Massachusetts to be part of the celebration and mourning of Ma's passing. Although the reasons for this decision were several, chief among them was the fact that less than a month ago, we all drove north to celebrate Ma's 90th birthday. It was a wonderful weekend, and Ma thoroughly enjoyed the surprise and joy of having her entire family show up from around the country for this milestone in her life. We had a private room for an enormous lunch as a family, and we spent several hours sharing stories of Ma and expressing our love for her. So often we regret waiting for a funeral to let people know how we love them. Little did we know that this sadder event would so soon follow, and what a privilege to have done it the right way around. The photo here is from the party. You can see here she was beautiful in years, and what the picture doesn't show I can tell you: she loved her family fiercely and proudly, she held to life tenaciously, and she was as courageous and strong as women come.

Grandma and Papa White's visit

Krista's home from Vancouver, Jesse doesn't have any international travel for a few more weeks, and life is pleasantly normal (which is to say, of course, chaotically full, but we wouldn't recognize our lives any other way!). Yesterday Grandma and Papa White visited, en route home to NH from FL. Josiah was yet again the happy beneficiary of "guest readers" for some favorite books, showed off his best dance moves, and loved playing ball. We were sad to say bye so soon -- after breakfast this morning -- but were thankful to enjoy even a brief visit. We love you, Grandma and Papa!

With Mom Mom and Pop Pop

Dear Mom Mom and Pop Pop,

Thanks for playing with me yesterday. We had lots of fun going to Walmart and pushing all of the "Try Me" buttons. As you know, I also found immense enjoyment in waving that little emery board at Pop Pop until we both dissolved in giggles (I am a man of simple pleasures after all). I also love sitting in my little chair to watch out the window for Daddy to come home. Thanks for teaching me the word "strawberry" the other day; that has come in very handy :) Listening to music and dancing was also fun. Let's do this again sometime.

Love,
Josiah

Mr. Mom

Well, Mum is at a conference in Vancouver this week, so it's Daddy's turn to keep her posted on what's happening at home. My mom and dad arrived today for the week to help out, which is a huge blessing. Tonight, Pop pop read a story to Josiah to help get him ready for bed. We're looking forward to a lot of fun this week!

Easter

Josiah and Daddy had to go to church by themselves for Easter Sunday because Krista was sick. They sure looked handsome!

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!