If all goes as planned, Joshua is going to finally be a big brother in April!!! Yes, I am 11 weeks pregnant. Yeah! When Joshua & I were down in Oregon, I felt really sick but I just attributed that to a stomach bug that’s been going around. Apparently that wasn’t quite it. When I went to the doc to get checked out after we got home, he did an ultrasound that not only revealed a baby but it was a baby who already had a strong heartbeat! Without going into too many details, it is considered a fairly high-risk pregnancy & it’s had more than it’s share of complications & scares already, but the OBs have said that, although we still need to be cautiously optimistic, they don’t see any immediate worries. I need to take it easy & rest a lot, which unfortunately means that Joshua & I won’t be able to make our California trip tomorrow like planned. The docs didn’t specifically forbid the trip but they did give me a long list of things I can’t do & I don’t see how that would be possible traveling with my active little 3-year-old on my own, especially since the goal was to get together with friends & family members all over Southern California. I’m sure you’ll all understand but I still feel bad. If things improve, hopefully Joshua & I can make it down in a few months.
Joshua & I went to Oregon for a long weekend with the excuse of going to the Oregon State Fair. I used to go to the fair every year for as long as I can remember but haven’t been at ‘home’ at the end of summer since before starting my senior year of high school. It’s hard to believe it’s been 17 years—literally half a lifetime for me! I was looking forward to taking Joshua there (as well as having their famous elephant ears & scones that I’ve craved for years!). We entered the fairgrounds near where the rides are so that’s where we started out. Fortunately, yesterday was ‘kid day,’ so rides were only $1.50 each, compared to the usual $4.00 & up! We ended up getting more than 10 tickets & they were gone so quickly. The 2 of us went on the ferris wheel & a mini roller coaster together & Joshua went on a bunch of cute little rides all by himself. He rode a motorcycle, flew an airplane, drove a delivery truck & racecar, & went on a carousel (of course!).
Erick’s cousin Niki got married on Saturday so his parents & sister came up from California for the festivities. Joshua had a great time playing with his “shortest Grandma & Grandpa,” as he’s started affectionately calling them. They all had fun hanging out with him as well—what’s not to enjoy, though? Joshua was pretty well-behaved (at least for a 3-year-old) at the wedding, only needing Erick to take him out a couple of times during the ceremony. Those times were pretty much because he wanted to stand up in the front with Bailey & Dawson, who were the flower girl & ring bearer. At the reception, Joshua was happy to run around & play on the dance floor. We finally met Erick’s youngest cousin Samantha, who is a few months younger than Joshua. Josh went up to Sammy to give her a big hug but she wasn’t quite ready to be hugged by a strange kid so she started crying. In trying to comfort her, Joshua hugged her again & he just didn’t realize why that didn’t work! The whole rest of the time, Sammy would run away from Joshua or hold her hand behind her back so he couldn’t grab ahold of it. It was hilarious to watch them interact! Joshua was so excited to get to dance with “Princess Niki” during the dollar dance (with me standing close by just in case). He had the biggest smile on his face, like he was so special that she was dancing with him. It was a very long day & by the time we got back home, it was nearly 11pm so Joshua slept very well that night.
Joshua is 3 years old, but you’ll have to take my word for it. We had a great day & it was very well-documented with photos, as you’ve probably noticed I do quite frequently, judging by the thousands of photos on Flickr! The following day, unfortunately, I lost my camera, so all we have to show of his birthday are a couple of boring shots Erick & I happened to take with our cell phones. Despite reassurance from the city that it would be returned, that did not happen, so the photos are gone for good. At least we have the memories, even if they can’t be shared visually. But enough with the complaining, here’s what our birthday boy has been up to lately…
Amazingly, Erick had 2 ½ days off in a row so we had to take advantage of it. He was on call on Thursday which meant he got off early on Friday. He didn’t have to go back until his next on call shift on Monday rather than Sunday like usual. Erick agreed that I could plan a mini vacation to get out of town & I told him that it would be a surprise for his birthday, which was on Saturday. I decided that we would go to San Juan Island since it’s supposed to be very pretty & a nice, relaxing getaway—not too close but not too far either. Erick thought he could manage to leave a little early even so I planned that we could take the 3:00 ferry from Anacortes (over a 2 hour drive from our place). Unfortunately, Erick not only didn’t get to break away early, he had to stay a little late to finish up some paperwork. He had some complicated patients that required more work than usual & being the diligent little worker he is, he wanted to get it done correctly. Good for him but bad for our trip. But that was OK since I figured we’d just catch the 5:30 ferry instead. We got up to the ferry terminal in plenty of time only to discover that it was full & we’d have to wait for the 8:30 ferry. Argh!!! So we grabbed dinner in town & then waited. And waited. And waited. We each took turns taking Joshua to walk around while we were parked in line. I took Josh to the water to (no big surprise) look at rocks along the shore while Erick napped in the car. Once we got on the ferry, Joshua & I ran around (quite literally for him) while Erick finished up some work on his laptop. We didn’t get to the motel until almost 10pm & then we had to let Joshua play for awhile to run off more energy before attempting bedtime. Despite not having a nap, Joshua was so hyper & excited to not be strapped into his carseat like he was for the long drive.
Joshua had his semi-annual cardiologist appointment this morning & I’m so relieved that his new doctor did not see anything new going on with his heart. All of the problems we knew about are of course still there, but they’re no worse than before. Yeah!!! Dr. Puntel used to be the director of the entire pediatrics department but unfortunately he’s retiring next year so stepped down. We’re happy to have him as Joshua’s new cardiologist since he came with very high recommendations. Joshua hasn’t been weighed in awhile so now we know his latest stats. He’s 34lbs 3oz, & 40” tall (although I think he’s taller—he didn’t cooperate much with standing up to be measured). That puts him (of course) at the top of the chart for height & 75th percentile for weight. That’s my boy!
Erick was coerced into switching his first on-call shift to the 4th of July, so that meant we didn’t get to do the big celebration like I’d planned. So instead, we celebrated Independence Day on the 3rd instead. Fortunately, there were several places that had fireworks displays that night. Erick’s family goes to Emerald Downs (a racetrack) every year for a picnic & fireworks so we joined them. Joshua had so much fun playing with the cousins & we had fun visiting & hanging out. There was a big slide, bounce house, face painting, henna tattoos, & lots more for the kids to do. The Damishes even brought Bailey & Dawson’s little tent that the kids climbed into, & other relatives brought a wagon that they had fun sitting in. We all had a lot of food & fun. Then it finally got dark & the fireworks started. Joshua sat on Kristyn’s lap for most of the time & had his hands over his ears & his eyes closed for the first 5 minutes. Kristyn did a great job of comforting him & eventually he opened his eyes to see the fireworks. Occasionally he’d shut them again but for the most part, he watched the rest of the show. Eventually, Joshua got down & sat on the blanket. Bailey was so excited when Joshua joined her in her tent. The fireworks display was really amazing & lasted a long time. Joshua was so excited by the end & was asking for more fireworks. It didn’t even get over until after 10:30! Then we packed up our things & walked to the car. Big mistake in taking our time for this—the parking lot was jam-packed with cars trying to leave by the time we got to our car. It took over an hour just to leave the area. Cars would drive a few feet then they’d stop their engines since it was so bumper-to-bumper. So we didn’t end up getting home until after midnight & then to bed until about 1am. Not a good way for Erick to start his first 30-hour shift—on less than 4 hours of sleep!
Joshua is officially a preschooler! Bye-bye toddler-hood—my little boy is growing up. We’ve been talking about him going to preschool for the longest time & he’s been so excited, telling people he’s a preschooler now. I’d ask him if he was my little toddler or a big preschooler, & he’d say “I’m a preschooler” with a very proud grin. So I had high expectations for his first day, especially since he does well when I leave him with sitters or others. I went inside to sign him in & drop off his stuff but when it was time for me to leave, Joshua of course wasn’t happy with that part of the plan. I think he’d assumed I was going to be staying with him at preschool. Plenty of tears were shed but I was brave & walked out, with the director holding & hugging him. When I went to pick him up afterward, he was busy playing & didn’t even notice me at first. As soon as he saw me, I got a huge hug & he wanted to show me his new toys. Then he went & had a fit when I told him it was time to go home. I can’t win! The teachers said he stopped crying less than a minute after I left, which I’d suspected would happen. Hopefully he’ll get used to the routine & things will go more smoothly tomorrow.
We’re gradually settling into our new home. Most of the unpacking is done, thankfully. Well, maybe not most of it, but at least half of the boxes are cleared out. Joshua is registered for the hourly drop-off daycare on post as a back-up in case I need it. At $4/hour, how can you turn that down? I’m so happy that I found a Montessori school for Joshua. Preschools are so much cheaper out here than in Maryland so even though we could only afford a co-op out there, we’re able to consider Montessori schools in Washington. The preschool he’ll be going to has most kids there all-day 5 days a week but they’ve agreed that I can have Joshua attend just 3 days. On one of those days, he’ll be there all day so that I can go to work but otherwise, he’ll be there for a half day. This school even provides breakfast, lunch, & a snack, in addition to having naptime so I might have him there for at least the lunch & nap since he’d just do that as soon as I’d pick him up anyhow. Plus, I am crossing my fingers that seeing other kids eating will help us get over this picky eating phase he’s been in for well over a year.
Our vacation was amazing! We should definitely do this more often (yeah, right). First of all, thank you to Aunt Janet & Uncle Denny for taking us to the airport & for picking us up again, especially since we didn’t get back until late at night. We appreciate it so much! We didn’t do much on our first day since we were recovering from the jet lag & overall exhaustion from the flight. The only thing we did was make it to the commissary for groceries to stock up our hotel, hit the pool, & then went out for dinner. We stayed at the Navy Lodge on Ford Island (where the ships were docked in Pearl Harbor on that infamous day 58 years ago). They gave us a large room with a full kitchenette—plenty of room for Joshua to run & play in the air-conditioned coolness when it was too hot & sunny outside!
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