Joshua is now a year & a half old!  What a big boy he’s becoming.  He’s still weighing in at 26lb 4oz like his appointment just over a week ago (50th percentile) but now he’s measuring 35″ tall (100th percentile, of course).  He’s squirming when we hold him so it sure feels like he weighs much more than he does, so thankfully he’s thin or my arms couldn’t take it.  Joshua’s pediatrician said she’s happy with how he’s doing in all areas, so she doesn’t need to see him again until his 2nd birthday!  I can’t even imagine going 6 months without seeing a doctor—yeah!  And the best thing of all for Josh was that he didn’t need any shots.

Joshua & I went to a Valentine’s party with friends from the spouses club on Monday.  We had a lot of fun visiting with friends, even though many of my conversations were abruptly stopped mid-sentence by having to chase after my little boy who was getting into mischief.  At least these moms (& even a dad) understood & were doing the same for theirs.  Joshua didn’t feel like eating much at the party other than crackers & cookies.  Gotta love him.  Josh exchanged valentines cards with the other kiddos.  He got lots of candy (which he generously but unknowingly gave to Mommy), but he loved 2 in particular because they had pictures of dogs.  I swear, we’re going to have to end up getting a dog at some point because Josh loves them so much.  He must get that from his dad because I’m not a dog person, at least as far as big dogs go.  But now I’m outnumbered so we’ll see what happens.

Last night, Erick & Joshua gave me a beautiful bouquet of red roses.  What a nice Valentine’s present.  Erick had to work today as usual but we had a nice dinner “date” as a threesome tonight.  It’s too cold to go out anyhow, so that’s fine.  Tomorrow is Erick’s last day at this rotation & then he leaves for Washington on Monday to start his first of 3 back-to-back away rotations.  That means we’ve got a lot of packing to do & not much time to do it in.  A week after he leaves, Joshua & I will leave for our west coast adventures.  It will be fun to get away (especially with the horrible weather that I complain about so much!), but I’ll miss our house & all of our local friends.  Living out of a suitcase is not going to be easy but it’ll be worth it since we’ll be with Erick.  Fortunately, some friends of ours will be staying at our house, so that will help make it easier knowing it will be well taken care of while we’re away.

I don’t know how often I’ll be able to post updates here or upload photos, but I’ll try to keep things up-to-date as much as possible.  Wish us luck on our trip & hope for smooth flights, easy car rentals, & child-friendly lodging.  And some good weather wouldn’t hurt either!