When dad is away...

Dave went to Rhode Island Thursday to present at a conference. So while he was away, Joshua and I went to Jackson. We had a great time but missed Dave.

Joshua and Abigail played in the fountain at the Renaissance Center.

Joshua went to his first baseball game with Coach. We saw the Mississippi Braves play Sunday night.

As if the baseball game weren't exciting enough, Joshua also ate his first Oreo Sunday night.

Joshua and Abigail went to the Splash Park in Brandon...twice. The first time we went they took to the water immediately and did not want to go home.

Joshua fed the ducks with Nana.

The second time we went to the Splash Park we pulled up at the same time 2 bus loads of summer campers pulled up. In hind sight, Gloria and I decided we should have just turned around and gone home when we saw the buses, but we had already dressed and sun screened the babies and we were determined to play in the water.

Initially the babies had a great time. But after about 5 minutes of sharing the park with a bunch of big kids, Joshua and Abigail did a lot more watching than playing.

We are all back home together. Dave's presentation went well and he really enjoyed his conference. Joshua went back to school today for the last 3 days in Ms. Susan's class before he moves into Ms. Rosemary's class next week. We are praying for a smooth transition as he will have to nap on a cot instead of in a baby bed. Ms. Rosemary may need some prayers too.

Hot!

Joshua says everything is "hot." In the past couple weeks everything from his juice, a popsicle, a piece of bread and a book have been "hot." There are times where "hot" is the best word to describe the situation and he uses it then too. Saturday we had a "hot" experience. It had rained and the weather reported that instead of the 98 degrees we had experienced the last week, it was going to be in the "mid to upper 80s." So I said, "Hey, since it isn't as hot today I think we should go to the park and spend some time outside." So we went to a local park and quickly learned that it was not only hot but the humidity was off the chart. When we left all we could think about was eating one of those popsicles Joshua called "hot" the night before.

Can't get enough of the slide.

He loves coming down,

going up,

all the way up on his own,

coming back down,

through the tunnel,

to our second favorite...the swing.

1.5 years of age

Today we mark Joshua's 1.5 year birthday. As is our custom here at Nolen News, we recount the things that Dave and I have learned as parents,as well as the funnier and more interesting things Joshua has done over the last three months. Several important milestones have been reached between 1.25 and 1.5 years of age. With those milestones have come many bumps, bruises and laughs.

Joshua is adding lots of words to his vocabulary each week. Some we recognize, some we can interpret and others we have no clue on. He continues to sign certain words but sometimes doubles up with the spoken version as well. Here he is again demonstrating his grasp of animal noises:

Joshua prefers to communicate his displeasure in shocking and appalling ways. Like most everything else he has hit the terrible twos a little early. His tantrum of choice involves banging his head against a wall, the floor, someone else's body or his bed until he gets a bruise on his forehead. While he was teething a few weeks ago one of us had to sleep on the floor of his room so that he would remain calm and not bash his head.

Speaking of sleep, thankfully Joshua has returned to sleeping through the night the last several nights. He is sleeping longer than he ever has and we are too!

Joshua is very teachable (at times) these days. He copies actions that he finds entertaining. I have taught him that whenever we see a bug in the house he is supposed to smash it. Since he enjoys clobbering things, he has taken to this quickly. The scene usually goes something like this: Joshua sees a bug or something he thinks is a bug, he shushes everyone, points to the suspect and then smacks his hand on the floor-not necessarily on target.

With all the added knowledge, Joshua has also gained a feeling of independence. He wants to do most things for himself and in his own time. This has been fun to watch develop, but it also makes it difficult to reign in the king. Here he is striking out on his own and letting us know when he is done. It also proves a fitting closing to this post...

Fountain Fun

There is a fountain in a courtyard on MSU's campus that was calling Joshua's name on a warm afternoon this weekend. It is as close as we get to a "splash park" here. We took him to play in it Sunday afternoon. I was unprepared that day. I didn't have my camera and more importantly I had nothing dry to put on Joshua for the ride home. He had a blast though. So Monday morning we took him back, but this time he wore his swim trunks and his hat and I was able to catch a few golden moments on film. When school is in session and the wind isn't blowing too hard, the fountain is turned up a little higher. I am going to try to get Joshua back over there to play in the taller water one day.

After watching a little World Cup Soccer, Joshua wants to kick everything.

(be sure to check out the next post-it's new too!)

4th of July Parade

The gathering of Joshua's school mates and parade helpers waiting for the police escort to arrive. The were two other day cares involved in the parade that lined up on the opposite corners of the intersection-there were small children everywhere!

Joshua's class waited patiently in their "Bye Bye Buggie" which served as the float they rode on during the parade.

So handsome in his red, white and blue!

Main Street, Starkville, MS

Joshua took his role in the parade very seriously. He maintained the same straight face-he never smiled or waved.

At the end of the parade Dave got him to laugh and goof off a little bit.

We had a good time watching Joshua's parade and walking the 2 blocks alongside his "float."