Three Hands

Me (as we are heading out the door): I thought you said you wanted to take the bunny stuffed animal with you.
Josie: I do, but I already have my boots in one hand and my crown in the other. If I had three hands I could take my bunny, too, but I only have two hands.

Stating the obvious has never been cuter.

Summer Vacation

On a day where we are enjoying 9 inches of snow and a 30 degree temperature, I choose to blog about our summer vacation. Fitting, right? But, I haven't made time to do it before, and I don't want to neglect our "summer vacation", so what better time to reminisce....

So, our summer vacation this year was actually in October - I am not too late in posting! We took advantage of Uncle Kenny's incredible generosity and hit the road to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. We have 'borrowed' his condo before, but it seems more enjoyable with each visit. This year, we tried something new and drove. While a 14 hour car trip was not the most exciting, we drove through the night there and back and thankfully Josie slept pretty much the entire ride.

The temperatures were in the high 80s and low 90s everyday (did I mention it was October?!?). Incredible beach and pool weather. The only downside: half-marathon training runs were difficult in the heat and humidity. But thanks to Winn Dixie and its water fountain, I survived!

Josie thinks the beach is about the best place in the world and asks weekly when we are going back. Hopefully sooner than later! Thanks, Kenny!

We're here! Taken from Uncle Kenny's balcony. That's Josie and Daddy down there:

Josie, with daddy's help, getting familiar with the ocean:
Naturally-born beach baby (except for the fair skin!):

She sure loves her daddy:

We found a playground, right on the beach:

She was so worn out this day that she went to take a nap wearing her tiara and fairy wings:


Breakfast on the balcony - check out the view:


The ice cream that daddy promised:


Going to check out the waves - safe on daddy's shoulders:


Practicing her super model pose:

Frosty the Snowman

Josie's long lost love has returned - just in time to enhance her holiday spirit. Frosty is still 'the man' in her book. I had almost forgotten of last year's love, until she found the Frosty DVD and begged me to let her watch it. I did and she hasn't stopped begging in 7 days! Need more proof? The child, who is supposed to be napping, is actually singing Frosty the Snowman. And, not just the real song, but, in addition, a verse she made up, "I love Frosty, yes I do, yes I do, yes I do....". Need just a little more to convince you of her love? Today she told me that she wants a baby. Once I reminded her that she can't have one of those until she is old and married, she declared that I can have the baby and it can be hers, too. In addition she wants to name it. Her first choice was Josie. I told her that I only want one Josie and that we would need to come up with a different name that we all like. She said that the baby's name should be Frosty. Why? "Because Josie and Frosty are the only two names I like, so those are the only things we could name a baby." She is in love....I rest my case.


(Disclaimer: NO, I am not pregnant, but apparently when I am, I will need to compete for naming rights!)

Apple Picking

A few weeks ago, we took a trip to Carter Mountain, near Charlottesville, to go apple picking. (Yes, I know, I am way behind on this blog - lots of posts coming soon!!!) Last year was our first trip here, and as luck would have it, we picked a rainy, cold October day. It was still fun, but cold and muddy. So, this year, we plan a trip on a Sunday afternoon in October and {surprise!} it is cold and rainy. Deciding that this should be our new tradition, we went ahead and loaded up the truck for the hour-long drive. About ten minutes away from the orchard, a miracle occurred......it stopped raining! Really. The clouds cleared from the sky and the sun shone bright. Although we still had to battle the muddy fields (our boots took care of that!), we had a wonderful outing. We picked about 30 pounds of apples, which Josie and I made quick work of, by preparing two apple pies and numerous quarts of applesauce. Yummy!

Cute Quote of the Day

I enter the room to see Josie writing in a calendar - scribbling in several of the daily 'blocks'. I asked her what she was doing. Her reply? "Mom, I'm just marking in all of the holidays: fall, Thanksgiving, Christmas, snowy, and all the others."

Applesauce

I like to make my own applesauce. I owe it all to grandma. She is tirelessly making applesauce, cookies, pickles, vegetable soup....you name it, she probably grew it and then made it! So, a little over a year ago I purchased an apple corer/peeler and ever since, I have been hooked. Homemade is no much better that store-bought. Josie has taken to the same love of good, old-fashioned applesauce. In fact, she insists on helping me make it. And, although we eat just about as many apple pieces as we cook, we have a great time making it together. I think Josie's favorite part is eating it afterwards - just look how yummy:

The Bike

Earlier this summer Josie got a big girl bike. As a belated birthday present, Aunt Amy and Uncle Pat took Josie to pick out a bike. It is big....well, for a three-year-old. 16 inches and PINK! Josie thinks it is about the best thing in the world. Seeing the joy she exudes while riding it, I think I will have to agree. But, don't take my word for it. Please, judge for yourself:

Cute Quote of the Day

When Josie woke up this morning, I was laying on the couch, reading a none-to-interesting ethics book for one of my graduate classes (but, I digress). She came to me and cuddled up (one of my favorite times of the day!). Then, out of the blue, she said: "I like the word throw-up, but I don't like to throw-up!" When asked to elaborate on this revelation she just smiled and said, "I don't feel like talking about it." And that was it. End of conversation.

Today's "Cute Quote"

The garbage truck just came by to pick up the trash. Josie enjoys watching them out the window weekly. Today she said, "The dump truck doesn't take our can, they just take the trash and take it in the dump truck and put it in a pile of dump".

Kings Dominion

Last weekend, Tim, Josie and I were invited to a "friends and family day" at Kings Dominion. We have lived in Richmond for approximately 8 years and have never visited. So, on a lovely, warm, and breezy Sunday morning, away we went. And, while we did not get a chance to ride any of the adult rides, Josie and friends had a marvelous time flying airplanes, conquering pirate ships, and hugging Dora. What a wonderful day. The excitement is pictured below.

Piloting the airplane with Kaden in tow:

Ahoy, matey! Enjoying the flying pirate ship:

Meeting Little Bill - rather hesitant:

Hanging with Uniqua - a little more comfortable:

Greeting Dora - pretty good:

With Dora, again - now that is true love!

Thanks for inviting me, Kaden!

Here We Go Steelers!

So, it is no surprise to anyone that we are HUGE Steelers fans in this house. Well, I am a huge Steelers fan. By some sick twist of fate I chose to fall in love with and marry a Browns fan (those of you NOT familiar with NFL football - Steelers and Browns are major rivals).

For years, our families have been taking jabs at each other, goading against the other's favorite team.

I have been determined to keep Josie on the side of good and "force" her to be a Steelers fan. Well, I suppose brainwash, from a young age. My family helps me out, and Josie is now a tried and true Steelers fan, singing Steelers songs, telling everyone that they are her favorite team, and even recognizing the Steelers symbol everywhere she sees it! I don't think daddy is too happy with her new love, but, well, I am ecstatic!

Check out her (okay, my) obsession over the past 3 years of her life:

Field Trip

Josie and I took a field trip last week. We went to Aunt Bobbi's house in PA. As you can see, the drive was very exciting:


On the first day, we went to the Hershey's Chocolate World - the Sweetest Place on Earth!
Here we are at the entrance:
Here, the cows sing to us about how to make chocolate. Josie is now telling everyone how you need milk and cocoa beans to make chocolate!


And, finally, Josie finds a 5 pound chocolate bar!

We finished up our visit with a trip to Zac's JV football game, Kelsey's varsity volleyball game, and Ryan's varsity football game. Sadly, I didn't remember to take the camera to these events, but Josie had a lot of fun watching her big cousins compete!

This Much.....

Josie has learned to use her hands to show "how much" or "how little" she likes something. Like, "Want to know how fast I am? I'm THIS [insert arms spread out far] fast"! Make sense? She uses this gesture constantly as her adjective of choice.

This morning, Josie woke up and cuddled up in our bed with us. As always she was jabbering away, nonstop, and Tim and I were just trying to get a little more sleep. Then, she started into a diatribe of how much she loved me. She said, "Mommy, want to know how much I love you?" "How much, Josie?" "I love you THIS much [insert arms spread out as far as she can]". Her next line is what makes this blog-worthy: "That's a lot of muches"!!!!!

This is it.

Tomorrow is the first day of school. I will not be participating. What a weird, strange feeling. All day today I have had this feeling that I am forgetting something. I think I know what it is. To get ready for work. Except, I don't have a job to go to. I am glad - I think - that I won't be heading back tomorrow. Please don't get me wrong - I am so glad to have the opportunity to just be a mommy for awhile. I am blessed that Tim is comfortable supporting this venture, and in fact, encourages it. And, I am sure that if Josie understood what was going on, she would be thankful, too. Still, I am no longer earning my own paycheck and I am dependent on Tim for that. Such a big change - kinda scary.

I have high hopes for the next year and expect all will be met! Wish me luck.

Farewell

Josie and I took an unexpected trip last week. We headed back to western PA. The good news: We drove both the 7 hours up and the 7 hours back without stopping! My girl was able to survive a carseat for 7 hours at a time without getting out and without fussing and complaining. Big kudos to the big girl!

Now, for the sad news. We went home for a funeral. My grandma's. Josie's great-grandma's. It was a very sad week. My grandma, Effie Naomi Grossman, was one of the greatest, most incredibly generous and selfless people to ever walk this earth. She was such a wonderful lady. We will miss her greatly.

One of the best moments of Josie's infancy was when she went to PA to meet her great-grandma for the first time. The following two pictures show the immediate joy and elation that grandma was able to bring to this two-month old's face:

Firsts

It was a week of firsts.

Josie received her first bee sting and milked it for all it was worth!
(See, it's there in her left armpit):


Then, we went to our first Chuck E Cheese birthday party. It was fun, but it sure was crowded and semi-chaotic!



Finally, we had our first trip to Pump It Up - an inflatable party spot where you can bounce, slide, and play all day! It was a lot of fun, and we both have the "rug burns" to prove it!

Our little bookworm

Josie loves to read. Well, she can't really read yet, but she loves to look at books, have books read to her, and memorize books. She sees us reading often, and thinks the library is wonderful! So, I am never surprised to see her "reading" books and magazines she finds lying around the house. The other day I walked into my bedroom to find Josie curled up on my bed with a book she found on the nightstand. Clearly not her reading level or age-appropriate, but adorable nonetheless!

I'm a big kid now!

My three year old is finally a "big girl". We have been talking about getting a big girl bed for months, but, really, I have been putting off the inevitable. In her crib, she stays. She does not climb out, and each morning when she wakes up, she talks, sings, and plays until she is truly awake before asking to get up. Alas, a slight problem has occurred. Josie is almost too long for the crib. Had this not happened, I may have had the only five-year-old in kindergarten that was still in a crib. Seriously. I would have kept her there forever. It was a sad day when I finally came to the realization that she was ready to get a real bed.

All parts of the bed had been purchased and waiting in a closet for this day. So, on Saturday we went to the store and purchased Josie's mattress. We tossed around the idea of a side rail, but decided to take the "let's wait and see if she falls out" approach. We came home and spent the afternoon tearing down the crib and setting up the bed. Finally, Saturday night arrived, and Josie was ecstatic to go to bed. She continuously lamented, "I am so excited for my big girl bed!"

Night one: no problems. Morning one: hops right out of bed, ready to start the day - but not a problem since she slept in! Nap one: URGH!! Singing, playing, out of bed....yuck :( Night two: almost no problems - aside from falling out once around 2:30am. And, she was so discombobulated that I just scooped her up, put her back in, and she was sound asleep. Morning two: hops right out of bed, straight to the potty, then to my room to wake me up with an, "I am just not tired anymore." Nap two: Horror! Getting out of bed, reading books, playing with all of the "stuff" on her dresser, and knocking down the curtains! Finally, after the curtains, I very firmly reminded her that she would NOT get up until she napped, and an hour after it all started, she fell asleep....where she reminds at the moment!

So, all in all, a decent adjustment thus far, if I can just figure out how to convince her that a nap in necessary (for both of us!).

Here is the "big girl" on her first night in her bed:

Visiting

Josie's grammy, great grandma, and great grandpa were here this week. What a wonderful time! We went to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens on Wednesday and saw the Butterflies Live! exhibit, played in the sprinklers, and explored the gardens. It was so amazing. Josie and great grandma were both enthralled. Check out some photos of the fun.



Sprinkler fun:


Check out the pretty butterflies:





Josie, Great-Grandma, and Great-Grandpa:

Hiking

Last weekend we went hiking in North Anna State Park. It was a short hike - only a few miles - but we really want to get back into hiking and are trying to ease Josie into it. We had a wonderful time running on the trails, choosing walking sticks, and throwing rocks into the river. So much so that Josie was "SOOOO tired!" and needed a few sitting breaks and eventually daddy's shoulders breaks! Here are a few pictures: