Baby in a Bag

I want some coffee!

Joshua has been doing well, keeping in touch with Mom while she is in Vietnam via phone calls and webcam. He said this morning--"I want to go to Vietnam also!"

He has also inherited Annette's love for coffee--when I asked him this morning if he wanted some water, he replied, "I want some coffee!"

Joshua's favorite stuffed animal now is "Lamb." It's not exactly a lovey--since he's OK if Lamb doesn't travel with him and he doesn't need it to sleep or for comfort. He just loves to hug stuffed animals. When we go to stores, he'll go down the aisle and hug each one, and then put it back on the shelf. He just likes soft things, even our bathroom mats. While hugging the lamb this morning, he said, "Lamb stinky!" which of course would happen since he's hugging and kissing it all the time, sometimes with food smeared on his face. I handwashed Lamb and threw him into the dryer for some fluffing, and now he's as good as new.

Fast Learner

While reading today, I read a story to Joshua and when we reread, it Joshua already had memorized some of the lines that I just taught him. I was impressed. It's fun to watch him as he's learning--he pauses when he gets to something he doesn't know--and when I tell him the answer, he repeats it, and when I ask him again and he says it correctly, he gets this big grin on his face.

Shake It Baby!

I'm not sure where he picked this up, but Joshua likes to say, "Shake it baby!" for no apparent reason.

I was surprised when he heard a banjo playing in the background of a radio program the other day, and he astutely remarked that it was a "banjo!" I don't think he's ever even seen a banjo played before.

We put up the Christmas decorations this week and Joshua likes to point out "Christmas tree!" whenever we see one.

After Joshua saw some videos of himself at 6 months old babbling, he has started to go into periods where he pretends he's a baby and says, "Gaga!" to everything.

Birthday Cake

Annette spent 5 hours just to decorate the cake!

Voila! Now that's love!
Happy Birthday Joshua!

Joshua's 2nd birthday party

Joshua was the star of his birthday party!

He rode around and greeted his guests.

And loved his two Thomas the Train birthday cakes!

Giving Thanks

Before we eat, Joshua now has us hold hands as he says, "Thank you God, Amen!"

After Annette told him that he came from her belly as a baby, he keeps on lifting up her shirt and says, "I want to go in!" and commands her belly to "Open up!"

He saw Annette's drink at dinner tonite and correctly identified it as "Wine!" I asked him what else mom drinks, and he said, "Coffee!"