let me know what you think of the new layout, and lmk also if it shows up ok for you in your browser.

i am joining round 3 of HK’s version of biggest loser. i have lost almost 20 lbs since january. i am midway to my goal weight.

hopefully more tomorrow!

just in case anyone wants to get josiah something, here is his wish list. it’s almost all books. LOL. i’m still adding things every so often.

amazon wish list.

i am thinking of doing an underwater theme for his party. maybe a dolphin cake? with nemo accessories? josiah REALLY loves water, and he really liked the dolphins at the zoo, so that’s why i’m thinking of that. any other ideas? i want to have the party at a park. maybe with a cookout, like hotdogs and chips? i’m thinking either saturday night or sunday night. i need to decide so i can make the invitations! LOL.

jeremiah POTTIED today!!!!!!!!!! SEVERAL times in a row!!!!!!!!!!
we were reading a potty book, when it was over, i asked if he wanted to potty (usually he says an emphatic NO) and he said YEAH!!!!
so we went to the potty, he played a bit, then said he was done. i asked him if he felt any pee-pee in his pen$$ and he said yes, so he sat longer. i told him not to hold his pen$$ so the pee-pee could come out. (this is another thread all together - my boys are BOTH pen$$ pinchers!!!) he said ok, left it alone, and i saw his tummy muscles squeezing. i told him to push the pee-pee out.
he went! he was SOOOOOOO excited!
we did the rinse and dump and flush and wash hands, and i asked if he wanted a pull-up. he said yes (he has NOT wanted a pull-up before now - i would have asked if he wanted undies, but it was right before nap time) and i had him sit on the potty while i went to get the pull-ups from downstairs. he went MORE while sitting!
so more praise, repeat the wash, rinse, etc, and it happened 4 more times. now i KNOW he wants those skittles, so i am going to have him sit on the potty for five minutes before i let him up. i want him to get a stream going, not a little trickle like he was. but the point is, he KNOWS when he needs to “go”. i am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited about this!!!!!!!!!!!

now, how to get him down for nap, when he says he needs to potty, because he wants skittles, AND likes to avoid napping in the first place. ?

how to keep the one year old who is totally interested in everything big bubby does away from the potty??

jeremiah is 2 and a half years old!

it never ceases to amaze me how fast time flies when you have children. a month seems like a day. i guess time flies when you’re having fun, huh?!

jeremiah is soooo smart. i can’t even begin to tell about all his antics, all the cute things he says, all the fun things he does. he is smart enough to be pretty manipulative too. something he tries is, “mama, i can’t. i crying,” accompanied by a fake cry, of course. LOL!

i know this is a generic standard, but it’s just interesting to me:

“Your child is becoming increasingly good at matching words with the objects they describe.”

jeremiah can name anything he knows, which is a lot! even things he has never seen in real life, he knows from books, and can name them.
“She can name a few body parts, some colors, and even a friend or two. ”

jeremiah can name every body part, from toes, to knees, to elbows, to belly button, to hair. he knows all his colors. only pink gives him problems, since he doesn’t see much of it! lol. he can name my friend’s sons austin and logan, since they are who he considers his good friends, and he even prays for them (did you know that, amanda?).

“You can help her improve her verbal skills by giving her details. If she says “Dog sleep,” for example, you might say, “Yes, Spot is curled up and fast asleep on the chair.”"

jeremiah says “bella is sleeping on the couch mama! wake up, bella!!”

“She can’t imitate your complex language patterns just yet, but she’s learning more all the time.”

um, ok. LOL.

we are still struggling with getting him interested in potty training. and he is still not that interested in dressing himself. sigh. i don’t want to rush him tho, so i’m trying to go at his pace. he seems ahead in so many ways, why rush his childhood???

happy 2 and a half, sweet boy! mama loves you!!!

Dear Josiah,

oh my goodness my little son, how is it possible the year is nearly over? you are still my little baby, even though you are growing into a little boy before my very eyes. you have 8 teeth. your hair is getting long and curling. you walk, you run, you clap, you sing, you say words, you eat food on your own, you dance, you climb, you nod and shake your head, you hold up one finger, you love water, you splash, you point, you recognize animals and food, you growl, you hug, you kiss, you love.

you are so amazing. you are so sweet. you are so adorable. you are so big. you are so wonderful. i can’t express to you how much i love you. how much you have changed my life. i am SOOO thankful the Lord blessed us with you as a son!!!!!!

love,

your mama

two nights ago, jerry and i were taking turns reading to the boys. josiah was LOVING it. he loves books all the sudden - and not just for eating! he will sit alone and turn the pages, pointing to different things, “reading” to himself. it is ADORABLE. there are a few things that if asked to find them on the page, he will immediately point at them. kitty, apple, bunny are a few.
jeremiah is so smart too. i was asking him to name letters, by pointing to them, and he did. he spelled ELMO that way. he recognizes all his letters by sight. and he’s doing so well with counting - he has been doing better with not skipping 456 - he will say 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13 now!! ETA: oh yeah and he has been singing the alphabet song all the way through with almost no mistakes!!!
don’t mean to be braggy - i am just so impressed with my little smart guys. i love them soooooo much.

ETA: here is a code you can use to link to my site!! just erase the spaces.
< a xhref="http://www.blessedmama.com" mce_href="http://www.blessedmama.com" target="_new">< img xsrc=" http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f252/blessedmamajenn/SIGNATURES/banner_125x125_ani2.gif" alt="Blessed Mama Creations">

i’m still here. don’t worry too much about me.

after a bout of sickness, which i’m still unsure if it was related to the new medicine or not, i am feeling much better. still need to work on getting more sleep in my system, but other than that, i feel better.

still need major prayers on the new job front for jerry. he either needs one full-time job with wonderful benefits or he needs a different full-time job that pays more, and he’ll keep his part-time fed-ex job. PLEASE pray.

along the money vein, which is almost all i talk about anymore, and i’m sorry about that! i would love for you to be my sounding board!!

if i was able to get out of the house for ONE DAY a week, free babysitting, to work from 1130-530, what would you suggest i look at???

also, and i know i’ve asked this before, and i’ll ask it again, would anyone be interested in putting a blessed mama creations button on your site? if so please let me know.
i am in awe that josiah is almost one. it just blows my mind. it shouldn’t, when people ask me how old he is and are surprised he’s not one yet. yesterday a lady said he lookd much bigger than two, but still acted babyish. jerry and i were like, that’s cuz he’s a baby. LOL. if she’d seen him running around she’d have been really confused tho! he has been talking a lot more lately too - repeating most of what we say. he will focus really hard to try to say something. he is so incredibly adorable and amazing. he’s a stubborn little guy too! he loves climbing on things, and he’ll climb on a chair, look over at us, listen to us say “no”, then start bouncing on the chair. LOL. sigh.

jeremiah is more and more amazing every day too. he’ll be exactly 2 1/2 this month. i keep wondering when potty training will sound appealing to him. i keep wondering when he’ll “get it”. i am not pressing him, so i’m not sure if i’m helping him or hindering him. he is such a handsome and smart little guy! he’s so sweet too, unless his brother happens to be in his way. SIGH.

well that’s it for now. God bless all!!