His Angry Eyes

I have to say that even though he's pitching a fit, I love this picture. Actually, Josh wasn't even throwing a tantrum, he was just disgruntled that he couldn't have the camera. I love how expressive his face gets when he's upset. I've never seen a kid who could literally make his face contort into that U-shaped frown. Luckily for me, Josh hasn't been throwing as many huge temper tantrums lately. Perhaps it's because he's been spending so much time with other people while I've been on bed rest! All joking aside, it's great that he's been able to spend so much time with grandparents and great-grandparents in their wide open spaces. Grandpa had a pile of gravel delivered to his house and it has entertained the boy for a week. There's nothing Josh loves more right now than to play with a stick and a 'wah' (rock). In fact, Grandma had to bargain with him to trade a hunk of wood for two soft foam Nerf arrows to take into his crib for nap time.

As far as Josh's language development, things are progressing at a snail's pace. He will gain a skill for a while and then not use it. He used to bark when we asked him what a dog says, but he won't do it anymore. He will, however, roar like a bear when asked what bears say. Josh is getting more consistent in saying 'outside' when he wants to go out (which is about 50 times a day) but refuses to sign or say 'food' or 'drink' though we've been working on those words and signs for over six months now. He also uses the sign 'more' for everything that he wants, even if he hasn't had any yet. It's kind of become his sign for wanting everything from a movie to food to playtime. Makes things a little confusing at times, but it's communication. The biggest improvement we've seen is in 'ready, set, GO!' He will always say 'go' when we say "ready... set..." and just recently when playing in the pool, Josh started to say "de... si... GO" as his own little version of what Mommy and Daddy say. Linking three words together is a big step for Josh and we're very proud of him. Josh isn't anywhere near a normal two year old speech level, but he's improving and that's what counts.

Thanks for your well wishes, prayers and concerns for my pregnancy. Tuesday is the day when I go in to be re-tested to see if I have to continue this bed rest stuff. I really don't feel like this is the time for Ben to make his appearance, so I hope the test will reflect that and the doctors will relax enough to let me return to work. I've felt very calm and reassured during this whole ordeal, which is a blessing.Here's the trouble-causing bump at one day shy of 26 weeks. According to the little ticker thing, I'm supposed to have about 100 more days left of pregnancy. Anyone want to place bets on how long I'll actually go?