Summer fun

It's been a while since my last post so I'll update you! Josh got ear tubes the end of May, and hasn't been sick ONCE since then. Now, granted it's just been a month, but this is oh so glorious news. We have battled one too many ear infections and the ENT said it was time!! So one month of no illness is good news for us!

In the beginning of June we went to Florida for a family reunion. Orlando's the spot! It was fun fun fun! We spent a lot of time hanging out at the resort, splashing in the pool or sprayground, and talking with family! We hit Magic Kingdom for a day, and everyone had a blast. How can you not have fun at Disneyworld?? Joshua did great. He enjoyed meeting/seeing the characters, which surprised me. He rode a lot of rides, and ran around ToonTown exploring Mickey and Minnie's house. It was so much fun. We also went to Daytona beach and on another day to Kennedy Space Center.

We also got to see some of my family in Mississippi on the way to Orlando (by car)! That was a special treat!! Joshua loved exploring my cousin's house, and feeding her cat.

Joshua is 19 months, almost 20, as I write this post. We have enjoyed seeing the new things he is doing and how much he is growing! He has added some more words and talks up a storm at times, though we can't understand what he's saying! He has become really affectionate and spontaneously gives kisses and hugs. He loves anything to do with balls, and giggles up a storm when you play catch with him. Daddy and Josh play 'hoops' outside in the backyard, and Josh tosses the ball in the basket with glee! It is so cute to watch.

Easter

We had such a fun Easter. We went to church, then went out to lunch with Papa. Later that day we took a walk.




A stop at Tom Thumb was needed, and Josh got to ride in style. Kicking your feet out of the window, that's my kind of riding!


Josh has been doing well in his preschool and every day he goes (usually 2 days a week) he starts by extending his arms for Ms. Tamara. He really loves his teacher!! And we do too!


He has started saying "bye bye", "boat", and, "ball." Other words he says are "mama", "dada", and "thank you". He does have signs for quite a few other words/feelings.
He is really cute to watch-when I look at him when he knows he's doing something he's not supposed to- well, before I say anything he points his finger/waves it back and forth saying "dough-dough" like "no no"!

A New Trend

Ok, I'm really going to get on this band wagon. I have neglected my blogging duties, and hope to do better in the future!!

Like many, we've had the sickness bug visit our home quite a bit in the last few months. Josh has had a cold/sinus infection, double ear infection, another cold, and yet another ear infection. We are hoping that as the weather continues to warm up the cold season (and subsequent ear infections) will go away!

For Spring break my sisters and I went to San Marcos to enjoy shopping mostly! We have a tradition of doing a 'sister trip' each year, and San Marcos is a repeater... us Varner/McEntee girls love to shop :) We enjoy the good bargain hunting, fellowship, and fun times. Before heading home we got a relaxing pedicure, stopped in historic Gruene, TX, and had kolaches from West. We also drove by the IRS building in Austin that was attacked.

Joshua and I enjoyed going to the Arboretum with my sister, her mother in law, and Jordan. It was a BEAUTIFUL day, and no surprise to me, I spent most of my time running after my monkey! He had no qualms about running off from his mommy, into the grassy pasture, and away, away, away....When he wasn't running, he'd walk around with his hands clasped behind his back, strolling oh so cute!
I managed to get a few good pictures. Josh's favorite was the waterfalls...
it'll be fun when the sprayground gets going there. I'd get a kick out of watching him. I hope to take him to the sprayground that just opened in Frisco.










Joshua attended our church's Egg Eggstravaganza the last weekend in March. He wasn't quite sure what to do with his basket. Mom pretty much carried it around in the beginning as he went around collecting eggs. He immediately opens each one, and promptly the candy + wrapper goes to mouth. He just wanted to make sure he liked it before he put it in his basket! He eventually caught on, and grabbed his basket and one by one picked up eggs. They were shooing us out for the next age group to start, and Joshua wasn't ready to leave.. he was having fun! We were invited to attend another church's egg hunt, so we took the opportunity to go.. Josh was so excited for more practice and more candy!










Joshua had some big tumbles recently, twice falling while walking down our neighbor's driveway. I took a picture of the latest one..
dum diddy! Poor lil guy

Joshua has been saying "chuey" a lot lately, for "trudy," our dog. It is so cute. He gets so excited to go say good morning to her, and runs across the living room to her room. He calls "chuey, chuey". Then he leans down and gives her a kiss. He even puckers his lips and makes the kiss noise. It's so sweet! Then he likes to sit on her! He will try to bounce a little too, until Trudy gets really annoyed! His favorite toy these days is Elmo, and he will sit/lay on it too!
His favorite book is a book called about me, and he turns right to the page that describes chubby legs..chubby feet!

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Josh is quite the explorer/climber/mover/shaker. He is climbing on furniture, up and down the stairs, up/down his slide, and through tunnels, in boxes, under chairs and tables..he loves to dance to music, and shakes his body round and round!
He has been spending quite a bit of time outdoors on walks and helping Daddy with his backyard project.


Our extended family welcomed Keridon Rose Mathews on March 29th. She is precious! Mommy Hunter and Daddy Josh are proud and happy parents! Hunter is my cousin from my mom's side. I was so happy to hear this news, and can't wait to meet Baby Keridon in May!

Finally Getting With The Times!

So, I finally decided to get with the times and start a blog. I am so new at this and have no idea what to do, but it should be fun. Many of my friends have such cute blogs that I wanted to jump on the band wagon. I'm not promising updates often, but hey, you gotta get started somewhere!

To help me get a start blogging, I am going to do a brief overview of what has been going on so far in 2010.

January: Steve and I began a Bible Study (Basic Bible Stories) class at church. We have wonderful teachers and the class lasts the whole semester. It starts with Genesis, and then goes through the whole Bible, focusing on the largely known Bible 'stories'.. the kind you learned growing up. We thought this would be an awesome opportunity to grow in God's word. It's such a wonderful group, and we have made new friends.

Steve is staying busy at work, and I am as well. I just work 2 days a week, and so far that is going well. I may bump up my work days at some point in the future.

Joshua turned 14 months and continues to change, learn, and grow everyday. He also started preschool 2 days a week and LOVES it! He only cried the first few times, and then could care less that I was leaving. My friend Mindy had watched him at my house for a few months prior to that, which was wonderful! I think we were a little spoiled that she was coming to our house, and Josh was getting some good lovin and playtime!! We love you Mindy! And miss you!

We enjoyed having Erin home from college, and spent some quality time with the family. Steve and I used our church's Parents Night Out for the first time. We got out for dinner and a movie! It was lovely!!

Towards the end of the month we celebrated a late Christmas with my Dad and Rose. We had a great time at my sister's house, and of course, Joshua and his cousin Jordan were greeted with a lot of hugs, kisses, and gifts! My father was working on the oil rig over Christmas holiday, so this was our chance to be with him for that time. My dad will be working in Brazil beginning next month.

A good friend Chris came to town who I hadn't seen in many years!!
Kasey and I met him out at the airport hotel, and we all went to
dinner. My hubby and son got to meet him for the first time;
we had a grand time!

I joined MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) at my church. My first meeting was to be the 25th of the month, however Josh was sick. We made it to the next one (in Feb.), and enjoyed it very much. While I am in MOPS, Josh is downstairs with other kiddos, in MOPPETS! Fun times..

February (so far): Tiny Tots n Tunes, a fun music class, resumed for the Spring semester. I really enjoy taking Josh to this class.. however, since he started walking it seems I'm just up and down chasing him around. A good workout for mom! Something different this time is I discovered a friend of mine from high school takes her daughter.. so we switched days to join her class. This new day works out better for my work schedule too! It's been fun so far.. Miss Holly is such a joy to have as a teacher. Once Josh even ran up to give her a hug, in the middle of class. So sweet!

My good friend Christina came to visit for about 5 days..she flew in from Ohio on the 11th, the same day of the huge snowstorm. It started snowing early, and continued nonstop for 24 hours. Needless to say we got a ton of snow probably about 9-10 inches. DFW airport reported a new record of 12.5 inches! Christina was used to this much snow, but us Texans are not!
We had a nice time with Christina here...and got out for some girl time with friends Saturday. Steve left with Joshua on Saturday and so it really was Girl Time All Day and Night! It was strange to be babyless, though it just lasted 24 hours. And I missed 'em both!! Josh and Steve went to Austin for cousin Farah's 3rd birthday. It was held at Gymboree Play n Learn, and I'm told I missed a fun time!

Will post pictures soon. I am learning this blogging thing, one step at a time!

Cheers..