Legos

Jigsaw puzzles are a thing of the past at our house. Joshua's newest passion is Legos. When Joshua was putting puzzles together, I often wished there was a puzzle library or a puzzle rental store, now, I wish for a Lego rental store...

Anway, Joshua received his first Lego sets for Christmas and then birthday. I say 'sets' because I'm not sure if they even make just boxes of mixed up Legos any more, everything is a 'set'. We have Star Wars, we have Indiana Jones, we have Power Miners and we now have Pirates. Note to the Lego company, Harry Potter Lego sets would be really cool.

Joshua is so good at putting these things together. His largest set, a Power Miner set, has 474 pieces, rated for 8-14 years old and has 84 pages of instructions. He has been working on it for about 6 straight hours now and has only 3 more pages to go.

I'm liking the Legos. The only complaint I have is I haven't quiet figured out how to store the sets so they do not get mixed together and pieces do not get lost.

It may not sound as exciting as a shark filmer (marine biologist), may not be as romantic as a fossil, dinosaur bone, treasure digger (paleontologist/archeologist), but architect is a mighty fine profession.

Playground Friends

Since preschool is over and summer vacation has arrived, Joshua and I have been spending a lot of time at the park. I work all day and he has been very patient with me so as soon as work is over, we pack up our dinner, drinks and I grab a book and we go to Kelly Road Park.

I love that Joshua is now old enough to play without me and I can sit and read a little, with the most important thing being he can now (or will now) play without me. When we first started going, we would sit and look around for someone he could play with, we would both walk up and I would say "This is Joshua. What is your name? Would you like to play with Joshua?" and then they would run along together and play. Now, Joshua does it all by himself! For those of you that didn't know Joshua in his early days, this is a HUGE deal. And, since we have been going 2 or 3 times a week to the same park, we are now starting to see some of the same kids so it is even easier for Joshua to find a playmate.

So far, we have had really good luck at finding kids Joshua's age to play with. One day, there was nothing but older boys, the youngest of them being 9. They let Joshua play tag with them. The boys, and Joshua, would run around, they would let Joshua go a long time without being it, then one would tag him. He would then chase the boys around a while before one would slow down enought to let Joshua tag him. They were really good playing with him. And sometimes, Joshua gets stuck with some younger kids but he is very patient with them and plays on their level.

Yesterday Joshua was playing with two boys, not sure if they were twins or not but they were definitely brothers. They were a bit older than Joshua but didn't mind that he played with them. I noticed that each time one of the boys wanted a drink from the fountain, they would jump over the fence, get a drink and then jump back over the fence into the playground. So, it was no surprise to me when I saw the two boys AND Joshua go over the fence, get a drink, and then jump back over the fence...well, except for Joshua...It was easy for him to climb on a bench and then jump the fence, getting back over the fence was the hard part. I sat and watched, and smiled, and giggled as the two boys were grabbing Joshua's arms trying to pull him over. Then, one boy went back over the fence and tried pushing Joshua up while the other one pulled. When that didn't work, they decided to switch places and try the push and pull technique. When that didn't work, they moved down close to a tree, pulled a branch down so Joshua could hang on to it while one boy pushed and the other pulled. They finally got Joshua back over the fence. When they ran past me, I called Joshua over, told him not to climb over the fence any more without telling me first...I think he was surprised that I knew.

I love watching the kids play and the interactions among them. I love seeing Joshua play with the older kids and the older kids being nice to him. I love seeing Joshua play with the younger kids and playing on their level. I love seeing Joshua play with kids his own age. I love that we now see many of the same kids over and over.

Who knew these feelings of pride and joy could come from a playground...

Sports and Things

Well, Spring Soccer was kind of a bust. There was more rain and games and practices cancelled than there was sunshine and games and practices. Joshua never really got used to the fact that Coach Cindy was no longer there. I think Coach Alex and Coach Mark did an excellent job but Joshua never really warned up to them. He really didn't get into the games or the practices and I've seen him run faster through the living room than he would run on the soccer field. But, one good thing that came out of soccer this year was Joshua now knows 3 additional kids starting Kindergarten with him and 4 kids that will be in 1st grade at his school.


Joshua says he wants to play soccer again in the fall. I haven't decided if he should stay in Chatham County soccer with his teammates, 2 practices and a game each week OR move him over to YMCA soccer with new teammates, practice and game all on Saturday morning. He will be starting Kindergarten at the same time soccer starts and I don't want to overwhelm him with things. When the time comes, I'll probably ask him what he wants to do.


We have now started Tball through the YMCA. We have had 2 practices so far. One good thing about playing through the Y is that you have practice and game all on Saturday morning, there are not multiple practices or multiple games throughout the week. Joshua's best buddy Ben and one of his soccer teammates, Matthew, are both on his Tball team, the Pirates. Practice is funny to watch, 1 kid hits the ball, 9 other kids try to catch it. Next week will be his first game.


I am very excited about Tball. I love watching live ball games. I hope Joshua enjoys it as much as I do. Oh, and Scott and I both have gloves now so that we can all practice out in the yard.


I never did find a swim class for Joshua this summer. I did find one that I was going to sign him up for but by the time I got back online to do it, it was full. Then, I wasn't sure if Tball had multiple practices throughout the week or not so I didn't sign him up again. Now, he has a week with Mimi coming up plus a week at the beach so I still can't sign him up. He would be taking the same level of class he had last summer so he would just be expanding this skills and getting better. But, with the Triangle Aquatic Center's indoor pools, he can have lessons any time of year so it's not like I have to get them in this summer.

As a kid, I never enjoyed sports or lessons or participating in any organized activity. My mom tried, it just didn't take. Now I understand why she tried with me and why I want to try everything with Joshua...makes it easier on me that Joshua is excited and wants to try new things too. Sorry it didn't work out for me Mom...we still have Joshua though :)

The Missing Months

OK, a lot has probably happened since my last post. I'll do my best to fill in some of the "missing months" along the way. But, for now, another attempt at beginning anew.