chocolate chips!

William can eat chocolate chips!!  I used the same recipe for William's baked dairy challenge at the allergist's, except I added some chocolate chips.  He loved the chocolate chips!!  Woohoo!  (You like William's bedhead?)

baked milk challenge...

We took William to the allergist for a baked milk challenge.  (Wish I had remembered to take some pics.)  Doc said that the numbers from William's bloodwork for dairy indicate that they are low enough for him to try dairy in a baked good.  So we brought some muffins in that had 1/4 cup of regular milk.  Initially, they gave him 1/8 of it and waited 15 minutes.  William was fine.  So they gave him another 1/8 and waited 15 minutes.  William was fine.  Then they gave him 1/4 and waited 15 minutes.  William was fine.  Eventually, William had the entire muffin and was FINE!!!  We spent at least 2 hours at the allergist, but WOW...  Our boy can start having some dairy!!!  The allergist didn't really give us a game plan, but said to try chocolate chips in the muffins and move on to some cheese breads.  After that, we could slowly introduce different baked goods that have dairy and see how he does.

We took William to get some McDonald's for the first time to celebrate!!  (McD's has whey in some of their food.)  YAY!!!  So grateful to the Lord for allowing William to start tolerating some foods with dairy!

scripture memory...

William and I have been trying (trying being the key word here) to do some Scripture memory during our breakfasts and lunches.  William has been doing such a great job soaking in God's Word and hiding it in his heart.  I am always amazed at how easily he can memorize things.  Kids really are such sponges at this age!

It has also been neat to see the Lord bear fruit with Josiah from these times even though he's not "required" to participate.  I have him do as much as he's willing, but focus the time with William.  Here's Josiah reciting Ephesians 6:1  "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."  His first memory verse!

potty initiation...

Our monkey successfully went #1 on the potty!!  Woohoo!  (I'm sorry, but the next details are more for my memory than for you, so feel free to skip to the next paragraph.)  Usually, Josiah has to pee right after his bath.  So when he actually started dribbling, I grabbed him and took him up to the potty.  Initially, Josiah would only do a few squirts and then stop and then say he was done.  Squirt.  Stop.  Done.  But I insisted he stay on the potty longer.  After about a minute of doing that, he finally just released and let it all out.  I was SO excited for our little one... God's grace was so evident as he didn't get frustrated, but was willing to stay put and keep trying.  We are so proud of him!!  Yay, Josiah!

For a while now, Josiah has been able to have reasonably good control over his bladder functions, but could never get himself to go on the potty.  Early on, he wanted to use the toilet like William does, but whenever we held him up to use it, he would wait a few seconds and just say he was done.  I think he just liked going through the motions of it since Big Brother does it.  This little rascal is into EVERYTHING that Big Brother does.  He always has to be in the thick of things...  Anyway, we are thrilled to see him reach this milestone.  I guess we're on to our next set of potty adventures...

1st picture...

Josiah brought home his first ever picture from Discovery Land!  I was very excited to see what he would do since he graduated out of his toddler class and into a "real" classroom where they give a lesson, sing, have snacks, and  have a coloring page.  I know it's hard to see, but he made purple and yellow scribbles on the paper.  Way to go, Josiah!

1st day of school!!!

Today was WILLIAM'S FIRST DAY OF PRE-K!!!  I specifically remember thanking God a few years ago that William was still little and we wouldn't have to think about school for him for a while.  And now, this day is FINALLY here!  Where has the time gone?!

Part of the reason why I haven't been posting a whole lot is because I've been busy researching and preparing for this school year.  The Lord has been so faithful to provide the wisdom we needed to get started on homeschooling this year and see where it goes.  And I know He will continue to provide what we need at the exact time that we need it.  =)

William already seems to have a really good grasp on reading and math.  So I'm starting a kindergarten math curriculum with him.  He also seems to be reading somewhere on a 1st grade level, so we plan on doing some guided reading and getting independent reading established.  We'll also be covering correct letter formation in writing, some phonics, Scripture memory, and chores.

Gratefully, William was very excited to start doing school, as was I.  I intentionally kept this week light so that I could ease him into things.  We started out with  learning how to use a dustpan and broom.  =)  I did a pre-assessment of his letter writing to see which letters he could write.  He didn't know how to write most of them, but it was cute watching him try.  He really did his best and was patient as we went through each letter.  Then we tried some independent reading for 5 minutes. He did well with it, but I realized that he really needs some guidance with the books he's reading.  So I think I'm going to try and squeeze in some guided reading in addition to his independent reading.  We'll see how that goes.  Math will start next week.

All in all, God was gracious to give us a great start.  Josiah hung in there as well, sometimes playing on his own, and other times climbing onto my lap wanting to do what Ge-ge was doing.  So I'd just give him some paper and a pencil and he'd be fine.  Josiah has been picking up a lot of what William is doing and says the funniest things now!  But that's for another post.  =)

It is super exciting being able to witness first-hand William's learning.  So grateful to the Lord to be able to do this.  I am anticipating the more challenging days to come, but you need those days as well to keep you humble and remember your dependence on Him.  I am incredibly eager and enthused to see what this year will bring!

peanut butter...

So amazingly, Bill's mom found us some peanut-free peanut butter!!  And amazingly, it tastes pretty similar to real PB and actually seems healthier for you.  (I know...  there's definitely something not natural about that.  No real peanuts, but healthier...)  Anyway, Bill and I were eager to have William finally try a PB&J sandwich since his last fateful day of trying the real thing and ending up in the ER.  (That's how we found out he was allergic to peanuts.)  So here he is now trying peanut-free PB&J...

He's thinkin' about it... 

 Thinkin' about it some more...

 Uh-huh...

Yay!!  He likes it!  He likes it!

Yeah, actually, not so much.  After taking several bites, he started to make gagging faces and really could not stand to eat anymore.  I think he tried really hard in the beginning to like it since Bill and I made a big deal about it and he has seen us eating a PB&J sandwich several times, thinking he was missing out on something.  But alas, he did not like it the way we thought he would.  Curiously, what he really didn't like was the jelly.  We'll try him on it again some other time, but for now, he is content with staying away from PB.  I guess he wasn't really missing out on anything.  =P

On another note, I had to make a last minute run to the grocery store.  It was raining outside.  As soon as I got Josiah into his car seat, he said to me, "Momma...  mess up Momma's hair?"  It took me but a second to figure out what he was saying.  "Oh, you mean the rain is going to mess up Momma's hair?"  He said, "Uh-huh."  And I just had to laugh.  My littles knows exactly how vain his momma is.  Note to self... don't complain in front of the boys about your hair.  And God forbid if they should EVER bring home a vain woman!  ;)

williamsburg '11

We took our annual trip to Williamsburg with Bill's family again.  I must say that I think this year has been the best year we've gone.  William and Josiah are at an age where they just understand so much more of what's going on, and they really enjoyed their time with their cousins.  We love having these family times together.  Here are some highlights from our week, since we didn't take pictures of our own.  SO LAME, huh?!  (Thanks, Mom, for the pics and providing the opportunity for us to make memories together!)

The day we went to Busch Gardens, it was POURING buckets when we arrived.  So we took cover in a candy shop until it subsided.  (Thankfully, we brought our own snacks to munch on.)  =)

 Here's my little ghost...

 Lilly was able to join us again this year...

 It's hard to see him, but this is Josiah's first ride.  (He's sitting next to me in the middle.)

 A pic with Aunt Lori...

 Mom, Glenn, & Gabi...

 William rode another roller coaster!

 Aunt Joy & Uncle Tom...

 Josiah & Aidan...

 On a ride with Mema...

Josiah has an affinity for trying on other people's shoes...

 Zoe & Erin...

 Ryan, Aunt Lori, & Aunt Carol with William...

 Wiliam's first time mini-golfing!!

 Josiah's first time, too...

 The Hughes ladies...

 Mom & Uncle Tom...

 William loved playing with his older cousins...

 Aunt Joy's oncologist was on Jeopardy.  She was so proud!

 Having some fun at Water Country...

 The boy cousins...

 The girl counsins...

 Our last night there...  It was hilarious watching all the older cousins do what William wanted them to do.  William obviously got a kick out of it.

 Everyone rolled on the ground because William wanted them to.  They were gracious to listen to all his "commands."

Group pic...  Until next year!