The Adventures of Raising Joshua

Joshy is certainly an adventure lately.   He’s as sweet and charming and entertaining as ever, but he’s also started to develop a relationship with trouble.  One, he quite enjoys.  I think I kind of thought I was done with the days of having a screaming child in the store, or chasing a toddler down the aisle or through racks of clothes.  Josh has always been a pretty pleasant little errand-running companion… until recently. 

Whenever we’re in the check-out line he’ll always find a treat and ask me if we can get it.  I’d always say, “No, not today, please put it back.”  and he would.  The other day, when I asked him to put it back, he paused, I saw him consider his options and I saw him start to smile and turn and hightail it away from me as fast as he could with a pack of bubble gum trying to to open it while he ran.   I caught him, but it wasn’t pretty.  He didn’t scream or pitch a fit though, he just did his low, manly, slightly maniacal laugh. 

The other day at church I was doing my best to keep all the kids contained and at a reasonable reverence level by myself because Brennan was out of town.   We were on two rows (in the back, the gym, of course) and he loves to walk from row to row.  He got up to do that (I assumed) but instead kept right on walking to the back of the gym and then to the side door.  I sent Nate after him who reported that Josh decided he needed a drink.   He’s doing that more and more, just deciding he needs to head off somewhere or the other without wanting to bother me about it I guess. 

At the doctors office they had taken us back to the room but we had to wait a while there.  Josh opened the door and said, “I’ll be wight back, Mom” and shut the door behind him.

I gave Josh a blow pop and let him watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in my bed before his nap.  He came into the kitchen to ask for another sucker, but I said no.  He protested but I held my ground and went about cleaning up.  A while later I went in to my room to check on him and there he was snuggled under my blankets.  Such a cute cozy scene, I thought to myself until I noticed a blow pop wrapper on my pillow and then when when I lifted my blankets off him sure enough there was a blow pop in his mouth.  “He smiled and said, ‘are you mad at me, Mom?”  I couldn’t believe he’d somehow managed to sneak into the kitchen, drag a stool up to the pantry and steal a blow pop from the very top pantry shelf and then sneak back into my room without my noticing.  It was one of those moments you’re not sure weather to be horrified or really proud.

He tells me all the time that his dinner or breakfast or lunch is “de-wishous, Mom!”  He also comes in very sadly and tells me that “evuh-body isn’t being nice to him”.  He loves “bu-Annas” and wants lots of “sew-Up” on his “cupcakes” for breakfast.

When Brennan suggest he shouldn’t have something Josh is quick to say that Mom said he should.  He does the same thing to me, only asserting Dad’s wishes.  Cracks me up every time.  Can’t blame a guy for trying.  Actually I can, but not when he’s two.

We love Joshua.