The Zoo

We love the zoo! Most of our trips take us around the usual paths; the lions, tigers, monkeys. But lately we've found a new little section of the zoo that is just perfect for Si. The last two times we've been there, we haven't done anything else. A few weeks ago Si and I went with a friend and her two kids and we spent the whole time at the "farm". Turns out Si loves goats and cows just as much as he loves lions and tigers.

He also loves tractors!

This morning was "family day". It is really unfortunate that family day is rare enough to warrant a special name but between staggered work schedules and Caleb's class schedule, we have too few opportunities to hang out just the three of us! So, family day consisted of a trip to the Zoo and a lot of football on TV. Again, we spent several hours at the zoo and all of them at the farm.

It is so fun to see life through a child's eyes! Josiah is at a wonderful age as he soaks in life like a sponge. It is amazing how exciting life can be!

Si is peeking at a goat on the other side of the bench. The goat pen holds maybe 30 goats. All of them have little collars with their names and all are remarkably patient. We love the goats.

We recently brought home our first set of Little People. It is the Little People farm and matches the playground area at the Zoo Farm. It is a perfect toddler play area and Josiah is getting to be quite the expert on the slide!

Caleb was the photographer for most of Family Day Zoo Trip but luckily I snapped this quick one in the parking lot to prove he was there! We'd already changed Si's shirt because of a mud puddle, but it really was the same day. Love these guys!

I am so thankful for family days!

wanna be like Dad

It was a weekend of projects. Josiah is nothing if not ready to help! It is so fun to see this kiddo be "all about his daddy". He truly wants to do whatever Caleb is doing. Try as I might I couldn't keep him away from the tools or out of the yard while Caleb installed the new dishwasher and spread the new grass seed/steer poop. I am more sure than ever that I have bred a tiny Caleb.
I especially love this next one; he really might be the most adorable child in the world!

In AZ you have to reseed your winter lawn every fall, unfortunately that means spending the next two or more weeks with a backyard of dead grass covered in manure. That's why in one day we went from green grass to, well, the pictures that follow. 27 bags of steer manure smell like you'd assume it would. Won't be spending too much time out there in the next few weeks. Sorry to our neighbors who chose to spray paint their rocks green rather than replant grass every year.

Josiah saw this project through from beginning to end. He stayed outside and followed Caleb around the yard for hours.

Seeing my son love his daddy so much has so encouraged my own love for my husband! It has blessed me beyond words to watch Caleb become a daddy; and not just a daddy, but a truly devoted, loving, fun daddy who is involved in every aspect of Si's life. One of Caleb's pastor friends joked tonight that this sermon was the first one Caleb had preached since Josiah's birth that didn't include a story or illustration about Josiah. Thanks, Josiah for making every aspect of our lives better: just by being you!

a weekend in october

My 31st birthday was this past weekend. We had a nice quiet weekend planned. Caleb planned a date night for Friday night and a friend watched Josiah. I had an all-day retreat for church on Saturday so our only real plan for the end of the day was to spend some much-needed time as a family!

The one little nuisance in our prep was this crazy cough I couldn't seem to shake. I have been coughing for a couple weeks now but had no other symptoms to speak of. I decided against going to the doctor and hoped it would just start to get better on its own. We also had a well-baby check up and shots for Josiah on Friday morning so we both attended that appt. and proudly told our pediatrician that it had been months since Josiah threw up.


We left the ped's Friday morning and by Friday night when he went to bed , he'd thrown up 6 times. We were concerned and besides thinking it was a little ironic we'd just told our doctor how he never throws up; we assumed he was having a reaction to the shots (although he'd had them all before and had never had a reaction to any of them) or maybe it was that toy he'd borrowed from a sick-looking kid in the waiting room. Either way we'd hoped it would get better through the weekend. It didn't. 6 throw-ups a day was par for the course this weekend. This poor little angel is sucking down Pedialyte like crazy because be can't hold anything else down.

Caleb and I still went on our date night; still thinking Si was suffering from a reaction and knowing he was in the quite capable hands of one of his AZ grandpas. We had sushi and watched "The Social Network". Both were amazing and come highly recommended by me!


We also got our family time on Saturday. I still went to my retreat (even though the cough persisted) but I made it through. (who knows how many people are now coughing up a storm). When I got home Caleb, Josiah and I went to a little pumpkin patch and farmer's market, played at a park and ate at our favorite restaurant, which coincidentally, gives free meals out on your birthday! We had a great day and the pics below are from this day.

Sunday came and we had a whirlwind day, not unlike most of our Sundays, with church services in the morning and evening but this past Sunday we also added the annual church picnic which fell, of course, right during Si's normal nap time. So we did church, picnic, nap, church....all the while Si throwing up every few hours.

Monday finally roles in and I go to work in the morning. By noon Josiah and I both had diagnosis...Josiah: Some crazy contagious virus that is going around that he is too young for any kind of treatment for. Should last a few more days with the throwing up and several more after that with diarrhea. Anna: Pneumonia. While Josiah and I spent the rest of the day convalescing, Caleb was off to work and then school (he got an A on his Greek quiz). On the way home he says: I have a horrible headache and sore throat. I guess that was inevitable.

Although we have been freely spreading our gems around town all weekend, I still would not advise a trip to the Fields house any time soon.

Can't get enough of this cute face!

Caleb and I are absolutely smitten with this little boy! We laugh all day long and love, love, love life with Josiah. Sweet, sweet baby.

14 months and quite the busy little boy

Josiah has made himself quite busy and useful around the house these days...
If he's not sweeping up (one of his favorite pastimes), he's out running errands in the car.

He hardly ever makes a mess...

...and I often find him multi-tasking.

We decided we'd waited long enough...it was high time to invest in what every one-year-old is entitled to: A cell phone. This happens to be a donation from the charity at church that provides old cell phone to domestic violence shelters. I am sure the good Samaritan who donated this beauty will be glad to know their act of selflessness is being put to such good use. I pretend to use this one periodically so Josiah still thinks it is worth his time.

Josiah's little personality is blossoming in so many amazing ways these days. His absolutely favorite game is tag...only I am ALWAYS "it". I guess in his mind tag is a game where mom and dad always chase Josiah and Josiah always chases Shep. At least those are the rules as far as I can tell. Thankfully, I don't mind chasing as much since I always get darling smiles and hysterical giggles from the chasee.

Si is still throwing us for a bit of a loop in the allergy department. He appears to just need to throw up more than most children. We have taken him off all milk products but have had trouble finding a good combo for him. For instance, do we go with Almond or Rice milk but add Calcium and Vitamin D supplements and extra fat to his diet? Or do we go with a soy milk and add a stool softener? After multiple attempts at different combinations we have put him back on Formula; a soy/toddler formula...and a stool softener...and reflux medication. No wonder this poor kid is so messed up! It's a good thing he sleeps and eats like a champ or this allergy thing might seem a bit more daunting.

Milk is supposed to be the "mild" allergy; paling in comparison to the "severe" allergy he apparently has to our dog. Notice we haven't done anything to remedy that one. We just decided to blame milk.

Josiah has a very favorite spot and he beelines for it every time we go outside. Several months ago we bought a shed. Rather than move or level all the rock on which the shed now rests, we decided to put down a plywood "foundation" for the shed. The plywood sticks out about a foot in front of the shed and makes a perfect little porch for Si. He could sit on his porch all day long I think. It really is his favorite place. We daily sit on the porch and chat and toss rocks across the sidewalk, we decorate the shed, sidewalk, fence and porch with colored chalk, we talk on the cell...you get the idea.

Josiah is a giggle monster! Being tickled ranks second only to being chased and we are ever-so-happy to oblige. When he wants to be tickled (usually after a good chase), he sits down on his bottom and leans way back like he is falling over backward (he's got good abs) and he fake-giggles until you come over and tickle him. He has a really good fake laugh that he has been working on and it is quite darling.

It is so fun to see his preferences emerge...like his favorite book right now is "Where The Wild Things Are". As you may know, that book leaves lots of room for interpretation. One page has no words but the picture indicates that Max and the Wild Things are howling at the moon (at least in the Fields home that is what's happening). From the second we get the book out Josiah starts howling...awhooooooo. Last night I was driving home and started reciting the book (because I obviously have it memorized) and without even having the book physically present, it only took my saying a few words before Josiah was howling from the backseat.

Unfortunately, his second favorite book is "Everyone Poops". Which I also have memorized. Thanks to Caleb, that book also comes with sound effects.

I was especially proud today when Josiah went and hunted through his toy box to find the shapes that go in the shape-sorter and then found the shape-sorter (because they rarely get put away together) and THEN put the right shapes in the right holes all by himself!

Josiah is also a water fanatic! He has yet to meet a body of water he didn't love! Puddles, splash pads, pools, bathtubs, dog dishes...just can't keep our little fish out! And note to self, swim diapers aren't really diapers in the "keeping it all in" sense. Josiah also loves brushing his teeth, not altogether unrelated to his love for water I am just realizing. When I mention brushing, he will run to the bathroom and point to the medicine cabinet where his toothbrush and paste are kept. I have no idea how I got so lucky to have a child to loves this mundane chore. They must put something pretty special in that Elmo toothpaste.

Si is getting lots of little words...many with their own inflection and obvious meaning; but most sounding something like Da Da. He is talking all the time. Sometimes I come up with games, or encourage games that I know I will later regret. Like the other day I initiated yelling in the house. It went Si: Yell, giggle; Mom: Yell, giggle, repeat repeat repeat. Then there was the time I let Si stand on the toy box (which is also our coffee table). I regretted that one almost instantly! Thankfully he didn't seem to remember how fun those times were the next day. phew!

Oh, in the spirit of admissions, I think I would be remiss if I didn't share in a 14-mo update that I called poison control for the first and hopefully only time today (well, certainly it was the only time today, hopefully, it will be the only time ever). I walked out of Si's room to grab some more baby wipes and seconds later when I returned Si had the Purel pump bottle in his mouth. (that is not good.) He seemed fine and I wasn't sure he even got any in his mouth, but although I was thinking "it's just alcohol, right?", I decided to call...and move the Purel to a higher shelf. Thankfully, the Purel pump is not likely to expel a dose potent enough to do any lasting harm. Phew!

Well, that seems like a pretty good way to end an update. Josiah, I hope you forgive your mom for sometimes placing the Purel within reach and for sometimes forgetting to brush your teeth twice per day, and for sometimes not catching all your puke fast enough to keep it from getting on your clothes. Somehow, we keep learning and growing and giggling together! What a fun ride!

our favorite time of day...

Well summer in Mesa is hot, that's all there is to it. A hard time of year to have a newly walking kiddo who prefers running around outside to just about anything. That being the case, our favorite time of day is dusk when the temp is most likely to dip to a tolerable 95. Our after-dinner ritual involves a half-naked baby, a dog and a lot of shade in the backyard....oh, and at least one parent running like crazy to make sure all the dog poop gets scopped before said baby picks it up. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose.

Here are a few pictres and videos of Si playing outside in the evening.

Look at Josiah's little white body! He is obviously a kid whose mom doesn't let him out during the day. I was hoping there were some recessive olive skin tones somewhere back in the gene pool, but if there are, Si didn't get any of them.

When we are outside, Si prefers dog toys to his own plethera. This one is especially dirty and slobbery...Perfect.

Josiah will be 14 months old this week. If that isn't a great reason to take a ton of pictures and to get another post on the way, I don't know what is.