True summer has hit San Antonio. Temperatures have reached the upper 90s, humidity hovers around 40%-60% (though occasionally it reaches into the 80% range…we try not to go out on those days, lol), and the thunderstorms have been rolling in like crazy. I do like to watch them. They fascinate me (from a distance, of course). I love hearing the rain hitting the roof and the thunder rumbling, knowing that I’m safe and snug in my bed and that my plants are getting free water. 🙂 One thing I have to get used to is the fact that rain does not equal cold down here (at least not in the summer months). We’re probably going to be living in shorts until October, lol. One of my favorite things about the thunderstorms is the beautiful clouds that we get before and after. Here’s just one example:
Our week as a whole was pretty great. Joseph accomplished three big things this week:
1) He is using only sippy cups now…no more bottles! He’s been drinking out of cups for meals, but has wanted bottles for before nap and bed. Now, he just gets cups for everything. It really makes bedtime easier because he drinks his milk before coming upstairs to get his teeth brushed (something else that he’s doing a lot better at, too. He actually is letting me get at his front top teeth now. He isn’t super happy about it, but he is willing).
2) He didn’t have to leave the chapel during Sacrament meeting at all today (well, except to get his diaper changed before going to nursery, but that’s a definite need). He happily played with toys, ate snacks, and sat on our laps (it helps a little when we’re able to get into a pew as opposed to the metal chairs in the back since he’s kind of corralled in) the entire time. I feel like I was able to get so much more out of the talks and such. It was a great feeling that made the rest of the day great as well.
3) He got his summer haircut! It was getting kind of long, and he would get pretty hot at times, so we decided for a buzz cut. He didn’t like the process at all (he’s really not into things that buzz and vibrate), but I think he’s much happier now that he doesn’t get as hot. Here’s a before and after shot (sorry that the after one is so blurry…he was trying to get my phone…that blur is his little hand trying to grab at it):
The first time we took him to the park after getting his haircut, he handled it much better. He didn’t get super sweaty and I think he had a better time in general because of that. He loves going to the park. There are almost always other kids there (which he loves) and he loves to meet new people and play. Here are some shots that Paul got from our last trip. Joseph doing what he loves a whole lot: swings!
One thing that has developed this week was that Joseph has shown an even stronger attachment to what I call his lovey. It’s kind of a cross between a stuffed animal and a blanket. It has a stuffed animal monkey head and then soft fabric instead of a body. There have been a few days this week that Monkey has had to accompany him almost everywhere:
Moments of Awesome this week:
We were able to get our washer fixed! It apparently needed a new lid switch and a new motor. Luckily, it’s under warranty still, so GE sent out a repairman to fix it at no cost. *whew*
Joseph has added a few new words/phrases: “Oh Toodles” (from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse , “truck”, “dinosaur” (quite garbled, but we could figure it out since he was holding his toy dinosaur at the time), “Ah-ha!”, “toast” (his current FAVORITE food), and “book”.
I finally got brave enough to pull out the user manual for my sewing machine. Thanks to a lot of pictures and some help from Paul, I was able to get it all set up and the needle threaded. I’m excited to start learning how to do a few things (first on my list is a small bag that can go into the diaper bag which can hold some small toys for Joseph to play with at church).
We had a fun event yesterday. It was called Granny’s Attic. Basically, everyone (in our Relief Society) brought stuff to the church that they no longer needed and were able to browse through stuff and take stuff home. Kind of like a rummage sale without the sale part. Everything that was left over at the end was picked up by a truck and taken to a donation center. I was able to find some cute things to decorate my kitchen, a really good cook book, and some books, stuffed animals, and toy trucks for Joseph. It was really fun!
I’m finally feeling like I’m getting settled here. I’m making a lot of new friends, our ward has been really great, and I’m finally starting to get brave enough to go places without plugging the address into the GPS on my phone first. It’s the little things, I suppose!
