Time Flies When You're Exhausted!

Okay, it's been a looong time since I last updated the blog. When getting 4 hours of uninterrupted sleep is still considered a "good night" and a rare event at that, and when the evenings are all-things-Joshua, blogging and photo editing certainly take the backseat. In any rate, it's time to update everyone on Joshua's whereabouts and happenings. I'll start with May and make additional posts as time allows...

Granna and Grandpa Came to Town

In mid-May, Matthew's parents came in for a delightful visit. The weather couldn't have been more pleasant. The 70-degree days made outdoor projects and picnics ideal. Matthew's dad kept finding more projects and ways to spruce up the backyard. And Matthew's mom soaked up as much "Joshua time" as possible. My parents joined us one evening for pizza on the back porch, and we had a grand time. Joshua did a double-take when he saw both sets of grandparents together, but he quickly got over the shock and began soaking up all the attention, as you can imagine. I hope the grandparents bring such nice weather every time they visit! And we appreciate all of the great memories built during their first visit to Murray since Joshua's birth.

Our Longest Time Apart (from Joshua)

The weekend following the visit from Matthew's parents, Matt and I took off for Radcliff, KY. A college friend of mine was getting married, and that was a wedding we didn't want to miss. Joshua spent the day with Grandma, and I hit the road with my hubby for our first day away from baby. It's odd having a taste of freedom, but we appreciated the opportunity. I think energetic Joshie wore Grandma out, though.

Baby's First Shrimp Boil


How many people can use a heading like that?? Aunt Karen and Uncle Jim have begun a nice little tradition, inviting the Call clan together in Dickson, TN for a shrimp boil on Memorial Day weekend. We sit out on the backporch, admire the abundance of shrimp, potatoes, corn, and onions spread across the table, and eat, eat, eat! What's not to love? Last year, Joshua was just a baby bump, so we called him "Little Shrimp". This year, he was on the outside, and quite a bit bigger, so we called him "Medium-Sized Shrimp". He had a perfect outfit for the day, courtesy of Becky F. He donned a romper covered in crabs! I think Joshua has an outfit for every occasion :-) Joshie made the rounds, being held by everyone who wanted a chance. Even the family dog got in on the action! He might hide from Joshua next year...

"Our Boy is a Genius!"
So we've subjected Joshua (and ourselves) to Signing Time videos since he was just a few months old. I knew not to expect him to do any signing before he was 7 months old. Sure enough, in his 7th month, he produced his first sign... milk! I thought he might have been making the sign while he was nursing, but I wasn't convinced until he also showed the sign to Mom, in context. He was crying, and Mom didn't know what the problem was. She looked at him and asked, "What do you want?" He looked at her and threw his hand up in the air, squeezing it open and closed to say, "MILK!" She jumped up, grabbed a bottle, and made Joshua a happy boy. Success!

Since then, he has added "EAT" to his vocabulary. On rare occasions, we see signs that we interpret as Mommy and Daddy, but they don't have the frequency or clarity as Milk and Eat. He must be a Sloan.

They call me "Little Squirt"

My family's nickname for me was Squirt, and my brother still calls me Squirt more often than not. It's only fitting that for Joshua's first Christmas, Uncle Jeffie found outfits that actually say "Little Squirt". We had to wait a while for Joshua to grow into them, but he's sporting them like a champ now. Here's one pic of him donning his duds. More to come.

From misc May 2009

And here are some more miscellaneous May pics, just for fun.

That's all for May. June to come soon (I hope)!