Big boy bed and Guitar Hero

We decided a while back since we are going to need the crib for baby Zoe when she arrives that we would buy a "big boy" bed for Josiah. We ordered it last month and it finally arrived on Thursday. The poor guys that delivered it had never put this particular bunk bed together before and it took them four hours. I felt so bad for them. Finally, it was finished all except for one slat that had broken in the shipping process. I stopped by the store on Friday to pick it up and we put it on the bed and made it up. Josiah would just walk into the room to look at the bed and say "Wow!" Saturday when he woke up, we took him into his new room to play on his new bed. He had quite a good time playing with his daddy and all his Pooh friends on the bed.

This afternoon we decided to see if he would go to sleep in his new bed. He played with the radio for a little bit, but after it got quiet, I went to check on him. This is what I found. What a sweet sight!

After a couple of hours, I went to check on him. He was laying on the floor just inside the door. When I went to take a picture of him, he sat up.

I just went to put him to bed. We "rock rocked" in the rocking chair for a few minutes, and then I put him down telling him he needed to go to bed. I wanted to see if he would go to his old room and the crib or his new room with the big boy bed. He walked straight into his new room and climbed up into the bed. We will see how it goes! It might turn out to be an interesting night.

On another note, last night was our teen night here at the house. One of the guys brought guitar hero and Josiah decided to try to play. It was hilarious. He was dancing and playing. We took some video, but I haven't figured out yet how to upload it. For now, the still pictures will have to do.

Watoto

The Watoto children's choir sang at Clemmons Elementary last night. Steve and I were asked to be alternate hosts in case of sickness or anything else that made someone unable to keep some of the kids. Turns out we got to be alternates for two families and had four boys and two chaperones from the choir here for the evening. First of all, let me say the concert was awesome! You can learn more about the Watoto and their ministry here. The boys had an awesome time playing in the gameroom and with Josiah's toys. They also loved fruit!! Here are a few pictures from the night.

Forget something??

Earlier this evening, Steve went to change Josiah's diaper. He decided to go ahead and put on Josiah's pajama pants, but leave on the sweater that he was already wearing. (Josiah is getting sick, so Steve thought the sweater would be warmer.) I commented to Steve that Josiah looked really skinny in his pajama pants compared to his little cordoroys. After playing a while and then sitting in his high chair for a snack, Steve picked him up only to discover this:

What a blowout! I had never seen him leak so badly.

Upon investigation (which I, assuming the worst, refused to do), this is what Steve discovered:

Josiah had not blown out his diaper after all. There was no diaper on him to begin with!! Oops!! Oh, and by the way, there was a puddle on the floor underneath the high chair! haha....what a night!

Do I hate my son??

One of our verses for Bible study today was Proverbs 13:24. It says, "He who withholds the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently."

The video we watched really got me thinking about this and it has been on my mind most of the day. Some really good points were made, one especially being, do I make excuses for my child's sin? For example, if I tell Josiah to do something, and he doesn't do it, do I say that he didn't hear me or that he was too involved in what he was doing and I shouldn't have asked him to come. In essence by saying that, I am taking the blame for his disobedience or allowing him to become self-absorbed and to passively defy my authority. Another example of this is when we are in a store and he is misbehaving, do I excuse his misbehavior by saying he is just tired? I have caught myself doing this one several times. By excusing it rather than dealing with the problem, I am not teaching him self-control. He has to learn to behave under any circumstance, even when he is tired or doesn't feel good.

It just really got me thinking. I am going to try to watch this week and see how I handle my son. I really do love him, and I want to love him the way God wants me to by disciplining him. I am not talking about just spanking or hitting him, but truly teaching him to be a self-controlled young man.

I'm a big boy now!

Ever since the Sunday night Super Bowl party, where the gates on the steps were down and little ones were free to roam around, Josiah has decided that he is a big boy now and can go up and down the stairs. He is so proud of himself every time he does it. I, on the other hand, have to keep from panicking every time I hear him going up and down. He really does pretty well. You can see from the pictures that he likes to try to climb "big boy" way. Man, he is growing up way too fast!!

Double Stroller Ride

Since there are only 11 weeks left until my due date, I have been trying to slowly get things done around the house to get ready for the new baby. Today's task - the double stroller. Steve and I went to Babies-R-Us a couple of weeks ago and bought one that was a light blue/gray combination. It seemed the best choice since the only other one they had that was similar was a puked up sweet potato color. Upon our arrival home, I checked online only to discover that there was a black/taupe/brown version of the stroller that was much more pleasing to the eye, only you could only order it on the internet. So, I did. The blue/gray one was returned the other day. I drug the box out of the garage today and brought it to the living room floor. After spending a little time attaching the wheels, snack trays and basket, I put the baby seat in the back and then showed Josiah how the "baby" (otherwise known as Rexie) would ride in the back. Then I put Josiah in the front and we went for a ride around the house. Apparently Josiah really likes the stroller, since after our ride, I asked him if he wanted to get out and he said "Nooooooo" in his little Josiah way of saying it. He played contentedly in it for another 30 minutes or so before he was ready to get out. Here is a cute picture of Josiah and "baby" in the stroller.

"All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful...." Hebrews 12:11

Okay, the verse is very true. But last night I found discipline to be downright funny! We have been trying very hard to be consistent with Josiah letting him know where it is okay for him to explore and what is hands off. He often gets a "pop" on his bottom or his hand for going or doing something that he shouldn't be doing. Last night, Steve was at a seminar and I was home alone with the mister. For some reason, he was really into turning the Direct TV reciever on and off. After a stern no, he began receiving his "reward" for disobeying. After about the third time over a period of a couple of hours, when he turned it off, he saw me coming and turned around and held out his hand for the pop. I about busted out laughing. Who says these little boogers don't understand what is going on??