Introducing: Joshua the Spectacular!!

I think it was about a year ago that I wrote my first blog post entirely about Josh and the struggles he has had with his speech delay. I wrote that there was a little boy in my life who I spend every day with that I sometimes feel I barely know because his challenges obscure so much of who he is.

I'd like to take a minute now to report that in the past year I have met Josh, and he is spectacular.

In August he began going to all-day school as part of the PPCD (Preschool Preparation for Children with Disabilities) program he has been in since he was three. I was VERY worried about how he would handle being at school for seven hours a day, five days a week. I mean, he's only four years old! And he's just barely four years old! For the first week, he would come home exhausted and confused and ask if tomorrow he could just go to a little school, not a lot of school (when he was 3 he only attended for three hours a day). But after that, and with a little adjustment of our sleeping schedules, he started asking if he would be able to go to school for a long time tomorrow too.

And he has blossomed into the brilliant, caring, inquisitive child I always hoped was inside, wrapped under layers of frustration and anxiety and loneliness and fear.

He has made some wonderful new friends in class, and it's so exciting to see the kinds of people he has chosen. Every other friend he's had has been a child of one of our friends, and they are also wonderful little people that we are blessed to have in his life, but these are the first friends he has picked for himself. He comes home from school every day talking about Sawyer, Chloe, and Elle and the fun they had together and how nice they are. 

I still sometimes feel like a failure because he has needed to learn things from others that were my responsibility to teach him, things that mothers should get to teach and that I was very much looking forward to teaching. And it hurts every day that my baby spends the bulk of his day in a classroom and not with me where I very much want him to be because he just wasn't getting the help he needed here at home. I am unspeakably jealous of the teachers who get to be with him more than I do.

But I am so very grateful that, even though I was unable to get him to this point, he has arrived. He tells me about his dreams, which often involve his favorite stuffed animals Wally the Walrus and Teese the Dragon or an assortment of dinosaurs. He "reads" to Scout at night after Mario and I tuck them in. He tells stories about Prince Joshua and Princess Scout and Prince Daddy and Princess Mommy and their animals (of which there are many). He makes up silly songs that he sings to me about Legos or video games or cupcakes. I have in fact heard several unsolicited "I love you, Mommy"s. He still has rough days and he will likely need speech therapy for a few years yet, but he doesn't have to struggle for every word now, and that is a beautiful thing.

He is finally able to express himself, and I often find myself chatting with him and I have to stop myself from crying because it makes me so happy to see him thriving. When I use a word he doesn't recognize, he asks what it means. He asks for explanations of things he's interested in. And he actually listens because he just can't get enough information about this amazing world that is opening up before his eyes as his language is finally approaching the same level as his intelligence and curiosity.

Our Oregon Trail - July 2013

Mario's little sister, Galina, got married in Oregon in July. We made a vacation out of it. We flew in to Portland and rented a car for the day. We drove up the Gorge and enjoyed the most beautiful day I've ever see in Portland. You see, I lived in Oregon for a long time. I've driven up the Gorge on multiple occasions. And I never once knew what all the fuss was about because it was always so rainy and foggy that I couldn't see anything besides a big flat river.

At the Hatchery on the Gorge.

Now I know why everyone raves about the Gorge - it's gorgeous!! 

The next day we headed to the beach with my brother's family and again experienced a gloriously beautiful day. It was so nice there wasn't even enough wind to fly the kites Yaya brought for the kids! That is just unheard-of. 

We rounded out our time in Portland with a day at the Portland Zoo with Jed's family. Mario wanted to spend some time with the kids so he took Scout and Josh on the Max (Portland's public metro rail) to the zoo. They had an awesome time riding the train, spending time with cousins, and the zoo! It was awesome. 

She fell asleep with a sucker in her mouth. Jetlag will do that to you!

We thought we were escaping the Texas heat by retreating to the west coast, but we got skunked! Portland was experiencing record-high temps. So it was even more uncomfortable than Texas because no one has air conditioners there! But we had a great couple days with family and in a city that we love.

Sure looks fun, doesn't it?

On our way to Grants Pass, we stopped and visited with our good friends the Cutlers and their new gorgeous little boy, Moses. 

We spent the next few days with Yaya doing things that Mario and I loved doing when we were growing up. We went to the river, ate corn dogs and killer fries from Li'l Pantry, swam at Yaya's house, and generally had an awesome time.

My family built this place in our backyard. I helped build those walls and plant those plants.

When we were at the river, Josh had a blast jumping off the paddle board and Scout threw rocks for hours.

The kids also got a big kick out of Yaya's chickens. They loved to help her feed them in the mornings.

We also got to visit Grandma Leslie and Papa. Papa collects clocks and has dozens running in the house. The first time I visited their home, the incessant ticking and chiming and dinging just about drove me batty, but now I LOVE it. It's incredibly soothing and comforting. They gave us a wall clock for a wedding gift and it was the first thing we hung in our new house here. The kids especially loved the cuckoo clocks and kept making Papa hold them up so they could watch the little people dance around to the music.

Watching the cuckoo clock do its thing.

Grandma Leslie's house was also where the kids fell in love with popsicles and had an exciting afternoon running through the sprinklers. Scout was terrified and thrilled by the sprinklers. Every single time she went through, she made a face like she was being tortured, but she just couldn't stop doing it because it was so much fun!

Snuggles with Grandma Leslie

The Vial side of the family had a wonderful reunion where we got to catch up a bit with some of our favorite people, then the next morning we got to go skiing with Nic! I don't remember the last time I went water skiing, but it was a very long time ago. It took me a few tries, but I got up on a slalom ski! Mario tried to ski too, but had a rough time of it and decided to wake board instead.

Mario wake boarding!

Josh and Scout had an absolute ball with so many cousins running around!

We had a lovely time at Galina's wedding. Josh was a dashing ring-bearer and Scout was the prettiest little flower girl in the whole world. She fell asleep as we were waiting for the ceremony to start.

It was a beautiful wedding and we are so happy for Galina and Brian!

Scout and her great-grandparents. She really loves them, but it had been a very long day by this point!

After the wedding, Mario had to get back to work but the kids and I stayed for another week.

We spent another awesome day at the beach with Yaya where we got to find some fun creatures in the tide pools and play in the sand. 

We stopped for ice cream on the way home and boy did they enjoy it!

We met my dad at the park for Blues on the Green and a picnic he packed for us complete with his homemade cinnamon rolls and banana bread. The kids weren't thrilled with the music, but they sure had a great time with Grandpa Riggs on the playground!

Grandpa Riggs and Jeri took us down to one of my most favorite places, the Illinois River. 

There are few places in the world I love more than this river.

We spent a fabulous day playing in the water. Josh even learned to jump off rocks from the Master Hucker himself (that would be my awesome dad)! Josh loved walking back through the current to the shore by himself, especially when it would sweep him away and we would drag him through the water back to shore. Then Scout wanted to jump off rocks too. By the end of the day, Josh was hucking some pretty big stuff!

He started with rocks this big.

And he finished the day with rocks this big!!

We had a fun little pre-birthday party for Josh with Yaya. The kids both got to decorate their own cakes. Josh put probably two cups of frosting on the top of his cake, and then he pretty much ate it all. Scout took one bite and was done.

My mom and I also got to go to a Britt concert - Kenny Loggins! It was awesome! We had a great time doing two of our favorite things: eating and listening to music. 

After the concert, we packed up and drove back to Portland to fly home, but we did manage to squeeze in another trip to the zoo and dinner with my little brother's family.

Zoo round two! I have pictures of me and my brothers playing in that same fountain when we were that age.

More cousins!!

Jake and baby Zach

We had such a lovely time in Oregon! Every time we go home I remember how much I love it, and I feel so incredibly blessed to have grown up in such an amazing place. I'm so glad we still have family there so it will be part of our kids' lives too!

Goodbye, dear sweet Oregon!