Josiah Turned 6

While we were in South Africa Josiah turned six. I can't believe my little boy is getting to be a little man. We had a small family get together to celebrate and he got a few extra gifts this year. He had so much fun getting a new DSi and Super Mario Brothers game for it amongst other things.

Orange Belt

On Saturday Josiah was invited to test for his orange belt in Tae Kwon Do. Part of the test was to break a board with his foot. Here it is

Privse for Boys

We had some friends over for dinner one night and Josiah and Jack decided that they didn't want the girls to play with them. Josiah made a sign in order to keep the girls out of his room. Here it is.

Proud of our Yellow Belt

Back in August Josiah started Tae Kwon Do at All about Kids. He has been so excited about learning his moves and doing well in class. We love his instructor Mrs Master Twyman. Last weekend he tested for his yellow belt and did very well. He is especially excited now because yellow belts get to spar. I have a video, but the sound wasn't working so here are some pictures instead.

The Difference Between my Two Kids.

Greg and I have always said that Naomi is our daredevil and will some day ride all the roller coasters with Daddy while Josiah is more timid of new things. He is definitely not a daredevil. This video shows a new game Daddy and Naomi have been playing. Listen carefully for Josiah's reaction.

Just in case you didn't scatch it he said, " That looks dangerous!" She asked for more right after and he wanted nothing to do with this game.

Another First

Josiah started Tae Kwon Do today. He is in class with his friend Matthew. They both had a good time. some of the kids in his class have already tested for there yellow belt so they are able to spar. After class Josiah came out and said, "when those other kids came in with their sparring gear on they looked like giants, when can I do that?" He will be able to spar way sooner than I think I am ready. I am told that before the end of this session of classes (10 weeks) he will be able to test out for his yellow belt and along with that comes more gear and sparring - I can't wait.

First Day in Kindergarten

Josiah had his first day in kindergarten yesterday. He seemed to have a good day, but he didn't talk very much about it. He left bright and early at 7:15 am with Daddy. I enjoyed driving to school with Daddy and said that they had a good time talking and listening to Rock and Roll. Because his school is close to Greg's office he goes early and spends an hour in the YMCA's child enrichment program (daycare). He gets to eat breakfast at school and play and be rowdy before having to go his classroom.

Happy Birthday Josiah!

On Thursday this week Josiah will officially turn 5 years old. Where have the years gone? Just 4 1/2 short years ago we stepped off an airplane onto Korean soil. I remember the air had a very distinctive smell and the people were very helpful and friendly. I remember holding my baby for the first time and considering how much his Birth mother loved him, how sweet his little face was and how scared he seemed in these stranger's arms. I remember that he clung to his Foster Mother and wouldn't let her out of his sight. I remember travelling to the hospital where he was born and talking with the nurses that remembered him so well from the infant nursery.
Now that he has been with us for 5 years I think about how much he loves to snuggle with Mommy every morning after he wakes up, how he will give me a kiss anytime I ask and how he is still scared of new situations. He has grown so much. He is a really smart kid and reads to us every day. He is observant with everything around him and has a memory like no other.
On Saturday we had a birthday party for him at the YMCA. It was great since I didn't have to do anything. No preparation or cleanup and the kids that came seemed to have fun. Josiah was allowed to invite 8 friends, his sister and cousin. The party had a pirate theme. The kids got to dig for treasure, bomb a ship and play musical dots. We had ice cream cake from Dairy Queen and then they got to play in the adventure center. I think the maze in the adventure center was the most fun of all.
After the party we went to dinner with Grandma and Grandpa and then home just in time for bed. Greg and I agree that paying for someone else to do the party was well worth it. Josiah got to stay up a little later that evening so that he could play with his many new toys. Thanks everyone for coming and helping us celebrate with Josiah.
I will post pictures later.

This summer we have been very busy and I have been very bad about keeping up with everything both on my blog and with pictures. So here are the latest accomplishments in the Hayworth household.
About a month ago we switched Naomi from diapers to underwear at Naomi's request. We went with the all or nothing and no looking back method of potty training. Underwear went on and we didn't use diapers at all during the waking hours. She still uses a diaper when she sleeps, but I am OK with that. We did not stay home during this time, but kept our regular routine. I carried extra clothes with me and just changed her when she had an accident. I am glad to report she is daytime potty trained.
Tonight we finished Josiah's "Strider bike". Thanks Wammy for the idea. We took the pedals and chain off his old bike and dropped the seat way down so that he could practice balancing on the bike before we take his training wheels off his big bike. It has proved to be a little harder for him than we thought it would be, but I think he will catch on soon.

We had a Fun Day.

Greg is out of town this week and I really miss him. He gets up with Naomi in the middle of the night and then gets up and gets her in the morning. He goes downstairs and gets milk for both kids and a banana for Naomi every morning, while I keep my eyes shut and hope nobody really wants to be awake. The last 2 mornings I have missed all he does in the morning. So, that brings us to today. Josiah came into my room at 4:30am, which is not unusual. Instead of taking him back to bed after a short snuggle, I just had him jump into bed with me. BIG MISTAKE! He stayed awake until 6am. Naomi woke up at 6:30am, so my day started very early.
At 9am we met Greg's mom, sister and niece downtown. We transferred all our stuff into their car and went to Huber's. When we got there the children were so excited to ride the wagon out to the strawberry patch. We spent about an hour picking strawberries while the kids ate more than they picked. Naomi kept eating the berries that I picked and then throwing the stems back into the box. I spent a ton of time fishing the stems out of the box and trying to replace all the kids ate. When we got back from picking we had a picnic lunch and looked at the fish for a while. We packed everyone up and came back to Louisville. Naomi slept for an hour in the car and then another 2 1/2 hours when we got home. After naps we had an early dinner and then off to swimming at the Y. We only swam for an hour, but it was so much fun. After swimming we stopped at the pet store to look at the animals. Naomi squealed with delight the whole time we were there. She couldn't decide which animals she wanted to look at so she ran around squealing. It was fun. Josiah is into snakes and spiders right now. He wanted to see the "creepy animals". We then went home for some play time outside and then bed. I am wiped out. It was a really fun day. I hope we can have fun all summer.

What I Found in my Bed

When I went up to bed last night this is what I found.

Last Day of Pre-School

Monday was Josiah's last day of pre-school. I can't believe that in the Fall he will be in kindergarten. He went to school early on Monday and Greg, Naomi and I went with him. His class and all the other pre-school classes stood up in the gym and did several very cute songs for us. After the little ceremony we went back to his classroom. each of the children going to kindergarten got a little diploma and a summer workbook. We stayed and had a pizza lunch outside on the playground and Josiah got to go home early. He really was supposed to be finished today, but I figured after all the celebrations on Monday it would be unfair to make him go back for 2 more days. They really weren't doing anything in the class except watching movies and I figured he could do that just as well at home.

Josiah Loves Starfish

In my previous blog post I said that Josiah was scared of anything that was living and new to him. Tracy shot this video of him looking at a starfish. It illustrates my point so well. Thank you Tracy. We are having so much fun here on the beach. We pretty much get up every day go to the beach, eat lunch, go to the beach, eat dinner and then go to bed. Unless something outstanding happens from now on I will just be posting pictures. Enjoy.

Sunburned, Sandy and Smiling!

We left Louisville early Saturday morning on vacation to Hilton Head, South Carolina. WE lived in SC almost 9 years ago and were excited to go back for some rest and relaxation. We drove all day and made it to Columbia, SC where we stayed the night. For dinner we ate at one of our old favorites, Sticky Fingers. It was just as good as I remember. We got up early and had breakfast with 2 of my Physical Therapy School classmates that I have not seen in 9 years. Chris and Wendy were both in my class. They are now married and have 2 very precious, well behaved boys. My kids had each gotten about 6 hours of sleep Saturday night, so I felt like I had the whiniest kids in the place. It was good to see old friends and catch up on life after kids.
We arrived at Hilton Head at lunch time.
Our friends Dave and Tracy fed us and then we all went to the beach for the rest of the day. We ate out at The Old Oyster Factory Sunday night and enjoyed the food very much. Josiah got sick next to our table right as everyone was finishing up and our waiter had to clean it up. I felt so bad for him that when we left I slipped him an extra $10 tip. Josiah was completely fine after that (wasn't sick before or after his one little episode). After eating Nathan caught crabs on the beach next to the restaurant and then chased Josiah with them. Josiah is very afraid of anything alive that he is not sure about.
Monday we went to the beach early and spent the morning swimming and playing in the tidal pools. After lunch, Greg sat on the balcony reading while Naomi took a nap and the rest of us went to the beach - again. We had so much fun. Before coming in for the evening we swam in the pool and Josiah did his swim-float-swim practicing without being asked. What a good end to a fun day.
After putting the kids to bed the adults played a slap-happy game of Scattergories.

Slam Dunk

An Evening With Daddy

A few nights ago I went shopping by myself while Greg took care of the kids. He always does a good job of engaging them in fun activities. While I was gone the Greg got out the finger paint and let the kids have fun with their hands.

First Pictures with my New Camera

I bought a new digital camera last week and it arrived on Friday. Unfortunately for me the memory card didn't arrive until today. It has been torture all weekend not being able to try it out. I bought a canon rebel xs. It is a digital SLR and is way faster than my point and shoot.
Here are some of the first pictures I took with it. Naomi doesn't look very good since she has been running a 102.5 degree fever for the last 3 days and is still not feeling very good. Josiah on the other hand was in a strange "posing" mood today.