Joshua is ONE

So...I'm the busy (interject bad) mom who hasn't updated the blog in a while. Since our last post our Joshua became a walker, the proud owner of his first tooth, and graduated to the status of one year old. Lots has happened. Chris and I had the chance to celebrate our sweet 'baby' with our dearest friends and family over the Labor Day weekend and can hardly believe how lucky we are to be at this point in our life. Both of us have jobs we love, a beautiful little boy, a home of our own, and friends and family we love dearly. I promise to update with pictures soon. Chris and I pick up those much awaited cake pictures tomorrow. Check back soon!

Home sweet home

Here is our new home
We close July 23rd and hope to move in before the 1st of August.

Living room view from formal room-kitchen to right

Guest room

Kitchen-view from dining room, family room to left

Master bedroom-his and her walk in closet, vaulted ceiling

Master bedroom

Master Bath-twin sinks, sky light, shower, soaker tub

Master Bath- view from the shower

Kitchen-pantry, sliding door out to covered patio, pantry, main level laundry

Fenced yard- covered patio, garden, water fountain

Front of the house

A Barrel of Monkeys

We spent this weekend down in Springfield with our dearest friends Dana, Teresa, and Caden Frederick. Once again we jumped on the opportunity to make a visit when Chris got a notice to appear in court. The timing couldn't have been better-we missed our friends and had Teresa's birthday to celebrate. We had a great time hanging out together and enjoyed watching our boys play together. They are so cute and very busy! While we were in Springfield we also got to catch up with some church friends thanks to a surprise birthday party hosted by Teresa and Dana. We are so lucky to have them in our lives-you can't find two more loving and gracious people!
This weekend Teresa also helped me change our family web page. She is a scrapbooker (a very good one!) and graciously shared her talents to help me revamp our blog. We hope you enjoy watching our monkey grow and the antics go hand in hand with his development!

Home Sweet Home

We have exciting news!!

As of mid July our little family will have a new and VERY permanent address because we are going to be home owners!
Chris and I have been causally searching for a home in the Ballwin/Manchester area since I found out I would be working for Parkway. We really wanted to find a home in the district that I taught so that Joshua could (eventually) come to school with me. We also knew we wanted to take advantage of the great interest rates and take the plunge into home ownership over the summer while I was off from work ( if and when we found the right house).
We are very excited to share our new home with you and promise pictures will be coming soon.

Up, up, and away!

Josh pulled himself to a stand for the first time yesterday...and, let go to assume the hands-free stand for about 3 seconds before Daddy realized that he wasn't holding on to anything and swooped him up. Hooray for our big boy!

Also, Joshua took his first swim in the pool yesterday-I don't have pictures because I was in the pool and Daddy was video taping. Joshua was too cute for words in his tiny swim trunks!

Lastly, I forgot to mention a few weeks back that I DID GET A JOB!!!! I am 'official' as of tomorrow when the board votes on me, but so long as that goes off without a hitch I will be teaching 1/2 day kindergarten at Barretts Elementary in the Parkway School District. I am SO excited to be getting back into the classroom and feel privileged to be a part of such a reputable district. Yahoo!

Memorial Day Weekend

Kyla, the beautiful bride

The Millikin RA Staff

Kyla's Co-RA, Evan

At the reception

Chris and his favorite girls

This weekend was a busy one. We had 3 weddings, a visit Grandma and Papa Sinnokrak, and a blow out (not to worry, we have road hazard protection...yahoo!).
The weekend started out with a Friday evening wedding for one of Chris' police officer friends. The wedding was a blast and I have never felt safer (it was funny to see all the police officers exit the room to remove their 'gear' and prepare for the open bar). Chris and I enjoyed a night out and the opportunity to socialize with his friends off the clock.
Saturday morning we drove up to Chicago for Colin's wedding (a childhood friend of Chris' and a groomsman from our own wedding). On the way we had our blow out-which was pretty comical. You see, the last blow out we had together was in the same spot on the car three years ago on our honeymoon! We've since had new tires, but it was almost as if God was giving us a pre-anniversary smile by taking us back to that moment at the start of our new life together. I guess popped tires are a good omen.
Sunday was Kyla's wedding (a co-RA and friend from both of our Millikin days). The wedding was spectacular and so much fun. By the end of the weekend I was ready to bust from all the love and flowers and music (and cake!). It was great!
Meanwhile, Joshua got a good visit in with his Grandma and Papa Sinnokrak (and cousin Braydan and Uncle Matt too). He decided this weekend to start eating his Gerber Puff Stars whole and is practicing pulling himself up--cruising is just around the corner, I can feel it!

Auntie Elizabeth

A few weeks back my sweet cousin Elizabeth came for a visit all the way from PA. She just wrapped up her first year of college and was ready for a break...little did she know that life at our house is as far from quiet and relaxing as one could possibly imagine. Never the less she seemed to have a fun time. We visited the zoo, subbed in the art room at school, went to Art Hill and the Art Museum downtown, and played and played with busy boy Joshua. In case you are wondering why we spent so much time doing 'artsy' things it was because Elizabeth is the artist of the family. She is studying to become an art teacher and is very talented. We joke she got all the art genes of the family....but really I think she did! Here are a few of the pictures we took while she was here. Enjoy!

Elizabeth and Josh

At the Art Museum

Art Hill, St. Louis

Art Hill and the Art Museum

And we're off..

Bottom's UP!

Look Ma, no hands!

Sweet as can be baby!

Yum

Joshua the Cookie Monster

Well, since my last post it finally happened....Joshua has become mobile. He is just thrilled with his latest accomplishment and proudly army crawls all around the living room, under chairs, and after the puppy. Poor Odie. Not only that, but he has developed a liking for big people shoes, puppy toys, and television wires....joy of joys. He's so much fun, but a bit too busy for his own good. He crashes at night-tired from his new busy state of being-and its always bottoms up (quite literally) and very cute at that!
Joshua had a wonderful Easter. He got lots of new stuffed animals (a bunny, a lamb, and a piggy--thanks to the Grandmas and Great Nan). He particularly loves to chew on them, and anything else he can find. Speaking of which, we are in the midst of teething. Nothing has popped through yet but we have a set of the cranks that we just can't seem to move past, so we feel fairly confident that there is at least one tooth hiding in his little gums. Other developments include graduating to a 'big boy tub' (you know the kind, it's where we sit on a mat in a tub filled with 2 inches of water propped between Mommy's feet--that's right, a big boy tub!). We love, love, love to splash, eat our rubber duckies, chew on the bath towel, and play peek-a-boo when drying off. He is so precious it makes my heart melt. I don't think life gets a whole lot better for our little fella-he loves bath time (it must be all the duck influence! HA!)
One of my favorite new Joshua-isms is his profound love of talking. Chris and I sit in our room on the bed some nights and laugh until it hurts as we listen to Joshua through the monitor as he carries on conversations with his duckies. His sweet high pitched voice is so vibrant and enthusiastic...oh to understand baby Chinese...I am sure Joshua has a lot to say about everything. As for us, the only words we get to enjoy regularly are "daga" "gaba" and "AHHH". Language is still (and will be for some time) a work in progress.

Sunny Days

Since our last posting our little monkey has had his first overnight away from us, turned 7 months old, taken his first airplane ride to San Diego and back, flirted with his one and only Auntie Erin, and developed a new-found fascination with cats. Life is busy, busy, busy, but SO good, good, good!!!

So...San Diego. What an amazing trip! Joshua took 2 plane rides (4 ups and downs) in the past week and travelled like a champ...all but the last leg from Kansas City to STL in which he screamed for the entire 50 minute gate to gate stretch...thank goodness Midwest people are nice. Here is the play by play of our week.

Day 1 (Thursday)
Wake up at 5:30-catch plane at 9-land at 1pm San Diego time
Meet Uncle Nick at the airport
Patron the San Diego Target for diapers, Josh food, wipes, and an umbrella stroller
Relax with Auntie Erin, Uncle Nick, and their kitties Natasha and Naski

Day 2 (Friday)
Rise with the sun (thank you Joshua)
Visit the USS-Midway with personal tour by Uncle Nick
Lunch at Point Loma Seafood (the best fresh fish...ah, to be on the coast)
Sailing with Nick and Erin--Chris and Josh stayed on land, but I had a BLAST. It was so fun being out on the water with to pro sailors!
Some down time at home-Joshua LOVED watching the kitties, particularly the kitten Naski.

Day 3 (Saturday)
We spent the day at the Wild Animal Park (an AMAZING out door park filled with animals in habitat mimicking enclosures). The entire park is spread out and in the valley of the California hills...SO beautiful. Uncle Nick told us it reminded him of Jurassic Park and we could see why, if you are ever in the San Diego area this is a must on your list of places to explore. Besides enjoying the majestic views and up close encounters with the animals we also made it through the day without getting sunburned...that's right, the entire Sinnokrak clan!

Day 4 (Sunday)
We woke up early to go out to La Jolla for breakfast, we had a wonderful breakfast at a local breakfast place called The Cottage (yum) and then walked down to the shore to see the seals. It was unreal to see the seals so close. They were sunbathing, swimming, and generally enjoying the beach...it was so neat. Nick and Erin were amazing hosts and told us all about the town, showed us the La Jolla coastline and adjoining towns, and shared local shark stories with us...which is always a bonus.
Later that afternoon after meeting up with Chris' former assistant hall director Ryan Miller and his new wife Lindsey we went over to Coronado and walked through the hotel and town. Again, another beautiful place and fun adventure!

Day 5 (Monday)
Much to our dismay it was time to pack up and go home. We caught our flight at 10:55 AM San Diego time and arrived home just after 5:30 PM Missouri time. As if the time change didn't stink enough we were welcomed home by snow...ugh. Needless to say Chris and I are already dreaming of our return to the Sunny state of CA.

San Diego was amazing, warm, fun, and inviting just like Uncle Nick and Auntie Erin. We had a fantastic time thanks to our lovely hosts and their quirky cats. xoxo

ch-ch-changes

Joshua's 6 month shots happened on Friday-he was such a trooper. I can tell he is getting 'bigger' because he does better at the doctors office each time we visit. This time around Joshua's head circ. was in the 60th percentile, his height was in the 25th percentile, and his weight was in the 10th percentile. Dr. Felkel seems impressed with Joshua's general development (he is alert, curious, sitting independently, reaching, chewing on everything, and even shaking his head "no"--oh boy, here we go with the attitude already!). We think Joshua is perfect-maybe our little peanut just has a fast metabolism (wouldn't that be nice!).

Other than the medical updates not a whole lot is new. Joshua is a very happy boy who is rolling, sitting, scooting, and attempting to crawl. He is into his 2nd stages foods and LOVES his fruits. Joshua also sits in the "big boy" stroller-no more baby seat. He is also eating from a high chair now--what a big boy!

Hair cut #3 also happened. Joshua has a very short do and looks a lot more (if you can imagine) like his Daddy.

All my boys (Odie included) are doing well. Odie in particular has been loving the baby floor time. He is entertained by Joshua's attempts to lunge and interprets these baby games as an invitation to wrestle with the baby. He even brings his toys to Joshua thinking (praying) maybe the baby will engage him in a game of fetch. It is sweet--and quite funny.

That's all for now folks....thanks for tuning in!

Growin'

Our baby boy will be 6 months old tomorrow and I honestly don't know where the time went. Joshua just keeps on growin' and has found his way out of his 3-6 month clothing and into bigger sizes. Crazy! Our sweet boy has truly morphed into a happy, easy going, loving, amazing baby...sorry to gush, but we don't miss the days of colic one bit! We've truly fallen head over heels for our Josh.
So our newest developments were chronicled 2 weeks ago-but then our lovely computer froze and I decided to sleep instead of re-write. I knew you'd forgive me. Joshua is now eating rice cereal with all his fruits and veggies-he particularly loves pears and peas...go figure. He is also a big time mover. No more tummy time for our Joshua-he flips himself over the second he's put down. Not only are we good at rolling (in all directions) but we can't be left alone for any amount of time because we like to roll into other rooms. Joshua is also getting quite good at sitting. He loves to fake us out and pretend he is going to fall and then bounce back-much like those clown dolls that you punch but can never knock over. Needless to say, its ADORABLE! Joshua is also a great sleeper. He has a routine-YAHOO!!! Rise around 6am, nap at 11ish, nap at 4ish, bed at 8pm. We have figured out that if we put Josh in a diaper one size bigger than his daytime diaper he can make it through the night without a diaper change, which is wonderful for all parties. Other news includes the discovery of our feet (which we love to put in our mouth-yuck) and a new found love for grabbing and smacking with our hands. We affectionately refer to him as Bam-bam the cave man due to these two new activities of his. Ah babies!!!
Chris' news includes a new schedules at work. He is still on the night shift (boo) but there is a light at the end of the tunnel (we hope). As of the second week of April Chris will join a new squad for the transition to 12 hour shifts. This means a set schedule for the year (yay) and the ability to rotate to day shift every three month (bigger YAY). He is a little apprehensive about his new squad as they are yet to name his Sargent, but I know Chris and he will make the best of whatever he's given-he always does.
As for me, life has been a bit hectic. I started my new job, and while I am learning a lot and enjoy the 1-1 interaction with my assigned families I don't know that the schedule is going to work for me next year. I feel like I spend very little time with Joshua due to the number of night visits I am required to complete AND since Chris will be require to be at work at 6:00pm in a month that really makes my scheduled more difficult to complete-as I need to be home so he can get to work on time. So we will see. Truth be told, I miss the classroom. I have been applying for lots of jobs in the area, but have had no return. To give a bit of perspective I recently attended a small teaching recruitment fair (for 12 schools) and there were more than 1,000 people who showed up. So needless to say the competition is steep and I'm just not sure what next year will hold for me...but, I will keep you informed as things take shape.
That's all for now, thanks for reading ...now go get outside and enjoy this beautiful Spring weather! xoxo

Just for Maegan (and Melanie too!)

This post is just for Miss Maegan and her wonderful Mom Melanie.

I needed to do a special post just for you to thank you for your prayers and encouragement, I am blessed to know you both and am so thankful you have allowed me to share a friendship with your family. I am so glad you got the Internet for Christmas. Do you have an new email address? I promise a letter will be on its way to you very, very soon. I got yours and it made me smile. I LOVED the picture. Thank you SO much for the beautiful Christmas ornament and the wonderful planner (I use it everyday-it is where I put all my PAT appointments). Several families have already complimented me on it--I always share that you made it for me!
Did you have a snow day this past week? We had lots of snow fall here in St. Louis. The kids got 2 snow days and a lot of the local hills were filled with kids playing on sleds.
Sending hugs and love. Hope all at the Surface home are happy and healthy.
xoxo

RSV

RSV was the diagnosis one week ago yesterday when we took Joshua to the emergency room because he wasn't eating well, wasn't putting out wet diapers, and was laboring to breathe. We were told that this virus typically presents itself like a severe cold in adults (which it does, Chris and I both can testify to that) and can be hard on little bodies because little lungs can not clear the mucus caused by the virus fast enough often- resulting in pneumonia. He also said the phrase that I have been haunted by this entire week, "it often gets worse before it gets better".
We have tried to stay positive this week amid hours of home nebulizer treatments and exhaustion from lack of sleep. We didn't want to call and scare anyone by sharing that Joshua was sick. We thought we had things under control. I kept thinking we had "hit bottom" and that we were working our way out of this awful virus. I was wrong.
We started our quickest decent Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Joshua woke up as pale as I think you can possibly get without being blue. He had been sleeping in his swing to elevate his head and help with the drainage, but at 4:30 AM he was no longer satisfied with swinging or sleeping or anything else for that matter. I tried everything and finally called the doctors office at 8:30 AM when they opened and got the first appointment of the day. That appointment won us our next trip to the hospital (for those of you keeping tally this would be office visit #3 and hospital visit #2 in 5 short days.
Needless to say the last three days have been nothing short of awful. We are physically and emotionally exhausted. Joshua was put on an IV drip, oxygen, 3 hour nebulizer treatments, and chest percussion. That phrase I love so much, "it often gets worse before it gets better" couldn't have prepared me for Thursday night at the hospital. By this time I had had 5 nights of not sleeping more than 2 hours (optimistically) at a stretch and was starting to come down with a cold myself. I was having shivering spells and was running a fever and was so weak I wasn't really able to cope. Thank goodness for my mother. She met me and my dad at the hospital (he took Joshua and me so Chris could catch a few hours of sleep after coming off the night shift) and stayed with me through the night so that Chris could work his last day on shift (we thought he was stable enough to have Chris just meet us in the morning). Thursday night was the bottom. All of us were sick, Joshua was exhausted and kept waking every thirty minutes-screamed for 45 and then passed out only to repeat the cycle 30 minutes later. Finally around 4:00 AM Friday morning we begged for drugs and the doctors gave him some Benadryl to help him sleep.
Fast forward to yesterday, after one more day of observation and treatment at the hospital we were able to bring Joshua home. He still isn't eating very much and has lost some weight (he now comfortable fits back into cloths he out grew last month), but he seems happier and is sleeping (some) after his breathing treatments.
My prayer is that we never see this terrible virus again. The doctor says Joshua will likely have wheezing spells in the future as a result of this spell of RSV and that he could get it again next year (children under 2 are most susceptible). I hope not. It took us 1 FULL week and FOUR adults (my Mom and Dad lived with us this week) just to survive this spell of RSV. But if it happens we will cross that bridge when we get there.
We were reminded to take it all in perspective and recognize our blessings-- the room next to ours had a 9 day old baby battling RSV the same way Joshua was....God love those parents. Again, through this trial we were reminded how blessed we are to have such loving and supporting families. Chris' parents, our brothers and sister-in-law, my Aunts and Uncles all called to send their love and prayers for Joshua. My parents never left our side, and we received top-notch care. We are blessed and are so thankful to have a baby on his way back to healthy.

Just Pictures...Christmas and Great Nanny Lowry

Odie Clause...a gift from Granddad Lowry
Sleeping through his first Christmas...sweet baby boy

4 generations

She is gonna get those chubby cheeks

Joshua loves his Great Nan!

Doctor, doctor, give me the news...

Pom-pom ears...Odie got his hair cut!
Lil pope

Snuggling with his bunny--he loves to rub its ears across his cheeks

Peek-a-boo

JUMPING JOSHUA!!!

This week has been one filled with visits to the doctor (unfortunately). All seemed normal when we went for Joshua's four month shots on Friday. He is now current on all his immunizations and is weighs 13 lbs 7 oz (25% percentile), is 24.5 inches long (50% percentile), and has a head circumference of 17 (75% percentile)--we think he must just have a lot of brains up there in that sweet head of his! (This makes visit number 1)
Saturday morning Joshua woke up with a little stuffy nose and a tiny wet-sounding cough. We gave him a saline spray up the nose, suctioned him out, and called it good. As the day progressed we noticed Joshua wheezing more and draining heavily from his nose. Joshua wasn't eating, only put out three lightly wet diapers, and wasn't acting like himself. By 8:00pm we made the decision to take him to the emergency room where we sat with him from 8:30-11:30pm. After several tests and three x-rays, the doctors determined Joshua has a very common virus called RSV. Its symptoms are congestion, fluid in the chest cavity, a hacking cough, fever, and general ickiness. While we were relieved to have a diagnosis, we were sad to hear that the virus typically gets worse before it gets better...so we are buckling down for the next two weeks as we are sure it is going to be hard on everyone. (For those counting, this is visit number 2)
So now its Sunday. We 're running on 20 minute intervals of sleep and we have a horse baby who is generally very sweet and pleasant, but is not feeling too good, because on top of RSV...he has pink eye. We have officially been initiated into the fraternal order of the novice parent.
That being said...we have now lined ourselves up for our third doctors visit in four days...which will happen tomorrow. Thankfully, Chris was off these last two days so we were able to support each other through our baby's first post-delivery hospital visit, and my parents have been SO gracious and are going to help me make it through my first week of work by staying with Joshua on the days I have home visits in the morning/early afternoon.
Chris and I often find ourselves missing Springfield/Ozark and our amazing friends, but we truly feel God's hand in the direction of our life together. Since Joshua's birth there have been so many instances (between colic and crazy police schedules to hospital trips and first illnesses) that I have wondered what I would have done had I been "by myself" in our little duplex hours away from family. I am pretty sure I would have driven even my dearest friends away with the amount of support I've needed. I am so thankful that I have my precious friends and family who will listen to me when I feel like I've hit my limit, and I am grateful that God had a perfect plan and knew that with the challenges of our growing family we would need the loving and helpful hands of our family to be near by.

SOOO BIG!!!

This week's post is not only the best description of our sweet Joshua, but it is also one of his new favorite games. While I hesitate to put the next phrase into writing for fear that I will jinx myself...here goes...since our last posting we have found that our Joshua seems to have completely transitioned into a really pleasant kid. Last week was the start of two big changes for baby J. First, we started him on cereal and baby fruit. Joshua is mad about bananas. He likes applesauce too, but mmmm's for the bananas...Mommy couldn't serve them up fast enough. Despite my initial reservations I am now a whole hearted supporter of rice cereal for babies who can't get enough to eat. Our pediatrician had told us to hold off as long as possible to help keep Joshua from developing food allergies. We did, until Joshua reverted to his colicky ways for 3-4 nights after downing a whooping 8 oz. at his bedtime feeding (no wonder he had gas). Josh is now happily eating 5-6 oz. four times a day with rice cereal and fruit at breakfast, lunch, and dinner time. As for us, the joy of a happy baby is something we are not taking for granted.
Second big change....daycare. Again, I think I was the one who was hung up on how huge a transition this would be on the baby. Joshua couldn't be happier. Joshua has gone to Miss Stephanie's every morning for the last week. He loves his new routine. Mommy wakes up at 5:30 to get ready for work, Joshua wakes up at 6, we have breakfast, change, go to daycare, play all day, come home at 4pm, take a short nap, play some more, eat dinner at 7:30 or 8pm and get ready for bed by 8:30 or 9pm. It is FABULOUS. Not to mention that Joshua is SO happy. We had to check to make sure we had the right baby after the first day at daycare. He was smiling, cooing, giggling, and playful...and he didn't make a peep in the car on the way home. Don't get us wrong he was exhausted, but he had so much fun interacting with the other children that he was just as content as a clam. To put it in perspective....since going to daycare Joshua has not fussed once in his car seat....that is a miracle. Our child (before daycare) would SCREAM at the near sight of an approaching car seat. Trips anywhere were miserable, and completely un-do-able without a second person in the car to help sooth the baby. Since daycare Joshua is happy. Plain and simple. He is a happy camper and we LOVE it!!!!
Other happenings include, hair cut number two and the adventures of a new bouncer. Joshua gets 15 minutes supervised time in his jungle bouncer (found for cheap at a baby resale shop...yahoo!!!) and is a bouncing machine. This little fellow is definitely a mover and a shaker.

2009

Happy (belated) Christmas and New Years. 2009 crept up on us and here we are already at Serbian Christmas...my goodness!!
The holidays were extra special this year with our latest addition. We got to visit friends down in Springfield, welcome a new friend, baby Caden Frederick, and spend extra time with the people we love. This included the chance to spend time with all of our family over the course of the month which really made the magic of the season seem to stretch through the entirety of December. Chris and I are constantly reminded how blessed we are to have such loving and supportive family members who not only love us, but are crazy about our kid too!
Josh's first Christmas was full of memories. We took Joshua to his first candle light Christmas service (which made him so relaxed he slept through the entire thing). Christmas day he was showered with new baby ornaments, books, cloths, and some 'big boy' toys. We tried to really soak up this Christmas as I am sure by this time next year we will be chasing him 'round the Christmas tree. Speaking of trees, Joshua even had his own baby tree this year set up in our living room. Standing about three feet high it was decorated with Mommy's crystal ornaments and Joshua's baby blue glass ornaments. We also added his ornaments from others including his 'baby's 1st Christmas' teddy bear and snow globe...so precious!!!
Chris is busy with work, looking forward to warmer nights and April when he has a chance (and I do intentionally use the word chance as being the rookie we both understand his 'luck' is partial to the mood of his superiors) to possibly switch to the day shift. He has been enjoying his waking hours playing his new video games online with friends from Springfield and of course, playing super Daddy. Chris and change a dirty diaper in under 1 minute now...he's my hero! He has been a huge help to me and there is nothing more special than watching him play with, cuddle with, kiss on, and adore his baby boy.
As for me....I got a job!!! I accepted a part time position (17-20 hours) with Parents As Teachers, a Missouri program for parents of children ages birth-4 to help support them in educating and screening their children prior to kindergarten. It is a completely government funded program that allows teachers who are also parents, to have the flexibility to continue to 'play mom' while still continue teaching. I am SO excited to start and really hope that the position will enable me to spend more time with Joshua (than I otherwise would as a full time teacher). With the acceptance of this job comes the transition for Joshua into daycare mode. Hopefully this job will mean only 3 days a week with a sitter...but, for this coming week, Joshua will be going the full week so I can attend the training institute. The good news is that we have been preparing. Joshua takes regular day time naps, can play on the floor by himself (entertaining our self has been an issue), and is used to not being held all day. He is up to size 2 diapers, is eating every 4-5 hours (about 6 oz. a sitting), and can ALMOST roll over. He is very independent, active, and lovable...sounds like an add for a new puppy.
For now, that's our news. Hope this posting finds you well!