Josh is experiencing something new – the siren call of the Toys R Us flier. (note to self: next time the Sunday paper comes, throw out any toy related print ads!) Last night i came across him in the living room, reading the flier quite intently. And then he saw it… one of those battery-powered kid-sized jeep things. He was instantly in love with it – he told me that i could have the purple/pink girl version and he would have the red one.

and apparently he thought about it all night long, because this morning one of the first things he said to me was “I want that car. I really want that car, Mommy.” (with the appropriate accompanying sad face)

the concept of waiting is completely lost on him – last night i told him that he’d have to wait for it (because we are probably going to get it, we have the perfect back yard for such a toy)… and he said “after my nap i can get it?” well, maybe a little longer than that sweetie pie…

Dear Jesus,
thank you for all my friends
thank you for all my teachers
and thank you for Sam and Ben
and not Ben
and thank you for Ben and he’s not poking…

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you…(sung in tune)

and thank you for all of my cousins.

Amen.

i love how the mind of a 3 year old works.

i was really excited to find that PBS’s Masterpiece Theater was playing all of Jane Austen’s books made into movies over the next while… i’ve been recording them all to watch on a cozy snowy day such as today. just a short while ago, i was watching the last 5 minutes of Northanger Abbey, when Josh wandered in to the living room.

Josh: “Mommy, what’s that?”
Me: “That’s a Jane Austen movie”
Josh: “Well……. that’s crummy.”

memo to self: must educate Josh on the value of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte before he turns into a complete caveman!

it’s been awhile since we’ve been on anything you could call a date. contrary to what my dear husband has said previously, dinner out with Josh does NOT qualify as a date!

so this year, for my birthday, Brian planned a really REALLY great night out. he got our friend Jess to babysit – which meant Josh could have cared less whether we stayed in or went out, he was so happy to have her over to play! incidentally – yesterday afternoon while trying to get Josh settled in for a nap, he was giving me a hard time. i looked him in the eye and said “Do you want me to call Jess and tell her not to come over tonight?” Let me just say it worked better than threatening to call Santa Claus!

Jess arrived, and we set off for our dinner destination, Jack’s Oyster House, in downtown Albany. We pulled up, handed the keys to the valet, and continued inside where we were greeted by two people ready to take our coats. Nice! We were seated right away, and took in the surroundings. It’s very much understated elegance – original dark wood panelling, white table cloths… pretty classic stuff. The menu is not overwhelming – no pages and pages of things that make it impossible for you to pick what you want! Two pages of appetizers and entrees – and believe me, that was more than enough to pick from.

We both started with Manhattan clam chowder – yummo! I had a trio of seafood – mahi mahi, shrimp and one other fish that i can’t remember the name of. It came with green beans, smashed taters, and a cranberry reduction sauce that was really to die for. Not something i would think of serving with any type of fish, but the flavors were incredible. Brian, for the first time, met a steak he could not actually finish. It was extremely good also. For dessert – we tried their Bananas Foster – it was really really REALLY sweet. REALLY SWEET! All things considered – it was a really delicious meal, in beautiful surroundings, and definitely a great special occasion type of place to keep in mind.

i suppose i’m in that frame of mind since today is parent/teacher conferences for Josh’s preschool. i’ll be meeting with his classroom teacher and special ed itinerant teacher this afternoon, while Josh gets to play “assistant to the pastor” with Brian.

Josh has done so well since starting preschool. within weeks he was saying words. within a couple of months, his behaviour saw some great improvements. other things have come to light along the way – concerns with some motor skills mainly. but in general – we have a different kid in so many ways. he’s done a lot of hard work.

he loves to sing “Rockabye Your Bear”, “Jesus Loves Me” and a few other songs – with much volume and enthusiasm! and he sings the WORDS! it just about makes me cry sometimes when i think about how i felt last summer with the stage his speech was at.

and he just loves babies. of course, everybody younger than him is a baby – but little babies fascinate him. his friend Jared at school became a big brother on the 21st, and today we got to see the new little guy. Josh was just taken with him and couldn’t stop looking at him. hopefully one day soon we’ll be able to make Josh a big brother.

Josh can color like any other 3 year old (with no interest in staying inside the lines!), he can say his alphabet and recognizes all of his letters, and he can spell his name.

so pardon me for bragging on my son this morning – God has been good, and Josh has accomplished a lot these past few months. i can’t wait to see what the rest of the year will bring.

Click the photo to see a bigger version.