HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSHY!

JOSH aka...

Joshua, Joshy, Hua, Milton, Milt, Miltonius, Kobioshi, Kobi, Smeagol, Smeag, DeBrickeshaw, Tony, Toniolus...just to name a few.

We celebrated Josh's 7th birthday on March 24th. He is a man of many names. He has picked up more nicknames over the years than all of our other kids combined. We probably call him "Milt" more than anything else...including Josh. Sometimes when we are at the grocery store and I call him "Milt" I think that people probably think that is his real name. Funny. Anyway, he had a fun birthday and I wanted to dedicate a posting to him and tell everyone all about Josh/Milt.

Josh has always been such a funny kid. He has always pulled the funniest faces and he is the one that keeps us laughing. He is 2 in this picture. It is Christmas morning and he is just recovering from a shocking bout of the Chicken Pox. So cute. Josh has always loved cars, trains, trucks, anything with wheels. He still does.

Fishing when he was 3. We always said that Josh didn't go through the "terrible 2's" , he went through the "terrible 3's". He is very stubborn and when he was 3 he was a handful. He starting chilling out when he was 4 and now he is our easiest-going kid by far.

The cutest kid ever!

Josh's attempt at a smile. He has a hard time smiling on demand. Almost every picture we have of him, he is forcing this ridiculous smile.

First day of kindergarten. Last year. He was really excited and not very nervous. He could not wait to ride the bus.

Josh LOVES football. He is his father's child. He loves anything to do with football. Last year, Kyle took the boys to their first Chargers games. He was in heaven. They were even on the front row, so he was able to watch his favorite players on the sideline right in front of him. He loved every second.

Stuff you may not know about Josh:

He is a picky eater. He likes what he likes and that is it.

He has been able to ride a two-wheeler since he was 3 and would rather be outside riding his bike than doing most anything.

He loves X-Box. He plays any chance he gets and once he is playing, he is in his own world.

He LOVES babies. He is so sweet with babies. He loves to hold them, play with them and....smell them (strange, I know). He has loved having a little sister and he tells me all the time that he is sad that she is getting bigger and that he wants her to stay a baby forever. Sad. The other day, he brought home a note about some baskets that the PTA is putting together. Each class was assigned a theme for a basket and was supposed to get together items for their basket. The theme for Josh's class "baby girl". He showed me the note and asked what it meant. I told him that kids in his class would bring in items for a baby girl and then they would put the basket together and raffle it off at the May Day Dance. I thought he understood, but he got all excited and said, "We could win a baby girl!!!". For half a second he was thrilled beyond belief and then I burst his bubble and explained it again. Poor kid. He tells us all the time that he wants us to have another baby. I told him once that Kyle and I and Heavenly Father have to decide if we are going to have another baby and he said, "Can we just take a vote?". Man, I don't know where he comes up with this stuff. SUCH a cute kid.

He is a ball of LOUD energy at home, but at school and church he is shy and quiet.

He idolizes his dad and his big brother. If they like something, he likes it.

He loves to play football in the front yard with his dad and Nate. He is really good at it. He is quick and fast. He is a natural.

He still sleeps with his baby blanket aka "bank-bank". He has slept with it since he was born and though it is tattered and dingy, he still sleeps with it every night. I love it.

He is tall and skinny and looks like his Grandpa Cox. Our other boys are big and heavy, but Josh is skin and bones.

He is a good friend and loves to have his friends around.

He is a great hider. We always have a hard time finding him because he is so quiet and still.

He is sweet. He thinks of others and hates when people get their feelings hurt or if he thinks he has hurt someone. A couple of weeks ago, he opened the screen door without knowing that Claire was standing on the other side. She fell out the door and hit her head on the porch. She was crying, but he was WAY more upset than she was because he had hurt her. She calmed down in a minute or two, but he was upset for hours! VERY tender hearted.

He has recently lost a lot of teeth and he looks pretty pathetic. Can't wait till those big permanent teeth come in. Not.

He is stubborn. He is pretty easy going most of the time, but when he digs his heels in about something, there is no changing his mind. He has spent an entire Saturday in his room because he refused to clean it. He just wouldn't give in and clean it. It was a long day. When he was 3 1/2, he still wasn't potty-trained and I couldn't take it anymore. He just flat-out refused to use the toilet. I tried everything, Kyle tried everything, Kyle's mom and sister tried everything (while they were tending the kids for us when Eli was born), but he would not use the toilet. One day, I decided to go against what all the books say and I LOCKED him in the bathroom and told him he couldn't come out until he pooped. He cried, he screamed and he POOPED! It was like a war of wills and I finally won. After that day, he was totally potty-trained.

He is dramatic. One little scratch and he will cry like a baby. He also puts on the water works if someone treats him meanly. Drama.

He loves to sleep. He sleeps in every chance he gets. I have to drag him out of bed every morning for school. He just loves to sleep.

For his birthday this year, we had a flag football party. They played 4 on 4 and had a blast.

Kyle and Nate played quarterback for each team. They all took it very seriously.

Opening presents from his friends. He got lots of football stuff and even some cash.

Josh with his 2 best friends: Jerrick and Trey. Jerrick is very into that video game! We let the boys play Josh's new ATV video game while they waited for their parents.

I know this was a long posting, but we just love this kid so much and sometimes it feels like he is a little neglected because he is so easy. He just doesn't require a lot of attention and with four siblings, sometimes he doesn't get much. He is such a quirky, funny kid and such a wonderful part of our family. I have always had a feeling that he is going to do great things when he gets older. I can't wait to see where life takes him.

WE LOVE YOU JOSH! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MILT!