Tooooo cute!!

Just me or could you gobble him up he's so cute!!

In the bumbo...good for a few minutes until the head wobbles...:>




Just to compare, here's Jonathan at 2 mos in the bumbo...what do you think? Do they look more alike, or more different?

Blizzard of 2009

When I heard a forecast of snow, I was skeptical. Nevertheless, at 9:30 this morning, snow did come!! I hurried Jonathan and Caleb out the door (a 30 min process) and for an hour we threw balls, kicked balls, played chase, etc. Our neighbor was kind enough to take our picture. Around 12:30 the snow really picked up and we had some pretty fat flurries, if I do say so myself. It stuck a bit, but not enough for a snowball fight. That's probably better though, as Jonathan doesn't have any water-proof gloves (such is the life for a Houstonian). Getting ready to head out! Trying to get a pic of Caleb and Me in the car's window...he's snug as a bug in my Moby Wrap! My view of Caleb...poor thing doesn't own a hat so I put one of mine on him and just rolled it up. Our neighbor "Nana" snapped this for us! Our cars BURIED in snow!! :> Jonathan catching snowflakes on his tongue for the first time!
Final Snow video

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!! We had a WONDERFUL time, staying Wed and Thurs night at my parents' house. My brother and sis-in-law came, so that made it extra special. They're expecting in May, so a cousin for my boys is coming! YEAH!!!

We also went to a pumpkin patch a few weeks ago, trying to make that a tradition, and Jonathan and I made pumpkin-shaped sugar cookies for all of this teachers--school and church.

Fall is over and Winter has officially arrived with 49 degree weather today (all my northerner friends can laugh at us). On to making new Christmas traditions!!

Caleb Elijah

Wow! Time is going SOOOOOOOOOOOO much faster with the second one!!!!! Poor little Caleb is already 7 weeks old and is just now getting on the blog! Things are crazy but good!

Caleb was born October 10, 2009 at 7am, weighing 7 lbs. 10 oz and measuring 19 3/4 in. long.

Jonathan is overall doing well. He loves to put Caleb's paci in, get him onesies, cover him with blankets, gives him hugs and kisses goodnight, etc, but Jonathan does have a hard time when I'm trying to put Caleb down for a nap. I have some ideas that I'm going to be trying, so I'll let ya know how that goes!!










The Greene's were able to come for a good 5 day visit. We loved seeing them, and they were able to love on both our boys. Michael's brother and sis-in-law were able to come down for a night, too. Here are a few of the MANY pictures we took...






While the Greene's were here, we went to our church's Fall Festival. Jonathan was Tigger and Caleb was a gingerbreadman, along with 2 other babies from our small group.





Well, that's all I have time for now. Hopefully it won't be another 2 months before I post again!!

First Day of School

After months of great anticipation, Michael and I sent Jonathan off to preschool at a local church yesterday. I had a strange lapse in resolve and considered not sending him (what if someone is mean to him?!), but decided that, yes, this is the best option for our family at this time. Now, mind you, I was not concerned about Jonathan suffering from any kind of separation anxiety; strangely enough, I was concerned about my separation anxiety! Jonathan in no way disappointed...at meet the teacher on Monday, he was the only kid screaming, "No go home, Mommy, no go home!!" (I'm sure the teacher wondered what was so terrible at home that he didn't want to go home to!). What goes around comes around, though, because that was me as a kid...I never wanted to go home, I was always wanting to go/see/do more.

Then Tuesday morning rolls around, we don his new backpack (see photo), and off to school we go! I take off his backpack to hang it up on his hook, and he walks right in without even a backward glance at me! The teacher says, "Jonathan, tell Mommy bye-bye," and he kind of half lifts up his hand and hollars over his shoulder, "Byyyyeeee." After just a twinge of sadness, I come to the conclusion that I would much rather have this kind of drop off than dramatic wailing and nashing of teeth. I'm glad that Jonathan is very social and adventure-seeking...all in all, it made me more comfortable with leaving him there.

I really like his teacher and think that she will be great for him. She seems to understand boys and their, eh hem...unique need for lots of activity/movement. Their daily schedule is super structured (a good thing!)and does a great job of alternating between quiet and active activities, and they even go to Bible and music class everyday. I've been very impressed with the detail orientation of this school and despite my brief misgivings, I'm ecstatic that we have the opportunity to send Jonathan to this preschool. I think it'll be really, really, really nice when little peanut gets here, and I think Jonathan will thrive in this environment.

The note that his teacher sent home with him said, "Jonathan had a GREAT first day of school. He played with gusto and loved everything!" Yep...that sounds about right, playing with gusto! :>

Here are a few other fun photos for you...

Bubbles in mommy's tub


Having a picnic with his trucks (totally his idea!)


Enjoying chocolate cake with our friends Chris and Becky


Helping Daddy switch out hinges...(no, we're not espousing a nudist colony, we've begun potty-training and the first few weeks we just let him run around naked! And besides, every little boy needs a naked picture with boots on!)

Seaworld

Jonathan and I went to San Antonio to see Mary, Hannah, and Chloe (and a wee bit of Matt) this week. This is probably the last time I'll see her before peanut gets here, so I cherished every moment I got to spend with her! The good talk time in between crazy kid stuff was short and sweet but so worth it. I had a blast getting to know her girls, Chloe and Hannah, even better. Chloe and Jonathan got along the best they've ever gotten along. Chloe used to not like to be touched, and Jonathan, well...he doesn't really understand the concept of 'personal space.' But Chloe is not minding being touched as much, and Jonathan is doing a little (a liiiiiitttttle)bit better with not hugging/tackling/knocking over people. We got in late Monday night, and Tuesday we got up and went to Seaworld. Looking at the dolphins... Jonathan LOVED seeing them play... Fish aquarium You can kind of see Jonathan's face, he was smiling SOOOOOOO big...it was adorable. He LOVED the fish Watching the sharks We couldn't even get him to turn around for a picture, and he normally loves the camera. We went home for naps and headed back to Seaworld in the evening for two shows. Before he loaded up Jonathan's car seat, Chloe decided she should sit on Jonathan...I was so surprised because she used to not like to be touched. Jonathan was enamored with her! We ate dinner while waiting for the first show to keep everyone happy. The kids did SOOOOOOOOOOOOO well during the shows and were totally mesmerized Baluga whale
Holding hands to keep up in the park. The kids did so well, they were great! In front of Shamu, aren't they super cute? Jonathan was really excited to see Shamu, he kept asking to see the "Killah Whay-ale" The whole crew, Mary was such a trooper keeping up with a toddler and a squirmy baby! The show was incredible and the kids did SOOOOOOOOOOOO well!! Jonathan was enamored with the show and even danced along with the music We got to this show 25 mintues early and it was almost already full!! We had come prepared with bubbles, colors, markers, stickers, etc to keep them entertained while we waited and we was so glad that we did!


We all went home super tired, but super contented. Seaworld was definitely a success! The next day I watched the kids while Mary went to a doctor's appointment. We had a BLAST painting, doing stickers, and playing outside in the pool. After naps we all headed out to the neighborhood pool and wore Jonathan out before we headed back to Houston. Thanks, Mary for a great time! I'm always refreshed and challenged when I walk away from my time with you. You are an amazing wife, mother and friend. You do a phenomenal job with your girls, and I loved getting to know them better. You bless me!!

New Playroom

I've wanted to transform a space into a play area for Jonathan so that we could keep all of his stuff together and so that he could find what he wanted to. It took a few months, but we finally moved our kitchen table into the dining room and transformed our breakfast area into a playroom for him. I love it!! It has worked so well! The first day he was so excited, walking around saying, "My playroom...my playroom." He's been playing a LOT more by himself, painting alot and using his art easel and table (which he never used before when it was upstairs). Here are some fun pictures!








Here's Jonathan helping Daddy mow the lawn after we got back from California...it was a jungle!


Some funny things he's saying:
-Wait just a minute, Mommy (complete with index finger raised)
-No, not today, Mommy, not today (we're working on this one...I can say 'not today' to him, but he can't say 'not today' to me...poor guy, that's got to be confusing!)
-RIGHT NOW, MOMMY, RIGHT NOW! (hysterical, but again, we're working on saying please instead of 'right now')
-He imitates EVERYTHING we say, then laughs at himself
--He LOVES singing and sings along with every song that he can. He has quite a repertoire now, including Jingle Bells, I love you Lord, Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Twinkle, and several others

Him playing by himself more has really freed me up this week to work on several things. I've gotten a lot done! His fussiness/temper tantrums have been a LOT less infrequent this week, and complete with a pool outing every day, I give this week an A+!