New Blog

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find us at

www.theatkinsadventures2.blogspot.com

Jonah Chat

I wish that everyone could enjoy all the funny conversations I get to have with Jonah. He cracks me up multiple times each day. For example: this morning when I served him his toast he said (in a very sweet voice):"Prehaps we could eat in there...?" (pointing to the living room).

Yesterday I turned on the camera...I just wanted to get him talking, just to have a recording of him. He seemed a bit camera shy, so I started asking him questions to get him talking. 

I want you to know...NONE of this was rehearsed or coached or edited in any way.

the stove

{the long version}

The other morning I was the only one up, so I decided to cook some breakfast (something besides the usual cereal.) I sliced up some potatoes and put them on to cook. Meanwhile, I was tidying up the kitchen and only giving the potatoes an occasional stir. Suddenly I heard a LOUD popping sound, looked over my shoulder and jumped. The burner was on FIRE! Yikes! I quickly removed the skillet and turned off the burner (all in one movement.) Then I ran for Jonathan and ran back to the kitchen...and couldn't think what to do next. I knew water was not an option, but also thought flour or baking soda might be bad too. Good thing Jonathan had the right instincts...he blew it out.  Thankfully that worked and it stayed out.  We only lost the one burner/wiring. I knew it could  have been worse....much much worse. 

{the short version}

The other morning we had a scary, but thankfully, minor fire in the kitchen. One of the burners caught fire while cooking. 

{the rest of the story}

So, we figured out that the fire was started by an electrical short where the wires connect to the burner. All we had to replace was the burner (which is much better than an entire stove...or more.)

Anyway, Jonathan was able fix it, with some help, of course! 

Jonathan had to make a quick run to the store to change out some parts. 

First Jonah said "but, he didn't take the stove with him" 

then it was, "I wish Daddy could stay home all night!" 

and finally, there was a melt down. 

This is my new favorite picture of our little guy. 

President Barack Obama

I know the small handful of people who might see this are curious as to what might follow that title. Well, it's another funny quote from our little guy. 

The other morning we had the t.v. on...probably watching LIVE With Kelly & Michael. I'm just going to give you the conversation verbatim. I'm terribly sorry I don't have a video so you can hear the inflection that went with it.

It began with the person on t.v. saying the name "Barack Obama."

Jonah (sounding confused): "Barack Obama???"

Me: "Yes, do you know who he is?"

Jonah (with disgust):"Barack Obama failed Missouri."

First, I laughed. A lot!! Second, I sat back to think how he could have come up with that. I did not recall even thinking such a thing  much less verbalizing it that way. I may not have voted for him, but I also don't badmouth him.  Especially in front of my kids. It wasn't until I relayed the story to a friend that I figured it out. She immediately recognized that as a line from the awful campaign adds that took over out televisions in recent months! Ha! Just goes to show how much kids pick up on. We don't even watch much t.v. 

Laughter is the Best Medicine

We got Elizabeth laughing the other day. She sure does warm our hearts. 

She is very talkative these days (especially in the morning). 

I love listening to all her jabbering & cooing. 

Big & Little

We had our regular Tuesday photo shoot today. I included Jonah this time. Taking pictures of two moving targets is not easy. Especially when they are not synchronized!  But, I am always glad I have the photos. I am happy to capture whatever kind of moment we are having. 

Grammy Pammy

Happy Birthday, Grammy Pammy! 

Thanks for loving our family in your own special way. We love you more than words can express!

She makes all sorts of special things...(like the apron Jonah is modeling). Elizabeth recently wore some hand-stitched shoes...

Hope the day is full of gifts. (Like, maybe in the form of a new President)

Halloween 2012

  I love coming up with costume ideas...and making them myself. When I was a kid I thought homemade costumes were less-than-ideal (since most people I knew had fancy store-bought ones). Now that I am an adult, I realize it is (and was) something special to have something handcrafted. And I love the memories that were made putting them together with my mom! (yes, Mom, you were right...homemade is better...and it must be 'someday' because I AM thanking you!)

This year we had a theme. 

We based it all around this dress Elizabeth has...

(and the fact that my sister IS Auntie Em every day of the year)

Before I get to the rest of the post, I think I should take you back to those early years....here's a little peek into my childhood...

Emily, 3.5 (Princess) Amy, 6 (Glenda The Good Witch of the North)

Did you see that caption? 

Now, here is the grown-up me dressed once again as Glenda!

Too bad Dorothy was sleeping ... I really like these pictures. 

We met up with Emily and headed over to the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield for their annual Spooktacular. It was a little disappointing, but we made the best of it. And Jonah was such a trooper. He did not complain about all the walking or the cold, not even one time. And he didn't seem to notice any of the things that may have been spooky to him. (it was not truly scary, but there were some big spiders and some weird troll-like characters)

 The whole gang. Glenda, Tin Man, Auntie Em, Cowardly Lion, Dorothy, & Scarecrow

(it's really hard to take good pictures in the dark)

When we were getting ready to trick-or-treat around the neighborhood I COULD NOT find Dorothy's shoes. I called up my sister, and sure enough, we'd left them at her house. She happened to drop by this afternoon, so I snapped one last photo of Dorothy in her homemade slippers. I may have to find a Christmas dress that goes with them, cause those shoes are FABULOUS. 

Birthday Boy

Today our sweet guy is THREE! 

Gosh, I can't believe it. I sure do love this sweet treasure. 

He lights up each and every day. 

He is truly one of the most delightful people I know (big or small).

We celebrated his birthday a bit early this year, but I waited until today to post the party pictures. We had a great time with our family (and a few friends).

 I had much bigger visions for the "pit stop" table, but that was before I factored in having an infant. And I am ok with that! 

Thankfully Pamela pulled off a FABULOUS cake! The cake more than compensated for my "thrown-together" effort.

Jonah and his buddy, Mac painting race cars!

Thanks for the fun gifts!

While going back through pictures I sadly noticed I didn't have any that included my dad & sister. Then I remembered that they were up to something...

Silly Saturday

We have been singing this today. And dancing and playing and (sort of) tidying the house. But mostly singing this. 

May your Saturday be silly too! 

12 Weeks

Twelve weeks! Wow, what a whirl! 

These past six have been much better than the previous six. Really, the last three weeks have been pretty great. I feel like we're finally hitting our stride.

This collage is not my favorite/best work. But, it will do. (the 10 week photo is my favorite)

Today, when I was taking pictures I clicked one that immediately reminded me of 

one of my favorites of Jonah. 

So, I dug through my files and found it. Isn't the comparison amazing! 

I love that they are making nearly the same expression. 

 He was two weeks younger when his photo was taken. I sure do love these beautiful kids! 

Grandparents

This one is dedicated to grandparents. Just because. 

 Yesterday, I let Jonah have bubbles in his bath. He looked up at me and said, "Hey, I wanna look like Grandpa!" I had to take a picture so Grandpa Atkins could see...

I had this shirt for Jonah, back in the day. I know I put it on him once or twice, but it was really the wrong season for him. It works great for our girl. And I was especially proud of that cute bow I made to match it. (just so happened to have that ribbon, which is a perfect match)

And this one is 'just because it is cute.' I was glad I got a picture of this funny moment...she was looking so intently/angrily at Jonathan. I love it! 

Jonah Visits the Farm

 While I was recovering from this:

Jonah stayed with Jonathan's parents. 

While he was there Jonah's Aunt Melody had him out to visit her farm. She and her husband, Tim, have all sorts of animals.

  every farm needs a good dog

 he got upset that the pigs got dirty right after he washed them!

 his cousin, Effenni has a miniature horse

that's enough of the donkey

 better get all the straw off of the egg!

 Chillin' with Aunt Mel. 

oh, there the goats are! 

a well deserved drink!

He was taught to sing 'Tim & Melody Have a Farm' to the tune of 'Old MacDonald'...I just haven't been able to catch it on video. 

little guy, little bike, big words!

Jonah and I were out "riding" his bike today. I was going to just snap a few photos, but then he got to talking so I hit *record.*

He cracks me up. 

I want to save this video forever!

i love his little voice. 

our boy is sweet

I just have a couple of cute Jonah stories today. 

Last night at the dinner table we had the following conversation:

Jonathan: "a tourist family came in the store today. they said they had been here earlier in the year and wanted to come back to get ice cream again because of the tricks we did last time."

Me: "aw"

Jonah (before another word could be said): "aw, that was sweet!"

Then, close to bedtime he found a New Testament Bible he's not seen before. It was in a drawer in his room. He brought it to us asking us to read the new Bible. I don"t know how he knew what kind of book it was.

Actually, at first he started reading about the Lorax...we had to tell him that the Lorax is not in the Bible. Next he started reading to us about Jesus. Then, I captured a photo of Jonathan and him reading from it right before bed. 

i know this may be quite boring to the rest of the world. but it is something good i want to focus on for now and remember someday down the road. this has been a particularly rough week for me. i am thankful that i have these sweet little snippets to reflect upon. 

Fruit Snacks

Yesterday I ventured out on my own with both kids. We made one stop (well, two if you count Sonic drive-thru at happy hour time). 

We hit Michael's for some candy molds. 

I found THIS recipe for fruit snacks and wanted to try it out. I looked at Walmart, but couldn't find candy molds. I thought the regular jello molds would be too big. The candy molds are still a bit bigger than I'd hoped to find, but they work. 

Today we tried it out. 

They were very very easy. 

I'm not sure if I cooked it long enough. They turned out ok, but are very sticky. I've let them cool/dry for about an hour now..same consistency now that they were @ 30 minutes. Maybe I could coat them in something...

Project Day. (aka, the day I got the dishes done)

Today is a big day around here, but I'm going to post more about that later in the week, as I forgot to take a picture of the man of the house before he left this morning. 

In other news, Jonah has been a busy guy today. 

He has been really wanting to make play dough lately. I have resisted play dough for a long while. In fact, he never new it existed until his babysitter brought some over a couple of months ago.  (funny how she hasn't been asked back lately...just kidding, we love her lots)

So, we made play dough. We made it green, per the little guy's request. And it is already put away. And by that I mean it will not be used again anytime soon. Gosh, I dislike that stuff.(rather, I dislike what it does to my rugs)

But, I sure do like making it with my favorite little man. 

Neon Green play dough (with glitter sparkles). 

 Ingredients: 

1 C Flour 

1 C Water 

1/4 C Salt 

1 TBSP Vegetable Oil 

2 tsp Cream of Tarter 

Food Coloring 

Sparkles (optional) 

Sauce Pan and Wooden Spoon 

Little helping hands.
Mix everything (stirring constantly) over medium heat until it balls up in a huge clump. 

Then, since one big project a day is not enough, we tried this new idea. 

We put baking soda in the bottom of a pie pan. Then Jonah used the dropper to drop food-colored vinegar into the pan. FUN! He loved it. I wish I could say it kept him busy for hours, but we ran out of baking soda. (at least we ran out of what I'd allotted for this project).

And THAT is how, on this beautiful sunny day, I got my dishes done. That and a little method we like to call "let the baby cry it out."