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...

Birthday Buddy

 This is Baby Drew. Isn't he a cutie!! He and I share a July 1 birthday. The Atkins family couldn't be more happy to know Baby Drew and his family. They are really great. If you don't know them, you are missing out! 

After pausing to take the above photo I went searching for Jonah so we could leave church. THIS is what I found! Isn't it the cutest little moment! These two boys are truly like brothers. :) I love them dearly (both together and individually). 

A Birth Date

Due to babies (mine and my cousin's) arriving at the end of July my mom's side of the family got together early this year. We usually gather to celebrate my grandpa's birthday. I have aunts and uncles who travel great distances each summer for our get-togethers. So, on Thursday June 7th we had an early birthday party for Grandpa Brewer. 

This was the card we made for him, explaining the gift we're planning for his birthday....

Since I will be having a second Cesarean, we got to pick our delivery date...and July 24th worked out to be right on track with when the Dr. thinks she'll be ready to come out. (a week before the actual due date) I'm so excited to have a date picked. We are scheduled for the 24th at 12 o'clock noon! Very exciting stuff. Now we can make plans with family coming to visit. (as long as she doesn't come early) 

The Canceled Birthday Party

Ok, it really was a canceled party. BUT, we had it anyway. We weren't going to risk spreading chicken pox to the unsuspecting. But, we also weren't going to miss a photo-opp. To this day I am not sure if Jonah had the pox or not. I thought I saw some bumps that could have been...I just don't know. I still feel terrible about the friends that didn't get to come. I'm a big fan of "the more the merrier" and I think this party is just such a case. It could have been LOTS of fun. (we did have our own fun, though)

My mom and dad came up from Arkansas. Mom had done a lot of prep-work (before cancellation). My sister came over from Ozark and we partied like fools. 

 *please note those "birds" on the {angry} centerpiece. my mother did an AWESOME job hand painting some rocks to look like birds. Those rocks truly were my favorite of all the decorations!

 we had birds hanging from the ceiling...

...and roosting atop the cakes.

 setting up the "angry birds" game in the backyard

(you can't see it in the picture, but the balloons have pig features)

...destroyed!

on being two

this is dedicated to my TWO-year-old. the week before his birthday he practiced being two. 

he's good at it:

 

 *red crayon on the wall. (jonah, meet Mr. Magic Eraser)

*shoving dishwasher detergent under the microwave

 

 

 

and last, but certainly not least... the one where he played with mascara.

(jonah, meet Miss Eye Make-up Remover) *

 

Why do I document my child's bad behavior teachable moments?

That was not rhetorical. WHY do I do it? 

I do not know. 

I'm going to have to quit. He's going to catch on that mischief brings out Mommy's camera.

*note, this is not my house. this was the week we stayed with 3 of our favorite people.

Birthday Week...Bummer.

Ok, really. This has been a very strange week for us. 

You probably know that I work as a nanny. The kids' parents are out of town this week, so Jonathan, Jonah and I are staying with them. We love them dearly and care for these kids as if they were our own. (I feel qualified to say that since I do have my own) So, I can take whatever comes our way. It is just part of it, as they say.

Well, earlier in the week (my most recent post) I told you about the stomach bug. It hit 3 of the 4 kids (one at a time), Jonah included. It was short-lived. We got through it generally unscathed. 

Well, the one kid who didn't get hit with that nasty bug...came down with something else...something much different. Something I believe he's shared with Jonah. 

look at these cute guys!

Now, look what he's got.

Yep. those are what you think they are. 

Neither boy has been vaccinated for CHICKEN POX. 

We won't know for a few days...but these two are best buds, they spend lots of time in close company. 

Therefore, the Birthday Party is canceled. 

BUMMER. 

Oh, well. Thankfully the procrastinator in me hadn't gotten too much ready yet. 

We may just have an "adults-who've-already-had-it" only party. 

BirthdayWeek with a Vomit Bug.

I was just thinking yesterday that I didn't write a celebratory blog post. I had planned to write something birthday-ish each day this week. I've made a change in plans. Why? Because little man has a vomit bug and we are spending all our free time dealing with that rather than writing for the ole blog! He woke up with it this morning. He isn't alone in his misery. Two other kids we spend lots of time with are sick with the same thing (only no fever for them.)

This picture was taken around a year ago, and this is just about what he's doing now (as well as a good portion of the day.) Poor fella. He's added on a touch of fever tonight. I'm gonna go check on him now. Hopefully the next B.W. post will be happier!

Birthday Week 2011

Well, here it is! The last week of October. The little man is almost out of the "baby" stage. In less than a week he will enter full-blown toddler stage. *sniff sniff*

To kick-off Birthday Week I've created a little video. Jonah received an early gift in the mail a couple of days ago. Since Daniel and Riss couldn't be here to see him open it they requested video footage. And to make it even more exciting...well, at least for me...I expanded my horizons and posted it to YouTube.

Without further ado, I give you:

Happy Day to ME!

Today is my birthday. 

Happy Birthday toooooo Meeeeeee!

Anybody (other than my mother) know how old I am today?

did you guess??

if you've been around me at all lately, you just might know!

Today I think I'll make a list of  things that are neat about my birthday...

how about a Cool-Things-About-Amy's-Birthday Top Five list!

5. I can usually enjoy a good fireworks display for my birthday. 

4. my half-birthday is New Years day....so, I usually see fireworks for that too!

3.I share my birthday with a princess...this may not seem like much, until I tell you which one...

(and if you were my friend Julie, well, this little fact would be in the #1 slot)

2.  My birth date rhymes...seven. one. eighty one. the thing that makes this fact even cooler is that my sister's rhymes too!! maybe my parents only had two of us because of the low odds of pulling that off again (neither one of us was induced/scheduled)

1. And the coolest little fact about my birthday is that it marks the exact center of the year. (thanks to February)  Jan. 1 - June 30 has the same number of days as July 2 - Dec. 31

well, that's all. I'll be out enjoying my day with my family and some friends. 

(the plan is to see this:

 with 3 of our favorite people!

Birthday Week: The Party

 

That's right! It was Jonah's birthday on Saturday! We had a great time out at the pumpkin patch! One might assume that we picked pumpkins or played in the corn maze, but we did not. The party alone was about all Jonah could handle! We decided to play it simple and let him go home for a nap! We had such fun celebrating with family and dear friends!

 

First of all, what is a birthday without cake?! This cake turned out just as cute as I'd hoped! Thank you, Mom, for putting it together! (I did the baking, Mom, aka Grammy Pammy, did the assembling and decorating!)

 The full spread. We had caramel apples for our guests to take home, pretzel rods, plain cupcakes to go along with the big cake. There were ingredients for s'mores on the other table, which included the biggest marshmallows I've ever seen!

 Here we see Madeline playing our little guessing game! Guess how many candies are in each jar..closest guess wins the jar. Ironically, Madeline's mother won TWO of the jars of candy!

 The candy corn tree...and in the corner of this picture are the marshmallows. I don't know if you can see the ginormous ones. They were called campfire marshmallows and were as big as my fist before roasting!

Here, check them out (I don't know if this does them justice):

 The birthday boy with Mommy & Daddy!

 CAKE TIME!!

 PRESENT TIME!!

Jonah loved all of his gifts. Watching him open and enjoy his gifts was so much fun!

This was his gift from Auntie Em! Cute little shopping cart filled with goodies! He's gonna learn to walk anytime now! He also LOVED the Leap Frog push-and-ride learning train! (yeah, the one with no volume or "off" button, thanks Aunt Melody!) He's done some damage to the gift from Aunt Riss as well...pulled the baseball right off the top...not sure it was designed to come off, but this kid was sure proud of himself for removing it.

We had such a great day. Thank you to everyone who could come! We love you all dearly! 

We are so thankful for this boy and have enjoyed the first year so very much. He is the best gift of all!

Birthday Week: The Birth Story

Every child loves to hear the story of their birth over and over until they know it by heart! I remember asking my mom to tell me about the day I was born every year on my birthday. I can't wait to share Jonah's story with him someday. Every birth, wanted or not, is a miracle of miracles. I get tingles every time I think how amazingly God designed us! I feel like the story of Jonah's birth is extra special...not only because it's MY baby, but because it could have been much different.

My due date had come and gone without much fanfare. No contractions, not even the fake kind. My next Dr.'s appointment, two days later, was equally uneventful. So, my Dr. suggested we go over to the delivery center in the hospital. He was recommending we have labor stimulated. He said we could wait it out another few days, but might still be in the same spot only with more urgency. If we went that day, there would definitely be less stress on the baby. So, off we went. Jonathan and I went home, packed a bag, and drove up to the hospital. They were full. They said we should come back the next evening. So, Thursday evening we headed up there again, prepared to spend the night in a delivery room. They were more full. No beds. So, we went home again with a definite reservation for the next morning! Friday rolled around. We called ahead, they had our room ready. I remember watching Regis & Kelly's Halloween show while we got settled into the delivery room. I also remember praying the prayer that never fails, which is simply, "Thy will be done." I prayed that prayer almost constantly, mostly to keep my mind off of the impending labor! The nurse came in to examine me and see what was what. I was only dilated a little bit, like maybe a 3. She proceeded to check the position of the baby only to discover something was not quite right. He was face up. She paged our Dr. and asked another nurse for a 2nd opinion. I'll spare you the details, but if you've had a baby, you know I was UNCOMFORTABLE. Our Dr. ordered a sonogram to check things out. Sure enough, that little guy was not only face up, but not engaged in the birth canal. AND the sonogram revealed the cord around his neck. So, we were faced with the option to wait it out and see if he'd reposition...OR have a c-section. I felt myself getting anxious about a C-section. That was the last thing I'd wanted. But, suddenly I felt very calm and knew it would be the best option. (still praying the prayer that never fails)

The Dr. came in and said he'd checked on the O.R. They were booked up that afternoon, but had an opening right away. They wheeled me in to get me ready and Jonathan started calling family. After what felt like 45 minutes (but now in retrospect seems like 5 minutes) Jonathan came in all "scrubbed in." He stayed by my side and held my hand while they did the surgery. When they got into the uterus and delivered Jonah the Dr. commented that the cord was indeed around his neck...twice! I will never forget how sweet Jonah's first little cry was. It wasn't even a cry...it was just the sweetest sound I'd ever heard. Jonathan held him and brought him to me. Then I watched as they cleaned, weighed, and measured Jonah while Dr. Zeller put me back together. Then, I was off to recovery. Because of the spinal block I had to go downstairs to recovery while Jonathan stayed with Jonah in the nursery. This was agony. I wanted to hold him and talk to him. All I had to do was wiggle my toes. I now know what it feels like to tell my brain one thing, but not have my body respond. Toes are a long way from the brain. They WOULD NOT cooperate. So, while I was recovering I was thanking the Lord for revealing Jonah's position. I was so so so glad I'd never gone into labor. WHAT IF I had tried to push with the cord around his neck like that?!? Thank you, Jesus for protecting my sweet sweet baby!

DISCLAIMER: this is NOT a video, do not try to "play," or it will take away the image.

 

We gave the nurse our camera so she could take pictures, not knowing the camera was set on "video." So, we have several sweet little snippets of our first meeting Jonah! This is one of them. It's taken from behind my head. Because it's such a short snippet, it will not play as a video.

The verse we chose for Jonah was Jeremiah 29:11, which says: "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you."

During the c-section, when the scalpel went through the uterus, Jonah's face was right there and he got a little cut on his temple. I know the Lord protected him from harm. It could have been his eye. That scar is still visible....very faintly visible today! I kind of like the reminder of God's protection...plans to prosper, not to harm!

finally got to hold my baby!

I'm pretty sure these last two pictures were taken then next day. But, then, I'm not 100% certain of that!

And then I was exhausted!

Birthday Week: Busy Boy

Today has been a busy busy day. We had 1 year pictures taken today. Of course, I have nothing tangible to show for that yet, but it was fun! Jonah smiled for the camera, like usual. We had a small cake there for some of the photos. He didn't tear into it like some kids. But, he was very thorough in eating what he did grab. He'd get a handful and then sit and eat on it kind of slowly. I was hoping he might get crazy and throw it around and get it in his hair (for the sake of a good photo). However, he was much easier to clean up this way.

Jonah has already been getting some gifts! Let me share a few photos with you!

 Our friend Rob came by with some Harley-Davidson apparel! It reads "Little Rebel Club" The clothing is size 24 months, but the hat is almost too little. I know it is supposed to be a tight fit...but there is tight and then there is tight. What can I say? My baby has a large head!  Jonah looks more cute than "rebel-ish!" Thank you for the gift, Rob!!

 

Mommy bought Jonah some cute cute jammies in honor of Birthday Week! They were too cute to pass up! Here Jonah is telling us how big he is!

 This box came with another of Jonah's "gifts" inside. This was a gift from mommy & daddy...a new car seat! How exciting (I say with sarcasm). Well, if the gift can't be exciting, at least there is a fun box to play in!

Ok, you've seen some Birthday Fun. You want to see some plain-old-everyday fun?! You do, you know you do. I know that you know you do! This is what we get to watch on a regular basis. For some reason he really loves the duster. He will do whatever necessary to get the duster! Don't feel too bad about his struggle...his smile at the end makes it worthwhile!