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! 

Family Day:Legoland

I recently heard that Branson was host to a temporary Legoland. So, today we went as a family to investigate! 

WE FOUND IT!!
(it is at the Branson Landing...free fun for everyone)

 When we walked in we were greeted by a very friendly guy...and Jonah was given a lego pirate hat. He is wearing it over his ball cap, so it's hard to see in most of the photos. 

 here he is with a lego guy that is as tall as he is. 

 building with Daddy

They constructed vehicles that they raced down this ramp. 

While the boys were playing Elizabeth and I just hung out...

Big Brother/Baby Sister

While we were at the hospital Jonah spent the day with the Sparks family. They helped him make some pink lemonade cupcakes to celebrate Elizabeth's birth. When he came to meet her they put a candle in one of the cupcakes and he "gave" it to her. 

 This was Jonah's first little moment as a big brother!

And here he is wearing the gift Elizabeth "gave" him...

a shirt that reads "Big Brothers Rule."

 Our sweet little family of four!!!

 A few days later, when we were all home together, Jonah helped me give his sister her first bath. He presented her with a pink duck he and I had picked out for her a few months ago!

 They are my sweet babies!

I sure do love these little blessings. I pray that they become friends and truly love & appreciate one another someday. 

Elizabeth Anne has Arrived!

 On Tuesday morning, we loaded up and left the house as a family of 3. Jonathan and I made a quick stop to drop Jonah off to spend the day with some of our favorite people. Then we headed on to the hospital! 

 They asked us to be there 2.5 hrs before the scheduled c-section time. I couldn't imagine that it would really take that long to get checked in. There really wasn't a lot of "down time" though. We were busy filling out forms and answering questions right up until our scheduled time. THEN the waiting began. The surgical team was running behind. We were delayed almost an hour. 

 They got started at 12:49pm. 

She was out by 1:17pm. 

That crying (and let me tell you, it was some darn good crying) was the sweetest sound a mama could ever hear! The Dr.'s first comment was her good coloring. The nurses told us later she was one of the most beautiful babies they have seen. They see a lot of babies, so I'm not just biased when I say she is BEAUTIFUL! 

While the Dr. was stitching my belly, Jonathan accompanied the nurses who cleaned and checked the baby. We were very anxious to hear her weight, and then SHOCKED to learn she was 

8lbs. 9oz. 

Did I mention that she came a week before the actual due date?! That is nearly two pounds heavier than Jonah who came out full term! 

 As soon as I was put back together they let me recover in a delivery room...WITH my baby. This was different from my first c-section. When I had Jonah the labor and delivery was too crowded...I had to recover on the surgical floor away from my baby. THAT was torture. 

We feel so very blessed. My heart overflows with thankfulness. Jonah came home from Grandma and Grandpa's house last night. We have spent the day as a family of 4 and I LOVE it. I love our children so dearly. I am so thankful that God gave us such wonderful treasures. I pray I can parent them in a way that gives HIM praise! 

Playing at the Creek

A few weeks ago our three favorite kiddos had some cousins visiting. We tried to get out and have a little fun while they were here. One of the most fun things we did was go play in the creek and have a picnic. The water was a little low, but we had ourselves a fine time anyway!  I can't tell you how many times I heard a kid say thank-you for taking them there! I'm glad that a bit of simple fun was so great! I couldn't have pulled it off with just any kids. I'm not looking to take on another group of six plus the one in my belly. These are exceptionally wonderful children!

 Like I said, the water was a little low...but isn't this a sweet picture of Jonah and Molly! 

 The girls worked hard to catch a crawdad, while the boys (and I) decided to settle down for some lunch! 

I wasn't totally crazy, I thought ahead and DID NOT make seven sandwiches. We ran by the store first, where I let each of them choose their own Lunchable. I was so glad I did, because we all had exactly what we wanted. 

They played on the playground for just a few minutes before we had to head back home. 

Expanding Horizons: Cultural Edition

Jonah had his first experience with some good old fashioned soul music. We recently went to a cookout at a friend's house. A few of the guests were showcasing/entertaining us with the church music of their Mississippi childhood. As they sang, they were snapping and clapping the background rhythm. Jonah wandered over next to one of the fellas and tried to snap too. It was the cutest little moment, watching him become comfortable with a stranger because of music.

Sweet Summertime

Nothing says summer like Pop Ice Popsicles. 

And nothing says sweet like this kid.

Put them together and you have Sweet Summertime!

Dear Jesus,

Jonah has been more and more vocal with prayer time lately. He has been asking to pray from time to time, and will repeat a prayer we prompt for him. Tonight Jonah prayed his bedtime prayer all by himself. It was one of the sweetest moments ever!!

He said: "Dear Jesus, thank you for a day, thank you for Ewizabeth, thank you softball game. A-Men!"

Playing at the Ballpark

Jonathan is playing on our church softball team this year. Jonah and I like to tag along to the games. The ball field just so happens to be at a park with a nice playground, so we take full advantage. Jonathan likes to get there early to warm up, so Jonah and I play at the playground until game time. 

The slide is his favorite. 

But, watching the game is not torture for him:

Last week he was the BEST little cheerer in the stands. He was cheering at the top of his lungs for each and every member of the team when they got up to bat. This week, he had a little buddy to play with and got distracted, but he was still very cute and had a great time. 

After we got home and ate a bite of supper Jonah wanted to watch a little Veggie Tales. He very lovingly invited Jonathan to watch with him, and then lovingly commanded Daddy to lay on his tummy like Jonah was. 

They are my favorite duo.

Jonah Bear

I don't know if I ever posted pictures of Jonah Bear. He was Jonah's first stuffed animal. We made him before Jonah was born...and included a sound card with Jonah's heartbeat inside of him. 

Today we went back to Build-A-Bear to buy another sound card...for the new baby. 

We let Jonah bring his bear to get some clothes. He chose a football uniform (which came with a ball and helmet). 

 I secretly had hoped he might choose something "cute" (ie: a shirt with a collar and pants with a button), but his choice made him very very happy. 

I also could not resist buying a little pair of glasses for the bear. 

Tow Mater

While Jonah and I were out shopping this evening I got a text from Jonathan. He alerted me to the fact that Tow Mater was in town. Not only in town, but across the street from his work, no less. So, we hightailed ourselves over to visit Daddy at work and visit Jonah's FAVORITE character.   I let Jonah be surprised, and it was AWESOME!! He was tickled to his toes when we pulled into that parking lot! 

I could not get him unbuckled and out of the car fast enough!! 

I love seeing such delight on the face of this boy!
(I just noticed how much the above photo of Jonah resembles childhood pictures of Jonathan at his age...it's definitely in the smile)

I thought the truck was done very nicely too...it's a pretty cool replica of the cartoon guy we all love so dearly. 

And here is the sweet little guy with his stuffed Mater that was a souvenier from three of our favorite people when they went to Colorado over Spring Break. 

Family Night Out: mini-golf

Last night we went out as a family! Jonathan and I looked forward to it all day long. He has been working most evenings, so it was exciting for us to all spend time together. We decided to take Jonah to play miniature golf for the first time. He likes to pretend he's playing golf around the house, and has even told us his score from time to time (he always has a double bogey). I credit our Wii mini-golf game for that one. 

Let me tell you, the Wii has nothing on a real miniature golf course! (combined with our little cutie, of course)

We went to a local indoor course. The temperature had dropped through the day, and there was a chance of rain. This indoor course is really colorful and pretty, but made it difficult to get good photos. 

ALL of the photos are blurry. We tried and tried. 

The lighting (and too-excited-to-stand-still-tot) just wasn't conducive to quality photos.

 (we asked the sweet lady working there to take a family shot, but they were the worst of all...I did slip them into the video)

He got progressively better through the course. Practice makes perfect, you know. The lady who was working there could not believe he'd never played on a mini-golf course before. In the beginning he manipulated the ball to do what he wanted, but, Jonah actually made a couple of holes on par...like, he really got it in without "cheating."

We're gonna do this again soon!!

February Hodgepodge.

I realized today it's been a while since I posted anything. I've still been taking pictures, I just haven't taken time to share much lately. 

So, here are some pictures I took last month:

Jonah modeling his awesome coat and hat that Grammy Pammy made for him.
The picture was taken on a Sunday; when it was actually cold!

Jonah with his favorite color of lollipop.
(more about lollipops later. hint: they are a reward for a very specific thing)

This was one of those moments that Jonah got into mischief and I took a picture. He dumped out all 10lbs of potatoes I had just purchased. He did put them all back in the bag after the two of us struggled through a minor disagreement on the matter.

Today we began the process of tearing out carpet and installing laminate wood in the living/dining room. I've documented quite a bit in photos already. There will be some good footage for a post or two soon!