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...

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. 

Three More Days...(aka, a very long post)

Three? Really? Only three more days of working in the job I've had for NINE years (ok, very nearly nine years...but let's not get too technical). It has been the best job I've ever had.

I may or may not go on for a while here...some things can not be said in only a few words.

It has been the perfect fit for me, for them, truly a blessing on all sides. You know the phrase, "Thank God and Greyhound..." Well, I say Thank God and Dawn! She and Jimmy were very instrumental in connecting me with this sweet family that moved to Branson in 2003. Little did I know I'd stick with them for so many years. I was only looking to fill the time (and bank account, truth be told) until marriage happened for me. Then I fell in love. (with this family...Jonathan came later) Once I did get married I thought maybe I'd just stick around until I had kids of my own (though, I still consider these three my own in a way). Then, when little Jonah did come along, well, it just seemed to work out for me to keep "working" and take him along with me (another win/win). Now that we're adding to our family again...and um, the other three are um...well, not so little anymore.... it just seems like the time has come to make this final transition. 

I can not believe the day is coming...I don't think my brain has comprehended what a change this will be. I'm sure, what with the new baby coming and all, that it will take some time for me to fully realize how different life will be for me (and my family). Some aspects will be really good, and some, inevitably, a little bit sad. 

I sure do love these people. With my whole heart!

 Silver Dollar City, 2003

Honor America, 2004
(to me this is one of those pictures that says 1,000 words...it is one of my all-time faves. this was also the day they told me there was a new sibling on the way)

Baby Benjamin,  2005

winter 05/06

 Summer, 2006

May 19, 2007

Summer 2008

Fall 2009

August 2010

Summer 2011

Last Week (summer 2012)

I'm gonna miss spending regular time with these darlings, but I keep reminding them (and myself) that nobody is moving away. They and I live nearby. There aren't even any stoplights between my house and theirs.

And if you made it through all of that, you must really care about me and/or these kids. And you may be a little teary-eyed right now!


The End.

Anniversary Getaway

I posted about it being our five-year wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago. We went on a little weekend trip to St. Louis while my mom and dad came to stay with Jonah. We had a blast, but didn't take very many photos. Or, at least not any with much variety.  

We hit up a couple of our favorite restaurants...Canyon Cafe & Cheesecake Factory (our vacations are always centered around the food). 

We took in an afternoon movie. 

We visited the Botanical Gardens. 

(it was a beautiful morning!)

This is one of my favorite spots in the entire place...near the Japanese Gardens. 

(30 weeks pregnant)

They were setting up for a lantern festival which was set to kick off the following weekend. this was a neat fountain display. 

Can you tell the dragons are made from dishes? 

The long skinny parts are teacups back-to-back and wrapped in plastic. 

 Most of the decorations were lighted. I bet it was really pretty at night. 

 (whimsical cherry blossoms?)

 I thought the globes were neat (also lighted for night viewing) so I made Jonathan pose near them. 

And then he struck a pose of his own in this wagon near the kiddie park. 

 Do you see the geckos that came out to say hi?! When I spotted the first one I thought it was planted there for ambiance...but then his friend came out to say hello as well. 

This was some kind of fruit that grows directly on the tree trunk. I thought it was photo worthy. 

"self-portrait"

Five Years!

This print is hanging in our bathroom. I just love it. 

I can't believe it's been five years. (tomorrow)

I love our love, that's all. 

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!"

"ABCDEFG"

Jonah is learning his letters! The amazing part is that I haven't worked with him all that much in this area. He is just a little sponge. I recorded him the other night when we were reading before bed. You should know that this is completely candid. I did not prompt him or rehearse any of it before I started recording...there were no "do overs." My favorite part of the video is hearing his sweet little voice! He doesn't get it right every time, but that is ok. 

Apparently it is not possible to recite the alphabet (or even parts of it) without rolling onto one's back like a dog! 

New Driver!

Well, the day has come much more quickly than I anticipated....my little guy is a new driver! Granted, he does have a few more skills to learn (umm, steering), he sure is cute behind the wheel! 

We had a sticker chart (that came in a package of pull ups) that Jonah got to fill in each day that he was "all clean all day" while potty training. At bath time each evening, if he had not had an accident, he got to place a sticker on that chart. We told him when it was full he'd be getting a big truck...he just had no idea how BIG it was! 

By Good Friday he had earned his last sticker...but he wasn't home that night, so we waited until Easter Sunday. It was getting dark when we got back home, but not quite as dark as it seems on the video. We let him "play" with it that night, but didn't charge the battery until after....so I took more video the next day. 

Potty Time!!

Well, as I have mentioned before, we have been potty training around here. We started the week of Valentines and I think I can officially say we are THERE! He's doing SO great! 

These are all the supplies (plus underwear and pull-ups) that we used to get going. Since the first week I've often asked myself why I didn't just use the normal "m&m rewards" like every other potty-trainer out there. Especially when he goes right before bed. Oops. Clearly, I didn't think ahead on the reward system.

clorox bleach spray with paper towels...on hand at ALL TIMES, lollipops, tootsie rolls, and stickers! 

Not only do we reward him for going(tootsie rolls for tinkle and lollipops for poop), but we have a sticker chart he's filling up each day that he stays totally clean all day. When that one is full, he gets a BIG reward!  

We also use this nice potty seat that fits on the regular toilet. (he's decided he likes standing better...and that is actually more clean most of the time)

Last night Jonah slept in underwear. He'd been waking up dry every day for two weeks. And he'd been asking to sleep in the underwear all week long, so I figured we'd give it a try. 

IT's A......

Drum roll, please......

*

wait for it

*

*

* 

The ultrasound revealed that we are having a....

healthy baby.....

and ......

Her name shall be Elizabeth Anne. I might just call her Eliza. I can't help myself! We are so in love with her sweet feet and cute little toes that she kept moving for us to see!

Ultrasound Day!

Do you like the shirt my sister found for me? I thought it was pretty clever. This is me at 20 1/2 weeks. The black is a little slimming...and the photo just doesn't show much of the baby bump, but it is there. 

We have an appointment for an ultrasound this afternoon. We hope to learn the gender of our sweet little baby and maybe decide on a name! We are still certain of our girl name, but may be hung up on the boy name. I've taken full advantage of my present state and changed my mind! 

Jonah has decided on the name he likes...no matter the gender. He thinks we should name the baby:

"Chesco Nollie" 

(aka:Franchesco Bernoulli)...

...after this Cars2 character! 

Sorry, sweetie. that isn't going to happen.