Our Final Week

Well, today was the day we've been anticipating. My last day working as a nanny. None of us was very eager to build it up too much. It was fairly low-key, actually. 

In the days leading up to the last day I let each kid have their day to pick what we did. It worked out perfectly and we had a pretty good mix of activities! 

Molly was first, because she left us early to attend church camp. Her choice was to see a movie:

The movie was very cute. Jonah kept asking if we could watch it again at our house! 

After the movie we went to Sonic for slushes! 

Next was Madeline's pick. 

We tried out a (relatively new in town) pizza place. 

We were very pleased with it. If you live here and haven't tried it, you should! 

Ben's choice was swimming. 

At first I told him he might have to re-think that. I didn't know if I'd feel up to it in the blazing temps we'd been having. But, when the day actually rolled around it wasn't too bad. AND we got to see my sister (since she has a pool in her neighborhood). I prefer a good neighborhood pool to the public pool any day (even if I have to drive 30 extra minutes). 

I took my camera with me today. But, as I mentioned before, we were all pretty melancholy today, and not really in the spirit of taking photographs. 

I have had an incredible time being "miss amy" and I know that will always be a part of my identity...even if it is not my actual job title. I look forward to the role I play in their lives as they grow older. I want to be like a fun aunt or trusted confidant. I plan to make a point to be an active presence in their lives for as long as ....well, forever!  Jonathan and I feel very blessed to know this dear family! 

Splish Splash, I was taking a...SHOWER!

Our little water-loving boy has made a big transition. He doesn't want to take baths anymore. It was the strangest thing. One day he was completely terrified of the shower head, and seemingly the next he wanted to  use it. He requests a shower every night now. I love this new phase. Showers are faster and easier. There is also much less splashing of water onto the bathroom floor! Other than me scrubbing his tooshie, he can wash & rinse himself now. Hair washing is much less of a battle.

 I bought a little shower head holder that suctions onto the wall...to adjust the shower head to his height. It is the best $4. I spent this week! Now I just need to find the right kind of non-slip surface for him to stand on...he's had a few tumbles. 

 Getting in the shower...reaching for the loofah....and showing off that he is all clean!

Here he is..."saying cheese", wrapped up in a ball (for some reason he does this the instant I get a towel around him), and finally you see him with the towel around his waist. He told me he needed it that way because "that is what Daddy taught him to do."

A Sporting Good Time

I first uploaded each of these pictures individually, but it wasn't as enjoyable to look at. So, I made one of my fun collages! Aren't you excited!

If you have met Jonah, then you know he loves to play ball. Any ball, he's not picky. But, he doesn't limit himself to just balls. He likes anything that is done outside, or anything athletic (although he doesn't yet know the word or meaning of 'athletic')

above you see Jonah:

• wearing a bike helmet (the way he thinks it should look)
• sporting BEN's tennis racket (it had to be Ben's)
• with his fave....the basketball
• ready for swimming

• being Joe Cool
• playing t-ball with Molly
• drying off after swimming

below you will see Jonah playing his own little made-up game...

Football on the Hammock, or "weeep" 

(since that's what I call the word he keeps repeating):

I did not put the ball on the hammock.
This was all Jonah's doing...no form of weird parental torture! 

Having a Ball in the Bath

Bath with a GLOW.

Well, I just keep thinking about all those birthday pictures sitting in the files, waiting to be uploaded. I still feel overwhelmed by them, so they will sit a while longer! (there are so many good pics...and I haven't yet figured out my "angle" on all of them.) Someday...hopefully before the month is out! 

Anyway...back to the bath. I did something fun the other day. I found some glow sticks on clearance at the store. I put them in a bubble bath for Jonah and he LOVED it. He had so much fun with it!!  Bubbles really make the difference, too. They add to the "glow" factor...spreading the light around! 

(don't worry, I didn't let him put them in his mouth)

And if that isn't enough fun for you...just look at him on this video:

The package came with 10 sticks. I've only used four of them so far (two at a time). To tell the whole truth, I really wanted to put all 10 in there at once. I would love to see it with two packages!!! (I like colorful things).

Bath Buddies

I think these pictures are pretty self-explanatory...except to say that it is harder than I realized to get a 6-year-old boy to keep what needs covering covered! He wanted to "bare" all to the camera 

(thus, him sticking his tongue out at me)

Bubble Heads

see that title? yep, it says "bubble" heads. not to be confused with "bobble" head...cause my child is also one of those!

see the "bobble" head 

(this picture could be making an appearance in an upcoming blog which also includes dancing)

Ah, here we go, here are the BUBBLE heads...

Splashing in the...Grass?

Yes, you read that right. This week we have been splashing in the yard. 

We've had abnormal amounts of water accumulating around here. It has been raining off and on for many days.  So, Jonah and I decided we were going to enjoy it (after day 3 of solid rainfall).

Gotta get all those ducks in a row. 

Sorry about the reflection. It wasn't until the very last that I figured out the flash was causing that. Oops.

He and Harry had a good time getting outside...after being cooped up all day.

Weekend Update: Grandparents and the City.

We recently completed a very busy weekend.  I don't have the pictures to truly express how much we jammed into one weekend, but I'll share what I've got. I think you will like it!

First, Jonathan's parents came to visit. They arrived Thursday afternoon.

On Friday we had some surprisingly good weather and headed out to Silver Dollar City.

Our first stop was the Russian circus. Then we headed over to Geyser Gulch where he played in the ball pit and the geysers! The weather turned out much more sunny and warm that I'd anticipated, so the water felt nice. We didn't mind the wet pants at all.

Grandpa even helped him shoot some water at a target!

 We walked around (a lot)...we saw a man who yodeled...we ate some food (and made a mess)...then we took Jonah to ride a ride, which was a first in his little life!

Jonathan went with him. Here they are in line for the froggy!

The frogs go up and down. 

I thought he might get nervous, which he was a little through the ride, but by the end he was smiling. 

Here we see the boys looking at the water-ball-sculpture-fountain thing. I know it is more significant than that, but I really don't know what it is  or what it is representing, so there is my rough description. What I DO know is that Jonah was enthralled with it!

I also love the way we see all three generations of Atkins guys standing in this photo. It's a keeper!

 I'm sure I left out some of the things we did. It was a busy and fulfilling time at our local amusement park. Here you can see how Jonah REALLY spent most of our time that day:

(in the line to ride the tram back to the car, where he promptly fell asleep)

 

{small pause for our drive home and a little nap}

Then, later that same afternoon:

Jonah and Grandma had fun with some bubbles!!

The poor kid tried to blow some of his own, bless his heart. He ended up with a soapy mix all over his face (and in his mouth...but that didn't stop him from trying again!)

And when he got bored with bubbles, he helped Harry find/retrieve the ball so they could play!

I was going to include our Easter festivities in this post as well, since it was a part of the weekend. However, this is quite long, so I think I'll do that one for tomorrow!

It's Raining, It's Pouring

Today it has been raining and pouring, 
but I don't think there has been any old man snoring. 
 No little man snoring, either. (he took a nap just fine, but I didn't hear a peep out of him)
 After nap time I dressed him in his rain gear and let him go out on the back deck. 
He sure was cute all suited up!

First, he had to check it out...see what's out there.

He was a little hesitant and cautious in the beginning. Then he warmed up...and hammed up. He was so so so cute out there. 

He loved it!

(please don't ask me what's going on with his one pant leg up and one pant leg down...have you ever tried to dress a moving target?)

Well, I recorded some video of him out there and it is really cute. However, I had the camera turned the wrong way, so the video is sideways. sorry about that.

and then, much to his dismay, it was time to come inside.

A Splish, a Splash, and a Streak!

today's bath was fun!! 

jonah loved playing in the water, as usual. 

and, of course, he was his usual cuteness.

he really is such a "pretty" baby. i hope he never needs counseling from me saying that.

photoshop is lots of fun too. even i can come out with a good looking picture if i work at it!

(jonah makes it easier, though)

then, mr. beautiful decided to show off his wild side! (equally cute, if you ask me)

he took off streaking through the living room which left me chasing him with a diaper (and camera)

just look at that face...can't you just hear his mischievous little laugh!

and...well, he found the remote. isn't this what every little boy  likes most...

being  naked and having control of a remote. 

that's our boy! love him.

Duck!

Don't worry, I'm not warning you of something flying at your head. Duck has become a favorite word around our house. Why? Well, because it seems to be the next word Jonah is learning to say. I'm officially calling it his "first word" (other than mama or dada). He hasn't totally mastered it, but he tries A LOT. I'm sure he will continue to get better and master it soon. He still says "mama" most when he's upset and "dada" when he's just jabbering and content. He says "duck" in the bathtub. This video will show it. I've gotten 2 takes on it. The 2nd one showcases his "duck" the best. Please ignore my prompting in the background. I'm not as cute as the boy!

A Cabin, A Lake, A Boat, OH MY!

We recently had a little family get away...well, sort of. My sister and parents rented a little (ok, huge and beautiful) cabin near the lake. Jonah and I drove out there in the evenings to crash their peaceful getaway! Actually, we were invited...Jonah was the guest of honor, you know! It was a really nice cabin with a wonderful view of the woods out back. Unfortunately, I did not take many pictures. Here is the best shot I can give you. Jonah is sitting on the back deck.The view from the front...not so nice! Oh how I wish I'd taken a photo of the view from the front porch. It was a classic old-school trailer park! Complete with rusty siding and detachable porches! In fact, we had to drive through the trailer park to find the cabin tucked away at the end of the cul-de-sac! Anyway...back to Jonah...and more interesting facts. On the last day of the cabin adventure my family rented a boat. We invited my favorite friends under 4 ft tall and had a blast. Jonathan was adventuresome and took the girls up on some rocks where they jumped into the lake. (this made me a little nervous, but he was ever so safe)


Boy did we have FUN! Everyone but Jonah had fun. Jonah's love of the water stops at the bathtub! Poor little guy was swallowed up with safety gear. He looked like a life jacket with legs and a hat! Well, here, see for yourself!

When we stopped to swim and have our little picnic dinner, we unbundled him. He even sat in the driver's seat with Grandpa!

Apparently we brought this little guy along as the afternoon's entertainment! He kept us laughing. Ben can be kind of shy and timid...until he warms up to his environment! He warmed right up...in fact, he was downright HOT! He started imitating animals...oh it was FUNNY. The blue heron was everyone fave!




What a fun little family outing! It was so nice out that day. We had the perfect weather. Now, if only there was no cold water spraying in our faces as we sped through the lake and no life jacket to inhibit mobility...it would have been perfect.

Splish Splash! (I was taking a bath)

Bath time is a ton of fun around here! Jonah is darling in the water....just splashing around! We still put him in the little toddler tub. I am sure he could handle sitting in the tub since he sits up so well, but I'm afraid he might slip and slide as he reaches for his toys! The tub is the one place he can't grab something harmful. In the tub he is content to play with what is offered. Out of the tub...well, that's another story!


I try to be modest when taking pictures. We all know he is a boy, we don't need the proof, right?! However, I just had to snap the naked bottom! Too cute! He moves around a ton...and tries to grab the camera. But then he cracks that huge grin of his and we get these great pictures! All but one of these were taken earlier today. The one in the top right corner was taken when he was probably 6 months old.

He loves to go check on the tub each day. If he gets tired of the toys (or even the non-toys he shouldn't play with) he will take a little trip to the tub and try to reach those toys! He ends up standing at the edge banging his hands and sometimes "singing."

We gave him a bath in a hotel sink one time. He didn't have any tub toys to chew, so he tried to chew the water faucet. That's my boy! Gotta love him!

Oh, I'm throwing out a little teaser...he's been mumbling "mama" quite a bit today. Sometime over the weekend I might capture it on video to post on here! Sometimes it sounds like "mama," but most times it sounds like "a-mom" or "ah-mam." He is so cute!