New Orleans Vacation

We took our first 'Mark, Jennifer, Jonathan' family vacation over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. We went to Vicksburg Thursday night and spent the night with Mark's parents. Jonathan loved seeing the "puppy," also known as Mimi. Friday, one of Mark's best friends, Alex, graduated from medical school. We were so happy for him. After the graduation, we headed out to New Orleans.

Mark did such a great job planning our trip. He found a fantastic hotel that was really close to everything. He got a really great rate on the room. It was a huge room with a seperate living space, which was great for Jonathan. He could go to bed and we could stay up later and watch tv. The room also had a kitchenette area so we could keep his milk refrigerated.

Saturday, we went to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. Jonathan loved looking at all the fish. Most of the tanks were at a perfect level for him to be able to see everything. He especially liked the penguins that swam right up next to the glass and the huge tunnel of fish. We ate dinner at Jacque-Imo's, which was delicious, loud, crowded, and definitely New Orleans.

Sunday, we went to the Audubon Zoo. We got there right when they opened, which was neat because we got to see the elephants eating their breakfast. Jonathan was amazed at how big they were. They have a great petting zoo area. He just loved the goats. He kept calling them "pup-pees!" and running around. He was just squealing and giggling. It was absolutely delightful to see him so very happy. He also loved the jaguar "kitty". It was very active and moving around the enclosure. I think he thought Jonathan would be a good lunch for him; thank goodness for lots of bars! There was also a great Carousel at the Zoo, which was also a lot of fun. Jonathan rode the white alligator, which is what the Zoo is famous for. Unfortunately, it was just too, too humid to stay at the zoo for long. We were all completely worn out by 12:30 or so. Jonathan passed out in the car on the way back to the hotel and slept half the afternoon.

After Jonathan got up from his nap, we went to the swimming pool. It was his first time to go swimming. He enjoyed it but definitely did not want us to let go of him. He was a little worn out, so we only stayed in the pool for 15-20 minutes, but it was still a lot of fun. We went to Morton's Steakhouse for dinner. Sunday was also our 7th Wedding Anniversary, so it was nice to go somewhere nice for dinner. They were not quite sure what to make of us having Jonathan at their fancy restaurant, but he did terrific. He is such a happy baby. After dinner, we rode the trolley car down to Jackson Square. He just loves trains and could not believe that he was actually riding in what he considered to be one. We walked around the square and then decided to take a horse carriage ride/tour around the Quarter and back to the hotel. The horse was actually a mule. His name was Clay and Jonathan was very impressed. He would not touch him though! The ride was very nice, but expensive. However, it was our anniversary, so it was well worth it.


Monday morning, we slept in. We had a late breakfast at Cafe du Monde. Jonathan had his very first beignet. He was not quite sure of what to make of it or the mess that it made. It was fun. The drive home was not so much fun, but we survived.


We all had such a wonderful time spending time together, getting out of town, and doing fun and different stuff. We are so very blessed and so happy to be a family.

Happy Mother's Day!

What a wonderful Mother's Day weekend we had. Mark had Friday off so he and Jonathan had a fun day running around together. Jonathan is in love with "pup-pees" right now so they went to the pet store to see all the dogs. Mark said he loved them and went to each window to tell each of them hello. He is so loving to other things. Tells everything and everyone "hi" and "bye-bye." They also went and picked up my present.

Saturday, we went to Two Rivers Park for a picnic. We had not been there before, but it is a beautiful little peninsula of land that lies between the Little Maumelle and Arkansas Rivers. There are a ton of beautiful paths. We walked out to the little point and Jonathan enjoyed looking at the river. However, it was a SHARP drop down into the swiftly moving rivers, so we moved on. We found a beautiful field to have a picnic in. Jonathan ran around and found rocks on the paths and wild flowers. We got a ton of great pictures. I put the rest up on his picture website. See the link on the left of this page.

Sunday, we went to church. The preacher gave a really great sermon about the Sword of the Spirit. He has been going through The Armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18. I have heard most of these things before, but our new preacher really has a way of making God's word come alive. We have really enjoyed hearing him preach. During the service, we had a special prayer time for all Moms, Moms-to-be, potential Moms to be, etc. It was very, very moving. I am so very blessed to have this beautiful little boy in my life. They gave out little devotionals to the Moms after the service which was a special treat. After church, we had lunch at El Chico's (20% discount with church program!). That was an experience. Jonathan is learning to eat with a spoon. He will not let anyone help him. Needless to say, Mexican rice, refried beans, and cut up soft tacos make QUITE a mess. But we had fun regardless.

What a blessing in my life these two are. Mark grilled Sunday night for our Mother's Day dinner. It was delicious. We sat outside to eat. Jonathan loves to eat outside because we can just pull his high chair right up to the patio table to eat. Jonathan got on our neighbor's trampoline after dinner. He can't jump yet, but he sure did try. It was truly a wonderful weekend. God is good.

Oh, I forgot about the present. The best part was the card that Jonathan picked out. It is a music card that plays Tina Turner's "Simply the Best." How funny is that. Jonathan had taken great care to color the card for me. Plus they had gotten me a Nintendo DS. It is a hand-held video game unit. I know it sounds crazy, but I love this game 'Brain Age' that you can get for it. I have been talking about it for a while, but would have never bought it for myself. Always thought it would be great for our loooonnnnnggg car rides. I have had a good time playing with it. Mark has too!

I hope that each of you had a great Mother's Day as well!

Waiting on Daddy

Jonathan loves for his Daddy to come home from work. He just smiles and runs to Mark as soon as he gets home. Today about 4:30pm, Jonathan came up to me and said "Da-dee?" I told him Daddy was still at work, but we could call him. So we called Mark and talked to him for a few minutes. Mark told Jonathan he was about to leave and would see him soon. So, at about 5:20pm, Jonathan goes to the front window and starts asking for his Daddy again. I open the blinds for him and he climbs up on the ottoman and waits for his Daddy to come home. He sat there almost 15 minutes, just looking out the window and talking about his Daddy. When Mark got home, Jonathan was just so excited to see him. It was just so loving, but also a little sad for Mark that Jonathan had been missing him. It just takes him so long to get home from Pine Bluff.

We had to run an errand tonight so we did that and then ended up at IHOP for dinner. We got Jonathan the Smiley Face Pancake. It was so cute with strawberry eyes, whipped topping nose, and banana smile. He loved it and ate a good chunk of it. Sweet baby fell asleep in the car on the way home. Never woke up getting out of the car or getting ready for bed. He is just a wonderful little boy. Just had so much fun today, he wore himself out. Time to rest now and get ready for another new and fun day.

A Smile

I am constantly amazed at how much love one little boy can share with the world. He just smiles and laughs every day. He climbs in our laps and wants to cuddle and read a book or play with a toy or drink his milk. He absolutely loves to go outside. Today it was the puppies next door. They are on the other side of the fence, but he just runs straight for the fence yelling "puppies, puppies!" He just squeals with happiness. My day is better just for being with him. I am so lucky and blessed to be his Mommy. I am a better person because of him.

Mark grilled tonight and we ate dinner on the back porch. Jonathan thought he was such the big boy eating outside at the patio table. Plus he really liked the sweet BBQ sauce that Mark put on the chicken!

He got ready to go to bed with Mark. He gave the buffalo a kiss and gave me a kiss. Got in Mark's lap, smiled, and waved night-night. It was time for bed, but now I cannot wait for morning to see him smiling at me again.