Hokey Pokey Time

Jonathan learned how to do the Hokey Pokey this weekend with his MaMa Deb. He had her do it over and over and over. His favorite thing was to turn around and then fall down. He would fall down on purpose, and then tell you, "I fall down!" He would laugh and laugh, then get up and do it all over again!!

Fun With Friends and Family

I just had to share a few of these pictures. Jonathan is just such a happy and loving baby. Jonathan had this shirt on after church last weekend. He thought he was hot stuff even though it is still WAY too big!

We went to Karen's house after work the other day. Jonathan and Katie had a great time running around the house. We finally got them to settle down to read books. They were just too cute sitting there together. Plus they play together so well. Megan just sits back and watches them run around. They stop by to tell her hi every once in a while, then keep running!

Paw Paw came to take care of Jonathan Wednesday and Thursday of this past week. Preschool was closed Wednesday to Friday to get ready for the new school year. Jonathan had a wonderful time playing with his Paw Paw. He did not want to take a nap for him, but never really got fussy during the day. They took walks, played outside, ate who knows how much "snacks", and just really enjoyed being together. The ice cream man came by on Tuesday afternoon when Paw Paw got here, and of course Jonathan got an ice cream. He was very excited! Mark was off on Friday, and the three of them went to Two Rivers Park. They had a good time out there. Jonathan was a big fan of playing in the dirt. All boy.

Paw Paw and Mark went to the deer camp to run water and power lines to his trailer on Friday afternoon. Late Friday night, MaMa Deb and Grandad came. Jonathan was so excited to have new people to come love on him and entertain him. We took MaMa Deb out for her birthday, and had yummy cake for her at home. Jonathan was very excited about the cake! The ice cream came by again on Saturday. So this time, Grandad got him a different ice cream cone. He was so proud of himself strutting back into the house with his ice cream.

Jonathan had his first day of school today. He was SUCH a BIG, BIG boy. I was so proud of him just walking into the new classroom without any kind of fuss. He looked so cute in his new outfit and new shoes that Grandma and Paw Paw got for him. He has three new friends this year, two of which are little boys. I know he will be excited to have some boys to play with. (Last year he had six girls and one other boy in his class. Now there are seven girls and three other boys.) He has the same teachers. They said he did very well today and had a great time with the new room and the new toys! He also had three servings of mandarin oranges for lunch today. What could be better than that?

We did have one bad thing happen today. When we got home from school today, I got Jonathan out of the car and walked down the driveway to get the mail. When I was almost to the mailbox, I noticed a car coming down the road. I turned to check on Jonathan and see where he was. When I did, my ankle rolled and just collapsed. I fell flat on my back in the middle of the road. Luckily the car stopped and did not run over me or Jonathan (who was safely up by the house). Unfortunately, I sprained my ankle pretty good. I can't even walk on it right now. I called Mark and he came on home from work to take me to the ER. It isn't broken, just swollen and colorful and hurting!! The doctor sent me home with a splint, crutches, drugs, and instructions to stay home and elevate my foot. The whole thing has been completely crazy. One of the weirdest things I have ever done to myself. Jonathan was just wonderful. He tried so hard to help me up and when we finally got inside, he crawled in my lap and loved on me and patted my back. It was very empathetic for a 19 month old. And if you ever need to go to the ER, go to Baptist. They were so nice and concerned for my injury, and actually pretty fast...for an ER. Unfortunately, we have spent a lot of time in ER's over the past year and a half, and trust me, none of them have been fast! Thank goodness I didn't break the silly thing, that would have been a trip. Hopefully this will heal fast. Mark is supposed to go to Atlanta on Wednesday. Great timing right?

Scrapbooking and Church

I was able to take some time for myself this weekend and go to the Cropping For Kids scrapbooking weekend. It was a fundraiser for Easter Seals and just a ton of fun. Two people I work with and a Mom/friend from work were there. It was a complete blast to just have some dedicated time to work on my scrapbook and have some girl talk and recharge my batteries. My husband is completely wonderful and kept Jonathan Friday night and ALL day Saturday so I could play. Not that he minded, he and Jonathan had a great time together. I feel so revitalized and ready to face my life again. It is funny how just a little time away can put everything back into perspective. I was literally ten minutes from my house, and I was still missing my boys like crazy! I am really glad that I got to go, but I was even that much happier to be back home with them. Sometimes I think we just need a little change in our perspective.

We went to church today, and Jonathan transitioned really well to his Sunday School room!!!! This is such a huge relief to me. It was just breaking my heart when he was screaming to stay. I am so glad that he is finally starting to have fun. He just loves his Sunday School teachers. It is a husband and wife team. Jonathan just walked in today and went straight to the husband, climbed in his lap, and waved goodbye. They said that he had everybody dancing during extended session too. (Gonna be a dancer Aunt Kim!!). We also had lunch today with some friends from church. Mark and I feel so blessed to have found a place where we 'fit' and where we can raise Jonathan in a Christian environment.

On the way home from lunch, Jonathan was trying so hard to tell me something. I finally figured out he was saying, "Mommy, it raining." He is so smart and so funny. He was doing his hands like rain coming down. And he was right, it was most definitely raining!

This is the last partial week of preschool for the year. He is only going to school on Monday and Tuesday. His Paw Paw is going to come keep him Wednesday and Thursday, and Mark will be off on Friday. Then next week he will be in a new classroom. How fast this year has gone. Makes me sad that he is growing up so fast, but happy that he is doing so well and that he loves to go to school. I cannot imagine him not being there. He loves to be with his friends, do all the art projects, read books, take walks, play on the playground, sing LOTS of songs, eat lunch at the 'big boy' table, see Mommy in the hallway, get cookies on the way out the door from the receptionist, and be with his teachers. God has truly provided us with a wonderful environment and people to take care of our son. And even more for me to be there in the same building, able to watch over him and see him during the day.

We had a guest preacher today at church. He was talking about the importance and power of prayer. He had the most interesting ideas on HOW to pray for your family, coworkers, friends, etc. He said that instead of just praying for what he thinks someone needs prayers over, he asks God to lead him to what he should pray for people. What a neat idea. Completely changes the way we can pray. I'm definitely going to be giving this one a try. So get ready, prayers coming each of your way!!!

Love to you all and miss you bunches! Come see us anytime!!

Our Busy Weekend

We had a busy but wonderful weekend. We actually woke up early Saturday morning to go do a couple of fun things. First, we went to take some family and 18 month old shots at this neat place I found. (And yes I know, he's 19 months old). They are cutting in a new road but have left all the trees on either side. It was really pretty. Unfortunately, it was also really hot. Even at 8:30 in the morning, we were sweating up a storm. But it was still fun. The pictures are not the best we've ever taken, but they turned out ok.

After we left there, we changed clothes and went to The Wonder Place. It is a neat indoor play area that's been open about a year here in Little Rock. It is a really neat place with a ton of different play areas. There is a whole area dedicated for the under two crowd, a water table, a sand table, veterinarian area, play house, pretend grocery store, play kitchen, art/craft area, books, and blocks. As you can imagine, it was a little overwhelming, but tons of fun. Jonathan loved everything, but most especially the water table. He splashed and played and just loved it so much. He did a great job on the art project too. He's finally starting to figure out how markers and paint and that kind of stuff works.

We finally left there around noon. All three of us were just exhausted. We had lunch, and then went home for a nap.

Sunday we got up for church. Jonathan went to his Sunday School class without fussing!! He has been having a hard time with the transition, but he went happily, so we were very excited. He really loves his Sunday School teachers right now. They are truly nice people and take good care of him.

Sunday night, we went to a church swimming party and cookout. It was only Jonathan's second time in the pool. He loved it! They had a baby pool that he could walk around in. He stayed in there for a while, and then he was ready to party! He loved "jumping" off the side of the pool to Mark or I. Then he wanted to "swim" around the pool. We really enjoyed being together and seeing some people from church. We left around 8:30 p.m. Once again, we were exhausted!

So that is our weekend! We truly enjoyed being together as a family and doing some different things. Sometimes we tend to get stuck in a rut, so we just really loved doing something fun together.