Merry Christmas!

What a wonderful Christmas we had this year. Jonathan was so excited by just everything. He loved the tree, the lights, everyone elses lights, blow up Santas, reindeers, baby Jesus, church, etc. He truly was just joyful for the season. It made each thing so much more fun for us to be able to share it with him. Made each thing that much more special.


We went out one night to check out the lights at Burns Park and Sherwood Forest. They were just great and he LOVED the lights. He especially loved the displays where the lights went over the car. It was so much fun.

We went to the Christmas Eve service at church. Jonathan nevers goes into the service, so we was quite excited by...everything! After each song, he would clap and say, yeah!! He loved it, but was not so much into sitting still. Mark tried to take him down front for the children's moment. It was an adventure as Jonathan starts screaming "Daddy!" when Mark moved away from him. They didn't stay for the whole time; came on back to our seats. But it was nice and he loved singing songs about "baby Jesus" as he calls him. He has really loved going to Sunday School this month to talk about baby Jesus. What a neat and fun time it is.

Christmas Eve we set out milk and cookies for Santa. Jonathan helped carry them into the room and put them on the table. We told him he had to go to bed so Santa would come and bring him presents. He looks at us and says, "I see Santa." We tell him that Santa cannot come until he goes to bed. He thinks about this for a minute and says, "No, I see Santa." How do you explain this to a two year old! It was so funny and just precious. We finally got him to sleep and then poor Santa's elves stayed up for several hours getting his kitchen and car put together. Magic really would have helped!

He was so excited Christmas morning to wake up and see his two big presents. He went running straight for them and just had a blast riding in the car, which he has now termed his "truck," and cooking up a storm in his kitchen. Needless to say, we didn't open any other presents for a while!

After breakfast, we got down to business and opened presents. Everyone had a great time with their gifts and watching Jonathan open his. He had so many that he got tired of opening them after a while. He had to take a break and open the rest of his presents after his nap. So funny.

My Daddy made Jonathan an airplane. A scale model jet fighter airplane. It is so very cool. Has foot pedals and steering stick. Even stickers that say, Pilot: Jonathan, Crew Chief: Grandad. Jonathan absolutely loves it and has begged to go outside everyday to play in it. We put it in the garage so that he can play and not be quite so cold!

Mark grilled steaks for Christmas dinner, which were delicious. We also had potato salad, green beans, baked beans, etc. plus numerous pies, cakes, candy, etc. Over the next couple of days we also had deviled eggs, banana pudding, Heavenly ham, etc. Needless to say we ate and ate and ate.

The day after Christmas, we took Jonathan to Chuck E. Cheese to play games. Everyone had a blast taking times playing different games with him and chasing him around the place. We all had fun playing the Deal or No Deal game. It was so funny to watch everyone try to win the game. We had pizza afterwards, NOT at Chuck E. Cheese, and Jonathan chowed down on crackers and pizza. He is such a ham!

I had to go back to work on Monday. Mark and Jonathan are both staying home the whole week. So far, they have been having a great time sleeping in and playing the day away. They met me for lunch today which was a very nice treat. We are going to a friend's house tomorrow night for New Year's Eve which will be fun. And Friday, some of our best friends from MS are coming in which will be a lot of fun. We haven't seen them in forever it seems.

Hope that everyone is having a good holiday. I'll just share one more thing from our holiday time. Jonathan loves to pray. We have been teaching him praying hands and he has been doing that for a while now. Just this last week though, he has been wanting to say the prayer. He likes for one of us to pray first. Then he will say, "pray, Mommy, pray." So he puts his praying hands on, closes his eyes, and then repeats after you a prayer. At the end, on his own, he says, "I love you baby Jesus. Amen." It is the most humbling, awesome, happy moment. We are so blessed and so happy that our precious little baby loves our Lord Jesus.

Two Years Later

We took the first picture a few days after we got home from the hospital (1-4-07).

The second picture was taken on Jonathan's 2nd birthday (12-21-08).

What a difference two years makes. Look at how big our little man has gotten. We are so blessed. Jonathan has undergone two surgeries in the past two years and has come through both just great. Mark's Dad has had four surgeries (heart, leg, each eye) this year alone, and is also doing fantastic. We are so thankful for our family. We would not be where we are without them.

Merry Christmas everone! Lots of love to all!

Happy 2nd Birthday and Two Year Old Checkup

Getting ready to blow out my candles!

Our birthday boy, the big 2!

He was way excited about the presents!

Jonathan went to see Dr. Lu today for his 2 year old checkup. We just love Dr. Lu. He is so kind and easy going and so very good with Jonathan. The visit went really well and he looked good. Jonathan now weighs 31 pounds and is 37 inches tall. He is in the 80th and 100th percentiles. Boy is tall!! He did have to get one shot today, which he was not a fan of, but it went well.

His birthday was yesterday and he had an absolute blast. I got the pictures uploaded to his picture website today. They are great. But the video is even better. Unfortunately, I have no idea on how to get video off the actual video camera onto the computer. Off my camera yes, the video camera no. Suffice it to say that he was not a huge fan of getting clothes as a birthday present. He threw them down and then kicked them. It was hilarious...for a two year old. Luckily, Mark's Mom was not offended. She did tell him that he was getting more clothes for Christmas though!


But he loved all his toys and gifts, especially his Handy Manny tool set, Corduroy bear, and John Deere coin tower (see pics). He also liked the cake with Mickey and friends on it. He kept saying "Me-Mou Mommy, Me-Mou!"


I cannot believe that my most precious gift from God is already two years old. We are so very, very blessed. I could not have imagined the joy and wonder that one little child could bring into our lives. My cup runneth over. Thank you Lord for my little boy. Thank you Lord.

Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas!

What a wonderful month of fun we have had already. The first Saturday of December we had Jonathan's 2nd Birthday Party. We had it at Oogles and Googles. Ten of his friends were able to come to the party. Everyone had a ton of fun- singing songs, playing with toys, shaving cream, decorating cupcakes, putting handprints on a t-shirt, etc. Jonathan was so excited to see all of his friends. Everyone had such a nice time.

The next week, Jonathan's class took a field trip to the mall to see Santa Claus. Jonathan did a little better than last year. He got close enough to give Santa a "high five," but was having nothing to do with sitting on his lap. Only one of his friends actually sat with Santa. They are all so funny. We had Chick-Fil-A after seeing Santa, and they all loved that part of course!

Mark and I have been to two Christmas parties in the last week and actually left Jonathan with a paid babysitter. He has only ever stayed with grandparents or with a friend from work. So it was an experience for all of us. The first night was not so great but the second night he did really well. Of course, we found out after the fact that he was getting sick the first night. Oh well!

Santa Claus came to preschool yesterday and once again Jonathan gave him a high five. He let me hold him next to Santa for a picture, so that is closer. Maybe by next year he will sit with Santa. Here's hoping anyway! As he was walking away from Santa, Jonathan turned around and said, "Mary Kis-mus Santa." It was so sweet. They had their Christmas party that afternoon. The kids were more excited about the fruit and cheese than the cupcakes and sweets. They are so funny. He is a huge fan of "Ru-off" the red-nosed reindeer. Any show with Rudolph and/or Santa is a big hit at our house right now.

We had Jonathan's birthday party at school this afternoon. We had Mickey Mouse plates and blowers with either Mickey Mouse or Thomas the train on them. The two year olds are not quite old enough to make the blowers work, but they had fun with them regardless. We had a giant gingerbread man for his cake, with more grapes of course! Everyone had fun eating and playing. After we left school, we went to NLR to take his two year old pictures. A friend from church, Heather Owens, is now a photographer. She did a wonderful job and Jonathan had fun being cheesy for the camera.

Sunday is Jonathan's second birthday. Can you believe that my precious baby is about to officially be a Toddler. He is just getting bigger every day and is such a joy to us. He is so smart and so funny with the things he says and does. Just a few examples- He figured out how to use the bathroom scale as a step stool to climb into the bath tub. Climbed up the ladder after Mark while Mark was puttting the lights up on the house. HAS to watch "Me-Mou on TV" (also known as Mickey Mouse) everday. His vocabulary is growing every day too. "I fall down" is one of his favorites and he falls/sits on purpose so he can say it. "Want Mommy/Daddy/Me-Mou/cars back" is also a common phrase. Every day is "Where Daddy go?" to which the answer is 'at work' and his reply to that is "see Big Buck!" When Mark went to the deer camp, he told Jonathan he was going to look for the Big Buck. So now, whenever Mark is not at home, he is looking for the big buck. Much to Mark's dismay, he is usually just at work.

Jonathan has also really started learning and retaining a ton from his Sunday School lessons at church. He is a BIG fan of "baby Jesus" and likes to talk about Him and read His stories in Jonathan's picture Bible. It is just amazing how much he remembers at such a young age. And is able to transfer it to other settings. We were at Hobby Lobby today and he saw a nativitiy scene. He looks at it and tells me "baby Jesus, Mommy!" He was so excited by it. I was so excited by him being so excited!! They send a sheet home from church each week that tells you what they talked about that week. A few weeks ago it was the story of God giving Abraham and Sarah the gift of a child, Isaac. On the sheet was a song you could sing with your child. We now sing this song on a regular basis. He tries to sing it too which is so fun to watch and listen to. Anyway, for those who don't know the song, here goes!

God gives joy.

God gives joy.

Abraham and Sarah had a baby boy.

With a jump up and down, and a turn around and round.

Let's all shout 'cause God gives joy.

Just a simple little song, but so fun. If you ask Jonathan questions about the story, he is very accuarte in his answers. God gave Abraham and Sarah a gift of a ..."baby" and the baby's name is..."Isaac" and we read about their story in the ..."Bible." God is so good. Never think that it is too early to teach your children about Jesus, God, the Bible. They are just sponges and eat up every morsel of God's Word.

Anyway, there is a quick synopsis of our month so far. Lots more excitement to come with birthday on Sunday and Christmas next week. This will be a fun Christmas as Jonathan is old enough now to really get in to all that the season has to offer. We hope that each of you has a wonderful Christmas. Know that we miss you all and hope to see you soon. May God bless you as He has well and truly blessed our family.