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.