We decided to have his birthday this year a Gymboree Play & Music. He takes a class there on Tuesday nights and absolutely loves it. We had the party December 5th. We do it early in the month in the hopes that more people will be able to come. December birthdays are hard! We invited is entire preschool class, some friends from his old class, friends from church, and a couple of friends we know through Mark's work. Both my parents and Mark's parents were also able to come. We had a GREAT turn out at the party. Jonathan was so excited to see each of his friends. He talked about the party for weeks and kept asking when we could go to Gymboree and have his party. Too funny! His regular teacher from Gymboree led the party which was nice too. They did a couple of organized activities and had some free play time as well. She had all the kids play musical instruments and sing "Happy Birthday" to Jonathan. Then she asked him what song he wanted to sing. He told her, "Jesus Loves Me." It just touched my heart that he wanted to sing that song. And how precious it was to hear this group of 2-5 year olds singing to God. What a blessing. The party had a "Cars" movie theme and he got a TON of fun presents. We had a "Cars" cake, pizza, and ice cream to round out the party. It was an absolute blast. I do have to say, I LOVE parties somewhere other than my house. It was so much less stressful than it could have been. They had everything taken care of before and after and Mark and I were able to just enjoy the party. Here are some pics from that day!
Jonathan's Birthday Invitation that I made with my scrapbooking software
Enjoying some cake and ice cream
Jonathan and his "Cars" cake
Rainbow rope fun with friends
Jonathan LOVES the monkey bars!
Jonathan had a LOT of help opening presents, and I mean a lot!!!!
Sweet baby boy is so big.
Looking out the door to say goodbye to friends.
Jonathan opened presents from my parents and a few from Mark's parents that night at home. He was so excited to open "more presents" and was a big, big fan of the tool set and puzzles.
Jonathan's actual birthday was December 21st. He opened the presents from us that day. The highlight was a train track set for his train table. A friend had given us the table about a year ago and Jonathan has loved it. He has loved playing with the train tracks at other people's houses, and we thought it was about time to get him his own. He absolutely loves it and has had so much fun playing with it. 
I have made him a cake each year for his birtday. This year, I decided to get adventurous and make one of those cutesy cakes in the fun pans. Oh my goodness!! I about drove myself insane! I am waayyy too much of a perfectionist to do this without wanting to correct each and every mistake. However, life's not perfect and NEITHER was this cake!! But it was fun, and he loved it. 
On Christmas Eve, Mark's parents and sister came back to town. Of course, they were ready to have birtday fun wit him. And, that means MORE PRESENTS!!! It is so funny, I really think that Jonathan believes that the entire month of December is all about him and giving him presents! He had fun opening presents from everyone and playing with MORE new toys! He even liked the shirts that my MIL got for him, which was hilarious. Last year, any time he opened clothes, he would throw them on the floor. This time, he ran to put them away in his dresser. Too funny. I got a little distracted lately by our life, and forgot to schedule Jonathan's Well-Child Visit. We finally got in the middle of January. Dr. Lu thought that Jonathan looked great and was doing great. He weighs 35 pounds and is 40 inches tall! That is the 79th and 93rd percentiles respectively. Our boy has always been tall, but is hard to believe that he is almost 3 1/2 feet already. A long way from the 7 pounds 11 ounces and 21 inches long that he was at birth! They did a vision screen on him and he passed with flying colors. That was a HUGE relief to me. I am afraid that might be the one thing that the child actually get from me, the bad vision!! But so far, so good. Jonathan had a great time charming Dr. Lu and all the nurses. However, he was a little mad that he had to get his second H1N1 shot. Of course, he hated the band-aid more than the actual shot. Jonathan has hated band-aids his entire life and will fuss until you take them off.
We also started the New Year with one big resolution for Jonathan...POTTY TRAINING!! We are committed and working hard this time to make it work. He has been doing great. He has stayed dry at school the last few days. At home, he is still having 1-2 accidents at night but we are getting there. Now, #2, that is another story. Anyone have any great ideas? Totally open to them! Of course, potty training is a blessing in and of itself. Knowing Jonathan's medical history, we are very thankful that things are progressing at such a timely rate. Thank you Lord!!!
