Saturday, January 1, 2011

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving was fun and busy. Jonathan's class had a Thanksgiving Feast at school the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. They were given the choice to dress up as Indians or as Pilgrims. Jonathan thought he was one hot Indian! They also had personalized placemats which were very cute. There was enough food there for an army and of course all the kids wanted to eat was the sweets. It was a very fun party though, and I was glad that I was able to go.

We left Wednesday night and headed for Monroe and my Grandmother's house for Thanksgiving. We missed our family so much last year, so we were very thankful to be able to be with everyone this year. Jonathan had a blast playing with all of his cousins, well really, he had fun playing with everyone! We had a great Thanksgiving dinner and went to my Uncle Danny and Aunt Ninette's house on Friday night for some delicious gumbo and jambalaya! I got to do a little shopping on Friday morning, but didn't buy hardly anything. Just too tired and too pregnant to shop it hard this year. I did get to spend some time with one of my best friends, Melissa, and her Mom, though while I was shopping, which was so nice. I hate her living so far away, but we always have a good time when we are able to get together. Mark did get up and get us a new fancy remote at Best Buy. That was probably the best thing we bought all day!
 Jonathan playing with Grandad.
 Our Family Picture. Grand Bode was feeling so bad that she's not in the picture and we are missing Christine's bunch.
 Our silly family picture. :)
 The kids saw the BIG kids climbing up in the tree and wanted to get up there too. Jonathan and Preston LOVED it, but Kendall was not too sure of being up that high.
 Jonathan did not want to get down. I think he would have stayed and played up there all day.
My cousin Athena (30 weeks) and I (33 weeks) have been sharing this pregnancy journey as well. It has been a difficult road for both of us and we are just so thankful to have these two babies coming to our homes. They are so loved already. Addison and Daniel, we are ready to meet you!

 We left Saturday morning and drove to Monroe to Mark's parents house for Thanksgiving Part 2! We had another great feast and enjoyed spending time with Mark's parents, his sister's family, and his Aunt and Uncle. That afternoon, Jonathan and Lacey decided to roll down the hill in front of the house. They must have rolled down that hill 50 times! They had an absolute blast and I'm just glad that they enjoy playing together. We drove to Clinton that night to see Tangled at the theatre. Unfortunately, Jonathan passed out in the car on the way there. He was just exhausted and couldn't make the drive. So, we ended up turning around and driving back home. He was so disappointed when he realized we missed the movie but I promised him we could go to the movies in LR the next week. We headed back home Sunday night. It was a very busy couple of days, and we were exhausted when we got home, but we really did have a very nice time with everyone.
Paw Paw had fun watching the action, but for some reason decided not to roll down the hill with them!

November 2010

November ended up being just as busy as October! Probably don't have as many pictures, but trust me it just FLEW by. The month started off with Mark working on the baby's room. He thought this was going to be a weekend project... Hmmm...well it was a weekend..or two..or three! It turned out to be a bit more work than either of us had realized, but the finished project is completely worth it. Mark did a fantastic job and he had a great little helper. Jonathan painted one entire wall blue and really did a great job painting. Here is step one of the process: painting the room blue. Many more steps to come!
We had another baby shower at work for Michelle, another PT. She is two weeks ahead of me, expecting a little girl. The shower was a little bittersweet as her husband has gotten a new job in Dallas and they will be moving at the end of the month. She has become a great friend to me and they live in our neighborhood, so I will be very sad to see them go. But it was fun to give her fun gifts for this little girl.
We signed Jonathan up to take the Big Brother/Big Sister Class at Baptist Hospital where we will be delivering. This class is supposed to help them with the transition to having a new baby in the house as well as alleviate some of the fears of seeing their Mommy in the hospital. Jonathan just absolutely LOVED it, every single part of it. I have to say that Mark and I highly enjoyed ourselves as well. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time as watching Jonathan and the other children answer questions, change diapers, and play in the delivery room. He made a great card for Daniel's crib in the hospital, fed a pretend baby a bottle, changed a diaper, had a birthday party for the baby, went to visit a labor and delivery room, visited a mother/baby room, and even got to see a real live baby through the glass in the nursery. I have to say the class was great and I would highly recommend it to other Big Siblings!

 Card he made for Daniel
 Feeding his baby a bottle
 His Big Brother certificate and pin (we also got him a t-shirt).
Jonathan went to a birthday party the next weekend for Megan. It is so hard to believe that she is 3! Seems like she was just born yesterday! Jonathan had a great time playing with everyone at the party and did a great job decorating his crown all by himself.
 That same afternoon was my baby shower from the girls at church. It was so very nice and just so filled with love. They had done a bear thing which I just loved. From the invitations, to the decorations, to the food, it was just perfect. My Mom and Mark's Mom and Aunt were able to come share the special day with us as well. Everyone had a really nice time and I am just so appreciative of the love that was shown.
 Me at the shower - 32 1/2 weeks pregnant

(See below for more posts!)



October 2010

As always, the start of fall means that our family is on the go...constantly! This year was no different as Jonathan had a TON of fun activities and my belly was expanding pretty rapidly as well!! We had a blast with everything and managed to survive the chaos that seems to reign this time of year. Here are a few highlights from the month. (Oh, and there is another new post below this one. Trying to divide them into months...)
This picture is at 26 weeks. I have gotten involved in the Holy Sews ministry following the death of our Gracie. The group had the opportunity to do an interview for the local news station here in LR. I had gotten dressed up for that night, so we decided to take a few pictures. The interview was a huge blessing as we were able to reach several hurting families, make connections with new hospitals here in Arkansas, and recruit a few new volunteers as well. There is a link from the main website to the interview. http://www.holysews.org/  It is the "Feature Story on Today's THV."
The October bulletin board at Jonathan's preschool. My good friend Edie designed this one and did a great job. Each "spider" is the kids hand prints, which they then painted. It turned out great and Jonathan loved pointing out his spider every day.
The first weekend in October we decided to go to the Johnston Pumpkin Farm in Greenbrier. Unfortunately, we picked the absolute HOTTEST day to go. It was just miserable. I just cannot tolerate the heat and felt so bad the entire time we were there. Jonathan tried so hard to play, but he was just burning up as well. We had fun, but I will honestly admit it was not our best pumpkin patch experience to date. We just could not fit it in on another weekend, so sometimes you just make it work...
 I think our favorite activity at the patch this year was painting a pumpkin. Jonathan just loved it and I had a great time watching him. He wanted to paint the entire pumpkin - the top, bottom, AND the stem! He actually liked it so much that we let him painta another one. The 2nd time he picked a little bitty pumpkin.
 Jonathan and Daddy sitting in the patch.
 Our family!

 Jonathan has gotten very into taking pictures. He has taken pictures of everything, including himself. It is always interesting to download the camera and see what he has captured lately. His favorites seem to be whatever is on tv. He likes to take pictures of his shows.

 We had a baby shower at work for one of the other PT's, Carrie, and her husband, Kurt. They are adopting twin girls who are just absolutely beautiful! The shower was a lot of fun to buy everything in two's. So happy for them both!

 Jonathan decided he wanted to be Superman for Halloween. He was so excited when his costume came in. Mark flew him around the living room for weeks! He is also wearing his light-up Superman ring that I found as well. (It has super powers in case you didn't know!)



We said goodbye to a member of our family this month as well. We bought the Jeep Liberty in 2003 in anticipation of starting a family (and because I wrecked my Mustang). It has been a great SUV and we have really enjoyed it. The 4WD has gotten us out of some places and it has kept my baby safe for the last 3.5 years. However, it will be a little tight with two car seats in the back. Plus, we would not have any room for people to ride with us when they come to town. All of this led to us researching a new car/SUV/van.
 We ended up getting at 2007 Honda Odyssey minivan. Trust me, I have gotten harrassed by everyone who sees me for driving a van, but you know, I really kind of like it. I'm not lying, I would like a big Suburban or Yukon, but that is just not in our price range right now. This van meets all of our requirements for a car, at about $30,000 cheaper!! Mark has become a big fan of Dave Ramsey, so we are trying to follow his money management plan to get out of and stay out of debt. In the mean time, I have auto-open/close doors, a drop-down DVD player, and several other fun extras in my new van. We ended up buying it in Shreveport, so we made a weekend trip down there. Stayed in a hotel, had a great dinner, and did a little shopping before coming back home.

 The next weekend we went to Vicksburg and Jackson for Mark's sister, Kim's, engagement party. While we were in Vicksburg, we stopped by to see Johnson. Unfortunately, we have not been to Vicksburg or been able to see her in a long time. So, we were very excited to spend some time with her. We even got to take her to run a few errands. Jonathan loved having her ride in the back of the van with him, he thought that was pretty hot stuff.

 Saturday night we went to the engagement party. My sweet little boy told me, "Mommy you look so pretty" as we were getting ready. Just made my whole day. For a Mommy who is getting bigger by the day, it was such a sweet and loving thing to say. He took this picture of me himself. Such a sweet little boy who is going to be such a great big brother!

 That Sunday we drove back to Little Rock for a special memorial service at Baptist Hospital. This service was to remember every baby that had been lost this year at this hospital. It was a beautiful service. At the end, each family wrote a message to their little one and tied it to a balloon. So many balloons floating away, so much love, so much loss, but still so much love and hope for the future.

 Jonathan's class at school asked each of the kids to decorate a pumpkin for the Fall Fest. Jonathan has been on a BIG acorn kick. He collects them everywhere we go. So, we decided to make "ACORN"ucopia as our pumpkin. He told me where to put each acorn and I used the hot glue gun to put them on the pumpkin. We both had a blast and I think his little friends at school liked it too.

 Jonathan's preschool puts on a Fall Fest every year a few weeks before Halloween. All of the kids dress up and play games all over the preschool. Jonathan loved wearing his costume and seeing all of his friends from school.

 This is his best bud Sam. They were too cute in their matching superhero outfits. There was also a baby there that night dressed as Superman. He thought that was so cool that there were two Supermans.
 The next night our church had their Fall Funfest. So, once again, Jonathan dressed up and we went to the church for a ton of games, candy, and treat.

 He did really good at throwing the darts at the balloons. Boys got good aim, baseball here we come!

 The NEXT day (yes, all three of these events happened in the same week), Jonathan's class went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. This time it was not hot thankfully. I did not get to go, but Mark and my Mom were able to go and enjoy it with him. The field trip was very neat as they had a couple of learning activities for the kids to participate in, not just walking through the patch.

 Mrs. Meagan's class at the pumpkin patch. Jonathan's on the top left side of the step.
 MaMa Deb (my Mom) was able to come spend this entire week with us and go to all of the fun Halloween activities. On Friday, Jonathan decided that they needed to make a pumpkin pie. They worked really hard and made an excellent pie. I don't think he ate too much of it, but he really did enjoy the process of making it!

 The Friday before Halloween Jonathan's preschool did Trick-or-Treating around the building. Jonathan loved it, especially all of the candy!!
 Jonathan's class after Trick-or-Treating time.

 The PT's at work usually do a theme. This year we were a little lazy and just bought matching t-shirts. As you can tell, Michelle (32 weeks) and I (29 1/2 weeks) are both getting rather big and prego here. Kim did a skit with another group, thus why she's not wearing the shirt.

 After the trick-or-treating, Jonathan and his friends changed back into regular clothes. They then had a pizza party with green punch. They had a blast and especially loved the cd of Halloween music during the party. See the dancing below!


 Finally, Halloween arrived, and Jonathan went trick-or-treating. We went through most of our neighborhood and he got a TON of candy. Oh my, the candy. We always have fun on Halloween, though, and this year was no exception. I do miss giving out candy at our house, but nothing beats watching him have so much fun.

 Our family trick-or-treating
 Superman Jonathan
 Jonathan and his loot from trick-or-treating. This does not include any of the candy from the Fall Fest at preschool, Fall FunFest at church, or trick-or-treating at chuch. Yes, we have waaaayyyy too much candy. Yes, yes we do.  :)
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