In the direction of dreams

Blah

2012-02-15T11:49:00.001-08:00

We had a pretty crummy Valentine's evening. Matt didn't get home until 8 and was very tired after leaving for work at 5:30 with only a few hours of sleep the night before. He's been working so hard on his projects. Then after I read Jonah a book before bedtime he went to get another and I heard the unmistakable cough. Matt cleaned up the floor while I cleaned up Jonah. He continued to throw up most of night but thankfully has great aim and got it all in his bucket. He would just yell for us to come empty it. Today he isn't his usual self but hasn't thrown up. I'm being very cautious about what I give him to eat, basically the BRAT diet. Matt actually has more work to do tonight. Poor guy has a sinus infection which the lack of sleep isn't helping. Dr Jonah tried to help him out last night. He listened to him and then delivered his baby. Then it was my turn. He listened to my heart and handed me a bill for $3,000. I think he has a future in medicine, or swindling, ahead of him.

Just hanging out on the couch today.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T15:29:00.000-08:00

We had a Valentine's Day party at our house for Jonah's friends. I didn't think to take any pictures but there were 4 older boys, 2 baby boys and one sweet girl plus yummy food to keep us busy. Jonah is now supposed to be napping and I'm enjoying some of the party leftovers. I made this and it is so good. We don't have any plans for tonight. Matt has a presentation for his conference in Vancouver he has to have submitted tomorrow so he's been working on that for the last couple of weeks and will be finishing it up tonight. Here is Jonah's Valentine's picture I took last week.

And here I am at 11w4d. If you didn't know me you would just think I was a little chubby.

2012-02-10T19:26:00.001-08:00

I have a few random pictures I've been meaning to post. Today we were driving by Lake Union and Jonah said:

That's where I went on Ride the Duck. I had to hold grandpa's hand because he was scared.

There are a couple of pictures from last weekend when we were playing a game. Jonah sits just like Matt. And yes he's pant less. We've been diaper free at nap time for a week now and when he gets up we just neglect to dress him. I took a picture of a picture Jonah drew a few days ago. Do you see the green fish with the hook in it's mouth?

2012-02-09T19:16:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I was taking Jonah to preschool and was driving slowly through a school zone. From the backseat Jonah says "Are we going for a Sunday drive?"

This kid...

2012-02-07T21:16:00.000-08:00

I think I'll soon qualify for some time of anxiety disorder. I thought I only had to worry in public places and we would be safe at home. Think again. Jonah and the dogs escaped the house today and I found them out at the road. I think we're going to have to get a deadbolt installed that he can't reach because he can unlock both locks on the door. Oh and look into a toddler ankle bracelet. And anxiety meds for mommy.

Here comes the sun!

2012-02-04T15:09:00.001-08:00

We hope this nice weather sticks around. It was sunny and in the 50s today. We went to the park, had some lunch and played. Jonah starts soccer again in a few weeks so we kicked the ball around. There are always many dogs to pet at that park too. Now it's nap time before work.

It has been a long time

2012-01-29T22:24:00.000-08:00

I don't even know how long it's been but I have a few pictures to catch up. I had the weekend off which means Matt is working. We spent some time working in the yard this weekend. We've had some windy days which sprinkled our yard with branches and pinecones. Last weekend we went to Jonah's friends birthday party which had an Angry Bird's theme. Jonah loved the piñata and cake. They had a Chinese New Year party at preschool which involved food so Jonah was excited about that. He is a busy, busy boy. A couple of days ago he discovered if he piled everything up in his room he could reach the lock on the closet and get toys out. He had already removed all the pictures from the walls So we're back to just his bed and a few stuffed animals in his room. That hasn't stopped him from trying though. He rolls up the rug and tries to stand on that.

A long, boring video

2012-01-20T22:12:00.001-08:00

A video for the grandparents. Took the Christmas tree down today. Note to self, buy more lamps. Our house is dark.

Snow Day #?

2012-01-19T14:53:00.001-08:00

Another day of winter weather and another day at home. I was hoping to take Jonah to preschool today because he hasn't been all week and we have to pay regardless but with all the ice I decided not to risk it. So instead we just hung out at home. We're getting bored but at the same time I'm loving spending so much time with Jonah. Just a couple of weeks ago I was complaining to Matt about how I was always having to remind Jonah to say thank you and it was very frustrating. All of a sudden he just got it and I'm getting heartfelt thank you's for things I wouldn't even expect to like making him lunch. I just wish I could record him all the time because the things he says and the way he says them are so quirky. It makes us a little sad that we're the only ones that get to enjoy it. It doesn't really translate in text. I'm going to try to get a video of him when he is upset. It shouldn't be hard because sometimes he has the angst of a teenager. When he gets upset, usually because we tell him he can't do something, he cries and says "I want to be happy!" over and over again. He is currently napping or as we're calling it now "resting" with books. When I would mention a nap I would practically have to drag him to his room and he would stay awake for hours even though he was tired. Now we say it is rest time and he gets to
choose a couple of books to take to bed with him. He runs to his room now and falls asleep within 15 minutes most days. The last couple of weeks when I was sick I didn't feel up to playing on the floor with Jonah so we read a lot of books. He is even starting to memorize some and last night at bedtime he "read" us an entire book. Last week we read an Eric Carle book and at the end Matt asked Jonah to recall the animals in the book and instead of the macaroni penguin he said macaroni and cheese penguin.

Here is a picture of the backyard. It has been snowing/freezing rain all day. Thankfully we haven't lost power (yet) and I hope we don't. I would be googling turning off the fireplace pilot light. I have to do that, right? Again, hoping I don't have to worry about that.

2012-01-18T20:22:00.001-08:00

So far we've survived the snow. Matt's test was canceled on Tuesday so he just went straight to work. Jonah and I went to the store to stock up. It was getting nasty as we were leaving the store and we had a little trouble in the parking lot. Snowplows are few and far between here. Today Matt took the bus to work which was nice because I didn't have to worry about him driving. Thankfully he didn't get stuck on there for four hours like last year. Jonah and I stayed home. I had a meeting at work but wasn't going to risk driving there. Here are some pictures from the last couple of days. One of the pretty trees before it really started snowing and a couple of Jonah. That bowl of ice cream was Matt's that Jonah was eating and said "I'm getting fat."

Why yes those are the boxes of Christmas decorations still sitting in the dining room. At least I have removed the ornaments from the tree. I call that progress.

Spitting image of his father. We were talking about his friends upcoming birthday party and wanted to know what kind of birthday party he wanted this year. He requested a roller skating party. I don't know where this kid gets his ideas. When we said he was too young for roller skating he said he wanted a glasses party.

2012-01-16T20:16:00.001-08:00

We're finally coming out of the bad colds we've had for almost two weeks. It started snowing on Saturday but thankfully not in the city until I got home from work Sunday morning. We've spent the last two days hanging out at home. Matt has a test tomorrow he and he has to drive to the testing center so I'll worry about him all day. Today we put on our warmest clothes and played in the snow but not before my superhero decided he wanted to do some laundry.

2012-01-13T21:51:00.001-08:00

I keep hoping everyday is the last day if being sick but sadly that hasn't been the case yet. After working Saturday night I got sick (surprise surprise as night shift kills me) and have done nothing all week but sleep. Matt is also sick now. Jonah is the only one healthy as he gave us these colds. Speaking of Jonah, he is a regular comedian lately and he is his biggest fan. He regularly cracks himself up which reminds me very much of Matt. He is on a big Curious George kick lately and wants to read his Curious George book every night. When he wakes up in the morning he always says he has a BIG job to do. Usually it is fighting fires but sometime he says he has to work with his tools. I don't have any recent pictures of him but here is one of the scoundrel that makes himself at home when I get up.

We're still alive

2012-01-06T13:43:00.000-08:00

I think we're going to make it. My diet has consisted of saltines for the past three days but I'm feeling good enough that I don't think I'll have an excuse not to go to work tomorrow. Jonah had a better day yesterday but today he's whiny and is running for a tissue every 2 minutes. Maybe tomorrow will be the day we finally take down our Christmas decorations.

2012-01-04T18:46:00.001-08:00

We're feeling pretty pathetic over here. Jonah has had a URI for the past week and seems to be getting worse. I woke up this morning with the stomach flu. We're quite the pair. Matt has remained healthy which is good because someone needs to take care of us. We're currently laying on the couch waiting for him to get home.

Old Pictures

2012-01-03T09:06:00.001-08:00

I emailed myself some pictures from Matt's phone. There is one from Halloween and then some from Snowflake Lane. There are a couple from the Radiology Christmas party at the museum of flight and one of Jonah trying out the color tabs from his stocking in the tub. In random order as always.

2011-12-29T17:15:00.001-08:00

Our computer is still down and out but the new windows just arrived today so hopefully Matt will have time to install it soon. I can't believe I haven't posted anything since Christmas. Our weekend was very relaxed just the three of us. Matt had Monday off so we went out to lunch. Yesterday while Jonah was at preschool I cleaned out his closet, room and playroom. Today we went to a place with inflatable slides and jump houses. Kids are still on break and it was a madhouse. We'll go back again when it isn't as crowded. Jonah loved it and the whole way home asked to go back again. I saw him have a head on collision at least three times with other kids and he would get back up and run off playing. Here are some random photos from the last few days.

A few bumps and bruises from a hard day playing

Playing with the nativity set one last time this year.

I couldn't believe he climbed up and went down the slide all by himself.

Caleb hoarding the new toys on Christmas.

Jonah trying out his new scooter on Christmas morning.

Putting the books in his room turned out to be a bad idea. I found him reading at 4 am.

Now if only I could find the motivation to clean my closet.

Jonah has the habit of taking his pajamas off at night.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

Cookies for Santa

2011-12-24T19:00:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T14:39:00.001-08:00

We're planning a nice relaxing Christmas weekend. We wish we were with family but the upside is that we're not rushing from one place to another and trying to see everyone. Matt just went to try to retrieve a package from our old address and Jonah is napping. I'm going to clean and make some food for tomorrow. Rudolph is on the agenda for tonight. The boys played hard this morning as evidenced by the living room. Oh and one more picture. Jonah and I had a lunch date yesterday. He's a ham.

This week

2011-12-22T16:18:00.001-08:00

We've been busy with out holiday preparations. On Tuesday we made cookies and yesterday while Jonah was at preschool I made his teachers' gifts and made more cookies. I didn't even think about gifts for the teachers until I saw the other parents bring gifts at the holiday program. I ran to the store and got travel size Kleenexes, lotion, hand sanitizer and instant coffee and made little pouches and a card. Next year I need to plan something so it's not so last minute. I made little reindeer and snowmen cookies and they were not worth the effort. Today we went to a zoo and saw more reindeer. Jonah was in a bad mood so I don't have many pictures of him but the view was beautiful. I work tomorrow night and then we'll have three days together as a family.

Holiday Program

2011-12-20T22:33:00.001-08:00

Jonah's preschool had a holiday program. I know they sang the ABCs in spanish and London Bridge in Chinese but I don't know what everything else was about. Jonah has been singing at home all week but tonight he was too distracted by the paparazzi aka parents taking pictures. I did get a cute picture of him afterward. The teachers thought he looked so sharp because I send him to school in sweatpants (easy for bathroom breaks) and dark colored cotton shirts (to hide stains). Tomorrow they're having pajama day at preschool and he is excited.

2011-12-20T12:33:00.001-08:00

Jonah picked out presents today at the drugstore for Matt and the dogs. Now we're decorating wrapping paper and wrapping them. Our computer is on the fritz so all posting is from my phone which limits me to iPhone pictures. Here are some from today. Do you see "daddy" on the present?

2011-12-17T18:24:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts/pictures lately. I'm at work (waiting for my shift to start) and I thought I might give a preview of Jonah's handiwork. He gave himself a little haircut. I about cried when I had to cutoff the rest to even it out. It'll grow back but in the meantime he is wearing hats. Which for Jonah isn't a problem. I don't have a good picture right now but you can see part of it in this picture. He said he made a hot dog Sears tower.

Family photo

2011-12-14T10:00:00.000-08:00

We don't get our picture taken together often so when our Ride the Duck photo didn't turn out too bad we bought it. It would have been better if Jonah had been looking and smiling at the camera but that never happens (except for with Santa).

Picture with Santa

2011-12-13T10:51:00.000-08:00

We took Jonah to have his picture taken with Santa on Saturday morning. I should have tried his pants on him the night before because when I put them on they were too short. If I would have known I could have taken the hem down but there wasn't time so he looked a little silly. We had to stand in line for a while. Jonah went right up and started talking to Santa. I heard him telling Santa what he wanted for Christmas (a list of power wheels) and then he smiled for what I think is another adorable Santa picture. Check out the pictures from the last two years here. Same bow tie as last year.

Fun Family Night

2011-12-11T20:40:00.001-08:00

On Thursday we went on the Duck Holiday Lights Tour. They provided blankets and drove around downtown to look at the light displays. Of course there were Christmas songs and we all had bells to shake along with the music. Jonah loved it. We rode on the carousel too but I was with Jonah so I don't have any pictures. We then took the monorail over to Seattle City Center where the Space Needle is located. It was pretty deserted but the lights were pretty and it was a nice walk. I'm a little behind in updates but I hope to catch up in the next couple of days. Coming up is the Santa picture and tonight's trip to Snowflake Lane.

Space Needle in the moonlight.

On the monorail

Full moon

View from the monorail

Macy's window

View from the duck.

Looking at the fountain or as Jonah calls it, the fireworks.

Part 2 of Wednesday recap

2011-12-09T15:49:00.001-08:00

After Navy Pier Jonah and I drove to Legoland. He had a great time. It was his first experience with regular legos as he has the larger duplos at home. He rode on the ride (3 times) and we watched a 4D movie where it snowed on us which he didn't care for. Just as we got back to the hotel Matt called to be picked up. I think it was after nine when we got back to the hotel and after starting at 6:30 and going all day without a nap, Jonah was out.

Trip recap continued

2011-12-08T10:41:00.001-08:00

On Wednesday last week after dropping Matt off at his conference Jonah and I went to Navy Pier. It wasn't crowded which was nice. We walked around outside so Jonah could get some exercise. He wanted to take a boat ride so one day we'll have to go back when it's warmer. We went inside and waved at Santa and then went to Build A Bear where Jonah made a dog to commemorate our first trip for RSNA. He named the dog Prayer. After we left Navy Pier and found a gas station as we were running on fumes, we went to Legoland Discovery Center. I'll post about that tomorrow. Here are pictures from Navy Pier in random order because that is how the mobile app uploads them.

We're back!

2011-12-07T14:24:00.001-08:00

We arrived home yesterday afternoon/evening. The bags are almost completely unpacked and now I'm putting up Christmas decorations. Jonah is still on Illinois time and woke up at 6 am and started asking for lunch at 10. Matt picked up the dogs from the kennel this morning and they stink horribly. Now they smell like a combination of stinky dog and Calvin Klein cologne. I'm going to get back to the decorations while Jonah is napping. While we were in Illinois he wanted to go home but as soon as we got here he started asking to go to Illinois and see his cousins. His week of potty success is no more. He informed me at naptime that he did not want to play with his big boy toys or go to Chuck E Cheese but rather wanted to go BM in his diaper. Not five minutes after I put him down he was yelling for me come change him. We're just thankful he didn't do it on the plane. Here is a picture of the two boys who fell asleep the last 40 minutes of the flight.

Chicago Trip

2011-11-29T12:26:00.001-08:00

On Monday we went to a children's museum and out to lunch with the girls. Jonah had a blast. After we picked Matt up at the train station we went to Portillos to eat. Today the girls came to our hotel and we went swimming. Jonah has now received two new toys for success on the potty and keeping his diaper clean when he sleeps.

2011-11-27T20:41:00.001-08:00

Matt's conference started today and he is really enjoying it. We had breakfast with Megan and Molly and we dropped Matt off at the convention center. After we had lunch and naps back at the hotel Jonah and I went to Laura and Matt's to play and have dinner. The kids made pizza for dinner and had fun playing together. Tomorrow we're headed to the children's museum.

Tree is up!

2011-11-22T22:53:00.001-08:00

No ornaments and we need more lights but it's up. It looks crooked in the picture but it isn't really. Jonah is really excited.

Delayed Post

2011-11-21T14:05:00.000-08:00

I started this post last week but never finished it. The little cold or whatever I had three weeks ago hasn't left so I finally went to the doctor today. It is so frustrating to be sick and have so much to do. I hope these antibiotics start working quickly! They swabbed me for pertussis but I'm praying that's not what it is because I've been working with unvaccinated babies for the last three weeks. Unfortunately they couldn't give me the vaccination today because I'm running a fever. I need to get it soon!

We had our craft day last week. There was much less crafting than we had planned because we hadn't factored in all the boys. There were three babies that all had to nurse once or twice plus the five older boys that required potty breaks or diaper changes and corrections in behavior. I'm still working on my Advent calendar and at this rate I hope to have it done by Christmas! Matt has had a lot of late nights with meetings and dinners and has been on overnight call once a week. Jonah has really been missing him so I try to plan something special for us to do and really talk it up. Tomorrow Matt has the entire day off because he is on call Wednesday night. We're having a family fun day!

Three of the boys doing a craft. They made little turkey hands.

I'm training my little helper.

Surfing

I brought my craft supplies in a suitcase which Jonah really enjoyed helping pull.

Making cookies! After every ingredient Jonah would ask if he could taste the dough.

Smoothie making and eating

2011-11-15T18:55:00.001-08:00

It's almost time!

2011-11-13T14:30:00.000-08:00

The weekends are always more exhausting than my weeks. If Matt isn't working then I am or in the case of this weekend, both of us necessitating the Jonah exchange in hospital parking garages. This makes our time together more special and appreciated.

We're skipping Thanksgiving this year because Matt works Wednesday night, I work Thursday night, Matt works Friday days, and we leave early Saturday morning. Maybe we'll pick up a deli meal for lunch on Thursday and record the parade to watch but I will not be cooking anything. Because we'll be gone for the first week of December we've been discussing putting up Christmas lights outside. I've been listening to Christmas music for the last several days and Jonah has started singing some songs. I love that every year he gets to experience and understand new things. This week we're having a crafting play date and making Advent calendars with the kids. I just ordered our Christmas cards. Now I'll be really impressed with myself if I get them out in the next couple of weeks.

Here is a video of goal time at the last soccer practice. They're doing indoor soccer now but Matt decided they'll skip a session and start again in the spring when Jonah can move up to the next group where they practice without parents.

2011-11-11T13:27:00.000-08:00

I think our cold and rainy weather has started. The forecast is full of rain. We took advantage of one of the last nice days yesterdays and spent hours at the park. I was too busy chatting and keeping Jonah in line to take pictures though. Everyday I think he is getting better but this URI is just hanging around. Now he is mostly just whiny. We'll be in Illinois two weeks from tomorrow but I have so much to do in the meantime. I want to have Christmas cards ready to send out before we leave. We'll see how that goes. We need to have the garage cleaned out enough for Matt to park his car in while we're gone and hopefully during the winter. I sold the changing table today so we made a little room. It was the first time I've listed anything on Craigslist and it was really easy. I had several e-mails within the first couple of hours and the first responder picked it up this morning.

I do have a few pictures on my phone from Wednesday. Matt was on call on Tuesday night so after he slept a few hours on Wednesday and while Jonah was in preschool we went out to lunch. It was this place Matt's friend had taken him to and he raved about how good it was. I'm very surprised it passes health inspections but the food was delicious. After we picked Jonah up from preschool we went to Lowe's to look at the Christmas decorations. Jonah liked the log splitter. When we got home he ate some ice cream that they had made at school. He is a little bruised up because one of the kids at school pushed him over.

Wolf Pup

2011-11-08T22:05:00.001-08:00

Jonah has spent two nights in the last week sleeping in our bed which hasn't happened since he was nursing. He has been trying to get over a cold and wakes up in the night crying. Today he woke up and was in such a bad mood that I put him down for a nap before noon and he woke up acting like he felt better. We went to the mall with the understanding that he couldn't play at the play place with the other kids. We went to get him a hat that I've been wanting to get since I saw it but had been waiting for it to go on sale. I could no longer wait because it is the perfect hat for Jonah. He insisted on wearing around the mall and howling.

2011-11-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

Seeing as how we're both a little sick we probably should have stayed at home but we rarely get family time so we bundled up and went to the park. It was cold! In 20 days we'll be in Illinois!

2011-11-03T19:08:00.001-07:00

I think Jonah and I are fighting something off. He was up a couple of times last night and didn't get up until 10:30 this morning. He was fine all day though. Here are pictures from our day. We met friends at a play cafe (do you see Jonah in the picture?) and tonight he got a haircut before bath time.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

After two Halloween parties on Friday I was really ready for it to be over. Jonah went trick or treating at preschool on Monday as well. Monday night we had been invited to another Halloween party held at the parent's house of a friend and then trick or treating in their neighborhood. It was the home of Christie's parents who I know through Karen because their husbands were in the same residency. Her husband is now done and began practicing just this month, after their twins were born. On Monday afternoon I got a call from the preschool saying Jonah had hurt his arm while climbing out of the pack and play. I figured he had dislocated his elbow because he has done that several times before but Matt has always been there to fix it. I picked him up and sure enough that is what happened. They had his arm and a sling and I think to make him happy had given him two pieces of chocolate cake. I put it back into place and he was fine. Matt got off work relatively early and we were able to drive together to the party. We had fun at the party and then we took all the kids trick or treating. Jonah walked into several houses when the door was opened. I thought I was thinking ahead when I got his boots in a size larger so he could wear them next year but it made it hard for him to walk up stairs so he was pretty slow. I didn't get any pictures yesterday so I took some today. Jonah did not want to participate. I bribed him with candy.

This was the end of the photo shoot and he decided he was leaving.

His fake smile

Eating m&ms

He wanted to take a picture of me

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-30T17:37:00.001-07:00

We finally made it to the pumpkin patch today! It was really muddy and wet but we had fun. It wasn't too crowded and there was still a nice selection of pumpkins. Jonah had fun running around and checking out all the things they have for kids to play on. We had a private hay ride as we were the only people in line. Jonah did not like when his hands got dirty and requested a clean pumpkin. My camera battery died after one picture so these are all from my phone. Enjoy!

Possum & Lion

2011-10-26T11:20:00.001-07:00

In the last two weeks we've found a dead bird and squirrel in our yard. So a couple of nights ago when I heard Caleb growling and circling something in the yard at night and saw the largest possum I've ever seen in my life laying on the ground we began to wonder how all these dead animals where ending up in the yard. Before I went to sleep the thought occurred to me that the possum was just playing possum. Sure enough it was gone in the morning. Here are a couple of pictures. Matt met his deadline with his presentations by staying up until 4 am and then going to work at 7. Jonah and I surprised him with a board game he was wanting when he came home from work. Jonah also got a new outfit to play dress up. They had costumes 70% off at the fabric store. As soon as he woke up this morning he wanted to put it on. There is also a picture of him driving to go pick up some carrot stew.

2011-10-25T16:38:00.001-07:00

I had a lunch date with a handsome gentleman today. His idea was to go to the mall and buy clothes for him. He settled for the Target cafe and a rubber snake.

Another October Weekend

2011-10-24T05:10:00.001-07:00

It's early and I can't get back to sleep so I thought I would do a quick blog post. We didn't really do anything this weekend. Jonah had soccer this weekend and Matt worked a ton on his projects that are due midweek. I didn't even take any pictures. Fair warning: this is what my life is about. We did have a little celebration when Jonah went number two in the potty. He hasn't gone in his underwear in at least 6 months but rather he waits for nap time or bedtime when he is wearing a diaper. Which is why when he started whining and requesting a diaper we ran him to the bathroom and with a little chocolate incentive he went. Maybe it is the start of something but if not that is okay. He is still young and we're not pushing it. So enough about that. Let's make this a little catch up post. I don't think I can do bullets on my phone but here are a few of the things Jonah is saying/doing lately.

Asks a billion questions. He is starting to ask questions about people in public and always uses male pronouns.

Frequently wears his fireboots and no pants. It is adorable.

Not about Jonah but anytime the dogs (especially Caleb) hear Jonah crying or waking up from his nap on the monitor they run upstairs and wait outside his door until I open it.

Is starting to learn to write his name at school. He has got the J down.

Likes to tell us what letter words start with and when he is trying to think of a word he'll say it starts with this letter and makes this sound. I think this way sometimes too.

Watches a new show on PBS called Super Why. I wasn't thrilled with Sesame Street (it's not the same show that we grew up with) and so with a friends recommendation we checked out this show and he really likes it. It is all about letters and words and Jonah will shout out the letters and I hear him talking about what happened on the show.

I'm thinking about keeping some of his tools upstairs and some downstairs because I frequently hear "I gotta go get my tools" and he takes off running.

I am always finding rocks and pinecones that he has brought in from outside.

He is practicing different facial expressions and will tell us to have a mad/sad/happy/scared face and he'll be the opposite.

Always wants a bite of our food if we're eating something different. He no longer takes nibbles but big bites.

Talks about and pretends to fly to Illinois multiple times a day. Or "nillinois" as he calls it.

After telling him about when he was a baby he was in my tummy he has on several occasions told me to get in his belly and he'll left his shirt up.

Keeps life interesting and fun!

I do have a picture from Friday when we had a little play date at our house. Here are Jonah and Jake playing.

The Amazing Jo

2011-10-20T12:08:00.001-07:00

Here is a video of Jo from a couple of weeks ago.

Play date

2011-10-18T20:27:00.001-07:00

We went to a friends house and watched the new Winnie the Pooh movie. The boys did more playing than watching as someone else's toys are always cooler and the moms were busy chatting and had fun. Charlene made cupcakes that Jonah enjoyed very much. Here is a blurry picture of his messy face. He wanted to eat the wrapper too.

2011-10-17T18:56:00.001-07:00

Jonah was back at preschool today after what seemed like a long absence. We didn't do much over the weekend because Matt is working really hard on a few projects. He hopes to have them completed by the end of the week so we can spend the entire weekend together. I think a visit to the pumpkin patch is in order! Jonah had soccer practice on Saturday and I'm just thrilled at how well he is doing. He grasps the concepts of the drills and follows directions which is very different than swim lessons where he was just hanging out in the pool. He had a great time as evidenced by the constant smile on his face but spaced out most of the time. We're skipping the next session and I'll try to work with him. I do have a few pictures to share. Posting this from my phone I'm not sure what order these pictures will upload but here is the order I see. The first is from when Aunt Megan was visiting and we were trying on shoes as the perfect pair of black boots has eluded me for years. Jonah saw these heels and wanted to try them on. The next picture is of some pretty flowers on my table. The orange lilies are from my sweet husband and the pink one was a late bloom from our yard. The last picture is Jonah wearing my wreath pretending to be a ballerina.

Just hanging out

2011-10-14T16:44:00.001-07:00

We didn't do anything today but play. Matt has late stay today so we spent a little bit of the morning with him before he went on to work. Then Jonah and I went to the grocery store. When we got home we did some stamping and then practiced letters before playing dress up. Now he is napping and I'm sewing spots onto his costume (nearing the end!) Lazy days are my favorite!

More pictures part 20

2011-10-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

How is the month of October almost half over? I wish time would slow down a little bit. Aunt Megan left last night. We all enjoyed having her visit although Matt has been so busy he didn't get to spend much time with anyone. Jonah had been acting like he didn't feel good and last night I took a look at his mouth and it is covered in sores. I kept him home from preschool today and we watched Sesame Street on the couch. He went with me this morning to a doctors appointment and I lost count of the number of people who commented on how much he talks. He really never stops. He is down for a nap now and I can hear him in there talking. Before I turned off his light I told him about snow plows and how we might see one in Illinois when we visit. He had never heard of a snow plow before and his eyes just lit up as I was telling him what they do. It sounds like he is pretending his bed is a snow plow. Here are some pictures from my camera of the last week.

At Snoqualmie Falls yesterday. He was very concerned about all the mist.

The fountain is synchronized to music (Hendrix & Nirvana while we were there) which meant Jonah just had to dance. He pulled Aunt Megan up there with him.

Thankfully the forecast that said rain everyday changed and we had a few days with no rain and some days with only a little rain. This was one of those days as the sun was trying to peak out at Gas Works Park.

Pumpkin painting at a fall festival. Of course the first two colors he chose were green and yellow.

Riding the train with Aunt Megan.

At soccer practice they were pretending to be firemen and had to kick the ball to knock down the cones and put out the fire. Here is Jonah giving it a big kick.

He requests applause and gives it to himself too.

Our Day in Pictures

2011-10-07T16:05:00.001-07:00

More pictures

2011-10-06T16:57:00.001-07:00

Here are pictures from today. We went to the science center and the Space Needle in the city center. Jonah took the picture at the Space Needle.

2011-10-05T21:21:00.001-07:00

Aunt Megan us visiting and we've been having so much fun. The weather has been a little damp and cool but tomorrow is just supposed to be cloudy.
I downloaded the blogger app so now I can post more easily from my phone and no more emailing pictures to myself to post them which means more pictures for you.
Here are a few in random order. There are some of work in the yard and of our day today.

Soccer and Pictures

2011-10-01T15:14:00.000-07:00

Since swim lessons started our weeks are just flying by. On parent swim day only one other child showed up and their parent didn't get in the water so I was the only one swimming. It was good though because it was like we had private lessons. Afterward we played at the water park type area at the recreation center. I kept Jonah home from preschool on Wednesday because he had been up the night before not feeling well. He still has a cough but has been sleeping better. I worked last night and have the rest of the weekend off but only because Matt is working tonight and tomorrow night. We're looking forward to Aunt Megan coming to visit next week. She is going to get to experience true Seattle as it is supposed to rain everyday. A girl I work with (or worked with because she just recently left NICU and went to L&D) took some pictures of Jonah this week. She posted a little preview here. He definitely made her work for it as he is a busy, busy little boy who doesn't like to look at the camera or stop talking. I can't wait to see the rest. The pants looked very cute on him but in the pictures they're falling down a bit because he was filling his pockets with rocks. Matt and Jonah are both napping now and I'm off to mow the lawn and plant some bulbs before the rain hits this weekend. Here are some pictures and a video from soccer today. He has improved so much since last year.

Practicing dribbling the ball.

Here he was being a chicken keeping his egg away from the farmer (Matt). The farmer has to try to grab his tail.

Here is Matt being the chicken and Jonah grabbing his tail.

2011-09-27T17:35:00.000-07:00

Here is an assortment of pictures taken in the last two weeks. All but the last are from my camera and not my phone. We've been busy everyday with either preschool or swim lessons. When I picked him up from preschool yesterday his Mandarin teacher asked him which project was his (I'm assuming that was what she said) and he pointed to one and said something in Mandarin. She handed it to him and he said thank you (that one I know thanks to Amazing Race). On Tuesdays and Thursdays Jonah is exhausted after his 25 minute swim lessons. He was also sick over the weekend. I thought he was better because he hadn't had a fever since Sunday but today he is coughing and has a runny nose. He started soccer on Saturday. I worked Friday and Saturday nights so I didn't go but Matt said he has improved a lot from last year. I can't wait to see him this weekend. I only work Friday and then Matt is on call Saturday and Sunday. September has really flown by. I really, really need to get moving on Jonah's costume. Enjoy the pictures!

At the park today

Loving the swing

Swim lessons last week. Thursday is parents join kids in the water day.

Going to swim lessons last week in his froggy boots. He stops people everywhere we go to tell them about his boots. He has also been doing a lot of hopping and pretend eating of bugs.

Bear taking a swim at the zoo on Friday. Jonah was oblivious.

2011-09-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

Phone pictures from the last couple of weeks

2011-09-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a glimpse of what we've been up to:

Took a walk to visit the animals at the pet store. This little kitty is Delilah.

Spreading the weeds

Finding sticks for our Halloween decorations.

He is as much of a handful as he looks. I also wouldn't be surprise if he was on Hoarders one day. Anything left in his room ends up in his bed.

He said it was the dogs birthday so, on my knees, he put a ladybug plate and a bunny cake. The cake looks like he is praying not to be eaten.

Made a gift for a special birthday girl that I've neglected to get in the mail in enough time (nothing new there). I will put it in the mail today!

Made pants for Jonah and a matching bow tie (not pictured). They're linen and lined and may be my best work yet. Now hopefully he doesn't scrape his face up anymore than it already is before his picture gets taken.

We had a take a ride on the apple car when at the outlet mall to get Jonah rainboots. I'll have to get a picture of them today. I had to pry them off his feet before bed last night and the first thing he did when he woke up was to put them back on.

Our day in pictures

2011-09-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

Swim Lessons

2011-09-15T13:13:00.000-07:00

Jonah started swim lessons today. Apparently I didn't read the class description closely enough because I was wearing my bathing suit while all the other moms were dressed in clothes. The class is for 3-5 year olds and I think Jonah is the youngest. The teacher had to move the class from a little platform in the middle of the pool to the steps because Jonah kept jumping off the platform into the deep water. Today they worked on kicking and blowing out your nose while underwater. The great thing about parents not having to be in the water, other than the fact that I don't have to wear a bathing suit twice a week, is that I can take pictures. Next time I'll do that!

Last night we were searching for Matt's car keys because Jonah had been playing with them (not the first time but Matt doesn't learn). We asked Jonah where they were and his response was "At the top of the food chain because no one can eat them". They were in the couch.

Hello, Fall!!

2011-09-14T13:55:00.000-07:00

The weather definitely cooled off here this week and I'm loving it. Have I mentioned how much I love fall? Today I pulled out the two tubs of fall decorations and went to town. Tragically along with the Christmas decorations the fall decorations were accidentally left in Illinois. Each trip I've brought a little bit back and now they're almost all here! Here are some pictures from my camera.

Matt and Jonah at the splash park two weeks ago. Jonah was more interested in going down the big hill than the park.

You can see the top of Jonah's head at the park last week.

Ah, there he is!

Jonah and Aric at the zoo yesterday. They're only 6 months apart.

Unpacking my fall decorations. You can see I took a break from working on Jonah's costume to have a little fun. Not that making his costume isn't fun but I'm using a pattern this year and it is taking a lot of brain power to figure it out.

2011-09-12T17:20:00.000-07:00

It has been quite warm here for the last week. Well, at least warm for us. We stayed busy going to parks and splash parks because the house gets pretty hot. While I was working on Saturday night Matt and Jonah went to a party hosted by a fellow resident. They had a good time and everyone enjoyed getting to see Jonah. He is the only child in the R3 class. Here are some pictures from last week that were on my phone.

We were driving home from the splash park. Jonah gets so red in the face in the heat. Here he is gesturing and I'm sure asking me what something is, he is full of questions these days.

Here he is for picture day at preschool. He had fallen the weekend before and scraped up his face.

He falls asleep in the weirdest positions because he fights sleep so much. I went into his room at nap time last week to tell him to lay down and I found him with his socks on his hands holding his ladybug pillow and he told me he was working on his boat.

Party Day!

2011-09-08T16:31:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to party day in our vacation recap. It was so wonderful to see so many people. We miss most of the holiday gatherings so to have so many family and friends in one place was very special.

The kids had a great time in the pool.

Especially Jonah!

Lots of lovely people and yummy food!

Singing happy birthday to Jonah.

Cleaning up after cake.

Kids table.

This is my favorite picture. The kids wanted to give Toby a bath. He looks so happy.

There was also an appearance by some piglets but I don't have any pictures of those. Cousin Christopher was nice enough to bring them to the party before bringing them to the greased pig contest.We couldn't have asked for a better party. We felt so very loved and are blessed to have so many people love our ~~little~~ big boy.

2011-09-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

That party recap I've been promising is really coming. I'm having trouble uploading pictures and have too many things on my to do list to figure it out right now. So instead a few quick things about Jonah!

Has started taking his diaper off at night. Last night after putting it back on him after he fell asleep and putting tight fitting pajama pants over it, this morning he had removed both and peed on the carpet in his room.

Today is picture day at preschool. He tripped over the stoop this weekend and has a nice scrap down his forehead and nose.

Half the time we are no longer mommy and daddy but mom and dad. When did he become so grown up?

I have to watch him around babies and younger children. Three times in the last week he has tried to pick up children. He does this by putting his arms around their necks.

We had fish last week and he said it was hot dogs. I let him think that and he ate it all. In no way did it resemble hot dogs.

2011-09-05T18:25:00.000-07:00

Are all of my posts becoming short posts? I'll get back to the vacation recap soon I promise. I'm so glad it was a long weekend. We had an entire day to hang out together. After a few hours of sleep after work on Sunday we did some yard work. I'll have to take pictures. There are so many things I want to do to our yard but we'll take them one at a time as the budget, time and my uncooperative laborer allow. Today we went to a splash park so Jonah could play in the water. Our intention was to go to the petting zoo next to it but we found out when we arrived that it was closed for the season. Then Jonah took an incredibly long nap and now he and Matt are doing his new favorite thing, sharing a yogurt on the couch. I think he asked three times today to do it. He even goes to get the yogurt from the fridge.

2011-09-02T12:44:00.000-07:00

Small post today because we're at party day in the vacation recap and that deserves a big post. Just a little update on Jonah. He did have blood in his urine and the doctor thinks he must have injured himself somehow. They'll culture it and we'll bring another sample in next week to make sure the blood goes away. It's Friday so that means work. I'm looking forward to October when I have 3 entire weeks off work to enjoy the fall. I picked up the fabric for Jonah's costume today. He requested a fireman dog costume. No, not a dalmatian but a dalmatian that is a ~~fireman~~ firedog. So basically I'm making two costumes. Good thing I have two months to do it! Oh and Matt was selected for the introduction to academic radiology program. They send him to one of two conference and have lectures on academic radiology. He was first selected as his residency's candidate and then from a national pool. I'm not sure how many people are in the program. We were hoping he would be sent to the conference in Vancouver because we've heard that is a great place to visit but they're sending him to the one in Chicago he was already going to anyway.

Day 3 Recap

2011-09-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

On the third day of our trip we went to the party store for balloons and Sams for food for the party. That afternoon Matt's friend Braxton invited Jonah over to take a look at his tractors. He and his dad got the combine and tractor out and took Jonah for a spin. I could see him pointing trying to direct them.

After a little nap Laura, Abby and Izzy came over. I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy chatting. Jonah and Abby got along so well. We wish we could hang out with them on a weekly basis instead of biannually.

Last night I didn't want to cook dinner on my birthday so we were going to go out. Unfortunately Jonah didn't nap at preschool so that wasn't going to happen. Instead we stopped by the grocery store and the car cart made him happy long enough to grab some ready made stuff. I told Matt we can celebrate on Monday when he has the day off and Jonah doesn't have preschool.

Next year I'll be turning 30 so for the next 365 days I'm going to be working on my "30 before 30" list. It is a list of things I would like to do or accomplish before I turn 30. Normally people share the list which is probably good for accountability. I'm not going to but I will share when I cross things off the list.

Jonah had a dentist appointment this morning. He did great. They were surprised that at his age he let them clean his teeth but he did 6 months ago too. They just moved to a new office and it is super fancy with tvs on the ceiling with kids movies. I wish my dentist had that! After the dentist we went to the park to play. It was such a gorgeous day and I was hoping to get some pictures of Jonah but he refuses to hold still or even face the camera. These are the only two I was able to get.

Now he's napping and when he wakes up we're headed back to the doctor because he has been complaining about pain with urination. I feel silly that we were just there but he didn't say anything until the next day.

Vacation Day 2 and a topic only a mother and RN would discuss

2011-08-31T13:44:00.000-07:00

Back to the vacation recap:
The next day on our vacation was Jonah's actual birthday. We had plans to meet up with Heather and the girls but they both had strep throat so that was a no go. Instead we had lunch with mom and went to Chuck E Cheese. When we're home Matt likes to eat at all the places that we don't have around here. Steak and Shake is one of those places. Look how cute he looks in his little hat. Here is a little glimpse of how he's grown (minus his 2 year picture because it is still on my camera which I don't feel like going downstairs to get).

8-18-11

8-18-09

8-18-08

I didn't get any pictures at Chuck E Cheese but Jonah loved it and wore himself out. He was literally carried out kicking and screaming. I have no recollection of what we did after nap time though. I guess I should have been taking notes.

On a completely unrelated note, Jonah thinks potty humor is hilarious. This led to the frequent use of the word poop. That word is now a "naughty" word in our house and after getting soap on his tongue a few times Jonah has now stopped using it. Except of course when he is correcting other people when they say it. Mostly Matt but yesterday his doctor. He'll say "Don't say poop. That's naughty. Say BM". Matt and I started spelling it but with a toddler and two dogs its use is pretty frequent and Jonah quickly caught on. He spells it POPO.

I had my annual evaluation at work today and now I'm off to spray the lawn for weeds. Happy birthday to me!

Our day in pictures

2011-08-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

Today we had one of those days that makes me feel so blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom (on weekdays). Jonah was in great spirits all day and we had a day full of learning and fun. Tomorrow I'll get back to our trip recap but for now enjoy some pictures of our day. Hooray for cell phone cameras!

First stop, 3 year check up. He weighed 35 lbs (81%) and was 37.5 in tall (50%). There was no crying when he got his flu shot or the finger prick for an iron level. When he got his shot he looked at the nurse and said "That hurt me".

As a treat for being so good we went out to lunch. Notice he hardly touched his PB&J but rather is eating my bread.

And we shared a cookie. We also went to the play area at the mall but it was way too crowded to take pictures. Coupled with the fact that Jonah tried to make a run for it 4 times.

Next stop was Lowes to window shop and pick up a support for our growing tomato plant. I would love to change out the builder grade lights in our house for something more our taste. Either one of these would look good in the dining room.

And this would be good in Jonah's room. I did find him a rug today which I'll have to take a picture of and post later.

No trip is complete without a ride on the tractors. I'm pretty sure it is frowned up but we do it anyway. He quickly tried to move all the levers like he had learned from Grandpa.

He also likes to visit the "barns" in the parking lot. These would make great playhouses. Maybe one day when we have a larger yard.

2011-08-29T15:32:00.000-07:00

We're getting back into our routine around here. I managed to get everything unpacked on Thursday and worked Friday and Saturday. I'll try to give a little recap of the trip.

We stayed at a hotel on Tuesday night so we could take Jonah swimming and then have the shuttle drop us off at the airport on Wednesday morning. Matt made the mistake of telling Jonah we were going to have a hotel party and when I told Jonah is was time to go to bed he said no it was time to party. I think it was after 1 o'clock before he fell asleep and we had to be on the shuttle at 4 am. Needless to say he was cranky. Thankfully the excitement of going to the airport put him in a better mood. He did fantastic on the flight. When we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house he had to jump on the little tractor right away. We even managed to get some swimming in that evening. I only took two pictures with my camera the entire trip. The rest are from our phones. Jonah has asked every day to go back to Illinois. The good news is that we're planning our trip for the end of November.

Paying close attention to how you drive the tractor.

When I was putting that shirt on him this morning he said that was the shirt he wore when he drove the tractor with grandpa. He has insisted on wearing that hat every day.

2011-08-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

I think I only used my camera to take two pictures the entire trip. Thankfully my sister took pictures for me. Here are a few from Tuesday and our visit to Great Grandpa and Grandma's house and the fire station.

We're home!

2011-08-24T18:36:00.000-07:00

The trip was too short as always but it feels really good to be home again. We wish we could move Seattle to the midwest so we could have the best of both worlds. I hope to post pictures tomorrow but for now we're exhausted. Jonah is already in bed and Matt and I are going to veg in front of the tv.

You're Invited!

2011-08-15T23:03:00.000-07:00

Saturday, August 20th at 11 am at Grandpa Tom and Grandma Joan's house. Leave a comment or send an e-mail to rsvp. Need directions? E-mail me or call Tom. We don't have room for presents in our suitcases so please just bring yourself (and your bathing suit if you please).

This is the last post until late next week. We'll be in Illinois enjoying friends and family and celebrating our little miracle. Here are pictures from the last year. It has gone by so quickly and our little baby has become a little boy.

Packing!

2011-08-15T14:54:00.000-07:00

I'm spending today packing for Illinois. We're staying in a hotel Tuesday night so we can park there and take the shuttle to the airport early on Wednesday. Jonah and I will drop the dogs off at the kennel on Tuesday afternoon and then go swimming at the hotel. I'm hoping to keep him up all day so he'll sleep that night. I'll post the party info later today. Since today was the last day of preschool before his birthday we brought cupcakes. I bought them instead of making them and I'm hoping there are leftovers because they looked yummy. We're so excited to see everyone. You're not going to believe how much Jonah has grown up and what he is saying. I'm amazed everyday at his language and thoughts. Matt said that when I was at work this weekend he and Jonah were playing and Jonah said he was going to be a kitty and Matt was going to be a puppy and they were going to play. It is the first time that he really involved someone else in his play. Usually he just tells us what he is doing or has us hold things. I think year 3 is going to be so fun! Here are some pictures from the weekend.

He mostly sleeps in his bed now but I think there probably wasn't room for him. I had already cleared it out twice that night.

I skipped my nap before work on Saturday because the sun was shining. Fifteen minutes after arriving at the beach the clouds rolled in and didn't go away. Jonah enjoyed building sandcastles with other families on the beach. He doesn't know a stranger.

This is what the sky looks like most of the time here. I can handle the rain and the cooler temperatures but I desperately miss sunny days. Can I put my order in for sunny days in Illinois for the next week? Oh but a thunderstorm in the evening would be nice. We don't have those here. Jonah doesn't know anything about thunder and lightning.

The end of an era

2011-08-12T17:57:00.000-07:00

Jonah had his last speech therapy appointment today. He was around 17 months when he started so his speech therapist has watched him grow up quite a bit. I meant to get a picture of them together but I forgot. I'm sure Jonah doesn't understand that she isn't coming back. When she said she had to leave he said he was going with her. I'm so glad we had someone who really clicked with Jonah. Her husband's family is from Iowa so she knew all about tractors which Jonah liked.

This afternoon Jonah and I went to the farmer's market, road the train and played at the playground. They had pony rides but I didn't want Jonah to take his first pony ride without Matt there so we'll try to go back another time. Despite the solemn look on his face in the pictures he did have a good time. Tonight is Matt's last night and he goes back to days on Monday. Oh and we have a wanderer on our hands. We sent out a search party at the park yesterday when Jonah went missing. When he was found through the trees on the other side of the park he said that a baseball player was calling his name and he had to go through the jungle. After I tried to explain to him that he cannot leave the park by himself he said he was going to do it again. Looks like we're going to need some kiddie lojack.

2011-08-10T22:27:00.000-07:00

This morning as I was getting his breakfast Jonah was saying "andele" over and over. It is the first time I've heard him use a spanish word that I didn't teach him or that isn't basic vocabulary. At home we mainly focus on foods, colors, body parts and then let him lead us. It is nice to know that he is really listening and has some comprehension of the language (and that our money is going toward more than expensive daycare!). Here are some recent pictures from my phone. They've uploaded out of order.

Our little green pepper

I don't think I had any part in this child. He looks so much like Matt.

Here he is telling me he sees pine trees. I love the play set because it gives me time to get yard work done while he plays. Ignore his outfit. He insists on wearing his raincoat when he plays in the backyard. Usually with the hood up too. I don't know why.

We finally have a tomato turning red! Jonah calls this the daddy tomato because it is the biggest. I hope it is ready before we leave next week. There are probably a dozen more that are still growing. We're growing tomatoes, basil and green peppers this year. They're all very easy. I hope to add more next year.

Haircut

2011-08-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

Jonah was starting to resemble a feral child so today I made it my mission to take him for a haircut. Since the place was pretty near the outlet mall we stopped by. After all my quarters were spent on the rides we picked up a few things for fall as back to school shopping (and Halloween?!) is in full force. Only 4 more days of night call for Matt. It hasn't been that bad. Compared to his intern year, this is a walk in the park. It also helps to know that a week from tomorrow we'll be on a plane! Although today Jonah mistook a homeless man for Matt. He shouted "There's my daddy!" and I just laughed.

New fall coat.

Riding in the apple car

A Day at the Beach

2011-08-07T18:46:00.000-07:00

After a few hours of sleep and the likelihood that I wouldn't be called into work tonight, we set out to enjoy the sunshine. The Blue Angels were practicing over Lake Washington so we headed to a nearby beach. We thought we would just take a walk but the sand was too inviting. The sand toys are always in the back of the car so Jonah had a great time playing and even got in the water. Actually we had to go get him because he was going further and further out. We left the beach and had an early dinner before going home and playing in the backyard. Now it is bath time and an early bedtime after no nap today.

Our solution to his fear of public restrooms, bringing our own.

Party recap

2011-08-05T18:10:00.000-07:00

Jonah's birthday party went really well. The kids had a blast playing in the backyard. I don't know who loves the yard more, Matt and I or our friends. In addition to the swing set I brought out his slide from the playroom, some balls and had a tub of water with bathtub toys in it which was a big hit. Jonah had a good time handing out the party favors and gave hugs to everyone to thank them for his gifts. We brought out his cake and I was trying to explain how we sing happy birthday and then he blows out the candle but he went ahead and blew it out. We sang happy birthday and he just looked around at everyone amazed that we were all singing for him (he is still talking about it) and then he proceeded to try to put his face in the cake. I stopped him before more than the tip of his nose made it in. Today is our 5 year wedding anniversary. If I don't get called into work on Sunday night we're going to try to celebrate then. And this week also marks a year since we moved into our house and a year that I've been at my current job.

Three blonde boys with three brunette moms. The other little boy in utero will be sharing a birthday with Jonah as he is schedule for delivery the 18th!

It was a cookie monster themed party. It made decorating the cake easy.

This is the only appearance of cookie monster.

Unless you count this one. He wouldn't give me a real smile.

First family picture in a very long time. Matt made an appearance for the singing and cake.

Life with Jonah

2011-08-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

Jonah's Washington birthday party is tomorrow and I should really be getting ready for that but I thought I would drop you a few tidbits of life with the almost three year old. Here are some things Jonah has been saying/doing lately.

Told Caleb to get out of his room and said he was going to count to three and actually started counting. Matt says he does that to him too.

Most often used phrase, "That would be good" followed by "That sounds like a good plan"

Constantly singing gibberish and then asks me what the song was about

Asks us what is in his left/right hand and talks about what is in his left/right hand. Is correct about 80% of the time

Clings to me when I drop him off at preschool and cries that he wants me to stay with him. Has also been telling me not to go to work

Matt says blueberries are not a stand alone fruit (something he heard on a radio show that he thinks is hilarious). This morning Jonah was having blueberries with his breakfast and informed me that blueberries are not a stand alone fruit and they can't walk on their own.

2011-08-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

We're still here! I worked this weekend and yesterday Matt started two weeks of night call. Yuck! Today is the first day Jonah hasn't been limping so he is on the mend. We went swimming today. Here is a very short video from that and also an old one I never posted. Happy Birthday to Grandma Joan!

A trip to the pediatrician

2011-07-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

Last night we noticed Jonah was limping and decided that if it was worse today I would take him to the doctor. Well it was worse so off to the doctor we went. Unfortunately we couldn't get in to see his pediatrician but we saw another one at the practice. I felt a little silly bringing him in because he wasn't acting like he was in any pain. The verdict is that he sprained it. She said there was a lot of swelling and it would probably get worse before it got better. Unfortunately putting a toddler in a brace is very hard to do so we're supposed to limit his activity and prevent him from falling (she said as he tripped over a toy and fell in the office). So our trip to the beach was canceled and instead we set up the pool in the backyard.

Last night Matt got home early and hadn't even eaten dinner yet so we ended up getting to spend some time with him. Jonah wouldn't sing him happy birthday so I did and then Jonah wanted me to sing it for him. We were eating the cake and Jonah said that the cake was for his birthday. We're going through the "mine" phase right now. When he is in a bad mood he just starts grabbing things and shouting mine. It's fun. Oh and he weighed 34 pounds today which is in the 81st percentile. His 3 year visit will be at the end of August and we'll see how tall he is then. I'm thinking his height is closer to the 40th or 50th percentile.

Matt's birthday card from Jonah. His first answer was appropriate and it went downhill from there. He was eating a snack of goldfish and blueberries at the time. I'm not sure where the last one came from. And he "helped" me write.

He's saying he has the cookie touch (a Cookie Monster bit).

Fishing.

I tried to explain it wasn't deep enough for his life jacket but he wanted to wear it anyway.

Happy Birthday, Matt!

2011-07-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

I've always thought that no one should have to work or go to school on their birthday. Today is Matt's birthday and sadly he'll be working all day. Today is also his long day because he has conference and then "textbook club" so he isn't usually home until after 9 on Thursdays. I just now put Jonah down for a nap so hopefully he'll take a long nap and will be able to stay up until Matt gets home.

Our computer monitor went out this week. I was on the computer and it just went black. There was absolutely no warning that it was going bad. It was 7 years old so that's not too bad. Matt went and picked up a new one. It is an LED and a widescreen which Matt tells me is good but I prefer the old one. It caused a slight delay in the birthday invitations so I'll send them out next week. I have the backs done and the envelopes addressed but I ordered the front of the cards and am waiting on those to arrive. It will make sense when you see it.

Jonah and I had a busy day running errands and having fun. We went to Target to get Matt some M&M's for his birthday and then the library to return books and pick up more. Then we went to the park and ate lunch and played in the sprinklers. It was so nice and sunny today. I thought it was the perfect day for ice cream so we went to DQ and had ice cream and got an ice cream cake for Matt.

Here are the pictures from today but they uploaded completely out of order. I'm off to give Matt a great gift, mowing the lawn. He hates it so he avoids it as long as possible. It currently resembles a jungle. Wish me luck!

Icing his knee after running around the sprinklers and falling.

Matt's ice cream cake. It was either this or camouflage. I thought he would prefer the kitten.

Riding "like a doggy" in the new carts at Target. Our store is undergoing renovations to expand the grocery selection. The carts must be part of it.

Lunch at the park.

He warmed up to the sprinklers a little bit. Here he is drinking the water which I'm sure I shouldn't have let him do.

We grabbed some ice cream for ourselves when we picked up the cake.

2011-07-24T15:44:00.000-07:00

We had gorgeous weather this weekend and I had the weekend off so I got to enjoy it. Jonah and I went to a dog festival. We didn't bring our dogs because Jonah is enough for me to handle. We walked around to all the booths and saw many dogs. They had frisbee, agility and freestyle competitions. Jonah cared more about the food (surprise, surprise) than the dogs. It made me want a little, short haired, well-behaved dog. But that won't be happening for many years. The day would have been perfect if Matt would have been able to be there. And if Jonah hadn't peed his pants saying he was going outside like a dog. Here he is eating his lunch while we/I was watching the competitions.

Trip to the park

2011-07-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

We spent all morning and into the afternoon playing at the park today. It was a little rainy and cool in the morning but by the time we left it was probably 70. There was a day camp there that Jonah thought he was a part of. When they said line up to wash you hands for lunch he ran over and tried to get in the line. Then he anxiously waited for them to finish lunch so he could play with them again. I made it my mission to get some pictures today. They aren't the greatest because I didn't realize I didn't look at the camera settings before I took them. He is also looking pretty shaggy but I've been putting off a haircut until right before we go home. Speaking of the big trip, I start working on the birthday party invitations last night. I would like to get them out early next week. Matt has his first radiology call this weekend. He is nervous. I think Jonah and I will make him a care package tomorrow. The best part about him being on call all weekend is that he gets Monday off. The plan is to drop Jonah off at preschool and then we'll have all day to spend together. So far we know we're going to a movie and eating at a restaurant downtown. I'm very excited! Here are the pictures from today.

2011-07-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

We went to the zoo today and I brought my camera but forgot to take any pictures. We had to head home after Jonah refused to go to the bathroom. For weeks now he has refused to use public restrooms and I'm getting so tired of having to cut our day short to go home. He fell asleep in the car so I took a picture. He must have been very tired because I got him out, took him to the bathroom and put him in bed and he was still somewhat asleep. I had to go out and buy Jonah new jeans the other day because it is never warm enough to wear shorts. See him wearing jeans and a jacket in the picture? After a long rainy fall, winter and spring, summer in Seattle is seriously bringing me down. We've had 78 minutes all summer where it was 80 or above. I don't even care about the temperature as much as the sun. It is overcast almost everyday. Boo!

Long weekend

2011-07-18T14:06:00.000-07:00

Matt played the part of single dad this weekend as I worked Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I'm looking forward to our trip to Illinois in August because I'll have an entire weekend off work! I don't have any pictures to post and I can't think of anything in particular Jonah has said lately. I can't remember if I posted about it a few weeks ago so I'll just post it again. We were on our way to the mall to play and Jonah was being a horrible backseat driver. Here are some of the things he was yelling at me:
You're going too fast.
You're going to get a ticket.
That's the wrong direction.
We're going downhill.
Turn right.

He gets it honestly because that is what I sound like when Matt drives. He is also starting to show us he is learning at preschool. He will randomly replace english words for spanish. They're basic words like leche, agua and perro. Jonah has a little cold so I kept him home from preschool today. He is now taking a nap so I'm off to do the same.

2011-07-15T00:12:00.000-07:00

We found a solution to our uploading long video problem, YouTube. I can upload them directly from my phone. Apparently we created a YouTube account two years ago but we don't remember doing so. Here is a video of Jonah opening a box from Great Grandma.

2011-07-14T11:01:00.001-07:00

I went in to turn off Jonah's light last night and found this scene.

No excuses

2011-07-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

So I don't have a reason why I've neglected the blog. We haven't been really busy at least not with anything fun. I can say that preschool/going to a big boy bed has been a really rough transition for all of us. My days are filled with toddler tantrums and unreasonable demands. That was our entire month of June. I keep hoping this stage will end soon. I also hope we see some more summer weather. The rest of the country could send some warmth and sunshine this way. I'm working a ton this month to make up for the time off I'll have in August for our trip and because Matt starts call this month meaning I can't work on those weekends. Last weekend Matt and Jonah took a trip to the children's museum. On the 4th while I was sleeping after work Matt took Jonah to a parade and then that night we went to watch fireworks. We had prepared Jonah for the loud noise and shown him videos. When they started he said "I don't like that. They fall on me. They fall in my eyes and on the blanket." He covered his eyes most of the time and would only peek out occasionally. When they were over he heard kids behind us say that they were cool so he said they were cool and he liked them. I think next year they'll be a hit.

In other big news, I finally got a new phone. No one has to worry about my phone hanging up on you now. I got an iphone and I love it. I knew I would because Matt has had one for a while and really likes it. I've been using it to take pictures and haven't been taking my camera out. I'm sure there has to be an easy way to upload pictures directly from the phone to blogger but I don't know how. I had to e-mail them to myself first. So to make up for our absence, here is a picture from our trip to the Disney store today and a video from this morning. He is singing "La lechuza". When he isn't screaming he is a lot of fun to be around.

2011-07-07T16:45:00.000-07:00

Wildlife Park

2011-07-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

I only ended up working until midnight on Friday because they had extra staff and since I was on call they sent me home. That meant that we had all day Saturday to spend together. We went to a wildlife park south of Seattle. Here are some pictures from our tram ride.

2011-07-01T09:12:00.000-07:00

It is Friday and I have to work tonight so of course the weather is gorgeous. We're headed to the botanical gardens and then swimming with friends. Here are some pictures from the last few days.

Jonah checking out the backhoe behind our house. That house (that they painted a pea soup color) is all done and now they're doing the landscaping.

Doing an art project yesterday.

Yesterday was Matt's last day of his second year making today his first day of his third year. I snapped a picture of him before he left. He has to wear a tie for this rotation.

2011-06-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

The baby shower yesterday was a success. The mamma-to-be was completely surprised. It is her second baby and second boy so she doesn't need anything but I think every baby deserves a celebration. All the kids (5 boys and 1 girl) had a great time. We played inside, ate lunch and then went outside to play on the swing set. It was a huge hit. We had our first accident when Jonah walked in front of the glider and was knocked over. He is now sporting a couple of new bruises. You would think he would have learned his lesson but about 5 minutes later he headed back and told me he was going to do it again. I didn't get to him in time and he got hit again. When I asked him why he did after he knew it hurt the first time his response was that his Boo Roo (his kangaroo ice pack) would make him all better. This is a recurring theme when we talk about how something is dangerous and could hurt him. He says that medicine and his Boo Roo will make him feel better. One reason why those backpack leashes aren't totally crazy.

Here are a few of the kids on the swing set.

"Curious George" cupcakes. They were banana bread with peanut butter frosting. I can't claim the cupcakes but I did make the little name topper.

All 6 of the kids in one picture and the 3 pregnant women.

Our weekend

2011-06-27T11:10:00.000-07:00

We had a great weekend with beautiful weather. Saturday evening we went to a Mariners game. Jonah was excited about going but didn't actually watch any of the game. He was too excited about the people walking around selling food and drinks. Every time he spotted a vendor he would shout "I want that!". He did really well sitting through the game and really liked when they would play music. They played Take Me Out to the Ballgame and he got the biggest smile on his face and said they were playing his song. On Sunday afternoon we went to the beach. I think the forecast said it was supposed to be a high of 74 (which is the highest it has been so far this summer) and the sun was out and it was wonderful. During Jonah's nap we finished the swing set except for the monkey bars but they're too tall for Jonah anyway. I didn't get any pictures but I will. We had him play on it for a while but then it was dinner and bath time. We're having a baby shower at our house tomorrow so I need to go shampoo the carpets and clean like crazy while Jonah is at preschool. Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Friday afternoon he fell asleep in his closet. The door now has a lock on it but that hasn't stopped him from playing for hours when he is supposed to be sleeping. Now he pulls the curtains and blinds and looks out the window.

Having a pre-game hot dog.

Eating garlic fries during the game. He must have eaten 3/4 of the basket. He also consumed most of the lemonade.

At the beach. I got that hat for him last summer to wear this year. Sadly his head grew too much and it doesn't fit. It doesn't stop me from trying to put it on him though. Gymboree needs to come out with another whale line for bigger kids.

2011-06-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

We ran errands this morning and then in between the rain we went to the park. It was so nice to get out. I was hoping it would wear Jonah out but all he wanted to do was swing so I exerted more energy than he did. The mailman just delivered a package from Grandma and Grandpa and I thought by giving Jonah the ladybug book he would stay in his bed long enough to fall asleep. Nope, I hear him in the closet already.

He strikes again

2011-06-23T21:55:00.000-07:00

This is what Jonah's closet looked like this morning.

After I spent half an hour cleaning it up he destroyed it again at nap time. It looks like I'll be buying another door lock for the closet. He did take a nap at preschool on Wednesday. They said he got on his mat and went right to sleep. It apparently wasn't a long enough nap because there was a scene when I picked him up. He was tired and didn't want to go home. It was more than a little embarrassing.

This has been the slowest week ever. We haven't really gone anywhere or done anything and that is probably why its so slow. I have the weekend off for the first time this month so I'm really looking forward to that. We were supposed to have a baby shower at our house but it had to be moved to next week. I suppose that is the nature of surprise baby showers. Instead we'll have a relaxing weekend together. I hope the weather is nice and we can finish the swing set. The end is in sight. We're also going to a baseball game on Saturday. Jonah is excited.

I should write down things Jonah says more often because I forget them quickly. Tonight we downloaded a Spanish flashcard app on Matt's phone. After using it for a while Matt said that it was European Spanish. Jonah said "I want to talk about pee in Spanish."

True Story

2011-06-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

The dogs locked us out of the house last night. We keep a board propped in the corner by the patio doors and put it down at night so that the door can't slide open. Well as we were all outside last night one of the dogs knocked it down and locked us outside. The door didn't open enough for us to get through. I tried to get Jonah to go through but I forgot he has his father's head and didn't fit. Not wanting to pay an obscene amount of money to a locksmith, we spent about 20 minutes using every stick in the yard to try to move that piece of wood. We did finally get it and you better believe we won't be keeping that piece of wood there anymore. We had spare keys made when we moved in and it was always my intention to put one somewhere outside but instead they were safe inside my wallet on the counter. I couldn't get the dogs to fetch them for me.

In other news, Jonah hasn't been asleep before 12:00 am in over a week. Everything is now removed from his room except for his bed. We're considering unscrewing his light bulb and getting a lock for the closet door too. I had pulled out all of his summer and 3T clothes and had them in a basket. He dumped them out all over the floor. Last night I found him pouring out hand sanitizer he found in the diapering supplies onto the floor. At one point I found him in his bed with about 20 pairs of underwear. Also every pair of socks he owns is now on his closet floor. Today at preschool they're going to try putting him in a playpen during nap time. If it doesn't work we're in for a rough evening.

2011-06-21T14:11:00.001-07:00

I'm trying to make progress on the swing set as it has been over a week since we did anything. Here is my little helper handing me screws.

2011-06-17T16:55:00.000-07:00

I tell myself every Friday that I'm going to take a nap so I'm not dragging so much at work. Then every Friday the weather is nice and we spend the day outside thus I get no nap. Today it hit 70 so we went swimming. Jonah has literally crashed in his room and Matt will be home any minute and we'll trade off. Here is a picture I took through Jonah's door. This is usually how I find him. Either that or in his bed surrounded by books and baby wipes. He is enjoying the freedom of a big boy bed a little too much and has been playing more than sleeping at night.

Big boy bed

2011-06-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

First off, a preschool update. He still isn't napping and they may have referred to him as the energizer bunny. At least it wasn't the cranky energizer bunny. I was interested to see how he was doing with the other kids and they said he was doing wonderful. As soon as he saw me yesterday he said he didn't want to go home and I had to forcibly remove him from the cozy coupe. He came home with blue hair from painting although they said it was much worse before he played in the sprinkler.

Last night we converted his crib to a toddler bed. I removed all the toys from his room and only left stuffed animals and books. I had to remove a shelf too because I caught him climbing it last week and it wasn't very sturdy. We could hear him moving around in his room and yelling that he wanted out but thanks to this wonderful device I picked up yesterday he couldn't get out. It is removable too so we can bring it with us to Illinois in August. I went to check on him at 11:00 and found him asleep in front of the door. I picked him up and put him in his bed where he stayed all night. This morning I heard him trying to open the door so I jumped in the shower and when I got out found him in his room with no pants on. I found them in the closet where he had also knocked over a tub of clothes and pile of blankets trying to get to toys on the top shelf. He told me the garbage truck had woken him up because it was very loud. I just laid him down for a nap and within 15 minutes he fell asleep.

It was mostly cloudy and a little breezy here today but we were determined to get out of the house. We hit up a park with a walking trail so I did a little jogging and then Jonah played. The pictures uploaded out of order for some reason.

Sorry, no pictures

2011-06-12T22:01:00.000-07:00

I've been really bad about taking pictures this last week. It'll be a week tomorrow since I've taken a single one. On Wednesday Matt and Jonah went swimming at the rec center during my class. Today he was pretending his tunnel was a water slide. Maybe next year he'll be tall enough to go on a real one. I worked Friday but Saturday the census was low and I jumped at the chance to have a night off. It was nice to feel like I spent a little time with my boys and wasn't sleep deprived. We worked more on the swing set this afternoon. It is starting to resemble something. Matt had the resident graduation tonight and I babysat for Jake while his parents went to a wedding. Next year I'll probably go to the resident graduation but this year I didn't know anyone graduating. It is very formal and at Columbia Tower where they have floor to ceiling windows in the women's restrooms. Matt looked so nice in his suit, I should have taken a picture. I can't ever get him to wear a tie anymore. I think the casualness of radiology was one of the draws for him.

Jonah has been regularly escaping his crib lately. He woke us up this morning. Tonight I put him back three times before I decided to put him in his PeaPod. He can unzip it but I tried to put the zipper pulls on the outside and so far so good. He has scooted it over to his play piano though. I can hear him playing it and singing. I figure as long as he doesn't get out he might eventually fall asleep. Tomorrow's mission is to childproof his room and convert his crib to a toddler bed. I've avoided it as long as I could. I put the gate up outside his door in case he escapes tonight.