Mornings with Jon

Emily goes to a speech class 2 times a week at the local elementary school. Her classes are only 30 minutes long so on nice days Jon & I walk around outside. This is our favorite spot at the school. It's amenities include stairs to climb up & down, a ramp to run on, a nice little hill with weeds to pick, and usually just the right amount of sun. Jonathan loves this place. He'll request to go there by saying "Mommy, I wanna go on the stairs!" I've come to love our time there too. It's great to have a little bit of the day with just my Jon Jon. I also realize that I'll look back on these mornings with Jon & realize how sweet they were. He'll only be this little for a short while so I treasure each one I get with my stair loving boy and his sweet little smile!

Shaving Cream Fun

We did something as a family tonight we haven't done in forever. I don't think Jon had ever done it, in fact. We busted out the shaving cream can, sprayed it on a table & had some messy fun. It's super cheap entertainment & the kids really enjoy it. Mom & Dad got in on the fun too. We wrote letters in the cream, made a snow man, and squeezed our hands together to make it ooze out between our fingers. Jonathan also felt the need to apply it to his entire body - including his hair. Gotta love that. Bath time followed immediately. ;-)

A Weekend to Remember

Joel and I had the opportunity to go to a marriage conference this weekend. It's called A Weekend to Remember put on by the Family Life organization. We had a great time having marriage truths reinforced, growing closer, and just being alone together for a few days. We came away refreshed and recharged.

A special "thank you!" goes out to Nana & Leslie and Grandma & Grandpa for making the weekend a possibility for us by keeping the kiddos. We strongly believe the best thing we can give our kids is a strong marriage.

The picture below was the view from the balcony of our room. We decided to stay in the hotel for the weekend even though we were in driving distance of the conference because 2 nights away with just the two of us pretty much never happens. We figured we should take full advantage of the time together. We're glad we did!

Daddy Daughter Dance

Joel & Emily went to their first Daddy Daughter Dance a week ago. I curled Em's hair & she wore her favorite fancy dress. I even let her wear some blush & clear lip gloss. Joel said that at first she was a little overwhelmed by all the people at the dance & didn't want to hit the dance floor. But after her friend, Lynen & her daddy came and started dancing she decided to give it a try. By the end of the dance she was asking Joel if she could go dance for "five more minutes."

After the dance Joel took Emily to Chili's with Lynen & her daddy. Apparently the waitresses and hostesses were making a fuss over how pretty the little girls looked and Emily & Lynen were very much enjoying the attention. But then what little girl doesn't like to feel like a beautiful princess from time to time?

The rocket toy is in the photo because it is one of Emily's favorite things right now. She'd just received it at her birthday party the day before. She didn't really want me to take her photo, but when I suggested that "rocket" could be in the photo too she lit up, ran to get it & gladly posed for the photo.

Emily's 5th Birthday Party

Emily recently had a party for her 5th birthday. It was the first party she had where we invited her friends to come too. We held it up in the youth center of our church. There's a nice theater room there so we let the kids watch a 20 minute episode of one of Emily's favorite shows, Little Einsteins, while enjoying popcorn & drinks. Then we had presents and cake. The kids were so cute helping Emily open her gifts and singing happy birthday to her. Emily had a great time & I think she really felt loved and valued. We are in awe of the fact that our baby is 5 already, but also look forward to watching her grow into the woman she will become. Below are some of my favorite photos of the party thanks to Joel. I included one of Jonathan with a ping pong paddle. That's what he did for a long time - just played with the paddle & ran around - and he had a blast doing it.

Jon's Awesome Hair

Jon woke up this morning with some wicked bed head. Emily has a reputation for amazing morning hair too, but this picture really wins 1st place. I think it's because he has less hair so it can reach greater "heights."

It reminded me of the picture below of Jon right before his first haircut (he was about 10 months old at the time). We thought it would be fun to give him a baby Mohawk before the big cut. He seemed to enjoy all the attention too. Ironically enough it was taken almost exactly 1 year ago.

Ode to Baby

Jonathan has a security blanket named "Baby." It goes everywhere with him now - so he's kind of become like Linus from Charlie Brown. Baby is great - until he can't be found - then it's the end of the world. Baby is such a part of my daily life now that I thought it would be appropriate to devote a blog entry to him. So here is Ode to Baby:

You are Jon’s friend & companion
You make him smile so big
He has to have you daily
and needs you when it’s time for bed

Sometimes Jon feeds you snacks
and tells you about his day
It’s very cute and sweet
Sometimes you both even play

But, on the other hand, Baby
you get really gross a lot
I try to keep you clean
But it’s really all for not

Then there are the tears
when you can’t be found
and all the looking, looking, looking
so that Jon can lay his head down

So ours is a love/hate relationship, Baby
you have to understand
It’s nothing really personal
It’s just the way it is

But, I know the day will come
when you no longer will be needed
And I have to admit, Baby
that I’ll probably miss you then.