Here we are at 7:15 and all three kids-Sam, Jonathan, and Katherine-are in bed. Now we can ring in the New Year! :)
We'll be at Anna & Brian's for the rest of our time before we leave the state, but we will go back into town for a few last-minute errands as well as for Jeff's going away gathering at work on Tuesday. Lucas and Cherissa and Maximus are in town and we'll get to see them at the beginning of the week, too.
Anna and Brian have made some fun at-home plans for the evening, and we'll enjoy spending it here and remembering New Year's Eve 2001 and 2002 which we also spent with them in more exotic locations. :)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
At Anna & Brian's
At Uncle Mel & Aunt Jan's
We're back in town from Darren & Aleta's and have said some more goodbyes today. We found one place in town that was open for a little boy's haircut-Wal Mart-and got Jonathan a much-needed trim. (And, a great experience!) Now we're staying with Mel & Jan. We're having a good visit, and Jonathan is enjoying Flash the Wonder Dog. He's also happy to have a Christmas tree in his room. We'll go to our church in the morning, spend some more time with Mel & Jan, and then go on to Anna & Brian's.
With Darren & Aleta
Hi everyone,
We've enjoyed our first of two nights with Darren & Aleta. Paul (18 mos.) and Jonathan are entertaining us and keeping us hopping as we teach them how to share with each other! Jonathan has been drooling like crazy-both over the excitement of having a new kitty in the house, and because he just cut tooth #18, another 2-year molar. He's been sleeping at night and napping like a champ, and we're thankful for that.
We re-signed some of our closing papers today because our signatures were not positioned correctly the first time (seriously.) Once those go through, I think we'll have officially closed on our new house. The former owners discovered that when they had the kids' rooms painted pink, the professional painters spilled paint on the rug and covered the spill with furniture. So, Jonathan's room will have a nice pink splat on the floor that we will also likely cover with furniture. :)
We dropped "Toto" the car off today to be shipped to our new home, so now we're "homeless" and down to one car (the newer one.) We're thankful for the hospitality of so many friends during our time of transition!
In a few minutes, we're going to dinner at P.F. Chang's-a big favorite for us. As you can tell by this not-so-newsy post, not much is going on, but even that is something to be thankful for!
At Tony & Rochelle's
We had a busy day today and are now enjoying Tony & Rochelle's hospitality!
The movers-a husband and wife team-came with the huge big rig this morning. The helpers who showed up were not up to our driver's standards, so he sent them home and called for some more experienced helpers. That made us feel good about entrusting our stuff to him! All our stuff is now in transit to our new home. We'll do a little final cleaning in the morning, and then the new family will move into our old place. We hope they love it there, too!
We also spent nearly two hours signing the seemingly endless pile of papers that would give us our next home. Thank goodness we don't do that very often. :)
We are thankful that things are going well and that we can relax a bit now that the big stuff is done. We'll spend some time with friends here in the morning and then stay with Darren & Aleta for a couple of days.
Quick Christmas Recap
(Notice that in this picture, Jeff is reading to Jonathan from my treasury of Little Golden Books given to me by my grandparents in 1979. It was a big childhood favorite for me, and is quickly becoming one for Jonathan.)
The packers didn't box up our computer today, so I can show you a quick glimpse of what Christmas was like for us. Jeff made waffles for breakfast, and we enjoyed a quiet morning opening gifts. Jonathan loved opening his gifts (and helping with ours,) but his favorite thing was getting covered up with the paper...over and over again. Jeff was very happy to help that happen. :) Anna's parents invited us over to be a part of their family Christmas dinner in the evening, and we had a great time.
Today Jonathan and I made ourselves scarce while Jeff and the packers boxed everything up, and tonight will be our last night sleeping in our beds for awhile. We were pleasantly surprised to see that our phone and computer are not boxed yet, so we're still easily reachable for the evening.
It was really sad for me this morning to get Jonathan out of his crib and know that it was almost time to say goodbye to his nursery. That room has been really special to Jeff and me during the time that we waited for our baby (boy or girl???) to be born and experienced the first two years of parenthood with Jonathan.
On to big adventures in the morning!
My Mom Is Taking Over
I hope you all had a fun day celebrating baby Jesus' birthday!
Since we are moving, my mom is going to take over my blog for awhile. I'll take over again after we get settled into our new house. I'm sure going to miss all of you little buddies! Come visit me in my new house, okay? It has a playroom!
Here's my mom's message:
Hi everyone,
The movers are coming to pack us in the morning, so this will be our last post from home. We'll keep the same blog and email address and will check them as we travel. This is really bittersweet to leave our dear friends that we love to move near family that we love. Here's where we'll be for the next few days:
12/27 Tony & Rochelle's (in town)
12/28-29 Darren & Aleta's (out of town)
12/30 Uncle Mel & Aunt Jan's (in town again)
12/31-1/2 Brian & Anna's
1/3-4 Nebraska with family
1/5-6 Colorado with family
1/7 At our new home
1/8 Getting settled...please come visit us!
If you can't reach us, feel free to leave a comment here and we'll get in touch with you. Thanks so much to everyone for loving us and supporting us during this crazy season!
My Movie Review
I've been sick lately, so I've been doing a lot of this...
and this...
and this.
One thing I've done a lot while I've been sick is watch movies. I generally don't watch movies, both because my mom and dad don't want me to watch much TV, and because I would rather run around. But while I've been sick, I've been doing a lot of movie watching, and I've mostly been watching my new favorite movie, The Very First Noel. I like Boz and everything, but I like this movie even better. It tells all the parts of the story of Baby Jesus being born in a stable, and the Wise Men are the storytellers. They have a lot of adventures finding the new baby king. I like Mary and Joseph and the Baby, but I think I like the sheep the best. I'm thankful that Daddy brought it home, because it has been very comforting to watch it while I've been sick.
Last Visit for Awhile
Last weekend, Mommy and Daddy and I made a long road trip to Mommy and Daddy's old town to visit and say "goodbye." Since we're moving soon, we won't be able to drive to their old town anymore.
We made our trip in our new car! I really like our new car, and I like to tell God "thank you" for our new car when we pray.
On Friday night, we stayed with my little buddy Meredith. I haven't seen her in a long time, and I think she has gotten so cute!
Meredith was so nice to share her puzzles with me.
Here I am with Meredith's dog, Faye. All of the people we visited this weekend had dogs or cats, and that made me so excited!
Meredith has my daddy wrapped around her little finger.
The next day, we went to Graham's house. Graham and I got everyone to read to us:
his mommy...
his daddy...
my daddy...(and my mommy, who did not take her own picture.)
Graham shared this great slide with me! Every little boy needs a slide in his house!
Thanks for sharing your toys with me, little buddy!
Here we are with our good friends: Ms. Michelle, Carey Mae, Anabelle, and Mr. Thom. We all had a yummy lunch together after church. Mommy and Daddy had such a great time at their old church and saw lots of other special friends who are not in these pictures. And, I had a great time in the 2-year-old Sunday school class.
Here is my good buddy, Anabelle. If you click here, you can see us when we first met. Even though my mouth is full of quesadilla in this picture, you can see how much I like Anabelle.
Here are Carey Mae and Anabelle and I. Good thing our parents know that kids don't really like to pose for pictures.
This was not really the pose that I had in mind.
Here I am with Aunt Michelle and Uncle Jamie. They showed us their new house, and then we had dinner together.
Uncle Jamie and Aunt Michelle have kitties. I had so much fun with their kitties!
I gave lots of love to my aunt Michelle.
Thanks so much to Mr. Tim, Ms. Jo, and Graham for letting us live at your house for awhile. We had a great time and will miss you so much!
Happy Birthday Cake
Yesterday was Mommy's birthday, and she has so many nice friends who helped her celebrate! Daddy and I helped, too. He baked a cake, and we set up a date to have dinner with Sam and his family at our favorite Italian restaurant. All three of us kids-Sam, Katherine, and I-did a great job. Daddy kept asking me to say "Happy Birthday" to Mommy, but I thought it was much more efficient to say "Happy Birthday Cake." I love birthday cake!
Before all of that, we spent the morning with some of my buddies and Mommy's friends at Ava's house. Here I am with my little buddies. I'm the oldest, then Emma Claire, then Ava, then Jamey. I'm so thankful for all my little buddies! And, I'm thankful that Ava shared her bunny crackers with all of us.
Here are the mommies: Emma Claire's mommy, Ava's mommy, and Jamey's mommy. You can tell that all the mommies love the little buddies because of all the pictures they take.
Here I am in Ava's watermelon sunglasses.
Yeaaaahhhh...I am pretty hot stuff in these sunglasses! (And please note Ava's bus that I carried around all morning.)
Ava, do you think I look cute in your watermelon sunglasses?
I may be cute, but Ava looks even cuter in the watermelon sunglasses!
Moms and Tots
On Mondays, Mommy and I go to Moms and Tots. The moms talk and the tots (that's me and my friends) play. This picture is of me being pushed by Eden and DeLaney. Mommy and I had the stroller today because Mommy locked her keys in the car at the doctors' office, so instead of driving to Moms and Tots, we walked. It's a good thing Moms and Tots is next door to the doctor's office. And, we're also glad that it wasn't super cold today.
Today was our last Moms and Tots day. It's getting close enough to moving day that we are going to be having lots of "lasts." This makes Mommy sad, and I don't like it much either. We're so thankful for our friends and for Moms and Tots, because that's where I've learned how to get along in groups of kids. We're also thankful for all of our kind friends that we see there!
2-year checkup
Here I am at the doctor's office waiting for him to do my checkup and look at all my parts. I did a great job, and he said that I was a model patient. I am 37 1/2" tall and I weigh 33 lbs., 1 oz. (My mom is happy that I only weigh 33 lbs. because that means I have 7 lbs. left before I grow out of my car seat.) He thought that I was doing great except for a few things. First, he told Mommy that she has a slightly lazy eye and that I have one, too. Then, he said that the left side of my face is lower than the right side of my face. It's not symmetrical. And then, he said that I'm also slightly pigeon-toed. None of this sounds great to me, but I think my eyes and face and toes are working just fine. (My mom and dad still think I'm very cute, and I believe them.) The doctor wants me to see another special doctor about all this stuff after we move.
You'll notice that I'm holding my new little fire truck. My buddy, Liberty, found it at her house and wrapped it up and gave it to me for my birthday. What a great friend to give me one of her very own toys!
A Very Happy Birthday
Even though yesterday was my birthday party, today was my real birthday. (I'll post party pictures soon!) Today was fun, too, even without a visit to the fire station.
Mommy and Daddy gave me this Nativity set for my birthday and Christmas. Notice that I put Mary and Joseph to bed with the baby Jesus, and that Mater is watching them.
After church today, I got to meet Santa at the mall. I wasn't quite sure what to think about him, so I sat on his lap with this expression on my face almost the whole time. I just had to take it all in. A lady kept shaking an Elmo to get me to smile, but I wasn't really into it.
Here is the "real" picture that the picture lady took. I decided that Santa Claus is a pretty nice guy.
Fire Station
Today was the big day! Mommy and Daddy took me to the fire station this morning. Today might possibly be the best day of my life. I was sooo excited about all the fire trucks in the fire station! I just kept walking around and telling everyone all about them! Thanks to Mommy and Daddy for taking me there. We had a birthday party afterwards, but I didn't really need that...I loved being at the fire station. If you want Mommy to send you the slide show of the pictures we took, leave a comment here and she'll send it to you.
One Year Ago
A year ago, when I turned one, Mommy and Daddy and I went to have family pictures taken. Here's a photo that we didn't choose but that is on our photographer's website. Do you think I have changed much this year?
New Little Buddy
I have a new little buddy, and her name is Paige Riley. She just came home from the hospital, and her mommy and daddy are Ms. Amber and Mr. Dane. Daddy works with Ms. Amber. Paige's parents are the ones who shared their dogs with me last fall. Welcome to the world, Paige! I hope to meet you soon!
A Note from My Mom
Hi everyone-
Just a quick note from me to let you know that our closing went well on our house here today. We are officially no longer home owners, but are renting from the family who will move into our home on the 28th. We hope they love it here as much as we have. We have a contract on a home in our new town and plan to close on it on the 28th although we won't arrive until January. We are thankful for how smoothly the details have fallen into place so far.
Also, I'd like to invite you (especially those of you who are women!) to enjoy an online magazine published by some dear friends of mine. Click here for the link. It's called Zia, and I think you'll find it refreshing to read as well as a refreshing change from typical women's magazines. I'll add it to the "grownup" section of the sidebar on the right so that you can enjoy it each month.
Now I'll hand the reins back to Jonathan!
A Very Busy Day
Today was a crazy day for all of us. We are so tired, but our good friends are coming over because tonight is Home Fellowship Group night. I'm excited!
Today, I played at Jamey's house, and then I played at DeLaney's house so that Mommy and Daddy could close on our house here (whatever that means-our house still looks open to me,) and after lunch, I played and napped at Caleb's house so that Mommy could get her hair cut. Good thing I have so many nice buddies to play with!
If you want to see a picture of me today, you can look on Jamey's blog, because we didn't take any pictures at our house!
A Great Day
Mommy and I had a great day today. We've been missing Daddy a lot, so we had to do some fun things to help our day get better.
The first thing I wanted to do was play with my farm in bed. I'm so glad that Mommy is getting really good at understanding my words, because she brought my farm to me right away.
Later in the morning, we took the long drive to Target and Sam's club to look for food and party favors for my birthday party on Saturday. We found this thing at Target, and Mommy and I both thought it was the best thing ever! We opened it up so that we could share the little cans of Play-Doh with all my friends who come over for my party.
(My mom is really nervous that she forgot to invite someone important to my party. So, if she forgot to invite you, please forgive my mom, and come over for some cake on Saturday!)
I also spent some time looking through Mommy's magazine. I told her that I wanted to look for tractors. Unfortunately, I didn't find any.
The last big thing that happened today was that I got a package from Grandpa and Grandma. I wasn't sure whether it was for Christmas or my birthday. (Mommy says that's the fun thing about a December birthday. I'll get gifts all month, just like my mom!) It was for Christmas, and it was my denim comforter for my big boy bed that I'll sleep in when I'm done with my crib-probably when I'm around five or six years old. But, I decided to give the comforter a try today. Thanks for the great gift, Grandpa and Grandma!
Bob Makes It Better
In case you're wondering, I'll tell you that I'm still having some issues with using utensils at meals. My mom and dad want me to do it all myself, but I really think it works better if one of them feeds me. The more they encourage me to do it on my own, the madder I get.
In this picture, I am giving myself a bite on my own. (Generally, I like to have Mommy's hand over mine while I do this.) I was brave enough to do it because of my Bob bowl and spoon. I love my Bob dishes! I don't know much about Bob except that he has a backhoe, but that's enough for me! Thanks to my grandma and grandpa for giving me my Bob dishes. Mommy hopes that using Bob will help me to eat with fork and spoon on my own. Frankly, I'd rather learn to read first.
Saturday Excitement
On Saturday, my mommy had her open house for Creative Memories. Here I am helping her get ready.
Daddy decided that he wanted to help me help Mommy.
After the open house, we went to our town's Christmas parade. It's the tradition here to light up the town's Christmas lights on the first Saturday night in December and then have a parade. Boy, did I LOVE the parade! All those trucks...and lights...and trucks...it was great! It was so cold outside, and I didn't even notice. Here we are watching the parade. We saw a lot of our friends, too!
FUN!
After the parade, Sam and his family came over for a pizza dinner. I had so much fun with Sam, and I kept saying, "Buddy!" "Sam!" Let's get our families together again soon!
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