Waiting for a Train


Here are all my vehicles waiting for a train. Mommy thinks it looks like the train is waiting for my vehicles, but I'm sure you'll agree that it's the other way around.

Reading the Bible


Here I am reading my Bible with Daddy. Sometime before I was two years old and started saying "Bible," Mommy decided I needed one of my own. We went to the store and picked out this one. It has a picture on every page and lots and lots of stories. I love to hear the stories about how God loves us!

Guy Things

Today was our day to do guy things-just my daddy and me. First, though, Aunt Amanda came over so that she could watch Cars and play with me. She had never seen Cars before. We had a great time except for when I spilled my Kix all over the floor and just couldn't handle the chaos. I managed to refrain from diaper events while she was here. All in all, we had a fun time. Thanks for playing with me, Aunt Amanda!

Back to the guy things. After my nap, Daddy and I got the oil changed in our car and test drove some other cars-not because we are going to buy them, but just because it's fun to drive cars. We also ate at a sushi restaurant, and I got to eat rice with soy sauce (which I call "sushi juice") and chop sticks. Daddy knows lots of fun things to do. On the way home, I kept telling Daddy that Mommy was home. He didn't believe me-he thought that Mommy might still be out scrapbooking. But I was right! Mommy was home waiting for me at bedtime, and I gave her lots of hugs before bed. I was very happy to have our family all together again, and I said so lots of times.

Oh, and some of the other mommies might be wondering what Mommy did while she was away. Well, she got 64 pages done in our album and is all caught up now. Lots of the pictures in the album are pictures of me. It was a great day for everyone!

Mommy Came Back

This morning when I got up, Mommy was home again. When she asked me if I had fun with Daddy, I said, "Doing guy things." Daddy said, "I didn't say that to him at all." Yup, we had fun, and I can make up my own comments about how things are going. Today, we are going to do more guy things and also see Aunt Amanda. We'll have fun without you, Mommy!

Why Mommy Is Excited

Mommy is gearing up for a big event just for ladies. This afternoon and tonight, and all day tomorrow, she is going to spend time with other ladies at a church working on crafty projects. Mommy is going to choose scrapbooking as her project, and she's so excited. Did I mention that there are not going to be any kids there? Doesn't sound too great to me, but Mommy is really excited, even though she'll be "working." She says that the last time she got to do this, she got 32 pages done in our scrapbook. (Some of the pictures were of me with firetrucks, so I guess I don't mind if she does it again.) I think I heard something about eating chocolate and talking a lot, too.

The things that ladies like to do are things that I don't really understand. But, the good thing is, this event is at the same place we have MOPS, and I get to go play with the other kids in the MOPS nursery for awhile today until Daddy gets home. Tomorrow, I get to play with Aunt Amanda and bond with Daddy and do guy things. So, Mommy's time out is a good thing for me, too!

What My Vehicles Do


You might remember that my vehicles used to drive to Ace and to the car wash a lot. They don't do that very much anymore. They do two things now: go to a party or wait for a train. In this picture, they are going to a party. When Mommy asks me what kind of party, I always tell her it's a birthday party, and when she asks me whose birthday it is, it's always Ella's. You'd think she'd remember by now!

The next time my vehicles decide to wait for a train, I'm sure Mommy will take a picture. Wait and see!

Congratulations to Caroline and Peter!


Congratulations to Caroline and Peter on the birth of their little brother, Daniel, today. Daniel was 9 lbs., 7 oz. and 21" long. I've never met Caroline and Peter, but their mommy and daddy, Ms. Ruth and Mr. Clay, were friends with Mommy and Daddy two towns ago. Mr. Clay and Ms. Ruth and the kids are getting ready to go live in Macedonia as missionaries. Welcome to the world, Daniel!

"J" is for Jonathan


Here I am reading my Jonathan book with Daddy. Even though Daddy's job is busy, it's so close to our house that he can come home for lunchtime and say "goodnight" to me before my nap. I love that! In this picture, it's right before naptime.

Grandma made this book for me before our last airplane trip. Each page has a pocket for me to open up and find a surprise vehicle. Mommy says it's good for my motor skills, but I really like looking for the vehicles, and they're all driven by bears! Here are pictures of the pages in case you'd like to take a peek! Thanks for my Jonathan book, Grandma!





Beautiful


We don't have many cloudy days in the summer, but here's what sunset looked like today when we had clouds.

A Small Sample

Here's a small sample of my new hobby:  rhyming!  Usually I like to make long lists of words that rhyme, but this time, I only wanted to do one at a time.

How to Use Stickers

Congratulations to Jonah!


Congratulations to my little buddy, Jonah, who became a big brother on July 12 when his little brother, Levi, was born. Levi was 8 lbs., 6 oz. and had to be born by C-section after a long labor, but everybody is fine now. Congratulations, Jonah!

Levi fills out the list of ten babies that I know who were born in 30 days:

6/15 Cora and Peter (twins)
6/21 Owen
7/1 Addison
7/2 Emerson and Karley (different families)
7/6 Levi
7/7 Wesley
7/12 Levi (yes, a 2nd one! Their mommies and mine actually know each other from working at camp together, but they didn't talk to each other until after the names were decided!)
7/13 Delia

This tops the record that our friends set in October of 2005 when six of Mommy's friends were due to have babies within in one month. (Between the early babies and late babies, those six babies ended up taking about a month and a half to be born.) In case you've forgotten, the babies were Jamey, Katherine, Maximus, Nathan, Olivier, and Spike.

There are still a few more babies we know who are going to be born this summer. We'll keep you posted!

I Did It Myself!


"That spells my ABCs!"

Fun with Ella

Click here to take a look!

Quote of the Day

"Cantaloupe has canta in it." -Jonathan

The Jeep

This is a pretty long video, but it has to be long so that I can show all the things going on with my Jeep.

More About Nathan

Yesterday morning, on Mommy and Daddy's anniversary, we took Nathan and his parents to the airport. We were sad to see them go but so glad they came. Here are some more pictures of our adventures. You can click on any picture to make it bigger.










Here we are playing with our cars on the stairs on Sunday. Some people at church thought that we were cousins.


On Monday, Mommy and I took Nathan and his parents to the mountains. After we got up the curviest part of the road, we needed a break. We stopped next to a park that had a fire station! The nice firefighter there gave us a hat and a badge and let us look around. This was the best part of the day for me.


Here are our friends entering Yosemite for the first time.


We always love going to the mountains!

Happy Anniversary to Mommy and Daddy

Today is the 8th anniversary of Mommy and Daddy's wedding, and Thursday is the 9th anniversary of the day they met. I thought you might like to walk down memory lane and see some pictures from their wedding.

Here are their friends who helped them to get married.


Here they are getting ready to take a drink with their special cups.


Here they are getting bubbles blown on them.


Here they are getting into Grandpa's car. I think looking at the cars was probably the best part of their wedding.

I'm not sure why I was not here for all the pictures, but it looks like a fun time! Happy Anniversary, Mommy and Daddy!

So Far, So Fun!

I have been having a fun day with my buddy, Nathan.

We've been eating our meals together, and I'm sharing my booster seat with him.


I took Nathan to the fountains today. He was too tired from traveling to enjoy the water very much, but I'm still glad he came.


I sure enjoyed the water!

I have been having a little trouble sharing my favorite toys with Nathan, so I've been getting some sharing lessons. You'd think that sharing my booster seat would satisfy Mommy... Oh, well, I'm still so happy that I have a buddy here with me!

Nathan is Here!


Update on Delia




Mommy and I got to go see baby Delia, and Ms. Jen, Mr. Dave, and Ella were there, too! I loved that sweet little baby. Now Mommy is off to the airport to get Nathan!

Congratulations to Ella!

My good buddy, Ella, became a big sister today because her little sister, Delia was born just before noon. Delia was 8 lbs., 4 oz. and 20" long. Mr. Dave and Ms. Jen are still at the hospital with Baby Delia, so there are no pictures yet. Maybe we can go visit her after my nap and before Nathan and Mr. Mark and Ms. Jennie arrive. Congratulations, Ella!

Something Rare


We saw something this week that we haven't seen in months and probably won't see again for a long time: rainclouds! We hardly ever even get clouds in the summer, let alone rainclouds. We didn't actually get rain, but we got wonderful walking weather so that I could walk over to Ella's house.

PS-Ms. Jen said that we actually did get a little rain around 4:30 in the morning. It was gone by the time I woke up!

PPS-Don't I look a lot like Daddy in this picture?

What We've Been Waiting For!

We have pictures of Wesley to share! If you want to see Graham's introduction of Wesley, click here. If you want to see Ms. Jo's story of having Wesley, click here. We are really excited to visit them in a couple of months!

Where My Vehicles Are Going


New Haircut


My hair was so shaggy that Mommy and Daddy couldn't put it off for another day...

Getting Ready for Nathan

The last time we had overnight company, Mommy put my crib up so that Katherine could sleep in it. It's still up, and on Friday, I have a little buddy coming to sleep in it again! My buddy, Nathan, is flying on an airplane with his mommy and daddy to come see me. We haven't seen Nathan and his parents since last November, which is also the first time he and I met each other. This visit will be their first visit to this house.

Mommy and Daddy and I have been thinking of all the fun things we can do while our company is here. And, I decided that I needed to try out my crib again. Mommy wouldn't let me jump in it, which was my original plan, so I decided I needed to lay down and be covered. Should I go back to my crib instead of sleeping in my big boy bed?


For some reason, Blogger is not letting me put in a title for this one, but as you can see, I'm learning how to wash cars from an expert: Aunt Amanda!

Congratulations to Paul!


Congratulations to my big buddy, Paul, who became a big brother on Friday when his brother, Levi, was born. Levi was 9 lbs. 4 oz. and 21.5" long. Everyone is home and doing fine. Congratulations, Paul!

Some of you have been wondering about the large number of babies born to our friends lately. As far as we know, there have been five in July and eight since June 15. (And there are a couple out there we haven't heard about yet that may raise the tally!) This is just the tip of the iceberg for summer babies, but here's what we have so far:

6/15 Cora and Peter (twins)
6/21 Owen
7/1 Addison
7/2 Emerson and Karley (different families)
7/6 Levi
7/7 Wesley

It's the season for babies!

Congratualtions to Graham!

My buddy, Graham, became a big brother today! Wesley Mark came two weeks early and was 7 lbs., 9 oz. and 20" long-a pound heavier than Graham. Ms. Jo (Graham's mommy) was enjoying a weekend visit from her longtime girlfriends and didn't expect Wesley to come so soon. But, here he is! We'll share pictures as soon as we have them. Mommy and I are planning to travel to meet Wesley and play with Graham in September. Congratulations, Graham!

A Morning With Ella


This morning, Mommy and I got to spend time with Ella and Ms. Jen. It is too hot here to do much of anything outside, so we went to the mall to take a walk. Mommy said we were trying to get Ms. Jen's baby to come, but I don't think it worked.

Ella and I had a great time. We made noises at each other and said letters of the alphabet to each other and looked at books together, too. Here we are looking at ourselves in the mirror at Gap Kids.

Mommy found out that Ms. Jen loves to look around at the same things that we like to look at. So, we looked at the clearance racks at Gap Kids, Children's Place, and Gymboree. (Mommy wants me to tell you that the footed pajamas at the Children's Place are on sale for $5.99 minus 30%. Mommy and Emma Claire's mommy always say, "Those are the BEST pajamas!" Too bad I'm too big for them!) Ella and I had fun walking and eating pretzels and drinking water from Starbucks.

Our walk didn't get the baby to come, but I'm still glad we went!

The Alphabet Road


Mommy and I went to Once Upon a Child today and found this great road for my trucks. We call it the Alphabet Road. Do you like it?

(Oh, and Mommy wants me to tell you that it got up to 109 today!)

Another Note

Some of our faraway friends have been wondering what the weather is like here. We're in the middle of a heat wave, and it's already 104 today. It's going to "cool down" to 99 on Saturday, but otherwise, we'll be in the low-to-mid 100s for awhile. The nice thing is that there is no humidity. In our old town today, it's 86 but feels like 92. Here, it's 104 but feels like "only" 102. We are very thankful for air conditioning!

A Note From Mommy

Tonight, we put Jonathan to bed as usual but then got him out of bed later to go see his first fireworks display. The next town over, where we considered moving, was having its own display. We sat by the side of a country road in our camping chairs and watched. This town is about the size of our old town, so we had modest expectations, but the show was fantastic. Jeff and I loved it, but what was even better was watching Jonathan's reaction. He REALLY loved it. Here are some favorite quotes:
"That was a tree!"
"That was a spider!"
"That one played the drums!"
"That firework had Christmas lights on it!"
"They make a funny noise!"
When we got back to our neighborhood, which is not normally very social, there were a few families sharing fireworks out in the street. We walked down to watch their displays (which were pretty small considering most fireworks are illegal here,) and Jonathan loved that, too. There's nothing like seeing things through the eyes of a two-year-old, and it made for a great 4th of July!

Happy Birthday, America!


Welcome, Karley Faith!


We have some more happy news to share: Mommy and Daddy's friends, Ms. Karen and Mr. Jason, had a baby yesterday. They went to college with Mommy and then went to church with all of us, and Mr. Jason ran the Philadelphia marathon with Daddy three weeks before I was born. Their baby is named Karley Faith, and she joins her older siblings: Andrew, Tim, Nate, and Kaylyn. Karley and Ms. Karyn are doing fine. Welcome to the world, Karley!

My Dad Is the Best!


Daddy stopped by the library on the way home and brought me a Bob the Builder video. I am finding out about Bob videos for the very first time! Mommy thinks ignorance is bliss, but luckily, Daddy has other ideas. Otherwise, I never would have known that Bob was on TV. I love the video, but Mommy and Daddy are glad that it belongs to the library. I wonder what they mean by that?

Congratulations to Elise!


My buddy, Elise, became a big sister yesterday when little baby Emerson Laura was born-the same day as Addison! Elise and her mommy, Ms. Katie, are both doing fine. Welcome to the world, Emerson!

Welcome, Addison Page!


This picture was taken in May of 2005, and it's me sitting with Mommy's friend, Ms. Carly. This was the road trip Mommy and I took so that all the friends that loved me but didn't know me could meet me for the first time. Ms. Carly had a way with me. If you knew me as a baby, you know that I was never interested in lap-sitting for very long. But, I was content with Ms. Carly. This picture is important today because Ms. Carly has a baby of her own now! Ms. Carly and her husband, Mr. Jason, are the proud parents of Addison Page, who was born yesterday. She and Ms. Carly are healthy and doing fine. Welcome to the world, Addison!

At the Coast

On Saturday, we spent some time together as a family to get ready for Daddy's busy season. Mommy requested that we go to the ocean.


At first, the ocean scared me, so I decided to play here in what I guess was a tide pool. Mommy thought the water was yucky and mucky, but I had a great time splashing in it.


Later, I got more comfortable, and Daddy and I decided to play in the sand.



Daddy built this great castle and then let the water fill the big hole in the middle.


Looking at the camera for a cute family shot is really not my thing.


Thanks for a great family day, Mommy and Daddy!

(In other news, we saw Mr. Dave and Ms. Jen and Ella tonight. They walked to our house because the doctor says that walking will make the baby come. I keep telling Mommy that Ms. Jen has a baby in her tummy and it's drinking milk. Maybe the next time Ella and I play, the baby will be out so that I can meet her!)