Here it is! The story of our Thanksgiving... Click on any photo to see it full-sized. (Note: actually, you can't do that right now. There's a bug in the program that will hopefully be fixed by Blogger soon!)
My mouse ears helped me get ready to go.
We love to read!
Here I am with Grandma getting ready for a walk wearing my "new" coat.
Go Huskers!
I loved sharing vehicles with Aunt Michelle's cat, Eddie Mac.
Grandpa gave me some jigsaw puzzles for my birthday. Here we are working one of them.
I had to wear this hat so that Grandma could read to me.
I got everyone to watch my Cars movie!
Here are Aunt Michelle and I reading to Eddie Mac.
One night, we got to go out for barbecue. Out there, barbecue is not something you do, it's food you eat. We loved hearing live music, something we don't get to do as much in our new home but is really common where Aunt Michelle and Uncle Jamie live. This little girl was singing and playing with her dad.
We got to go back to our old church where Mommy and Daddy went before I was born. Here I am in "2-year-old C" Sunday school driving around this racetrack with a little buddy. We learned about how Jesus is God's special gift to us.
Here's the family we came to visit: Grandpa and Grandma, and Aunt Michelle and Uncle Jamie. Click here to see our family photo two years ago.
They gave me an early birthday party! Here I am blowing out my candles.
Thanks for the party!
Here I am loving Eddie Mac.
We brought Grandma and Grandpa to this hotel to see their Christmas decorations. A note to my little buddies: see if you can get your parents to take you at night when it's even prettier.
I got to drive the stroller...
and jump down the steps! I'm mid-air in this picture.
We had pizza for lunch, and it was delicious. I don't have to explain this to those of you who know Mommy, but this isn't Coke, it's water.
I got to see my good buddy, Graham, and his whole family. Here we are driving around his coffee table/racetrack. I LOVED seeing Graham.
Here's a big hug in return for those tackles last time I saw you.
Here are Graham's daddy and Wesley. This was Daddy's first time meeting Wesley. He's grown a lot! Click here to see Daddy meeting Graham for the first time two years ago.
Mommy read Two Little Trains to Graham and me. It's a wonderful book! Graham and I have both checked it out from the library and love it. It's by the author of Goodnight, Moon and Big Red Barn. We read it twice this time.
I missed Graham's mommy and the rest of his family, too.
Conks for Timmo.
Saying goodbye to Grandma...
and Grandpa. It's always sad to say goodbye. I hope they visit me soon!
The last family-part of our visit: Aunt Michelle and Uncle Jamie were leaving on a trip at the same time we were all leaving to go home. We got to eat with them in the airport.
Thanks for the wonderful visit, everyone!
All About Thanksgiving
We're Back!
This morning at around 1:45, we crawled into our beds after a long trip back from a great visit with our family. Mommy and Daddy and I flew on two airplanes to see Uncle Jamie and Aunt Michelle for Thanksgiving. Grandma and Grandpa got onto our second airplane and flew with us. We had a nice time with our family and also got to see some old friends, since Aunt Michelle and Uncle Jamie live in the town where Mommy and Daddy fell in love and lived after they got married. Mommy was also a teacher there, and Daddy went to graduate school there. Best of all, my relatives helped me celebrate my birthday a little bit early, just like they did two years ago.
We'll try to catch up on showing off all those pictures in the next few days. Today, I am just so happy to see my toys, it's hard to explain. We had breakfast and lunch at a funny time today since we're not sure what time zone we're in. For those of you who are wondering, I did well flying last night, for the most part, although it was after my bedtime. As we were back in our state and waiting to get on the bus to take us to our car, I asked Mommy and Daddy if we could fly on another airplane. They were not amused! Or maybe I should say, they were amused, but not enough to let me get on another plane. Oh, well...it was still a great trip.
Napping Update
Thanks to those of you who have asked how I've been doing with naps since having my sweet fingers confiscated. After things went downhill for two or three days, naps are going fine now. My parents are compassionate, but not very flexible. They're convinced that I still need a good nap every day, and they don't negotiate very well. And, the truth is, I still really enjoy my nap. I'm not very happy about anything without it. And, I do miss my fingers a lot, but when I get sad about that, I cuddle with Mickey Mouse, and he helps me feel better.
Favorite Phrase
Mommy and Daddy think this is pretty funny. When they ask me a question with lots of choices-like what song to hear at bedtime or what car to play with-I say, "How about....ummm...let's see." But, they don't know who I learned it from. Do you know who says this more? Mommy? Or Daddy?
Morning at Ms. Jetta's
On Tuesday, we spent the morning visiting Ms. Jetta and some of her girls and the babies. Anneliese and Helia were home because they're too young to be in school, just like me. And the babies, Cora and Peter, were there, too. (Thea and Kirsi were at school.) When we got there, I got to watch the girls finish playing their princess game with Ms. Jetta. Then, the mommies chatted while we played. There was equipment working in the field, and I loved watching it. We also had special snacks and loved on the kitties. These pictures are of us loving on them. I adore kitties. I even got to pick these up! It was kind of hard, but I figured it out. In the first and last picture, you can see me carrying them. And, yes, in the last picture, you can see that the kitty's head is near the ground and his tail is up in the air. These kitties are very patient. Even though I'm as gentle as I can be, still sometimes I need a patient kitty.
Happy Thanksgiving!
To all our friends and family far and near who are taking the time to read our blog...we are thankful for you! God has blessed us in so many ways, and one of our favorite ways is with our loved ones close by and far away. Thank you for thinking of us today.
Much love,
Jonathan's family
So Much for Naps
Well, I can't seem to fall asleep during naptime without my fingers. So I just lay there and sing, or cry, or make up angry words to let Mommy know how I'm feeling. I love the sound of my own voice. But, I sure don't like naptime without my sweet fingers. I guess I'll just have to lay down forever but never sleep.
A Very Long Catch-Up Post
As you've noticed, we got behind on the blog. And not just because our computer was having issues. But, we're about to catch up, and soon you'll understand! You might want to get a drink and a snack for yourself, because this post is so long that you might be hungry and thirsty before you finish reading! And, click on any picture to see it bigger.
Last week, Daddy had a business trip. He left Monday before I was awake and got back Friday after I was in bed. It was a very long week without him! Mommy says she owes emails, calls, and hugs to several friends, and she's sorry for getting behind on her friends! Here is a picture of me talking to my dad on the phone. I really missed him.
Also last week, my mom had her Creative Memories open house on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I helped her greet the guests and practiced some of my sound effects on them. Here's what the open house looked like. Special thanks to friends and family who have been helping Mommy with her collection of Christmas dishes and napkins, because she has been using them!
Daddy sent flowers to Mommy since he couldn't help in person. I have a really thoughtful dad!
I thought Mommy's scrapbooking tools were better used building a parking garage.
On Friday, we went to our twice-monthly moms group at church. While the kids play and the grandmas watch us, the moms do something different each week. This time, one of the mommies taught all the other mommies to do flower arrangements in pumpkins. Here's ours. The funny thing is, it was a fake, carve-able pumpkin.
The lid made a great merry-go-round for my tiny little racecars.
Here's how I sleep with my animals these days. They all have to be tucked in, and I keep them that way all night. It's very important.
And, yes, this is me in a dentist's chair. This is the part where you might get hungry and thirsty.
Three weeks ago, I was playing at a new friend's house, and I fell on the patio and cut my lip. There was blood everywhere-just from my lip, though, not from my teeth. Mommy worked hard to comfort me and to get the blood to stop. My friend's mommy gave me my very first lollipop to help me stop crying (and Mommy says it will be a long time before I have another one.) My lip recovered, but the next day, Mommy noticed that each of my top front teeth had a tiny chip in them. She felt terrible about that, but figured the damage was done.
This past Saturday, Mommy noticed that one of those teeth was turning gray. Then she felt REALLY terrible. And it was the weekend, so we had to wait until Monday morning to call a dentist. We did that Monday, and little did I know that the dentist's office could be such a fun place. The waiting area was like a big aquarium with a castle to climb in, and it was painted like the Nemo movie! One of the nice ladies there took x-rays of my teeth, and the nice dentist was very gentle while he looked at my teeth. I got a balloon for being a good helper, and I got to watch the TV in the ceiling.
So, here's the news about my teeth: Not only are they both chipped, but they're both cracked. The non-gray one may have some problems with its root. Mommy has to check them both each week to make sure I don't have an infection. If I do get infections in either one, that may mean a root canal or getting the tooth or teeth pulled. And, the dentist needs to make sure that my baby teeth didn't bump and damage my developing grownup teeth. Did I mention that Mommy feels terrible?
Here's the really bad part. The dentist says that my teeth are so easily bumped due to my overbite. When Mommy was nine and got braces, she had an eight millimeter overbite. Mine is already 12 or 13 mm. Rather than blaming this on the faulty genes that she gave me, Mommy is blaming my overbite on my precious fingers that I love to suck while I sleep. So, she took it upon herself to paint nasty tasting stuff on them before my nap yesterday. Yep, I have to stop sucking my fingers cold-turkey. So far, it hasn't bothered me at night, but it's not helping the quality of my naps. I really do love my fingers.
So, Sam and Graham, I have joined you in the tooth-injury club. The good thing is that I got my pictures taken before my tooth started to turn gray. Mommy really hopes that we don't have to have my baby teeth pulled. I think it might make her cry.
Speaking of pictures, Mommy has sent the link to my portraits to everyone who has emailed or commented, so if she hasn't replied to you yet, she didn't get your email.
Thanks for reading this very, very long post!
Smiles by Wire
Cranky
Mommy is cranky because we can't post pictures to the blog because we can't get to our pictures on our computer. Grrrrr.
A Note From Mommy
First, I had to jump in and share this link with you: Dreams of Flying. I found it on the Design Mom blog that I enjoy so much. I can't tell you exactly why, but I had a big grin on my face as I viewed all twelve pictures. You won't regret taking the few moments to find out what I'm talking about. Enjoy!
Second, I wanted to put a note in about how much we miss everyone in our old town and how much we appreciate everyone in our new town. It's Creative Memories open house weekend for me-tonight, tomorrow, and Saturday-and I'm really missing all my loyal friends who would have stopped by in our old town. Thanks, old friends! But, our family and new friends are coming by and being supportive here, and that is so, so nice. Several have stopped by already. Thanks so much, new family and friends!
Today's Quote
Mary and Joseph are going to Yosemite. And Mary will have her wedding dress and stand there.
Uncle Jacob's Movie
Hi, it's Jonathan again. One thing that my mom forgot to mention is pretty important: Uncle Jacob is making a movie. He had just gotten back from filming it when we saw him, and Mommy and Daddy got to see some of the film in its "raw" form. We're all really excited and impressed. If you'd like to see a glimpse, go to the Coyote County Loser site. I'll put it over in my sidebar under "also interesting" so that we can keep tabs on how it's going. Maybe you can see it in a theater soon!
Meeting the Mouse, Part 2 (by Mommy)
After the long tour through Mickey's house, Jacob and Laura were waiting for us with a surprise for Jonathan:
Mouse ears! Here he is showing them off with Uncle Jake...
and Aunt Laura.
Too cute. I really wanted to find some ears for Jonathan on our trip, so I was as excited as he was. Thanks, Jacob and Laura!
There's not much that's cooler in Toon Town than driving Mickey's car.
Just a cute over-the-glasses look.
Fun times with dear friends!
I had previously thought that California Adventure was a park mostly geared toward adults. After this trip, I've changed my mind. Here's part of a huge playground for kids big and small that feels like it's in a redwood forest. I can't remember its name. It included huge (and very high) net rope bridges that bounced. I was too much of a fraidy cat to cross them (no surprise to those of you who know me,) but Jonathan just loved them. I was proud-and happy that I haven't passed my fear of heights on to him yet.
Crossing a little creek with Jacob.
I love this picture of Jonathan watching the carousel. This was his first time on a carousel, and he loved it. Laura and I went on it with him twice while the big guys rode a roller coaster, and Jonathan would have been happy to stay on the carousel for much longer.
Here we are! Jonathan chose a seal both times he rode.
Anywhere Aunt Laura went, Jonathan wanted to go, too.
Great family memories!
On the way out of the parks, Jeff gave Jonathan a sweet surprise: Squirt the sea turtle (from Finding Nemo.) Jonathan has never seen the movie, but he's been fascinated by sea turtles lately. Each time we went into a shop with animals on this trip, he wanted to hug Squirt.
Squirt was an instant success. Here he is getting kisses from Jonathan.
I can't remember the last time Jonathan fell asleep in the stroller-probably not since he was an infant. But after a full day with no nap, he was happily exhausted. We really didn't know how it would go-taking a two-year-old to Disneyland-but it was a fantastic day for all of us. We're so thankful we got to go, and thanks for experiencing all of it with us, Jacob and Laura! Once we got into the car and Jonathan was awake, he was recounting the parts of his day and let us know that we forgot to ride the Monorail. He let us know that we could come back to Disneyland after he's three and ride it. We'll see!
Back home...here's Jonathan, conked out in bed (with a stuffy nose) all snuggled in with Squirt and the other animals that have to sleep near him. Good night!