Today

We're enjoying our time with Grandma and Grandpa.  Last night, we had dinner with them and some of my other grandparents.  Today,  I spent most of the morning playing in the sand and dirt while Grandma and Grandpa worked in the yard.  Then Ms. Jen called us, and we walked to the park to play with Ella a little bit before lunchtime.  Mommy told me, "You're really dirty.  You must have had a fun time."  So, after lunch, I had my bath and my nap.  The evening is sure to be full of more fun!

We've come to the time of year that requires two outfits a day:  long sleeves and pants first thing in the morning and then short sleeves and shorts for the rest of the day.  We can keep the windows open all day long, and more trees and flowers bloom each day.  The bees are really  happy about it, and so am I!

Visiting

Here are some pictures from our visit with our old friends, Mr. Chad, Ms. Krista, Caleb, Katie, and Daniel.  As you can see from the lack of pictures, we spent most of our time visiting and playing.  And I really didn't feel like smiling for a picture.  I really am terrible at posing these days!  (And I was also about to get a fever, but nobody knew that.)  Despite the lack of picture-taking, we had a great time.  Mommy thinks it's great to share time with old friends who know you well, even though she wished that time was a lot longer.

And today, life is good.  I feel fine.  Grandma and Grandpa are here to play with me for a whole week.  And Daddy is on his way home from his business trip.  Things are definitely looking up.

More buddies to pray for

While I seem to be just fine now, I have some buddies who are not so fine.  My good buddy Sam has pneumonia, and Ava has a touch of it, too.  We wish we could take it away from them, but we'll pray that God does.  Get well soon, buddies!

Update on Me-from Mommy

Just thought I'd write a quick post on how Jonathan is doing.  He went to bed with a fever last night, and he slept...and slept...until I woke him around 10:20 this morning to go get checked (and he needed an adjustment.)  He wasn't as feverish this morning, and he said he felt fine, but still wasn't quite himself.  Mean mommy that I am, I decided that he still needed at least a short nap this afternoon since he's not 100%-even though he did sleep really late.  So, he's sleeping (or at least resting.)  I hope he feels much better by morning, because Jeff's parents are coming for a big visit!

Fever and Micah

Micah's surgery went well yesterday-thank you for praying for him, and you can check his blog to read more.

We had a great time with our friends yesterday!  We're so glad they came to see us!  Unfortunately, though, I came down with a fever last night, so I'm laying low today.  In fact, I'm sleeping in.  We'll go visit my grandpa this morning and see how I'm doing.  For now, I'm enjoying my sleep and hoping my fever doesn't last a long time.

Why we're excited

We have friends visiting all the way from Canada tomorrow!  My buddies, Caleb, Katie, and Daniel, and their mommy and daddy, Ms. Krista and Mr. Chad, are nearby visiting Ms. Krista's family, so they're going to visit us, too.  I can't wait to have some big buddies visit.  Between getting new glasses and seeing old friends, tomorrow is going to be a fun, busy day!

(Here is a quick movie from the day I met baby Daniel, who's not a baby anymore but will be a big brother before too much longer.)

Please Pray for Micah

My new little buddy, Micah, is getting ready to have surgery.  You can read more about him down to the right on Nathan and Micah's Mom's blog.  We hope you'll continue praying for him!

Ooooops

Contrary to what you might think, this didn't happen during a wrestling match.  My glasses just fell off of my face all by themselves.  Good thing we have coverage on these glasses.

My Way

Castle for Mommy

Here's my latest creation with all of my Duplos.  I've been very into building with my Duplos lately, and Mommy is pretty good at admiring what I build.  The only trouble I have is that I keep running out of blocks.

What to do when Daddy leaves town

This week, Daddy was out of town on business. He left before 4 Monday morning, which is before I woke up. We really missed him! We tried to do lots of fun things while he was gone, but we still wished he was here. The best thing we did while Daddy was gone was have dinner and playtime with Ella.  I had so much fun with her!  And, I think the mommies enjoyed talking, too.

Here we are reading books together.

And here we are reading with Mommy.

I decided to be a princess, just like Ella.

The "princess sandals" were not comfortable at all.  I took them off right away.

As I like to say, "You're a princess, and you're a nice child."

I'm sure you saw in my video with Ella that I was not a princess the whole time.  But, maybe my short time as a princess will remind Daddy that he needs to spend extra time doing tackles and tummy bonks and other guy things with me.  The great news is that Daddy got to leave his business trip early-he surprised us and came home last night during small group.  We're so excited to have Daddy home!

What to do with an Exersaucer

In case you wondered.  It also works well if your good friend Ella climbs in underneath and you spin her around.  Mommy is not sure, but she thinks we are saying "Ring-ring, ring-ring," because occasionally we'd mention "the rosies" and "pocket full of posies."

You might know that I refuse to sing real songs and that my mom occasionally worries about this since my younger buddies have been singing for a long time.  (I think that perhaps Mommy has too much time on her hands if she is thinking about this.)  Even though I don't sing, I am listening.  Yesterday morning, I said to Mommy, "This is the day.  This is the day that the Lord has made."  And later in the afternoon, I told her, "The itsy-bitsy spider went up the water spout."  I think Mommy forgets that I have my own agenda, and I always have.  I hope that someone else remembers!

By the way, I had a fantastic time at Ella's house.  We'll post more pictures soon!

Preschool Logic

(Said with I/you reversed, of course.)

Jonathan:  You're looking for that bag.

Mommy:  Which bag are you looking for?

Jonathan:  The one you can't find.

An Amtrak Passenger Train

Making Cake

Tonight, I went up to the playroom and brought this cake downstairs for Mommy.

She loved her cake.  She even blew out the candles and ate a piece.

And this is a car cake.

It's really good cake!

These are quesadillas for me and burritos for Mommy.

And here I am cutting them up with my knife.  You can see the sauce I used, too.  I had a great time making food for us to eat tonight!

Crab with Pinchers

Ella...and Tricky Words

Tonight, we did something really fun.  We went out for burgers with Ella and her family.  We ate yummy food, goofed around, and stayed up past our bedtime.  Ms. Jen is so smart that she always brings a special little backpack to restaurants so that Ella has fun things to play with.  Maybe my mom will do that someday.  I hear that I get to see Ella again this coming week, and I'm very happy about that!

After we got home and I got into bed, Daddy and I did "tricky words," which is something I like to do with him every night.  I pull out the dictionary and ask Daddy to bond with me and do tricky words.  We choose a letter, and Daddy reads me tricky words that start with that letter, and I say them back to him.  It's one of my favorite things to do, but only at bedtime and only with Daddy.  Thank goodness for the dictionary so that we have lots of tricky words to say!

I Almost Forgot

I almost forgot to mention that I don't say "yittle" anymore because I figured out how to say "little."

Valentine's Day

We had a happy Valentine's Day, and we hope you did, too!  We brought Daddy come cookies and cards at his work.  We got a visit from Ella, who brought us some cookies.  And I even got a heart lollipop at the gym.  Thanks to my little buddies who sent me cards.  Happy Valentine's Day!

Putting the Blocks Away

Yet another activity I'm only allowed to do with Daddy.

Looking for Jonathan

A Note from Mommy

If you have a few moments today and in the next few days, take a peek at Rocks in My Dryer.  The author of that blog is on a trip to Africa with Compassion International and is blogging as she goes.  Saying, "Enjoy!" isn't quite right, but I hope you have the chance to read it.

Today's Quote

"The wise men parked at the stable and they're giving Baby Jesus his gifts."

A Great Saturday

Yesterday was a great Saturday. After Daddy's long training run in the morning, we all got in the car for some family time. Since the weather was warm and gorgeous here, what did we do? We went to the snow!

On our way, we stopped to see the trains for awhile.  I got a new book to read written by the same lady who wrote Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel.

Just over an hour from home, we decided to stop by the side of the road at this sledding hill.  Lots and lots and lots of other families had done the same thing, and we loved watching them.  We weren't feeling super adventurous when we set out, so we didn't come prepared to sled.

Mommy and Daddy's favorite sight was this group of Mennonite ladies sliding down the hill in their traditional garb.  If you click on them, you can see them on their green sled.  We loved that there were all kinds of different families enjoying the snow.  Did we mention it was warm?  We really didn't even  need sweatshirts.  It was an amazing day.

Here we are tromping around in the snow.

More tromping!

On the way home, we got caught in traffic on the two-lane road for about an hour and a half because there was a big wreck up ahead.  I got to use the side of the road instead of a potty, which was exciting!  After we finally got past the wreck, a nice police officer pulled us over to make sure we were safe.  (According to Mommy.)  I heard him say something about giving us a warning and a break, and then Mommy and Daddy seemed very happy.  He was a really nice guy.  It was a great end to a great day!

Dinosaurs and Trains

I should tell you that we have dinosaurs sleeping in our bedrooms.  I usually have to turn out the lights and close the doors and remind Mommy and Daddy, "Let's be quiet so the dinosaurs can sleep."

This morning, there is a train in the train station [closet] in Mommy and Daddy's bedroom.  Right now it's waking up and coming out of the station.  I'm going in there to see it right now.

Everything to Me

Bliss

A School Bus for Me

Yesterday, I had a great surprise in the mail from Uncle Dennis and Aunt Shari.  They visit my blog every day, so this post is for them.

It's polite to always read the card first.

There was a school bus inside, just for me!  Although you may not believe it, this really was my first school bus.  It even has a real stop sign so that I can help the kids cross the street.

Whoops-there it goes!

Thanks for the school bus, Uncle Denny and Aunt Shari!

Your letter had a purpose you might not have realized:  a car wash for the school bus.  It's going through the dryer now.

Pray for Our Friends in the South

There were tornadoes in the South last night, and a lot of people were hurt and killed. My older friend, Carolyn, who goes to Union University, helped the other students be safe and barely got to safety herself before the tornado hit. Afterwards, they found out that there were students injured but no students died. Carolyn made it home to her family at 1:30 a.m. with her car and purse and the clothes on her back. Everything else is gone. Carolyn and her family are so special to us and we're so thankful she's OK. Not everyone else is OK, though, so we hope you'll pray for those affected in the South.

Painting

I spent some time being an artist today.  When Mommy and Daddy asked what I was painting, I said, "One of the days of the week when you were born.  You're doing the sky first."  Then I had Mommy paint the three of us in:  Mommy, Daddy, and Baby Jonathan.  We were all very happy because I had been born.

I think my mom would like me to enjoy crafts as much as Ella does, but it's really hard for me to get my fingers messy.  One at a time is about all I can take.  Perhaps I can convince her that we should try crafts that don't involve touching anything.

"I Really Like the Flavor of This Oatmeal!"

Maybe my compliment will help Mommy to make me some oatmeal again tomorrow.

In My Room

You may not have seen my room lately, so I thought I'd show you some pictures.

Here I am parking my Tiny Little Racecars on the road rug Grandma and Grandpa Don gave me for Christmas.  You can see lots of things in the background that were made for me or given to me by very special people.

The perfect place for my cars that usually sleep in my John Deere boxes.

Here's the opposite corner of my room that now has a shelf.  The shelf is mostly empty and used to live in the playroom.  The playroom has real shelves in it from Ikea now, but Mommy hated to get rid of this useful shelf.  The shelf has baskets on it that she decorated with little ribbons that look like streets.  Mommy has been getting a little too excited about gluing ribbon to things lately, but I'll post on that another day.

For now, you can see my baskets (that Mommy got on clearance at Target, where else!) and my great John Deere boxes.  Our special friends, Lou and Lionel, keep me supplied with great tractor things.  My tractor boxes live in this special spot.  Thanks so much, Lou and Lionel!

A Note from Mommy

Although Jonathan still loves vehicles, one of his favorite pastimes lately is pretending he's an animal.  The animal he chooses can change every few minutes and is usually eating its food or loving on another animal.  Lately, he's been a hedgehog, a koala, a frog, a camel, a sea turtle...you name it.  Tonight as we were tucking him in, and right after he was done being a camel, he said-and yes, he still has I/you backwards:

"You  have two horns right here and you're like Ferdinand.  You're Ferdinand, and you're under your favorite cork tree smelling flowers."  (And then sniffed Jeff.)

Oh, and also, two words we'll miss when they're gone:

"Yiddle" for little

"To-deg-ther" for together

The Latest

I love helping Daddy play the guitar.  He doesn't always appreciate my help, though...especially when I put the pick inside the guitar.

Here I am watching the Super Bowl with Grandma and Aunt Amanda.  My memorable quote from the game was, "Nobody caught the football.  It goed over the football players' heads."

This was my after-breakfast project today.  I made a puzzle out of newspapers.

I've been building with my blocks a lot lately.

Here are two towers for Mommy and one for me.  Mommy really liked her towers.

Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

I decided to copy Ella's idea and put a slideshow on my blog.  Mine is way down at the bottom.  The pictures are the photoshoot Mommy and I did for Daddy for Christmas.  (They are almost ready expire-we have to order by the 13th if we want any more, so please let Mommy know if you do!)  Enjoy!

All is Well Again

The day before yesterday, my eyes started producing some green gunk. Each time I woke up, my eyelids were stuck closed. As you probably guessed, I didn't like it. And it was gross.  Grandpa thought it was probably conjunctivitis, but without the red eyes.  He adjusted me and had me put apples on my eyes.  (You might be wondering how I was persuaded to do this.  One word:  bribery.  Now that I'm potty trained, I know all about bribery.)

It didn't seem to affect my mood too much, thank goodness.  It did affect my day, though!  Yesterday was the day I started to get better, and the way I did it was by sleeping more than three hours late in the morning.  Yep, I woke up at 10:45 a.m.  Mommy couldn't believe it and kept checking on me.  Between the adjustment and the sleep, I was on the road to recovery.  And Mommy and I had a special day with no nap since we didn't actually start our day until it was nearly lunchtime.  Here's a picture of me getting better, but as you can see, I don't quite look like myself.

Here I am talking to Daddy.  He was on a business trip while I produced the gross goop, of course.

Today, when I woke up from my nap, all was well for two reasons:  my eyes were not glued shut, and Daddy was home from his trip.  All is right again at our house!

Congratulations to Olivier!

Congratulations to my little buddy, Olivier, who became a big brother on Tuesday. His little sister, Chloe Michele, was born at 11:53 p.m. and was 20" long and 7 lbs., 4 oz. You can see pictures of Olivier and Chloe on their link down to the right. Congratulations, Olivier!