Here's the next leg of our trip...the part with Jake and Laura. There were so many sweet moments that I had to take over this post and describe them myself.
Here are the boys enjoying the Wii. Just ask Jeff about it, and he'll tell you how great it is and how much he needs one. :)
After all that camping, Jonathan needed a bath...and some love from Aunt Laura.
Laura shared her "hippoponamus" with Jonathan, who was thrilled. You Sandra Boynton fans out there will know that Jonathan loved the hippo because of her book.
It's Disneyland day...and here are Jake and Jonathan taking in a Lego Giraffe at Downtown Disney.
Jake and Laura graciously arranged for us to get into the parks for free, and while we waited for our tickets, Jonathan entertained himself in front of the kennels. They really do have kennels at Disneyland!
Jonathan had been excited to meet Mickey until Jeff mentioned that he might also meet Lightning McQueen and Mater. That knocked Mickey off the top of the list! So, we decided to go meet the Cars characters first.
The characters didn't roll around but did have some pretty loud engine noises, which were a little alarming to Jonathan at first.
Our family with Mater and Lightning McQueen...who might also be a part of our family, as far as Jonathan is concerned!
After a drive at Autopia. Even the wait was exciting for Jonathan as he watched the people driving the little cars. Jonathan and Jeff shared a car, and Jonathan got to steer. Of course, it was a big hit with Jonathan...and the grownups, too!
The gang waiting to ride on the rockets. Jake and Laura shared their amazing hospitality with us-those of you who know them know what I mean-and were just as "into" Jonathan's experience as we were.
Here are Jonathan and Jeff getting ready to ride the rockets. Notice Jonathan's backward hand-it's how he waves. Pretty funny and cute, too. Jonathan loved every ride he got to try.
Here's our family picture on the Buzz Lightyear ride. Jonathan had never been exposed to the Toy Story characters (or a lot of the Disney characters, actually) before this, but he loved the ride and asked to go back and see "the robot" again. All the grownups loved this ride, too!
Here's our visit to Mickey's house in Toon Town. A very cute house with a very long line! Here we are at Pluto's doggie door. (Jonathan calls him "Pludoo.")
Trying out Mickey's chair. Jonathan told us that at Disneyland, he'd see Mickey, Donald, Pluto, Goofy, and Funny. Not sure where he got the idea, but he was convinced that Funny was an actual character he'd meet. We never did meet him, though. :)
It took a long time to get through the house to Mickey! Jonathan got tired, and Jeff got to enjoy a rare "rest on Daddy" moment.
Jonathan's "meet Mickey" moment was so magical. He touched Mickey on the nose and said "You're touching Mickey's nose" in an adoring voice. He was completely enamored with Mickey. (Yes, his I/you pronouns are still reversed!)
When our moments with Mickey were over and Jonathan was walking away, Mickey touched Jonathan on the head. Jonathan said,"Mickey touched you on the head. Mickey loves you!" It was so tender.
Meeting the Mouse, Part 1 (by Mommy)
Welcome to the World, Sage!
Congratulations to our good friends, Mr. Tony and Ms. Rochelle, because they had a baby today. Their new little boy, Sage Vincent, was 9 lbs., 5 oz., 21". Their blog has been called "Adventures of a Peanut" for awhile, but Sage is no peanut, is he? He's 6 oz. heavier than I was but 2" shorter. We hope that we can meet him before too much more time passes. Welcome to the world, Sage!
Family Vacation
Here's the first part of our trip. We camped in the mountains close to the coast the first night and then went to visit Sarah (Mommy's cousin.) We saw her for only a short time, but we got to see where she lived and walk around her college town a little bit. I really like Sarah!
After seeing Sarah, we spent lunchtime and the afternoon with Grandpa's cousins, Ms. Helen and Mr. Ray. We forgot to take pictures! They made us a yummy lunch and let me play with their grandchildren's toys. We had a great visit.
We spent our second night beach camping. I do a great job sleeping in the tent, and we all sleep a little better now that we have a four-person tent instead of a two to three person tent. I am still not very good at being patient while we set up the campsite or cook. I really like the beach, though, and my favorite part of this leg of the trip was...
seeing the elephant seals. They sure make funny noises when they call to each other, and I like to see them get in and out of the water.
I was feeling pretty naughty during the beach portion of our trip. Whether that was due to missing some sleep during travel, being in the car too long, or just being a two-year-old boy, I'm not telling. The great thing is that I used up my naughtiness during the first part of our travels so that we could enjoy the second part even more. I'll post about that soon!
We're Back!
Mommy and Daddy and I are back from a little family road trip. We went camping and beach camping for a couple of nights, saw Mommy's cousin, Sarah, and Grandpa's cousins, Mr. Ray and Ms. Helen, and spent a couple of nights with Uncle Jake and Aunt Laura. And, we met Lightning McQueen, Mater, and Mickey Mouse! Here's one picture of our fun adventure. We'll post more soon!
More About Baby Jesus
The main thing you need to know about what's going on here is that the animals are loving on Baby Jesus, and that Joseph likes to drive the old car (the big woody close to the stable.) I couldn't get Mommy to understand why the cars needed to park on pumpkins.
Grandpa's Trains
My grandpa has trains that drive on the track in his living room. What could be better?
Fall Leaves
These photos are posted in backwards-time order, so you might want to start at the bottom and go up. Mommy and Daddy and I raked the leaves from our tulip tree this weekend. Those big leaves make for a fun time! You'll notice that the lawn in still green. That's how fall and winter are here: the grass stays green, but the trees lose their leaves. Mommy says the leaves get bored and so they fall off, but I don't think that's right. Whatever the reason, we love the fall!
I'm Still Here!
I haven't shared pictures in awhile, but I'm still here. We've been having trouble with our pictures. When we get that figured out, I'll have LOTS to share! We've been raking leaves and doing lots of fun fall things. Yesterday, I got to see my buddy Isaac. I'll get to see him again at Christmastime. The best part of our visit was when we were both jumping up and down around the coffee table making funny noises. Or, maybe the other best part was that Isaac gave me a juice box, which is a very special treat. Also, I got a great surprise in the mail yesterday: a free car, Daisy, for my Thomas trains. Daisy is supposed to help us wait patiently until the other recalled part of my Thomas trains are replaced. I'll share pictures as soon as I can!
Some Tricky Words
I wanted to say some tricky words with Mommy. Here's how our conversation went:
Mommy: How about hippopotamus.
Jonathan: Hippopomanus.
M: How about...ottoman.
J: Ommanan.
M: What other words should we say?
J: Beatitudes!
More About Halloween
Here I am visiting Daddy at work.
Thanks, Mommy, for bringing me!
And here I am with our little pumpkin.
I had a great time handing out candy and doing a little trick-or-treating. Some of my relatives came over to see how I looked in Uncle Todd's Halloween costume from 28 years ago. Everyone agreed that I looked very handsome! The day after Halloween, I asked to do some more trick-or-treating, but Mommy and Daddy said that Halloween was over. I'll have to wait until next year! One thing I did get to do, even though Halloween was over, was...
eat my very first "bar." Mommy says it will be a long time before I get another one, but this one was a special one from Great Grandma!
Happy Halloween!
I had a great time tonight trick-or treating (for the first time!) and handing out gifts to kids. This is not the best picture of me as a clown-just like the clown in The Little Engine that Could-but our pictures keep flipping sideways, and this one, at least, is right-side-up. For now, I'm exhausted and getting some rest, and Jack is being baked in the oven to become pies and other yummy things. I'll post more about Halloween soon!
Earthquake
There was an earthquake tonight, and we're disappointed to say we didn't even feel it. Mommy says earthquakes are cool as long as no one gets hurt. Daddy and I wouldn't know...we haven't felt one yet.
3rd Time's a Charm
You might remember the train cupcake molds Mommy found for my birthday coming up. It took her three tries, but she got the cake to bake right and come out of the molds. I can't wait until my birthday so that I can see them all frosted!