Our pirate who now says "no"

I got these pajamas from Old Navy recently and last night was Jonah's 1st night wearing them. They made us smile and laugh so much that we left them on him all day. These aren't the best pictures but he is such a spaz now that we can't get him to stand or sit still for one minute. I just had to post a picture of the front and back! :) His new favorite thing is to shake his head "no". It looks so funny to us when we try to give him something and he so confidently shakes his head, as if he knows exactly what he is saying! Our love grows every day for him!

First Bad Report :(

It started out as a normal Sunday....all 7 of us got out the door for church on time (a feat in itself). Jonah hadn't been to the nursery for several weeks because he got so sick last time he went (pretty sure it was Roseola). Anyway, we put him in and he was happy. Normally get gets along really well in there and is a super content little guy. This Sunday, I went to pick him up and heard the dreaded words, "We had some issues today." Perfect. Just what I wanted to hear. I guess Jonah was pushing and pulling hair and biting. Even more perfect. What in the world???? How does he go from being a delight to a terror. My husband and I think that the virus altered his brain. I did notice his one-year molars breaking through the other day...can I use that as an excuse? Well, I don't know what to say beside the fact that I felt really burdened and need to really spend some extra time watching his behavior and shaping it here at home before he goes back. The sad thing is that he has to go Wednesday night since I am working at Awana this week. So, I will warn the workers. Poor kids. I hope no one gets bit. I may just have to end up working in there with him so I can keep a close eye from now on until he gets over this!

On another note, I decided to come home and cook my sadness away. Louie and the kids went back to night church for a concert (I didn't dare put Jonah back in the nursery so soon). So....I put on some sweet and sour pork chops for dinner.

Then...I went about and made another "healthy snack" for my kids. This one was SUPER DUPER easy!!!!! This is a healthy version of rice crispy treats.

The only ingredients in this one are: Natural peanut butter, honey and powdered milk. That it!

( http://quickeasycheaphealthy.blogspot.com/2009/09/here-i-go-again.html ). Stir over low heat until blended, then stir in the crisp rice. Press in a pan and let set!

Once again.....they passed the taste test! My kids have loved EVER one of the snacks I have made. The monkey bars were the biggest hit so far!

Trying to figure out the best way to spend tomorrow (my kids will be at school all day). I'm sure I'll come up with something!

My favorite face ....a danger on the road?

So, this past week, Jonah graduated into is big boy car seat (technically still 6 ounces too light at almost 15 months). He is so excited with the new world that has opened up for him with all he can see (including the DVD player). I laughed to myself as I ran errands with him the next day. I was thinking about how they say it is so dangerous to "text and drive" or "talk on the phone and drive".....but what about "look at a cute face in the rear view mirror and drive"? I think that is WAY more dangerous. I found myself staring at his cute face as he looked around pointing, or watching the silly songs on the DVD and I couldn't stand it...it was too much. I think it's much more dangerous because it took A LOT to get me to take my eyes off of him and put them on the road. It is such a treat to see his sweet, curious, eyes now-rather than the back of his car seat!

Mighty Mite

I had to write this post, as my heart overflows with love for this little guy in our house. He makes my heart smile almost every minute of the day (almost). Louie has nicknamed him Mighty Mite becasue of his super determined, strong, busy, vivacious personality....and his little tiny body. It cracks me up! He has so much personality that we just marvel at him. Yet...he is so little. He is pretty much walking 95% of the time now...which is sad and happy and good and cute and hilarious. He is the size of some 6-9 month olds yet his personality seems to come from someone at least twice his age. The combination is comical. He has no fear. He is a complete adrenaline junkie. The faster you swing him, throw him, run with him...the bigger his smile gets. He loves when daddy skateboards while holding him (I know...scary) and tries to ride the skateboard himself. He learned, months ago, how to climb to the top of our slide, turn around and slide down. He even pushes off to make himself go faster, if he feels he is going too slow. Everything he picks up, he throws across the room with as much determination as a baseball pitcher. Daddy puts him in a backpack and rides on his bike and Jonah yells the whole time with a huge smile. He loves to play the drums with Josh and feels so left out if his older siblings go off and leave him out. His memory for things amazes me. I know this just sounds like a list of things but each one kills us and amazes us as we watch him. Maybe it's just that we haven't had a 1 year old around the house for so long that we forgot what is "normal" for that age. It sure makes it a fun experience, though. He is so joyful and friendly and full of life. He gets into EVERYTHING and makes the cutest little noises to "ask" us for something. He sure keeps me busy though. I don't know how I would have done it with 4 other little ones if they were closer in age. We love him so much and our hearts grow more with each passing day. I marvel at his personality and how God made him just who he is, and none of it has come from us.

Yesterday, all my kids were gone all day and night, so Louie and I were alone with Jonah. We played with him at home, and took him on errands, out to lunch with us and then to the carousel at the mall. We had so much fun spending time with him alone. It was a simple day, but a great one.

My sweet boy eating bread at Wolf Creek.

Cute Jonah keeping himself busy after finishing his food. (He kept wanting to eat the edge of the table but daddy kept stopping him)

Loving the carousel

This was the day before but I was too lazy to do a separate post. This is Jonah and little Bella. Stefanie and I have pictures of Jeremy and Christine at this age together and these little ones remind us so much of our oldest ones together. They were so excited to see each other and I am happy we could get this cute photo!

Summer "baths" for baby....

Even though Jonah has taken steps (and continues to take more each day) his primary way of getting around is still crawling. Because of that and because of his love for the backyard, he is ALWAYS filthy. He looks like he is covered in dirt from head to toe all the time. He really should take several baths a day. (But...quite honestly, each child that came along, took fewer baths than the one before) So....we came up with a new plan....we put a few inches of water in his pool and add baby bath and a few toys and put him in. He thinks he's playing out back, but...he's actually taking a "bath". Works like a charm (well for a little while anyway). :)

First Steps...

I had to document this for myself and my journaling. Today we saw Jonah take his Fist Steps. I have no picture of it, since it happened spontaneously. He is 13 months and 1 day! He has been standing on his own for quite a while. he has taken steps holding on to furniture. But today is the first day we saw him take steps on his own. I heard Julia yell from the family room, "Jonah's walking." She was the only one who saw it. A few hours later, several of us witnessed it as he stepped toward me to hand me something. It's funny how precious it is to me to see this even more since I haven't seen one of my babies take his/her first steps in years. I feel like I was just sitting here last summer, holding him in my arms, savoring every second...knowing it wouldn't last. I love newborns. I love how they let you hold them for hours. I already miss that so much. Every stage is fun and exciting...even the teen years, which we are just beginning. I do wish I could slow it down though. I wish the years that my kids were home with me lasted longer. It is so hard to believe that before long they will be moved out and living their own lives, Lord willing. Well, today was Jonah's First step toward being a bigger boy and he was so proud of himself. Oh, how we love that boy!!!

Jonah's Birthday Celebration

Forgive me for having 1000 pictures in this post. My primary purpose in blogging is to journal so I can have it printed into a book. So, sometimes I have a really hard time narrowing down pictures. It is a bit of a disorder. I really want to be able to let them go but it is so hard. They tell a story and when some are missing, I feel like so is part of my story! I'll work on it!

So, this was Jonah's 1st year celebration. I had a huge party for all 4 of my other kids when they turned 1. As they are getting older, we are simplifying parties and having just a few close friends, rather than tons of families. Mommy just got tired of having 4 ginormous (I know that isn't really a word)  parties a year. So, we celebrated as a family.....but got super excited over Jonah turning 1. Picture story to follow!

In the above picture, Jeremy is hanging out traditional birthday banner for Jojo! (This was the night before his actual birthday)

Jonah sat and watched Jeremy hang it. He got a real kick out of it! :)

I woke him up on his birthday morning and had to get a picture of him the 1st time I saw him as a big "1 year old"....though it ade me want to cry.

We are cuddling on my bed....he is still in his bunting! I wish I could freeze time and he could always fit into a bunting.

Julia surprised him with a special breakfast of fresh fruit and yogurt!

Birthday picture of the whole fam. (minus momma)!

Throughout the day, he showed off his birthday bib and revealed various new talents...like standing for several seconds without holding on, while chewing food!

Here he is opening some of his new presents (because there were a few nooks and crannies in our house that weren't filled with baby paraphernalia yet) :)

We got him a pool because of his LOVE for the water...baths, etc. We will only fill it several inches deep with water so he can crawl around. He loved it empty, though, too!

Some of the yummy desserts to sing and celebrate with!

This above picture is of his face while we were singing to him!

Here he is enjoying his carrot cake cupcake!

And.....big brother took him swimming for the VERY 1st time ever in grandma's pool and he LOVED it so much!!!!! It was such a great day! Love you Jojo Bubs!

Jonah is 1!!!

I don't even know where to begin. Jonah turned 1 on June 11 and I really have no idea where this year went. Don't get me wrong....I have savored ever single second of the year with him. I held him every minute I could hold him, and still can't get enough of each stage ( since I know how fast each one goes). This baby's 1st year has gone faster than any other, though, and it must be because I have so many older kids to keep me busy with their activities. I must say, that Jonah has brought so much joy to our home. I knew he would. But, somehow, he brought so much more than I ever could have imagined. The kids absolutely adore him. They are excited to do every activity and experience everything anew through his eyes. It is so precious to me. They are also so excited by each of his new milestones. He adores each of his siblings just as much. He kicks and squeals with delight when they come home or when he hears them in another room, after getting up in the morning. I just want to kiss on his face and squeeze him to death every second that I see him. He is always smiling and happy. He LOVES music and fast rides. He drives little cars and trucks around all day, while making motor noises. He loves animals and has a generic "creature" sound that he makes each time he sees one. He has such an expressive face and his many faces keep us laughing all day long! He is A LOT of personality, all wrapped up in a tiny body (still under the 5th percentile!) We love him to death. He has enriched our lives. God truly blessed us with him and I can't imagine life without him! Thankful for this last year and looking forward to many more great ones to come!

8 Month big boy!

Jonah got to sit in a shopping cart for the 1st time without his car eat clipped on! Shopping became a new experience! He was suddenly happy to shop with me because he could sit up and look around. He has been so bugged lately being strapped into his car seat. I was laughing that he wanted to face backwards the whole time to watch where we were going! So cute!

photo shoot... 7 1/2 months

I wanted t take some pictures of Jonah before too much time passed. I wasn't getting myself over to the mall, so I figured I would play around and try to take some myself. These are several (maybe a few more than a several) of my favorites!

Catching up!!!!-Jonah 7 months

Why do I always do this? I get so far behind an then have to post a ton of things all at once to my blog. Don't love when I do that but I should just be impressed with myself that I am still even posting at all, right? Here are a few pictures of Jonah at 7 months...he learned to "battle crawl" around and pull himself up onto things and was very happy with himself!

I like bananas and oatmeal!

It's been so fun seeing Jonah discover food! His favorite, by far, is bananas! The kids love to help feed him....this is never a clean task but worth it! Have I mentioned how much I love this boy!?!?!?