Summer Highlight #1- Weekend With Dad

Since summer has come and gone and there are many things I still wanted to document, I decided to post some "summer highlights" along the way in addition to trying to stay caught up on all our more recent activities. I am learning life is a daily adventure filled with lots of fun, chaos and the challenge of keeping of with two very busy boys! Bear with me as I flashback to some fun times we have had over the past few months.


One of the things I have loved about having two boys is watching them interact with Mark. Parker and Jonathan love time with their Daddy. When Father's Day weekend came along Mark wanted an evening with just our family of four.
First we went to eat. As you will see by the pictures below, eating out is quite the experience. Thank goodness we were by a window with a ledge to put things out of reach from our very curious dining companions!



After dinner, we went to the park to see one of Parker's favorite things - ducks.

Mark and Jonathan shared some dessert.

We finished out the evening relaxing and pushing them in the swing. In case you don't know, they have VERY different personalities :)

On Sunday, after church, lunch at home, and a nice long afternoon nap, we went to my sister's to spend some time with Grandad. Heather and Chad cooked out for us and the boys got to swim with their cousins.

It was a great weekend spent with Dad!

One Year of Jonathan

It is hard to believe I am typing the words "one year" in this post. It some ways it represents one of the hardest, if not the most exhausting year of my life. In other ways it represents an accomplishment that I have in fact survived a year of trying to raise two babies eight months apart. But mostly it is another reminder of God's faithfulness with the "surprise blessing" to our family. I may not have chosen this for myself but He had other plans and they included Jonathan Mark. Happy Birthday Jonathan!

On September 1st, 2009 we welcomed an 8lb 10 oz baby boy who now is right at 24lbs.

He was 21 inches long and now is in the 97% in height measuring 32 inches

His eyes have stayed blue and his hair is getting curlier by the day.

He has changed from a child who seemed to cry constantly into one is "so happy" according to reports from childcare workers.

In the beginning he wanted to be held constantly but now has taken his first steps and wants to be on the move without restriction or confinement.

His first word was "ball" which is also one of his favorite toys to play with.

He is quite stubborn and has a mind of his own.

He has brought some added chaos into our home but also many laughs.

He adores his brother which has become one of the biggest blessings to watch as their relationship develops.

He is happiest around people and is quite talkative.

He loves to "unload" things- books out of a basket, toys out of a container, food off of his highchair, tupper ware out of the cabinet, toilet paper off a roll, and water out of the water table.
Responds to Jonathan, Little J., Johnny Happy, and simply J

He has changed so much in twelve months and we have also changed as we learn to parent this independent baby boy into a young man after God's own heart.