Mimi's Porridge

We hang out at Mimi and Popi's until late quite often, so we've developed a routine of bringing pajamas to change into (for Jonah not us) ;) After we give Jonah a bath and dress him Mimi makes her "special porridge" (with apple butter). Jonah loves it and now requests it as soon as we put his pajamas on! :) It's so cute to hear him say "Mimi, porridge" . . . :)

Adeline and Jonah

Adeline is with us today. It's been so much fun having her here! It's interesting how much more complete our home feels with another little body running around. . . I'm definitely ready to embrace the challenges (and the beauty) of another baby in our family.

Looking for Mommy and Daddy. . . I love this picture!

Adeline loves babies! She's such a little Momma! She's so nurturing. . . makes me excited about Eve joining our family! (Lots of things make me excited about Eve! ;) )
Jonah and Adeline were quite the little parents today. . . Jonah pushed the stroller with one baby and Addie carried another. They walked around the house for at least 15 or 20 minutes together. Absolutely AdOrAbLE! :)
Little Daddy (with such a cute cowlick)!

Babies and water bottles. . . Addie's other attachment object. She's definitely her mother's child! :)

And I leave you with two cry pictures. . . Sounds like a depressing way to end a post, but really, who could get depressed looking at this adorable face?! :)

This is Addie after Jonah pulled the string on his lawn mower. Took her about 15 minutes to get over it. . . She's definitely not destined to mow yards!! :)

And this is Addie when she hit her breaking point. . . She played so hard (well beyond her normal nap time). She was doing really well, and then she just turned, looked at me and started balling . . . I do that sometimes too! ;) So we rocked and she fell asleep in about 5 minutes! :)

You may notice the wardrobe change. . . I accidentally got something on her shirt during lunch, so I put one of Eve's dresses on her. (Yes, we already have 2T clothes for Eve, imagine that!) ;)

Johnson and Johnson Dinner

Last night, Jonah and I (this is Allen posting) put together our new dining room table. We have a pretty small dining space but we recently found a table that would accommodate more people and wouldn't crowd our small area. Jonah was a great help and wanted to make sure he was involved in every step of the process.

We had a great time with the Johnson families tonight. Cole, Adeline, and Jonah all played together for the first time and really seemed to enjoy each other's company. It was a great time of food and fellowship with great friends...

We're so blessed to know these two incredible families!

Peanut Butter Sandwich

Anyone who's been with Jonah for an extended period of time knows he's quite finicky about food. He loves baby food green beans, gold fish, bananas, pizza, fries, and Ritz and that's about it. That being said, today at lunch after Jonah finished his green beans I asked if he wanted "bread" (I used that word because Daddy had success feeding him toast yesterday by calling it bread). He enthusiastically agreed, so I made him a peanut butter sandwich. I held my breath through the first bite thinking he would immediately reject it. Much to my surprise he said "Yum" and ate the entire thing! I'm thankful for this new avenue of protein in his diet! I hope his enthusiasm for peanut butter sandwiches continues! :)

Let it Snow!

First a flashback from yesterday:

This is Jonah watching "Alice" (Alice in Wonderland) on the way to church. As you can see he's quite expressive! We love listening to and observing his reactions to each scene. He's probably viewed this movie 20 times, but every time he responds as if it were the first. :)

And today was a SnOw DaY!! Daddy worked from home and we LOVED iT! Our days with him are so much more fun than the days without him! We were quite productive together . . . Allen worked diligently at the kitchen table while I nested and Jonah ran back and forth between the two of us. I've been cleaning and organizing like mad lately. . . It's a compulsion I can't restrain (imagine that!). I did laundry and sorted through baby clothes most of the day. I have a huge pile to consign. I can hardly wait for the March sale!! I get to buy BoY clothes AND GIRL clothes this time!! :) (Allen groans) ;)

Jonah has been counting all day. He has amazed us with his understanding of numbers. . . He's putting together two, three, four and seven, eight, nine. . . and he randomly says five, six. We just need to work on one and ten and streaming them together in consecutive order. . . ;) It's amazing how excited Allen and I get over the smallest signs of comprehension and maturity we see in Jonah. He's NeW every day (even still) and one of the greatest joys of our lives! :)

These were taken tonight at Zaxby's. We decided to brave the roads. They weren't as bad as we expected. . . This is Jonah feeding Daddy a granola bar. :)
Daddy got a bit carried away as you can see! ;)
And after a quick run to Walmart we decided to play in the snow. . . Jonah's not exactly dressed for the occasion, I know. . . no gloves, no scarf, no hat . . . He is, however, wearing boots (the most important part). :)

Daddy taught Jonah how to pack and throw snow balls. . .

and make footprints

We had lots of fun!
As you can see, Jonah wasn't exactly happy when we decided it was time to come in! :)

Have you ever seen a cuter cry face?! I mean really! :)

Jonz and Caleb

Our Sunday ritual is lunch and lingering at Mimi and Popi's. Always a fun and relaxing affair. The twins joined us today as they often do. We caught Jonah sweetly playing with Caleb after a long afternoon of ignoring he and Jack (not so sure Jonah is entriely ok with sharing the spotlight. . . more about that later). When I grabbed the camera to take a picture, he began instructing Caleb to say "Cheese" . . . I sensed in that moment he really enjoyed being the BIG boy who knew what to do.
As you see, it seems Jonah has inherited at least one of my cowlicks. . . I'm sure he'll thank me for that gene one day! ;)

On a more serious note . . . I long to find ways to validate Jonah's role in the family, to reassure him of his unique status and importance and emphasize to him that no matter how many new lives join our clan he will never be replace! I often wonder how Jonah will feel when Eve arrives, particularly on days like today when I sense he's a bit down and disenchanted with no longer being the only. I know in my heart Eve is a gift to him. Her companionship will greatly enrich his life, but I know as well a difficult season of adjustment awaits us . . . Interesting that seeing Jonah interact with the twins today sparked this train of thought. Definitely feels like something that's silently been turning in me for quite awhile. . .

I would love to hear from seasoned moms on this issue. . . How did you prepare your child or children to embrace a new sibling?? I need your wisdom! :)

Snow Dust

Amazing how much change one year can bring!! ;)

This photo was taken January 7, 2010
And these were taken today! :)

Such an adorable little monkey! ;)