Disney World

September is a great time to visit Disney. We had a wonderful, fun-filled day without waiting in lines! Here are a few highlights:

1. Jonah stood and watched Splash Mountain for 20 minutes, trying to decide if he wanted to ride. This was a new experience for us, i.e., Jonah with a fear. He thought there were monsters that would come from the water.


2. Lydia persuaded Pop and Grammy to buy her a Pooh Bear. She's never been a stuffed animal lover but she's sleeping with her Pooh Bear as I write.


3. Jonah decided that Peter Pan and Buzz Lightyear rides were too scary too. Amazingly, he said he wanted to ride Space Mountain. He rode it-- and rode it again-- and rode it again-- and rode it again. He rode it six times!! He was on his way to number seven when a different employee decided that he wasn't the 44 inches that were required to ride.

Here are a few other favorites:

Guess who turned five today?

Cousins

All the Ways Lydia is Displaying her "Twoness:"

1. She wants to "choose" everything to a degree we never thought possible-- shirts, pants, shoes, cups, cheese sticks, blankets, toys, crayons, socks, underwear, cereal, snacks, pajamas, etc.

2. She's learned that "time out" is not a fun place to be.

3. She wants to do everything "elf," i.e., by herself-- getting water from the fridge door, putting on her clothes, wiping her bottom, carrying her clean clothes up the stairs, putting laundry in the washer, etc.

4. She's developing her feisty spirit. I heard myself say, "Lydia, quit jumping off the couch onto Jonah; you're going to hurt him."

5. Her verbal language is drastically improving. When Mike says that she's "Daddy's girl," she always says with a smirk on her face, "No, Mommy's girl." Tonight, at the end of a long day, Mike said, "You're Daddy's ragamuffin," to which she cleverly responded "No, Mommy's muffin."

What would I do without her?!!!!

This is Me

This is what I get for coordinating MOPS, agreeing to work in the admissions office, hosting a garage sale, making meals for new moms, hosting friends from Alma, starting a photography business, hosting 22 new college freshman, working in the church nursery, attending soccer games, and trying to keep up with the everyday demands of laundry, cooking, cleaning, and parenting.
I'm hoping next week will return to normal.

School!

School started today!

It's a bit of a teaser for me, actually. Jonah is attending the special needs preschool from last year on Monday afternoons. I never intended to send him another year, but he'll receive speech and occupational therapy during his school day, and I thought it would be a better transition if we continued with their special needs services throughout the year so when he's back at the school next year for kindergarten, they'll be more aware of his needs, the progress he's made this year, etc.

His teacher from last year visited our home last week (she visits everyone's home in her class; I'm sure it's a very interesting thing to do). While holding back tears, she explained to me what a better teacher she'll be this year now that she's a mother (I think her son is four months old). She also told me that last year was just a bad year since her energy level was so low from the pregnancy. I felt like it was her way of apologizing to me for her attitude toward Jonah last year. I think if she would reread some of the notes she sent home, she'd be embarrassed and mortified at the way she described my child now that she has a child of her own.

He starts his "five year old preschool" next week. He'll go there three afternoons a week. I have high hopes for this school, his teacher, and the progress we'll see him make this year. I'm driving 15 minutes away, passing one perfectly good school, and giving up carpooling options to another school because I just feel good about this place. I'd like to think that it's what God has for Jonah this year, allowing us to exhale a bit.

And since I'm kinda on the subject, we were excited to learn that Miss Kim, the OT, has a place for Jonah in her fall schedule. We'll be traveling every Friday afternoon to see her.

This child of mine is so loving and so smart and so fun...and so overwhelming. As I've said before, I know that God gave him to me because I'm the best parent for him. I have to tell myself that everyday-- literally-- so that I don't feel discouraged. But then I see pictures like this and think, my golly, he's worth every ounce of emotional energy, don't you think?

ELF!

Lydia wants to do EXACTLY what we're doing all the time. If I'm mopping, she wants to mop. If I'm folding clothes, she wants to fold clothes too. If I'm setting the table, she wants to set the table too. Today she got into the battery stash and was attempting to change batteries in a toy that needed new ones before I saw what she was doing. Everything is "elf." She wants to do it HERSELF.

So at small group on Sunday, I chuckled when she approached Mike with her version of roasting marshmallows. I have no doubt that she helped herself to a marshmallow and then went hunting to find the stick.

She's my little lady.

Mom

I thought it would be fun to have a mini photo session with my mom. We took a few pictures around her house. I think she looks great, don't you?

Soccer

Jonah is playing his first sport. We opted out of t-ball, thinking that it wouldn't be active enough for him, but I'm very pleased with how he's doing in soccer. I just want him to fit in-- and he is.




And my personal favorite...
During the last quarter, Jonah and Logan were just too tired to play, but they certainly weren't too tired to stand on their heads on the bench! (You can enlarge it for more details.)

After the game was over, he asked for a pretzel and looked at me so seriously.

"Mom, we lost and I didn't score any goals."

That's okay, Bud.

He fit-in and enjoyed himself. That's enough to bring a smile to my face.

A Day at the Zoo

Jonah's favorite person right now is Pop.

Pretending to be a prairie dog...

Lydia's hands were "cold!"

Uncle T

I think the wrinkled nose is a family trait:

Princess Lydia

I just found this picture from a few weeks ago:

I'm happy to inform that Princess Lydia is wearing underwear everyday now!

Imagination at Work

Jonah has never been focused on imaginary play. Imagine my delight when I discovered he had set up a movie theatre in his bedroom with a concession stand. The movie "screen" consisted of a pile of books, blankets, towels, and miscellaneous toys that I was instructed to keep my eyes on and give the play-by-play of what was taking place in the movie.

My favorite part was the attempt at taping the "50 [cents]" sign to the table :)

The Petting Zoo

Family

Wow!

Look what we found outside the front door!

We've named her "deer." She's our friend.

Man's Best Friend

We've been at my parents' house for over a week while Mike is taking his intensive summer classes. My parents' neighbors have two dogs, Morgan and Annie. Jonah loves these dogs. He talks to these dogs like they're humans (remember folks, I'm not much of an animal lover), and he played with them for over an hour in the backyard. That's an accomplishment.

Poor boy, he'll never have a dog of his own.

Our Mastercard Commercial

A tank of gas: $77.00
A box of pudding: $1.00
A week at Pop & Grammy's house: Priceless

Brothers

I know my brother-in-law, Alex, and my husband are two different people, but this post from Alex's brother-in-law just describes one of their similar characteristics perfectly.

Not only was my husband talking about buying fireworks for the entire week before the 4th of July, he, too, will always choose the $20 _________________ over the $2_________________.

Excitement

Look what we're building!