"Happy Birthday Mommy"

My bday came and I got the most wonderful greeting from my boys! First, Rick decorated the house with streamers for me (he did it all when I went to sleep so I was so surprised). Then Jonah came running to wake me up and tell me "Happy Bday". It was already perfect and it was only 7:30 AM. Rick also made cupcakes for me to take to summer school and share with my kiddos and friends- yummmmy!!! Had Mexican food for lunch (no surprise there) where I was surprised to find Rick there. He arranged to meet me for lunch in my school lounge! What a guy! Had a wonderful celebration with family that night and celebrating with my girlfriends later on. It's not so bad getting older!

New chair

Thanks to A-ya for my new alligator chair-- instead of putting my sippee cup in the holder, I put my trains!

Then and Now

How is it he can go from this to that so quickly???

Mason & Me

Best buds having fun......all the time. Each morning Jonah asks: "Juju" and if it's Monday - Friday I say yes. But on the weekends, I say no and his immediate words are: "Mason over" so his cousin Mason can come over. If I say no b/c they or we are busy, then he says: "Grammy / Popo house" meaning let's go to Grammy & Popo's house. If I say no, then he says: "I-ya house" meaning let's go to Andrea's house down the block. Geee, do you think this kid doesn't want to stay with his parents or he's just a social animal or heck, maybe both????

A WICKED night

Uncle Rick taking Kirsten to see Wicked......his 3rd time, her 1st!

Capturing Jonah at 2 years old

A great friend of ours, Chris took some shots of Jonah for us. And he did an amazing job of highlighting what is in Jonah's world right now. And the best part- the photos took only 30 minutes to complete mostly because we got lucky to have a cooperative model! Of course, Chris spent much more time editing and doing all that he does to perfect the photos and we LOVE them!

Skipping all around

An area that fortunately is not a concern for us is gross motor. Jonah loves to run everywhere, even with a simple walk will do. He's now learned to skip from his friends at Mrs. Julie's and that is all he wants to do. He's on a roll and loves it so much that he makes himself laugh!

So you think you can sing audition

Jonah randomly sings songs to us. His current favorites are Happy Birthday to you and Old MacDonald. Kirsten (his cousin) was the latest to have a birthday so that is who is the lucky one being sung to in this clip. He'll start with one song and move into another without any notice. He loves to sing as shown below......

Swim time

Okay- something else that wasn't in the "raising a toddler" manual-- we didn't know you had to reteach children every year to get accustomed to the swimming pool! So we spent everyday this week "working" with Jonah on how fun the pool is and such. It took a few days and then he was back in the swing of things! As if there is another option since we have a pool!

Backyard Movies & More

Here is Rick's latest gig-- he's started his own business showing movies outside with a huge screen and awesome sound. And you can also play games, Wii, etc. on the screen. We tried it out on family and friends this weekend and it was a huge hit!!!

Park visit - last time there until Fall!

We went to the park with Jonah's girl -Emma. And we all concluded this would be the last visit to the park until Fall time since we were all sweating like pigs with the summer heat kicking in. So pool time is now here and see ya later park time.

HE DID IT!!!!!!!

Yea to Rick- he graduated with his Masters Degree in School Counseling!!! Yahoooooo! The journey began 3 years ago and ended with a job at his own school he's been teaching at for the last four years. What a great transition into a new job at a campus and faculty he already knows. I am so proud of him and all his hard work (full time job, becoming a parent, being a parent, being a wonderful husband, etc) it took to get here. You are a great role model to you son and our next little one in that you worked hard and didn't give up. Our kids will certainly feel the pressure since both of their parents have MA degrees!

When we met in 1996, Rick didn't know what he was going to do with his life. He was in between jobs and hadn't finished school. In the past years, I have watched this man find his way back to achieving his Bachelors Degree Cum Laude, enjoy teaching Special Education for the past 7 years, then determining he wanted to become a Counselor and doing all that he had to make that dream become a reality. He took a different path than most of us did to find his "true calling" and it is a path that was well sought after and I believe that path will help him become a great Counselor to his students who are also trying to find their path in life.

Too cold for one and not for the rest!

We went over to Aunt Justine's house for some water fun, but Jonah thought it was too cold. So he watched his cousins from the sidelines.

Found: new toy

Jonah found a new toy he likes...... the flashlight! He loves to go to the rooms, close the doors and turn it on. Ahhh, the simple pleasures in life.

Goose Egg!

I got the call at work from Mrs. Julie ~ Jonah took a bad fall outside on the concrete and hit his head pretty hard. He was fine, but she wanted Rick or I to go see for ourselves. Daddy went to check it out and Jonah wasn't phased- telling Daddy "bye bye". We are thankful Julie was right there to scoop him up and treat it immediately and for taking such precautions with a head injury. I'm sure it's one of many to come. I mean Jonah trips over his own feet in our house because he is always running to get somewhere or to get something. Boys will be boys! And boy do we love this one!

Mother's Day = some kind of sick day

I've celebrated 3 Mother's Day as a Mom and all 3 have involved some kind of recovery and / or sickness. 1st Mother's Day in 2008 was the day after we brought Jonah home from the hospital and we were up all night being the rookie parents we were / are. So I spent that day recovering from a c-section and from the lack of sleep the night before. My second Mother's Day - I was in bed all weekend with strep throat and a high fever, thus not evening being the precious boy who made me a Mother. This year- 2010 I am recovering from my umbilical hernia surgery. So I am soooo looking forward to next year Mother's Day! And at the same time, very grateful to be mom to a wonderful boy and be a daughter to a wonderful mom! And excited to be carrying Baby Thompson #2 in belly on Mother's Day!- what an extra special day!!

Jonah's 2nd bday celebration- all day long!

Jonah woke up on Friday, May 7th and told me, "Jonah happy today" while clapping to the tune of "Happy Birthday to you." He knew it was his birthday and so mommy and daddy sang to him in his crib. Off to Julie's for a fun day with his friends. Mrs. Julie had a special crown for him to wear all day. Then later on that day, he shared his cupcakes that he helped me frost with his friends while opening some presents.

Later that evening, family & close friends came over for an Elmo celebration for Jonah. Good burgers and hot dogs were served while Jonah loved his Elmo cake. What a difference a year makes. On his 1st bday, Jonah cried when we all sang "Happy Birthday", and this year his smile was so big as he looked around the room at all the people who care and love him so dearly. He got into the presents and made us very proud that he told everyone 'thank you' for his gifts.

Jonah - you becoming so independent and have such a sweet deposition. You are the true definition of a social bug and love to talk and be around your family and friends. You think whomever comes over to the house is here to play with you. You don't mind when mommy and daddy leave you for an evening and can't wait to be outside doing some kind of running, playing and just sweating! You are my baby big boy and mommy and daddy love you sooooo much!

2 years, 24 months or 2T- either way you look at Jonah is getting older!

At 2 years old Jonah:

weighs 30 lbs and is measuring 35 inches- 75th percentile in both

is speaking 2 to 3 words in a sentence

loves books read to him and especially loves to read to his froggie and doggie

wants to play outside with his car, fire truck or lawn mower

likes to play with our iphones

always asking about his cousins or wanting to go to their house

eats lots of veggies and fruits

wants a biscuit every morning

goes and comes from JuJu's house with a smile

can count to 15

knows 1/3 of his ABC

can spell his name

knows that mommy and daddy are teachers

can tell who goes to work (all the adults in the family) and who goes to school (all the kids)

sees a school bus everyday and reacts like it's his first time - so excited

favorite toys: kitchen, cars and track, animals with barn, books, train and track

favorite books: "Goodnight Gorilla"

Wants a "sister" no matter how we phrase it

Is spoiled rotten by family and friends

Loves to show his independence - doing things by himself

Loves all the doggies in his life, but outside of his home- Oreo, Chester, Roco and Dobie

Enjoys putting all of his "belongings" in his tee pee

Likes to put his face in the bath water and make lots of bubbles with his mouth

Loves to show off all he has learned at daycare and roll around on the floor

Through Jonah's eyes....

This is how Jonah is pretending and bringing his play world to life! So fascinating to watch him and how he creates all this!

Feeding sheep some of his water- "share water mommy"

Setting table for his Chick fil A cow and froggie- "eat cow, eat froggie- yum yum"

In his tunnel- making sure all his animals are in place!

Jonah eating his breakfast with his preferred audience: cow and froggie!

Jonah gets a pillow for himself (green) and another one for whomever is the lucky one who gets to lay inside his tepee!

Since Jonah didn't want to eat his pancake, he left it for sheep!