Jonathan's Store

Two Months

Sometimes I still can't believe we have a baby...but here she is!

Her adorable dress was given to us by my wonderful, former teaching partner.  This dress is one of my favorites.  Thanks so much, Sally!  (I tried to catch the begonias in the background.  They have really gone crazy with the heat lately.)

People often ask whether Grace looks the way Jonathan did.  I don't think so, but you can judge for yourself.  Here he is at two months, before I had started blogging:

Great Grandparents

Jeff's grandma and grandpa Don are here. Check out the smiles Gracie gave to them!

Brian's Graduation

Brian and the big kids

Jeff and Brian

Boys will be boys!

(Can you tell that Jonathan is already exhausted at this point?  More about it later...)

Brian and Jeff

Great job, Brian!  We know what a big deal it is to get a master's degree!

Where Gracie Slept

While I was pregnant with Gracie, I found one of these at Once Upon a Child for a fraction of the retail price.  I had never seen one before, but thought it would be a perfect travel bed for a little baby...just what we'd need on our trip!

It sure was.  It worked great for a small baby.

It was really to have something lightweight and small-it easily fit in my suitcase with everything I packed for the kids and myself.  And it was nice to let Grace nap in whatever room worked at the moment.  At night she was in our room, and during the day she could sleep anywhere that it was convenient for everyone in the house...since we relied on our friends and family for their hospitality for most of this trip.

If you're local, feel free to borrow our baby bed!  It's not something I'd go out and buy since it's only useful for a short time, but it was really nice to have along.

More Pics with Sam and Katherine

Riding Bikes

I love this picture of Sam.

Packages

I received two great packages in our pile of mail today...it's kind of like Christmas when you return from a trip!  The first was a freebie I learned about through The Frugal Muse.  If you're not a subscriber yet, hop on over and become one now!  You'll be glad you did!

The second was a pair of glasses for Jonathan from Zenni Optical.  Big thanks to Rhonda and Cherissa who told me about this site awhile back when Jonathan's glasses fell apart.

I bought a pair of glasses for Jonathan for $8 ($12.95 including shipping.)  I'm not kidding!  They arrived today, well-packaged in a hard case and cushioned with a polishing cloth.  They are a great pair of glasses, just a little big.  Here they are:

(Jonathan wanted to show you the Lego tail lights.)

To order glasses, you just need your prescription.  You can choose glasses of all shapes, sizes, colors, and price points.  Figuring out the size to choose was a little tricky for me (as you can tell by the picture above,) but there are detailed directions on the website.  Next time I'll be more accurate, and Jonathan's glasses will not be so googly.  Luckily, he's four and cares most about how they feel.  These have spring hinges which are comfy, and after I adjusted the nose pieces for him, he was happy.

I thought that ordering glasses online was a small risk, and definitely worth $12.95.  Now that I have these glasses and Jonathan's old glasses, I can get a better idea of what kind of frames to order when I have his new prescription and make sure they fit a little better.  Over his childhood, we'll probably need to buy glasses for him every year, so I can only imagine how much Zenni Optical will save us.  If you wear glasses, you might consider giving them a try.  It's a small risk, dollar-wise, for possibly great savings.

Thanks so much to Rhonda and Cherissa for helping us out!

The Babies

Anna and I have been friends since 1993. (Um, we're getting old!)  We never imagined that we'd get married within a month of each other to guys who would become good friends, too. Or that we'd get to live near each other for a few years. Or that our kids would become friends. Or that we'd have babies near the same age this year.  Amazing blessings.

Grace and Aunt Anna

Malakai ("Kai") with Gracie.  He was born Dec. 15 and already weighs over 20 lbs.  (I thought that my birthday would have been a good day for him to be born, but he was in no hurry.)  Anna feeds her babies cream and I feed mine skim.  Grace could use a little cream!  Really, though, she's doing fine and I'm thankful.

Checking each other out

The Beginning

One might wonder why two fairly level-headed people might decide to take a trip with a seven-week-old baby.

When our friend, Brian, started grad school a few years ago, Jeff and I decided that we wanted to attend his graduation.

Then we moved out of state, but we still wanted to go to his graduation.

Then we found out we were expecting our little miracle, but we decided we'd still make graduation.  Soooo...that's what this trip was about!  And, Brian didn't know we were coming, but Anna did.  Anna and Brian live near our old town and some old friends, so we got to see a few old friends along with Brian and Anna.

We spent our first two nights with Uncle Mel and Aunt Jan and spent a little time with them, and also introduced them to their first great niece.

We went to Sam's school's field day to surprise Brian. 

I get so much pleasure out of seeing how much our kids love each other.  (This is Jonathan with Sam and Katherine.)

Brian was dumbfounded.  It was great.

Hugs for Uncle Brian!

And, we got to meet baby Kai.  Jonathan really loved him.  To be continued...