It's all about Jonah!

Wow, it's been a while since I've blogged, sorry! We've had quite a month so there is lots to catch up on and lots, I mean lots of pictures to show. I've spent a couple of nights trying to collage them with the intention of limiting some space, but I'm not so sure that I'm accomplishing that. Anyway, this will be a long one with lots to share so enjoy.....

The Happy Birthday Boy! "I'm One!!!"

August was a very fun, yet hectic month for us. First we took our first family vacation and Jonah's first plane ride to Burlington, Vermont to visit a great college friend of mine, Natasha and her family. Her mother, Sophia graciously housed and fed us for almost a week! We had an amazing time and Jonah traveled really well, despite not sleeping through the night there, a different bed, a new place...kids just know. Then, the day after we came back was Jonah's 1st Birthday (Wednesday, August 11)!!! We celebrated with family that day and then with "The Girls" the following Saturday. Lots of gifts, lots of cake, lots of balloons, and even a first major (well I think it's major) boo,boo :(. Of course, that Monday I had to start back a school, which meant setting up a new classroom, sending Jonah to childcare 3 days a week for the first time, lots of worries, lots of tears (more of my own than anyone else), and major anxiety about all of it. Needless to say, it was a crazy week! Thank goodness, Grandma helped me out in my classroom and with Jonah who seems to be doing great at "school" and by the second week was getting use to being there despite a runny nose and then a horrible stomach virus last week where he didn't eat for 4 days. New germs, I really ~~dislike~~ hate them! The poor little guy! But now he's great, back to himself, and making up for not eating, big time! So, instead of rambling on....I'll tell more about the last couple of weeks with pictures...But first I have to talk about one thing...In the afternoon, when I pick up Jonah from his childcare, the expression on his face when he looks at me while I'm holding him and talking to his teachers is breathtaking. He smiles with a glow in his eyes and is so happy to see me, it's almost indescribable. I know he's okay there, they love him and he's being well cared for, but it makes me so happy to get there and grab him...and the way he looks at me, oohh...yet at the same time it breaks my heart that I have to send him there even though I know he's socializing and playing and learning. Yeah, so I rambled....now here's all the good stuff......!!!


This was on our first day in Burlington. Jonah loved practicing his walking moves in Sophia's amazing backyard. Check out the beautiful summer grass in New England! The yard was huge with trees all around, an awesome flower and vegetable garden, and an amazing view of the mountains. Plus, we didn't have to worry about the red ants!


The next morning Natasha took us Blueberry picking. What fun! Jimmy and I hadn't done it before and Jonah loved it. He loves Blueberries and was like an old pro, picking and eating right from the bushes. Yummy!


Check out Jonah picking the Blueberries and gobbling them up!

Walking through the Blueberry patch!

It was surprisingly hot and humid the first two days that we were there. You can see it on Jonah's face. The only difference is that nothing is centrally air conditioned up north but luckily it cooled down for the rest of the week.

Jonah had so much fun exploring that day!

My little blueberry!

That afternoon we ventured to downtown Burlington. What a fun college town! The center of town is bustling with restaurants, shops, and a fun family atmosphere. There was an "All Fools Festival" happening over the weekend so lots of people were out to enjoy the festivities. There is also a neat art exhibit all around the main avenue where cows are displayed, each painted a different way.

Jonah had a good laugh out of touching the cows nose. Then sitting on one, and once we put Vivian, Natasha's sweet daughter who is 7 months, he became more interested in taking off her sun hat and putting it back on her head.

Tasha and sweet little Vivian!

That evening Jonah spent some time soaking up the flowers and trying fresh tomatoes for the first time...check out the funny faces! He loved them and wanted more.

The following day we headed up to Stowe and visited the Von Trapp Family Lodge, which is this beautiful Austrian style resort overlooking all the mountains in the area. Then we stopped at a Cider Mill for some delicious apple cider and cider donuts which Jonah loved and then to the Cabot Creamery....

Our beautiful families together!

Where Oh Where Oh Where is Jonah.....

That day the temperature dropped which felt great, but we needed to bundle up, that Florida blood gets cold fast!

This was a day for a photo opportunity. We got Jonah all dressed up and took advantage of a gorgeous day and beautiful scenery. Here's our handsome little one year old!

We took another ride into town again and this time walked out to the lake's harbor. What a breathtaking view!

I really like this picture of us....

Jonah and Vivian had lots of time together....which made for some fun pictures. They where really cute together. They wanted to hold hands and grab at each other. Jonah would gently touch her arm or head and always wanted to give kisses...so sweet!

Jonah couldn't believe Vivian was leaning on him and was cracking up!

We also visited Lake Champlain and let Jonah feel the cold, cold water with his little toes.

Oooohh so cold! Very different from Florida's beaches, but so beautiful too!

After, we visited the Ben and Jerry's Factory, took a tour, ate ice cream and even got free T-shirts! Yes, we "sacrificed" Jonah for T-shirts...No really what happened was that we were standing in line for ice cream and rain water gushed down from the awning all over Jonah's head. He was fine, but definitely got a quick shock from the cool water. Luckily, I reacted quickly, wiping his face and head, and didn't make a big deal out of it with him and it was a warm day so he dried off fast. The worker felt so bad that they gave us some shirts to try to make up for it....what a story!

Jonah thought it was too funny when we put him standing beside the cow and told him to give it a kiss!

Playing with Vivi, again!

This is the last set of pictures from our trip. After Ben and Jerry's, we stopped at Montpelier to walk around. It's the smallest capital city in all of the United States. A quaint little city with cute coffee shops and little boutiques. We stopped in a children's toy store where a boy was holding this puppy...Jonah loved him!

Now, on to the big Birthday! The day after we got back Jonah turned 1!!! With lots of love, presents, cake and fun!

Presents from Grandma, Grandpa, Uncles Adam and David, and Auntie Leah...the best!

I'm not so sure Jonah liked smashing the cake...it's a texture thing...to sticky, but he did like the taste!!!

Then there was the 2nd celebration with "The Girls"! It was a great time had by all, Jonah, Abby, and Rachel ate, played, and ate some more!
Jonah had so much fun playing and dancing around with his many balloons!

Yay! The Birthday Boy!!!

Kisses for the Girls....

Play time!

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday dear, sweet Jonah! Happy Birthday to you!!!!!!! I love you!!!

Then the unfortunate occurred....at the end of our fun celebration, poor Jonah slipped and fell hitting his little chin on the table leg and getting a pretty bad gash. Thank goodness for Grandpa, always to the rescue. As we said our good-byes to our guests we rushed to fix Jonah up with steri-strips and band-aids. After getting back to the house Jonah was back to himself, playing around and watering Grandma's plants, his new thing! A few weeks later and he's healing okay, there will be a scare for a while but I am thankful that a cut under the chin was all that happened!
What an eventful month!

Oh you know that song..."fat ones, skinny ones, fair ones too. But the one little duck with a feather on his back; he led the others with a quack, quack, quack..." Can you tell what kind of music I listen to now, all the time! ;)

We went for a visit to the Shelby Botanical Gardens 2 weeks ago and had a wonderful time walking around, showing Jonah all the beautiful flowers, trees, views of the bay, the butterflies, and even listened to the sounds that the Bamboo make when they cling and clang together in the breeze. But...the most exciting part was chasing the ducks!!!! :)

We were watching the huge fish in the pond when all of a sudden they appeared!