Wordless Wednesday...The View

Jonah and Daddy playing in the sand....

Great Friends, Good Times!

I love when we get visitors since most of our close friends live far away! So I welcome any time old friends want a bit of sunshine and warmer weather, at least warmer than NYC because it was pretty cool here the weekend Natasha, Mike, Vivian and soon to be baby girl #2 came to stay, but what fun we had! It was just 6 months ago that we spent time together at Natasha's moms house in Burlington, Vermont but my, my how much can change in 6 months especially with little ones. First of all, Natasha is pregnant with baby #2, Jonah is running and starting to say more words, and Vivian is not only sitting up, but almost ready to walk on her own, in fact she stood on her own without holding on for the first time here! And.....Despite the cooler weather, we still had plenty to do. We got out to the playground, took some nice walks, headed downtown to the farmers market and lunch, and even to the beach! Us Moms and Dads even got a night out for dinner thanks to Grandma offering to babysit. Jonah loved having the company around and after he got use to sharing his toys with Vivian he was ready to play! It's interesting watching a 1 year old and an 18 month old interact. If one of them had a toy or some food, the other wanted the same and since Jonah is such a love bug we had to make sure he didn't love Vivian "too much" because she is much more petite then he is and didn't appreciate to much of his squishy hugs ;) But they still loved each other! So much so that Jonah is still looking for her a week later. He has been going to the room they were staying in and gesturing with his hands up like "where are they?" ....too funny!

Little Princess.....

Happy faces at the playground...
Slumber party anyone???
Tasty oranges at the farmers market....
Play time together....
Our families....cute :)
Is it beach weather yet?!?!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's day is always fun when you have a little boy around because mommy will always be his Valentine (at least for now ;))!!!!

Gotta love the shirt!!!

Jonah is 18 months!

My Handsome Little Man....

Yes, you read it, Jonah is 18 months old! And what a toddler he is....Weighing in at 25 lbs and 32 1/4 inches tall with 16 teeth that have been in for 2 months now! Even Dr. Meyer says that he can't believe how many teeth Jonah has and how big and straight they are.

Jonah is really starting to communicate with some words and lots of gestures and sounds. He understands what we tell him and usually listens ;). His favorite word is still "hot", but he also says ah oh (a lot), car, go, cracker, out, toes, uggles for bubbles and of course hi and hello. Jonah even says "cheese" to the camera! Everyday is something new still; just this past weekend Jonah started doing a bunch of hand gestures for "The Wheels On The Bus"....like the babies go "wa, wa, wa"... and the driver goes "move on back" and the wheels go "round and round". It's absolutely adorable!!! When we are in the car, Jonah knows to say "go, go, go" when the light turns green too! We are also working on sign language to help with frustrating times when words are not coming out yet. They do it at his school and Grandma takes him on Tuesdays to a toddler signing class sometimes. Jonah has gotten really good at signing, more, thank you, please, and gentle. Though there are still times of frustration when he wants to do something himself without help, or when he wants something he can't have where Jonah has definitely shown his stubbornness with screaming and even flopping to the ground in frustration, but so far it is short lived and he is easily distracted most of the time. Having a toddler is very busy, but so much fun and amazing to watch all the new things he does! :)

Helping Mommy change the sheets ;)
No wonder, I'm already 25 pounds...look at what a good eater I am!

Siesta Key Beach...

There is nothing like a day at the beach especially when you can go in the middle of January and still enjoy it. In fact, you enjoy it more because you are not dripping in sweat the minute you step onto the sand or burnt from the sun by the end of the day. In Sarasota, we are so lucky to be able to talk walks and play in the sand even January when the weather is cooler.

Jonah is quite an adventurer; picking up shells and sticks to make marks in the sand, chasing after the seagulls to see what their reaction would be, and pointing at everything around him from the ocean waves meeting the shoreline to the tourist sightseeing helicopter flying overhead. It's wonderful watching him discover the world :)

It's so much fun playing in the sand, picking up shells, and watching the birds!
....And watching the gorgeous sunset.

Visiting With Great Friends

After ringing in the new year, we were fortunate enough to spend a couple of evenings with a great friend of mine and her beautiful family. Mellissia and I have been close friends since college we swam together, played together, cried together and watched each other grow up with careers and kids. She has three beautiful children and a wonderful husband. They all came down from MA to get out of the snow and have some fun in Florida. Though it was not beach weather, we managed to get some time at the park together and out to dinner...once with the kids and once without.....I miss having "old" friends nearby and it's always so nice when they come for a visit!

Jonah, joining in the tennis match with the big boys....Tyler and Andrew.
The Walles Family!
Some fun pictures at the park....
Abby and Andrew getting lots of lovin' from Jonah :)

Winter Break 2010 & Happy New Year 2010!

Being a teacher definitely has it's benefits! Besides of course, teaching and nurturing young minds, I get great vacation time! Since I am working...it's definitely a pro to my profession! So, Jonah and I got to spend a wonderful two weeks together with no work! We played and colored and ran around at the park and went to read aloud at Barnes and Noble and sign language classes at the library and had playdates with "the girls"...and dealt with a cold and a reoccurring ear infection only to find out that Jonah is allergic to penicillin...But we are great and had a wonderful time just being together!

Playing with Scout....our favorite!
And the vroom, vroom cars....
Getting out to the park in the cool weather. Jonah loves going down the big slide on his belly and exploring! Something about that mulch....