Jonathan's Surgery

When Jonathan was just a few weeks old we noticed that his circumcision did not look right. His pediatrician referred us to a urologist who confirmed that Jonathan was in need of a circumcision revision. This meant that he would need to have surgery. Since Kaiser only has one pediatric urologist we had to wait seven months to get a surgery date! Well, today was the day...finally! I am so happy to have it behind us! The procedure was an out-patient surgery so we were able to come home this afternoon. Thank you to all who were praying for our little guy today. Jonathan is doing amazingly well. By the way he was playing this evening you'd never know that he was under general anesthesia this morning! The next couple of weeks will require some extra care and caution to help him heal/recover completely and then we'll have the post-op check-up on February 11th. Here are some pictures of the little "patient"...

The classic hospital/surgery socks looked more like leg warmers on his little body!

Here he is starting to feel the effects of the sedation drugs.

In the arms of the OR nurse just before she took him back to the operating room. I was hoping to be there with him when they put him under but the pre-op room was as far as they'd let me go. He was happy and a bit loopy so I doubt he even noticed my absence.

When he first came to from the anesthesia he was crying and flailing and trying to yank off his IV. A quick dose of morphine calmed him right down and he slept off the remaining anesthesia for about an hour.

Poor baby! Going through surgery is hard work for a little guy!

My little trooper! This is post-surgery...a little groggy but in good spirits.

A Fun Welcome Home Surprise!

Daniel was in Oregon this weekend when I found out that I was pregnant so I had the pleasuring of welcoming him home with the exciting news! I filled his car (which was waiting for him near the airport) with pink and blue balloons and taped the fun little message onto his steering wheel. We are thrilled and very thankful to be blessed with another baby! God is so good to us!

Playdate

This morning we had a little playdate at the Smith's house. The kiddos had fun playing outside with Joshua's push cars, pull cars, and battery powered cars and the mommies had fun hanging out too! Thanks for having us Janet!

Joshua was a pro on his battery powered ATV. He is six months younger than Aden and maneuvered that thing fearlessly! I was impressed!

Aden on the other hand was quite uneasy and after just a few moments said, "I'm all done!"

He got off the ATV and made a bee-line for the wagon! He really liked the wagon (and Joshua's firetruck...which I had to pry out of his hands in order to get the picture below!)

I love it when the boys wear matching outfits! This one and the next two all came from Grammy Carla! Thanks Grammy!

Matching Monkeys

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

Peek-a-Boo Mommy!

Back Into the Swing of Things

Well, today was the first Monday of 2009 and I resolved to get back into our daily routines. Daniel went back to work this morning after two lovely weeks off and in a lot of ways that meant that I went back to work too. Saturday brought back my "iron for the week" sessions, Sunday night I made a sack lunch for Daniel for the first time in two weeks, and this morning when Aden asked for help with his Legos and Lincoln Logs it was "all me". I also took the boys for a walk this morning (another routine that had fallen by the wayside due to weather and back issues) and after a seriously over-indulgent holiday season I went back to counting Weight Watcher points today. So, we'll see how the week plays out but for now I am thankful for the fresh start. God is good! Happy New Year Everyone!

Cookie Contest

This year we stayed home for Christmas again but this time we were joined by my Mom and Jesse. We watched Christmas movies, shopped some Christmas sales, played games, read books, opened presents, cooked lots of food, and held our second annual cookie contest.

Here's a shot of "The Winner" hard at work on his (rather labor-intensive, but worth the work!) chocolate and pecan covered caramel topped shortbread bites of yumminess. Way to go Jesse!

The finished products (From top moving clockwise): Mom's "Chocolate Mint Snow-topped" Cookies (which nearly took the prize), Jesse's "Caramel Pecan Treasures", My "Coffee Sponge Drops", and Daniel's "Oatmeal-Raisin-Chocolate Chip-Caramel-Sugar coated" Cookies. Also on the table are some beautiful loaves of bread that Daniel made. We had fun baking and even more fun eating! =)

Because he turned 31 today...

I thought I'd list 31 reasons why I love him
(warning: this list is not exhaustive nor is it in any particular order)

1) Loves God and wants to honor him with his life
2) Enjoys reading the rule books to all of our games
3) Enjoys explaining all the rules to me =)
4) Enjoys being my personal barista..."one mocha coming up!"
5) Is patient with my many shortcomings
6) Likes watching movies like Anne of Green Gables and Pride and Prejudice (the A & E version of course!)
7) Knows the Bible very well
8) Gets excited about gardening
9) Is a good teacher
10) Loves to learn
11) Likes simple meals
12) Helps with the dishes
13) Builds train tracks, Lincoln Logs, and Legos with the boys and has fun doing so!
14) Puts the boys to bed every night (brushes teeth, reads, prays, snuggles)
15) Is financially responsible
16) Bakes yummy treats (cookies, bread, cinnamon rolls, etc.)
17) Mops the floors
18) Cleans the shower and toilet
19) Works hard
20) Studies with diligence
21) Is content
22) Loves his parents
23) Encourages me to try new things
24) Is happy with PBJ's in his sack lunch
25) Is a genius (as far as I'm concerned) with computers and all things technical
26) Let me get a "firm" mattress even though he would have preferred a "plush" one
27) Has fun doing yard work
28) Is a leader
29) Takes parenting seriously
30) Is very handsome
31) Has a servant's heart

Happy Birthday Sweetheart! I love you!

Merry Christmas

A snapshot of the tree and stockings

The table was set for our yummy Prime Rib Christmas Eve dinner. Notice the newly recovered chairs!

We've been married nine years and this was only the second time we've used our fine china!

We're carrying on my family's tradition of the kids getting new Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve and perhaps starting a new tradition of getting to open a new book as well.

Each night in December Daniel went through the Christmas story with the boys. By the time Christmas Eve was here Aden knew it really well! It is so precious to hear his little voice fill in the blanks with key words like, "Mary", "Wise Men", "worship", "Jesus", etc. And of course, it's equally precious to hear Jonathan say, "baybee", "baybee", "baybee" over and over again as he points to Jesus. What a blessing to have a husband who lovingly invests this time each night into our boys' lives. Because of this I am confident that they will have a firm grasp of the true meaning of Christmas at a very early age.

Aden was thrilled when he opened the "BIG present" (it came in a big box) and found that it was his very own lawn mower! Here's a picture of Jonathan giving it a whirl. Thanks Mom and Jesse for such a fun gift for our Aden boy!

Here's Jon Jon loading up his shopping cart. He loves it! Thank you Grammy and Grandpoo!

The boys have been busy "shopping" and "mowing the lawn" since Christmas morning!

But of course, there's nothing like the excitement and entertainment that comes from a big empty box converted into a tunnel and an empty wrapping paper roll to make you wonder if the $ spent on expensive toys was worth it.