Here are more views of Christmas. We got a live tree this year and it added such a homey touch! The boys enjoyed their presents. Jonas was particularly attached to his bike helmet and alphabet puzzle. Daniel was just generally happy.

Christmas

Every year my mom puts on a Christmas assembly at the school she works at. And every year is an opportunity for our family to get together and sing. This year was fun because it was the first time performing for many of the grandchildren, including Jonas and his 2 closest cousins Tayson and Landon (all born within 7 months of each other). They sang "I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas" and I was very proud Jonas.... even if you can only understand a few words.

Happy Circle

Jonas loves for us to draw for him, and everything has to have a happy face in it; shapes, letters and animals (cows being his favorite happy animal). After an evening when he just wouldn't go to sleep I entered his room, prepared to be upset and found his drawing board with this picture on it. I was thrown off that he had actually drawn something by himself, and that it was recognizable as a happy circle. Needless to say, my frustration was quickly turned around to endless praise toward my rising artist.

SNOW!

Boise gave us lots of snow over the holidays and I finally got the chance to take the boys out to play. Jonas had so much fun and regardless of his increasingly pink nose and cheeks, he did not want to go back inside. On this day the snow was powder and didn't make effective snowballs, but he kept trying to throw them at me anyway.

I wanted Daniel to enjoy the weather too, so I wrapped him in a plastic shopping bag and sat him down on a trash bag so he could stay dry. He didn't dare move in the foreign environment, but was pleased as punch, nonetheless.

Holy Hair!

Ah, the wispy blonde locks my sons have. Here is Daniel with some ecstatic bed head and Jonas before a hair cut.

Halloween

So while I am making my journey back in time to catch up with my blogging, I couldn't pass up Halloween. I had a great epiphany and couldn't shake it. Our chocoholic Jonas would be a Hershey bar, our chubby Daniel would be a marshmallow and my honey and I would be... well... graham crackers. Put us all together to make a s'more! We took the boys trunk-or-treating. Daniel fell ill, but Jonas loved the idea of getting candy and remembered to say his thank yous. I was very pleased with how the costumes turned out when people would see us approach and ask "so where's the marshmallow?" Can't wait for next Halloween. The ideas are already swarming. :)

Of course, we can't leave Daniel out of the equation. A few months ago I went in to get him out of his crib and he was just standing there laughing at his new trick. When eating at the table, he loves to kick his feet up and rock back in his chair. It's too bad that "four on the floor" means nothing to a 6 month old. He loves to get into everything... movies, kleenex, kitchen cupboards.

Here is Jonas enjoying a meal with his bears, making sure Fuzzy is strapped into his seat, talking on my pink Mary Kay phone, wearing his car box as a backpack and just being cute.

Jonas had his 2nd birthday on Sept. 7 and thoroughly enjoyed his cake, his new bike and a giant lollipop... among other things.

At the vehement prompting from many of you, I am updating our blog. A lot has happened since September which I will attempt to update. At the end of September we moved into a new, bigger apartment. We LOVE it and it will give us room to grow until we are out of college. In our old place Jonas kept crawling into Daniel's crib in their shared room causing none of us to get any sleep... with few exceptions.

Our Happy Family

We got family pictures done last week. Here are some of the results.

The Jonas Fish

This illustrates a typical trip to Grandma's pool. I can't wait to see how he does next summer...

At the Beach

A few weeks ago, we took a trip out to Black Canyon in Emmett with my friend Melanie. Jonas is quite the fish and had no problem swimming around in the lake, but he was unsure about the sand and refused to walk on it at first. After seeing some children playing with a bucket and shovels, his curiosity got the best of him and he took a few steps into the unknown to join in the fun. Needless to say, by the end of the day Jonas had NO problem getting some sand in between his toes.

Tag, I'm it!

Apparently, I was "tagged" back in April, but being a horrible blogger and correspondent I have been completely oblivious until today. I thought it might be a fun thing to post, since I sometimes feel anti-social.
Ten years ago: Well, I guess I could refer back to my journals to see EXACTLY what I was doing....Ah, yes. Exactly 10 years ago I left with my mom for a trip down to Anaheim, CA. We were visiting her family and meeting up with my sister Tammy and my brand-new niece, Corinne to get a 5-generation picture. It was on that trip that I finally found out that my red hair came from my great grandmother. She sat next to me, and stroked my head and said, "You have my hair." Until then, I had no idea.
5 things on my list to do today: 1. babysit my friend's 2 month old son. 2. Give a facial to a friend 3. Call that friend to find out what time we are getting together. 4. Go to a Mary Kay meeting. 5. Spend time with my kids. Hopefully I will get to take them out to play.
Snacks I enjoy: Ah man, anything with chocolate, cookie, ice cream or cake. I tried to give up dessert for a while. It didn't last long. I'm a sucker for sweets. Aside from that, I LOVE fruit and could eat it all day.
What I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire: Uh... buy a house, pay off debts, buy my husband a smart car (he made me say that), build a dance club/ performing arts studio, save for the future. Oh, yes... and vacation.
3 bad habits: 1. Staying up late. My kids sleep through the night, why don't I? I guess because Jerren and I don't see each other during the day, we stay up late talking all the time. 2. Trying to do too much. I enjoy staying busy, but sometimes it catches up to me and I realize how vulnerable and non-super-woman-ish I really am. 3. Procrastinating. I understand the need to prepare in advance, I just rarely apply it.
5 places I have lived/been: 1. Uh, Boise, ID, where I currently am. 2. San Jose, CA where I was born and lived for 8 years. I love to visit still, but wouldn't ever live there again. 3. Washington, D.C. on my mission. ok, more like Maryland. Still. I loved it and it is a beautiful part of the country 4. Utah, where I frequently visit, but it's the last place I would want to live. 5. I went to Kansas once... for a day.
5 jobs I have had 1. McDonald's... following in my family's footsteps. 2. Boise Parks and Recreation... also in my family's footsteps. I have done kids' programs including summer playcamp, open gym, supervising softball fields, scorekeeping basketball, and I currently teach country swing and line dance there. 3. Chuck E. Cheese's. I loved that job. So much fun! And yes, I did wear the suit. 4. I am currently an Independent Beauty Consultant with Mary Kay. Never thought I would do that, but it is the perfect thing to allow me to stay at home with my kids and still make a little on the side. 5. And last, but not least... full time Mommy! Favorite job so far. :)
5 things people don't know about me:1. As mentioned above, I faithfully keep a journal daily for the past…15 or so years. I have volumes. I love to write. (I guess that’s a must to keep a journal for that long, eh?) Growing up I always wanted to be an author. When I was 13 or 14 I started writing a book. I haven’t finished it yet, but I intend to someday. I also hope to put all of my poetry and short stories into a book. Right now, they are all in a box. 2. I tie balloon animals. I do not dress as a clown. I do not use an air pump (that’s right, 100% lungs) I don’t do it very often, but when I do, I don’t usually get paid much if at all. Just a fun hobby I love to share with others when I can. They make great gifts. 3. My favorite TV series are Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. I never thought I’d like Sci-Fi, but my husband got me into it. Coincidentally, my sons have names from characters off the show. 4. I played the oboe in High school. We desperately needed one and the former oboist swore to burn the next oboe he saw, so my brother Matt volunteered me to the director and I learned. I practiced at least an hour a day for that first week and developed a twitch in my lip that lasted about a month after that. Oboists use a lot more muscles in their lips than floutists (which is what I also play). 5. I have written a few of songs. Only one has accompaniment, cause I’m just not that good on the piano, and I never learned so much music theory to understand a lot about chords and transitions. It’s all in my head, and someday I may be able to squeeze it out.
OK, there I am. I hope I answered all the necessary questions. I hereby tag anyone who has access to my blog who hasn’t done this yet.

Happy Chunk

Weighing in at about 17 1/2 pounds, we call Daniel our "chunk-a-saurus." Whether hanging out with Mommy, Daddy, Grandma or Jonas, there is sure to be a big smile shining through those adorable rolls.

Girly Man

Jonas is all boy... with the exception of a little shoe fettish... And mascara and eyeliner make GREAT crayons!!