Update for the kids later on

So much has been going on this year.

I don't have time to post pictures, but I wanted to at least get this on record. I'll have to add pictures later.

2010 was an amazing year. We got to see the birth of Marin and the 3rd birthday of Jonas. I'm half-way through my first year of Grad school in SLP, and Clint, who got his MS last year is with the same company - ICXt, which was purchased this year by FLIR.

Marin took her first step on Dec.15th, 2010 and by Dec.30th, she was walking on her own! She has 8 teeth - 4 on top and 4 on bottom, and as of now, Jan. 12, 2011 - she is getting her canines and upper molars in.

Marin is very steady on her feet and is curious, strong and beautiful! She says Dada, Mama, Bubba, "dat" "dis" all done and signs "more" and "all done". She is bright and cheerful - with a very pleasant disposition. People constantly stop me to tell me how beautiful she is. She's rarely fussy, unless she is sick or tired, and is generally a great communicator. She loves to walk around and explore and is a great road-tripper!

Jonas is getting taller, smarter and stronger every day. We've really enjoyed watching him grow. He asks intelligent questions and surprises us every day with new nuggets he's picked up about the world and how things work. He's very social and sweet. He's also the best big brother a little sister could ever hope for. He will do anything to get his little sister to smile.

Watching the two of them together is the sweetest thing imaginable. Jonas is Marin's favorite person. She lights up in the mornings when he comes into the room and can't wait to give him hugs and smooches. Jonas also loves Marin more than anything. He is patient, sharing and kind. He's also very gentle with her and keeps a careful eye on her. She's fascinated with his cars and trains and he doesn't mind sharing them with her, or patiently fixing his track after she's demolished it. ;) People stop me to tell me how cute Jonas is and I always get comments about his gorgeous red hair.

This winter break we went tubing in Angel Fire, New Mexico. It was a warm winter in Oklahoma, so we decided to pack up the car for a last minute trip and brought Papa Mark along to see the NM Mountains. We had so much fun. There were unexpected twists and turns in our trip. The day we planned on going the tickets were sold out and there was a white out on the mountain that closed down the entire mountain, and the day of our departure, there was such a deluge of snow that we almost got stranded in Angel Fire. We ended up staying in Las Vegas, NM, and Marin started full-fledged walking while we were in our hotel room. Tubing was great! We only got to go for an hour and a half, but we each got to do a few runs down in our inner tubes before we had to pack ship and head out. We alternated, and the one person not going stayed at the lodge with Marin. The kids loved the snow and we loved that they loved it! Next time we may even be brave enough to give skiing with Jonas a try!

Earlier this year, Clint, Jonas and Bapa Wichert (Terry) went on a guys' camping in New Mexico. they also stopped by Carlsbad Caverns and saw the bats - which Jonas loved! Jonas caught two fish on their trip, with is Snoopy fishing pole. Dad caught zero.

Just after the new year, Mommy, Marin and Nonna went to Austin to visit Aunt Jennica. We got to stay at her apartment and Marin and Bentley, Jennica's puppy had so much fun getting to know each other. Marin was unsure at first, but by the time we were leaving she was giving Bentley smooches and petting her puppy ears. We got a lot of snow on the drive home, but Susan skillfully navigated the roads and we returned safe and sound.

We can't wait to see what 2011 has in store!

Jonasism #3

Sun. Aug 1, 2010

Getting prepared for bed.

Jonas: Oh, hold on Daddy. I need to go potty.
Daddy: Jonas, you just went potty. It's time for bed.
Jonas: But, Daddy....I really need to go!
Daddy: Are you sure?
Jonas: Yes, Daddy I really, really do need to go.
Daddy: Can you hurry?
Jonas: No.
Daddy: Then, no Jonas. You can't go.
Jonas: I really do need to go Daddy.
Daddy: Can you go fast? Straight to the potty, then back to bed?
Jonas: Um, yeah I guess I can...hurry.
Daddy: Okay..hurry Jonas, straight there and back, you can go.
(Jonas runs down the hall)
Jonas: Okay...but it's going to take a long time for me to do that.
lol

Jonas Bedtime Chat (Fruit Punch)

Jonas was having a pretty silly conversation with Dad before bed - I caught just a bit of it on film!

Life in 4.0!

I am so excited! I just got the new iPhone 4.0! Marin and I stood in line for 6 hours to get this new phone and I am anxious to uncover all that it can do.

I went to the mall totally unprepared to wait for that amount of time. I had pre-reserved one, so I thought it might take close to 2 hours max. I had Marin in her carrier, but after about 30 minutes I was really wishing I had chosen to take the stroller. No worries though, she seemed to prefer the carrier.  (Dare I say ENJOY it).  She was the most pleasant, well-behaved baby. The most she fussed was for about 10 minutes, but I was able to soothe her, and she actually managed to nap the majority of the time!  Thankfully I had the best line-friends. Since we were all pre-reserved and guaranteed our phones, getting out of line and back in was not as much of an issue as it could have otherwise been. They let me leave twice over the six hours to nurse Marin - what a lifesaver!

I was a little surprised that Apple - a company so known for streamlining, efficiency and ease of use....made us wait in line for so long - in such an inefficient manner. Once we actually got into the store they had plenty of staff and the process went VERY quickly, but the line I stood in wrapped completely around the mall. Not the picture of efficiency. I'm going to recommend to them that they use some sort of cueing system in the future. They are dealing with cell phones after all. Send me a text. I'm fine with waiting an hour if I need to - but that was a little out of control with a baby.

http://news.yahoo.com/video/oklahomacity-koco-18229979/thousands-flock-to-mall-for-iphone-20525366

Clint had to come home a bit early to pick up Jonas from school & they met me to wait it out for the home-stretch. It was great to have the whole family there to celebrate! ;) Now I have HD video, 5.0 megapixel camera, video chat, multi-tasking.....all on an interface that's reliable and extremely user-friendly.

I can't wait! Or...maybe I can....after 6 hours of standing in line...I'm exhausted. I guess playing around with my new phone will have to wait until tomorrow....for now I'm just too tired to operate! I did manage to get some footage of the kiddos though, which I'll share. They are the main reason I'm so excited about this new phone, afterall!



1st lesson learned - can't switch to vertical mode. oops! I probably have a lot more to learn.

DAD You're the BEST!

We've Searched the whole-wide-world around, a better DAD could not be found!

Clint,

Thank you for being such an amazing Dad. You are a leader, a lover and a friend. You have unwavering integrity and are a dynamic teammate in life.  You are such a wonderful role-model for our children, and I am so thankful they can call you DAD. We love you! Happy Father's Day!!

Jonas' Mealtime Prayer

When Jonas was a little guy - his Nazarene daycare used this "Meal Prayer". I knew the beginning, but wanted to post it here so that I had the ending recorded somewhere for the future.

Meal Prayer
God is Great,
God is Good,
And We Thank Him for Our Food.
By His Hands,
We are Fed,
Thank Him for Our Daily Bread,
Amen

Monkey Business

What could evoke these reactions from my kiddos? This is genuine excitement you're seeing!

Marin was thrilled too!

Okay...maybe she was slightly less impressed. How funny is that expression? She just doesn't know how much fun she's going to be having in a few short years...thanks to Daddy & the grandparents!

A couple of weekends ago, near the end of May 2010, we finally installed the swingset that Mimi & Papa Roger got for the kids last Christmas.  Clint's mom and dad graciously took some time away from their own huge project...a new home(!!!) to help us get it up and running.  Nonna, Jonas, Marin & I went hung out & and went sink shopping while Bapa & Daddy built the playset.  It's huge, sturdy & so much fun. (Just ask Jonas!)

The swing set came from kidscreations.com & is made out solid redwood. It's not stained & not treated, but virtually splinter free & it comes with an excellent warranty.  I an really pleased with how sturdy & well-constructed every piece seems to be.  Kids Creations staff were very helpful & had excellent, quick and efficient customer service. I have been really impressed & pleased with our entire experience with them so far!  Thanks Mimi!



Jonas' favorite part for now is the rock wall. I think once he grows an inch taller, his new favorite feature will be the swings. ;)  Now that summer is in full-swing, I imagine Jonas will be logging quite a few hours on his new set!

Above you can see the guys hard at work. All-in-all the set only took them 4 hours to construct.  We were expecting it to take a couple of days, but installation went very smoothly. We left the quality control testing to the expert himself.....

And...he's off!

Verdict? Two thumbs up! This is going to provide countless hours of entertainment at our house!

Big Thanks to all involved!!!  (22May10)

Love - CMJM