Merry Christmas!
Details of Jonah's first Christmas will come soon.
Kevin Look-alike
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
It has come to our attention that, at times, Jonah might look a little like Kevin from The Office. Personally, I don't see it. What do you think?
(Josh, thanks for the picture.)
(Josh, thanks for the picture.)
Chicago, Part 1 (a long one)
Monday, December 14, 2009
What a whirlwind of a weekend we have had! For Andrew it continues, as he is currently sitting in an airport in Michigan after a day of meetings in Ann Arbor. For Jonah and I, we used today for grocery shopping, regrouping and unfortunately a doctors appointment complete with shots. (More to come on that...)
The weekend was such a whirlwind because we made a 24 hour round trip to Chicago! Why? Because my best friend got engaged, that's why! Her fiance' (ne' boyfriend) contacted me a month ago and allowed me to follow along with all of his plotting. One of the many surprises he was hoping to have in store for her (besides a trip to Chicago and a ring!), was our arrival in the city to congratulate her after the big event. Though is was quite an undertaking for us to make it happen, it was certainly worth it. Not only did we get to be there for a big moment in their lives, but Jonah also got to make his first trip into the city.
When we got to the city we stopped to eat on the north side of Chicago at a place called Glen's Diner. We went there because it was featured on the Food Net work show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. We love the show and have tried to make note of places around us that are on it. This place was a small diner that served typical diner food and some incredible seafood from around the world! It was super good. After that we checked into our hotel, changed and made our way to the John Hancock building where the big moment was gonna take place. The trees of Michigan Ave were lit up and a huge tree was lit in front of the building. So festive!
We went up to the 95th floor of the John Hancock and surprised Stacey after Jared had proposed. She was blown away by us being there as I had lied and told her that we were in Wisconsin. After that we took some pictures of them and headed back to get some sleep for little man before the next days adventures around town.
The next morning we grabbed coffee and met up with S & J. We did a little shopping, had lunch at Giordano's, and then headed to our favorite place in Chicago... the Bean! I never get tired of looking at it and it was just as impressive as always. Next to Millennium Park, where the Bean is located, there was an ice skating rink surrounded by beautiful skyline. We left the park and made our way to a German Christmas festival that was taking place in the city. After that we stopped by the famous Chicago theater sign, and then got back in the car to head home. All in all we were there from 4pm to 4pm. I'm still tired.
Tired or not, we had Jonah's 6 month appointment today. He was a champ, taking 5 shots with only minimal screaming. He weighed in at 19 lbs 6 ounces and measured 27 inches. Still a big boy but plateauing slightly.
The weekend was such a whirlwind because we made a 24 hour round trip to Chicago! Why? Because my best friend got engaged, that's why! Her fiance' (ne' boyfriend) contacted me a month ago and allowed me to follow along with all of his plotting. One of the many surprises he was hoping to have in store for her (besides a trip to Chicago and a ring!), was our arrival in the city to congratulate her after the big event. Though is was quite an undertaking for us to make it happen, it was certainly worth it. Not only did we get to be there for a big moment in their lives, but Jonah also got to make his first trip into the city.
When we got to the city we stopped to eat on the north side of Chicago at a place called Glen's Diner. We went there because it was featured on the Food Net work show Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. We love the show and have tried to make note of places around us that are on it. This place was a small diner that served typical diner food and some incredible seafood from around the world! It was super good. After that we checked into our hotel, changed and made our way to the John Hancock building where the big moment was gonna take place. The trees of Michigan Ave were lit up and a huge tree was lit in front of the building. So festive!
We went up to the 95th floor of the John Hancock and surprised Stacey after Jared had proposed. She was blown away by us being there as I had lied and told her that we were in Wisconsin. After that we took some pictures of them and headed back to get some sleep for little man before the next days adventures around town.
The next morning we grabbed coffee and met up with S & J. We did a little shopping, had lunch at Giordano's, and then headed to our favorite place in Chicago... the Bean! I never get tired of looking at it and it was just as impressive as always. Next to Millennium Park, where the Bean is located, there was an ice skating rink surrounded by beautiful skyline. We left the park and made our way to a German Christmas festival that was taking place in the city. After that we stopped by the famous Chicago theater sign, and then got back in the car to head home. All in all we were there from 4pm to 4pm. I'm still tired.
Tired or not, we had Jonah's 6 month appointment today. He was a champ, taking 5 shots with only minimal screaming. He weighed in at 19 lbs 6 ounces and measured 27 inches. Still a big boy but plateauing slightly.
Snow Day
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Yesterday was a major snow day for us in the Midwest. There was a full fledged blizzard that came through and closed just about everything. (For actual snow totals, you'll have to do research on your own!) The University shut down, which almost never happens, so Andrew got to stay home too. It adds more on his plate to get done today, but it sure was nice to have him here! A couple of our friends braved the weather and walked the block or so to our house and hung out with us for the day. We ate our weight in cookies that I had collected from a cookie exchange the night before, and chit chatted by the fire. Not a bad way to spend the day overall!
Today is blisteringly cold because all of the cloud cover from the snow storm has passed. It is crystal clear and frigid. Last I checked it was only 1 degree and the high was supposed to get all the way up to 7. The overnight low will be below 0. Andrew added a weather update on our blog site so everyone can keep up with our joyous weather day by day. Winter has officially begun.
Weihnachten Magic
Monday, December 7, 2009
This weekend we continued doing Christmas themed things, inspired by Jonah to take in all the stuff that is offered to do around here. Only about 6 months old and he is getting to soak up the experiences!
On Saturday we went into the Amana colonies, a little old German town about a half hour away. They have a Prelude to Christmas every year (hence the German blog title) where they decorate the streets, have Santa come in, and basically make the quaint little town even more so. People still live in the Amanas, but it is a big tourist place to go. (I was gonna say "big thing for Iowa" but do we really need those disclaimers anymore?) We knew it was gonna be cold and that we needed to bundle up. Apparently Andrew is a bit heartier stock than Jonah and I are.
Andrew and I went a few years back and thought it was a really lovely, warm, and sentimental type of thing to do. Sweet little stone houses and shops all decorated for Christmas. The fences along the street are hung with big retro light bulbs and greenery. Every shop has cocoa or coffee to try and the there is a 100 year old barn at the end of town that is just swallowed up by Christmas. The barn is my favorite part and we wanted to get there while Jonah was in a calm, humoring mood so we went there first.
Though it was freezing outside (in the 20's I think), the barn was cozy with lots of people and space heaters! It is full of decorated trees from all of the local businesses, all of the rafters are strung with lights and there are musicians playing Christmas carols.
There was even a whole area set up to celebrate the birth of Christ, with a nativity, banner and pathway made of white lights and greenery. Hmmm. Imagine that! (The picture does not do it justice. It was really precious.)
One of our main reasons for visiting this year is that we wanted a more picturesque setting for the first time that Jonah saw Santa than the local mall. Old fashioned and traditional as it was, we did not bank on Jonah having no interest at all in the guy. Not a stare, a tear, or a beard pull to be had. Maybe he was wise to the fact that this wasn't the real McCoy. Or maybe we had unrealistic hopes for the attentiveness of a 6 month old. Who knows!
On Saturday we went into the Amana colonies, a little old German town about a half hour away. They have a Prelude to Christmas every year (hence the German blog title) where they decorate the streets, have Santa come in, and basically make the quaint little town even more so. People still live in the Amanas, but it is a big tourist place to go. (I was gonna say "big thing for Iowa" but do we really need those disclaimers anymore?) We knew it was gonna be cold and that we needed to bundle up. Apparently Andrew is a bit heartier stock than Jonah and I are.
Andrew and I went a few years back and thought it was a really lovely, warm, and sentimental type of thing to do. Sweet little stone houses and shops all decorated for Christmas. The fences along the street are hung with big retro light bulbs and greenery. Every shop has cocoa or coffee to try and the there is a 100 year old barn at the end of town that is just swallowed up by Christmas. The barn is my favorite part and we wanted to get there while Jonah was in a calm, humoring mood so we went there first.
Though it was freezing outside (in the 20's I think), the barn was cozy with lots of people and space heaters! It is full of decorated trees from all of the local businesses, all of the rafters are strung with lights and there are musicians playing Christmas carols.
There was even a whole area set up to celebrate the birth of Christ, with a nativity, banner and pathway made of white lights and greenery. Hmmm. Imagine that! (The picture does not do it justice. It was really precious.)
One of our main reasons for visiting this year is that we wanted a more picturesque setting for the first time that Jonah saw Santa than the local mall. Old fashioned and traditional as it was, we did not bank on Jonah having no interest at all in the guy. Not a stare, a tear, or a beard pull to be had. Maybe he was wise to the fact that this wasn't the real McCoy. Or maybe we had unrealistic hopes for the attentiveness of a 6 month old. Who knows!
Joyful Noise
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Hands down, my favorite sound on the planet is the sound of a child laughing. It is clear and pure and innocent. It makes me smile and literally makes my spirit just feel lighter. There is nothing to compare it to. We are now at a point where I get to here this joyful noise erupting from my very own child and I adore it!! Jonah finds odd things funny. He loves to be startled and loves high pitched noises. Words like "ewww" and "delicious" really get him. And being startled while hearing a high pitched "delicious"?? Well, forget about it. He even has anticipation laughter as he waits for the next jiggle. Funniest thing ever. The video is 2 min long, so anyone other than a grandparent might get a little bored. That's ok. It was too hard to cut the video down in a timely fashion so just watch what you will.
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