Normandy

My parents have been here for a fun visit, and we spent the weekend in a 17th century manor in Normandy. Gorgeous! Jonah also got reaquainted with the ocean. He sees pictures of it daily, but it's been awhile since he's touched it or seen it in person, so we were anxious for his reaction. At first he was just taking it all in and didn't want us to bring him to touch the water's edge. Then he decided to charge the water - shoes and all - and couldn't understand why we kept holding him back from an all-out bathing session (mean parents that we are, with the 40 degree water!). Needless to say, we're looking forward to our beach time in the OBX, and have a feeling it'll be a big hit with the Little Bear!

We also spent quite a bit of time visiting the D-Day landing beaches, museums, and the American and German cemetery. Hard to put it into words. There is still such an awesome respect here for the sacrifices made of our fore-fathers. It was a wonderful, humbling time full of lots of memories.

First Ride!

Jonah went on his first ride a couple weeks back! In retrospect, his Mommy probably wasn't thinking when she put him in a moving vehicle that went up-and-down an incline, without a seatbelt, by himself! I realized as the ride started (with a jolt) and was moving rather quickly that this was perhaps my first real dangerous mistake as a mommy. But Jonah's response to it reassured me. Initially he thought he'd done something wrong when the "tractor" started moving cause he gave me this "Uh oh, I'm in trouble now" look. But after my reassuring nods and praise that this was really quite a cool thing, he got into it, beeping the horn and driving the crazy thing for the entire 2 minutes. The only painful part for him was having me pry him out of it after the ride was finished. He just couldn't understand why we couldn't stay all day and play with the cool tractor. And who can blame him :)

A Bed-Shot

This is a shot of Jonah in his bed for the first time. It's a hit!

Baaaaa

We had a super fun time going to the Jardin d'Acclimatation a few weeks back. There is a mini-farm at the park, and Jonah loved all the animals. He wasn't afraid to put his fingers through the fence and touch the rabbits, goats and sheep. But it was the sheep's "baaing" that had us in stitches. We thought they were hilarious.

Catching up a bit

It's been ages since I've posted it seems. As I can't seem to figure out the video uploading, thought I'd put a few favorite pics up instead. Jonah loves to smell flowers whenever he sees them - he "snorts" out instead of sniffing in, but he's figuring it out :) Jonah also received a special gift in March when we hosted a housewarming party - a pair of fish! Though they've yet to be named, they are still alive and well, and Jonah really enjoys feeding them. And yes, our Little Bear is still the life of the party. He puts up with us taking him out to eat, and our friends here are incredibly loving and gracious with them. He loves them all - and so do we!

Big Boy Bed!

Friday night marked a grand rite of passage for our Bear....He slept in his brand new Big Boy Bed! Daddy put it together on Thursday, and Jonah enjoyed playing on and around the frame while the mattress and bedding aired out. Then last night was the big Attempt. And guess what? He didn't seem to be phased by the move one bit! When I laid him down, he picked up his head and looked around a bit. But after we reassured him that this was HIS big-boy-bed, he smiled and laid his head back down, cuddling Mr. Bear and Mr. Elephant (his stuffed animal friends) under his arms, and closed his eyes. A full night's sleep later proved it wasn't at all tramatic. And he napped in it again today. And he fell asleep in it again tonite! Wow, what a Big Boy we have. So strange to think he'll (most likely)be in a bed for the rest of his life. sigh. They really do grow up too fast :)

Colander Head

About a month ago, Jonah walked out of the kitchen with a new find - a "colander hat!" He was so proud of his creation (and we were more than a bit impressed at his ingenuity). Of course he had to share the laugh with his "friend" in the mirror :)