Monday, September 21, 2009

Family Zoo Trip

We had our first family trip to the zoo on Saturday.


Jaron eagerly awaits in line to board his first train ride with his train ticket in hand.


He did not want to get off.


Jaron grooming a goat.


Jaron milking a cow.





He was fascinated with the giraffe.

Abigail was there too. Just wasn't nearly as involved... yet.

The Spirit of Philadelphia Dinner Date

A couple of weeks ago I got a letter in the mail from someone asking me to go on a dinner date cruise on the Spirit of Philadelphia with him. It turns out it was my loving, sweet husband. I was surprised and so excited! This is something we were considering to do on our first anniversary, but it got brushed aside with other plans. I've been wanting to go on a SP cruise basically since I moved into this area. So that's just what we did. We got my wonderful sister, Geniene, to watch Jaron and Abigail (who did fine for her first time w/o her mommy nursing her before bed...what a relief for me!), and we went out on a very special date.
I had come down with a bad cold the day before and feeling pretty rotten that day, so we had considered postponing it, but I was able to muscle up the energy to go (with a little help with a decongestant pill, of course) and I'm so glad I did. But it seemed to me that it was more than just me who muscled the energy, but God who gave me that extra bit of strength to go and have an enjoyable evening. I was feeling so drastically different after our evening began than I was at home. Usually it's the opposite. Sometimes I think He gives us what we need, such as physical strength, to endure the things that we really need, such as a romantic evening of just husband and wife time, which He knows we DID need that. It's just another way the Lord shows us how He cares for those that He loves.
We went last Thursday and traffic was so incredibly busy and jam-packed going into the city (even though we left extra early already considering traffic into our travel time), we thought we might not make it for the boarding, but thankfully we did. It was a very elegant boat with a full buffet of wonderful food, a bar, a dance floor, two decks outside with chairs and tables so you can eat out there and/or just enjoy the view.
Thank you Jeremy for the wonderful time! It was a date that won't be forgotten.

Before boarding


Our dinner table was by a window so we could look out on the water as we ate.



On the deck

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Our Beach Weekend

We went to Ocean Grove, NJ shore on Labor Day weekend. We met Mary's parents there on Saturday along with her sister and brother-in-law. They were there until Sunday and we were there until Monday. It was very nice, but unfortunately the weather was not beach weather. It was incredibly windy on Sunday. The sun came out here and there and we were still able to play in the sand and enjoy the boardwalk as well as the quaint little town of Ocean Grove.
Here are a few pictures and a video for you to enjoy.


We always enjoy a night walk on the boardwalk, looking at the moon reflecting on the ocean. Love it!


Mommy playing games with Jaron


Daddy playing games with Jaron


Mary and Jaron feeding the seagulls


Abbie is protected from the strong wind and blowing sand in her little tent.


Our beach set-up: Jeremy entertaining Abigail in the tent, Tiffany and Jaron bury Jarid in the sand.

Jaron helping out with the burial.

Our group on Saturday night out for dinner on the boardwalk: Dad, Mom, Tiffany, Jarid, Mary, Jeremy, Abigail and Jaron
Here is a video of Jaron chasing the seagulls. (You need to listen carefully to the dialogue. The wind was stronge and loud, it's hard to hear over it.)

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Our Family Update

I can't believe it's been almost a month since our last post! The summer has flown by. We must've had a lot going on that kept us from posting.... or not much to post about. Either way, we have some updates on our family now.


What have we done this past month? Well,
- we took a trip to upstate NY to visit Mary's parents
-Jeremy and Mary finally joined our church's worship team and just sang a song together for the offeratory (with Jer accompanying on the guitar; it was SO nice to get back into that again)
- went to a wedding of Jeremy's co-worker
- had a few Dr.'s appointments
- had friends over
- went to other poeple's house for dinner
- Mary got her hair trimmed (HUGE highlight in my life... sad, I know)
- went to the beach at Ocean Grove, NJ over Labor Day weekend (we literally squeezed all four of us into a teeny, tiny room with Jaron in a pack-n-play and the baby on the floor... anything to save a buck, right?)
- finally joined a small group Bible Study at church
- Mary also joined a Ladies Bible Study
- Jaron has joined a 2's and 3's Sunday School class
- Jeremy installed new flooring in the kitchen and carpet in Jaron's room, as well as exterior lighting.
Still to come:
- a trip to Bethany Beach in Deleware (thanks to J's boss who is loaning us a weekend at his shore condo)
- a trip to visit Mary's Grandparent's in VA
- a family trip to the zoo (first time for Jaron, but I thinked I'm more excited about it than he is) - and a special date later this week, a dinner cruise on the Spirit of Philadelphia.

Some things are bigger news than others, but it all has kept us busy and on our toes. We are very excited about becoming involved in church activities more, now that we're past the hospital drama and Abigail has healed so well. She is nursing less (3 times a day), so it's giving Mom a little more freedom to go places and join things. She is still going through major stranger anxiety, which is normal for a 10 month old, and that makes it hard to leave her anywhere or with anyone, even in our own house. I believe it's a little worse than normal for her only because of the trama she went through just 3 months ago with her surgery. Doc seems to think it could last for a long time yet because of that. So that is tough but Abbie and Jaron are already such good playmates so he helps to keep her entertained when I can't be by her side. She usually enjoys just watching him play. She is not crawling yet, but acts like she wants to. She has very strong legs so I dont' see any reason why she won't start quite soon. I'm really enjoying this stage though, I have to say. Jaron keeps me running around enough as it is. Abigail can also give kisses and seems to try and sing when you sing to her, but I'm still figuring that one out. She is still very loud and vocal.


Helping Momma in the kitchen
Results of surgery in June









Jaron has grown by leaps and bounds this summer. He is talking so well now. We can actually understand him and have somewhat of a conversation with him. Things that I've heard him say recently that has cracked me up is "uh...nedamind (nevermind)", or "how (you) doing?", "see you waiter (later), bye", "that what Bible says?", "Wov (love) you Abbie" or when we're in church after every song or prayer he'll say very loud, "All done!" There's more, I just can't think of them all. I've heard that kids at this age are funny. It's so true. They're a handful with their wills shining through and lack of self control, but the things they say are so funny. They hear everything you say. Jeremy and I are being very careful these days with what we say, knowing that there are little ears always listening and repeating. Jaron is sitting through most of the church service now without needing to go to the nursery and occasionally he'll sit through the whole thing. He can also say his first Bible verse, Ephesians 6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."


Reading a book to his sister

Jaron's not sure what he's more excited for: snow or the pool. He wears an interesting combination of winter hat and gloves and little swimmers.


More to follow: our beach adventures.