Carrollton

On Saturday, we went to Carrollton Ohio for a retirement party.  Back in college, we went to the home of our friend Natalie at least one weekend every semester.  Through those visits we grew close to Natalie's parents, Bill and Doreen.  Doreen retired this summer from her job as a teacher, and Saturday was her retirement party.  It was a fun reunion with them, as they got to meet our children for the first time.

 

E and J enjoyed rolling down this hill

Judah and April "riding" Bill's 4-wheeler
(Judah called it a "Monster truck")

Eliana's turn to ride with Judah

Bill & Doreen, Kevin & Alison, Us, and Natalie & Dallas

Congrats again, Doreen!  It was great to reconnect with everyone!

 

Jungle Jack

I took the kids to the zoo on Saturday, where Jungle Jack Hanna gave a special presentation.  The kids didn't know much about Jungle Jack before we went, but they could tell he was a celebrity by the way everyone reacted when he went on stage.  We got to say hello to him in the autograph line.  Eliana said "Hi Jungle Jack!" to which Jack replied "hey buddy!!"

Daddy and Kiddos

Eliana got to brush a goat at the petting zoo

Eating snack while waiting for the show to start

Jack ran a 45 minute show, showing off lots of animals

Talking about a Warthog

Showing off her Jungle Jack picture

Visiting Chloe, April and Hazel

We took a trip to Pittsburgh last weekend to visit our good friends the Sanders and Martins.  The kids had fun playing with their friends Chloe and April, and we got to meet baby Hazel!  Here are some pictures from the visit:

Eliana at our visit to a local playground

April and Chloe

Eliana, Chloe and April on their bikes!

Judah got to try the Sanders' tricycle

Elizabeth and Baby Hazel!

Jeff and Baby Hazel!

Roasting Marshmallows

Judah, post marshamallow

Our attempt of a picture of the four kids

First Day of School

The kids had their first day of preschool last week.  Eliana is in her 2nd year, and is in the "Honeybee" class.  This is Judah's first year, and he is in the "Guppy" class (with the same teacher Eliana had last year!)

Here they are on their first day:

 

First Buckeye Game

We finally made it to our first Ohio State Buckeye Football game at historic Ohio Stadium on Saturday.  It was fun to take in the experience of watching a game with 105,000 other people, mostly wearing scarlet and gray.  The OSU traditions were also fun to experience, including the entertaining marching band show at halftime.

 

Outside "the shoe"

Our seats

The famous "Script Ohio" at halftime.  This game included the alumni
band, so there are actually 4 Script Ohios across the field

Happy Birthday, Papaw and Jeff!

Happy birthday today to two amazing men! Both of these guys are incredibly supportive, encouraging and fun to be around. I pray a blessed year for them both!

Dad/Papaw

J.J.

Celebrations

We've been busy celebrating birthdays around here.  Friday was Elizabeth's and Tuesday was Judah's.  Over the weekend, Mamaw and Papaw came to help us celebrate.

Eliana with the birthday girl

We went to Kikyo, a Japanese restaurant for Elizabeth's birthday

Waiting for our food

Sushi!

The birthday boy with Mamaw & Papaw

Judah with his new toy bus

Making Judah's cake (in case you were curious,
Eliana got her face painted with a rainbow)

Eliana insisted on having party blowers

Cake time - he requested banana cake!

Enjoying every bite of his banana cake

Opening his big present - a train set!

This is how he spent the hour before bedtime

With the Thomas balloon he picked out

Happy Birthday Judah!

It is hard to believe for us, but today is Judah's 2nd birthday! 

Judah is energetic, affectionate and a joy to be around. He is a busy little guy who likes playing with trucks, cars, and trains, running at the playground, pushing his play mower and reading books. He also continues to love his meals, especially bananas and pizza. We are working on making less of a mess with food during meal times. :)

His speech and vocabulary have been developing quickly over the past few months, and Judah is making his needs and wants known. With this growing autonomy and self-expression comes the increase of "no" in Judah's vocabulary -- we sometimes joke with Judah that his name is "No-No Jones"...to which he answers "No! Judah Jones!" 

Judah is becoming increasingly interested in playing with Eliana, which leads to both sibling conflict and very sweet moments. He loves his sister and asks about her when he doesn't know where she is. It is hard for us to believe, but Judah will be starting preschool one day a week. We are excited to see what he learns. 

Judah's name means "praise", and we do indeed praise God for the gift of our son. 
We love you, Juju!  

Judah's Second Year in Pictures

Judah David is turning 2 years old on Tuesday.  Here's a look back at each month of his second year:

September 2012

October 2012

November 2012

December 2012

January 2013

February 2013

March 2013

April 2013

May 2013

June 2013

July 2013

August 2013