Laughter IS the Best Medicine

For our families to enjoy....

This is what we did for Family Home Evening!

Life Changes

Devin and I hit some milestones this past few weeks. We did our taxes and we were able to get the child credit for the first year of our life. Not the best reason to love Jonas, but it helps. Our car officially hit 155,000 miles. Quite depressing actually, but she still runs like a charm. (Knock on wood.) We put in our application to move into a town home this summer. Our friends, the Swenson's are living their right now. It is in our ward and the best part is, Scott, Aleese, and Barrick are next door. I hope the neighbors are ready for some "wild" parties. I am very excited to have more room and for the first time in a while, STORAGE. My best friend. :) Jonas is sitting up on his own now (sniff, sniff). He is in LOVE with Handy Manny-like we are talking he becomes mesmerized by it! He also falls asleep in his bed at night (no more bouncer) and we are currently working on the naps in the bed during the day. I know, I know he is six months, but better late than never. It's just SOOOO hard to stay mad at that cute little face. And finally, Devin decided (with my help) that we would take our regional rotation this go round and we were assigned to Boston, MA. So for the next three months, we will be Boston residents. While I am excited for change of scenery, a larger part of me is a little nervous. It means a new ward (and we don't want to leave ours even if it is for three months) new faces and getting our of our comfort zones again. Oh well, it will only make us stronger. So if you don't here from me from March 1st to June 1st, it's because the good old government didn't get us internet at corporate housing.  But, I will be okay with that, because they will pay for Devin to have his work clothes dry-cleaned. Happy Day.

1 and 1/2 Birthdays!

Happy Birthday Devin! 

Today is Devin's 28th Birthday. Wow, he is so old! :) I always tease him that he is so much older than be, but truthfully it's like less than 5 months. I still like to think I am much younger. He bursts my bubble every year on my birthday. Devin is such a great husband and a great Dad. I married the most patient man alive and it's  a good thing because one needs patience when dealing with me :) I love you so much Babe! Happy Birthday!

Devin uses Jonas for a pillow sometimes and Jonas loves it!

Daddy helping Jonas open his socks he got from Charlie (the family dog) for Christmas!

I'm pretty sure we were at a Dodger spring training game in Arizona in this picture. I am SOOO going to miss spring training. They were so much fun!

We have several pictures of these two taking naps together. I can't resist!

It is also Jonas' six month Birthday today. I am more saddened by this birthday. Babies grow much too fast. I love his stage right now. I swear he learns stuff in his sleep. Every day its something new. He's hilarious too. He sometimes laughs at nothing. Must take after me :). Anyways, we are SO thankful to have him in our home. He is such a blessing and although it was a long awaited adventure, it's the best one we journeyed on so far! We love you Heaman!!

Last night I put his blanket over his toy mat, and made a tent. He LOVED it. He was laughing at the blanket above him. It was so funny! I should have thought of that a long time ago. He would go crazy when he saw me putting up the blanket again. He's so much fun! AND he found his tongue again. Here's the proof.

He looked so grown up with his tie on at church Sunday. It was pretty cute. Church really wore him out I guess!

Paid Vacation

As it turns out, working for the government has a lot of benefits. My favorite is paid holidays. Now I know that it's not uncommon, but I am thankful we get to benefit from it. Devin had a long, long weekend with MLk day off Monday, and then Tuesday he was off for the inauguration. They did a lot of security out of his building, so he wasn't even allowed in. Nice. We decided to take a road trip to Connecticut to see Devin's brother. It was a blast! I loved the drive for a lot of reasons.. Jonas was a trooper and slept a lot of the time, there were minimal needs to stop (the last time we road tripped I was pregnant-now I know where ALL the good rest areas are!), and the best part of the trip....I saw New York. I know, I know...but I am from the West Coast! Utah in fact and I grew up in a farming town. New York was like a fantasy land for me. But it is indeed real, and I saw it. And I want to go back! That said, we had such a fun weekend with Destry, Loni and their cute girls. We can't wait to go back!

See how good he was?

While we were in CT, I went to a Christmas Tree Shoppe store for the first time. It's basically a glorified dollar store with nicer things, but mostly just random stuff. I bought each of the girls and Jonas a little kit to make their very own plates. It was easy! Clean the plate off; Draw; Clean the plate again! They turned out cute. Poor Jonas has a handicapped artist for a mom :(

See??? I saw New York and it's awesome!

 We got major snow in Connecticut. I thought we were back in Utah!

We went to a cool "I`spy" museum. Here are the boys enjoying a break.

Me and two of our three nieces we visited. They are such cute girls! Brynn is way to big for her britches and Keagyn has the cutest Boston accent ever!

Rise and Shine. What a beautiful sunrise!

This is a bit random, but Jonas likes this jumer-roo thing. He just hasn't figured out the jumper-roo part yet!

Blonde??

I never remember how to post pictures in order. So I'll get over it and let my two post be backwards. I'm not lazy, I have a 5 month old trying to attack the keyboard. If his Dad sees the slobber..we are all in trouble! Happy Reading!

More Fun

Here is Jonas with G'ma Misrasi (Nicole's Mom) opening his CD player. Seriously we had to mail stuff home because this little man (and his mom and dad) were so spoiled!
My sister's have been practicing self portraits. They will kill me for posting these (:>). I think they need more practice.
Like maybe Taryn should be looking at the camera...or did she do that to make you think this was a candid shot...who knows, but they sure are SILLY!
Brooklyn wisely avoided the self portraits and did the cute smile thing. She's so cute and one good helper! AND she sings the best song about Santa using Zebras!
Devin has this habit of growing out his hair TOOOOO long. He cuts it when I threaten to leave and never return. He really didn't have time before he left for Utah, but I still had to torture him. So here's how long it was. Long enough to put Brookie's elastic in. HA! Maybe that will teach him to cut it sooner rather than later! I still love you Babe.

..Catching Up..

We had SO much fun in Utah. Spending three weeks there means we got to do lots and lots of fun things. It was more than fun to spend time with our family. We felt so blessed to be with them and make new memories with Jonas. He went three weeks without being put down for more than five minutes :). Needless to say, he is already tired of his mom and dad and wishes for more excitement! He was a good little traveler although it gives me MAJOR anxiety to fly without Devin. Here are a few pictures:

I am quite sure that Jonas is talking back to Devin. He's getting started a little early!
Here is Heaman opening his gift from Grandpa and Grandma Ure. We went to visit them at their house in Idaho for a few days. It was good to see them and their house was so nice. Devin's oldest brother and his family came up too. Jonas got to play with his cousins and meet their newest addition, Alexa. We had lots of fun!
This is how Jonas spent New Years Eve. ASLEEP! We went to G & G Pierson's for a fondue party. It was lots of fun and Jonas did very well considering the late hour and all the noise. And the fondue was sooo good!
My parents planned a fun night to Salt Lake City to go see the lights and have dinner. The whole family went and it was so much fun! They surprised us and took us to eat at The Roof. The food was pretty good, but the view of the city and Temple Square is the best part! We had fun taking pictures and teasing my sister Taryn. She tried to eat a piece of cake that was as big as she is. I will have to post that picture later. It was funny and even the waiter teased her!
We even got a few cuddles out of Jonas here and there. This is at Devin's parents house. We watched Mamma Mia. I like it and Devin tolerated it! :0

Snow and Christmas in Utah!

We had a great Christmas this year! We all arrived safe and happy in Utah and although we have had MAJOR snow, we didn't have any troubles getting here. Jonas was lots of fun to have for Christmas. He really just wanted to eat the paper, the plastic and the bows, but he liked his gifts. He was VERY spoiled and has lots of things to play with and cute new clothes to wear. We were all spoiled this year! Thanks for the great gifts and all the fun everyone!

Jonas and Daddy opening yet another gift at G&G Misrasi's.

Jonas' Great Grandparents (Nicole's G & G Stevenson) gave him this little ball and he loved it. He will have a hard time deciding what to play with when we get home. He has lots of fun new toys!

How cute is this? Mid-Sneeze :) I guess he was allergic to all those gifts!

We are having a great time and hope that our friends and families are enjoying the holidays too!!

Christmas on the East Coast

This year, our Christmas traditions will change. We have our first child, so that adds to the fun and excitement. We live far away from our family, so that means we get to travel home. My little sister Brooklyn has been counting the days until we get there, since we left in October. She loves her nephew!! (and Devin and Me..I think). I get to spend about 3 weeks in Utah, and I am looking forward to catching up with family and friends. Since we live on the East Coast, we get to see new things for the Holidays. This is the White House. I felt pretty special to be able to see this at Christmas time. It's really busy with the changes coming up and they are already getting the grounds ready for the inauguration taking place in January. We get to see the lights at "Washington Temple Square" (I made that name up-it makes me think I am not missing the lights in Salt Lake City :). We are going tonight with friends from the ward, and tomorrow night with some of Devin's non-member friends from work. (hmm..when will I pack...) It's fun to have new traditions. I hope we will get to do them again!

This is what Heaman looks like all bundled up. He hates the coat. Devin says it's the fur. I think its because he can hardly breath! Once he gets in his stroller and we start moving, he is very happy and content. He slept a lot of the time we were down-town. He's quite the little sight-seer. 

The National Christmas Tree at the President's Park

On Friday, Jonas and I rode the metro down-town and met Devin after he got off work. We went to see The National Christmas Tree. It was huge, and there are 56 trees all decorated and lit-up around it. There is also a few little trains, a huge fire-pit, Santa's workshop (where Jonas got his first picture with Santa), and a stage for live performances. It was cool! I loved the big tree and you can see the White House from the park. That was my first time seeing the White House. Its so beautiful and especially at Christmas with the lights and the big tree and wreaths. It was cold, but fun!
Here we all are in front of the White House. It's that blurry lighted building in the background. I guess we were shivering too much and we didn't keep the camera steady! Isn't Jonas' face so funny. He was a trooper. Especially since he hates his big heavy coat and since his hat is in his eyes most of the time. He likes the lights and all the commotion though, so he was highly entertained. Devin took me to eat at California Pizza Kitchen (one of my favs) on the way home..no dishes!

The Doctor was a little annoyed that I was giving Jonas cereal in a bottle. Hello?! I just wanted more sleep, it had very little to do with his nutrition. Anyway, she suggested giving him cereal on a spoon and slowly (within three weeks :-o Yikes) introducing him to baby food. He has done really well with the spoon, except he attacks the spoon when I am not fast enough. (see above photo for proof!) The sleeping thing...I was kidding myself, he still gets up to eat twice!
This was the monkey after Thanksgiving dinner. He was tired and worn out. We had a great day. This was our first Thanksgiving without any family, and it wasn't as bad as I thought. I would have loved to have been with family, but we have such great friends in our ward, that it felt like family. We totally invited ourselves to their house, and they were gracious enough to let us come. Thanks to Scott, Aleese, and Barrick for being great hosts (as usual) and such great examples and friends to us. Thanks for everyone else that came for great food, and even better company!
Jonas isn't much into toys because he has these two little hands in his mouth at ALL TIMES. It's cute yes, but we are both always wet!
My Grandma gave him this little shirt right after he was born (well, its a set of three shirts). Anyway, they are 9 months, but they are cute and tight on his chubby little belly. He is growing big, big, big!

Here are his FOUR month stats:
Weight: 16 lbs 6 oz (85%)
Height: 25 1/2 inches (97%)
Head: 17 1/4 inches (normal-that's what the Dr. said)