My baby girl!

Meijer Gardens

Meijer Gardens is a the Botanic garden and sculpture park here in town. It is pretty close to our house. We found out the the Detroit Art Institute allowed the gardens to borrow the famous "Thinker" statue while they remodel part of their building. So since it was only a couple miles from our house we decided that we should not miss this opportunity. So we went out there yesterday. We all had fun posing at the Thinker. Also at the park they have a MASSIVE horse statue. I had Daniel stand next to it so that we can see just how big it was. They have a pond and a waterfall. Daniel loves that part because he gets to look at the fish. Brandon's favorite sculpture in the park is called "The Beast" He wanted to take a picture of that as well, so I decided to post that picture on here too.

Labor Day

We had a really fun day yesterday. We decided to have a family day before the storm hit today. Brandon is busy back at school this week and I have the baby sitting kids back. So yesterday, at the request of Daniel, we went to the beach. It is a tradition at a certain beach every year that they have an elephant there. The elephant is available for rides until a little before 4:00. Then at 4:30 the elephant will go down to the water and take a dip in the lake. We did not get a chance for Daniel to ride the elephant. But we did see him go down into the water. After that we went to the playground where Daniel played and played. Then we went down to the water. Daniel had a lot of fun there too. He had so much fun that he did not want to go home. Part of the time Monica and I laid out on a blanket trying to shade ourselves from the sun. Daddy and I would switch which of us would be in the water with Daniel. When it was my turn we would go out into the lake and when we saw a wave coming that would be about to Daniel's chin we would turn and run from the "big wave" It was a fun game. It was really funny when Daniel turned to the lake and said "Bring it on lake!" We all had a blast. It was a great family memory.

Elephant at the beach

Here is a short video of the Elephant that we saw. Also a little bit of Monica as well.

Daniel playing

Daniel had so much fun in the water. It was hard to get him to go home!

Daniel's Practical Joke

Daniel playing a joke on Papa!

In my father's likeness

Daniel and Monica

Nanny giving Monica a bath

Bad Hair Day

My Daughter hardly has any hair and yet she is already having trouble with it. She inherited a cowlick from her father. This little bit of hair down not lay down. I try to get it to lay down and if I am at all successful the next think I know it is sticking back up again. Poor Monica! I have a feeling we will be hearing complaints about her hair her whole life!

I AM THAT HERO!!!!!!!!!

This weekend Nanny and Papa came to visit us. Nanny and I decided that we would get creative and try to make Daniel a Larry Boy Costume. Larry Boy is his favorite character from the Vaggie Tales Series. Here are a few pictures of what we have so far. We still need the cape and belt. We all had fun making this for him. Even Papa and Daddy helped! Daniel has been running around the house all evening saying "I AM THAT HERO!"

Parenthood

I do not believe that I knew what true exhaustion was before I had children. It seems that lately sleep has turned from a necessity to a luxury. I find myself craving sleep like one would crave the finest swiss chocolate. If I can only get a small taste of it I would feel like I was on top of the world.

Last night at 2 in the morning not a single person in the Jones household was asleep. Daniel had an accident and his sheets and clothes were soaked in urine. Monica was up screaming her head off hungry. We had Daniel in the bathtub washing himself up. Brandon was changing the sheets and trying to get his bed back in order, and I was feeding the baby. Finally we got everyone all settled down and back into bed. After laying down I looked at the clock in disgust. I knew that in just a couple short hours Monica would be up again hungry. I tried to dismiss this thought and go to sleep so that I could get just a little bit of rest before my day started. Sure enough at 5:15 Monica woke up crying and hungry again. I took her out of the bedroom to feed her in the living room. After she ate and was up for a little while I laid down on the couch in pure exhaustion. Apparently we both fell asleep because I woke up about an hour later to the sound of Brandon taking this picture.

Double Stoller

We got this double stroller from Nanny and Papa as a shower gift. We are very thankful for it. We have a little compact car and this one actually fits in our trunk, with more room to spare than our single stroller. Today we used it to go for a long walk before lunch. It was another beautiful Michigan summer day today.

My Kids- What a blessing!

Grandparents

What a blessing it is to have grandparents! I am so thankful that my kids get to have a close relationship with their grandparents. We had a lot of fun when Babu and Soso were here. Daniel has missed them a lot since they left. Soso and Daniel would take long nature walks all over campus. Babu and Soso took Daniel on a bug hunt. He has bug catcher and they caught a lot of bugs. Daniel loves when Babu reads him stories. I know that these times when Daniel and Monica get to be held, loved on and kissed by Babu and Soso are very special. I wish that they could see them everyday!

Monica

We are so blessed to have a beautiful healthy baby girl. We are all adjusting to having a new little one around. She had her 2 week appointment today. She is growing and doing well.

Monica Marie Jones

My beautiful daughter has arrived. She was born 10 days early. She weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces. She was 20 inches long. And of course she is the so beautiful. We are truly blessed once again. The Lord has been good to us giving us two healthy beautiful children.

Monster Trucks

Last night we went to the Ionia county free fair. They had a event there involving monster trucks. Daniel was so excited he talked about it all day. Then when the event started the look on his face was priceless. He was smiling from ear to ear. It was a lot of fun to take him out there and see his eyes light up. At the end of the show they had a monster truck come out that they call the transformer. The front opened up and a robot looking guy came out. Daniel thought that was cool until it started talking. Then another robot came out and they "fought" to save planet earth. Daniel was so scared he was clinging to daddy with all his might. Overall it was a very fun trip out to the fair.

This is the Truth

Daddy and Daniel

So Handsome!