We're back!

We made it back to Canada in just over 13 hours AND it was Jonah's BEST roadtrip of his entire life!!! He didn't sleep enough but we got him back on track fairly quickly. He has been quite happy to be home. His first day here he randomly said throughout the day, "I feel happy." And he kept remembering different toys and asking for them.

Jonah's reuniting with Miles was less than we hoped, but was to be expected really. Miles is touchy-feely. Jonah isn't, unless he's in the mood for it. So at first he kept telling Miles not to touch him and was getting frustrated because Miles kept saying "Hi Jonah!" They shared a few laughs and good moments over the last couple of days, however, we finally got what we hoped for tonight. We got home from being out all afternoon and when he saw Miles he said "I missed you Miles" and gave him a big hug. This was repeated about 3 times. VERY CUTE!!! In his own time, he can be very generous with the love! [And for those who are intested, Miles is a good two inches taller than Jonah, PLUS the fro!]

Since arriving home, we also took down Jonah's crib and put up his big boy bed. That transition has gone very smoothly, but no surprise there, since he's been getting himself in and out of a playpen for months. He's quite excited about the big boy bed though, and when we ran into extended family members today he was sure to announce it after they commented on how big he was getting to be.

We have been working on potty training fairly consistently with Jonah over the last couple weeks. He has pooped in the potty at least 4 times and pees lots (standing at the toilet!), however, he is still having a ton of pee accidents (and still prefers to poop in the diaper). In order to keep Jonah's clothing dry, we need to take him to the bathroom every hour (exactly WHO is trained here?) and sometimes he'll still pee in between. So, we're not sure his bladder has good strength... and he definitely is NOT aware when his bladder is FULL. Or maybe the frequent emptying is just a habit? Maybe he inherited MY preference for an empty bladder? I, the pessimist, feel like giving up for now, but Glenn, the optimist, wants to keep trying. (Note: The optimist doesn't usually have to do the laundry or clean-up, and I suspect that's influencing his decision, just as it is the pessimist's.) Advice is welcome.

I can't believe the amount of cleaning, unpacking and reorganizing we have done since getting home, and there are still 3 boxes to work on, plus Christmas gifts to sort through. Glenn also has been working on downhere podcasts and getting his passport renewed in a hurry. I've also been working on delivering resumes and having job interviews. Tomorrow is another busy day with two birthday celebrations, then Sunday is church and then we're off to Oshawa to visit with my family. Glenn's next trip is for 2-3 weeks. During that time Jonah and I are flying to Newfoundland to visit my Grandparents. They are really aging and Jonah has never met them, so we decided we needed to make the trip before we regretted it! Jonah is hoping to see a Newfoundland dog, but I'm not sure I'm going to be able to find one! We'll find something fun to do though!

Alas, before we know it, Christmas will be here. And 2007 will be ushered in in no time!

Final day

Wow, I can't believe today is our last day in Tennessee. On one hand the time has flown by, but on another, it feels like forever since I slept in my own bed! It has really good to be here, but we are all ready to come home. Jonah is hoping for a hug from Toro - good luck on that one, Jonah! And with Christmas coming too, with lots of family get togethers planned, we have MUCH to look forward too. It's going to be super fun to see Jonah interact with his cousins again and we can't wait to see Miles' long hair!

Glenn's parents have been here for the last few days, so that has been a nice way to spend my last few days here, and Jonah has really enjoyed that too of course! And it's going to be helpful for us because they are going to help us transport our things back to Canada... provided they can fit our stuff in with all the Christmas shopping they did while they were here!

I've still got work to do, so no time to be reflective. Maybe tomorrow when we're driving ALL DAY LONG, Glenn and I will try to figure out what we've learned over the last 3 months during our time here.

Tomorrow it will likely take us a good solid 15 hours to drive home. Please pray for us, and especially that Jonah will enjoy the drive and will be able to rest well when he's tired.

Jeremy & Erin, thanks so much for having us in your home for the last 3 months! It has been a pleasure and we felt MORE than welcome!

p.s. Karen, I regret that our blogged worlds did not have a chance to intersect this time - let's make it a PRIORITY next time!!!

Dr. Seuss

Over the last few months, Jonah has really gained an appreciation for Dr. Seuss. First he started with these two:




Now he also really enjoys:


It just tickles me to hear him quoting it randomly throughout the day. Earlier today I caught him drumming and singing/rapping one page from One Fish, Two Fish, where one of the lines goes something like "You never yet met a pet, I bet, as wet as they let this wet pet get." A few days before that he was staring at the fridge attempting the same rhyme, and then said, "That's One fish, two fish".

I also heard him saying "A night in Na-Nupp, when the 3 moons are up" from The Thinks You Can Think. He also quotes a bit about how "beft always go to the left" and then adds, "silly beft!"

He absolutely LOVES the keen-shooter, mean-shooter, bean-shooter bugs from If I Ran the Zoo. The first time we read that story, he was laughing out loud at the picture (boy humor!), and then said "Jonah need to shoot beans out HIS nose." I attempted to convince him that such a thing is not a good idea.

My favorite though, is when we quote a page together from One Fish, Two Fish, that goes something like this:

Bump, bump, bump
Did you ever ride a wump?
We have a wump with just one hump
But we know a man called Mr. Gump
Mr. Gump has a seven-hump wump
So if you like to go bump, bump
Just jump on a hump of the wump of Gump

Jonah can pretty much recite that last line. Pretty impressive! Tonight after his bath we were reciting it together. Here's how the conversation went when we were done...

Mommy: Are wumps real or pretend?
Jonah: They're real! We need to go in the car and see them. I need my special video camera to see them.

Then he fidgeted around, picking up his pretend special video camera, putting it up to his eyes and so on. Pretty funny.

Jonah absolutely would NOT get into this next one. He flat out refused my offer to read it on multiple occasions. Not sure why.


He WAS interested in reading this one, but I found myself unable to read it. It's basically a book completely loaded with tongue-twisters. It was so much work for me that I put it down after a few pages and refused to read it to him!

Dr. Seuss, we salute you!

These are a few of my favorite things . . .

Jonah jammin' on the djembe!

He's still such a hockey boy!

Do you recognize these "ice skates"?

Bethlehem Skyline

Centricity Records has put together a Christmas album featuring all of their artists. It's called Bethlehem Skyline. downhere has two original tracks on it, plus they were a part of "O Come All Ye Faithful". Hop on over to myspace to listen to some of the tracks.

Recent pics

Occasionally Jonah likes to wear our shirts.
Here he is modelling Glenn's downhere hoodie.

I met up with a friend last weekend for a walk at
Ellington Agricultural Center. Here Jonah
paused for a moment to point out an airplane.

Otherwise, I mostly just saw the back of him as he
ran away from me. He's doing that a little
more lately - bolting... A little scary!

Love Languages

I've been reading bits and pieces of this book over the last week or two. Have you heard of it? Over the course of several years, the author Dr. Gary Chapman came to understand that all people express and receive love in different ways. He calls them "love languages" and they are: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. Most important is the idea that each person has a PRIMARY love language and communicating your love to them in THAT way is what is going to meet their deepest emotional need and make them feel most loved.

I encourage you to follow the link above to figure out what your own love language is and that of those people close to you! And then tell eachother about it of course! Also, think about the answers to these questions to help you discover your own love languages:

What makes you feel most loved? What do you desire above all else? What does your spouse do or say or fail to do that hurts you deeply? Or look back and ask yourself, What have I most often requested of my spouse? Another way is discover your own love lanugage is to examine what you do or say to express love to others. (People tend to express love in the same way they need to receive it.)

I think it's one of God's little jokes that my primary love language is Quality Time... and I'm married to a guy who is out of town a LOT!

While this book focuses on the marriage relationship, it really is applicable to ALL types of relationships. The author joined forces with Dr. Ross Campbell to write The Five Love Languages of Children... I might just add it to my Christmas wishlist!

Back when we were in Washington, we felt like we got some insight into Jonah's primary love language. When we saw deer one day, Jonah said "they love Jonah". When asked "why?" he paused for a LONG time, and then said, "because they play with Jonah." He said that several times for various different types of animals during the course of that week. So, perhaps his love language is Quality Time? Time will tell I suppose!

Little IS Much!

I trust all of my faithful blog readers out there have downhere's newest CD and therefore know that I just quoted the title to one of the songs on the album! I'm excited because I have my own Little Is Much story!

A WHILE back Glenn, Jonah and I visited some friends in the US. To thank them for hosting us, we brought some Canadian chocolate bars. We never forgot the enthusiasm with which they received the small token of our thanks. We learned a little about the art of receiving gifts in that moment. From time to time since then I've thought about sending them some in the mail. Since we brought some to TN with us when we came in August, and then Glenn's Mom sent more down, and with Halloween fast approaching, we really had no excuse. It was time! So I packed up some chocolate in a box, along with a note and one of Jonah's paintings, thinking it would at least bring a little cheer to our friends' hearts.

Before we knew it, Glenn had a phone message and an email from our friends, thanking us for the way in which we had deeply encouraged them, and assuring us that God had really used that little gesture in a big way. Wow! That's exciting! What little can you do today?

Little is much when God's in it
And no one can fathom the plans He holds
Little is much when God's in it
He changes the world with the seeds we sow

Vegetable Progress

A while back (and I have no idea when, so I can't trackback for ya) I blogged a bit about some of the goals I have set for myself. Basically, I made a big list of "Statements I want to be generally true of me" in various areas of my life. I don't want to be legalistic about them, so they're not hard fast rules. Anyway, one of those statements was

I eat most raw and cooked vegetables

If you have known me for a while, you KNOW my distaste for veggies, especially cooked ones. Anyway, I've been working hard and I've had some surprising results...

I like asparagus! I like cooked broccoli! In fact, I REALLY like it! I enjoy cooked cauliflower too! And zucchini! Now, I need to put some parameters on that. I like them cooked, but not overcooked, from fresh, not frozen. But that's a start! And green beans cooked from fresh aren't bad either.

I still can't get into cooked carrots, although I have always enjoyed them raw. I'm having trouble with raw tomatoes still. Brussel sprouts too, but I'll eat a couple. I've eaten raw mushroom now, but once it's cooked it just feels so yicky in my mouth.

Anyway, I'm very pleased with my progress and I'll keep trying. [Can you believe it Mom?]

Have any of you shown progress worth sharing lately?

The Nap is BACK!

Well, I say that, but I feel tentative about saying it, even though Jonah has napped for the last five days in a row! I still can't believe it really. I mean, I was worried it was gone for good. And I'm not convinced that it's back to stay either. Getting Jonah to nap for the last five days has been very difficult! He has definitely been very tired, but also very adamant about not wanting to nap.

What were (are) the tactics involved? He says he doesn't want to go to sleep, says he's hungry, says he's thirsty, says his bum hurts and other various body parts. He says "Big guys don't sleep." He takes his "sleep sweater" off. He throws everything out of the playpen. He gets out of the playpen. He climbs under the playpen mattress. He cries. He yells "Mommy" and so on... You get my drift! This really hasn't been fun.

Having Glenn home Tuesday through Thursday really helped - cuz HE was in charge! Thanks babe!!

The weird thing is that nap time is now pretty much the only time of day that he seriously complains and/or whines and/or cries (aside from injuries). He actually seems to enjoy cuddling with us more. He definitely loves Ivy more. And he has fallen asleep in the car twice - he NEVER did that, even when we gave him his soothers. So, I'm really glad we took the soothers away. It seems to have forced him to grow up a little, if you know what I mean. He has changed SO MUCH in the last 3 months. We're so proud of him! We're looking forward to taking him back to Canada and showing him off, long hair and all! We'll be back in less than 3 weeks! As expected, the time has flown!

Happy Belated Halloween...

From "Ivy" and "Jonah"

and from "Nacho Libre" and Curious George!

We took Jonah to a local church for Halloween party on Tuesday evening. He really enjoyed a glow-in-the-dark bowling game they had set up, and he was quite thrilled to see one of the other children dressed up as "Bob the Builder" and not so thrilled about reaching into dark holes to touch things like spiders, "eye balls" and "brains." Then we stopped at our friends' house for a few minutes (pictured above) and then headed back to the house. Jonah visited a few houses nearby with Glenn and I gave out candy. Once they were back, Jonah really got into giving out candy. He was being so friendly with the children, saying "You're welcome" and "Happy Halloween" and so on. Jonah tasted one sweet tart, but wanted no more than that. He's just not a candy man. He DOES like suckers, so we'll probably eat all his candy but the suckers. Sweeeet deal for me! The weather here was AMAZING for Halloween. It was dark by 5:30pm, things were damp from earlier rain, there was a ton of fog and it wasn't too cold at all - we sat outside to give out treats!

Jeremy & Erin went out to a Halloween party... Erin dressed up as Cinderella, and Jeremy dressed up as her ugly step-sister. I have pics, but I'm too merciful to post them!

Frustrated

I don't know if it's my internet connection or blogger, but I can't seem to post these days, especially pictures.

As Jonah would say, "Call me wazy" (Crazy)