A Beautiful Day and an Ugly Incident

Sunday may have been the best day of the year in Kansas City -- temps in the 70s, sunny and Fall leaves in full color. We decided to hang out for part of the afternoon in Loose Park, about a mile from our house, and one of better parks around with its wide-open spaces, duck pond, turtles and many, many trees. It's so picturesque, we guessed half the people there were amateur/professional photographers with fancy, Abe Iverson-type cameras. Speaking of amateur ...
the only downer of the afternoon happened when Tricia spotted an ideal place for our photo shoot (noted below) when some chump who had been hired to snap family shots barged into our space. His assistant stepped on and kicked our blanket, and the whole kit-and-caboodle hogged the area for about 20 minutes while we patiently waited to regain the spot. So angry was I that I stalked the offending photog, and clicked the shots below of him tearing limbs off a live tree for his next shot. The pics are on their way to the park service as we speak, and if there is justice, he's headed to jail, or at least some serious, back-breaking community service.





Here is the scenic scene that Tricia picked out. No wonder that fool and the richy-rich family who hired him wanted the spot.



Tricia often loses her glasses at home. Things were no different at the park. And like at home, I somehow found them, lying amongst the acorns and leaves.



Holden leading the way back home.

My mom gave Jonas these overalls. This picture was taken about a month ago as well.

Black and White

I took this picture about a month ago one Sunday afternoon while Jason was out mowing the grass. I dressed Jonas in this white outfit from Sarah, Jeff and Hannah. They brought this ensemble back from their trip to various countries in Asia. This particular outfit was purchased in Vietnam, I believe. Isn't it cute? I took a whole series and will share a few more. I took these right around the time of the Black and White challenge on Project Runway and was inspired by their black and white designs. At that time I was rooting for Michael to win, but I have to say I am happy with the Jeffrey win. Anyway, let's continue with the Jonas Black White series.



This picture was taken at the end of our Black White photo shoot and I believe Jonas was done with the picture snapping. I had to include this picture, because I love how expressive Jonas is. As I have mentioned before that backdrop is a Liv original.

Afterwards he slept. Here he is smiling in his sleep. Sorry about the picture being crooked. Photos are rotating in the uploading process and I am giving up on getting it right for now. But, I can't leave this photo out of the series.

In the best interest of kids!?

I am wondering when our country is done with our 8 long years of Bush, what will happen to NCLB? This massive piece of legislation is problematic for many different reasons, check this out for one specific problem with it:
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/webwatch/2006/10/badge_of_shame.html

Happy Birthday, Jason and Michael!

Today is my brothers' birthday. So...I just want to post some Happy Birthday wishes and let them know that we are thinking about them on their 27th birthday. The picture is from Sunday morning breakfast. Holden made them both birthday cards. Even though I was not yet 5 years old when they were born, I still remember it well. My father called from the hospital to tell my sister and I that we had TWO brothers, not just one. We did not believe this until we saw both brothers. Anyway...I almost wrote 26th birthday until Jason reminded me that I am 31 not 30...

Double Down

Jonas has doubled his birth weight, which apparently is a good thing, and is pretty tall for his age, according to his four-month checkup. Mom took the day off to take Jonas to the doctor, and was there to hold him for his latest round of shots (although there was no one there to hold her). Reports are that Jonas took his shots like a real tough guy, and actually laughed as the needles sunk into his chubby legs.


In other news ...

-- Jonas ate lunch at the Mongolian BBQ in Lawrence on Tuesday with Loki, Kevin and Andy (Jonas had a major blowout there, and he didn't even eat any of the food). The three dads, who normally would talk nothing but baseball, talked mainly about babies this time, which means either the regular season is over or priorities have shifted. I'm going with no more baseball.

-- Jonas has started sleeping on his tummy (as seen below), which alarmed Linda, who watches him on Friday mornings and was the first to witness this new sleep position. Now he rolls all over the crib; I once went into his room during a nap to find one of his legs poking out between the slats of the crib.



-- Some other random photos from the last week or so can be found below.

Sit Up and Take Notice

With a little help from mom's nursing pillow, Jonas sat up all on his own today -- just a week after an unnamed family member mocked him for his inability to sit without the aid of a chair (I believe the comment was, "I'd be envious of his chair, too, but I can sit upright"). So take heed, all those who doubt Jonas.
He has abs of steel and an iron will.

(If you look close, you'll notice some projectile spit up just before he makes his move; you can't swim on a full stomach, and if you're a baby, you can't sit up on one either).

Weekend Update

Enjoyed another fun weekend in Lawrence visiting with family. Saturday afternoon, Jonas saw great grandma, and grandma and grandpa Strait. But the real highlight was playing with his pal Loki, as you can see below in the photos. At one point (also in
the photos) we thought Loki might pull a Mike Tyson on Jonas' ear; he has the teeth to do the job.Fortunately, it was just some playful wrestling.





Saturday night, it was over to uncle Michael and aunt Lisa's house, where cousins Mathew and Monica were in town from Denver. Jonas thought they were swell, but he really loved Michael and Lisa's cat Slim, which is too bad for Jonas, because Mom and Dad are quite allergic. A stuffed animal will have to do at our house.



(the final pic is of Michael's ridiculously huge head light, which weighs so much it might as well be a head desk lamp).

Sweet Seat

We purchased a new ergonomic chair for Jonas this week called the Bumbo Seat. It's a big (well, big for Jonas) foam chair that sort of molds to his bottom and allows him to flail about for books and toys. The seat is so nice, I have chair envy.
Below: another action-packed video of Jonas.