I think Mommy was more upset than Lily was.
We have a pretty tough girl!
We have a pretty tough girl!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
10 Year Class Reunion
This past weekend, we attended my 10 year class reunion in Seymour. Our school has a unique event every year called the Alumni Banquet. Every class starting with the current year's graduating class up through the oldest class represented, in intervals of 5 years gather together in the high school gym to be served dinner among a few different programs. This year was fun because not only was it my year but it was my brother's since he just graduated and also my great uncle (who was the emcee for the evening) and my grandma's. The oldest class present had graduated 70 years ago! There was also a woman there that just accompanied her daughter since it wasn't her year for the banquet and she was recognized for graduating from Seymour 78 years ago. Incredible! We had a pretty good turnout with 16 classmates in attendance out of the 28 we graduated with. After the banquet, we headed over to one of the girl's house to catch up with everyone and we watched the slideshow that was shown at our graduation ceremony. It was fun to reminisce and to also rejoice about where we're at now and the blessings we've been given. I look forward to seeing how things change when we meet up again in 5 years!
10 year table - Class of 2001
Left to Right: My brother Travis, Grandma Karen, Great Uncle Mike and me
13 out of the 16 that came to the banquet - 3 people had left before this photo was taken
At Krista's house after the banquet. We stopped at my parent's house in between the banquet and this gathering to put Lily to bed and Justin & I commented as we pulled out of the driveway that we hadn't left to go to a social event at 10 pm in ages!
Some of the girls
One of my good friends from high school, Whitney and I
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Happy Birthing!
On Thursday night, we attended our 2nd annual childbirth class reunion. When we went last year, Lily was only 7 weeks old so it was neat to see how much the babies had changed since then. Amy (our instructor) holds one every year and invites everyone that's ever taken one of her classes so it's not only our classmates but lots of other ones too. Many babies in attendance and so much fun!
Justin and I agree that taking her class was probably the wisest decision we made during pregnancy (well, that and choosing to have a doula) and the best $250 we have ever spent! We've heard from others that there's no comparison in taking her private class compared to the ones that hospitals offer. Let's face it, no one knows what they're doing for their first birth and we were fortunate to have amazing people in our life that pointed us in a helpful direction. Our first step in educating ourselves was watching this DVD and after having our eyes opened, we proceeded to pursue plans to have a natural birth. It was awesome to meditate on the idea that birth was to be an experience that I could consciously participate in (and actually enjoy!) without interventions instead of it being a series of medical events that happened to me. Even though our experience ended up with complications, we were confident and well-informed thanks to Amy's teaching so we were prepared to make good decisions. I'm so grateful for everything we learned and find it puzzling that most couples research more in looking for a good car than they do in researching birth options. One of my favorite quotes from Amy is, "If you don't know your options, you don't have any." Oh, and I must not forget one of my other favorites from class, "the pain and intensity of your contractions cannot be stronger than you, because it is you." Amazing!!
One of the other perks of her class is that we've made lifelong friends with some of our classmates. All of our due dates were within a three week span so right around the time of Lily's birth, we were receiving emails from the other couples sharing their birth stories too. It was so neat! So, now that you have a little background, you can see why it's quite fun to get together with these folks once a year and reunite, catch up, and hang out for a bit. If the Lord wills and we have another little Jones baby someday, we'll definitely be calling up our sweet friend Amy again! :)
Justin and I agree that taking her class was probably the wisest decision we made during pregnancy (well, that and choosing to have a doula) and the best $250 we have ever spent! We've heard from others that there's no comparison in taking her private class compared to the ones that hospitals offer. Let's face it, no one knows what they're doing for their first birth and we were fortunate to have amazing people in our life that pointed us in a helpful direction. Our first step in educating ourselves was watching this DVD and after having our eyes opened, we proceeded to pursue plans to have a natural birth. It was awesome to meditate on the idea that birth was to be an experience that I could consciously participate in (and actually enjoy!) without interventions instead of it being a series of medical events that happened to me. Even though our experience ended up with complications, we were confident and well-informed thanks to Amy's teaching so we were prepared to make good decisions. I'm so grateful for everything we learned and find it puzzling that most couples research more in looking for a good car than they do in researching birth options. One of my favorite quotes from Amy is, "If you don't know your options, you don't have any." Oh, and I must not forget one of my other favorites from class, "the pain and intensity of your contractions cannot be stronger than you, because it is you." Amazing!!
One of the other perks of her class is that we've made lifelong friends with some of our classmates. All of our due dates were within a three week span so right around the time of Lily's birth, we were receiving emails from the other couples sharing their birth stories too. It was so neat! So, now that you have a little background, you can see why it's quite fun to get together with these folks once a year and reunite, catch up, and hang out for a bit. If the Lord wills and we have another little Jones baby someday, we'll definitely be calling up our sweet friend Amy again! :)
Us with Amy
Lily, Lillian and Rowan with their mommas
Lillian and Lily.....born just one week apart
There were all sorts of little statues of animals like this in the park and she kept giving them kisses. Very sanitary, I'm sure.
This is her signature funny face right now. Doesn't it remind you of this face from the early days?
Then we ventured down to the beach for awhile before we took off. It was chilly and windy but still made us all smile. We love the beach! Here's hoping for warmer days soon so we can spend more time there.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Daddy At Bat
Every Tuesday night, Lily and I head over to Hawkeye Park to watch Justin play slow-pitch softball. It reminds me of back in the day when I'd watch him play sports and I had the biggest crush on him! :) I'd love to get out there myself and play in a league sometime. Maybe next year! For now, Lily and I will enjoy chatting with the other moms and babies, while cheering on our awesome, athletic, studly man (that is, if he can stay injury-free for the season...last month - ankle injury; this month - hamstring. I think he's realizing he's not as young & spry as he used to be!) He did have an in-the-park homerun this week though. Way to go, babe!
And would a blog post really be complete without a picture of the Lils? I think not.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Lily's 1st Trip to the Zoo
Lily and Brinn in their matching strollers
"Mama, wassat?"
Joel milking the cow. He knew just what to do. Smart boy!
Mr. Graduate
This past weekend we went down to Seymour to celebrate my brother Travis's high school graduation. Lily was all over the place at his party on Saturday night, mixing and mingling with people. It was fun for all of us to see old friends and catch up with my sister who lives in Arizona. It's hard to believe that Travis is old enough to be graduating...meaning that it's been 10 years since I have! We'll have my 10 year class reunion the end of this month so it's a busy, special time of year. We're excited for this next chapter in his life and hope that God will use Him in great ways as he sets out on new adventures!
Before commencement begins, the seniors come out and present a rose to their mother
Trav also gave one to our grandma. She got a little teary eyed at what he whispered to her - so sweet!
Mr. Graduate himself. Doesn't he look handsome?
Seymour Class of 2011
Father and Son
Our family - L to R: Travis, Tracy (my sister), Mom, Dad, Me & Lily, Justin and Grandma Karen
Congratulations Travis on an awesome accomplishment!
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