Differences

I wish I had made a better record of Jonathan when he was little. Edmund and I keep watching David and wondering what Jonathan was doing at his age. There are a few things that I remember. When I laid Jonathan on the ground to play, he was constantly moving. He was perpetually kicking his legs. David is much more relaxed. He seems content to just lay there and watch what is happening around him. He doesn't hold perfectly still, but he is not as active as Jonathan. David also already hold his head up really well, and I don't remember Jonathan being this good at it this early.

Temperament wise Jonathan was much more difficult. I remember him crying for over an hour some days, and he almost never slept. Well, during the day he would take five hour naps, but he never slept at night. I think he finally got his days and nights sorted out around eight weeks. Whereas David is a great sleeper, and he almost never cries. In fact, he follows the description of the "easy" baby in my sleep book exactly.

Also, Jonathan was much more cuddly than David. When David is awake, he likes to try and look behind him or up at the ceiling. I never remember Jonathan being like that. David also started smiling this week. I'm not sure if it is a real social smile, but he has looked at both Edmund and I and smiled. He also smiles randomly at nothing. It is so cute. I forgot how priceless those toothless grins are.

Here are some pictures of Jonathan. I like to put them with the pictures of David because it is fun to compare.

Zoo

Idaho Falls has a zoo. I thought it was going to be extremely small with almost no animals, but I was pleasantly surprised. They had bears, tigers, lions, monkeys, lots of birds, zebras, camels, pelicans, goats, and penguins. They had other things too but those are the ones that stand out to me.  They allowed you to pet the goats, and Jonathan never wanted to leave the goat pin. He was so proud of himself every time he reached out and petted one. I was actually very surprised that he was brave enough to touch a goat. Since David has been born, Jonathan has learned to be much more independent and brave. I'm really very proud of him, but it is a little sad for me when he pushes me away when I try to help, and I do miss him clinging to my legs a little. I'm lucky that he still loves cuddles, songs, and stories.

Colors

Jonathan was showing David his sesame street book. He loves Elmo and Ernie.

Jonathan just recently started smiling for pictures on demand. I love his fake smile.

Jonathan knows his colors. It was a surprise one day last week when he suddenly started telling me that things were pink, green, black, brown, red, purple, and yellow. He just kind of grunts for orange. I never think about how difficult words are to say until Jonathan tries to say them. One of my favorite moments this week was when he showed David Freight Train and told him all of the colors. He also showed him the Sesame Street characters in his Peek a Boo book. I'm really looking forward to when David can interact even just a little with Jonathan. Jonathan just loves it when David holds his finger. 

Miranda

One of my best friends from college married a boy from Rexburg, (lucky me!) so I get to see her once a year or so. She had twins four months ago, and it was very much fun to get to meet them. It is funny thinking about us in college together, and now we have families and houses and husbands. I think we have both grown up a lot, but we sure had fun!

New Family

Now a family of four!

Last year, a family of three.

Not quite married yet.

Jonathan's Birthday

Jonathan turned two, ten days after David was born. The theme of his birthday was definitely transportation. Grandma-Chelle gave Jonathan a new car almost everyday, and Edmund and I got him a big bus and a transportation puzzle. It was a lot of fun. Grandma-Chelle also gave him a balloon shirt. Jonathan loves it, and so do I.

David William Leemhuis

David was born on June 22 at 7:00 am. He weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. He was just half a pound bigger than Jonathan and half an inch longer. This labor and delivery was much much easier. I will always choose seven hours over fifteen. I woke up in labor around midnight. I had been having some serious back pain for the previous two weeks, so lying on my back was not an option. I put a pillow on the floor and knelt with my head on the bed. By 4:00 am, I needed some Edmund love and support, so I woke him up. He got up and got our stuff together. (We weren't really ready because I was expecting David to be late rather than early. In fact, we had just moved Jonathan's new bed and dresser into the office the night before.) By 6:00, I told Edmund we had to go to the hospital because I was really really hurting, and I needed an epidural. I had Jonathan naturally, but I thought this was ten times worse, and I didn't want to be brave for a second time. When we got to the hospital, I was already at 8 cm, so they told me I probably only had an hour before the baby would come. Edmund told me I could do it, and I knew there wasn't time anyway.

When they walked me into the room, they gave me a bouncy ball because I refused to get in the bed and lay on my back. They were asking tons of questions. Then they got the IV ready to put in. I looked away, and held tight to Edmund. Then Edmund started leaning on the ball. I told him to stand up because I needed him to support me, and he slumped onto the floor with his head between his knees. Apparently when they put the IV in my arm, it squirted out some blood and Edmund passed out for a couple of seconds. The nurses ran around and got him some juice to drink, and he recovered.

I don't really remember too much after that. I remember feeling ready and getting back in the bed. I also remember it hurt a lot more than I remember it did with Jonathan. Neither boy broke my water, so I guess that means they are lucky! (Isn't there some old wives tale about being born with a caul?)

My recovery was much faster this time too, and David is a wonderfully easy baby. We are enjoying him immensely.  Jonathan is doing pretty well too. I think it is pretty typical two year old stuff. He throws lots of temper tantrums, but he also loves kissing David and having David hold his finger. I'm always in awe of how wonderful they both are. Jonathan is so sweet and loving to me. I try not to cry, but I do get over whelmed occasionally, and Jonathan just points at me with a very concerned look and says, "cry." I know he misses his mommy cuddles because they just don't happen as much as they used too, and I miss them too. I do feel a little bad for Jonathan sometimes because just like day and night his whole world was changed.

This is Jonathan in the hospital.

This is actually Jonathan. I thought it would be nice to compare the two side by side.

Little David in the hospital

Jonathan meeting the new baby. (He loved the hospital. It was pretty cool.)

Bubba David and Baby David!

Harriman

This year I organized a family reunion up in Harriman State Park. I definitely learned a lot about organizing something and what could be done better next time. I thought that the wilderness would be enough entertainment for everyone, but I forgot that you cannot possibly hike around all day. Fortunately, my brother Jackson brought nerf guns. The kids loved running around shooting each other. Also, I think most of us brought a few board games, so that worked well one afternoon.

Edmund had to work, so he wasn't able to come up until Thursday around dinner time. Jonathan and I missed him terribly. You never realize how much you rely on someone until they are not there. I felt really dependent on everyone else. Thanks to Dad and Chris for taking Jonathan around in the back pack. 

Jonathan loved the flowers. He had a wonderful time picking dandelions and pulling the little fuzzies off of them.

There was this little dam along the road that everyone was interested in crossing. They all did pretty well jumping from rock to rock, but Estella and Juliette needed a little assistance from their parents.

I think the older I get the more I look like Julia. Lucky me.

I wish I had a hat. I also didn't have a backpack, so I just crammed everything into my pockets.

I know Jonathan weighs a ton, so thanks Dad!

One morning Judd played his trumpet for us around the camp fire. This is Jonathan's favorite picture. He is constantly asking to see it and pretending to play the trumpet. I recently got a book of musical instruments from the library, and he always turns to the trumpet and then puts is hands up to his mouth like he is playing one.

We took a hike by a lake (I can't remember what it was called.) We stopped pretty often and Amber read us some trivia about the wildlife or plants. I learned that Aspen trees are the largest organism.

Jonathan took a bath in the giant sink. I thought he would hate it, but Amber convinced me that he would probably really enjoy it, and she was right.

All the grandkids.

Everyone that was able to make it!