Happy Birthday, Sweet One

It's been a wonderful year with you.

Sleeping Beauty

This was a picture of Miriam from a few weeks ago, but I finally got it onto our computer. I just couldn't resist how she was laying on her lamb stuffed animal and using it as a pillow. It was too cute not to take a picture of...

Our First Video

It's my (Matt) first blog post, and we are finally catching up to the Jones' with technology. Tonight we figured out how to post videos on our blog. I hope you're just as excited as we are to see this wonderful video of Miriam figuring out how to close the door and open it. (Of course she's not tall enough to reach the handle, so we assist her.) Enjoy!

Discovering Doors

Miriam has recently discovered that she not only can open a door, but she can close it, too! Matt or I sit outside of her door and watch her open and close it over and over again. Every time she opens it again, laughter inevitably follows. It's such a delight to see how something so simple can just make her so happy.

Yearbook Yourself

Matt and I have been having fun with a new website, Yearbook Yourself. It takes a picture of yourself and transforms it to an old yearbook photo somewhere from the 60's through the 90's. Those are our favorites. Aren't they fantastic?

Owatonna... here we come!

It's been awhile since we've posted mostly because I haven't taken many pictures lately and feel like I need to put a picture up with every post. But, I suppose I can just write... so here goes! We are continuing to enjoy our summer -especially being able to go out for walks and be outside. Miriam really enjoys swinging, so we try and make stops at parks when we get a chance. We've made a few outings to visit friends and family, but have generally been around home lately. We are off to Owatonna for an extended weekend and are leaving this afternoon. We are planning for a weekend of relaxing and visiting the fair. We will also be taking family pictures and spending time with Ryan and Kim. We'll be heading back on Saturday to spend time with Sam and Marlea who will be in town for a wedding. It should be a busy and fun weekend!

I keep thinking back to a year ago when I was getting SO ready to meet Miriam! We basically sat around for 2 weeks waiting for her to arrive :). Life sure has changed in a year... and this year has flown by. It's just so amazing to watch a baby grow and develop from a completely dependent infant to an exploring, trying-to-be-independent toddler. It's been amazing!

Play Date!

Today Miriam and I went to visit friends of ours to have a play date. They live about a half hour away out on a farm. Miriam had a great time playing with the kids... Lydia is almost 2 and Jonah is 9 months. She loved playing with all of their toys while Sara (their mom) and I enjoyed catching up and talking. It was a great time! Miriam even enjoyed the car ride there and back very much. Sometimes we have a hard time keeping her happy in the car (she likes to move around too much), but this time she sat quietly and played with a few toys. She also loves dancing to the Go Fish "Splash" cd. We've found it quite helpful on long car trips.

Other than that, Matt is really loving his new job at the church! Although we miss having him home at lunch, we've enjoyed his semi-flexible hours in the mean time. He's taking these first weeks to "learn the ropes" and will start officially leading worship in September. We may even get a chance to go to a worship conference in the fall for a few days! We may use it as our anniversary date/vacation and spend our first few days away from Miriam. Although we would miss her SO much, we think it would be great to have a few days for ourselves. We're still praying about when and where we should go... and if I should come along with.

Meeting for the First Time

Today Miriam got to meet her Great-Grandma Barb for the first time. Since she lives in Arizona and only comes up here about once a year, the last time she saw Miriam... she was in my belly! Miriam had a great time and showed her Great-Grandma her excellent walking skills. She also showed her how she loves to look at and discover every corner of a new place :). The visit consisted of Papa and Grandma catching up and chatting while Mama chased Miriam around the house. She sure keeps us on our toes! We had a great time and enjoyed our visit.