This has to be my favorite photo (to date) of Jonathon and Mommy. They look so much alike. This picture was taken on Jonathon's birthday. Jennifer had a c.d. on of children songs and then the "Cookie Monster" song came on and Jonathon just took right off laughing! He is starting his independent stage. With Heather and me being the parents, he dosen't stand a chance.

Oh...he has started giving kisses. We ask, "Can I have a kiss" and he opens his mouth wide and leans right over. Those are the best kisses (so far). Heather enjoyed them so much that I tried one on her. Come to find out, she only likes Jonathon giving those types of kisses.

Well, I'll know better next time. 

I sure do love fall! Two weeks ago, we went pumpkin picking at Cedar Circle Farms - what fun! We rode down to the pumpkin patch in a horse drawn wagon. We each picked our pumpkin - even Jonathon picked out his own!

Of course, fall in New England is short-lived. Since the time change, it has been amusing to me to wake up, roll over, and watch the birds through the bedroom windows. Imagine my surprise this morning when I rolled over to see my birds, and instead saw a hillside of snow-covered evergreens... I sure do love fall, but I sure can't wait to play with Jonathon in the snow either!

Jonathon is doing great. He's standing almost constantly it seems, and has become a regular little chatterbox. He's amused by everything (as always!), and especially loves to dance. He's definitely taken after his daddy - he's trying to kiss all the ladies. Of course, as mommy, I don't think there is anything more precious than those mouth-wide-open slimy kisses!!

It's hard for us to believe, but Jonathon is now ONE YEAR OLD!! He's just started pulling up to stand, and is the proud owner of seven shiny white teeth (and it looks like three more are coming!). Of course, EVERYTHING is still funny... he laughs continuously, and causes everyone around him to do the same.


We've been a little lax on posting lately(shame on us), so I'll try to catch everyone up...

In July, we headed out to Iowa to see all of the Skows. Jonathon had a blast getting to know everyone. We have a TON of pictures to share, but they are on the other computer, so I'll have to post them in just a bit.

Once we got home, we had a visit from Jonathon's grandparents and great-grandparents and it's hard to tell who had more fun... them or Jonathon. It looks like a tough choice from this picture...

















In August, I had a few days off, so we decided to take a ROAD trip! My unsuspecting grandparents came home from church to find three tresspassers in their swimming pool. One thing for sure, Jonathon LOVES to swim!





The trip was short, but it was a great time!


It has truly been great getting to visit everyone over the summer. We are looking forward to seeing everyone again soon! I've added a few pictures on the pictures page of Jonathon's birthday... Enjoy the ones here for now, and I'll post the pictures from our trips once I get them from the other computer.

Jonathon keeps growing and changing every day. He loves to explore, try to figure out how things work, and watch what people are doing. Despite the changes, there are three things that Jonathon LOVES which remain constant:


He LOVES music...



..he LOVES the water...



...and he LOVES the ladies!



Of course, they are quite fond of him too!

Jonathon is still rolling all around, but he's finally getting the hang of crawling. He doesn't seem too interested in it, considering he can get places much faster by rolling. He's been working on standing too, although not by himself yet.

We all went to an Arts & Crafts fair this weekend in Stowe, and it was amazing how many people came up to talk to or play with him. He always seems to bring a huge smile to the face of anyone he meets.

Joathon had has first pond experience this past weekend. As you can tell by the smile on his face and the other pictures on his picture site he loves to play. It doesn't matter whether it is in the water, on the bike or just in the shade eating. It is so nice experiencing all these different wonders with him.
We are getting ready (at last) to fly to Iowa on Thursday. We are quite the procrastinators! Heather is doing the packing and I am doing the blog...my, how I lucked out. We are going to be away for about a week/week and a half and I am only going to need the clothes I have on and maybe one extra shirt. I wish I could get away with that but that is why Heather is packing and not me.

We are really looking forward to seeing everyone. We haven't been out there in 3 or 4 years. I think everyone is looking forward to seeing Jonathon more than anything (which I don't blame them at all!) We are really excited that he will be able to meet all my family. We really love living in New England but it does come at a big sacrifice being away from all our family and friends.

We can't wait and love you all! See you soon!

In case there is ANYONE who doesn't believe Heather or I that Jonathon is a BIG eater, here is proof...of him shoving a whole piece of watermelon in his mouth. He actually snuck it in on us. We were watching him nibble on it and the next time we saw it, he had everything in!










Jonathon is becoming my biking buddy (along with Heather)! I took him for a stroll last night and he looks around in awe and starts giggling at anything he sees. I don't know if it his personality or what but last night when he saw me with my bike helmet on and my "cute" bike shorts, he started to laugh. I'm thinking it was because I was looking like a hot biker dude...or maybe not.







He is now sitting up all by himself. He isn't crawling at all but he rolls everywhere. He is so funny to watch...rolling from point A to point B. Heather and I are thinking that he probably will skip the crawling and go straight to the walking.

Hope you enjoy these pictures...check out the photo album site for new ones.

It's hard to believe that Jonathon is now 8 months old! He is growing like crazy - already wearing mostly 24 months in clothes, and he has become quite the little chatterbox (I'm VERY proud to say that his first "word" was Ma-Ma, and that was ON Mother's Day!). He isn't crawling yet, but who needs to crawl when you can roll? He rolls everywhere, at least when he's not in his car riding around. This has to be one of my favorite pictures - I call it "ROAD RAGE!"



Of course, Jonathon was having a ball - he still laughs constantly and has so much fun doing everything, especially with Dessie around. I can't wait for everyone to see him again!

This picture makes me laugh, proud and a little sad all at the same time. Jonathon is just so cute and content in this pic (and in life). At the same time though, he looks so grown up. I swear he looks so old in this picture that a six year old girl is going to come up and ask him out on a date at any time! He's starting to look (ok, he's looked that way all along) like a Frasure.

He's a New Hampshire boy! Looks like he is ready to go hiking and biking with his daddy:-)

As you can tell by this picture, it will be any day now when Jonathon will be crawling. He is becoming very active and wants to test everything by putting it into his mouth.










One of his favorite things is to be outside. Heather and I are so happy to see spring come just to enjoy the outdoors. (Can you say "Cabin Fever"?) Jonathon loves it so much. His newest thing is being pushed around in his new car. He cocks his arm over the side and grips the steering wheel with the other hand and just beams up and mom and dad!

We hope everyone is doing well and are enjoying the first sights of spring.

Jonathon's personality is really starting to shine through. Today he was asserting his independence by wanting to eat on his own. Heather went to fix him a bottle and he decided to finish off his sweet potatoes.





He is such a playful little guy. He smiles at everyone. He hasn't met a stranger yet. Heather and I have been having a lot of fun with him. Heather started saying, "peo-ple" and he cracks up every time. My thing is to quote from 'BRUCE ALMIGHTY', "That's the way the cookie crumbles". We get the biggest belly laugh every time from him. I was doing that in a store today and he wouldn't stop laughing. People around us were laughing too...don't know if it was Jonathon - or me being a nerd...probably both! Oh well, it was so much fun.


Well, this is our new home. It became official this past Monday. We're slowly moving in. This picture was taken when we had the house inspection about a month ago. Luckily we don't have any snow now and the beautiful gardens are starting to bloom! Ah...the sweet sights of spring.



The house itself is in really good conditions. Some of the paint and ALL of the wallpaper is not really our taste. As you can tell, (barely) there is plenty to keep us busy. First thing I did was to knock down the cabinets that were blocking the kitchen nook. Then we took down all the wallpaper (man, there was So much!) painted it and made some updates. We got the kitchen and kitchen nook 95% done this weekend and now on to the bedroom. One down and 7? to go! Next blog, I'll post some finished pictures.

Guess what today is? If you said that is was the first time I've posted in over a month in a half...well, you would be right! More importantly, it's Jonathon's birthday! He is now six months old. Here he is 6 months old today and he is in 18 month clothes, eats an eight oz bottle and 2-3 jars of baby food...IN ONE SITTING! Ah, he is more precious as each day goes on.



Jonathon was able to see the Bushes this past weekend. Heather had some business in Kentucky and was able to spend a couple days down there. As you can tell, he really warmed up to his papy (Heather's dad) and his pa-paw (Heather's grandfather).



Now rumor had it that Jonathon's great grandma had him in stitches several times but unfortunatly I wasn't able to witness that. We'll just have to take her at her word. Good picture though!
He stayed up as much as he could to play but it eventually took it's toll.



Two things that are very important to him. (1) He loves his food,(2) He loves his sleep. Everyone might say that he looks like Heather, but he truely has my personality:) Food and sleep and I'm ready to go!




What a precious sight. I can't get over how blessed we are. I couldn't of picked a better son. His big blue eyes looking up at me with a "You are a silly daddy" look and it makes me act even more silly for him! We were at a resturant the other day watching George Mason beat UConn (yea!!!) and I started dancing for Jonathon and he busted out laughing. So I kept doing it more and more than Heather said "I'd stop if I were you". I looked around there were several people laughing at my AWSOME dance moves. At least there was one enjoying it.(I think all the others were envious!)


So here we are at the end. This is the four generations from the Bush side. John Wesley(great-grandfather), John David (grandfather), Heather (uh...mother) and Jonathon Wesley (son:) What a good looking group. I'm so happy and proud that there is so much love to go around Jonathon. He is loved so much!

I hope you have enjoyed these extra pictures. Check out the picture album (click on any picture or the link on the right) There are more from the trip and surely more to come.

Jonathon says "Happy Valentines Day" to all the ladies in his life. We have a sneaky suspicion that he will be quite the ladies man in a few years. Right now, the older women are taken to him but I suppose the average age will be coming down soon.

He has been a big trooper. Lately, we have been looking at houses around the area. We've been pulling him in and out of his car seat and he just goes about like he has no cares in the world. I tell ya', he's ruining me for any more children. Heather and I are thinking that we are great parents right now. I know, just wait till he's around two. :) Happy Valentines Day!!!

Click on the Picture to see more pictures for Valentines Day!

Our fabulous child care provider has been sending us great pictures of Jonathon every day while we are at work. It's great to be able to take a quick break from our busy schedules and see such a beaming face.

This is the little story that she sent with this cute picture. "I was feeding Jonathon his rice cereal today when Keanu commented that Jonathon's face was all messy. He ran off and I thought no more of his comment until he returned with his vacuum. He proceeded to use the accessory hose to "clean" Jonathon's face. Jonathon responded by sucking on the part. : )

I'm going to put some more pictures on the link. Make sure to check them out.

This picture was taken on January 18th. That date is very special to Heather and I because that was the day we found out that Jonathon would be coming! We look back on the year and think of all the changes that have occured. I think of all the doctor visits we went to, the 12 or so ultrasounds, the bed rest for Heather, me getting lost:)! It all means so much more now that we are holding our little boy. He brings us so much joy. He's such a happy boy. He giggles and laughs all the time now.



So far, this is my favorite picture of Jonathon. I went to town a couple weeks ago to get groceries and when I came back Heather told me to get on the computer and look at some pictures. Well, she never has to twist my arm to do that! Once I saw this pic, my heart melted. I'm trying to convince Heather now to quit her day job and take up photography. Of course I don't think it's ALL Heather. I mean even I can take some really good pictures of the most handsome little boy in the world.

See what I mean by every picture we take he looks different?

The 27th of December was the last time I've been able to blog. With everything going on around here, it has been real hard to take a break and update everyone. Almost 2 weeks in baby days calculates into about 6 months, or so it seems with Jonathon. Since the last post, he has had his first hospital stay, his first spoon feeding, he almost sat up AND he's laughing out loud! Yea...I'll take that last one. :) We are both amazed how much he is changing and every single picture we (or our great child care provider!) take, Jonathon looks different in each one. His personality is really starting to come through...and we think his teeth are starting also.






Last weekend, we had to take Jonathon to the hospital. It was quite the ordeal. His passage way was inflamed and he could hardly get any air. We were able to ring in the New Year with a little relief since Jonathon was getting some of the best care at the hospital. We left Sunday afternoon around 4pm. Since that unpleasant trip, he has been much better. We think he might have some teeth coming in so he has been a little more fussy the last few days. He is still smiling and laughing though. That reminds me, that was the biggest thing that amazed me about Jonathon in the hospital. He could barely catch his breath while he was there. He worked and worked the first few hours just trying to get a couple deep breaths. The one constant thing that he did there, though, he smiled! Every time the doctor would come in, every time a nurse would come in, he would look up and start smiling. Talk about melting our hearts. Babies and little children, they are so precious and innocent. We are so blessed!