School Days

We'll readily admit that most of the hooplah around here is pretty focused on our soon-to-arrive son #2. Lest we forget however that son #1 is having quite a week of his own as he heads back for his second year of pre-school!

It's been a great summer, but Aiden (and us) are eagerly anticipating his return to the world of 3 year old academia. It took some coaxing, but we did manage to snap a few pictures before he headed out for his first day.

The Final Countown!

For those who hadn't heard, we are having a baby. Soon actually, in less then one week! Jen has a scheduled C-Section date for next Tuesday, so we even know the day that the newest Jones will be making his arrival. It's nice, but a little odd to know the exact date that your child will be born. It certainly allows for an extra dose of preparation. Jen is pretty on top of things- she has the week's activities meticulously mapped out, her hospital bag is packed and ready, and she is in full house cleaning mode (right now actually- should I be helping with that?) We are very excited to be entering the final stretch of this pregnancy, and even more excited to meet the babe.

Cue awesome 80's music, and let the countdown begin!

Europe - Final Countdown by 

The passing of the (mountain lion) torch

Events unfolded this week at the Abode like an emotional subplot straight out of Toy Story 3.5. While Jen and I were cleaning out closets and drawers in the boy's room we came across a blast from my past in the form of my childhood stuffed-animal mountain lion friend. This particular mountain lion (Pouncer is his name) hadn't seen the light of day in far too long, so I plopped him on the dresser in our room until we could determine a storage location fitting for a feline of his stature.

On the dresser is where he was perched (ready to pounce at any moment) days later when Aiden noticed him. I took Aiden's innocent, "What's that?" inquiry as an opportunity to describe at length Pouncer's extensive personal history, impressive physical abilities, and overall good friend qualifications.

Well, that's all it took. During the last few days Aiden and Pouncer have become fast friends. At sleep or play Pouncer has been a constant sidekick and companion (a perfect Hobbes to Aiden's Calvin if you will). Check it out.

Now, you may be concerned that Brady will be feeling left out that he is not recieving a priceless, heirloom stuffed-animal toy of his own. Let me stop you right there, and introduce you to another friend of mine: Racoonie. Brady, you're welcome.

Housekeeping

In addition to recently sprucing up the general appearance of the ol' blog. I wanted to point out that there have also been some new links added that could be interesting to investigate for anyone who finds this particular blog to be a scintillating read. If you'll check out the "blog links" section in the far right column you'll see a couple of new items.

"Coming and Going" is a new blog written by Gwyn, who is planing to use the blog format to chronicle her last year of living in Uganda and her transition to the first year of living back in the US. "Life in the Sweet Spot" is Jen's new blog which continues to document her various home-related plans and projects, but also delves more into the kids 'n family side of things.

Additionally, make sure not miss out on the newly linked Phillies blogs "The Fightins," and "I Want to go to the zoo with Roy Halladay." The quality of their information is matched only by the depth of their hilarity.

Thats all folks!

Shore 2011

I mentioned in the last post that we are pretty close to being in full-blown baby prep mode around here. While this remains true, we did manage to sneak in one last summer hurrah in the form of a week long shore trip with the Weidner fam. Ocean City did not disappoint as were greeted with a full week of sun, sun and more sun.

Aiden was loving the life of the beach bum this year. Whether swimming in the water, or digging in the sand he was pretty much in 3 year old heaven for the duration of the week.

We got in lots of good swimming at the beach time, plenty of good playing (and eating) on the boardwalk time, and even some fun fishing in the bay time. In addition, I was able to enjoy some sitting in the air conditioning reading a book time. (Which is my personal favorite.)

"The Balloons" were Aiden's favorite boardwalk ride (by far).

Looking forward (but not before looking back)

Change is in the air at the Jones abode. Within the span of the next 8 weeks we'll be welcoming a new son (and brother) into our house and into our lives. Given the momentous nature of this pending arrival it is probably understandable that much of our time these days is spent looking forward to the changes ahead. There is a certain quality of quiet frenzied energy which exists in a household that knows it will grow by one very needy member in the near future. The calm before the storm? I think we are in it.

However, before we plow headlong into the month of August and all of it's excited baby preparations- it's probably fitting to take one quick look back at a July that included (among other things) a sweet little trip to a sweet little cabin in Maine. I've got some pictures to show you. You'll find no captions here though, because really, what is there to explain? Eat, sleep, read, swim- there, I just summarized the entirety of the Maine cabin experience. Although, hang on till the end of the pictures and you can see a video of Aiden demonstrating his casting skill. Fish of West Grand Lake, be on notice: next year we may actually put a hook on the end of his line!