first update from new jersey

Hello, from New Jersey!

I feel like our Christmas holiday season has officially begun, and we're are thrilled to be at Ita and Ito's house! We've only been here a few days, and already we've been greeted by not one, but two waves of snow.

We are absolutely thrilled about it. (That's what happens when you live in a non-snowy area like Williamsburg long enough. Snow gets super exciting.)

We've been crafting up a storm (thanks, Ita!) and had a blast playing with a whole new set of toys. And ask me how many glass ornaments my kids have broken?

Zero.

Christmas miracles ARE real.

S has decided to take her imagination up a notch these days and absolutely cracks us up. She will sit alone for periods at a time just talking to herself as she plays. She has a little school bus with little wooden people in it, and she has named every one of them. Most are named after family members, but a couple are named after her friends.

"Oh! Hewwo, Cana! Go in bus. Go to school. Bye bye, Cana!"

She also likes to be her own narrator.

"How are you, stickers? All stickers in bus. Okay. I do it. Oh, sticky. Sticky. Another sticky. Bye bye, bus."

And every night before bed, she likes to say goodnight to stuff.

"I coming! Night night, Cri-cris tree. Night night, weath. Night night Cri-cris mights (lights.) Night night stairs. Ee you layer." 

Pato has really surprised us by starting to talk as well. Aside from Mama and Dada, he says nana for banana. Awa (agua) stop, shoes, bye bye, night night, okay and "I did it!" He hears S say, "I did it" so often, that I'm really not surprised he has picked up on it as well.

And now, I think some hot chocolate with big fat marshmallows are in order.

picking some apples

My kids love apples. Give them an apple and they will be happy (and quiet) for awhile. So, when my brother (who is a senior in high school) asked if he could play hooky so we could take the kids to go apple picking I gave him my full sisterly permission to skip school. Oh, and my mom said it was fine, too. 

We drove to Hill View Farms, which is about fifteen minutes from my parents home in New Jersey. Before I go on....anyone who sneers and says New Jersey is an ugly state cleaaaarly has no idea what they are talking about. I would think twice before trusting such a naysayer. ever.again. Anyway...yes. The weather was beautiful, the sun was out and S was in a great mood following an awesome play date with her friend, Penny. They played and held hands and it felt so good for this mama to see her little girl make a friend. 

Yeah, that's my mom. She's a babe, huh? Doesn't look a day over thirty.

S and her school-skippin uncle.

So, when we got to the orchard, S was overjoyed to be in apple heaven. She didn't quite understand the apple picking part, but had the "throw it in the basket" part down. J wasn't too sure about the tall grasses, and pretty much wanted to be held. No matter. He had three adults more than willing too. (Sigh... It's so good to be around family.) 

What was neat about this farm is that they also had chickens walking around as well as peacocks. J looked at them intently and S made sure they didn't get too close. She is not an animal person (unless they are a safe distance away) and it will be interesting to see how J turns out. 

Anyone else think I look like a beekeeper here? One hundred percent not offended if you think so because I one hundred percent agree.

We all went home feeling tired, but the good kind. And, of course, in addition to the deliciously perfect apples, we came home with apple cider, doughnuts (I hear they are good....I'm not a doughnut person...as much as I try over and over again) and pumpkin butter. Ah. Fall! Fall. Fall. I love ya. 

No idea what my mom's doing in this picture, but we're just going to go with it.

Really wishing Dada could have joined us, but we have a fun day trip planned for when he returns. 

the jersey shore and a sleeping baby

What better way to spend our last Saturday in New Jersey than by driving down to the shore. This was the first time we've gone as a family, and J's first real time on a beach. Our beach experience in England was too cold and too short to be called a real beach experience, I think. We didn't know how Pato would react to the sand, and we were pleasantly surprised when he dug right in. Sand is a food group, right? This boy ate a couple handfuls. Easy.

So sleepy but always so sweet.

S also loved playing in the sand. I tell ya, these kids really do have Jones blood running through their veins. I'm sure their Poppy will be so proud.

How cute are these two? She is the apple of his eye.

And how lucky am I to be their mama? The luckiest. Tell myself this every live-long day.

And one last note about this little love bug...

I've never been a rock-to-sleep mama, and normally I nurse J before bed and then tuck him in for the night. Because of our extra tiring day at the beach, he totally zonked out as I was feeding him. Instead of putting him right down, I thought to myself, "I'm going to hold you for as long as I please and watch you sleep." I loved watching him lay in my arms and feeling his body go limp. I loved watching his peaceful face because I know one day, he will lose his baby face and he will grow into a man. One day, he will be taller than me and won't want me doing his hair. He will probably get slightly annoyed when I call him thirteen times a day. (Who am I kidding? He. Will. Love. It.) But for now, he is my little baby and I will watch him sleep and I will go in his room and make sure his blanket covers his feet ('cause he's got Mama's feet, and mine are always cold.) 

Liberty State Park

This morning we went to Liberty State Park to check out the gorgeous NYC skyline and let our girly get her wiggles out. The weather here has been simply a-mazing this week, and we are looking at an equally amazing rest of the week. 

They built a September 11th memorial there that we stopped to look at. What was extra special about the memorial is that it was placed in the spot where the World Trade Center Towers used to appear in the skyline. As we walked in between the the walls of names, I was reminded that even though I have my day-to-day worries and struggles, they are nothing in comparison to what the families of those who lost loved ones have been through. It's been almost twelve years since the attacks and it still feels so raw.

I wonder how we'll teach our children about that day. I know lots of people worry about bringing their children up in this day in age. But you know what, I'm not! Yes, there are bad things out there, but there always has been. And I think there is SO much good out there, too. I'm so glad that I get to raise my kids at this point in time.

This girl is turning into such a chatterbox. She loved waving to all the boats, airplanes and trains.

"Mama, do you really have to kiss me all the time?" Yes, my dear boy. I do. Till the end of time.

The Joneses Go Ivy

With C in town with us for a few days, we thought we'd make the hour drive to check out Princeton University. It was an almost perfect day (a tad bit too humid for my taste) to walk around the campus. The old architecture was beautiful. My campus love affair with Yale, however, still has yet to be matched.

C and I agree that we love ivy, but not when it overtakes our house. Because it is eating our house alive back in VA.

Good looking guy #1 and Good looking guy #2

Next time we hope to go in the fall. Isn't everything more beautiful then?