World Tour Wrap Up

Hello All! A.J. here!

I'm happy to report we all survived my big world tour over Thanksgiving.

It was a little touch and go towards the end (whose idea was it to put me in the car for TWELVE HOURS in one day?) but we all had a great time visiting!

Here are a few pictorial highlights from the trip (see that big word I used there? Mama helped me out!)

Tennessee:

Mama and Daddy took me to Panera where they would not let me have a bagel, but they did let me cuddle with Miss Janelle. She is one of Mama and Daddy's former brides and one of Mama's good friends. I like her very much because she is a good snuggler and she has long hair which I enjoyed pulling on very much!
This is Auntie Lee Ann. We stayed with her in her beautiful new condo while we were in Tennessee. I wore my sweater with the penguin in the pocket just for her because she likes them. She was so nice to us. She let Mama and Daddy sleep in her bed, and she let me take a bath in her tub!

I also got to spend some quality time with my girlfriend Allie. She is almost exactly three months younger than me. We actually went to Disney World together when we were still in our Mamas bellies. We go way back! We are already planning our next big adventure together in January 2011 when Allie's Mama is going to run a marathon and a half marathon in two days. My mama thinks that's a little crazy, but it's still a good reason to go to Disney World!
While we were in Knoxville, Mama took me to visit the station she used to work at. She let me sit on the set, but kept repeating over and over "A.J. you do not want to work in television. The pay is terrible and you don't get to have a life. You will be much happier if you grow up to be the pilot of Air Force One." Okay, Mama. Whatever.

This is Miss Erin. Let me tell you a little about Miss Erin. She is crazy, just like my Mama and my daddy. She carries around a BIG camera (again, just like my folks) and she takes lots and lots of pictures. When I first met her I tried to pretend I didn't know how to look at the camera, but I finally gave in and let her take some pictures of me. You can't see them yet because Mama says it's a Christmas secret. I'll spoil part of it for you though...I'm really cute. Pretend to be surprised, okay?
Before we left Knoxville for the next leg of the world tour, I met my new friend Sydney. She's got a few months on me and man is she cool. She has more teeth than me, and as a result she gets to EAT REAL FOOD. I watched her have dinner and I was very jealous. She also gets around much better than me. I'm hoping the next time I see her I can show off some new
skills.

Virginia:
We spent a LONG time in the car on our way to Virginia, but when we got there I was very excited to see my Goofy Grandpa. He made me laugh even though I was a little tired and crabby.

I was also quite happy to find that my great Aunt Lorri spared no expense in her kitchen...including an olympic sized sink! Perfect for taking a bath!
Gradually, over the course of my stay in Virginia, all of these people showed up. Mama says I am related to all of them. I think she's right because they all seemed a little crazy to me.

Michigan
On our way home we stopped in Michigan where I got to see my Grandma and Grandpa Homburg AND I got to meet my great grandma! It was very fun but I was very tired of traveling and also working hard on cutting my second tooth so I wasn't the best company!

Indiana:
Technically we only drove through Indiana, but we stopped for gas in just the right spot so I could see my Auntie Stacy! Please ignore the irate look on my face. I believe Daddy snapped this picture right after Mama made some comment about getting back in the car.

So there you have it! My world tour in a nutshell. Mama says everyone needs to move closer because she can't do another trip like that ever again. I think she's just being overly dramatic. It wasn't *that* bad. I mean I know she went partially deaf from my screaming for 3 hours in the car one day, but I'm sure she'll regain most of her hearing.

On that note, I'm off to get dressed for my big evening with the Ossmann family. Something about presents! See ya!

From Ours to Yours

We have so much to be thankful for this year, our first as a little family of three.
A.J. is thankful for lots of arms to hold him as we celebrate the holiday with extended family.
Mama is thankful that morning sickness won't disrupt Thanksgiving dinner this year.
Daddy is thankful he can watch the Lions play the Packers because the Amidons have Directv at the farm.

From our little family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

November is a busy month

Hi Guys! A.J. here!

I may only be 5 months old, but I'm already learning that the holiday season means things are really really busy. We're only half way through November and I've already been very busy. Here's a peek at what I've been up to:

Visiting Miss Sara: Mama and I drove down to Brown Deer to celebrate Miss Sara's new engagement. Mama is always telling me what a funny funny girl Miss Sara is so the moment I saw her I decided to show off my ability to giggle. I think the giggling made up for the fact that I made a really stinky diaper at her house!

Showing off my new tricks for Grandpa Mark: The last time he saw me, I was only a week old and, honestly, a pretty boring kid. I mean, I tried to stir up some drama with my visit to Children's Hospital, but when it comes down to it newborns just don't do much to entertain their visitors. Now that I'm 5 months old, it's way cooler to hang out with me (if I do say so myself). I showed Grandpa how I like to sit up, stand, and play in my exersaucer. I also smiled and giggled at him a little bit which I'd like to think makes up for the beard pulling.

Snuggling with Grandma Joan: Mama had her wisdom teeth pulled last week and Grandpa Mark and Grandma Joan's visits timed out so that they were each here to hang out with me while Mama recovered. Grandma Joan and I spent lots of time snuggling while she was here. You see, I started getting a bit fussy a couple of days into her visit. You might be able to guess why by the fist shoved all the way into my mouth in that picture up there. My first pesky tooth decided this was the week it wanted to really try to come in. That tooth made me crabby and tired and fussy. It also made me want to stay up all night to snuggle with my Mama instead of sleeping. Good news though! As of this morning, the tooth is in!! It's not hurting me nearly as much as before, and last night I actually slept 7.5 hours straight which I haven't done in a week!

So, there you have it! I've been a busy boy the past few weeks! And life isn't slowing down any time soon. On Friday we are packing up the car and starting a really big road trip! We're going to visit Mama's old friends in Knoxville before we head to Virginia for Thanksgiving with Mama's family. THEN on the way home from our big adventure, we're going to stop in Michigan to see my Grandma Kristine and Grandpa Fred. It's going to be a crazy couple of weeks but I'm really excited!

Catch ya on the flip side!

Halloween Costume Test Drive

(Alternate title: My mama has lost her mind, please send help!)

Hey folks, A.J. here!

I come to you with a terrible tale of humiliation and torture. You'd never know it by looking at my mama, but she has an evil streak. Sure, she seems like a good parent. She keeps me fed and changed and happy most of the time. But this morning, she showed her true colors.

I present to you Exhibit A:

Do you see this?? Mama says all babies dress up for Halloween. I don't know what "Halloween" is, but why on earth is there a BANANA on my head??
You put a banana on my head and then you want me to smile??? What is wrong with you woman?
Perhaps if I put on my really really cute face you'll take pity on me and get me out of this getup!
No? I have to stay in this thing? And wear it again this weekend? That's it. I've lost the will to live.

Psst...

Hi Guys! A.J. here...

Guess what?

I'm teething.

I'm not quite sure what that means but I do know that it makes my mouth hurt. And it makes me drool a lot. And it makes me prefer cuddling with my mama instead of sleeping.

So Mama says she's sorry that this blog hasn't been updated in a while but she's going to do her best to get some new entries up this week.

In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures to remind you all that I'm still really cute...

Someday We Will Tell Him...

Someday we will tell him why this day is important. We will tell him about the people who went to work one day and died just because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. We will tell him about the police officers and firefighters who went running in while everyone else was running out. We will tell him about the heroes who gave their lives to help strangers.

Someday we will tell him that Mama worked in t.v. back then and talked to congressmen as they were being evacuated from the capitol. We will tell him that there was a lot of work to do in the newsroom and no time for tears even though we were all scared. We will tell him that Mama's coworkers will always be some of her closest friends because of what happened on that day. We will tell him that his Grandpa Mark was in the hospital that night and Mama talked to him on the phone for a long time when she couldn't sleep. We will tell him how quiet it was for a few days when no planes were allowed to fly.

Someday we will tell him how the world was different in the days after 9/11. We will tell him how people from different faiths all came together for candlelight prayer vigils. We will tell him about the flag pins, and the fundraisers, and how the people of East Tennessee raised enough money to buy the Freedom Engine, to replace a ladder truck that was crushed by debris.

Someday we will tell him that a few weeks later our country went to war. We will tell him that brave men and women left their families to go protect our freedom. We will tell him that some of those brave soldiers didn't get to come home. We will tell him that the ones who did come home were thanked and hugged by strangers in the airport. We will tell him about the yellow ribbons and the care packages and the parades.

Someday we will tell him all of these things, but not today. Today we will cuddle him a little closer, and give him a few more kisses. Today we will be thankful for his smile and his laughter. Today we will pray for the wisdom to raise our little boy in this scary world.

Someday we will tell him to never forget.

My First Labor Day Weekend!

Hey everyone! A.J. here...

Being an almost three month old, I didn't really know what Labor Day weekend was all about. Here are a few things I can now tell you about holiday weekends.

It means:

• An extra day at home with Daddy.
• A smaller crowd at the Farmers Market (and no Auntie Barb...so sad)
• Lots of editing for Mama since Daddy was around to hang out with me.

Here are some pictures from my first three day weekend:

Saturday, we went to the Farmers Market without Auntie Barb (SAD!) The market was pretty quiet since a lot of people were out of town for the holiday. I was also bummed that Daddy refused to share his fresh hot donuts with me. They smelled really yummy!

Sunday I had a fun date with my Auntie Trish. Mama and Daddy had an engagement session to shoot, so I spent the morning with Auntie Trish and Lauren. I had so much fun that when I got home I had something to eat and then slept for almost three hours!
Monday was my extra day with Daddy (it came at a good time, since he's going to be on a business trip for most of this week!). Since I'm getting to be such a big boy, we all went to Babies R Us to buy me a special chair so I can learn to sit up! Mama took some pictures while I tried it out:
I'm still a little wobbly, but I'm really excited about looking at the world from the upright position!
Mama also took some other pictures of Daddy and I playing together. Mama says please excuse the piles of laundry on the couch. There was lots of cleaning going on this weekend too!

I bet you didn't know I was SUPER BABY!!!

That's about all I have to share today. Auntie Barb is coming over for dinner since Daddy is out of town. I hear the girls are having stuffed chicken breasts and Greek Salad. I have a feeling they are not planning to share with me. It's rough being the baby!

Love,
A.J.