Absolute Joy

"I think I messed up on one spot"

I laughed myself to tears the other night when I came home and James said to me, "I think I messed up on one spot." You would too if this is what you saw! He had 5 or 6 stipes, 4 inches long on the back of his head! I guess the clip fell off and he didn't realize it because he wasn't paying attention. I fixed it the best I could without making him completely bald. Nevertheless, there are still remnants. Good thing he is a man and it will grow out in a week and a half!! Lucky!

Kids are too funny

Jonah: "Where did Daddy go?"
Mom: "He had to go to work honey"
Jonah: "But Why?"
Mom: "Just like Mommy has to work at home by doing dishes and laundry and cleaning, Daddy has to go to work to make money."
Jonah: "Oh, I go to work in the living room playing with my toys!"
Mom: "Is that right?!" ;)

Joshua's birth announcment (5 weeks old actually)

This is Joshua's birth announcement, but don't feel bad if you didn't get any. My sister-in-law Christina gave us this great gift certificate to Kiddie Kandids, and we got 12 free birth announcements along with some portraits. We gave the 12 to family members, but don't worry, you aren't chopped liver :)

1st Month Baby Pics

The Balloon Engineer

Part I:


Part II:

Jonah James

Jonah loves the slide. Can you tell?

Recent Pictures

-A little road trip down to Peachtree City




-Jonah loved this dock.


-Joshua's grown like crazy


-Sharing Pillows (which is a very big deal for our little 3 year old)



-A little father-son time. 1st football game of the year. Go Yellow Jackets!

New Weight

Our little baby just had his one month check-up, and he now weighs 9 lbs 11 oz. So, he definitely is eating, as he's almost gained 2 lbs in the first month! Good news.

No word yet on the hydronephrosis status, although we have had ringing endorsements of your pediatric urologist. Thanks for your prayers.

Bragging rights

Here's to a very fussy week for Joshua. We are still working out the kinks and trying to figure out what makes him fussy and uncomfortable. I can truly say we are "bonded." He is so innocent and sweet. I have to brag about my husband for just a minute. He has been AWESOME!! He has been taking shifts with me at night (feeding him a bottle and being "on duty" when he cries) so I can get some deep sleep. That has made all the difference for me in my sanity and my ability to handle what comes during the day. Not only that, but he comes home and plays with Jonah, and holds the baby, cleans, whatever needs need to be met. He is really amazing, and I am so grateful for him. I am a very lucky person, blessed I should, but undeserving in many ways.
I am really out of the loop, I haven't seen people very much since Joshua has been born, or called anyone, or looked up blogs etc...But I am thinking about all of you!

Plans for someday

Jonah's been a great big brother, and reminds us everyday what he is going to do when Joshua gets a little bigger.

Here he is watching over Joshua:



Joshua doesn't know all the fun his brother is planning:

Down and Out

Big Brother Showing the Ropes

Live Feed of Joshua Lloyd

On Jen's immediate side, this is grandchild number 39 actually (per Mom).

On James' immediate side, this is grandchild number 5.

Joshua Lloyd continues to amaze us, as he sleeps, eats, sleeps, and eats...you get the point.

One funny thing-his cry is like the veloci-raptor in Jurassic Park. Every time I hear him cry, I cut to the John Williams theme song in the movie.

Just the 4 of Us

Little Joshua Lloyd

Joshua Lloyd

Our little Joshua Lloyd was born last night at 9:20, weighing 8 lbs 1.5 ounces and measuring 20 1/4 inches. Jennifer was amazing. Both are healthy. Little Joshua is beautiful.

Not a Joke

This probably seems pretty funny from the outside world, but we are now thinking seriously about another name (and when I say "seriously", I mean "hard", "contemplative", and overall debunked):

Samuel Lloyd.

According to some texts and websites, Samuel means "God heard", "requested of God", "God's heart" or "God's name". More importantly, Jennifer really likes it while James is slowly coming around to it, and Jonah still calls the baby "Joshua". All in all, when the baby eventually reads this some years down the road, he might wonder how we ever ended up with Ezra (or maybe not) :)

Another Name Discussion

We are still a little undecided about the name for our baby. Every time we ask Jonah what's the baby's name, he always replies, "Joshua". This is without a priori information, supposedly. Joshua is Jennifer's favorite (coincidental, perhaps :) ), while James likes Joshua but leans toward Elijah. Ethan was the compromise, but now we are having second thoughts.

Can we be saved from this conundrum? One idea is that we name the baby by popular vote each time. In that case, 2-1 for "Joshua", and its derivatives/implications:
-"Our Joshy baby",
-"J^4",
-"Josh-Posh",
-"J.L.A.",
-"Our 2 J-Boys",
-"Joshhhhuuuuuuaaaaaa",
-Or simply "shuaaa"

We have less than 2 weeks to figure this out!!

Our 3 Year Old Version of Chipper Jones

An American Pastime

More cute pictures!

Happy 29!!!!!

Who couldn't love this face? I can't believe he is turning 29 tomorrow (July 9th)!!!! In a month we will have been married 5 years, my how time flies when you are having fun! I'm grateful to have such a great husband and friend (and don't forgot father).
We've been through a lot together: hedgehog scares, Ghandi, losing house keys while moving (twice)-car keys and purses a million times, sugar babies, new desk surprise, country dancing (or was that latino, or ballroom with those hips?), "she'll be comin' round the mountain" how many times?, dancing and singing like "Delulah" the comedian, "Who was a bigger geak in high school" game, threatening to TP every professor, "Is that a new shirt?" after it's been worn at least 20 times (at least nothing gets old!), "To be or not to be, that is the question...Tis nobler the what???" ESPN-Fox-and MSNBC, and of course watching him play with Jonah who is his entire world-in every moment he is fully present.
He is the greatest husband I could ask for, and my superior in so many ways. Jonah couldn't ask for a better dad and he absolutely can't wait for him to come home every night. We love you!

Happy 4th!

Complete Bliss

At least we know that if Jonah ever became a fireman, he would be working in his passion.

Final Names

So-We have almost reached a consensus: Ethan Lloyd Ayers. What do you think?

Another John Stockton? Live ...

Jonah is the one with the ball dribbling down the court. He did this about 5 times in this game, but it might get interesting once he is guarded more...tightly. All we need now are the tight shorts, and we could be calling him Stockton. :)

Here are some other recent pictures with some of our friends in Atlanta:



















-DKP Air Show 2008=>Crazy hot but way yet way cool
























-Braves Game where we saw a walk-off home run with the Douglas family



















-Painting the deck (more like painting each other, but it was still fun)



















-recent grill fest with Salmons and Merkleys



















-Jonah's first roasting of the marshmallows up in the mountains with the Rogers and Van Sants



















-playing at Centennial Park with the fountains in Downtown Atlanta

Sleep is so over-rated right?

I thought if I made myself very over-tired, I'd sleep through the night. Guess that doesn't work! It must be nature's way of prepping me for life to come. One can never be too prepared!!! Good thing babies are sooo worth it and precious!

Jonah had his first basketball game on Saturday! That is him on the left next to the coach, practicing his dribbling (hence the blurred ball). I can't tell you how dang fun it is to watch your child play sports. He has so much fun doing it too. You have to live up each moment. How often is your child going to show up for 3 year old basketball with diapers on and teddy in arms? Well, hopefully not that often!! But it sure is cute. He gets so excited when he makes a basket (and yes, they do have really low baskets they hook on to the regular rim). In his last soccer game, he made a goal, then proceeded down the sideline-while the game was still going on-giving all the parents a high-five. What can I say, I'm in love with my own kid (isn't every parent though?)!

We found our favorite artist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is a painting by Chuck Close. He was an amazing painter, had an accident and became a quadriplegic. This painting was done after his accident. You can't see it up close, but he paints little circles in a grid with his mouth. Up close, that's all you see is the 2 in. x 2 in. circles.