Reunion

Last night we were able to drive to Provo and have dinner with our good friends Matt and Janina, who are in town from Los Angeles. Janina is my best friend from college - we were basically joined at the hip all four years of college, and as we always say, "we share half a brain!" (yeah, that kind of came out wrong the first time we said it, and it has stuck!) She and I were both piano performance majors and it seems like we had most classes together. People used to assume all the time that we were roommates, but we never lived together, we were just always together! We really have been through a lot together, and I am so grateful for her and her friendship. It is so interesting to me, because on the surface it seems like we are very different - we come from pretty different backgrounds, but we really are so similar in so many ways, and we really have parallel lives, it is so crazy - but it is neat because we are always able to understand what the other is going through and help each other out. Anyway, love you, Janina!

It was so much fun to see Janina and Matt!! The four of us used to get together all the time when we were all living in Provo and we have had so many fun times. It had been over a year since we had seen them, and they had never met James! Needless to say, we were very excited to see each other. We ate dinner at Panda Express (our traditional favorite - I don't know how many times Janina and I have eaten here...) and then went up to campus to the HFAC (our old "home" - the music building) and sat and visited and exchanged baby gifts. Janina is 32 weeks pregnant with their first, a baby boy! We are so excited for them!

Here are lots of fun pictures from the evening -

Janina and James at Panda

J-Bebe & Juana, back together!! Yay! Look at what a cute pregnant girl she is!

James saw the big Chinese lanterns on the ceiling and pointed and said, "buh-ooon!" (balloon)

Janina and Matt gave James the cutest little Bob the Builder outfit - they were so cute to give it to us - thanks guys! James LOVES playing with hangers - here he is having so much fun

Trying on the shirt - it is SO cute!

Janina and Matt with James - I told them, pretty soon this will be you guys - you will have a cute little baby boy of your own!

What a great couple - they are so perfect for each other (I would know, I was there for all of Janina's boyfriends, and Matt was the only one I really ever approved of! hehe)

The five of us, reminiscing in the piano hallway!!! Awww, I miss BYU...

Janina and I spent many hours in this hallway...

some candid shots from Matt

friends!!

We can't believe that we are both all grown up with a baby and a baby on the way! And, for some contrast - next is a picture of Janina and I during our freshman year of college - wow, that was like six years ago! I can't believe it -

so long ago...

James got to see where Mommy and Daddy went to school!

Jonathan and I

our little family

James and Matt became buddies

Jonathan and I were commenting that when we got together with Janina and Matt, it didn't even seem like we had been apart that long, we were just able to pick up where we left off and hang out as if it hadn't been almost a year and a half - I think that is really neat, it goes to show that our friendship will stay strong despite long distances. Awww, I love good friends! We are so grateful for all of our great friends.

our graduate

We had a great weekend - Jonathan graduated from BYU! He graduated with his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. I am so proud of my husband, he is such a hard worker and a smart guy, and I really admire the fact that he loves learning so much. This semester he has been working full-time and going to school full-time, and it has been pretty exhausting for him. I am so grateful for all he does for our little family! I'm so proud of you, Babe!



On Thursday was the big Commencement ceremony in the Marriott Center, and it was fun to hear Elder Bednar speak. Jonathan's parents and two of his sisters drove down on Thursday morning, and it was so fun to have them there and to have them stay with us! James did really well during the long day, but by the time Commencement was over he was SO sleepy! We had a cute little cap and gown for him to wear that Jonathan's Mom made for Kathleen and Jeff's first baby awhile back, and they sent it to us a few months ago! He looked SO cute in it, despite the fact that he was VERY tired and crying pretty hard - it actually made for some pretty funny pictures.






Here is James during the graduation - he looked so cute in his little BYU shirt and khaki pants. What a good-looking guy!


We enjoyed going out to eat with the Bosters and spending the evening with them at our house. It is so fun to have them come to town, we sure miss them!

On Friday was the Convocation ceremony when Jonathan got to walk across the stage! It was fun because my sister Liz also graduated, and she was in the same college as Jonathan, so they both walked at the same ceremony. Liz graduated magna cum laude in Biophysics, we are so proud of her! Liz you are so smart, we love ya!


James was a little more fussy during that ceremony and I had to take him out a few times, but by the time it was over and we were taking pictures, he was totally asleep - I was so glad I brought his little carrier so I could carry him around easily and he could sleep better. Here is our little family (with sleepy, sleepy son) after Daddy graduated!


On Friday we went out to eat with my family and had tons of fun - it was so fun to have such a great weekend and to be able to spend lots of time with both of our families! We love them so much!

Our Little Cougar

James already has some Cougar pride. How can he not when his Mommy graduated from BYU, and his Daddy will in a couple of months? His aunts gave him this great shirt for Christmas.

Buddies

James and his Daddy are great buddies! They are my boys! James loves being with his Daddy, and Jonathan is great at making James happy. This is going to be a pretty busy semester for Jonathan - he is working full-time and going to school full-time, in the evenings (it is his last semester at BYU! He will graduate in April, and is going to school at the BYU Salt Lake Center this semester).

He just got his very first full-time job! He works for a company called Alpine Technical Services, and his official job title is "Engineering Service Technician." Sounds pretty important, huh? Yeah we thought so too! He can tell you more about what he actually does at his job, but as far as I understand it, it has a lot to do with chemicals and water purification and reverse osmosis and all kinds of random stuff like that. So far he loves it! (Today was his second day - we'll see how it goes from here!) He has loved all of his chemistry classes, and he loves learning new things and doing hands-on kind of stuff, so I think this job is perfect for him.

Anyway, so Jonathan is gone for about 12 hours a day now, so James and I get to be buddies all day long! Sometimes we go over to Grandma's house and hang out with Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Josh (they just live a block away! I can't wait for the weather to warm up to try out James' stroller!). The other day, on Jonathan's first day of work, he got home and said hi to James and picked him up, and James gave him the biggest smile ever! I guess he missed his Daddy and was so happy that he was home!

Here are my cute boys having a nice cuddle.

Father and son!

Here is James in the fleece coat/snow suit thing that my Aunt Bonnie gave him. It is still a little big, but he is growing fast and it actually fits him pretty well!

James likes to hang out with his Uncle Josh - here they are having some tummy time together! Look how much a little boy grows up in 16 years! I can't believe that James will be that big someday. By the way, you gotta love James' striped green fleece pants. They were a hit with Grandpa, who was laughing about how silly it would look if GROWN-UPS wore clothes like that!

James loves his uncle!

James and Mommy - I was trying to take a picture of the two of us. We were playing on our bed while Daddy did his homework, so I was trying to take some pictures of both of us myself. The only problem was that James kept looking at me instead of the camera!


I think he is punching his Mommy in the eye and trying to lick or bite me, but I don't think he meant it. He loves me, really!

This one turned out pretty good! It looks like he was copying me, how I was holding up my arm with the camera.
Me and my baby!

Sweet Baby James - in a cute outfit my friend Mandy gave me! So today I got out this box of "bigger" clothes that I had been saving for James - and he already fits into half of them! He's six weeks old today, and he is beginning to fit into the 3-6 month clothes already! What a big boy!