Well, it is nearly 5 in the morning and I am sitting here holding what shall be officially titled as the world's cutest baby in the world. We've had a very big week and I have a lot of other pictures to show you, however, I'm thinking that most of you would appreciate some good ol' fashion baby pictures to start off your morning.

So. Welcome Baby Jason to our little Jones family!

On December 21st we arrived, sleepy-eyed, at 5:30 in the morning to prep for Jason's c-section. Due to some unscheduled emergencies in with another mother, we weren't wheeled in until 4 that evening. Here we are, all dressed up for the big moment. What a cute couple.

And here is Jason Robert Coby Jones, a few moments after making his big debut.


And here he is for his first official weigh-in.


As soon as we were wheeled out of the recovery room, we were sounded by Jason's new entourage, who had been waiting so patiently the whole day to see him.








Jason adjusted well, and quickly to all the attention.

We were finally able to bring him home Christmas Eve.

Here is our little Christmas baby. (Our friend Andrea knitted this sweet little elf hat just in time. Watch out, soon enough everyone is going to be wearing one.)
Jason also starred in his very first play that evening. (Stage moms! We just can't start them early enough!) Here is is as baby Jesus in our little Nativity play. Laina and Austin are Joseph and Mary.

Little Porter was the angel, Ethan was a shepherd and little Naomi was a pretty cute looking lamb.

After a big Christmas day, our newest little addition was content to sack out on Grandpa's lap.

Just 5 days old, and what a busy schedule he keeps. Now he is finally sleeping, I think I'll go in and try to catch a nap myself. I'll leave you with some pictures I took just a couple of hours ago. Daddy and Jason. (Robert was quoted saying, "This is my favorite part...just having him sleep on my chest.")


Looks like Jason agrees with him.

I only had enough gumption to make one Christmas present this year. I had a lot of ideas to make more, but not enough time or energy. So, Gina got this one. These were fun Christmas pillows made entirely with applique. (guess I was on a roll after Jason's quilt.) The first pillow is Santa's laundry and the second pillow is Mrs. Claus' laundry. I promised myself not to buy any fabric for the project and so all the pieces were from scrap or stash. The kids liked helping me place all the pieces down like puzzle pieces, before I sewed them on.


These pillows are actually a bit larger than they look here. They are almost the length of a cushion and so they look fun sitting on a couch. (We enjoyed them for a couple weeks until we finally made it to the post office.) I really loved the material on both of the backs.
The long underwear was one of my favorite parts on Santa's laundry line.


And the bra and underwear were my favorite parts on Mrs. Claus' line. They were also the hardest to make since they were so small and for some reason the bra kept looking wrong every time I made it. (third time was a charm...or at least it is when I gave up.)


This was my first attempt at making a pillow and I have to admit...it was pretty straightforward to make. I just might have to make something for us one day.

Anyway, they should be getting them in the mail this week so I hope they enjoy them.

Oh Christmas Tree...

For the second year in a row, we chopped down our very own Christmas tree. And when I say 'we' what I really mean is, 'Rob.' We did all walk through the trees to find the very best one. All the kids wanted to be the one who saw the tree first and so there was a lot of debate between choices. Which one is taller. Which one is rounder. Which one has a better shape. Which one is the best shade of green. All very important questions. After serious discussion and deliberation, we decided on this beauty. (first spotted by Alaina Jade)
Robert let everyone take turns with the saw to help cut it down. (Except for me...naturally. I could just imagine the picture that would go with that. Horrors!)
But we know who did the majority of the work...
I even pretended to help out.
Once we got home, Robert went from being just a regular guy to being a super hero as he carried the tree in by himself.

I am Robert...Hear me Roar!
I was just a lump on the log for the whole event. Robert even took over the decorating with the kids. Look how well they did without me. I'm thinking of making this a yearly tradition.
And here are all our stockings set up in a row...
Looks like we are now ready for Santa to come down chimney.

I just realized that I never got around to posting this little entry. I guess, as bizarre as the little event was, it just blended into all of the other silly, gross, weird things that my kids introduce into my life on a daily basis. However, a story like this shouldn't be forgotten either, so here it is:

Austin pooped out of a tree the other day. This was after he had first dropped his drawers to pee. I guess that was so fun, and such a time-saver, that he decided to finish up the job. Alaina came running in with the news. Breathlessly, she filled in the unsolicited details. "He leaned over and pooed and then he used some leaves to clean up!" I really didn't know how to react to that one. When I looked out the window, all I saw was a rather innocent-looking, fully-clothed child standing high up on a couple of branches. I chose to remain in denial until I saw Austin walking carefully towards the house a few minutes later. Not wanting to leave a mess, he had scooped it up the poop with some leaves and was taking to the bathroom. I mean, it would just be gross to leave that outside. Right?

What do you say to a child who does this? There are so many things I never imagined that I would ever hear myself say. "Don't sit on your brother's head." "Don't draw on the television" "Don't wipe your poo on the wall." "Don't chew on your toe-nails." "Don't hit your brother's head with a bat." "Get your toys out of the toilet." "Don't pee in the garage." "Get the Cheerios out of your nose." "Don't pee like a boy" (said to Alaina, multiple times, after she discovered her hidden talent. *sigh*) This list goes on and on. And now I have to add, "Don't poo out of a tree." to the list.

(If you are wondering...it did occur to me that most of my odd comments have a common theme. I just never realized how specifically I would have to break down the right things and wrong things to do with human waste. Before becoming a parent, I always assumed it was a no-brainer.)

You know, when I read that list of commands out-loud to Robert, it really sounded like we were raising a bunch of dirty delinquents in a barn. My monsters really are quite sweet and well behaved most of the time. Well... Some of the time. Still. I'm sure I'll be adding to the list any moment. That is part of the excitement of raising three creative little kiddies...you never know what is going to happen in the next five minutes.

Over the Thanksgiving break, Robert took all three of the kids up to Mt. Hood for some skiing. Each night, before he left, he spent a couple hours on the set up. Here is just of a samplings of all the stuff he gathered up.
He wanted to make sure every morning went smoothly so that they could spend the most time in the snow as possible. It seemed to work well because they were up and out of here, bright and early, each morning.

And look how much fun they had!




Robert said that by the third day, all three of them were happy on the the Blue slopes. He told me that their each of their turns are getting better and there is less of the 'pizza' slow down, straight down the hill. They are all looking forward to winter break to get up there again. It will be fun for me to be able to watch them someday. Not now, of course, but sometime...

I've got some time for just a couple of random pictures.

Austin and Ethan both ordered new glasses a couple of weeks ago. They went through all of the frames, trying on at least 15 each. Austin found his and loved them instantly. Robert started laughing as soon as he saw him in them. Why? Can you tell from this picture?


That's right. They both have both of the exact same frames. Like Father like son.

Here is little Lane with one of her lego creations. Meet Miss Lego Lady.
I found a couple pictures I took at 6 months pregnant. And here I am being goofy.
Two months later, I'm bigger, rounder and apparently, I forgot how to comb my hair and put on make-up. And to make it better, it's a belly picture...'cause I know y'all were just dying to see one.

I've got about 2 1/2 more weeks until baby gets here, so I might even get a 9 month picture this time.

Guess whose quilt is finally done? Wait for it...
Baby....

(whew!)

This little gem was started this summer and turned out to be quite the process to put together. Alaina wanted to be very involved (imagine!) and took over the job of picking out the fabrics and designing the pattern. Here is our first draft of what she wanted. (At that point, Owen was her favorite name choice.)
Alaina then sewed together all of the main blocks. Once they were in place, I had all three of the kids draw out cars that they wanted me to put on the quilt. They were all very inventive and I had to simplify them the best I could knowing that I'd have to applique them on later. Here are some of their drawings with my scaled down versions. (However, I found it very difficult to scale down flames shooting out of the back of race-cars.)


Once I had them drawn out, the kids placed them where they wanted them to be on the quilt. They loved 'their' squares and in the end they all wanted one of their drawings to win the race. I told them it would be funnier if we had a turtle crossing the finish line first. The twins thought this was funny but Ethan is still a little sore about it, even though his race car is second.

The applique took FOREVER! I was really only ever able to accomplish one or two at a time. Every time the kids got home they were excited to see whose block was finished. Ethan became my biggest fan when I showed off my latest accomplishment each day. (It is funny, the things that make these kids tick.) Finally, after a couple of months of sewing, I finished all the applique. It was my first time doing real applique and I fell in love with the 'wonder under' iron-on adhesive that kept everything in place while I sewed them on. I didn't love all the teeny details that managed to slip by my 'simplifying' stage in the beginning.


In the end, the blanket ended up being at least three times the size I was imagining in the very beginning (more of a toddler's blanket than a baby's quilt, I'd say.) But the kids loved helping me out and still like to point out their designs.

On the back I wanted to do something very simple. (If I realized just how much applique we were going to do, I would have advised Alaina to pick out less busy prints on the front!) So, with all that craziness, I decided that when we needed a break from the chaotic front, we should be able to flip it over and have a nice calm quilt to look at. I found this green flannel which was perfect, but they only had a limited amount. The dye on the second print of the same pattern that came in was more olive green instead of the pretty lime green, so I decided to keep what I had and add rainbow down the middle. I loved how it came out.It is nice and bright without being too overwhelming. I then quilted the top in a simple zig-zag between the applique roads. I figured, it didn't need anything else too crazy to draw the eye to. Here is a little close up of the rainbow. The coloring is a little more yellow than it is in sunlight, but we haven't had sunlight for a few days and I wanted a picture. :)
I thought that this quilt wasn't quite finished until I matched one of my favorite blocks (austin's) with a stuffed softy. After I finished it, Alaina and Ethan really wanted on of their blocks done the same way, but I decided it was time to close shop on the project.
I really did love how all of the blocks came out, but here are some of my favorites. Alaina's racing fish.

And her racing buggy.
Austin's (I think...) fire-truck.

And Ethan's second-place race car with Speedy the turtle.
I even designed a few blocks myself. I dedicated the buggy with the surf-board to Robert.


And I loved my little groovy car until I sewed him up and realized he didn't really fit. Oops. (also those hearts were a nightmare to sew on!)


But now...now, we are ready for our little guy to join us. We'd prefer he waited just a little longer but as it looks right now, he might be coming in time for Christmas. I'd have to say, that would be the best Christmas present. Ever.