I wrote this to a friend who just had her baby and I realized that it summed up so much of how I feel about Jonah at this age. With a new baby on the way, I think back a lot to when Jonah was first born and I'm so grateful for every single day that has brought him to this point in his life. What a special little boy I have! Here's what I wrote:

"I always get sad as every different stage passes - but then I come to love the next one even better! Especially since he becomes more aware of things, sleeping patterns become easier, and then he begins to show how much he loves you! That's my favorite thing : ). Of course he loves you now, you're everything to him! But wait until he comes up to you and hugs you for no reason. I miss the baby stage - but boy do I love my toddler!"

I hope I can continue to remember and appreciate those memories as he grows up. I still get so sad at how fast time is passing - but I can't help but be so happy too. Jonah is so full of life and love and I can't wait to see the amazing person he's going to become. I just hope I can record everything well enough so that I never forget these precious times and all the ones we've yet to enjoy.

Update...

Well - we lost our camera a few weeks ago so my update wont have any pictures on it...again. We have a video camera that takes still pictures, but I don't know how to upload yet - we'll have to figure all that stuff out one of these days.
Meanwhile - here are some updates

Jonah is walking! Two weeks ago Wednesday, we were playing in the living room and he stood up and walked! It was literally overnight. He had his final PT apt last week and Jeanette was so happy with the progress he made that she discharged him completely and said there's nothing that she would have us work on. He should just keep on from here. He still wants to hold our hand most of the time, but at least he can do it now and it's so fun to watch how proud he gets of himself.

During this time I was able to have my mom and my sister visit. My niece and nephew stayed with us for a few days and my mom was here for a week. We really enjoyed the company and Jonah had so much fun. He especially loved my step-dad, Hal's beard - which was cute.

We got Universal Studio year passes while the family was here and we were able to go two times so far. This last time we got to see the Harry Potter world. Very cool. I actually did the broomstick ride which I guess I shouldn't have as a general rule for pregnant ladies - but Dwight checked it out first and we decided it wasn't any worse than an airplane ride - : ). Loved it! I probably wont go on it again til the baby comes - but that's why we have the year passes! Can't wait to go again, especially when it's not so crazy busy.

Speaking of the baby- he's (or she's) doing great! 18 weeks now! We heard a very strong heartbeat at our last appt. I've felt him move a little bit lately - that's always so fun. And in two weeks on July 1st we'll get to see him in an ultrasound again! Hopefully we'll know then if we should say 'he' or she' : )

Also, I'm in a play right now. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I'm just in the chorus, but the plan is to do enough of these that people in the area know me well enough to eventually let me have a bigger part. In the meantime - it's way fun and I'm getting to meet a lot of great people. I'm so glad Dwight supports me being in these community musicals. I forgot how much I miss them!

Dwight's doing good - loves his job, loves Jonah and had a wonderful Father's Day! He got accepted into the program with NASA that will pay for his schooling so we wont have to use his GI Bill and dig into savings to make up the rest - Master's are expensive! He starts in August so our freetime will be limited for a few years, but it will be worth it in the end. His first finals are the week after the baby is due so we can already see how crazy life is going to be. Good times ahead!

So that's what's going on with this Renshaw clan - business as usual! Life is mostly full of watching Jonah grow and falling more in love with him all the time. He is the sweetest, funnest little guy. I'm so sad I lost all those pictures of him - but I don't think my memories will ever get lost...hopefully : )
Hopefully one of these days I'll blog regularly and wont have to condense months worth of fun into one posting. But really, why do I do this anyway - mostly for me to write memories down and if anyone happens to run across it - they can enjoy my reminiscing. My next goal - journaling! Sure wish I was better at that...