Jonah's Keyboard

Kelly keeps the keyboard to our desktop computer (which we never use). Now it is down on the floor for Jonah to play with. He really likes it as well as pianos. We haven't figured out if he's going to be a computer wiz or a composer.

Jonah and the Hat

Jonah sometimes likes hat's and can say hat if he wants.

Jonah had a playdate with Olivia today. They had a really good time. He kept trying to hug her. She was good with one or two then started pushing him away. I can't say I blame her.

Toddler Talk

This morning Jonah learned a new word. Actually I have heard him say it maybe once or twice before but today he was very consistent with it. Here you go:


Other new words this week are "munny" for bunny and "mill" for milk, as well as "biper" for diaper.

He Wakes Up Happy

I usually put Jonah down for a nap sometime between 1:30 and 3:00 and he will sleep for a couple of hours. Today was one of those busy days so he didn't get down for a nap until 3. When he goes down so late I don't like to let him sleep for more than 2 hours so he will go to bed on time - around 9. But if he really won't wake up, I'll let him stay for a while longer. Today was one of those days where I opened his door and started the washer and he did not wake up. Here was his state of being.

In the mornings it is a bit of a different story. He wakes up between 8:30 and 9. I don't go get him right away as he likes hanging out in his crib for awhile. He talks for awhile, practicing all the words he knows, and eventually throws all the bedding out of the crib and then proceeds to jump up and down in the crib. By the time I go into his room this is typically what greets me:

Jonah sometimes does some funny things. Sometimes it's obnoxious but funny and you can't seem to help but laugh even though you shouldn't - like last night when Kelly was trying to get him to put his green beans back on his plate. Well he started throwing the green beans at the plate - even though both the green beans and the plate were right in front of him - he was throwing them so hard they bounced off the plate and onto the floor. Kelly couldn't help but laugh which only made him do it more. :) And then there is just the down right silly kind of funny. This example we have on video.

Easter with Friends

Today, we had a picnic and egg hunt with our Hispanic house church. They say pictures speak a thousand words, so here we a are.

Well, I took Jonah to his first Easter Egg Hunt today. It almost didn't happen. I went to the first hunt this morning at 10:00 and Bond Park was crazy - people everywhere and no parking. By the time I found a place to park and made it to the 4 and under field, we had missed the egg hunt. We hung around for a while and played at the playground. By that time many people had left and we could drive out of the park without much of a fuss. After doing some errands, I decided to be tenacious and went back to the park for the afternoon egg hunt. (I'm not sure you can technically call it a hunt as the eggs and candy were just strewn about the outfield of a baseball diamond.) We were there about 10 minutes before the hunt began and it was difficult to hold Jonah back behind the boundary until it was time. He kept saying "ball" and wanting to go pick up the eggs. Once the whistle sounded we managed to get a few eggs and candy nearby. I was content to just let Jonah pick them up off the ground himself and put them in the basket - it's funny how that good old American "everyman for himself" shows up even at an easter egg hunt. Needless to say, the ground was wiped clean in about a minute and a half. Which was unfortunate only because Jonah was just getting warmed up in figuring out that you were to put the things in the basket. Nevertheless, he was content with his 3 or 4 eggs - in fact I think he would have been fine with one. He just liked shaking it and hearing it rattle - they were all plastic eggs with candy inside. Anyway, we came, we saw, we conquered - sort of. Not sure I'll be doing that again - with the mass public that is. Maybe we'll get a chance to do it again on Sunday, with friends who can enjoy watching with me as Jonah performs the simple act of picking up things and putting them in a basket. :) Click photos link to see more pictures from the day.

Ever Expanding Toddler Vocabulary

Today, I went to Target and as we were checking out the cashier gave me a sticker for Jonah. Jonah repeated "dider" for sticker and for the first time ever said thank you. I kind of missed it as I was making sure everything was ringing up accurately. But I heard the cashier say "your welcome" and I asked her did he say "Thank you." And she said that it sounded like it to her. And then later we were home and out in the back yard with the dogs. I was trying to get the dogs to run around a bit and get rid of some of their energy and said "Run, Leto, run." Then Jonah says "runnnn" and starts running. (He loves it when the dogs run around and get all worked up.) Also, this evening, I was talking on the phone to my mom and was trying to get Jonah to say, "Hi, Grammie" and at one point he said "memie." Unfortunately it was too low or mistimed so Grammie didn't get a chance to hear it. Maybe next time Grammie. So I guess we're going to hear new things daily now as he learns new words. How fun!

Jonah enjoyed visiting his friend Serra today. He was thoroughly entertained with all the different toys and especially liked pushing the little baby doll stroller around. He also tried to eat a candle - guess he liked the vanilla flavor :) The dads joined us later for dinner. Mom was enjoying herself with her friend as well, so I didn't get many pictures but here are a couple.

Word Discovery

Jonah has recently developed a new interest in books. I brought home some new ones for him from the consignment sale last week and some even have little folding tabs. In the past, he would have been more interested in tearing off the little tabs and just turning pages. But lately, I have noticed him really studying the pictures on the books.

 It probably has something to do with his recent language development. He has really started to get that everything has a word that describes it. Now besides "daddy," "doggy," "ball," and "mommy". He says or tries to say flower "wower", cat "dat", car "dar", sticker "dider", fish "wish", and so on. He is more likely to repeat something after hearing it once or twice than waiting until he's heard it 20 times. These pictures show him "reading" a book or at least studying it intently and the second shows him looking up in the sky and saying "wane" for plane. He can also say moon.

Toddler: Freedom to Run

I took my energetic 18 month old to the neighborhood park this afternoon. This playground is great for toddlers. He loves having the freedom to run and this is one place I can just let him be free for awhile without panicking when he takes off.

Something Old, Something New

Last night I went to a big kids consignment sale. I blew my budget for the month but got some very cute things for Jonah and the new baby. I got Jonah this little Nemo backpack - he loves bags. This morning I filled it with toys and took it with us to the grocery store. That along with the free balloon from the grocery store made this shopping trip much more pleasant than the past few times I have gone.

Mommy and Daddy got to go to an early dinner and movie while Jonah hung out with his Boppee, Olivia. They had a great time as usual. We all visited for a while afterwards. Olivia must have been missing her dad who's been away this week as she was very interested in sitting in Kelly's lap. Sorry to steal your Livy loving Jeff, but I'm sure there is plenty left :)

Jonah's First Attempt at the Indoor Slide

Jonah and I went to Chick-fi-la for lunch today. I let him go in the play area after he ate (he ate an entire kids meal by the way). They have a few interactive play things down low that he can play with and he also enjoys watching the other kids climb up into the play apparatus and come out the other side. After a while, he decided to try and join the big kids. The stair steps are large and platform like and spiral around to the top. From there it connects to tunnels and a slide to get down. The stairs up are just the right height to allow him to climb up. I new he was probably to small and would get lost up top somewhere and I'd have to send a child to rescue him, but I decided to let him go for it anyway. I took his shoes off and he climbed up to the top platform where there is wire mesh and he could see out. He was smiling and celebratory once he got up there. Then he changed his mind and decided he didn't really like that after all and started crying out. Other kids were going by and I asked one of them to show him to the slide, but Jonah wouldn't go with him. So I climbed up the platform stairs and rescued him. So we found out the hard way that he's not quite ready for those big play areas at restaurants.

This morning I took Jonah down the greenway from our house and over the big pedestrian bridge that crosses US1/64 to Kids Together Park. It's quite a bit bigger than the park just down the block. The town recently replaced the sand in the toddler area with new white powdery sand. It looks like snow. They also installed a new play apparatus that was just Jonah's size.

Today Jonah had his 18-month appointment. He weighed 26 lbs and 7 ounces and his height was 32 inches (I think). They wrote it down for me, but I forgot the paper. I'm pretty sure that's right though. So his weight has caught up to his height with both being in the 50-75% on the growth chart, whereas, at his last few appointments, he was showing a slender trend with his height in the 50-75% and his weight in the 25-50%. Dr. Adams asked how we were keeping his so healthy. It took me a minute to realize he meant in regard to sicknesses as he hasn't been in to see the Doctor for anything but regular checkups. I didn't really have an answer. We'll just say "Thank you God" and leave it at that. Several people we know have recently gotten the flu. So you can certainly pray with us that we ride through this flu season healthy.

A short note about Jonah's little sister. She has really been moving a lot the last couple of days. Kelly was even able to feel her movement last night for the first time. I officially got out all of my maternity clothes yesterday. My normal clothes just won't fit anymore, but I guess it's about time as I am half-way through this pregnancy. Won't be long now.

Getting the Little Tike Outside

With the weather in the 70's today, we spent some time in the backyard this evening. I splurged and bought Jonah a little tikes basketball hoop. He was really into it in the house, but when we set it outside he was more interested in just being outside than playing with it.

Here is a clip from our after dinner antics. Enjoy!