Favorite Things: December 2014

Vilac Fridge Alphabet Magnets.  Jonah loves to sings ABCs and spell words like "helicopter" and "airplane".  But his favorite thing to spell is "Jonah"!

Mindscope Race Track.  These little cars were a huge hit at Christmas!  And the best part is they don't need the track - you can chase them all around the house and under furniture to turn off the incessent engine and flashing lights.

"Little People: Christmastime"  Lift the flaps.  What could be better?

Making Yellow

I once saw an artist's sketch (possibly in an exhibit by Michealangelo, but I don't recall exactly) entitled: "woman making water".  Though I didn't know that particular euphamism, it was rather obvious to what this refered by looking at the drawing.  In our house, the phrase - as coined by Jonah - is proudly exclaimed ,"I made yellow!"  Serendipitous that yellow is his favorite color!

"J-O-N-H: That spells Jonah!"

Sometimes he forgets the A, but most of the time he remembers, especially if he can read the letters.

Counting is coming along too!  Jonah sympathizes with the Count von Count in that he sometimes finds it hard to stop counting.  It's a good thing he only knows up to 13!

Favorite Things: November 2014

Larson Puzzles.  The 9 and 13-piece jigsaws featuring a train and airplanes are just right, but we are quickly moving into 24-piece jigsaws! 

Curious George books and cartoon.  And yet I wasn't the one to figure out where his new habit of saying "huh?" came from...

Sledding!

We had a nice snowfall over Thanksgiving, so Jonah got to play in the snow with his cousins!  I stayed inside, but watched them build a huge snowman.  Jonah preferred to push others down the hill than sled himself.  He also enjoyed having PopPop pull him around.  I hope he doesn't get the idea that this is how they work!

Terrible 2's?

Jonah has decided to officially act like a two-year-old.  It started with an all out screamfest over getting dressed last week.  Since then, we've noticed some serious rebellion over little things, like the wrong cup.  Oh boy.  I expect it will get a lot worse before it gets better!

Halloween Tiger!

Jonah was very excited to dress up like a Tiger this Halloween.  He picked out the fabric (rejecting a cute cartoon-y fleece) and helped stuff the tail, using a variety of tools including a screwdriver and electric drill - which actually worked quite well!  He even wanted the tiger hat to go with it and wears the hood with pride.  He and Daddy have been practicing their growls, so he has a really powerful roar to go with the outfit.  I had bought him a cute red cardigan sweater so he could be Daniel Tiger (his favorite show!  chip off the old block) but in the end he chose to be a 'regular tiger' and make fierce roars.  He also enjoyed holding his tail and showing it off to everyone.

Jonah has found many occasions for wearing his tiger suit.  Playgroup had a huge party, we trick-or-treated at his school, he and Daddy trick-or-treated at the supermarket, he attended a party by the rec. department AND THEN it was time for Halloween night.  Wow!  What a busy tiger!  Every time we went somewhere, Jonah asked for "more party"!  I think Trick-or-Treating was the least favorite.  He couldn't understand why when you went to someone's house and rang the doorbell you wouldn't go inside when they opened the door!  And a little toddler from down the street saw Jonah inside the neighbor's house and got the same idea.  Cute.  Five houses and he was done.

I always encouraged Jonah to take the little slinkys, balls, and other toys instead of candy.  Not because I'm that mom who doesn't want her kid to have the sugar.  Jonah doesn't like any of it!  At his school party, he kept grabbing Twizzlers, so I gave him one to try.  He licked it and handed it right back.  But at the next classroom, he reached for more Twizzlers!  We also tried a Snickers - a tiny sliver of chocolate off the end so small we didn't even reach the filling - and he was done.  He had far more fun with the stickers and stamps.  Oh, and we did discover a new love for popcorn!  He sat and pulled the kernels one at a time from the fingers of a plastic glove and enjoyed every minute.

Favorite Things: October 2014

Tiger Costume.  Jonah loves to run around and roar as loudly as he can!

"The Cat in the Hat"  I never liked this book as a kid, the cat's antics always made me too nervous for all the trouble little Sally and her brother were in.  Now as a parent, I like it even less, but more for the endlessness than the disobenient plot.  Should I be worried that my son likes it so much??? 

Children's Museum w/ JK&L

Jonah cashed in on his birthday present from Uncle Kevin and Aunt Lindsay - they took him to the Children's Museum!  Sounds like they had a great time and Jonah and Uncle K became fast buds.   Mommy enjoyed a morning to herself (Daddy was helping Grandpa!) and met up with the crew for lunch.  Uncle Kevin and Aunt Lindsay looked a little tired from their busy morning

Jonah's favorite thing - which he had to show me when I arrived to pick him up - was a fake fish tank like you might find in Spencer Gifts... in a little "cave" in the eave... 3 stories up!  Oh boy.  He also enjoyed making super long trains and is very proud of his artwork, which is a series of yellow ovals drawn by a pendulum, but he always points at the fridge and announces: "I made that!"

Potty Training

To recap, it went something like this:

Day 1:  sat on the potty every 15min., nothing
Day 2:  moved the potty to the Living Room and sat for longer intervals watching TV or iPad - success came with Jonah saying "uh oh!"
Day 3:  Jonah finally connected sitting with going as a positive thing, much enthusiastic dancing to reinforce - toys/books/sweets not working
Day 4:  total frustration of fighting for potty breaks
Day 5:  surprising and repeated success (with a few accidents), time on iPad becomes successful reward currency
Day 6:  SCHOOL - Jonah wears Pull-Ups and sits on the potty, but never uses it
Day 7:  total failure
Day 8:  SCHOOL - repeat
Day 9:  Jonah had a great day, even taking time out from his birthday party!
Day 10:  Feel we've got the rhythm, (as long as Mom or Dad enforce potty breaks at appropriate times)
...
Week 2:  Jonah regularly "makes yellow" almost immediately upon sitting on "little potty" and is proud of his own success (but still asks for iPad afterward), potty moves back to the bathroom
...
Week 4: Jonah sometimes tells us he needs potty... but doesn't make it, still has great success when we ask, helps empty his own potty and flush!
...
Week 6:  Potty Training Euphoria! - Jonah can tell us he needs potty and makes it! (usually with a stop to bring his toy of choice to the bathroom with him!), Mom is much more relaxed not counting the minutes or forcing unwanted potty breaks, using public restrooms is still a challenge but with some success, Jonah still wears Pull-Ups to school and diapers for nap/nighttime

Favorite Things: September 2014

Thomas Train Table.  Jonah plays with this all the time.  For extended periods.  Wow.

"Things That Go"  For such a simple little seek and find book, this one is getting a lot of milage!  We play I spy and race to find different types of vehicles on each page.  And it turns out the redundancy of some types is great for practicing counting.

2 Year Update

Now that Jonah is 2, I thought it time to (try) record the things he is doing now:

Language:
Jonah's communication has just exploded, and I long ago stopped trying to track all his new words.  He's up to sentences, such as:

• Mommy and Daddy all done working
• I come, too!
• Mama hold this one ("this one" is a Jonah-ism for "this")

Jonah can sing the ABC song with 90% accuracy and recognize a dozen letters by sight, though he knows them by word association, so "A" is airplane, "D" is Daddy, etc.

Jonah can count to 10, and everything thereafter is 13.  When left on his own, he will keep going instead of stopping when he runs out of items to count.

Sings "ABC", "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", "Twinkle, Twinkle", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Baa Baa Black Sheep", "Old McDonald" and others.

Gross Motor:

Jonah can actually get off the ground when he jumps!  He climbs the playground by himself, but only occasionally does the slide.  (And holds Mommy's hand for the tall twirly slide.)  He loves anything sport, so any objects become bats and balls inside or outside.  He has some success with throwing a ball up and hitting it with a bat.  He can also throw a ball with some accuracy, though catching is still a challenge.  He can shoot a basket on the highest setting, which is just above his reach.  He loves to run, and scoots on his tricycle with his feet or sometimes tries the pedals with assistance.  He's not much of a climber, but has figured out to move the ottoman or stool where he wants so he can reach up high.

Fine Motor:

Jonah has mastered peg / shape puzzles and has them complete in a flash.  Can use a fork, but usually prefers not to.  He tries to use the side of his fork to cut food the way Mommy and Daddy do.  Brushes his own teeth, and likes to unscrew the toothpaste cap on his own.  Has a lot of trouble taking off his clothes or even socks, but we're working on it!  Loves to build with Duplos and make long trains.  Favorite craft involves gluing beads.  Hates to have paint on his hands.

Potty Training:

We have begun in earnest!  Jonah finally associates sitting on the potty with doing his business, which is a huge accomplishment.  As a reward, we sing a very boisterous song and let him play on the iPad.  Gifts of books and toys had no effect and he rejected any sort of candy treat!

Food:

Jonah is a fan of starches.  He devours multiple servings of rice, noodles and breads.  He also eats his meats and veggies, but sometimes as a trade for more of his favorites.  Jonah also loves fruits, cheese, and beans of any color/variety.  Skip the squash and potatoes.  He drinks only milk and water.  We've tried juices and strawberry/chocolate milk, but he doesn't like either.  Tries, then spits out any type of dessert, candy or sweet.

Happy Birthday to Jonah!

Jonah had a wonderful birthday party with lots of cousins and friends to share his big day!  Although I swore I would never be "one of those moms", we had a bounce house.  (Cut me some slack - it was a special occasion and we were able to borrow it from a neighbor!)  The weather was beautiful and everyone had a nice time playing in the yard.  One of my favorite moments was Jonah playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie with some of the older kids in the bounce house.  Such fun!

Little did I know, Jonah is now an expert at birthdays.  He sang Happy Birthday to himself and blew out the candles right away.  He was also quite the pro at opening presents.  We only did a couple, but the rest of the week he kept pointing and asking "more present" so we'd open a new one each night.  But nothing could top his new train table from Grandmama and PopPop!  Jonah is a regular pro at putting pieces of track together, forming super long trains, and driving them around the track.  Put on his engineer hat and it's like watching a commercial for how toddlers are supposed to play with trains.  It's so by-the-book!  Adorable.

Inventing Sports

Jonah loves playing sports.  We went to two birthday parties and he spent the entirety of both playing baseball, soccer and basketball!  I was quite impressed by his boldness to walk onto a basketball court to pick up a ball and start "dribbling"... in the middle of a bunch of adults shooting hoops!  Fortunately, the adults were extremely toddler-conscience and made a game of defending any little people who stepped onto the court.  Or they stopped to help Jonah dribble or shoot.  Jonah even got a few of them to throw the wiffle ball for him to bat - and made contact a few times!

Jonah doesn't stop at regulation - kid-sized versions of - sanctioned sports.  Anything involving a ball and stick will do.  He invents new games all the time at home with whatever he can find: a golf ball and stick, a paint stirrer and small plastic ball, a colander and basketball.  If he can hit with it, he will!

Favorite Things: August 2014

Radio Flyer Fold-and-Go Tricycle.  Perfect little size.  Jonah is very proud of the pedals, though they get little use.  the storage trunk, on the other hand, is its best feature.  We ride around picking upa ll sorts of rocks and sticks.  When the bike tipped over, Jonah was more concerned for his lost cargo than he was hurt.

"Iggy Peck, Architect"  Naturally.

Pillow Crashes

We hung out at Cailin and Declan's house today and had lots of fun at their playground, pool, and in the living room.

Jonah tried on a floatie and had an awesome time swimming all by himself!  Even better was the 2 1/2 ft kiddie section of the pool, where he could run around and dive into the water with the floatie catching him.  Nice for Mommy, who didn't have to be within arms reach every second.

Jonah and Declan also started a new game on the couch.  They would both lay face down side-by-side.  Grandmama would pile pillows on top until we couldn't see the boys anymore.  Then the pillows (and kids!) would come crashing down to the floor in a spectacular boom!  They must have done this a few dozen times in a row.

National Zoo

Jonah was reading his book about 100 animals on the way to the zoo, so we asked, "which animal would you like to see at the zoo?"  His answer: "ducks!"  And so we found a huge turtle pond with two ducks paddling across - and he was thrilled.

Daddy wanted to see the elephants, pandas and ferrets.  We were lucky to see the elephant and panda (which are not always out!) but the black-footed ferrets were 'coming soon'.  How disappointing!  And misleading, since all the signs pointing to the small mammal house had pictures of ferrets.  We did catch a very active armadillo, which is pretty strange to see.  Did you know armadillos had hairy armpits?  It was scurrying about like a giant bug.  Jonah was mesmerized.

For the Long Ride

We took our first long car trip to visit the cousins (and so Mommy and Daddy could go to Laura & Rob's wedding).  We didn't know how Jonah would take it, since most long trips end with screaming when he is done napping.  So the car was stocked with new toys and books, snacks, the iPad, and DVD player with toddler DVDs.  Long drives are not as easy while playing entertainment director and flight attendant, but Jonah did a good job of reading lots of books and watching Thomas sing alongs.  Much traffic later, we arrived!  Jonah and his cousins went nuts, but only for about 15 minutes before they all crashed into bed.

Old Davis Had a Farm

Jonah took Mommy and Grandmama to the petting farm!  (Yes, he took us, since adults aren't allowed without a child!)  He adored all the bunnies and was super excited to find two Starbucks!  One can only imagine the staff was trying to correct him: "this is a ferret, not a Starbuck".

Favorite Things: July 2014

Bruder Mini Excavator.  A very well built little truck with a multi-jointed boom/arm/bucket and crawler tracks.  This has been a great toy for rides in the car and goes with Jonah everywhere.

"Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site"  aka 'Night-night, Truck'  Beautiful illustrations and all our favorite construction vehicles.  Win-win.

Boat!

We spent the day up at the lake with newly engaged Uncle Kevin and Aunt Lindsay!  (Congratulations, kiddos!)  They took us out for a ride on the boat, which - after the train incident - we thought might go very badly.  But Jonah took it all in stride, fussing only a little when three adults attacked him with a life jacket.  As we waited on the dock for everyone to be ready Jonah made a B-line for the boat and practically jumped right in.

He loved it!  He took turns sitting in everyone's laps.  His favorite spot was the "driver's seat", which in his experience is on the left side behind the windshield.  So he drove from the glove-box while Captain Uncle Kevin navigated the throttle and wheel.  At one point early on, Jonah decided he was all done, but he came around quickly and enjoyed the rest of the ride.  We pointed and waved at every other boat on the water (and there were lots!) and sang "the motor on the boat goes vroom, vroom, vroom!"  After we docked, Jonah even got his own turn/photo op at the wheel.

Toddler Concert

There was a concert at Jonah's school this afternoon, so we went over after nap to participate.  Jonah cried through the first couple songs, ate snack through the next few, and then got up and joined right in the dancing!  I guess he just wasn't ready for the abrupt transition after nap.  It was great fun for me to see him flaunting his toddler moves with the best of them!  Of course, this didn't last long before the toddlers realized they were on the preschool playground, which is the forbidden fruit of the 2yr-old crowd.  So they spent the last half of a 45min concert playing with bark chips.

First Lesson in Circuit Design

Godfather II

Beach Day!

Fourth of July Block Party

 

Jonah got into the spirit dancing to a live band with his flag.  Watch out, pedestrians!!!

Three Musketeers

Jonah's older cousins have dubbed themselves the "Three Musketeers".  (Or maybe it's Mouseketeers?  I wonder where pre-schoolers learn about French literature.)  They all spent the day with Grandmama and PopPop going to the park and otherwise having a grand time.  Even with the big outing, the highlight of the day [as reported to us] was the three of them holding hands walking down the sidewalk after Mass.  Cute.

Bye-bye, Mama!

Jonah and PopPop dropped Mommy and Daddy off at the airport for a long weekend wedding extravaganza.  Jonah would be vacationing with Grandmama and PopPop while we are away.  We didn't know how the good-byes would go at the airport, but I must say it went a little too well.  I scooped up Jonah for a big hug and kiss, but moments later he was reaching out for PopPop to hold him!  He waved good-bye from PopPop's hip, blew a few kisses, and then marched off to watch airplanes from the viewing deck.  So much for the tearful and anxiety-ridden separation from Mom and Dad!  Jonah is going to be just fine.  Mommy, on the other hand, is feeling overwhelmingly disillusioned.  Jonah clearly doesn't need me anymore!

Snake

We once rolled Play-Doh into snakes, which so far is Jonah's favorite use of the modelling clay.  Now when he wants to play, he pulls over his craft tray and yells, "snake!" until I bring the tub of Play-Doh.

Wordsmith

Jonah's verbal communication has just exploded recently.  He regularly puts together multi-word thoughts (usually lacking a verb, and thus not sentences).  My favorite was while I was making dinner, from the kitchen I heard: "Daddy, all done news.  Blankets!"  (In our house "blankets" = building a 'fort' on the couch and then collapsing it when Jonah starts saying, "uh-oh! uh-oh! uh-oh!"

Mama, Snack!

Jonah is usually underfoot while we make dinner, so we've started giving him little chores to help out.  For example, he puts forks at each of our places at the table.  When dinner is ready, Daddy sent Jonah to let me know.  Jonah ran over to the stairs (as I was upstairs) and screamed, "MAMA!  SNACK!"  In our house, every meal is known simply as 'snack'.

Bike to School

Dad bought and installed a bike seat for Jonah!  He installed it on his Trek yesterday and tried to put Jonah in for a test-run before attempting to commute on the bike this morning.  Jonah flailed and kicked and screamed and otherwise refused to be strapped into the contraption.  So much for biking to school/work... or so I thought.

This morning Dad was persistent and loaded Jonah and his school bag onto the bike and off they went - screaming (but unable to kick due to the restraints)!  It was a sad sight to leave my little one in such a state as I left for work.  I later learned that by the time they were halfway to school and going under the railroad underpass, Jonah was having fun and yelling "woah!"  Apparently, he was very proud to show off his bike and helmet at school.  The envy of his classmates.

Knock, knock!

Jonah loves knocking on doors, always accompanied by saying, "knock, knock!" and occasionally including a forced entry, if he can open the door.  Tonight in the bath he was knocking on the tub, so we practiced knock-knock jokes:

Jonah: "Knock, knock!"
Mommy: "Who's there?"
Jonah: "Jonah"
Mommy: "Jonah who?"
Jonah: "Jonah!"

Jonah: "Knock, knock!"
Mommy: "Who's there?"
Jonah: "Jonah"
Mommy: "Jonah who?"
Jonah: "PopPop!"

It's funny in the way knock-knock jokes usually are[n't]: "orange you glad I didn't say banana?"

SNAKE!

We came home after our morning outing and while I was busy putting the stroller away, getting lunch set out, etc. I heard Jonah yelling "SNAKE!"  Sure enough, we was pointing to a snake curled up in our window well.  We watched during lunch as the snake slithered up the window and stretched out in the sun for an afternoon nap.

Fast forward a few days, Jonah and Daddy found an unfortunate snake on the road.  I wonder if Jonah understands what it means that the snake is dead?

Happy Mama Day!

Poor Daddy was feeling unwell today, so Jonah was on his own for giving Mommy a wonderful Mother's Day!

We started at Mass, where Jonah clapped enthusiastically along with "This Little Light of Mine".  Then he took me out to the botanical garden and gave me the grand tour.  We made stops at the turtle fountain, misting fountain, spraying hoses, drainage grate, and hose bibs.  Oh, and there were a few flowers along the way!  ;-)  We even found a porch swing hanging from a tree so we could swing together.

My favorite part was when Jonah took a shortcut and frolicked through a field of daffodils while I took the path to meet him.  The other visitors where slightly mystified by the lone toddler, but quite enraptured by his adorable romp across the waist-high field of flowers.  Jonah also enjoyed walking the forest path and finding sticks taller than him, or helping Mommy push the stroller when I grew tired.  (I should note here that his help is performed while being held up high enough to reach the handlebar!)

Creatures Small and Creepy

Jonah likes to help in the garden, so every time a dig up a new creepy-crawly, I put it in Jonah's shovel or bucket for him to inspect.  It seems the bug net and critter house were unnecessary.  He's not bothered at all, and often I find him holding a worm or letting a beetle crawl over his hand.  (Worms, by the way, are hilarious.)  Then he lets them go and waves, "bye-bye!"

Take this inside, and Jonah finds Mommy and Daddy's war on ants.  So he follows suit, smushing an ant with his finger and saying, "bye-bye!"  What a terrible thing to see my precious toddler doing!

Trains are NOT for Riding

Yesterday, we enjoyed a town festival in which Jonah danced to live music, played mini-golf with friends, and threw water balloons until they burst.  All morning, he pointed to the Roaming Railroad and excitedly shouted "choo-choo!"  We asked him if he wanted to ride the train, and after a few enthusiastic nods, we loaded him up next to Mommy on the seat.  And Jonah screamed.  And screamed.  And screamed.  I thought maybe once we got moving he would calm down, but in retrospect, we should have aborted immediately.  He kept reaching out and yelling for Dada (who was taking pictures) to save him from the moving abomination.  So sorry to all our fellow passengers!

Today we drove up to a farm that has some animals to see and playground.  The caveat: they make you ride their train to get to the play area from the parking lot!  The screaming ensued - all the way there, and all the way back.   (It would seem that leaving Daddy behind wasn't a contributing factor, which I had considered yesterday.)  Poor kid is probably scarred for life.  We're going to lay off trains until Jonah is willing to climb aboard on his own.

Dr. Jonah

The ear thermometer was left out after Jonah's recent fever.  He picked it up today to play doctor.  He pressed all the buttons and then took his own temperature by reaching it behind his bum!  (He must remember the rectal thermometer.)  Then he did the same with the Tylenol syringe.  I'm not sure where he got that idea! ;-)

I was feeling sluggish today after a rough night up with Jonah.  We were watching Elmo in the morning while I woke up over a bowl of cereal.  Jonah took care of Mommy by feeding me Cheerios, one spoonful after another.

Mr. Clean

Jonah really like to make things right when he knows he messed up... particularly after making a mess.  He seems to really appreciate cleanliness, or being a big helper.  Here are a few examples:

1. This afternoon while I was making dinner, Jonah spilled his bag of popcorn all over the floor.  I gave him the Dustbuster and showed him how to use it.  He went around the kitchen and vacuumed up the entire mess!
2. A few weeks ago Jonah spilled his cup of water on the kitchen floor.  Without any intervention, he opened the cabinet, pulled out a dish towel, and wiped up the spill!
3. I wrote earlier about his attempt to help clean up a ferret mess...
4. Jonah will throw out a used tissue after wiping his nose.
5. When a few Goldfish fell out of his Easter egg, Jonah picked them up and threw them in the trash.
6. Jonah helps with his diapers by opening the toilet seat, flushing the toilet (after Mommy has cleaned the diaper), and opening the diaper pail for the soiled diaper.
7. After dinner, Jonah sometimes picks up any food that spilled and puts it back onto his plate - or hands it to Mommy - to clean his tray.
8. Jonah enjoys helping to load and unload the dishwasher.
9. Jonah helps wash the floors by riding on Mommy's hip and pressing the button on the Swiffer wet jet.
10. Jonah loves sweeping, and prefers the big broom to the dustpan brush!  This one is slightly less effective...
11. Jonah loves brushing his teeth with his Elmo toothbrush and Choo-choo toothpaste.  After "spitting" he flashes a big toothy smile to show off his clean pearly whites!

Back In Step

Jonah and I are back to our summer exercise regimen, which means we are out running instead of at the gym.  It's been nice to see how easily I've been able to pick it back up after the winter break.  After only 4 outings in 3 weeks, we're up to 6 miles!  I'm particularly proud that today we did 6 miles in 11min splits, which is a huge improvement over Tuesday's pace of 13min/mile.

It occurs to me that the music may have had something to do with it.  On our last run, I decided to try out the "Rock My Run" app, which allows you to buffer playlists for your run.  We tried three difference DJs, and all were terrible mixes.  And if I had to hear "you're rocking to DJ ____!" one more time, I was going to scream.  After that failure, I decided to invest $7.99 in an iTunes compilation called "110 Running Songs".  It is a great mix of oldies, 80s and current pop music that kept me going strong!   And it sure beats my random collection of Josh Groban and musicals... which don't always make for a very upbeat tempo.

Now that I've upgraded to a smartphone, I'm also enjoying the "Map My Run" app.  Compared with mapping my course out of curiosity of how far I ran, it is instant gratification!

'Twas the Night Before Easter

We have a pile of Easter books on the nightstand for bedtime reading: Corduroy's Easter, The Great Egg Scramble, Where are Baby's Easter Eggs?, etc.  Jonah prefers Christmas.  He inevitably walks across the room to the big bookcase and pulls down Little People: Christmastime or The Night Before Christmas!  What kid would choose the Easter Bunny over Santa Claus?  After all, Santa brings a much bigger load.

Jonah wasn't too disappointed to find Grandmama and PopPop at his house this morning and a dozen eggs hidden downstairs.  After his practice round at their house, he was a pro!  He immediately snatched up most of the eggs, holding one in each hand and hitting them together in victory before they went two-by-two into the basket.  We thought he'd be thrilled to find them filled with Goldfish, but when a couple fish fell out onto the floor, Jonah threw them in the trashcan!

We spent the afternoon with Jonah's cousins, where he had a big ham dinner and hunted more Easter Eggs in the backyard.  He went head-to-head with Nathan (1 month his senior) after the eggs.  The kids were smart enough after one encounter to go different directions, so it was easy going for each.  Once his bucket was full, Jonah handed out all of his eggs.  The final score was 3: Daddy and Lindsay, 2: Mommy, Uncle Kevin and PopPop.  Who would have thought Mommy would come in a distant third?

The War Blanket

Jonah wanted to play and handed me one of the throw blankets from the couch.  Oh boy, I thought!  I'll pretend to nap and Jonah can tuck me in.  Jonah disagreed.  His stare was like daggers, so that I would know I wasn't playing correctly.  He wanted to roughhouse, like he does with Daddy.  They use the blanket for all kinds of things: to build forts, stage attacks, or play bullfighter.  But it is most definitely NOT for playing house!

Jonah-Sized Closet

Jonah loved showing off his room to his cousins this weekend!  The corner of his room has a little closet under the eave - probably 3ft tall at most.  Perfect for toddlers.  (We recently cleaned out all the outgrown clothes that were stored there so Jonah could have full access to this precious cubby.)  Cousin Declan was too nervous to go inside at first, but they invented a game that suited both boys.  Jonah would go inside, Declan closed the door and ran to the other side of the room.  Jonah would knock, knock on the door, then burst out of the closet in a triumphant peek-a-boo!  They would laugh and repeat, over and over!  Eventually, Declan got up the courage to go inside the closet and Cailin came up to join the fun with the boys.  The little closet was still the preferred hiding place after the 364th consecutive round of hide-and-seek.  With all the piles of toys in the house, it was a clear winner.

No no no!

Jonah was playing with his food at dinner, so Mommy and Daddy kept telling him 'no'.  Well, he kept at it, so finally I took away his plate.  In response, Jonah waved his little index finger right at me and said, "no no no!"  Daddy and I had to stifle back giggles at the extreme cuteness while I sternly informed Jonah that under no circumstances was it okay to 'no' Mommy or Daddy!

The Enforcer

Any time he sees a ferret accident, Jonah will point his finger, yelling "no, no, no!"  (One might say his attitude towards ferret messes reflects that of his mother.)  Today he even tried to help clean up the mess in the bathroom by grabbing some toilet paper - still attached to the roll - and pulling it across the room to cover the mess.  Then he flushed the toilet.  Just like Mommy does.

I'm a bit concerned that Jonah is going to have reservations about using the potty because of this routine.  At bath time he also points to his dirty diapers yelling "no!" as if he's been a bad boy for soiling them.  I try to encourage him to use the potty after bath, but he inevitably waits until he is off and running around in his birthday suit to find a spot on the floor to pee.  Maybe he is learning more from Starbuck than from Mommy after all!

Dental Hygiene

I have come to a good appreciation for product characters, particularly when it comes to dental hygiene products.  For months we have been enjoying tooth brushing thanks to Baby Orajel.  Jonah asks for Elmo and studies his picture on the tube while I use the little finger brush.  That is, until Jonah insisted on putting the silicone brush on his finger and sucking off the toothpaste - I mean - brushing his own teeth.

Recently, we came to a crossroads where a.) the Elmo toothpaste ran dry b.) Jonah's molars started inflicting serious pain on Mommy's brushing finger and c.) the finger brush never quite got the food out from between his bottom teeth and Jonah screamed when Mommy came at him with a floss pick.

I was able to find an Elmo toddler toothbrush, but the store only had Thomas the Train toothpaste!  I was incredibly nervous as I tried to delay the inevitable by using the new toothbrush with the scant remains of the Elmo toothpaste.  To my surprise, Jonah pointed up at the medicine cabinet and started saying "coockooo!" (choo-choo).  He was so excited by the train toothpaste (still in its box), I needn't have worried!

Strangely, Jonah's appreciation of trains is void of almost all "train-ness".  He gets very upset when we attach a second car or run his toy train along a track.  He'd much rather hold the engine and listen to it sing train songs.  Daddy asked me if I thought "Training Toothpaste" was a pun.  "Certainly not!" I thought, until I noticed the flavor: "Tooty Fruity".

The TV is Broken

How many parents have used this line: "the TV is broken"?  It seems such an easy fib to elaborate on why your toddler can't watch his favorite programming.  In our case, it's the truth.  The hard drive on our home-made DVR computer died.

So Daddy has been setting up the new computer every evening over the past week.  Jonah sees him programming on the big screen and will point: "TV!", "Elmo!".  No, Jonah.  We're not watching Elmo today.  "iPad!", "Big Bird!".  No, no iPad or Big Bird either.  "Cookie Monster!"  No, the TV is broken!  Then starts the spew of every syllable combination in Jonah's repertoire, just in case he missed something that Mommy and Daddy would agree to.  When at first you don't succeed, try, try again!

Jonah on Yogurt

Mommy likes to take short cuts and save leftover yogurt in a small clear container clearly designed for baby food.  Next thing you know it will be those giant tubs.  Would she serve her favorite wine in a SnoCone?  Of course not!  So how can I be expected to enjoy such a delicacy so improperly presented?

I refused to eat a bite until Mommy had located a proper dish (the disposable kind with pictures of fruit on it), thoroughly washed and disinfected it, and sealed the top with the foil lid (for safety).  That is how yogurt is supposed to be served.  And I ate it all up!

Jonah on Curious George

Mom has been throwing fuzzy little blankets with animal heads into my crib since I was only a few weeks old.  I don't know why she thought I would enjoy having one of these creepy things snuggled up against me while I sleep.  No thank you!

What a relief this Christmas when Uncle Kevin and Lindsay were kind enough to give me a Curious George.  A monkey with legs is a much better friend than body-less bunnies and bears.  I gave him a big hug right out of the box and he's been my sleeping companion ever since.  Before we settle down, I make sure Mommy puts a "didy" (diaper) on George to prevent night-time accidents.  I haven't trained George on the potty yet, but he does ride on the shopping cart and lawnmower!

The Mother of Sore Bottoms!

While I was making dinner Jonah started fussing more and more until he was uncontrollably crying.  Oddly, he screamed even harder when I picked him up to console his tortured little soul.  Sitting at the table seemed to make him even worse, and he refused to eat.  (This is very alarming!)  I suspected some sort of stomach upset and made him sit through dinner before we went up for bath... and found a huge rash in his diaper area.  It was so bad he couldn't even sit in the tub without howling!  I felt so terrible, particularly in the knowledge that picking him up under the bum and sitting him on my lap were causing him pain.

After a little research and a visit to his pediatrician, we finally concluded that the diaper rash was caused by the grapes and raisins we had for snack earlier in the day.  The acidic foods caused a chemical burn on his sensitive little tush.  It's happened before once or twice on rare occasion, though usually smaller and less severe.  I'm so relieved to know the cause so I can help prevent future outbreaks of such a terrible rash.

Playing Well with Other Moms

Please forgive the following, but I need to vent:

Jonah and I were enjoying playgroup when three kids started fighting violently over a toy.  I was the nearest adult and sprang into action, taking the toy away.  One of the mothers says, "we'll handle it".  This didn't register in the midst of the fray and it wasn't until I had removed the offending toy and suggested that the toddlers find another that Alpha-mom repeats, "they're OUR children, WE'LL handle it."  (Oh?  Any of the four adults except me?)  And she proceeded to give her son the first turn with the coveted toy.

Very succinctly, she managed three things:

1. Publicly criticize my response to the situation (and by extension my parenting).
2. Undermine the authority and respect due to any adult in a room full of toddlers.
3. Empower her child to bully the others by acting as his crony.

Way to strike at the heart!  I may have been impressed by the very targeted and calculated attack if I didn't think it came so naturally to her.  I used to give parents a lot of leeway, considering it a parental right.  Now it bothers me, smug moms wielding tyrannical power over everyone under the guise of (authoritarian) parenting.  What happened to "it takes a village"?  And yet I need to respect it.  I'm sure I (unintentionally) do it, too.

I later watched a toddler eat a crayon because I didn't want to intervene.  I only regret the child wasn't hers.

Jonah on Extreme Temperatures

Mommy doesn't always check the temperature of meals like a proper michelin chef should.  Food should be served warm at most, but tepid is perfectly acceptable.  When I show her a spoonful that is on the verge of sublimating before my eyes, she gives it a little blow.  (Daddy says the air flow helps speed the heat transfer.)  Well, her lungs are no match for such extreme temperatures, and she stops after a paltry breath.  I finally gave up holding out my spoon for intervention and learned to blow on my own food.  And I can keep it up until the morsel reaches its ideal room temperature.  But I still alert the chef, "hot hot hot!" so she can think about what she's done.

This evening the bath plunged to an arctic freeze a mere minutes into my hour-long nightly ritual.  Mommy turned on the tap to warm it up, but the stream was scalding hot!  Playing under the cascade meant risk of fourth degree burns.  Well, I knew how to fix this!  I blew on the running water under it cooled down.

Jonah on The Theater

I took Mommy to the theater today.  She spends so much time in front of the computer working, she really needs to get out.  Keep in mind that as far as the kids at school are concerned, she was merely my personal driver and lap.  One must appear privileged while keeping a cool indifference in front of peers.  Melanie came over to flirt, and I was able to give the impression of disinterest while lavishly allowing her to share Mommy's knee for a short while.  Such generosity is not given lightly.

The play, artfully nameless, was performed by the world-acclaimed Pumpernickel Puppet company.  I'm certain a pile of Tonys are hiding behind that magical stage.  The story of a princess befriending an amicable dragon was both cliche and new.  I was completely engrossed.  The performance ended with a dance party attended by some distinguished guests, including a roller-skating martian and giant chicken.  I'm so glad I had practiced my knee-bend dance moves.  Bounce bounce bounce, baby!

Jonah on Water Safety

I had lots of fun splashing and kicking in the pool until Mommy decided it was time for me to practicing floating.  She seems to think that the slogan "back is best" embroidered on my sleep sack extends to the water.  Here's a fact: 10 out of 10 toddlers drown when abandoned by their Mommy in a pool.  No amount of floating is going save a kid from starving to death at the next snack time.  I also didn't want my precious locks to get wet so I grabbed at whatever I could, including Mommy's ears.  I couldn't help but notice that Mommy was keeping her head safely above water level.  No one wants cold, wet hair in the sub-freezing winter temperatures.

I took my own approach to pool safety by directing Mommy over to the ladder.  There I practiced climbing out of the pool, which is a far more useful survival technique.  Once successfully on solid ground I turned and saw Mommy hold out her arms, as if I could just step off the ledge and walk to her over the water.  Absent of any miracle, I had to climb down and sit on the top rung of the ladder where I could reach her.  But only after inspecting the Jonah-sized clock on the pool deck.

A New Exercise Regimen

I almost gave up my gym membership, since it was getting so little use.  Then I was inspired by a working mom, who I ran into on Saturday at my bi-monthly yoga class.  She is a very happy new member, having switched from the Y, which she found crowded and unsafe for her toddler.

For the past several months, I had only worked out on non-busy weekends.  And I felt guilty for it.  Call it a New Year's resolution if you will, but I have finally decided that I should be allowed to do the things I enjoy and not feel guilty for imposing on Daddy's hobbies (computer gaming) while I pursue my own.  Then I reconsidered my dislike of bringing Jonah to the gym: #1 - on our first and last visit, I had only been a mother for a couple months and leaving Jonah with strangers freaked me out, and #2 - the extra fee charged by the half hour, even though tiny, was a huge dis-incentive.  Hooray!  Both of these have been fixed!  1.)  I am now a seasoned mom.  2.)  The childcare now has a low monthly rate, which is a great incentive to go more often.  And it turns out that one of the things I hated about my gym, having to reserve childcare in advance, has turned out to be a huge merit in making the trips part of our weekly schedule.

No, I don't have any guilt over leaving Jonah for 60-90min. twice a week to play with two adults and a room full of kids.  In fact, at home I would likely be over-working and leaving him to play by himself.  This saves us both from my own vices.  So most weeks I manage three workouts: swimming on Tuesday, conditioning on Friday, and yoga on Saturday.  Self-centered bliss.

Starbuck Raccoon

At the library story time, all the babies got to pick an animal to dance with.  Jonah pulled out a raccoon and started calling it Starbuck!

Skip to My Lou?

While I was cooking, Jonah came through the kitchen doing this very strange walk.  He took big steps, but always with his straight right leg out front, hitting the ground hard like a military goose step.  We thought he was saying "step, step, step" until I realized he was trying to skip!  I started singing "Skip to My Lou" and he just went nuts with giggles and "skipping" around the room.  I love it when he teaches me what he is learning at school.

The Negotiator

I usually give Jonah the option of "all done" or "one more minute", so he has taken to telling me "one more minute" when he is having fun, like in the bath.  Tonight I joked, "how about 2 minutes?" while holding up two fingers.  Jonah returned with his whole hand - 5 minutes!  This was more minutes than he can count, but who could say no?  Daddy thought it was exceptionally generous, since the 5 minutes stretched long enough that he went out to shovel and came in before Jonah was done in the tub.

Cook, Cook, Cook

Jonah was playing in the kitchen with an oven mitt and sent Daddy to stand in the dining room.  1 minute, Daddy, so you can be safe while Jonah play cooks!

The alphabet according to Jonah

(Mommy insisted this be singable, somewhat at least.)

A is for all done, B is for book!
C is for cooking. Cook, cook, cook!
D is for Dada, E is for Elmo,
F is for fish--goldfish--G is for go!
H is for hat, and I is for iPad.
J is for JONAH! That's who I am!
K is for kisses, the silent kind, that you blow.
L is for light. M is Mama. N: NO!
O is for outside, P is Pop Pop,
Q is for quack, and R is Roar! Roar!
S is for snack, and also Starbuck,
or as I say, Tawbuh. T is for truck!
U is for uh oh, V is for vroom!
W is for woof woof, X is, uh, hmm...
Y is for yes, Z is for zzz...
Speaking of which, it's bedtime for me!

Food allergy?

I think Jonah might be allergic to spaghetti sauce.  After I gave him some, his face was all red!

The End of my Weight-Control Silver Bullet

I had discovered the magic to maintaining a high metabolism and low weight: breastfeeding!  Imagine, hundreds of food calories burned without a bit of effort.  If I could package and sell the idea on an infomercial, I'd be rich.  (Maybe an appearance on Shark Tank is in order?)  Having nearly expunged all exercise habits in the cold months, I still managed to maintain a nice size 4.  Yes, a four!  That's a full 10lbs and two sizes smaller than pre-Jonah, thank you very much!  Back in the fall I treated myself to a shopping spree when I realized how incredibly frumpy my old, worn and over-sized pants looked.

So you can imagine how resistant I was to giving up breastfeeding all together.  Not to mention how much I enjoy the quiet snuggle time with my son.  So the dates keep getting pushed back.  At first I was going to wean Jonah at 12mo (we did get rid of daytime feedings), then at 15mo (I dropped the morning feeding), then I thought we could keep the nighttime ritual through 18mo.  But tonight that all changed.  Jonah was suckling before bed, though the milk had been depleted for a good 10 minutes.  I asked if he was all done and Jonah held up a finger: "one more minute, Mommy!"  Daddy pointed out that when you are having a conversation with your child about breastfeeding, it is probably time to stop.  And so it is.

Growth Spurt

I got home from work this evening and Jonah came running over to greet me.  I was taken aback a minute by the tall, talkative boy, who appeared ages beyond the little toddler I was prepared for.  It seems that after a couple weeks at home with Jonah I start 'forgetting' how much he is learning and developing.  It isn't until we're apart that my brain finally processes how much he's grown.  Now I understand why parents are always commenting on how quickly kids grow over vacation!

Playtime!

I love watching how Jonah plays with toys in ways we might consider "outside the box".  For example, he helps water the Christmas tree with the gas can from his lawnmower (shaped a little like my watering can) and stocks his pirate ship with food from the Playmobil farm (a bag of potatoes and barrel of some unidentified substance).

Recently, Jonah has begun building towers out of his stacking/nesting blocks.  He reaches to put blocks at the top of towers as tall as he is before knocking them down again!  He also had success with a couple of his chunky and peg puzzle pieces.

In athletic pursuits, Jonah has been enjoying his new basketball hoop.  It came just in time, as he and Daddy had taken to throwing things into the recycling bins.  He can slam dunk, but enjoys bringing the ball to watch Daddy score from downtown.  They both yell "score!" after a basket.  Jonah also tries to dribble, throwing the ball to the ground, picking it up and repeating.  He sometimes attempts for the forward pass, but the motion usually lands the ball behind him.  We practice with beanbags, but after a couple tries, he resorts to placing the beanbags in the bucket.  As in basketball, his accuracy is much better if the object never leaves his hand until it reaches the target.

Mommy's Lap

Admittedly, Jonah's been a little spoiled over the holidays.  I think with all the visits, family and travel he was a little overwhelmed.  In this regard, he's probably more like his Daddy, who would much prefer to stay home and relax.  He's been very fussy and demanding - always needing to be in Mommy's lap.  I can no longer move so much as an inch without setting off his radar and starting a full-on tantrum.  It's been rather tiring for me to be in such high demand!  Daddy reminds me that in a few short years, Jonah won't even want to be seen with me.  I'd not be so eager to give up our cuddles except I worry that my little Mama's boy is also going to be a spoiled brat.

I made a lot of excuses when he wasn't feeling well or off his schedule, but today we (Daddy and I) were very happy to get back into our routine of work/school.  Jonah fussed all morning and all evening, as if to make up for the middle of the day when he was torn away from Mommy.  I expect he wasn't like that all day, and I like to imagine that school was a great way to give him back some autonomy, which seems to be forgotten when I'm around.  If I ignore him long enough, he does eventually give up and find something else to do on his own.

Happy New Year! (and pizza-making)

Jonah helped me make a pizza for lunch.  We set it down on a low stool so he could reach the pie and help spread out the sauce (okay, I did most of that), sprinkle the parmesan (again, I was in control) and then came the mozzarella.  I showed him how to reach into the bag, pull out a handful of shredded cheese, and sprinkle it over the pizza.  So he reached in, grabbed a big handful, and stuffed it right in his mouth!  Wow, kids really do watch and learn!  (I do this almost any time I'm opening shredded cheese.)

Jonah did a very nice job placing veggies and meatballs onto the pizza (though he took another bite of cheese right off the pie) and then sat in front of the oven pointing and watching it "cook cook cook"!  Yummy!