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!