Jonathan is 10 Months!

 

 

Dear Jonathan,

You are 10 months old!  This past month you began taking your first steps.  You are still not always completely sure of yourself, but you grow more confident in your new-found walking abilities everyday! 

You are beginning to say your first words too... "Dada" taking the number one spot!  You also love to yell, "Dog!" (which sounds more like "DAAA!!") everytime you see one or any other four-legged animal for that matter.  Still waiting for a Mama though...

When you aren't using your mouth to communicate, you are busy utilizing your skills at sign language.  Your favorite phrase is "more"- not surprising as I can barely keep enough food in the house to keep you satisfied!  It is amazing how much you eat... veggies, fruits, bread, yogurt (your favorite), cheese, and even meats.  You are even becoming quite proficient with drinking out of your sippy cup.

I love watching you grow so much, and everyday I am so amazed at your blossoming personality.  Your cheerfulness and sense of humor fill my days with so much joy!!

                                                                                   Love,
                                                                                        Mommy

First Trip to the Zoo: Jonathan as compared to the size of a polar bear.

Jonathan checking out the wolves at the zoo... "DAAA!!!"

Terrorizing the living room

Climbing the stairs like a big boy!

Jonathan is 9 Months!

Dear Jonathan,

You are officially at the 3/4 mark for you first year- 9 months!!!  Each month you grow faster and faster and accomplish more things every day it seems.  The last two months have been filled with new "firsts"- your first (and second) tooth, your first trip to the beach, your first finger foods, your first car breakdown, and your first camping trip.  You have a bunch of new tricks up your sleeve- you wave hello and goodbye, you can pull yourself to standing, you can climb stairs, and you can even walk when someone is holding your hands.  You are even starting to get a little bigger.  Even though we haven't had you measured in a while, you are now (finally!) wearing size 2 diapers and some of your 3-6month clothes are getting a little tight... at least length-wise. 

Right now your favorite toys are anything that rolls or that you can push.  We bought you a small basketball hoop with three little balls at a yard sale for $2, and it may have been the best investment I have ever made.  You love to watch the balls go through the hoop and then chase them all around the floor.  You also love your "walker" which you push all over the house.  It also plays music, which you love.  Whenever it comes on, you stop and start 'dancing'- this funny sort of bouncing motion and sometimes you throw a little arm wave in to mix it up.  You seem to especially like dancing to techno music, much to Daddy's delight.

You love to be outside.  When you get cranky, we sit on the front porch, and you wave to all the cars that drive by.  You like to sit in the grass where you always try to pick the grass and put it in your mouth.  Sometimes we go over to Grammy and Pap's house to get in the pool.  You like the water a lot, but you are not of sharing the pool with others... especially when those others are small children that like to splash water all over the place.

It is amazing how much you are not only growing physically but mentally and morally as well.  You are well aquainted with the word "No".  You never enjoy hearing it and don't hesitate to protest.  You even demonstrate that you remember certain objects are off limits.  Almost daily, you inch yourself towards the 'Kinect' whenever you think that I am not looking.  Usually, I move you away with a firm "No" and you burst into tears.  A few days ago, however, when you started heading toward the 'Kinect' and I said "No", you turned around to look at me like you were going to cry, thought for a minute, and, composing yourself, crawled back over to me.  I was so proud!!  I hope that as you get older, you will continue to make good choices, knowing that the boundaries I hold you to are in your best interests.

As always, your Daddy and I love you so much and are thoroughly enjoying our first summer together with you!!!

                                                                                     Love,
                                                                                          Mommy

Not loving the ocean... but he did like the sand!

Just like Daddy :)

Jonathan loves icecream!

Camping is hard work

Our new thing is crawling into places that are a challenge to get out of

Jonathan playing with his "walker"... check out his sweet dance moves!

Jonathan is 7 Months Old!

Dear Jonathan,

          Another month has gone by so quickly!  Every day you are becoming more and more inquisitive and adventurous.  Your latest accomplishment is you newfound ability to scoot around on your belly.  You love being mobile!  I have to be careful where I set you down because you always seem to find something that you shouldn't be playing with! 
          Just a few short months ago, I used to be able to play games of peekabo with you and you would be so shocked and surprised to see me reappear again and again.  Now when I leave the room, not only do you know that I still exist, you scoot yourself into the next room to find me!  I am so surprised at how clever you are!
          You are a little fearless... Daddy throws you up higher and higher in the air and, although my heart stops in fear, you just laugh and scream as though you are having the time of your life.  Daddy loves spending time playing with you!
          You had another doctors appointment this month.  You finally weigh 12 pounds!  You are such a lightweight, but you love to eat anything with fruit in it.  Maybe if you stopped wriggling around so much you would put on a few more pounds! 
          As always, I love you so much and pray everyday that you will always have the energy you do now- and that I will have the energy to keep up with you!!

                                                                                Love,
                                                                                      Mommy






Driving Mommy and Daddy safely home from West Virginia

Trying out the bed on my first sleepover at a hotel

Trying to escape our photo shoot!

Jonathan is 6 Months Old!

Dear Jonathan,
          You are officially half-way through the first year of your life!  It's so amazing how you have changed my life in so many ways... sometimes its hard for me to remember that there was a time before you were born.  (I am holding you as I write this and after writing that last sentence, I look down to see that your diaper has just leaked on me.  And then as I proceed to lift you up to inspect the damage to my pants, you spit up on me...  yay, motherhood!) 
          Even in this last month, I am amazed by your many physical accomplishments.  You have become quite accurate in reaching and grabbing any item that you may desire.  You have yet to crawl, but somehow you always manage to scoot yourself to new far off places... I can no longer leave you alone!  About a week ago, you learned to sit all by yourself.  This new-found ability really makes you look like a "big boy". 
          You are becoming more and more animated.  You take great pleasure in delighting everyone around you with your smiles, squeals, and, most recently, nose wrinkles.  I can see your sense of humor developing as you make faces at me that you know will make me laugh.
          You have expanded your food repertoire from just cereal to bananas, apples, pears, squash, peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes.  Your favorite food is the pears, but you despise the peas.  You wrinkled up your entire face and spit them all back out onto me.  However, you don't realize it yet, but I have been secretly mixing them in with your cereal to get you to eat them.
          You are quite the problem solver.  One of our favorite games to play with you is "Where's the Baby?"  Daddy throws a blanket on you and you used to kick and move your arms until you triumphantly emerged from underneath.  However, you have now discovered that it is much more efficient to simply roll over and allow the blanket to fall off of your face.  Despite the expedited process, you appear to be equally pleased with yourself.  You seem to have quite a solid grasp on cause and effect.  You love to drop items, lean over to see where they land, and then wait (not so) patiently for me to pick them up and hand them back to you only to repeat the process again.  And again.  And again.
          It still melts my insides every time you smile at me.  But this month, you finally did what my heart has been craving for- you reached for me!  I love that you stretch your arms forward towards me as though I am the one person in the world that can make everything right for you.  Daddy is still your favorite person to play with, but I relish the fact that when you want to cuddle, its Mommy that you want.
          Everyday I take at least one moment to stare into your beautiful face, and I become so overwhelmed by my intense love for you, my son.  And then I remember that God loves you even more than I do- and it is just too much for me to comprehend.  I cherish every minute that God has given me to be your mom.  I cannot think of a more wonderful calling.  You are so precious and so valued and I can hardly wait to see in what ways you will continue to amaze me over the next six months.  I love you so so much!
                                                                             Love,
                                                                                  Mommy

Happy Easter!

"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; He has risen, just He said.  Come and see the place where He lay..."
~Matthew 28:5-6

Jonathan is 5 Months Old!

Jonathan is 5 months old and- as Nate pointed out to me yesterday- we are only one month away from being halfway through his first year!!!

Dear Jonathan,

          You are 5 months old today!  I feel like each month keeps going faster and faster, making me want to freeze time and take longer to enjoy this fun stage you are at!  It seems as though each week you are accomplishing something new... you finally enjoy spending time on your belly, you figured how to pull on toys so that they will make noise, and you are even beginning to realize that you can push your little body forward with your feet so that you can grasp whatever that something is that you want but is just out of reach.  This month you had your first taste of "solids" (although it is definitely more of a liquid on a spoon!), survived your first cold, wore your first bandaid, and rolled over from you belly to your back for the first time. 
          This past weekend, you went to your first dance competition with Mommy.  You loved to watch the tap numbers, but the biggest entertainment for you all weekend was all the girls oohing and aahing over you.  You seemed more than happy to shower them with your smiles and cooing.  All the dance moms could not seem to get over how well-behaved you were- you took the whole weekend in stride and were never fussy.  But that's just the kind of baby you are, easy-going and such a joy to be around!
          Daddy especially loves how interactive you have become.  You still light up whenever you see him and really enjoy when he 'surprises' you.  He flies you through the air and you squeal with delight. 
          Our favorite thing that you have started to do this month is laugh... you still shriek when you find something funny, but when you really get going, you have a deep chuckle that makes your whole body shake.  It almost seems to me that joy is just bubbling up out of you!  When I see you laughing and smiling at me, I am filled with such an amazement that God has given me the gift of being your mom.  I love you so so much and cherish every moment I get to spend watching you grow!

                                                                                       Love,
                                                                                            Mommy

Starting Solids...

On Saturday, we gave Jonathan solids for the first time (not counting all the times my father has fed him applesauce and icecream when I'm not around, of course!).  He really seems to enjoy eating from a spoon!

Jonathan in Action

Here are some videos that I took of Jonathan about a month ago...


Jonathan talking (complaining) to me:

Tummy Time (you can see why he hates it... it probably doesn't help that I'm laughing at him the whole time!):

Trying to wake Jonathan up- if it's this difficult now, I can't even imagine how hard it's going to be when he's a teenager!

Jonathan is 4 Months Old!

Dear Jonathan,

          You are 4 months old today!  In the last month, you have made all sorts of accomplishments- you have rolled over for the first time, started reaching for objects, and even took your first trip to the ER!
          Your favorite thing to do is suck on your fingers.  And be warned to the person who tries to take them out of your mouth, you immediately begin screaming!  Sometimes you suck so hard on your fingers that they begin to turn bright red, but you are learning to pacify yourself and become just a little more independent.
          Your daddy and I think you might be beginning to teethe.  You drool all the time (sometimes your clothes get so wet that we have to change them!) and everything you get in your hands you immediately try to put in your mouth.
          Daddy always tries to make you laugh.  He is still your favorite person- you always seem delighted to see him!  He always tries to surprise you by making faces and tickling you.  You smile and shriek at his antics, and I just love to see the two of you together.
          My favorite thing about you at this stage is still your smile, but I also love it when you blow "raspberries" at me.  Sometimes we will just sit together and make noises at each other... its alway so much fun!
          Every morning, we read together from the Bible and from your special Jesus Storybook Bible.  You are always so attentive and love to look at the bright pictures.  I hope that you will continue to have a love for God's Word and spend every day learning to know Jesus more.
                                                                                       Love,
                                                                                            Mommy

Jonathan is 3 Months Old!

Jonathan is officially 3 months old!  Its hard to believe that three months have gone by already, yet at the same time I feel like there was never a time before him.

Jonathan's Current Stats:
          Weight: 9lbs, 3.5oz
          Length: 23 in
          Eating Habits: Nurses every 2.5-3 hrs during the day
          Sleep Habits: Sleeps 9-10 hrs at night and naps approx. a total of 4-5 hrs each day

Dear Jonathan,

          You are 3 months old today!  And in just a short time you have grown so much- when I look back at pictures from the night you were born, its hard to believe that was you only a few months ago! 

          You are almost always such a happy baby!  The only time you get fussy is when its time to go down for a nap.  You always seem to fight off sleep- it's as though you don't want to miss out on any of the action!

          Daddy loves to make you laugh.  You sit propped up on his legs and the two of you make "wet raspberry" sounds at each other.  When you get really excited, you shriek and squeal- Aunt Micki says you sound like a pteradactyl.

          My favorite thing about you right now is your smile... you always give me a huge smile when you see me.  And you don't just smile, your little eyes light up and my heart just melts.  You love it when I sing to you, and sometimes you even try to sing along, especially when the song is "Angels We Have Heard on High."  (I think you like the 'Glorias'!) 

          Last weekend, we visited the youth group while they were on a retreat at Camp Andrews.  During the worship service, you squealed and laughed through all the praise songs as though you were trying to join us in worship!  I hope and pray that as you grow older, you will continue to develop a heart fo worship that just bubbles over with joy as we praise God!

          Your daddy and I love you so much and can hardly wait to see you continue to grow!

                                                              

                                                                                   Love,

                                                                                       Mommy