At storytime last week, the kids showed up in their costumes, listened to a few Halloween stories, trick or treated, and worked on a pumpkin craft. Jonas loved it all…especially hanging out with two of his very favorite neighborhood friends, Kenzie and Spencer.
In his fifteenth week, Xander is: tanking back his milk; continuing to layer on the personality with exuberant kicks, conversation, and smiles; laughing out loud; enjoying the view, facing out in the Baby Bjorn; and rolling over (from his belly to his back).
At twenty-three months, Jonas is: loving counting; saying “Benjamin” (his middle name) whenever he does something he knows he’s not supposed to be doing; trying his hand at dressing and undressing himself; understanding the concepts of “both”, “too”, “maybe”, and “almost” and using them correctly in conversation; cutting four more teeth (his canines); still cracking us up and amazing us with his verbal skills (I see MaMa sewing machine, DaDa work garage, baby cry fuss, baby spit up, Petra go away, JoJo pick up moon, I see sunset, etc.); falling in love with the sunset and the moon; getting really adept at throwing things; figuring out how to buckle (I almost always have to unbuckle his high chair belt and the baby’s bouncy seat when I go to put them in now); and transitioning to a big boy bed (!!!).
At thirteen weeks, Xander is: adorably crooking his arm around his bottle, while holding onto it with one hand and holding onto my hand with the other; responding well to MaMa’s new dairy free diet; taking his first road trip (to Virginia to visit Grandma and Grandpa and to be baptized); lengthening his awake time during the day; giving us an eight hour night’s sleep; being introduced to his first three signs (milk, change, and sleep) and taking a keen interest in them; rocking his bouncy seat with his hearty kicks; and almost laughing out loud at Sandra Boynton’s Barnyard Dance.
In his twelfth week, Xander is: smiling and talking all the time; working through a possible dairy allergy; and giving us a seven hour night’s sleep.
In his eleventh week, Xander is: starting to nurse a little bit again (yay!!!); hitting another growth spurt; and champing out with tummy time (holding his head up at a surprising angle, doing a mini push up, and even getting a knee up underneath himself every now and then).
In his tenth week, Xander is: giving us a six hour night; moving his bedtime a bit earlier and enjoying his bedtime routine; and starting to carry on conversations with an adorable little “guh”, a sideways smile, and an eyebrow raise.
The boys and I went to the zoo with our dear friend, Lizza, and her precious new baby, Bennett. Here’s a picture of us, hanging out with the camels in the petting zoo, and chilling in front of the newest and coolest additions to the zoo…the flamingos (or as Jonas says…the “flingamos”).
We ran into a local gymnastics coach at a playground near our house and found out, after talking with her a little bit, that they offer a free weekly class for children ages 18 months to 3 years. So, we took Jonas this weekend, and he LOVED it!!!
During circle time, he was very quiet and observant. But then he was off and running before the coach even finished introducing and releasing the parents and children to the play stations.
He was a natural on the balance beam (he didn’t really even look at his feet), quick to go through the tunnel made of mats (he has no fear), and strong on the horizontal bar (here he is doing a pull up). We all had a blast and look forward to many more, fun-filled, gymnastics Saturdays…
At twenty-two months, Jonas is: counting to ten; saying most of his ABCs (he calls them ACBs and the song is one of his favorites); flooring us with his phrase and sentence speak (God bless you baby Xander, JoJo go fast, I love DaDa too, I see baby paci, Hold MaMa hand, Xan-Man sleeping, etc.); jumping; sitting in his car seat like a big boy (forward facing) and enjoying the view; and being a wonderful big brother (taking great interest in baby’s diaper changes and feedings, bringing MaMa burp cloths and bottles and pacis for baby, sharing his cozy mama prized possession blanket with baby, putting in baby’s paci, wiping up baby’s spit up, putting baby’s diapers in the Diaper Genie, introducing baby to his toys, calming baby down if he’s crying by saying “shhh” and “okay Xander”, jumping up and down in front of his bouncy saying “hey baby” with much excitement, etc.).
At nine weeks, Xander is: growing like a weed (we cracked up when we discovered that he already had size 2 feet, when we were consignment sale shopping a few weeks ago); passing his hearing screen (yay!!!); strengthening his suction every day with his bottles of breastmilk (we meet with lactation next week and are hopeful he’ll be able to nurse again soon); and emerging as quite the little clock when it comes to his daily routine of eating and sleeping.
We have been going to the zoo almost every week since the weather has taken a promising turn towards fall. Here is a picture of Jonas exploring one of his favorite “exhibits”, the Jungle Gym.
At eight weeks, Xander is: smiling every time you look at him, talk to him, or smile at him; enjoying naps in the Bjorn on our evening neighborhood walks, especially now that the weather is cooling off a bit; and starting to move his arms and legs with much gusto (I always wonder where he’s going) in his wakeful moments.
In his sixth week, Xander is: continuing to eat and sleep like a champ; holding his head up with surprising strength; and smiling whenever he hears Jonas’ voice.
In his twenty-first month, Jonas is: amazing us with his two to four word sentences (sit up MaMa, Petra come, hello Good Dog, buckle up, be careful, Petra get off couch, DaDa mow yard, DaDa throw Petra ball, etc.); trying to jump (although he can’t quite get both feet off the floor…this is one of my favorite things he tries); attempting to go up and down the stairs one step at a time without holding MaMa or DaDa’s hand; reaching for door knobs and light switches; working puzzles with surprising accuracy; identifying colors; saying no; cheers-ing with drinks; climbing up into his high chair and car seat; taking a big boy bath; working on eating with a big boy plate (still not there yet) and with big boy utensils (doing great); and trying his hand at finger painting.
At five weeks, Xander is: sleeping through the night more times than not (the five hour kind…and we are totally thankful and AMAZED); enjoying his bottles of breastmilk while we work through our nursing issues; smiling and cooing quite a bit; and emerging as quite the “soul searcher”.
