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At twenty-four months, Jonas is: cracking us up with his sentence composition (I need some toys, I need some more, I love Josh too, Go playground now, DaDa funny, MaMa funny too, Make a mess, Xan-Man poo poo oh gosh so funny, I see baby tree, etc.); going up and down the stairs like an old pro; loving his big boy bed (he transitioned like a dream); throwing and jumping up a storm; learning the sounds that letters make; continuing to be very passionate about counting; enjoying working puzzles; loving singing songs like “ABC”, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, and “Wheels on the Bus” (and even champing out on a little bit of “Sunshine on My Shoulders” and “Once a Day”); getting into EVERYTHING; becoming frustrated when he can’t quite figure out how to do something that he has in mind to do; and starting to show a very strong preference for doing things “by self”.

We had a blast on Halloween as Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Lion. Jonas loved trick or treating with his sweet friends, Whitney (a Black Cat) and Ainsley (a Mermaid). Jonas wasn’t the least bit intimidated by the trick or treating and even had to be coached to not actually go into people’s houses, along with the standard manners training of not taking more than one piece of candy when a bowl of candy was offered and remembering to say thank you. We laughed at the accessory switcheroo as the Scarecrow quickly became the wielder of the Black Cat’s wand, and the Black Cat took a shine to carrying Dorothy’s basket with Toto.

Here is an early morning picture of Jonas, after just waking, with his favorite “friends” (Teddy Bear, Pooh Bear, and Tramp). They are toted up and down the stairs with care on a daily basis for nap time and bed time.

Kids are supposed to bounce down the trampoline. Jonas likes to do things his own way.

The comment about Xander being just like Jonas refers to his camera shyness. As soon as I turned on the camera he went quiet. Thankfully not for long.

I love this picture of both of my freshly bathed, jammied buddies, drinking their milk.

So, last week we had the privilege of babysitting our dear friend Lizza’s precious baby boy, Bennett.  He has to be one of the most laid back little babies that I’ve ever known…I love it.  And he’s such a little man…what an adorable little buddy…he makes me smile.  Here he is hanging out with Xander.

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.

Here are some pictures of my little pumpkins…

So, we got to take a tour of a local fire station with the Moms’ Club…so cool!!!  Jonas loved exploring with DaDa, while Xander took a nap with MaMa.

It’s hard to get a good picture of both of the boys together, as they are constantly in motion.  Here are a few that I was thankful to capture…

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 (!!!).

We very much enjoyed our time in Virginia, visiting with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Tim and Aunt Mary, Cousins Lindsey and Audrey, Aunt Tree and Uncle Dave, and Cousins John and Lily and Peter and Sam and Gianna.  We missed Aunt Sherri and Uncle Rich and Cousins Kaitlyn and Andrew but look forward to seeing them at Christmas time.  We had a blast playing on the swing set, exploring in the woods, fishing, eating wonderful family dinners, going shopping with Grandma, hitting 18 holes of golf with Grandpa, going to the Richmond Zoo (which was super awesome by the way), and playing a rousing game of Euchre (poor Grandpa…he’s my partner and we always lose but it’s still fun).

For more pictures, click on the “Family Vacation: VA” picture page to the right…

We took a 10 hour road trip to Virginia with both boys (brave, I know, but well worth it) for Xander’s baptism.

It was a beautiful ceremony…my favorite parts had to be when the priest, family, and friends made the sign of the cross on Xander’s forehead and he smiled and that he was baptized in water from the River Jordan that Grandma and Grandpa brought back from their trip to Israel.

Here are pictures of our family with the priest, Xander’s precious godparents (Uncle Tim and Lynne Robertson), and Grandma and Grandpa.

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…