Category: Uncategorized

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.).

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.

After ducking into a neighbor’s house out of the rain on our evening walk last week, we found out about a splash pad at a local park.  Intrigued, Tom and I loaded Jonas and Xander up on a Sunday morning and headed out with Aunt Beans, who was visiting with us (and who also took this wonderful picture), for a little family fun.  I don’t know who had more fun…Jonas or DaDa.

Inspired by MeMe and her ability to expand the artistic horizons of wee ones, I cracked out the finger paints with Jonas a few weeks ago…

I was super excited to use the easel we found at a yard sale earlier in the summer (a great deal at $3) and super nervous to let Jonas be free to bolt and run with paint all over his hands. HaHa!!! He was not a big fan of the smock, so we opted for less clothes and the meal time bib. Tentative at first, he kept pushing me towards the easel and saying, “MaMa do it!” He warmed up to it after a little while, though, (although still not keen on having paint all over his hands) and here he is putting the finishing touches on his first finger painting. Beautiful, eh?

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.

We really enjoyed our weekend visit with Jonas and Xander’s Aunt Sherri, Uncle Rich, Cousin Kaitlyn, and Cousin Andrew (consignment sale shopping, splashing in the pool, playing Wii, having fun with play-doh, and catching up with great conversations over car rides and neighborhood walks). Here’s a picture of all of us on our evening walk (from left to right): Tom, Jodi and Xander, Kaitlyn and Jonas, Petra, Sherri, Rich, and Andrew.

What a full and precious life it is…

We wanted to say thank you with all of our hearts to Maw and Grandma for staying with us and for being such a tremendous help in the first three weeks after Xander’s birth. For all of the housework juggling, toddler wrangling, and baby holding…and more than anything…for just being here with us…we love you!!!

After foregoing our daily evening family walks in the latter weeks of my pregnancy, I was so excited to pick back up with them last week and to bring little Xander along for his first walk!!!

I just had to put this picture on the website…

Our dear friends, Betsy & Erik Bledsoe, stopped by to bring us a meal and to visit with us a week or so after Xander was born. Their son, Henry, was asleep in his car seat, and our son, Xander, was asleep in my arms. Tom, the capturer of the moment, laid Xander beside Henry and this preciousness ensued.

Here is Xander Joseph at a week and Thomas Henry at nine weeks…

Jonas and Xander’s Aunt Tree and Cousin Gianna came for a quick and blessed visit a week after Xander was born. Here are a few pictures from our sweet time with them.

At twenty months, Jonas is: continuing to floor us with his language skills by delving into more and more sentence speak; developing his Uncle Kerry’s affinity for dipping (his favorite dips include ketchup, salsa, ranch, sour cream, and yogurt); identifying where shapes go in his shapes/numbers cookie jar (star, square, circle, heart, and triangle); counting to five most of the time with pretty astounding accuracy; figuring out how to get his push toys to go where he wants them to go (picking them up and redirectioning them); amazing us with his balance and core strength; becoming more and more ingenious every day with things like standing on turned over baskets to get to something he wants (like locking/unlocking door knobs, climbing on couches, and peeking into the pack-n-play to see the baby); asking to pray for family and friends; and enjoying carrying DaDa’s lunch for him to the door every morning when he leaves for work.

At nineteen months, Jonas is: continuing to make unbelievably huge strides in his language development (including verb + object, subject + verb, and three and four word combinations); telling Petra to “go”, “sit”, and “go potty”; filling in the blanks if you leave out a word when you’re reading one of his favorite books or singing one of his favorite songs to him; trying out a few more tantrum styles; figuring out which pieces go with which toys and having fun keeping and putting them all together; having a blast playing with fellow wee ones (family, friends, neighbors, and Moms’ Club); and learning how to “share MaMa” and “share JoJo (Jonas)” with his new main squeeze (MaMa’s morning glass of orange juice, adorably and almost Frenchly named “ornshadu”).

Jonas’ Cousin Dylan spent the day with us last week. It was so much fun to watch the two of them playing together (blocks, sandbox, play-doh, etc.). Dylan and I even got a few good games of chess and checkers in while Jonas was napping (he totally schooled me at chess and I totally schooled him at checkers).

We loved visiting with Jonas’ Great Aunt Jean and MeMe last week.  I snapped this sweet picture of the three of them in front of our new house right before Jonas went down for his afternoon nap.

Here’s a picture of Jonas in one of his most beloved “car car”s.

We have recently entered the world of play-doh, and it has quickly become one of Jonas’ favorite activities.