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Here’s a recent picture of Petra (I thought she looked so pretty sitting in the light in the middle of all of Jonas’ toys).  She’s about 6 months old now and getting so big (well, sort of)…

We had a small family gathering at our house in celebration of Jonas’ 1st birthday.  I realized, after the fact, that I didn’t do a very good job of taking pictures because I was so in the moment.  HaHa!!!  But here are a few…one of his birthday cake and one of him tucking into it and one of him opening his presents with Daddy with his cousins Val, Annabella, Dylan, and Jordan gathered around checking things out.  🙂

It’s hard to believe that Jonas is one year old.  I was just telling Tom the other morning, after Jonas (and I) had a particularly rough night of sleep due to teething, that there’s no way I could ever be anything other than happy to see him in the morning because, no matter what, he wakes up talking and smiling and laughing.  What a tremendous blessing he is…what a joyful spirit and an old soul who already exhibits great depth and discernment, intense curiosity, and a keen sense of humor.  How delightful it is to watch him grow…

(To look back over his first year in pictures, click on the “First Year” picture page to the right.)

In his fifty-second week, Jonas is: cutting two more teeth; enjoying fall-ish food (like homemade chicken soup and sweet potatoes with cinnamon); adding another word (“out”) and several signs (“help”, “fan”, “pet”, “sleep”, and “thank you”) to his vocabulary. 

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We love and look forward to our annual tradition of hanging out at the Chandler’s house on Halloween night. They live in one of those neighborhoods that goes all out…practically every house is decorated, every door is open, and every child is out on the street in costume. We enjoy trick or treating with the Chandler Family and the Barefoot Family, seeing the children’s costumes and how much they grow each year, snacking on roasted pumpkin seeds, tucking into a warm bowl of crock pot chili and a cup of apple cider, and cozying up and watching “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”.  

Here’s one of us as a family, and one of us on the way out to trick or treat, where we found Darth Vader roaming the street. HaHa!!!

Here is Jonas in the AWESOME Yoda costume his Aunt Sherri made for him for his 1st birthday.  🙂  And here is one of my favorite Yoda-isms that kept coming to mind every time I looked at him in it (aside from the fact that he is just SO adorable):  “No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.”

At fifty-one weeks, Jonas is: walking all over the place; figuring out how to make a motor noise with his mouth and change the sound with his hand; laughing in a new way with his chin tucked to his chest, his head shaking side to side, and his eyes all squinched up (the sound of his new laugh is EXTREMELY reminiscent of his Uncle Darren’s); and looking forward to a cold fall night out this Halloween weekend with Mommy (Princess Leia) and Daddy (Luke Skywalker) as Yoda.  

In his fiftieth week, Jonas is: surprising us by going from a sitting position to a standing position without holding onto anything or anyone; adding a few more words (“Eta” for Petra, “gotcha”, and “bye-bye”) to his vocabulary and a sign (for “music”) to his signing repertoire; and really becoming quite the little walker.

Yesterday afternoon, we took advantage of the first few days of sunshine in what seems like a month and went out to Walden Farm for a fall visit with the farm animals and the pumpkins.  Jonas loved all the new sights, smells, and sounds and enjoyed picking out a few pumpkins for our front porch to help bring in the new season.  

That sound is daddy with his train whistle. He is his father’s son…

At forty-nine weeks, Jonas is: taking four, six, eight, and ten unassisted steps here and there; walking from one thing to another thing (instead of walking from one thing to Mommy and Daddy); trying cheese and whole wheat bread; saying “MaMa” (sometimes) and “dat” for that; not letting his socks, shoes, hoodies, and beanies stay on for any length of time; learning how to turn light switches on and off; walking from one side of his crib to the other (so waddly and careful); and pointing to things he likes/wants.

At forty-eight weeks, Jonas is: trying and LOVING yogurt and joyfully welcoming Petra back from training camp (when he woke up from his afternoon nap the day of her return…instead of saying “DaDa” or “NaNa”…he was enthusiastically patting his leg, which is the sign for dog, and saying “dah”).

In his forty-seventh week, Jonas is: becoming more and more verbal (venturing out to to say “ah duh” for all done, “up” for pick up or get down, “wow”, “heh” for hi, and “Heh, Da” for Hi, Dad); starting to go straight ahead instead of straight down when he takes a few steps towards open arms; and initiating his own game of peek-a-boo with blankets, books, and balls, by raising them up over his head and smiling and waiting until we say, “Where’s Jonas?”

(Photos courtesy of Rachel Jonas)

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

At forty-six weeks, Jonas is: trying out a few new foods (black beans, rice pasta, and cauliflower); experimenting with the use of his two bottom teeth for chewing; adding three words to his vocabulary (“ca” for cat, “boo” for book, and “ba” for ball); and cracking us up with his current favorite consonant/vowel combination (“da-da-da-diguh-diguh-diguh”) that he repeats over and over again in all seriousness and with much gusto.