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In his forty-fifth week, Jonas is: setting a new record with his hands-free balance time at 10 seconds (while clapping at the same time); trying lentils and asparagus (they both get the “meh” Jonas rating); continuing to practice his first words (“DaDa” for Daddy, “dah” for dog, and “NaNa” for Momma); waving like a champ (especially when it comes to saying goodbye to Daddy in the morning); laughing out loud all the time; feeding Petra Cheerios and cracking up at her puppyish antics; and amazing us with his newfound dexterity of (gleefully) walking behind his walking toy without much assistance.

It has been raining in Nashville for days and days.  On a particularly rainy Sunday afternoon, Jonas enjoyed Daddy’s trying-to-make-being-inside-fun creativity, expressed in multiple transformations to his car seat box (including a house with a round window and a square door, a ramp and ball game, and a car race track).

Jonas loves his new big boy car seat (and even though he looks really serious in this picture, he REALLY loved playing with the cardboard box it came in).  🙂

Petra is getting to be such a big girl.  🙂  She is off to training camp for three weeks; and, although we’re going to miss her (Jonas especially…he looks for her every morning and asks for “Dah”), we are super excited about the return of a better behaved version of the newest addition to our family.

Yesterday was such a sweet day for Tom and I with Jonas.  He sent Daddy off to work with a big boy farewell, in his new favorite rocket ship pajamas with one hand holding on to the baby gate and one hand straight up in the air waving back and forth.  And when I went into his room to bring him downstairs to play after his morning nap, he stood up in his crib, held on with one hand, waved at me with the other, and said, “NaNa”.  He wins my heart every day, over and over again…just like his Daddy.

At forty-four weeks, Jonas is: making the signs for “dog” (and paying special attention to that picture and word in his first words book) and “change diaper” (he’s still making and perfecting the signs for “eat”, “drink”, “milk”, and “more”); babbling up a storm; enjoying games of reverse keep-a-way with Petra; crawling like Thor, with one hand flat and one hand in a fist; working on his balance; clapping and waving; and giving kisses and love pats.

Here is a picture of the J-Man with the wonderful toy box that his Daddy made for him!!!  Jonas loves standing up beside it, peering over the edge to look inside, and pulling out his toys one by one (thus the temporary baby-proofing necessity of the yellow pool noodles).  🙂  

In his forty-third week, Jonas is: enjoying finger foods from the melon family (cantaloupe and watermelon); trying his hand (and his foot) at climbing; figuring out how to go from a standing position to a sitting position without plopping down (holding on with one hand and doing it very gingerly and deliberately); getting a very determined look on his face for his home-exploring missions; continuing to balance (hands free) for a few seconds at a time and to take one or two steps on his own every now and then; and entering into a whole new arena of cuteness, as he learns how to clap and wave.  

At forty-two weeks, Jonas is: loving his new tropical fruit (mango); getting very adept at rolling away from the diaper change (much to his mother and father’s dismay); and taking his first steps (super wobbly but still).

So, Jonas took his first steps yesterday!!!

We drove out to Gallatin to spend some time with his Great Aunt Jean.  I was loading up the car outside after a wonderful afternoon of catching up over lunch and playtime, and Aunt Jean was hanging out with the buddy while he was showing off his pulling up skills.  When I came back inside, she said that he had turned loose of the couch and had taken a few steps towards her (heading down as we went…but still).  He did it again that evening, letting go of the window sill in our living room (his new favorite place to stand) and taking a few steps into Daddy’s arms.  

Yay, Jonas!!!

As a forty-one week old, Jonas is: meeting another vegetable he loves (zucchini); hitting a major growth spurt with all that that entails; greeting his awake time with amazing bursts of jabbering and crawling energy; figuring out that DaDa is the “dada” he’s been babbling about; shaking his head no with great understanding; making the signs for “milk” and “drink”; giving us things we ask for (sometimes), to our amazement (his pacifier, as it’s only a naptime and bedtime thing now, and his favorite toys); working on his balance by standing with both hands free for a few seconds at a time; and asserting his strong will and discovering his independence.

So, this is the cuteness that greets us these days in the morning and after naps…

On my last visit to the dentist, the hygienist encouraged me to brush Jonas’ teeth (with water and a baby toothbrush) when they came in (glad she told me because I’m so clueless on a lot of these first time Mommy things and might have ignorantly waited until he was several months older to start).  So, we busted out his toothbrush a few days ago, and he thinks it’s the coolest thing ever.  He loves brushing his teeth with Daddy in the mornings and as part of his bedtime routine in the evenings (you can tell by the look on his face that he knows he’s doing a big boy thing and that he’s so proud of himself).  Just when I think he can’t get any more adorable… 

Here are a few pictures from Jonas’ summer visits with his Great Aunt Carolyn and his Great Aunt Sheila (Grandma Connie’s sisters).  We were so blessed to have them visiting from West Virginia and Ohio respectively and to get to spend some precious quality time with them.  We were thankful for our time together and were reminded once again of the priceless gift of family.

In the first picture from left to right is Jonas, Grandma Connie, and Great Aunt Carolyn. In the second picture from left to right is Cousin Patrick and his daughter Shelby (Jonas and Shelby had so much fun playing together), Great Aunt Sheila and Jonas, and Cousin Philip and his wife Lindsey.  Yay for family!!! We look forward to Great Uncle Bobby’s visit soon…

So, I had to post these precious pictures up…

The first one is of Jordan and Jonas, taken during a family game of Apples to Apples several weeks ago when Darren and Marina were visiting.  Jonas was sitting in my lap and was ALL ABOUT the cards.  His Daddy gave him a create your own category or something card that we weren’t ever going to use and, of course, it went right in the mouth.  All of the mommies at the table were concerned about paper cuts. So, I opted for a little bit of pacifier protection and was considering taking the card away to preempt any injuries. Daddy, who is very attuned to what delights his son’s heart, took the card and turned down all the edges and gave it back to a very happy Jonas.  It was so cute to watch him, holding his card up like a trophy…enjoying with ever fiber of his being…just being a part of the family Apples to Apples game.  If you look really close in the picture, you’ll see that he’s still holding his card.  🙂

The second one is of Jordan and Dylan sitting on our neighbor’s porch with Petra a few weeks back when Aunt Julie brought them over for a Sunday afternoon visit with the babies.  

In his thirty-ninth week, Jonas is: learning how to give hi-fives and kisses; enthralled by anything electronic; becoming a fast crawler; standing up in his crib with one hand waving free; trying to pull up on things other than Mommy and Daddy; continuing to explore his environment with keen interest; crawling with a toy in his hand; discovering his first favorite green vegetable (broccoli); exhibiting such skill with his pincer grasp that we are making the transition to all finger foods; and beginning to understand object permanence and to not be deterred if desired objects are placed out of sight.