Here is Jonas, taking the tricycle MeMe and PaPa gave him for Christmas, out for a spin.
Happy Birthday, PaPa…
As MeMe and PaPa are still waiting on their new house to be built, we all gathered together at a local hotel to celebrate PaPa’s birthday with gift giving, meal sharing, pool swimming, and cake eating. We had a blast (especially Xander with his first introduction to the pool). Happy Birthday, PaPa…we love you!!!
Family Zoo Day…
We took advantage of one of those rare, warm and sunny winter days and met Jonas and Xander’s Aunt Heather and Cousin Annabella at the zoo. We had so much fun and look forward to many more zoo visits this spring…
Xander Big Boy…
Xander is such a big boy with his finger foods and sippy cup. He is a hollerer if food is not in his mouth as soon as he sits down to eat, so his fascination with feeding himself has been a meal time blessing.
Twenty-Seven Months…
At twenty-seven months, Jonas is: continuing to make us smile with his sentence composition (“I saw flingamos at the zoo with Zizza and Bennett, MaMa”, “Xan-Man so cute”, “JoJo frustrated…sun in my face”, “MaMa, come here, show you something”, etc.); enjoying the play kitchen that Aunt Ju and Cousins Jordan and Dylan passed along to him; loving his big boy seat at the table; and learning to share his toys with Xan-Man.
Thirty Weeks…
What a BIG week for Xan-Man!!! In his thirtieth week, Xander is: trying pears; champing out with his first finger food (sweet potato puffs); cutting two teeth on the bottom; rocking back and forth on his hands and knees; sitting up unassisted for short periods of time; communicating with what appear to be his first two signs (“milk” and “change”); and making us smile with his first consonant/vowel combination (“DaDaDaDaDa”).
Snack Time with Friends…
Here’s Jonas, enjoying snack time with his three favorite friends (Pooh, Tramp, and Teddy Bear).
Twenty-Nine Weeks…
At twenty-nine weeks, Xander is: trying bananas (hesitant at first which amazed me but loves them mixed with rice cereal) and apples; getting up on his hands and knees (I have a feeling it won’t be long before his army crawl becomes a full blown off-the-floor crawl and then…look out world); working through his first cold and on what might be the beginnings of a first tooth; and exploring his world with the same investigative fervor as his big brother.
At the Table…
We recently moved Jonas from the high chair to the booster seat (he finally showed us he was ready by consistently giving us his plate, fork/spoon, and cup when he was finished eating instead of throwing them after every meal). He is DELIGHTED, as you can see. Xander graduated from the bouncy seat to the high chair and really enjoys being able to see what’s going on. I had an emotional moment the night we made the transition, looking around the table at my three favorite, smiling guys. What a blessing.
Twenty-Eight Weeks…
At twenty-eight weeks, Xander is: trying green beans (not a huge fan) and peas (likes them, surprisingly enough) and putting the turbo on with his army crawl (he can pretty much get to anything he sets his sights on).
Here he is with his first favorite toy…
Snowy Day Fort…
When I was little, one of my favorite things to do was to build a fort out of blankets and sheets in my room and spend all day in it, playing with toys and listening to music and reading books. It’s been a long time so I’m definitely rusty with the construction, but thankfully Jonas didn’t know the difference. (He encouraged me every step of the way, saying, “Good job building, MaMa!”) We had fun hanging out inside it, piled up on blankets and pillows, reading books.
Boys and Books…
Both of my little guys love books, and I couldn’t be happier about it (and about holding them in my lap and reading to them countless times a day).
Snow Painting…
We had another beautiful snowfall on Sunday night. But because Jonas is a little bit under the weather, we couldn’t take him out in it to play. So, I checked out my favorite blog (Fun & Engaging Activities for Toddlers) to see what indoor winter activity ideas she might have and saw her post on snow painting and had to try it out with him. We had a blast (and, yes, that’s blue fingerpaint all over his mouth in the last picture…he’s still all about sampling the paint).
Xander and Petra…
Here’s a picture of Xan-Man crawling for Petra’s bone…she’s such a good girl and never seems to mind (he loves to crawl up and inspect her paws too).
Twenty-Seven Weeks…
At twenty-seven weeks, Xander is: trying and loving homemade organic baby food (sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and carrots); enjoying trying to hold and drink from a sippy cup of water; getting really good at holding a bottle of milk; and continuing to take a keen and smiling interest in the signs for milk, eat, drink, more, all done, change, sleep, dog, music, book, bath, massage, and get dressed.
Twenty-Six Months…
In his twenty-sixth month, Jonas is: bringing a smile to our faces every day with his sentences (I can do it, I can want some, I got both guys, Here comes JoJo down the stairs, This is my milk Mommy, JoJo did such a good job eating cereal, etc.); knowing all of his letters and the sounds that they make (and starting to figure out what letters certain words start with); counting from 1 to 10 (and beyond); learning his shapes (he correctly identified a rectangle and an oval the other day much to our amazement); grasping the concepts of paying for something before you can have it at the store and checking out and returning books at the library; working on manners (he’s even outed with a few spontaneous yes ma’ams, pleases, and thank yous) and sharing (he’s getting some good practice in, as Xander is able to crawl now and grab for toys on the floor); climbing into and buckling himself into his high chair all by himself (he’ll be moving to the booster seat this week); using a fork and a spoon (he can totally feed himself yogurt and applesauce out of the container now without making too big of a mess); handing MaMa his plate, fork, and cup when he’s finished eating instead of throwing them; calming down a little bit on the fussy front (hopefully); enjoying lessons and doing crafts; going pee pee in the potty like a big boy; starting to pretend play; and continuing to make amazing associations and connections with his reading and playing (running to get his panda bear when he reads a story with a panda bear in it, matching up ABC picture magnets with ABC alphabet train puzzle pieces, and going through the utensil drawer to compare his kitchen toys to the real thing).
Twenty-Six Weeks…
In his twenty-sixth week, Xander is: full on army crawling; protesting when favorite toys are taken away (he pretty much protest cries every night when bath time is over, and it’s time for the red cup I use to rinse him off with to be put back on the side of the tub); and sleeping like a champ (he naps for one to two hours at a time and kicks off his night time sleep with a seven to eight hour stretch…glorious).
Christmas in Virginia…
After sharing meals, gifts, laughter, and love with my family in Tennessee, we headed to Virginia to spend Christmas with Tom’s family, enjoying the same. It was so good to see everyone and to spend quality time together. Here are a few highlights from our trip: receiving the beautiful stocking Grandma Jackie made for Xander (pictured in his 25 week photo); seeing Jonas graduate to sleeping in the bunk room with his cousins; eating edamame hummus; dealing with a stomach virus that hit all 21 of us; playing two new-to me, addictive games (Set and Racko); sledding in six inches of snow; and watching the children present a living nativity.
For more pictures, click on the “Christmas 2010” picture page to the right.
Twenty-Five Weeks…
At twenty-five weeks, Xander is: adding a toe push to his forward lunge, which makes me think he’s going to be an army crawler; developing a fascination with the soft and silky tags on his toys (blanket teether, rattle, and stuffed animals); and getting just as excited about reading books as he does about eating and taking a bath (which is REALLY excited).
