Jonah Turned One!

Jonah's birthday was May 18, so this post may seem a little late.  However, life has been very busy down here the last few weeks.  The kids got out of school in May, then we went on a 2 week "Family Trip" in June, got some personal exciting news, and we are just now settling back into some sort of normalcy.  I want to go back and pay homage to my unique little first born.

We celebrated Jonah's birthday a week early while we were at home on our last break, on May 10th.  We had a party at John's mom's house with lots of family over.  Jonah had a cute cake with a whale on it, but he was not interested in eating it at all.  He didn't even want to smash it.  We kind of force fed him a little and he threw up.  It was not cute.  Oh well, it didn't hurt my feelings.  I'd much rather have my kid tear into an avocado (which he does, daily) than a cake any day of the year!

We decided while at home that it was time to actually pay for good professional pictures instead of just taking our own with the iPhones.  It was a great investment!  You can check out some of our photographer's pictures from the day before the party at the railroad depot, and day of at her website here. These were the sneak peeks she put on facebook:

I want to make sure I remember what my little guy is like at this point in his life.  If I had to sum him up in a short sentence, it would be this: He is a MESS!  This toddling little boy is silly, funny, stubborn, fearless, loving, playful, hungry, and seriously loves to make messes and loud noises.

However, this is my blog, my own little corner of the internet as some put it, and I don't have to leave it at that short sentence. So, if you'd like to get to know him better, feel free to continue reading. =)

Jonah is cheerful most of the time and smiles and laughs easily. We found out the other day that if I make what I call my "silly monkey face," then he will laugh like crazy and think I am a super cool mom.

He loves all sort of tickling, being thrown around in the air, being upside down, being thrown on a pile of pillows, or anything else in the category of "rough-housing." His daddy encourages this by doing things like this with him:

Jonah loves all animals.  He finds farm animals fascinating, and will mimic us saying "Moo" as we pass cows on our running road.  He will say "Moo" so loudly and often that by the time we are past the herd of cows, they are all staring at us.  He giggles while chasing dogs and cats and likes to try to reach out and touch them.

He is very independent and already wants to walk alone.  He does not like to hold hands unless he feels like he may fall.  If he is on remotely stable ground, he jerks his little hand away and grunts as if offended that you even tried to take the lead.  This does not bode well for parking lots in the future, but we aren't huge fans of the child-on-a-leash technique, so we will be strong-arming him until he obeys. However, usually he will walk right next to our legs, and stop when we stop, as if to say, "I can keep up, you don't need to hold onto me.  I won't go far without you." He already is that "strong-willed child" who has the potential to be a leader or a menace.   If you are a parent of a child like this, what do/did you do to help them learn to obey but also encourage their independence? Please Lord let us lead him down the right path!

He has finally learned to give kisses with a closed mouth and leans in going, "Mmmmmm" when he is about to kiss you.  It's the sweetest thing ever, and makes my heart melt every time.  Kisses generally only happen when he first wakes up or is getting sleepy but hasn't reached sleepy-grouchy-crazy baby stage yet (as described here).

Jonah is content to play alone or with other babies or adults.  He gets along well with others unless they take something he was playing with first.  The "sharing" concept hasn't quite sunk in yet. He has realized he will get a little slap if he bites though, so his new tactic is pinching.  We are working on breaking him of that one, too.  He does stop when we tell him "No," but if he thinks we aren't looking, he tries again.  He also tackles, and will wrestle for what he believes is rightfully his.  I'm going to say this is persistence in the making!

He rolled over at 4 months, crawled at 8 months, walked at 11 months, and is now climbing anything he can, including any and all furniture.

His vocabulary includes verbally: Dada, Mama, Dog, Cat, Uh-Oh, something that he thinks is Peek-a-Boo but really is more like "Eeek - Oooo", and the name of Other Baby.

His sign language vocabulary includes: eat, drink, more, and all done. We began signing when he was around 8 months old, and he really took off with using it between 11-12 months.  This is a great article by a speech and language pathologist mommy, if you haven't heard of the value of signing to hearing toddlers. We are now trying to add the words: please, thank you, and outside.

He weighed in for his one year check up at 26 pounds, and was 32 inches tall.  He didn't cry a bit getting his finger pricked, but for some reason he hated the paper on the exam table and did not want to sit or lay on it.  He has grown 11 inches and gained 18 pounds since the day he was born. That is a lot of growth! At exactly age one he had 8 teeth (4 top/4 bottom) and was cutting his first molar.  He is now cutting 2 more molars and a canine.  I think in a week or so he will have 12 teeth! It's a good thing he really enjoys having his teeth brushed!

In the hospital, one day old.

April, 2013

He seems totally fine and healthy, other than recurring eczema all over his legs and sometimes other body parts.  We use Aquaphor ointment to help with this once or twice a day, and Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Soothing Bath Treatments (which are mostly oatmeal powder and make the water look dirty, but his skin feels better afterward). {Later edit: we have found that coconut oil on damp skin works better than any other product previously mentioned.} The only link we have found is in wheat products, which seem to make it worse, so he is on a fairly strict gluten-free diet of mostly organic or preservative-free foods.  He eats a Lot.  His favorite food is probably Greek yogurt or avocado.  He seriously eats one yogurt and at least half an avocado every. single. day. Here is that post-avocado face:

He loves taking baths and playing in the pool or washing his hands, or playing in any sort of water.

He would never come inside if we didn't make him. He wants to be outside all night and day, regardless of weather conditions and how hot he gets.

Hot and Sweaty

But happy outside!

He likes to dance by doing little squats and more recently has added arm waving to this cuteness.

He has a little angry streak and is more likely to scream or holler than actually cry.

He likes to open all cabinet doors and drawers he can reach and either pull out the contents of said cabinet or drawer, or just bang the door shut as loudly as he can, repeatedly, until we make him stop. He's really into loud noises.  One day while waiting for John while he was inside a store, I had to take Jonah out of his car seat to change his diaper, so I let him play around in the front seat until John came back.  The little guy immediately put his hands on the steering wheel and acted like he was driving, and then reached for the volume on the radio and turned it waaaaaaaay up and started dancing.  It was so funny!

He likes to walk through any open door, and then close it behind him.  He does this as fast as possible, as if it will slow us down from following him.  Sometimes we open the door and he laughs and makes his "Peek-a-Boo!" sound at us, like it was just a game all along.  He is very active, and only sits still when he's tired or sick.

Most recent changes in our parenting have been to try to begin these great "Early Potty Training Tips" I found on Pinterest.  As a teacher they make complete sense!  In real life this translates mostly to us saying "Poo poo. You are going poo poo," instead of just laughing at his funny little red face and grunts.

We have changed his sleeping habits once again and are finally teaching him to fall asleep in his own crib instead of rocking him.  YES! (Hasn't regularly happened since he was 6 months old in the cradle/rocker/bassinet thing). This is easy when he's very tired.  If he has an ounce of energy left he fights it, stands up in his crib, and tries to talk to us, like he can convince us to get him out and let him play.  I think he's trying to say, "Look, I just wanted the bottle and a little cuddle time.  I'm not crazy tired yet, so just let me play with toys a little longer."  We stay in there and just keep saying "Night, night! Shhhhhh!" We have left the room and let him cry it out a few times, when he's tired enough to cry and fall asleep within about ten minutes.  Sometimes though, it sounds like he's getting so worked up he may puke (which he has done before), and then we go back in and stay on the bed until he's asleep, because nobody wants to clean up vomit.  I think he will be past this stage soon though and we will just lay him down and leave and he may cry a little or talk himself to sleep.

People say time flies, and it does, but this first year has felt like a whole. entire. 365 day. year.  We've done a lot of things as a family of three in just a year.  He has already moved from Memphis, to Huntsville, to Waynesboro, with a brief vacation in Boston, and several 5 hour drives from Huntsville to Wabo and vice versa.  He is a rather well-traveled baby.

Looking so much like his daddy here.

We love him more than we ever believed possible.  

We are so thankful to be Jonah's parents!

We are excited to see what God has planned for his life,

and grateful for every day we are given as a part of that beautiful, crazy life.

Happy Birthday Little Man!

(or happy almost 14 months, anyway, hahaha).