Jonah Nicholas, 22 Months

Jonah just keeps getting sillier and sillier -- or, as he would say, "Shiwwy Jonah!" He continues to be such a joy to be around and amazes us with how smart he is ... though he is also starting to show off more and more of his budding toddler side.

Growth: Still nothing official, but he's finally outgrown the 12-18 month pants (well, some of them, at least, and just this week...).

Sleep: We think he's starting to need to go to bed earlier. We've been doing the bath at 8:30 routine but he has started getting pretty upset at bathtime, and we think it's because he's getting tired. Here's hoping an earlier bedtime doesn't mean waking up earlier as well. In the bath after he is washed he wants "Away clafclaf" (washcloth). Other than that things are the same though he has started being more selective with his stuffed animal friends. He cuddles with Mommy on the rocker with Ducky, Owl, and Widdwe Beaw (little bear) then has them join Doggie in the crib. If any other animals are in there, he will politely dump them out before he falls asleep.

The sleeping animal collection: ducky, owl, little bear (under Jonah), doggie

Eating: He continues to be a good eater most of the time. Breakfast, or "Bweditz," starts with "Jonah cereal," a packet of pureed fruits and vegetables sometimes with yogurt or grain. He loves picking which color, and as a bonus some brands have Sesame Street characters on them (mind you, he doesn't actually watch Sesame Street, but he knows the characters). His new conditions at the dinner table generally involve eating off of Mommy and Daddy's plates with their forks which he will grab and regrip so he is holding the very end. He is fortunately quite coordinated with getting the end of a long fork into his mouth! If he eats a very good dinner we often offer him "imeam" (ice cream) which gets a big grin.

While making lunch, looked down to see this...
each plate or bowl has a utensil

"Wine," crab, mushrooms, noodles, Jonah

Lunching at Angry Baker

Jonah missed "Elmo Day" at school so they sent
him home with an Elmo cupcake. Going...

...going...

...gone. And asking for a towel.

The post-cupcake strip-down

Personality: He is trying to be more independent, saying about most things, "Jonah do it ... Help!" His vocabulary is growing but he sometimes doesn't know a noun and points and says, "This! This!" When he wants to be picked up, he says, "Daddy up! Carry you!" We have to be very careful about using our phones in front of him since he sees them and wants to "See Jonah" since he looks at pictures on them and that's usually what we take pictures of. He is very, very good at navigating them, especially Mommy's iPhone, and can wake up, unlock, find the app he wants, and enjoy it without any problems. He especially likes the PBS Kids app and watching "Danel Tigeh." He also likes to see "Lellow Bus," a YouTube video of Wheels on the Bus. He likes to hold the rail when going up or down stairs; he will announce, "Up-a-deh! Jonah hold-a-reel!" His new favorite toys are our Rock Band guitars which started as "Ata" but are now "Guitata," and he wants "On guitata!" and "ABC!" He also requests Shabbat songs since every Friday at school he sees Marc playing songs on his guitar.  His favorite games now include "Upside down," where he stands on his feet and his head, and "Daddy shuckle!" where Daddy holds him by the upper arms and spins really fast. They both get very dizzy!

Reviewing pictures for the blog post

Jonah announced "Jonah boot." Looked down to see this.

Jonah set his friends around his new play table

Going through retired baby items. Requested "more strap!"

Called me into the closet, saying "mama shoe, upside down"
Yes. Yes, indeed.

Calling Alton out from under the bed

Helping Mom do makeup

Jonah is so excited about "mama new car seat"

Peek-a-boo!

Watching Daniel Tiger on Mommy's iPhone

Daddy circle

Dizzy boys

"Up Daddy! Up! Up! More circle!"

Jonah, boom! Step 1...

...step 2...

...step 3

Milestones: He is really starting to understand what he is saying and social situations. He is starting to say "please" and "thank you" spontaneously and has picked up that if he really wants something he has to stop whining and politely ask. One day, Mommy kissed him, then Daddy kissed him, then we kissed him at the same time, and he announced, "Togegeh" (together)! On vacation with Geema and Hoppa (more on that below) he was passing out playing cards and squeezing between a chair and a table, to which he said, "Eschoo me!" We cracked up, since we hadn't formally taught him when to say that outside of belching, and even that he hadn't done yet! He is getting pretty good at throwing a ball with distance and accuracy. He still hasn't decided if he's a lefty or a righty. His memory is excellent; we can ask him about vacation a few weeks ago and he will talk about "Geema," "Hoppa," "Lauwen," "Beach," "Sun," "Dolphin! Yay dolphin! Clap dolphin!" He always wakes up in the morning talking about who he saw and what he did the night before. If we had gone out, he will wake up talking about "Mommy Daddy date." He will narrate his school day now -- "Friends. Gayle, Zhanna, Dara, Alex ... Blue slide, outside, gym."

Events: My goodness, what a month! We started with a week on Captiva Island in Western Florida with Geema, Hoppa, and Lauren. We had a great time in the sun and the sand and the pool. Jonah loved the airplanes at the airport and for the most part was a good sport on the flights. He had some good quality time with Geema and Hoppa, reading some books, playing games, going to the playground, and hanging out on the beach. His favorite part was the dolphin cruise; as above, he cheered them on, "Yay, dolphin!"

"Aplane!"

A visit from Dave and Farryl

Throwing rocks in the front yard

Album cover style

Jonah liked watching bye bye sun

Checking out the wildlife

He didn't want to stay in the pool too long, but gave it a try

Helping Daddy cook breakfast

"Yay, Dolphin"

When we got back in town we went out for Dim Sum with Lauren, and it happened to be Chinese New Year. They had a whole production with drumming and dancing dragons, which Jonah really got into watching.

Captivated

While we were out of town, Cara and Jason had their new baby, Adelyn. Jonah just loved meeting her and getting to hold her -- good practice for a few months from now!

Valentine's Day was a ball, first with Mimi, Poppy, Darby, and Bella at "Mimipoppydarbybellahouse" and then with Alana that evening. Jonah got fun owl presents from Geema and Mimi and had some good heart-shaped foods. When Alana came over, he was a perfect gentleman -- he cooked her dinner, got her flowers, and got a delicious cheesecake for dessert!

Jonah got to visit "Mommy office" at Family Night at the Woodlands. He loved all the balls and they brought a balloon home which remains one of his favorite toys. He wasn't so sure about all the people and noise, however.

Poppy has been doing some work on the basement, and Jonah is his little helper. He loves "Poppy gacuum" and "Poppy hammeh."

Purim came at school, and Jonah went as a little Superman. He wanted "cape off" most of the day, but he was still adorable.

We had fun trips to COSI with Ainsley and Jillian and to the Columbus Museum of Art with Emmett.

New Baby: Lindsay's pregnancy is going well.  Her appetite is very good and feeling great.  We found out last week that we will be having a girl!  Jonah points to Mommy's baby bump and says "Mama tummy baby siter."  Visions of a lavender/gray/silver/white/light pink ballet nursery swirl in our heads.  Perhaps that will be the plan, but we shall see!

Thank you all for following along!  Hope our escapades are entertaining to you :)