We have had lots of travel recently and our system for creating the blog keeps going haywire. But enough excuses. On with the blog!
Growth: Jonah has surpassed the 40 inch mark and may even be close to 41. Tessa is 35 inches. According to Mimi and Poppy's scale, both kids weigh 33 pounds. That doesn't seem quite right. We will try and track down another scale for a second opinion sometime.
Sleep: The kids are still getting tucked in somewhere in the 9:00 hour and waking around 7:30 (Jonah) and 8:30 (Tessa) with naps about 3-4:30. Lately Jonah naps about 2/3 of the time and rests the other third. Things can get pretty wild, but we have pinpointed the moment (right as the last book is read) and try to whisk them to their respective rooms before the "top hugs" get out of hand. Jonah has started brushing his own teeth before we take a turn, and so Tessa has insisted on doing the same. She still likes her sleep sack and has started wanting songs with Mommy in the rocking chair. Emphasis on the pleural.
Eating: We still have a few little chefs and foodies on our hands. We have had some great evenings dining on the Cafe Istanbul patio or walking to Johnsons for ice cream. Sometimes Jonah is a little scared to try new foods, like last night with mango, but most of the time he loves them and ends up wanting more, like half mango for example. Sushi is still a big hit, and for the second time in Jonah's lifetime, he got to make his own through the magic of Yelp. Tessa has the taste for coffee, but we try to keep her consumption at a minimum.
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| GOTTA pop your own bagel in the toaster! |
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| Ice cream must make him sleepy |
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| Lollipop sharing. Picnic on the floor of Mommy and Daddy's room style. |
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| You said...don't touch the lemons?? |
Personality: A vast majority of the time, we have two happy, creative, goofy, sweet little guys our hands. Tessa has an occasional T-storm, but they tend to resolve pretty quickly. Most frequently, it has to do with wanting Mommy to pick her up but she's cooking or something. Jonah has been having trouble with authority when it comes from his Mom and Dad. His teachers say he's the best listener in class and very good at following the rules, but lately if we ask him to do something, most often getting dressed or putting on a jacket, he gets out of control angry. We are working on this, and so far a sticker chart suggested my Mrs. Holly has worked wonders! He has even suggested that Tessa start a chart for using the potty! Both kids are clingy and a bit unsure at preschool drop-off, but they love being there and playing with friends.
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| We have had tons of good days for our front porch picnics |
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Everyday that we have lunch outside Tessa asks to go see the marching band we can hear practicing.
Finally, we did! |
Books: We have broken out the Halloween books and they are in heavy rotation. They both really like a My Little Pony book, Secret Pizza Party, Pinkalicious, and many others.
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| Art imitating life? |
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| Or life imitating art? |
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| Study material for the show Pinkalicious |
Play: Their best friend is still each other, but the kids really interact with other friends more. Jonah is definitely most comfortable with Cooper, and his friend Milo who moved away came back to visit and it was like no time had passed for them. Tessa has a friend Elizabeth at school with whom she plays ponies and seems to like everyone. Tessa likes building with duplos and Jonah with his tiny legos. They both have been enjoying getting out of the house and traveling, taking classes, and doing fun new things.
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| When this girl gives a hug, she does it with every cell in her body. |
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| The kids decided their trucks needed a garage, so we painted up some boxes |
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| We love taking "baby walks" and on this particular day the kids packed the babies lunch and had a picnic |
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| Lots of Monday holidays this month has meant more time seeking out garbage trucks! |
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Little Jonah seems to enjoy his dance class. He pointed out today that the other kids are girls.
I asked how he felt about that. He smiled "good." |
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| While Jonah is at BalletMet, Tessa takes to the soccer field with a passion. She sprints across the field to get a ball, shrinking with laughter! She mostly follows directions, but sometimes goofs off. She's 2! |
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| It wasn't Eater. I swear. |
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| Tessa always plays with the sensory table at school drop off. I mean, who wouldn't! |
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| Bench picture with Mommy! I'm honored. |
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| That Tess. |
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| Checking out those Friday night lights from the tennis court |
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| These cuties get to do gymnastics at the same time, in two different classes. Jonah has learned, after practicing, to do a seat drop on the trampoline and make it back up to his feet! Tessa has really improved her climbing skills! |
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| My baby doll. |
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| Fancy hair. Watching Frozen. |
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| My smart boy was eating ice cream (well, mango sorbet with rainbow sprinkles) and decided he was too cold, so we brought it up to the warm bath. Of course! |
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When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade.
And when rich investors knock down a historic building in your town to build condos, you take your construction-obsessed children to watch the demo. |
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| This season, Jonah is really getting into football. We played a game of Hi Ho Cherrio, which Tessa really did well with too, while following along with the Buckeyes win against the Terrapins. |
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| These cuties and their BFFs. |
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| Jonah made a store. This is what was for sale. |
Milestones: Tessa has a funny way of making sentences longer than she has to, by adding things like "right now" or "little bit." If you ask her "x or y?' she will phrase her answer beginning with the word "or" which is pretty funny. Jonah can get his car door open, get in his car seat, close the door, and buckle himself. Tessa can climb in and buckle the top buckle. We can go places like COSI without a stroller now if we want to. Tessa has been pretty good about pooping on the potty and starting today, with a sticker chart program implemented by Jonah, she made it all morning with a dry pull up! Jonah has become more interested in working on his handwriting and has a nice grip on his pencil. He's pretty comfortable tracing letters, and sometimes makes them on their own. He can write his own name, but sometimes a few of the letters are backwards. It's so precious!
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| Little Jonah has become much more confident in talking to new people, like ordering food. |
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| Visit from Milo. He was Jonah's classmate, but Tessa loves playing with Milo too. |
Events:
We have had several really nice trips to the zoo recently with friends. We are so lucky to have such a great zoo!
We took a little road trip to Lancaster to visit the AHA Museum and a fantastic healthy little restaurant with delicious food and a handmade playground inside it. What?! I know.
The Bexley Labor Day Block Party got a heavy dose of rain (though skies were blue) so we did our best to have some fun.
We visited the brand new Whole Foods nearby us and this is what Jonah wanted to do: buy Mommy flowers.
Bexley's fairly new tradition of "Main Event" with food trucks, games, music, and a movie had its final night of the season. The weather was perfect and sunset was early enough for us to stay and watch The Sandlot. Even Darby! We all snuggled on a blanket and Jonah sort of fell in love with The Beast.
The kids and Mommy visited the Independent's Day Festival, a celebration of local art, businesses, and all taking place in a very old part part of town that's getting a hip new revitalization. Jonah had pretty decent mini golf skills and we loved meeting Laura there!
For Rosh Hashanah, the 4 of us drove up to Detroit to visit Grandma and Grandpa. We loved spending time with them. Grandma got out a few decks of cards and taught Jonah how to play war. The kids proudly shared their apples and honey plates they made at school. We took a walk to the cider mill, where the kids marveled at the process of the creek turning the gears and pressing the juice; we indulged in hot donuts and fed the ducks our sins in the form of bread.
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| The one time we get McDonald's is on the road |
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| French toast tradition! |
Yom Kippur was spent at home, and we visited Tifereth for the preschool service. It's an hour and there's a craft. Not complaining! We hosted our family in town for break the fast. We love the warm feeling of being surrounded by the family we love so much! The next morning, we headed to Scottsdale for more family time and to celebrate cousin Jessica's wedding. That's another post. Can't handle that many pictures in one post!
We spent a sunny fall morning at Franklin Park, eating and playing. The kids loved that their sweet Darby came along!
We had so much fun going to Circle S Farms with Moms Club last year that Mommy organized another one for this year. The kids get to do all kinds of awesome fall stuff that happens on a farm. And the best part, is the kids start the day sort of knowing each other and feeling a little shy and leave as good friends!
