Today, You Are 5!

Dear Jonathan,

Today you are five. I know you think it was Saturday, or maybe Sunday. Sorry for the confusion. Anyway, it's today. wink emoticon

It's hard to believe you're finally five, which I know sounds cliche, but it really is. Not just because it seems like you were a baby five minutes ago and all that, or because your first four years were so crazy hard you made us question our parenting abilities....

... but because you still seem like our baby, which I guess is your lot in life and for that, I apologize.

You are going off to kindergarten in a few short days. I am crossing my fingers for this to be an entirely positive experience, and I think it mostly will be once we get started. Right now though, it's just hard to imagine you walking down that hall the first day all alone and being okay with that once you get to the other end and I'm not there. I didn't really worry about this part with your brothers. For some reason, they seemed older (I mean, they were a little... but not a LOT!) We'll see, I guess! Your teacher might get more than she has bargained for on that first day.... and possibly several days thereafter. (crossing my fingers)

At five, you are pretty much just a bigger version of who you were at all the other ages, just ever so slightly more reasonable. You are still the most stubborn, strong-willed child we've ever raised, for sure. You are adventurous and fearless in many respects, strangely fearful in others. You are a cuddler and a lover, but will turn around and punch your brothers with little provocation.

Yes, you have the advantage (?) of those two older brothers to show you the ways of the world/playground, so you sometimes seem older than you are; but then you throw yourself on the floor crying when they change the channel from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to Cartoon Network in the morning and I remember... you are actually still just a little guy in many ways.

You still ask me to lay in your bed and snuggle. You still ask for your ducky blankie when you're tired. You love a good story in my lap. You give out kisses liberally and hugs that knock people down if they aren't ready for them.

You love everything your brothers do, which includes Minecraft, Nerf dart guns, Star Wars, and sword fights. Independent of them though, you really do have your own set of likes! You love to help me bake, you love science experiments and reading, taking walks in your wagon and swinging. BOY do you love swinging. You could swing all day and all night. You especially love when I push you so high, you come up out of the seat. (I truly do not know whose child you are sometimes!) You've gotten really into your matchbox cars lately and carry two around in a little treasure box. And of course, you love your technology. You know your way around every electronic device in our house, sometimes better than we do.

You are one unique and super smart little guy and definitely keep us on our toes. I think this is pretty much always going to be true. Right now, I will just be thankful you are only five and that and no one will let you jump out of an airplane yet.

Happy birthday, J!

Love, Mommy

Now You Are Four....

Dear Jonathan,

Today you are four!

Between the sleepless nights of 0-1, the "how many ways can I hurt myself?" phase of 1-2, the knock down, drag out tantrums of 2-3, and the "I will only drink from blue cups with lids and eat only pasta!" pickiness of 3-4,  sometimes it truly felt like this day would never come.

It's not that all those other ages didn't have their positives....because they did....and there are things I will miss about each of them, especially since you are our last baby. It's just that, it seemed like four was when your brothers,  particularly your oldest one, who was our toughest model until you came along, became much more rational human beings, capable of being reasoned with.

Oddly, last night at your birthday party, you sort of morphed into this weirdly polite little person who was nice to your cousins, said thank you for presents, and said hello and goodbye to everyone without whining, scowling or burying your head in the floor for no apparent reason. So I'm starting to think there is something to this magical age.

At any rate.... so.... FOUR.

In many ways, you are such an OLD four. Four going on seven... or ten. I hang my head in shame when you talk endlessly to other preschoolers about Minecraft and Clash of Clans. Most of them, especially the firstborns, look at you like you have a dozen heads and go back to building Lego towers or talking superheroes.  At the pool this summer, you hung out with Ben and Simon's friends when they would all go off to play Minecraft on their iPads. You fit right in and they never complained that you tagged along. They just adopted you as one of the big kids. One of your best friends at the pool is a little boy named Carter, who is Simon's age. Every day Carter would show up and say to me, "Where's Jonathan?" I'd point him in your direction and he'd run over and high five you and spend hours trying to teach you to swim or playing Minecraft with you under the awning. You would tell me "Carter's here! Carter loves me! He loves me because I'm CUTE."

In other ways, you are the youngest-seeming four I have ever had. First off, this August birthday makes you the youngest in your class. But there are other things too....you are dragging out this potty training thing as long as possible, for instance.  You aren't usually able to just "go play" with other kids your age, which makes playdates tough... you are also still unhappy about school and I'm interested/worried to see how this year's start goes. (I hope better than last year. It HAS to be better than last year.....)
I keep reminding myself you are almost half a year younger than Ben was when he started school every year. And, in many cases, you are even more significantly younger than some of your classmates. You have some natural social weaknesses anyway, so this age gap, as far as school is concerned, feels enormous at times.

You are my snuggle bug. During quiet afternoons when your brothers aren't around (and even sometimes when they are), you will announce that you need some quiet time "on the couch with binky and ducky". You'll curl up next to me and, if I'm really lucky, ask to read some books and we'll pick a whole pile to go through together all in one sitting. You LOVE your books... all kinds... but especially the Pigeon series, the How Do Dinosaurs series, and this blatant ripoff of the Hungry Caterpillar one that we have called Hungry Bunny.  You can read anything and everything, but you still prefer to be read to, which I love.

Somehow, you are simultaneously our most affectionate child and our meanest. You can go from hugs and kisses and "I love yous" to biting and hitting and kicking in the blink of an eye. There is NO in between with you. I do hope, now that you are this magical age, we start seeing more of nice Jonathan and less of vicious untrained puppy Jonathan.

You are still our fearless one. Our recent trip to Dutch Wonderland confirmed that. You are solidly in the "the higher and faster, the better!" camp. I am both terrified and excited to see what you will do in life without fear to hold you back.  If I had to pick one of my three children who was most likely to jump from an airplane or hang-glide off a cliff? There is zero question. It's you.

No doubt about it. You are challenging in many ways, my little friend. You keep us on our toes and things are rarely easy as far as you are concerned. You are certainly our ball of fire.... but with that, you bring so much light, life and energy to our family. You drive us all completely crazy sometimes, but I know I speak for daddy and big brothers too when I say we love you to pieces and wouldn't change you for anything.

Happy 4th Birthday, J, Jonathan, Jellybean...

Love,
Mommy

Ben is 10!!

Dear Ben,

Today is has been a whole decade since we first met you. TEN YEARS! If I sit quietly and think (not that I ever get that chance around here!)  I can bring back every feeling and thought from that morning your daddy and I walked into the hospital and waited for you to be born.  Nervous, excited....realizing there was NO turning back.

We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into with this parenting thing. And like everyone always says, it has turned out to be way harder than we ever imagined, but also the most amazing and awesome thing ever ... and you started it all.  This is probably a good thing because you broke us in well. You still hold the honor being our most challenging baby and toddler, yes EVEN compared to Jonathan. (you love hearing those stories too...) 

You have come into your own this year and seem to really have a good grasp on who you are. Fourth grade has been your best year yet as far as friends and school. You are happier and less afraid to try new things than you used to be. Swimming and basketball have helped to give you so much confidence. You still don't much like being the "short kid", but you seem to have slowly begun to embrace it as part of your identity.

You want to dress and wear your hair a certain way now, and you care how you look, which is cute. You announced at your last haircut that you didn't want them to cut it too short because you'd like to start wearing it longer now. Your clothes are an assortment of Under Amour and UA knockoffs from Target and Old Navy in all sorts of blinding fluorescents. Perhaps my favorite touch are the brightly colored socks pulled up to your kneecaps, a look you have picked up from your friends. It's cute though... and you'll get some good laughs out of the photos in about 20 years. ;)

You are an amazing big brother to Simon and Jonathan, though they don't always make your life easy. I admire that so much about you. You have an amazing knack for patiently and lovingly dealing with and communicating with all children younger than you. Every little kid we meet seems to worship the ground you walk on.  It makes me smile.

Perhaps my most favorite thing about you is that you are kind. I've never actually seen you be mean to anyone (though I'm sure there are things I haven't seen) and you seem to accept everyone the way they are.  You are deeply hurt when other kids are mean and still don't seem to understand why they are like that (neither do I, really). I'm glad you at least understand now when it is happening, because you didn't used to. Now you know who the mean kids are and are learning to defend yourself with words or just walk away. I hate that you had to even learn that lesson; but it's a good one, nonetheless.

I ask you what you want to be when you grow up and it ranges from engineer to writer. And I have a feeling whatever you do will somehow encompass things from both worlds. You love facts and breaking things down, just like your daddy. You also love to fill notebooks with words, just like mommy. You write all kinds of stories and create entire worlds.... and yet, they are full of facts and list and statistics. Whatever you do, it will certainly be interesting to watch it as it comes to light. 

You are becoming such a neat little person. Sometimes I feel like you are SUCH an old soul and know way more than I do... that you just quietly tolerate listening to my thoughts on things. LOL.  I think this might be my most favorite age so far. I love talking to you and hearing what goes on inside that brain of yours. 

I am so excited to see what your future holds and I love you so very much! Happy 10th birthday, Thomas Benjamin!

Love,

Mommy 

You Are Three!

Okay, a little late.. but here's the monthday/birthday picture. Post coming soon!

Jonathan is 34 Months Old....

Dear Jonathan,

You are 34 months old, just a short two months from three. :) You have officially reached the age of the questions... they are plentiful and constant. "What's that called?" "Why does that do that?" "What does that say?" "How does that work?" "What's his name?" "Why is he doing that?" "Where are we going?" "What are we doing?" "Can I do that?" "Why not?" "

LOL. It's really very fun.  And you almost always answer with a very funny little, "Ohhhh!"  Makes me laugh every single time.

We have embarked on potty training because well, it's just time. You are ready, I think and I'm hope that we can make this happen by the time July is over. Is it possible I have bought my very last box of diapers.... ever? A mom can dream.

You have become my marathon napper, which is amazing and wonderful and perfectly timed for long summer days. You often sleep form 1-4 or 2-5 in the afternoons with me eventually opening your door to wake you up.  I feel bad that you probably would have done this all school year were it not that I had to keep waking you up to go get your brothers! You took it in stride though.

You are having a blast so far this summer. You love the pool and you love "wimmin'".  At swimming lessons, you are happy to swim without your puddle jumper and are doing great but, I have found at our pool you always want to have it on and seem to have acquired a healthy respect for the "regular" pool that doesn't have your friend Ms. Tara in it. LOL. It's great and works well... you paddle around happily for hours and I can keep an eye on you, but not have to be ridiculously hyper-vigilant to make sure you don't fall off the step or wander too deep or fall in.  The pool is FUN again after two years of it being very much NOT so fun.

You've become kind of a picky eater out of nowhere. (I'm starting to think it's mostly due to lack of effort on my part, actually).  Oddly you love a salad, almost any kind of salad...  and sushi, any kind...  otherwise though, your preferences have shrunk to the standard toddler top three -- chicken nuggets, hot dogs and pasta. Sigh.  I'm hoping it's a phase and I get my good, adventurous eater back soon.

One funny from this month, you have decided tags of any kind in your clothes are evil.  We have spent time every day for the last few weeks cutting tags out of your shirts and shorts. Good thing you're the last kiddo... I wouldn't know what size anything was for another child!!

Still plugging away with speech for the forsee-able future, which is now less speech and actually mostly play/social skills practice.  The speech pathologist still comes once a month but she doesn't have a whole lot to do speech-wise, so she works on stretching your attention span for activities. Cindy still comes once a week and works on all kinds of things related to social skills, functional playing, pushing you to sit longer to focus on completing tasks and that sort of thing. All good stuff there. :)

You are so silly and affectionate. I love your new "bear-sized bed" game you play with Corduroy and your other stuffed animals. You pat them, kiss them, read to them, and put them bed. It's quite possibly the sweetest thing ever. You are also always ready for kisses and hugs for mommy and daddy, though you have been giving your big brothers a very hard time lately. Poor Ben thinks you don't like him anymore because you won't give him the time of day. SImon you like to play with but you also like to beat up on him. We need to work on that...

Anyway, so that's you at two months till three... :) Happy 34 months months, Bug Bug! :)

Love,
Mommy :)

Today You Are Six!

Dear Simon,

Today you are six.

This year, your birthday falls right before Mother's Day again just like the year you were born. I remember waking up in the hospital on Mother's Day and just being in awe of being a mom for the second time.

You are my little comedian, always looking for the laugh, the comic foil to your older brother's straight man act. You have a contagious enthusiasm for absolutely everything, even the incredibly mundane.

Bagels for breakfast?  "YAY!!! Thanks, Mommy!!" 

With butter and cinnamon sugar? "It's a party!!!"

You can have an extra five minutes of computer time today! "Oh boy!!!!"

Your favorite jammies are clean! "Awesome! Is it bedtime yet?!"

You started kindergarten in the fall. We've had our ups and downs with it. You've loved it and hated it and everything in between. You've skipped into the school doors in the mornings and I've also had to drag you in and leave you crying with your teacher. The thing about you is that you have a tendency to get upset and seem angry when you are anxious about a situation or aren't sure of something, and parts of kindergarten have shaken your confidence a bit, which was a first for you, I think. 

You've grown so much though! Just in the last month, your reading has started to take off. Your pile of sight words that used to be so painful for both of us, you can now rattle off in a minute and a half. You are starting to really GET reading and writing and it has changed your outlook drastically. The transformation has been awesome to witness. 

Your biggest loves these days are Star Wars, Minecraft and Legos and all combinations thereof. You still love those Legos with a passion. You spend so many hours building and talking to yourself on the floor of your bedroom. As much as it pains me, I've given up on the piles that are constantly on the floor. Those little bricks and Lego people bring you so much joy. 

You are not much of an outdoorsy kid, though you do love to dress up in a Jedi robe and run around the yard with a light saber fighting imaginary battles. Sports aren't your thing... at least not yet. You do love our climbing gym and will show off your hanging upside down trick to anyone who will watch.

You have always been my artist. You love to create in any form and love to give people what you've made. We got you your own little box of "office supplies" for Christmas and you went bananas for it. You'll often disappear up to your "desk" (the top of a toy box) and draw a dozen pictures to be hung around the house or given away. You love to paint too. When we get the paints out at home, you're always the last one left at the table. Every day you bring home pictures you've drawn or painted at school (I thnk you must ALWAYS choose drawing during free centers!!) and you get so offended if you find any of them in the recycling bin. I explain I can't keep them all  (because it's a LOT)  and I make sure to hang the ones you seem really proud of on the refrigerator. :) Really special ones get tucked away. 

You are incredibly sensitive and loving. You think of other people often and you are always an eager helper. You are so generous with your affection, always ready with a hug or kiss for someone who needs it. Two of the little friends you have made at school this year are a lot like you and it's funny because you all like to hold hands and hug and kiss each other at the end of the day. LOL!

You are my only child who will willingly pose for a picture and actually, you are constantly asking me to take your picture or get something you are doing on video. I should do it more often than I do, simply because you make it so easy!

It was hard to decide what to do for your birthday this year. We started out planning a kids' party, but then decided that wasn't such a great fit right now. You seem to enjoy small, quiet events and get overwhelmed easily by too much going on. I think we came up with the perfect plan. We are taking you to the Lego store to pick out a new set and then we're going to Medieval Times to watch the show and have dinner. We got the birthday package so they'll announce your name and give us cake, which I just KNOW you are going to think is AWESOME. :)

Can't wait to celebrate!

Happy 6th birthday, sweet boy!

Love,

Mommy :)

Jonathan is 32 Months Old Today!

Dear Jonathan,

Today you are 32 months old. Apparently last month, I ALSO thought you were 32 months old. Oops. My bad. Hazard of being a third child.

So this month... let's see. Well, you are still pleasant, so hoping that continues. I'm sure there is another meltdown-prone phase coming up at some point, so I'll enjoy this pleasant time while it lasts.

You are still our little helper. Your big job these days is helping daddy get the coffee ready in the evening. Daddy says it's time to make the coffee and you use every ounce of strength you have in your little arms and legs to drag a kitchen chair all the way over to the coffee pot. Then you help by pushing all the buttons to grind up the beans and set the timer for the next morning.   In the morning, you'll proudly tell me "Mommy, I made your coffee!" when I'm sipping on my first cup.

You love to dance and would spend all day dancing to YouTube videos of your favorite Just Dance songs if I let you. I actually did kind of let you do this the other day and I was treated to 52 renditions of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. You have moves like nobody's business and it's HILARIOUS to watch.

You have developed an annoying habit that your brothers never did and that is running away. You will take off and the more I yell "Stop!" the harder you laugh and the faster you run. The people who work in the office at school giggle as I run by in a blur several times on school days trying to catch you before you run out the door. You have also taken to leaving the house in a similar fashion. One minute, you are in the living room, the next minute, I hear the door to the mud room slam and you are out in the driveway. Shoes? No shoes? Jacket? Pants? No Pants? Doesn't matter... You don't care... you keep me on my toes these days for sure.

You love everything your brothers love and that includes Star Wars and Minecraft. You think your brothers' antics are a riot and they play with you better than I ever could. They make you laugh and laugh. Sometimes they also make you cry... usually when they take back things you've stolen from their rooms.

You are doing a great job in swimming lessons and I'm hoping by the end of the summer, you will really be swimming. It's an amazing advantage to you to have no fear. Not so much an advantage to me though!  I sprout a new grey hair every day, I'm sure.

You have taken to letting me rock you to sleep for your naps now (which are you still taking, thank goodness!!). I love this because this is really the first time in your entire short life you have ever let me hold you while you fall asleep. Even when you were a tiny baby, you wanted nothing to do with this and wouldn't sleep unless I put you down in your crib or carseat. I'm savoring every minute while it lasts...

My sweet little last born. You are my little buddy and snugglebug. I love your hugs and your kisses and  your adorable voice. I love everything about you! You got to this age way too quickly, but I have to admit, it's one of my favorites and so much fun.

Happy 32 months (again)!

Love,
Mommy :)

Jonathan is 31 Months Old...

Dear Jonathan,

You are 31 months old!

There is not much to say this month except that you are a joy! You are happy, chatty and agreeable the majority of the time lately. You are silly and love to laugh and you even make your own little jokes.
You really are quite the hybrid of your brothers. But mostly, you are just you... one of a kind, for sure!

Our biggest issue lately is that you don't want to go to bed. Daddy puts you in (and it must be daddy... mommy isn't allowed to be involved lately!) and you get out at least five times. You like to sleep with your light on lately, so daddy tells you if you get out, he'll have to turn the light off. Let's just say you almost never actually get to sleep with the light on.

The next day, you will reenact bedtime. "And this is how I cried.... wahhh!!! And den Daddy comed in and turned dah light OFF!"   Cracks us up.

You still don't like when we clean up your spot at mealtime. The poor waiter at the restaurant we went to the other night got an earful when he came by and thought he'd remove some things from the table, including your plate. HA!  We had to explain that it wasn't his fault... you just have a thing about your plate... LOL. Only one of my kids.... seriously....

You love your books and will sit by your bookshelf in your room and read when you are supposed to be napping. Your favorites lately are the Pigeon Books (Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, The Pigeon Gets a Hot Dog, The Duckling Gets a Cookie?!) and the Dinosaur Books (How Does a Dinosaur Say Goodnight, How Does a Dinosaur Go to School, and How Does a Dinosaur Get Well Soon) What can I say? You like series... next up... Hardy Boys? ;)

You love to play light sabers with your big brothers, or really, whoever happens into the room. You'll hand them a light saber, saying, "Here! Let's play!" and with no other warning, you start battling. Yikes! You even took down one of your teachers from Infants and Toddlers a few weeks ago. LOL!

In general, you just adore and want to be like your big brothers. You want to be where they are, you want to be doing what they're doing and, mostly importantly (and annoying to them): you want to be playing with all their stuff. Sigh.

Always my quirky little dude, you are still obsessed with opening and closing the CD and DVD player and insist that Miss Sally let you "help" her with this at music time at school. The whole time we are singing songs, you have your eye on it.  You can operate any CD or DVD player, anytime, anyplace, anywhere, even when adults can't figure it out. It's both hilarious and super annoying.

You are doing great with swimming lessons and have learned to go under and kick your way back up to Miss Tara and also to go under and kick your way up to find the bar on the side of the pool and pull yourself up! Jumping in and going under is also a huge favorite. It won't be long before you are really swimming and it is quite something to watch! When we go to lessons, the lifeguards and pool management people come and watch you and laugh every. single. week. The one lady always goes and gets other people so they can watch. "You have to see this one! Look! No fear! It's amazing!"  Yeah... it IS amazing... but also kind of scary! My little Evil Knievil.

Anyway, mostly this month has been a complete joy. You've turned all kinds of corners with language and meltdowns and you've just gotten a little easier. You are funny and fun to take places and play with. We have our little routines during the day while your brothers are at school and you are my little tagalong buddy. :) You'll do just about anything for a donut at Safeway! ;)

Happy 32 months, JJ! I love you!

Love,
Mommy

Today You Are Nine....

Dear Ben,

Today you turn nine years old. I know I say it every year, but... how did that happen? Sigh.

This year, you have changed and grown so much as a person -- probably more than any year before.
First and foremost, you have a confidence and self-assurance you haven't had before. You seem to have hit your groove with who you are and what you like and don't like. And, just as importantly, you seem to have found some real friends who share your interests.

You've learned the hard way this past year that not everyone is your friend. It wasn't easy, but that's a good lesson to learn early and it seemed to help you more easily recognize those people who really ARE your friends. I hope you continue to nurture these friendships the next couple years at school so that no matter where you all end up in sixth grade, you still keep in touch and spend time together.

I think basketball has helped you with your confidence a lot. Not only did it help really get a couple of those great little friendships off the ground for you, since you have had a couple of the same kids from your class on your team for three years now, but also you can hold your own on the court and you've earned the respect and camaraderie of the other boys. I am so glad you have found something you love and are good at!

You are still not school's biggest fan, but you don't complain anymore and you are doing well. I'm very proud of HOW well you do, considering what a monumental a struggle it is for you to keep your papers together, find everything you need, and stay on task in your classes. You manage though, with help from some amazingly patient and understanding teachers. I think you'll look back on this year someday and realize that they were the some of the good ones who made you start to like school (in your own way) again. I love that.

It's nice to see you smile in the mornings now when I drop you off and watch you catch up with and talk to friends on the way in. Finally, school is a positive thing again... I hope you can continue to ignore those smarty-pants little girls who try to make you feel less-than or not as smart as they are. Those types will appear over and over again in your life... and they may very well have genius IQs and they may remember their homework all the time and have neat desks and get all the right answers. But you know what? Most of them aren't as kind as you are. So in end, if you are kind to people and treat others the way you want to be treated, you win. I promise... you win.  I wouldn't trade any amount of your kindness,  sensitivity, and open heart for their organization and perfect grades.

Another confidence-builder has been swimming. In one year, you went from being too afraid to go under the water, to being able to swim the entire length of the pool and back. You are kind of a natural little swimmer and you are super-crazy-fast! I hope you keep it up!

You are really into Legos (Star Wars and Ninjago... once again...) and Minecraft right now and those things dominate your free time. You've started sorting our ridiculous collection of Legos out and rebuilding all the little Star Wars and Ninjago guys. You also love riding your bike and shooting baskets in the driveway. You sleep with stuffed animals and just the other night, I came in to turn off your light and you were snuggled up with your froggie blanket from when you were a baby.   I love that you are still such a little boy... not trying to be older than you are.  I want things to stay like that for as long as possible.

You are still my little rule follower and would rather have the earth open up and swallow you whole rather than be yelled by anyone at or get into trouble. You and I get along well and have struck a balance of respect and friendship...  you and daddy butt heads sometimes.  You are his little sports buddy though and you share a lot of the same interests.  I think all of these things will probably always be this way.

You love your brothers, though Simon is at the age where he gets on your nerves a LOT. For the most part though, he is your best friend, though you are as different as night and day.  You are still REALLY patient and loving with Jonathan. It has been fun watching those relationships grow and evolve.

Like I said before, you are kind and sensitive and it's one of my favorite things about you. You are never mean, (except to Simon sometimes.) You accept everyone and will play with anyone and take for granted that everyone else is the same way. This can get you into trouble with kids who take advantage of that, but it also means that the nice ones are drawn to you.

You are still as serious as the day you were born, but you have developed a dry sense of humor that sometimes catches us off guard and always makes us laugh.

I just can't wait to see what the next few years bring as you continue to come into your own and get more and more confident in who you are. I love all that you already are and all that you are becoming...

Happy 9th Birthday!

Love,
Mommy :)

Jonathan is 30 Months Old!

Dear Jonathan,

Today you are 30 months old. That's halfway to three!

You are, to put it mildly, kind of a handful these days. Sorry, but it's true. You lose your "stuff" at the drop of a hat, although daddy and I seem to be slowly cracking the code on that and learning how to catch it before it spirals out of control.

What does out of control mean? Oh, dear child... someday you can show this to your girlfriend so she can laugh and laugh. When you lose it, you LOSE it. You throw yourself facedown on the floor to start. I mean flat-out, face plant, whenever you are. Then you roll around and kick the floor, screaming and crying. It escalates into you standing back up and throwing your whole body all around... sometimes into walls, furniture or the floor again. You like to throw things and knock things over. We can't offer you anything because you throw them back at us. We can't rock or cuddle you because you kick and scream harder. We just have to put you on the floor in a wide-open room and let you go until eventually go calm down, ask for your binky and pull it back together again.

Yep. It's about as fun as it sounds.

In other news, you are talking nonstop these days. You ask questions, you say "I love you", you show us things you like. You went along to Ben's doctor's appointment last week and talked the entire time, asking Dr. B about this "Compeer" (computer) and talking about our "compeer." And on and on and on. I looked at Dr. B and said, "Yeah, in case I didn't mention, this one talks now." He chuckled.
I actually had to shush you, which, a year ago, is something I never thought I'd have to do. LOL!

You are growing quickly! I just put away all the 18-24 month pants and shirts and dragged out the 2T stuff. The pants are still big around the waist, so we have to roll them, but you finally don't look like you are waiting for a flood and your belly is not hanging out. I weighed you for the first time in months and months last night and you are 29-1/2 pounds. :) Not sure how tall, but you can reach some buttons and things you couldn't reach six months ago, so you must have grown!

You have gone right along with your brothers in their latest Star Wars phase and can handle a light saber like a pro. If people come over, you will often go get them one, hand it to them and say, "Here. You take dis one." and then, without any other warning, you'll start battling them.  HA!

School is going well. You like your teachers and you know your friends' names now. You'll sit through the story most of the time, although music has become difficult because you only care about pushing the button on Miss Sally's CD player.

Speaking of which, you are obsessed with CDs/DVDs and CD/DVD players these days. It's like deja vu. Ben used to love them too. We have all kinds of scratches on our kids' DVDs to prove it. Open close open close in and out in and out. All day long you'd do it if I didn't distract you. It's a full-time job!

You are funny and you love to sing and dance. Your favorites these days are Disney songs from Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. This is well-timed since we are going to Disney  in a few months! Hope this phase lasts until August! :)

The big question everyone asks is if I plan on starting to potty train you soon. Yeah. NO. You have no interest. So for both of our sanity,  our plan is to start in June or July. Hopefully something will change by then. :)

So that's you at 2-1/2! I know it has been a few months since I have actually written one of these monthly updates. So hopefully that gets us all caught up!

Love,
Mommy

Jonathan is 28 Months Old!

Annnd... post coming soon.

Jonathan is 27 Months Old...

Dear Jonathan,

Yesterday you turned 27 months old! Forgive me for missing it. It was a busy weekend and a busy week all around!

Not much to report this month, actually. Your words continue to grow by leaps and bounds. Miss Cindy says you are more or less caught up to where you should be. We are just working now helping you speak more clearly. (and frankly, I don't know a single two-year-old who speaks all that clearly... so, I'm happy to call you basically caught up) ;)

We're working with on OT this month too to develop some playtime ideas that will make you have to stop and think about what your body is doing before you throw yourself forward headfirst into things... this is pretty much how you go through life and I don't expect a whole lot to change. Basically you have the perfect storm of ZERO fear and not a whole lot of grace. But, the playtime ideas sounds like fun! So, onward!

This month, you've really started playing well with Simon and vice versa. You actually seek each other out for entertainment. We've come a long way from Simon not even wanting to acknowledge your existence to this. You really PLAY together now and he is practicing his patience when he teaches you things. It's been fun to watch this new and unexpected friendship blossom.

You can still throw a good tantrum for what appears to be no reason at all...  but they are less frequent. So that's something.

You love school. Interestingly, I think your favorite part, aside from going outside or riding bikes in the big room, seems to be craft time. You LOVE all things glue and paint related and you also love cooking days! What you do NOT like so much, however, is getting your hands dirty, which sometimes makes things a little high maintenance during craft time. You'll glue or paint a little and then squeal with your hands up in the hair over the smallest speck of anything sticky or wet on them. I'm usually ready with a baby wipe and then off you go again all willy nilly with the paint and glue.  You were VERY into the thanksgiving indian headband project, carefully deciding which color feathers to put on it and where. You wore it proudly for two solid days after that too. SO cute.  I'm very excited for when we make the official Two and You glittery Christmas ornament. You spotted Simon's on the Christmas tree two days ago and keep pointing to it. I can't wait to see your face when you realize you get to make one too. :) You are going really enjoy the glitter part!!!

Speaking of Christmas, we put our tree up yesterday and I realized you are still not at the age to be able to resist touching it. You looked at us as if to say, "WOW! Thanks for the tree full of toys for me!!!" (sigh) It's going to be a long December.  You do love it though and are mesmerized by all the little Disney and Fisher Price ornaments that light up or play music... your favorite is a Beaker (the muppet) that sings Ode to Joy when you press the button. You stand in front of the tree singing along with it, "Mee mee mee mee meee meee mee mee mee!!!"  LOL!

You are such a fun and pleasant (if not still a bit challenging at times) kiddo.... my favorite part? You are still generous with hugs and kisses. :) I love your hugs and kisses. :)

Happy 27 months!

Love,
Mommy :)

Jonathan is 25 Months Old!

Dear Jonathan,

Today you are 25 months old!

I have to say, I am really enjoying your company these days. You are so happy and fun and silly!
The combination of the big brothers going back to school and you finally talking has made an amazing difference.

You have become a RIDICULOUS early bird. Most mornings, you are up at 6:30, sometimes even earlier. I can't be annoyed for long though because as soon as I hear the thud of your feet hit the ground, the next thing I hear is "thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump" as you run full speed down the hall, which always makes me laugh. I meet you at the top of the stairs and you grin and lift your arms to be picked up over the baby gate.

Your morning routine is cute too. First, you run to the refrigerator and ask for "juice". (way more pleasant than the whining there used to be). You'll even specify which color juice you want now. Sadly, you've become sort of anti-milk, but I've been so excited you were asking for juice by name, I've overlooked that. Gotta try to get that back on track this month. ;)

After juice, you thumpthumpthumpthump to the living room (still at top speed... this is pretty much your only speed, really) and ask for "bets", which is your word for the Leapfrog Alphabet movie. For awhile there it was "The Lorax" instead, and we all had to watch it 42,000 times. I'm grateful for a replacement, although this one is getting old quickly too.

Once you are settled in with juice and bets, (and duck and binky) I don't hear from you for awhile because, though will not admit it, you are still half asleep. This is the time I use to pack the big boys' lunches for school. ;)

School! School was rough for the first couple days there... you didn't like the transitions between activities. Now you are understanding the flow though and you love it and I love taking you. Your favorites there right now are the kitchen set (because it has a sprayer like mommy's kitchen sink), the fake food, the wooden blocks, the dry erase board, painting and, of course, the playground. Can't get enough of the playground, which is probably why snack (which directly  follows the playground) is still a little dicey sometimes. :)

The other shoe finally dropped on your fantastic eating, by the way. (probably a combination of "it's just that time" and the fact that you are drinking way more juice than you should) I rarely get a decent dinner into you anymore and you now shun things you loved -- yogurt, applesauce, chicken. Lunch is my only hope for most of your nutritional needs these days... even breakfast is kind of iffy. Bah.

Your speech has taken off in ways I found it hard to imagine it ever would as recently as even six months ago! You can say anything and everything... you repeat everything. You ask for things by name and you even use some consistent phrases! "I want that", "Don't cry" "Help me", "My turn." To say it has improved our lives would be an understatement!

We have discovered you are a super routine-oriented kiddo... basically any change at ALL throws you for a total loop and sends you spiraling into possessed toddler/pea soup mode. The fun part is that you can get locked into a routine after only doing something ONCE. So I have to be careful ALL DAY LONG that I don't do/say/give you anything I don't want to have to do/say/give you any other time we are in a given situation. It's nervewracking sometimes!

Your napping has become a dream... on days when I don't have to wake you up to be somewhere, you'll take almost three-hour afternoon naps. Ahhhhhh... even better, just this past week. You have started letting me rock you until you are almost asleep. You wouldn't even let me do this when you were an infant once you had finished eating. Truly... this is the first time EVER I've gotten to do this with you and I am loving it!

For the most part, little manner, you are a joy! The older you get, the easier and more fun you are. So far, so good on our third round of the terrible twos ride. ;)

See you next month JJ, Johnny Applesseed, Sillyboo!

Love,
Mommy :)

Jonathan is Two!

Dear Jonathan,

Today you are two! And so far, it's not "terrible." In fact, dare I say, at this age you are already a far more reasonable human being than you were three months ago?

You definitely live life on your own terms though, that's for certain.

You are extreme in everything you do. Even walking down the stairs is not something you do in any kind of ordinary way. You prefer to hold someone's hand and go down in a controlled head-first fall. Still not sure how you managed the stairs on your own the day you recently climbed out of your crib and went down to the first floor by yourself.

The biggest news of the month is your talking has exploded. Our goal was 50 words by the time you were two and you have easily surpassed that and I have stopped writing them down because I can't keep up anymore. Bigger news though, is that you are using your words on your own a lot, without having to be reminded. This, I think, is what is making "two" way less terrible than 1-1/2.

You love your speech days with Miss Cindy. She brings fun new toys with her every week and she knows just what you like. There is always some kind of instrument or music toy in the bunch that holds your interest. You cooperate well for her now and, clearly, since you are now using lots of words, her work is doing its job!

This is not to say you don't still throw tantrums, because you sure can throw some doozies. They are much quicker these days when they happen though and much less frequent. We have learned that we can't allow you do something even ONCE if it's something we can't let you do all the time because this is the biggest trigger. So a box of Tic Tacs in the checkout line at Safeway as a treat? Yeah... sorry, buddy, but it's time to get off the Tic Tac train.

You still adore your music in all forms. You love love LOVE to dance and sing and clap. Your favorite toys are your instruments and you love anything with a good beat. We're all frankly a little sick of your two favorite songs, Call Me Maybe and Somebody That I Used to Know.  I'm working on weaning you onto some better music now...  the Muppets.... and later, some Beatles maybe?

Among your other top loves? Animals.  I have to stop you from running up to strange dogs to pet them and rub your face on theirs. Our cat always gets a snuggle from you if he happens to walk by and you even give Simon's fish love through the aquarium.

Your favorite book right now is Corduroy, and you will climb into the lap of absolutely anyone willing to read it to you. We got you a little Corduroy bear for your birthday and you carry it around and reenact that book. It's truly one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

You start Mommy and Me preschool in a few weeks and I'm a mix of excited and a little worried. Sometimes you are unpredictable, but I'm putting faith in Miss Sally that you'll quickly pick up the routine and enjoy every minute of it.   I figure, worst case scenario with your late birthday you can repeat the class next fall and we'll have an extra year with Miss Sally... which wouldn't be a bad thing!

You are a challenge, for sure... and I think you always will keep me on my toes. But with your extremes also brings extreme snuggles, extreme kisses and extreme hugs. You are sweet beyond sweet and oh so loving.

Our days are not always easy, but as least they are full of kisses!

Happy HAPPY second birthday, J!

Love,
Mommy

Jonathan is 23 Months Old!

Dear Jonathan,

Today you are one month shy of two. Not that it matters, I've been cheating and calling you two for a month or so now when strangers ask your age. No one feels like doing the math on 20-some months, frankly.

I'm almost afraid to type this, but I *think* you are becoming a slightly more rational human being. As evidence, I point to your recent crib climbing issue. You see, you, being the monkey that you are, figured out how to climb out of your crib earlier this month. I don't know WHY this surprised me, but it did... completely caught me off guard. We had a nightmarish two days where you climbed out (proudly and with an evil laugh) every time we put you in. But it only took a day of explaining that you needed to stay in and repeatedly putting you back in every time you escaped for you to understand and obey the rule. I was kind of impressed by this! I thought for sure naptime was doomed forever....

This is not to say your strong-will has wavered in the least. OH the stubborn.... but, I can reason with you more and that has helped a lot. It also REALLY clicked for you about a week or two ago that using words for things means you actually get them. A few times this week, you've started to whine about something, stopped, thought for a moment, smiled and said the word for whatever it is you were whining for.

And the angels sang.

So your words are coming along, slowly but surely. You repeat a lot now, which is great and Miss Cindy, your speech teacher, says this is exactly what she needed you to do in order for her to really be able to get down to business. I do wish you'd start taking a little more initiative to use words without having to be reminded, but it will happen in time. I'm happy for any progress, so we'll take what we can get.

Some days are more word-filled than others, no rhyme or reason. One day last week, you came running up to me and clear as day asked for "Moh boo ba-ooon", since I had been blowing up blue water balloons for you and your brothers to play with.  It was like you lost your mind and forgot you don't "do" the talking thing. LOL.  Silly closet talker... just like Ben. Just. like. Ben.

In other news, you can jump now and your feet leave the ground. LOVE that milestone. :) You are also a pro at doing laps around the first floor on your little wheely bug. MAN, can you fly on that thing, whipping around corners and dodging furniture. It's quite the sight. ;)  I now mostly trust you to go up the stairs safely, but not necessarily come down. Though you KNOW how to bump bump down on your backside, you'd rather walk down and you still seem to think you can just dive from the top and arrive at the bottom in one piece.  Sigh.

You still *love* your music and your guitars and violins. You dance and sing and play pretend instruments with unabashed enthusiasm. Music definitely brings you a great deal of joy and I hope you keep that! "Guitar" ("gahhhh") is one of your every day words, and so is "piano" (I couldn't not even begin to spell that one phonetically)

These days, you are equally likely to be squealing with delight and laughing or throwing yourself on the floor in a total fit. There is rarely a middle ground. Any day there is more laughing than screaming is a good day.

Not sure what to do about your naptime. No matter what I do, I simply can't manage to move it beyond 11a.m. This is going to present a problem when school starts in the fall if I can't fix it by then! Hopefully, necessity will be the mother of invention at that point and things will just fall into place. Otherwise, you are going to be notsomuch a delight in the classroom once 11a.m. rolls around. Naps still don't last very long either -- an hour, two at most. (sigh) At least you are still napping though. I'll hold onto that for as long as I possibly can! You nap is what saves you from being listed on Ebay, with a really cheap Buy it Now price.

So that's 23 months! See you in a month for the big 0-2, buddy! :)

I love you!
Love,
Mommy

Jonathan is 22 Months Old!

Dear Jonathan,

Today you are 22 months old!

Now, I can say it's official. You are absolutely, positively THE hardest toddler I have ever had and that even includes Ben, who used to unpredictably lose it for no particular reason in random public places.

You are independent and confident.

You are stubborn and fearless.

Apparently all these traits, which I'm sure will make you some kind of super successful CEO someday, create an equation the sum of which is HARDEST KID EVER.

I think it's the screeching that really puts it over the top. If you hit a roadblock in anything you are attempting to do, whether that be mommy saying no, or you lacking the skill/height/strength to accomplish something, or a brother/other child trying to take something from you, you let out the most ear-piercing screech I have ever heard. It turns heads in stores and makes us those parents who immediately jam a pacifier in your mouth to just. please. make. it. stop.

So, there's that.

On the positive end of things --  you are super affectionate. Hugs and kisses galore. You always pat and rub my back when I pick you up, the way I do yours and it's the sweetest thing ever. You wave and smile to anyone and everyone.

Your talking is coming along and you add new words every day. The problem is that you don't often repeat them often. Yesterday's new word was "shark". The list of consistent words we hear is growing though. Hello, No, Kitty, On, Off, umbrella, some colors (blue, green, yellow, red), a few animal sounds (for dog, cat, bird and cow) and a handful of letters and numbers (A, G, D, B and O). We continue to work with our speech teacher, and I mean that in the loosest sense of the word since you are not particularly cooperative for her.  The sooner we can get out of speech, the better... so keep up the good work!

You are still my adventurous eater, so I'm hoping maybe you always will be. Anything and everything. We were astonished recently when you ate half of my Caesar Salad at a restaurant. You couldn't get enough!

You have an intense and passionate interest in music, in a similar way that your oldest brother did at your age. You sit in front of the stereo and just listen. You bop your head and clap your hands when you hear something you like and sometimes you pretend to strum a guitar. You shake your head when you don't like the song and want a new one and nod your head in approval when it's a good one. You also love to dance and be sung to always asking for "more" in sign language.  You can't get enough! You also love to "sing" into a pretend microphone in Jonathanese, which is quite the sight to see.

You love the pool and you love water. You paddle around the pool without a care in the world as long as you have your little floaty on. The problem is that, at our pool, they have a radio set up near the pool office that blares music all day long and you are torn between swimming and standing in front of it and listening. Sometimes in between, you get distracted by the water slide and make a beeline for the deep-end, which means my day at the pool is spent constantly chasing you down and hauling you back into the pool. See mention of ear-piercing screams above....

Annnnyway.... so two months until the terrible twos and I am bracing myself. If the one-and-a-halfs are any indication of what's to come, we could be in for a wild ride. :)

Happy 22 months JJ, Johnny, BooBoo, Screechy McScreecherson!

Love,
Mommy :)

Jonathan is 21 Months Old!

Dear Jonathan,

Today you are 21 months old... going on fourish.

You've always been my most social and friendly little guy, and this last month has really cemented that. You wave and smile to absolutely everyone and now you also say, "Hehoh!" and when we leave, you wave and say "Goobye!"

You are truly just the sweetest little guy. When I pick you up, you always pat me or rub my back and you have started kissing everything in sight, including characters in all your books, which has led to some sticky pages.

Your current most favorite book in the world is still The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear. BOY do you love that book. In addition to kissing the mouse on every page, you alway try to eat the strawberry by grabbing it off the page and making a gobbling sound. When that doesn't work, you lick it. Yeah. We may be replacing this particular book at some point.

We set up our backyard pool last weekend and you dove right in. You love the water and you especially love going down the slide INTO the water. I'm pretty sure you'd stay in the pool all day long if we'd let you, and are not pleased when we pull you out to take a break in the sun because your teeth are chattering and your lips are blue.

I think the water really is your most favorite place. You have had to come with me the last two weeks to Simon's swimming lesson, spending the 30 minutes "swimming" in the beginning part of the gradual entry which, at its deepest, is about up to your neck. To say you are in HEAVEN would be an understatement. You jump in just like the big boys, float on your back and go under water, all without missing a beat. You don't stop the entire 30 minutes.  As soon as the swim teacher will take you on, you are starting lessons so I can stop sprouting grey hairs.

Your words are coming along and several are becoming ones we hear every day.  Hello, Goodbye, All Done, All Gone and Hop are the ones I can think of right now that we hear most often.

Thanks to watching the big boys with Guitar Hero, you have discovered "singing". You will grab the microphone and sing random syllables with passion. It's HILARIOUS. OH! You also say "WOCK!" for "rock" when you want the big boys to play Guitar Hero. You also pretend to play the instruments just like they do, which is quite the sight to see.

All is not rainbows and ponies though. You are, without a doubt, the most tantrum prone of any of my three babies, resorting to the lying face down on the floor and screaming tactic almost immediately after you hear the word "no". I keep thinking eventually you'll get the hint that this doesn't work because we ALL ignore you... but you are a persistent little bugger.

I suppose I should prepare myself for the long haul because I suspect you are going to always be headstrong and stubborn... maybe someday this will turn out be an asset?

So that's 21 months... here's to summer and lots of swimming and wearing you out for long naps each day.

I love you, Gooby, J,  JJ, Stinky...

Love,
Mommy

Today You are Five....

Dear Simon,

Today you turn five -- a whole handful, as they say in preschool.

You are, on hand, a very worldly five, having had an older brother all this time to show you the ropes. You know all about Cartoon Network and Ninjago and all the other things 8-year-old boys are into. On the other hand, you are still my little guy who likes to wear costumes, play pretend, and snuggle and cuddle and share your puppy lovies with me.

You are my morning buddy, almost always awake by 6:45, if not earlier. Sometimes you sneak downstairs and around the corner, where I am often typing away on my computer. "Good morning, mommy!" you whisper, and you throw your arms around me. Other times,  I just hear you stirring in your room and know you are up and building with your Legos.

Legos. They are your passion right now. I could give away every other toy in this house and you wouldn't care so long as you still had boxes of Legos. I find them all over the house and have given up trying to contain them. I think you might end up being an architect or something one day because you are quite the impressive little builder. Just last week, Ben built a helicopter set he had been saving from his birthday. You wanted a helicopter too, so you rounded up a bunch of random pieces and fashioned yourself one, complete with spinning blades on top. Not bad for a five-year-old. And the best part was when you showed it to me and said, "And you know how much it cost me, mommy? No money! It was FREE because I made it myself!"



You definitely see the world with the eyes of an artist. What kind exactly, is yet to be determined, but I would be shocked if you didn't do something creative with your life. You are a performer, that's for certain and you love an audience and a laugh.

We have made great strides this year managing your quick temper and the majority of the time now, you are sweet, affectionate, gentle Simon and not angry Simon. That has been a major improvement. :)

You have loved school this year and are excited to start kindergarten in the fall "at Ben's school!", As with all almost-kindergarteners though, I'm not sure you quite grasp all that real school entails. It will be an interesting transition, for sure. I suspect the sitting and learning part may take you by surprise a little. I also think your teacher may have her hands full for awhile as you figure out the routines, because unlike your older brother, you aren't terrified of accidentally (or purposely) breaking a few rules... not that that is entirely a bad thing.  I am sure you will give her many, many laughs though along the way, as you have your teacher this year. :)

And that's you... our little comedian.  I hope you always keep us laughing and from taking things too seriously around here.

Happy happy handful birthday, my sweet boy.

Love,
Mommy

Finally got around to taking J's monthday picture....  here he is at 20 months (and six days or so) ;)

Jonathan is 20 Months Old Today....

Dear Jonathan,

Today you are 20 months old. That is frighteningly close to twenty-FOUR months old.

So here is what you have been up to this month.

You still don't talk. The speech teacher came for the first time last Monday to work with you and it took her all of a half hour to figure out that the reason you don't talk... waiiiiiit for it.... is because you are incredibly strong-willed and stubborn.

I'm shocked. (not really)

My assignment for the week was to coerce you into trying to make sounds by not making things so easy for you. Sippy cup?  Snacks? Up and out of reach. Electronic toys, all in the off setting.

If you want something, I am supposed to make you make eye contact with me and then attempt some kind of sound in imitation of what I say... she told me that, for now, ANY sound will do because the goal is to get you to be a participant in the conversation. She warned me that it would get worse before we saw any improvement and that it would be hard.

She wasn't kidding.

The interaction typically goes like this.  You bring me item you want opened (or turned on or whatever). You sign the words "please" and "open", which I have now been told to not respond to immediately. I say, "Jonathan, you want this opened?" You nod. I hit myself on the forehead with the item to get you to look me in the eye. You look up. "You want mommy to OPEN it? Can you say "ohhhhhh-pen?" You nod vigorously. You sign "please" a few more times. "Say "OHHHHpen... OH OH OH OHHHHH-pen." I can give it to you if you do so much as make an "O" shape with your mouth. But no... instead, you desperately sign "please" one more time, then you just shake your head, give up and walk away.

OMG.

So there's that.

In other news... I discovered this month that you are the kid that plays with strangers. I was floored to discover this because I have never had one of your kind before.  I knew you were social and not particularly shy because you always wave at cashiers and smile and play peekaboo with pretty  much everyone. But, this last week, we were at school waiting to pick up Ben and a dad was sitting in the lobby with us. You walked up to him, turned around and backed up into his lap until he picked you up. He bounced you on his knee a few times and when you slid down, he picked you up and swung you back and forth and said "Tick tock tick tock!" When it was over, you clapped, ran to me, squealed and then... ran back to the stranger for more. He asked if you wanted more tick tock and you nodded. The poor guy had to do this like 45 times. Several days later when you saw him again? He was your best friend. You also made friends with another dad who had an IPhone. You stood there and smiled at it so he would take your picture... then, in your own way, you asked him to show it to you. Then you ran back and forth between Iphone dad and tick tock dad.

While these were both perfectly safe adults as far as I could tell... you and I may have to have the stranger danger talk before you are even two. LOL.

Let's see... you've added a few motor skills this month including attempting to pedal the trike outside and also getting your feet to leave the ground once or twice when you try to jump. You would like to learn how to blow bubbles, but can't help getting your lips to close to the wand and spitting. We're working on that.

You hold a crayon/pencil/pen just like a big kid. I attribute this to your big brothers' teaching you. You LOVE to color and draw and spend a lot of time on "details" and not just full out scribbling the way babies usually do. It's interesting to watch. OH and you are almost for certain a lefty. That makes two out of three! The odds were definitely against that and I won't say it for sure until you are probably three or so... but you just about exclusively do everything with your left hand. YAY for left-handed company for mommy... we can live in this backwards world together... you and Simon and me. ;)

In other news, you fall flat on your face more than any kid I have ever seen because you get so excited and lunge toward things and off of things without thinking.  No tears though... takes a lot to really make you cry when you get hurt. You ride bikes down hills with NO FEAR. NONE. You dump water on your head in the tub and spit and laugh. You want to jump to the floor from the third step up (or higher) and would do it if no one were there to stop you. For good reason, I have a LOT of fear of the pool this summer.

You eat salad and raw vegetables... happily. What's with that?  I joke that you and Ben share a package of genes, but clearly it is not an identical package through and through.  I sometimes say you are Chilled Out Ben. In reality, you are really just Jonathan... uniquely Jonathan. We are still discovering the things that make you you.... new things pop up every day and we are enjoying the journey.

Happy monthday, Boo Boo Chicken!  (sorry about that one)

Love,
Mommy :)