Jonah

(Jonah thinks wearing his shirt as pants is hysterical)

Jonah turns three in three months. I get sad when he looks like a little boy instead of a toddler. He is still a shorty (just barely fitting into 2T clothes now). He is a very good big brother. He has always referred to himself in the third-person, but this week he has started using "me" and "I" appropriately. He is growing up.
Elora on the other hand, likes to say "mine", a phase Jonah never went through. I suppose he had nobody trying to take his stuff away though:)
No Halloween costume for Jo yet, thinking Superman, a skeleton, or Robin Hood.

Elora at 11 weeks

Here is Elora grabbing at her toys. She is doing this much younger than Jonah did and enjoying it immensely.

On Elora's two month birthday she weighed 9 lbs. 11 oz. That was two weeks before her check up on Thursday at which she weighed 10 lbs. 4 oz. Her weight, height, and length have skyrocketed on the charts and she is a tall gal at 23 1/2 inches now.

Jonah had his 18 month appointment last week as well. He is just under 25 lbs. (though he seems like more because he is so compact). Our pediatrician just loves him. Everybody loves him actually, you can't help but be mesmerized by the way his eyes light up with excitement and delight at every little thing. He says "wow" and "cool" a lot right now.
Jo went to nursery at church for the first time yesterday and had a blast. He was exhausted and starving when we got home though since it was past noon.

So Jonah

More Jonah

I like to call this one "Mud and a Mohawk".





Jonah has been watching the Little Einstein My First Signs video and can now do the American Sign Language signs for "eat", "more", "sleep", and "milk." What a smarty! He also said, "button" today.

16 Months Old

My little boy turned 16 months old yesterday. He is, if possible, even funnier and more entertaining than his dad. Today after a mighty feat of strength (climbing onto the coffee table), he demonstrated his agility further by performing the dangerous stunt of an on-table "headstand."
Jo does most animal noises on demand now and can also point out most body parts. He loves the song Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes and often walks around patting himself on the head saying, "head" in his darling little voice. He occassionally spins circles in the middle of the room. For the first time he is interested in shows other than the Baby Einstein dvds.
Jonah still growls a lot and "talks" in his monster voice. His most frustrating behavior is that if you tell him "no" or he gets frustrated in any way (which happens a lot), in addition to very loud screaming, he hits himself in the head or smacks his head into whatever is nearby (table, door, fridge, etc.).
He must be going through a growth spurt because he seems to be eating even more than usual and wants to snack now too. He never seems full and you cannot eat in front of him anymore without sharing a lot of what you have to eat.
Possibly my favorite thing to do is to watch Jonah grab Rusty's tail and then try to keep up with him while being dragged along behind and then after a moment having to let go.


Jonah has taken to doing things lying down fairly regularly now.


The instabruise that welled up on Jo's forehead when he ran towards the door, tripped, and hit his head on the doorframe. This happened about a day after the mystery bruise on his cheek disappeared.



Showing me where Elora's ear is


Jonah rocking himself in the glider chair.

Jonah's "new" favorite toy his old baby swing which we got back out for Elora. Watching him climb into it is entertainment enough. And though he is a couple pounds too big for it, if you saw the happy look on his face while he swings himself in it you wouldn't take him out either. He has had lots of fun the past 10 days with both of his Nanas coming into town and other more visitors than usual stopping by the house.

Jonah's Favorite Books

Jonah loves to read. If I am sitting on the floor he will often get a book and then back up into my lap to have it read to him. When I am busy with things like blogging, he is often sitting somewhere "reading" to himself (like right now). Occasionally when reading a paper book I have seen him lick his pointer finger before using it to turn the page (talk about mimicking his Mom's behavior!).

I decided to make a Top 10 list of books we like to read together and let you know why. Hopefully this will be amusing to all my readers and useful to readers with kids Jonah's age or younger who are building up their personal libraries or need suggestions on what to check out at their local library. I will also include a separate list of our favorite Dr. Seuss books for this age.

Possibly all of these books were gifts. A huge thank you to those of you who give such great gifts!

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by Clement Hurd
A classic for a reason, although on my first reading of it I thought it was kind of dumb. It has since become a favorite of both Jonah and I. It rhymes and I think I have it memorized. A few times when I have chosen something else to read at bedtime, Jonah will go over and get this one out of his stack and bring it to me. A favorite since birth.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin, illustrations by Eric Carle
Animal books feature prominently in Jonah's current favorite books. I do sound effects on every page of this book and he loves it. He can do a lot of his own animal sounds now too (Bear growl, cat meow, dog woof, duck quack, frog ribbit...)

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Not just a good story and illustrations, but nostalgic for both Brandon and I to read to Jo since we had it as children. Plus, any excuse for Jonah to do lots of growling makes him happy.

Good Night, Mr. Night by Dan Yaccarino
We love the illustrations and the clever story. I have been reading this to Jonah since he was born and I never tire of it.

Dinner Time by Jan Pienkowski
A pop-up book full of predators. Very short. Can hardly pry this one out of Jonah's hands even after reading it several times in a row. Have to be careful that little ones don't tear the pop-ups but well worth it. Again, lots of growling. My younger siblings had this book as children and I loved reading it with them when I was younger.

Who Says Quack? by Jerry Smith (with photos of baby animals)
A short board book that always elicits squeals of delight with the pictures. Plus Jonah has always been fascinated by my duck noise and all duck toys.

BIG Little by Leslie Patricelli
Funny, cute. I admit I like this a little more than Jonah does and I can't wait to buy Quiet LOUD and Yummy YUCKY.

Perfect Pets (Bright Baby Touch and Feel) by Roger Priddy
A short touch and feel board book with photos of pets, always a hit. It is often in the car or the crib.

So Many Bunnies: A Bedtime ABC & Counting Book by Rick Walton, illustrated by Paige Miglio
Charming in every way and it rhymes, which I always love.




The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
Great rhythm and a funny story. Good illustrations. This is a fairly new one for us and I think it will be a favorite for years.

And an honorable mention to A House for Hermit Crab by Eric Carle.

There are so many good Dr. Seuss books out there. Many of them I have never seen until I had Jonah. Here are our favorites for toddlers:

The Tooth Book illustrated by Joseph Mathieu
We'd love this even if Brandon weren't a dentist! Jonah will sometimes have to open his mouth and say "ahhh" during this and sometimes has to tap on my teeth now when we read it. Some moms won't like this book because it uses the phrase "don't be stupid" at least twice.

My Many Colored Days illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher
We just discovered this one thanks to Auntie Lisa. Jonah especially LOVES the page with the owl on it. Sometimes "reading" this book consists of just doing the sound effects for the animal on each page or just the blue bird and the owl. What does a flamingo sound like anyway?

Ten Apples Up on Top illustrated by Roy McKie
Good story, good rhyming, all that good stuff.

Great Day for Up! illustrated by Quentin Blake (who illustrated many Roald Dahl books)
A fun morning book.




The Shape of Me and Other Stuff
All outline/shadow illustrations, really great.

Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?
Kind of exhausting to read, but lots of fun. So many sound effects! We don't own this one yet but Jonah can still find the owl in it.

Hop on Pop
I like the board book version better for Jonah's age, even though I'm not sure it's any different.

Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now?
I always feel bad for Marvin.

There's a Wocket in my Pocket
My personal favorite as a kid.

I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!
Reminiscent of a couple of his other books and features the Cat in the Hat.