Revival

Jonah has a huge vocabulary now - which makes sense, given that my last post was a year ago - but much of it is still under-intelligible. However, a lot of the way he says things is adorable - our current favorites are "Thee thoo" for thank you, "apaca maymo" for apricot mango (his favorite flavor of yogurt), and "Cookie Mommer" for - who else? - Cookie Monster.

He loves numbers and letters and shapes.  He knows all of the numbers 0-9, and some of them through twenty.  He recognizes at least half of the letters of the alphabet, and knows the sounds a lot of them make.  He knows all sorts of shapes, which leads me to: I drew an octopus for him today, and he calls it an "octagonpus."  Tee hee!

He knows all of his colors and lots of the Crayola colors, too: yellow-green, red-violet, blue-green.  We drove by Seattle's Pink Elephant car wash yesterday, and after considering it, he said, "Red-violet elephant." 

Jonah is mostly delightful with big chunks of especially-two-ness thrown in, and it's so much fun to see his personality emerging! 

Talking

I am pleased to report that Jonah is talking! Trevor and I might be the only ones who can understand him, but here is a list of words that he says on his own (i.e., without just trying to repeat what we say):

First word: "All gone" (accompanied by the sign for all gone -- it sounds like "ah ga" but it is very obvious what he means!)
Ball ("ba")
Kitty ("khee")
Water ("wa")
Elbow ("eh-bww")
Sock (I'm not sure how to describe what he says... think of the proper way to say the name "Bach" and take that "ch" sound... that's about what he says for sock.)
Car ("ca")
Birdie ("bheee")
Doggie ("du-ee")
Up
Apple ("app")
Bye-bye ("ba-ba")
Light ("ra")

Words he will say if we say them first:
Arm ("ahh")
Teeth ("teeh")
Dada
Uh-oh ("uhh-ehh")
Cow ("cweh")
Block ("buh")

There are plenty of others, but that's what I can think of right now. He understands so many more words, too -- even words that we haven't emphasized to him! And he is starting to understand that a picture/drawing of a kitty is the same as his real-life kitty, which is pretty exciting.

Now, if we could only get him to say Mama....

Thirteen Months

Dear Jonah,

Today you are 13 months old! We can't believe how much fun you are these days. You are thoroughly charming and are getting more and more communicative.


This month you started really walking, and you love your freedom! I'm amazed at how quickly you went from taking a few tentative steps to walking with some proficiency. You love to walk all over the place, and to that end you have figured out how to escape from the pen we made for you. You're quite gleeful at your escape abilities, which is funny to see -- you usually come right to us to show off!

You know a couple more signs now, too -- you know the signs for "all gone" and "more," and you will do the sign when we say the words, but you don't really get the concepts yet. You are learning body parts, too! You will put your hands on your head or belly when we say the word, you grab your pants on hearing "pants," and you stick out your tongue when we say "tongue." You're working on eyes, ears, and nose, and you sometimes know mouth. You know your feet and toes, too! But "tongue" is definitely our favorite.


The last week or so has also been (mostly) miraculous in terms of sleep! There have been a couple of bad nights, but you've been waking up only once or not at all between 11pm and 6am many nights, and I finally feel like I have a brain again. Your naps have also gotten better. We are still suspicious of this, and we aren't sure it will last, but we'll take all the sleep we can get!


You love to chase and be chased by the cats, who are completely unaware that there is a game going on! You love it when we chase you, too, and you especially love to be caught.

Last week, you watched as I got my iPod out of my purse and put it in the speaker dock, and as soon as the music started playing, you started dancing. (Your dancing now involves lots of head-shaking, which is funny. It's even funnier when you try to shake your head while bouncing up and down, because you usually fall over.) A couple of days later, you pointed at the iPod, looked at me, and started dancing. It was very clear that were saying, "Momma, turn on the music!" So I did, and you started dancing right away! I know you're not talking yet, but it's so cool that you can communicate with us like that, using multiple "words." Since then, you want the music on almost all the time!



You have become so expressive lately, which is fun to see. You still like your stacking/nesting cups, and you LOVE the wooden ring stacker that you got for your birthday. You are learning how to be gentle with the kitties, and Samantha especially likes to hang out near you. I can see that you two are going to be great pals as you grow up.


You are such a joy to us, and you are just getting to be more and more fun to play with! You're silly and sweet and learning so fast. We are so glad you're ours!

Love,
Momma

Twelve Months

Dear Jonah,

On Saturday you turned one year old! That is just unbelievable to us -- how is it possible that it's been a year already? You are becoming very accomplished these days, and it is such a joy to watch you learn and try new things. You have so many new tricks! Where should I begin? You took your first steps this month, and you walk a little bit farther every few days. Crawling is still your main mode of transportation, but you love to walk, and if you hold onto our fingers, you love to run! You love to be chased up and down the hall, shrieking all the way. You even try to play chase with the kitties, and don't seem to care that they don't play back!

You have learned the sign for "birdie" and love to look for birds out the window. You also make the "bird" sign at airplanes, which we think is pretty clever! You look toward the window and wave whenever you hear a bird or an airplane. I think the next sign you need to learn is "train," because you look toward the window when you hear trains, too -- which happens frequently, since we live so close to the tracks.

You have also gotten very good at pointing -- you point at everything that interests you, and I think you are pleased that you can finally communicate with us a little bit. The downside to this, though, is that now you are learning that you don't always get what you want -- yes, we understand that you want that, but we're not going to give it to you. So you've had a couple of tantrums, but you have to learn sometime, right?

In addition to clapping, you now also dance on command! This cracks us up. You start bouncing and stomping, and sometimes you even do it when you hear music! If I suggest it, you will also eat your foot, which also cracks us up.

You're also starting to enjoy being read to, which is really fun. You will even sit by yourself and turn the pages, which is a nice change from you eating the books!

You loooove animals, especially dogs. When we go to a park, you will make a beeline for any dog you see, pointing all the way. You like parks and being outside in general, and I wish we had a backyard so we could play outside more than we do. You're not a big fan of the swings, however, which is too bad since they're all over the place!

You went to your first pool party (well, technically a 'ool party -- a pool with no p in it) last week since it was so hot, and you had a great time. The water was a little cold, but you didn't seem to mind! You also love baths, and you get so excited when we start running the water to fill the tub!

After your one-year checkup (you're perfect, says Dr. T., and you weigh 20.5 lbs and are 30 inches tall!), I made some mac & cheese for you -- and you rejected it! You tried a bite and spat it right back out. What kid doesn't like mac & cheese? What kind of monster have I birthed? I figure I'll try it again in a month or so, and see if you change your mind. I hope so, because that was going to be a good source of protein for you!

We had a birthday party for you on Saturday, and it was a ton of fun! Almost all of your baby friends were there, with their parents, of course, and a bunch of our grown-up friends came, too. We played had a couple of kiddie pools (thanks to Becky and Lisa!), a hammock for the grown-ups, and cupcakes for all! So you had your first cupcake -- chocolate with vanilla bean cream cheese frosting. It took you forever to try it -- you picked it up and dropped it, and after I pulled some bits off for you, you fed some to Grandpa, but didn't try to eat it! I finally stuck a little bit in your mouth, and then you were sold. Like, "oh, hey, this is good!" You liked it a lot and ate almost all of it. And when I had one later, you made a grab for it!


Jonah, I cannot believe it has been a whole year. There are times I would love to fast-forward though (many of them happen in the middle of the night), but so many more of them that I want to slow down so I can savor them. At the same time, I can hardly wait to see what you will do in the next year, and in all the years after that, and I hope we can learn to parent you in the ways that you need. I hope we can teach you to love the Lord, and to be kind, and that we can help you be happy. You bring so much laughter and joy into our lives, and I didn't know I could love anyone as much as I love you. You are such a blessing to us, and our lives are richer and fuller because of you.

Happy birthday, Baby!

Love Always,
Momma

Contrast

August 23, 2007

August 16, 2008

Birth Story

In honor of Jonah's first birthday, I thought I'd (finally) post his birth story. So here it is!

Warning: this post is looooong. And, um, detailed. So there is TMI. You've been warned!

I've been writing this in bits and pieces since OCTOBER, so I'm sure there are parts that are a little disjointed. Oh well!


My birth story sort of starts 2 weeks before Jonah was actually born: on Thursday, August 2, I was 34w2d -- my due date was August 28 -- and I had a routine appointment with my midwives. My feet were very puffy, and it turns out I had gained 12 pounds in the 3 weeks since the last appointment. That was unusual, since until then I had only gained about 20 pounds over the entire pregnancy. Then, the midwife -- Heather -- took my blood pressure, and it was high. I knew that this combination meant that I was at risk of developing pre-eclampsia, and I knew that the only cure for pre-eclampsia was delivery. We weren't ready for that! Heather told me to rest as much as possible and to keep my feet up, to eat very healthful food and go easy on the salt, and to come in again on Monday.

That day, I started taking evening primrose oil and drinking red raspberry leaf tea, because I wanted to do everything I could to get my body ready to go into labor. I did not want to be induced, because I know that induction can make labor harder, which can eventually lead to a c-section. And the idea of a c-section really scared me.

I was hoping for a drug-free delivery, with Trevor, his mom Claire, and my best friend Becky there with me. We had taken Hypnobirthing classes to prepare, and until the high blood pressure thing, I had had a really easy pregnancy. We -- the midwives and me -- thought I would probably have a fast labor, because my mom did. I'm her first child, and she was only in labor with me for 4 hours!

That weekend, Trevor and I went to Target & Babies R Us to get the rest of the stuff we needed for the baby, in case they decided to induce me on Monday. I got a birth ball, too, because I'd read that bouncing on one can help the baby drop. Mouse was still very high, pushing his little butt up underneath my ribs! I also made my packing list for the hospital, but I didn't get around to actually packing the bag -- I figured if they wanted to induce me, I could beg for an hour to go get ready, since we live only 10 minutes away from the hospital.

On Monday, I saw FraNa, another midwife. My blood pressure and puffy feet were holding steady, but I had dropped a couple of pounds. FraNa told me to keep doing what I'd been doing, and also to lie down, preferably on my left side, for an hour at lunchtime and another hour after I got home in the evenings. She wanted me to come in again on Thursday, and she said that she might take me off work if things hadn't improved.

On Thursday, August 9, everything was pretty much the same as it had been on Monday. FraNa did a non-stress test (basically, a 30-minute doppler test -- they wanted to make sure the baby's heartbeat accelerated appropriately). He passed with flying colors, but since my BP was still up, she took me off work. Luckily, my boss and I had arranged for me to work from home if that happened, so I didn't have to start my maternity leave early! FraNa scheduled me to come in again on Monday, and I was to stay off my feet -- preferably on my left side -- as much as possible. That weekend, I did the preliminary packing of my hospital bag. There was still plenty of stuff I needed on a daily basis, so I didn't pack that, but I at least got the big stuff ready.





That Monday, the 13th, I saw Heather again (she's my favorite of the three in that practice -- they're all great, but I clicked best with Heather). My blood pressure was down, my feet were visibly less swollen, and I had lost a couple more pounds -- the bedrest was working! Heather checked my cervix, and I was already dilated! She first said I was 4 centimeters, then said, "No, you're 5!" I guess the evening primrose oil had been doing its job! She stripped my membranes, said that I had a "nice roomy pelvis," and said that she wanted to fix my blood pressure by delivering the baby.

I was crampy and back-achey the rest of the day, and had a little bit of bloody discharge from the exam (I had had a little before the appointment, too, so I wasn't surprised that I was dilated. I was surprised that I was dilated that much!). The next day, I lost my mucous plug over the course of the day, but I wasn't achey anymore. The baby still hadn't dropped, either. I got more of the hospital bag ready, though, just in case!

The next day -- Wednesday, August 15 -- I had no more discharge, no more cramping, nothing. My best friend, Becky, came over and hung out for much of the day while I rested and did some work. She started knitting a baby hat for Mouse, and after she left, I started one, too.

That night, I went to bed a little after 11pm. Right after I crawled into bed -- Trevor was still getting ready -- I had a painful cramp that felt different from every menstrual cramp I'd ever had -- it took my breath away a little! Trevor walked into the room and I said, "I just had a really bad cramp! I wonder if it was a contraction?" Trevor replied (jokingly), "Well, now I'll never get to sleep tonight!" I said, "Nonono, you go to sleep and I'll let you know if I need you." So he did. I stayed in bed, and exactly 15 minutes later I had another contraction -- and that one did take my breath away. I had to breathe through it; it hurt! I said to Trevor, "That was definitely a contraction," but he was asleep and didn't answer. I had another one 15 minutes later, and then they started coming every 7 minutes. I was really uncomfortable in bed, so I got up and went into the bathroom for a while, and then went out into the living room. The cats didn't really know what to do about me being out there with the lights mostly off, the TV off, and me moving around!

I putzed around a bit, packing my bag in between contractions. They had gone from 7 minutes apart to 4-5 minutes apart pretty quickly, and I found that standing and rocking, using the arm of the couch for support, was the most comfortable position for me. I didn't consciously use any of the Hypnobirthing techniques I'd learned; I didn't feel I needed them. I kept my mouth loose and used the yoga breathing (inhale 4 beats, exhale 8 beats) that our Hypnobirthing instructor had taught us. That was very helpful to me, probably mainly as something for me to focus on. I was trying to keep track of how far apart my contractions were, but it was tricky since I was moving around to pack and didn't always have my notepad with me!

I woke Trevor up around 1:00am, saying that I was definitely in labor and that it was time for him to get up, shower, and start packing his bag (in retrospect, we should have made a packing list for him, too, because he ended up sort of running around trying to figure out what he'd need). I paged the midwives after I got him up, and Heather (yaaay!) called me back while Trevor was in the shower. After listening to me for a minute, she said that she thought I still had some time but that we knew it was going to be pretty quick, and that I could stay home if I wanted to or go to the hospital if that felt better to me. I said we'd probably stay home for a little longer, if only because we were still packing and we live so close. She said that she would let the hospital know that I was in labor, and that we could just show up and they'd call her when we got there.

Then we called my parents (in California) and woke them up to tell them. We called Trevor's parents, too (here in Seattle) and left a message for them, since they didn't answer. We continued packing up as I breathed through contractions, and then called Becky when we were getting ready to leave for the hospital, so she could come join us. We also called Trevor's folks again, but they still didn't pick up! So we called his sister (who is also local), just to let her know. In addition to packing, we also had to go stick a note under our neighbors' door (Jim & Jamie), so they would come feed the cats in the morning! I managed to write the note while Trevor was running a load of stuff down to the car.

We got to the hospital around 2:30am. The car ride to the hospital wasn't great, but it wasn't that bad -- it took us about 5 minutes, tops. The contractions were coming right on top of each other at that point, which was hard. We got up to the room, and while the nurses were off getting stuff ready for us, I told Trevor that I was considering asking for a little something for the pain, because I just didn't have enough time between contractions. Luckily, though, they spaced out again after that and were manageable. I was definitely making noise with each contraction by this time -- it helped. Our nurse (whose name we didn't write down and I don't remember, but she was very nice!) got me into a gown and asked if I wanted to be checked. I didn't, yet, and they were okay with that.

Becky arrived a little after 3am, and Trevor went to move the car (from Emergency Room parking) a few minutes later. My water broke at 3:17, while he was moving the car (of course), and the fluid was nice and clear. I immediately felt a little pushy, which made me a little nervous - Trevor wasn't back yet, and Heather hadn't arrived! The nurses took my temperature and put the little heartrate finger-monitor on me.

Trevor got back -- finally -- he'd gotten all turned around in the hospital -- and I got on the bed on all fours, because I was getting tired of standing and leaning. Our nurse says that she needs to check me, now that my water's broken. At 3:24am I'm at 8 centimeters! Woohoo!

Heather arrives a few minutes later, just in time to witness a contraction (they've definitely gotten stronger since my water broke). The contractions are maybe a minute apart at this point, and another nurse has come in with the newborn station, to start getting everything ready.

Heather encourages me to try another position -- maybe on my side, on the bed? I try it, and it is THOROUGHLY UNCOMFORTABLE. So we scrap that and I go back to all fours. Heather listens to Mouse's heartrate with a handheld monitor on my belly -- it's still amazing to hear it!

At 3:52am, Heather helps me to the bathroom, making me promise that I won't have the baby on the toilet! She checks the baby's heartrate while I'm in there. It feels so good to sit - my arms and legs are very tired! The contractions are nearly non-stop now, and I'm pushing with each one.

At 3:58, Heather checks me again -- on the toilet -- and says that he's "right there." I have Trevor and Becky get my glasses for me,* so I can see what's going on. We decide it's time to move to the bed.

At 4:00am, Heather helps me walk to the bed, mid-contraction. That was hard. My legs were worn out and the baby was very low and my body was contracting and trying to push! Note to self: don't do that next time.

Heather puts on her baby-catching garb, and arranges the bed so that I'm sitting up kind of like I'm in a chair, and can hang onto the bed rails, which is very comfortable. She applies a special lubricant to prevent tearing, and tells me that I'll need to push more slowly as the baby is crowning, to help me not tear. She'll tell me when that is. The contractions are more spaced out now, giving me time to catch my breath, and more of the baby's head is visible with each contraction. At 4:09am I say, "This is the best I've felt all night!" My head is clear, I can breathe, and I don't feel quite as inwardly-focused. I'd read that this happens, but it was such a dramatic change that I was surprised!

They check Mouse's heartrate again - still in the 140s-150s, which is good.

Trevor has been trying to reach his parents all night, but has still not had any luck! At 4:14am, though, he was able to reach his boss, Josh, to confirm that Josh will take Trevor's shift (which starts at 4:45am!). At least someone's phone works!

At 4:19am, Heather tells me to keep my head down -- chin to my chest -- to help the pushing be most effective. Everything is moving very fast now! I'm pushing constantly (break's over!) and the baby's head is crowning!

At 4:22am, Jonah Thomas is born! Happy birthday, little one!

Heather placed him directly on my tummy, and the nurse started rubbing down and cleaning him up. Trevor cut the cord a couple of minutes later, and Heather and the nurses drained the cord blood for donation.

At 4:29am, Trevor and I called our parents, each on our own phones, to tell them the news and announce his name for the first time. My mom hadn't gone back to bed after I called when I was in labor! Trevor's parents STILL didn't answer, so he left a message. He called his sister a few minutes later, to tell her the news, and she went over to her folks' house to wake them up!





At 4:38am, I pushed the placenta out. That was an odd sensation. "That's a very pretty placenta," said Heather. I'm still not sure exactly what she meant by that! After that was all done, she started to stitch me up. OW. She gave me a ton of lidocaine to numb the area, but I could still feel the little pinchy-sticking of the needle, so she gave me more. And then more. I don't think I tore very badly, but the stitching took about 20 minutes!

While Heather was stitching me up, the nurse weighed Jonah. Before she put him on the scale, she asked Trevor how much he thought the baby weighed: "Seven pounds..... 2 ounces," he said. Well, she put him on the scale, and he weighed 7lbs, 2.3oz! The nurse said, "I've never had a dad guess right, and I've been doing this for 27 years!" That's my guy! Then she measured the baby -- he was 20 inches long, and his head circumference was 13 inches.

Meanwhile, I was still bleeding (from the birth, not from the stitching). They gave me a Cytotec suppository (which I think felt vaguely odd at the time, but not nearly as uncomfortable as I'd expected. Probably because there was a lot of Other Stuff going on in that region.) to help my uterus contract and stop bleeding. Mouse got diapered and got his shots administered and eye-goo applied, and then got swaddled for Trevor to hold.




Heather finally finished stitching me up, and then had to mash on -- excuse me, massage -- my belly to get the clots out (also an odd sensation). The mashing hurt. My muscles were so sore and the whole area was just tired and ouchy, and she had to go mash on it! The nurses did that a lot more during the next couple of days, and I hated it every time. I understood why they had to do it -- mostly -- but I still wished they wouldn't.




At about 5:20am we tried nursing for the first time. It was challenging -- Mouse was trying to eat his hand, and I swear you need about 4 arms to get everything arranged just right when you're learning to breastfeed. He would latch on -- ouch -- and then let go, but we didn't worry about it right then.

At 5:40am, Lindsey showed up -- Jonah's first visitor! She came from her folks' house, where she had to practically break in to wake them up. She says they'll be on their way shortly.

Heather packs up to leave, and says that I can go home today if I want to -- I don't -- and that one of the other midwives will be in later to check on me.

Trevor's parents finally show up just before 6am! They had been remodeling their house, so there was no phone anywhere near their bedroom -- they hadn't heard a thing! It's too bad, because the plan had been for Claire to experience labor vicariously through me, but it worked out okay.



Around 6:20am, we called my brother (in California) and woke him up to tell him about his nephew. He was thrilled, even though he was still half asleep! Then we called our neighbors Jim & Jamie, who had only gotten up to feed our cats a few minutes before -- they were surprised to hear from us so early! We called tons of people throughout the day -- Jonah was the first grandchild and great-grandchild on both sides, so everyone was excited to hear of his arrival!



The rest of that day is kind of a blur -- at some point the nurses put me on a Pitocin drip because I was still bleeding and my uterus was not contracting and shrinking properly. Part of this is because Jonah still wasn't nursing -- he continued to latch on and off, not really sucking long enough to get anything. A few different nurse/lactation consultants tried to help us, but they all gave conflicting advice: "Here, use this nipple shield!" "No, don't use a nipple shield!" etc. It was frustrating, but Jonah slept almost all day and didn't seem to be terribly hungry.

My mom arrived a little after 4pm, and was so glad to finally be here! She got in some quality time with Jonah in the rocker. Trevor's parents came by again about 15 minutes later, and our pastor, Mark, arrived on their heels. The baby was passed around, the fast-labor and the Trevor's-parents-didn't-hear-the-phone stories were told. Pastor Mark blessed Jonah -- it was a beautiful prayer. I don't remember as much of it as I'd like, but I do remember Mark saying this: "May he never be ashamed to call you Lord." And I still pray this for him.

We had some other visitors -- Johanna, Karl & Becky, Jim & Jamie -- and then, at the very end of the day, Jonah got his first bath. He did not like that one bit! After the bath, Trevor went home to sleep (we had decided earlier in the day that that would be best -- I would have nurses to help me if I needed it, and at least one of us would get a decent night's sleep!). Things quieted down and Jonah and I went to sleep, too.

And that was his first day!




*Trevor and Rebecca didn't have much to do all night except hand me my water bottle on request -- I didn't want my hand held, or my back rubbed, or anyone to "help" me push. It felt very primal -- the only thing that was going to make me feel better was getting the baby out, and there wasn't anything they could do to help that happen. It was a very strange sense of definitely being not in control of my own body. This thing was happening to me, and there wasn't anything anyone could do to change that. Heather did comment, after the fact I think, that I was so definitely myself in between contractions -- joking and talking and stuff. In one sense I agree with her, but I also think that I was kind of on autopilot, because there was definitely a part of me that was not paying any attention to anything outside of my own body. Anyway, I think Trevor and Becky twiddled their thumbs much of the night! And Becky took notes, which is how I'm able to write this so long after the fact.

11 Months

Dear Jonah,

Today you are 11 months old! I still cannot believe how time has flown by -- it doesn't seem possible that your first birthday is right around the corner! You are learning so fast these days. You can clap your hands now, and you respond with clapping when I say "clap clap clap!" Well, you do when you're in the mood, anyway. You are working on standing, and can do so for 5-10 seconds at a time. You're very pleased with yourself when you're standing -- it's awfully cute. You also understand the phrase, "sit down," and usually comply -- you just don't understand that we want you to continue sitting down, not get right back up again!


You have also started feeding yourself, and now woe betide the person who does not keep the Cheerios flowing to your tray at mealtimes! You LOVE to stuff your little face, and you almost don't care what it is, as long as you can do it yourself. Cheerios are a definite favorite, and you recognize the container that we keep them in. If you see it, you will reach for it and say, "mmm, mmm!" very plaintively. You still eat baby food, but definitely prefer feeding yourself. You have four teeth, and I think you'll have a couple more before too long.



You are getting more and more social, and have started actively flirting with people. You follow your target as they move around a room, trying to catch their eye, and then twinkle and grin when they notice you. You are starting to get more comfortable with lots of other people, which is really nice for Daddy and me.



Grammy and Grandpa and Uncle Matt were in town this month, for Aunt Lindsey's wedding! You had the cutest little bow tie to wear -- it matched my bridesmaid dress -- and you slept in Grammy's arms through most of the ceremony. You were so good at the reception, even though I was busy most of the time and it was very hot. (We changed you out of your long sleeves and bow tie after the ceremony, because it was in the 90's and neither church nor the reception site were air-conditioned!)



Samantha is still one of your favorite "toys," and you will frequently start giggling when you notice her. She doesn't have to be doing anything for you to find her amusing, which just cracks us up. Grammy just bought you a set of nesting cups with little sortable pieces, too, and you are having a lot of fun putting things in the cups, shaking them so they rattle and make noise, and dumping out the contents and throwing the cup away. We also like to stack the cups into a tall tower, and then encourage you to topple it. You are happy to oblige, and love the resulting clatter! You are also on a constant quest for technology. If we leave a remote, a game controller, a phone, or a camera within your reach, you make a beeline for it, and are delighted when you get it! Your delight is always short-lived, though, because we never let you have it for long.



You've started laughing when you hear other people laughing, which has the hilarious result of you laughing at Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, because you hear their audiences laughing when we watch them on TV. I don't know if you're laughing because you think laughter is funny, or because the social cues to laugh when others are laughing are already there, but it's fun to watch you do it!

You are getting to be a very fast crawler and cruiser, and sometimes you play chase with us! That's lots of fun. You don't always understand the cues, but when you do, you shriek and laugh as Daddy chases you down the hall. You love to stand and walk (with the help of an adult), and it is so obvious that you can't wait to walk -- and run -- on your own.



You love standing on the armchairs and looking out the window. There doesn't even have to be anything interesting happening -- you love watching the world outside. I took you to the park last week and you were fascinated by all the kids running around. You really wanted to get into the water -- which I hadn't prepared for -- and loved the bubble machine that another family brought. You went on the swings for the first time, too! It wasn't your favorite, but you tolerated it for a little while.

We have a lot of fun giving you baths, too. You love to splash and crawl around in the tub, and would play happily in there for hours if we let you. Once you're done, you love to look at the baby in the mirror. Actually, you like the baby in the mirror anytime -- you like the baby in the window, or in the oven door, too!



The last week or so has been really, really great, sleep-wise. I hesitate to say it, for fear that the improvement will disappear, but you have been napping well, generally, and even sleeping 5+ hours at night! You nap for at least an hour-and-a-half most times, and it's getting easier to put you down. And you've been getting up only once at night, the last few days -- even if you have been waking up for the day at 5:15 or 5:30, which is waaaay too early. But it's such an improvement that I don't want to complain (much), and I feel like we can see the light at the end of this long, sleep-deprived tunnel. And you are almost always thoroughly charming after you wake up -- we have lots of fun in the morning, even if I'd rather sleep later.



You keep getting more and more talkative, and you're adding more and more "words" to your babbly vocabulary. We don't detect any specific meaning behind any of the sounds, but I'm sure that's not far away. It's evident that you understand a lot of words, both English and the smattering of sign language we use with you, but so far you haven't used any back to us. I can't wait to see what your first words will be!

My little Jo-nut, you are such a joy to us! You are cute and funny and, overall, delightful. I couldn't love you more if I tried.

Love Always,
Momma