Hello to 2018!
2017 was a baby year, which for me means I have to scale down on
my activities for a while. The first three months after Jonathan's birth
were just a blur. By six months I was starting to feel almost normal
again. But, it truly took me a full year to get back to the energy and
productivity and organization that I had previously. I am starting to
feel like I am back to full power, so I am excited for all the good that can be
done in 2018.
Sadly, my lack of blog posts in the later half of 2017 meant I
didn't give a detailed report of Jonathan's growing ways. But, I can
report on his current growth! He is growing up so fast, especially with
busy older siblings who model all sorts of verbal and physical
milestones. Jonathan is a speedy little crawler, and loves to stand up to
anything. Much to the dismay of Maren, Jonathan can now reach her couch
creations with ease. Ezra and Maren often include in their play
"beware of Jonathan--the baby monster"; he wants so much to be
involved and sample--with a destructive arm--some of the goodies that the older
kids compile. When Jonathan is not trying to thwart their creations, he
is definitely the much loved baby brother; both Ezra and Maren think he is
wonderful. Ezra said to me just today, "Why does Jonathan have such
a long nap, I miss him."
Jonathan loves to play with shoes, and is especially fond of
shoelaces. He loves books, and he has learned how to turn pages.
Sometimes he will narrate, in baby talk, what the book shows. Surprisingly,
at almost 11 months old, Jonathan can already make an impressive
"vrooommm" noise as he moves all manner of wheeled vehicles. As
was the case with Ezra, little matchbox cars are his favorite so far.
Jonathan LOVES to play peek-a-boo. He and I take turns hiding under
blankets and then finding each other. He loves to open and shut cupboard
doors, and play knock down/dump out. As a baby shower gift, Jonathan received a
darling fluffy brown bunny, which he sleeps with at night. However, he doesn't
seem to care so much about it right now. He does have a particular
preference for his very soft, fluffy white blanket. He definitely naps
better when his white blanket is clean and available. He is a decent
napper; following the big kids around truly tires him out, and he is usually
very grateful to be put down for a nap. Two days before Christmas he
slept through the night for the FIRST time. Hallelujah! 10.5 months
of nightly sleep disturbances was rough, so I was super grateful for that
Christmas present. He got sick (again) after Christmas, and started
waking up again, but I am hoping we are trending toward consistently sleeping
through the night.
Jonathan, unlike both Ezra and Maren, has a love/hate relationship
with food. He is not a great eater. He might even be considered a
picky eater, which will be a new thing for me. In fact, finding foods he
will eat has been a little bit of a challenge. He started out great on
baby food, but it quickly went badly, and he refused everything pureed on a spoon.
So, we moved to little bits of big people food, and it went great for about one
month, and then he seemed to develop food anxiety. For a time all he
would consistently eat at mealtime were little baby cereal puffs, cheese, and
yogurt. I tried every wonderful tasting food I could think of (like
blueberries, raspberries, grapes, bananas, avocado, cuties, and pineapple), and
he refused them all. Jonathan will scan his tray with a very discerning
eye, and either cry and thrash if he doesn't see some favorite foods, or he
will quietly, almost stealthily, throw every undesirable bit of food on the
floor.
Thankfully, his tastes have expanded just a touch more in the past week. He will now eat any sandwich-like thing with cheese in it (grilled cheese, cheese quesadilla, ham and cheese panini, or some types of pizza.) But he continues to refuse virtually every kind of fruit or vegetable. The only way I get anything other than starches in him is through baby food pouches that he can suck. He will not eat anything from me on a spoon, but he likes the novelty of drinking his own food. (Another little Mr. Independence!) He can say "ma-ma" and "da-da" very distinctly now. I think his next word might be "done", as in "I am done with sitting in this high chair! Get me out!" He makes all manner of baby talk noises, and is especially verbal with himself as he looks at books.
Jonathan's default emotion is happy. He is a cheery little
guy, with a great smile. He loves to snuggle, be tickled, and be a part of
the action. The only thing he truly does not like is diaper changes; he
would have a bare bum all day long if I let him.
We love our sweetie boy!