I tried to capture Jonathan's new 4-toothed smile, but since he is such a perpetual motion machine (as evidenced by the big scrape above his right eye from face-planting on the playground at preschool), it was pretty difficult to get a clear shot. But here are the best of my attempts yesterday afternoon.

good bye baby smile

Jonathan's top front teeth have finally poked through the gums and are starting to look like real, honest-to-goodness teeth. Which means that his gummy baby grin is fast becoming a thing of the past. It is being replaced with the most adorable toddler smile imaginable, but I will miss his funny little no toothed grin.

funny g

We were swinging at the park yesterday when a big dog walked past. Jonathan pointed and said "do-awg" and for one of the first times, clearly enunciated the "g". The sound in his throat must have felt funny to him because he started to giggle and then just say "gugugugth" over and over again laughing harder and harder. Ever since he has been amusing himself by practicing the "g" sound in all sorts of odd combinations- he sounds like he is speaking an odd Germanic lanugage with lots of phlegm and "gugth"s and spitting. He still doesn't say "g" reliably at the end of "dog", but he is getting closer and is pretty funny right now!

Today appears to be a screaming day

He woke up at 5:45, screaming to get out of the crib.

He screamed in huger when he wanted breakfast and in fullness when he was done

He screamed in delight when he found the big purple ball

He screamed in anger when it rolled away

He screamed in triumph while pushing the walk-behind car

He screamed in frustration when it got stuck in a corner

He screamed in little short bursts like a machine gun because he liked the noise

He screamed for emphasis on each step when climbing the stairs

Mommy is going to start screaming soon.

patience (mommy needing)

I am afraid Jonathan is falling behind his preschool class in the whole learning to walk department. He really just needs to focus on the task at hand. He spends far too much time playing and exploring and really not enough concentrating on the task at hand. A little less of the being amused by throwing and chasing and a little more work with the push walker and we'd be making progress. But no, with him it's always wanting to enjoy the process and laugh and play with the dog. Maybe he didn't get the memo that there are things to accomplish! (maybe next year we can sign him up for the advanced preschool class...)

Early Garden Pics

Its that time of year when the sunshine and just right warm weather makes me crazy to get outside and grow something. All winter my mind was hoping and planning for summer and what I'd grow and where. And after sneaking in garden work during nap times on weekends for a few weeks, the garden is finally starting to take the shape I'd had in mind all winter!

I've got two new raised beds I'm planning to do with the "square foot gardening" method- (carrots and basil seeds went in the ground this morning). I have potatoes in containers and two new trellises for growing beans. (I'm trying a French climbing bean for eating green and an heirloom variety for drying). I put my onion sets in a few weeks ago and my garlic is still going strong from this fall! The leaves of the tomato, pepper, and basil plants I started from seed 4 weeks ago have all contracted some sort of white-spotty disease something or other. So I think I'm going to be buying plants again this year. I will not let the death of those plants dishearten me at this point!

entertainment

I love watching Jonathan play. He is pretty independent and can entertain himself for quite a while on his own. I stepped into the kitchen this afternoon while he was in the living room and I found myself hiding around the corner, totally enthralled watching him while my toast burned. He was busily taking all of the toys out onto the floor one by one, creating an obstacle course for himself as he tried to cruise along around the coffee table. His skinny little butt still doesn't fit in his pants so he managed to pull them off just by stepping back and forth on the cuffs. He was then fascinated by them throwing them around while marching with his funny little bare baby legs over all of the toys and babbling away. What did I do for entertainment around here before him?

A Baby's Best Friend

Jonathan's fascination with things falling and bouncing has naturally led him to throw a great many things from the fantastic height of his highchair. He always watches to make sure the dog enjoys his treats, but the other day Guinness actually licked the food out of his hand which made Jonathan laugh like crazy. The more he laughed, the more we laughed which made him throw more food and laugh harder. I only caught the last bits on video, but hearing Jonathan laugh is one of the best things I can imagine!

More screaming at Mommy and throwing one's self on the floor again this afternoon... But Tylenol seemed to help. That and Daddy coming home. So either some of this can be attributed to those top teeth that might be SLOWLY migrating through his gums or else he just hates Mommy.

excitement and apprehension

Jonathan started standing without support today!!

Actually yesterday he accidentally stood up for a second after the bucket he was holding fell over. But this afternoon he would just let go of stuff in a very nonchalant way- as though he had never really needed to hold onto something for support. I got all excited and cheered and clapped and he just looked at me with this bored gaze as if saying "Mom, you are such a dork. This is not a big deal". But it is a big deal. And I think he knows it too. He has started cruising with a vengeance and this afternoon he totally fell apart at the drop of a hat. The ball got stuck as he was pushing it and he flopped down on the carpet in sobs and was inconsolable- I got the ball un-stuck and he just pushed it along wailing. Everything I've read suggests that the period before a baby starts walking is pretty rough- so I'm bracing for a week or so of sleepless nights and cranky afternoons. Hopefully his sleep schedule isn't like the week before he learned to crawl (up every 1-2 hrs)!

Animal Noises

It continues to be so much fun to watch Jonathan learn language. He is expanding the words he says with meaning (from ball and doggie to Daddy, alligator, bottle, fish, book and bye-bye). And I am noticing words he understands more and more every day.

He has become so interested in any noise he hears- staring at your mouth and lips as you talk or make noises and then trying to mimic it exactly. For Easter he got an animal noises book from Grandma and Grandpa and it has been hilarious to hear him trying to copy the animal noises- especially the horse and the duck.

tiny

Lately I have been so amazed at how little Jonathan is. He has so much personality and life and has such a huge part of my heart. He completely monopolizes my thoughts and hopes and fears. And then he sits next to me looking down the long stairway that he just climbed, laughing and babbling and I realize that he is TINY. How can such an amazing person come in such a small package?!? Miniature hands and feet that work just like big ones. Still just two little teeth grinning out of a tiny mouth whose smile lights up any room. Tiny button nose. I am amazed at the miracle that is a baby.

baby and the beach

Grandma and Grandpa from Minnesota are visiting this week for spring break and so it is a week of adventure. Today we went to the beach.

We stayed on the blanket at first....

and were a little unsure about sand...

but loved the wind and the sun and the water