Election Day!

Jonah headed to the polls today for his very first national election!  In the evening, Bryan and he engaged in a sophisticated discussion of the issues:

This, by the way, is our first video evidence that Jonah is mimicking our behaviors.  Always excited to share all the many ways he's developing!

Autumn (3 Months)

Autumn is passing all too swiftly, but Jonah and I have been trying to make the best of what agreeable weather we have left. We're taking regular walks, spending warm afternoons together on the porch swing, and occasionally raking leaves (with some help from our Ergo Baby Carrier).

Jonah taking a stroll on a crisp autumn day.
You can see he recently graduated from
his stroller bassinet to his seat!

In the unseasonable warmth last week,
Jonah and I hung out on our porch swing.  He's
kind of fascinated with the porch swing chains.
It doesn't hurt that he's discovered he can use
them to help himself stand upright.

On gloomy days, we might stay inside but take some of that opportunity to work on improving Jonah's upper body strength. I admit, I've been pretty terrible about giving him tummy time. (I figure that "tummy time" is likely an American--or at least First World--invention, and I've never heard of anyone outside our privileged sphere growing up with unusually floppy necks or useless arms for lack of this supposedly critical exercise. Combine my skepticism with the fact that Jonah hates tummy time, and you can see why it's a low-priority activity for us.) However, I recently discovered that J protests significantly less to tummy time if he's placed over a supportive Boppy--a discovery which has led to a marked increase in the amount of time we do spend on our tummies. "It can't hurt" is something I also figure.

Jonah practices tummy time.  We've found he tolerates
tummy time a little better if we use the Boppy and
keep him level with the goings-on around him.

Outside of our daily routine, fall is a lovely time to have visitors, and we were fortunate enough to receive a quick visit from some old friends last week. Stacia and Dominic--two pals from my old DC days--stayed with us on their way through the Burgh over the weekend. We were excited to get a chance to swap "war stories" with this lovely couple, who are expecting their own familial addition in the not too distant future. We also used the opportunity of their visit to check out a never-before-visited (by us) Pittsburgh hotspot: the Coca Cafe in hip Lawrenceville. We've been meaning to try their lauded brunch for ages, but we had simply never gotten round to it. Well, consider that bucket list item checked, though now we're determined to go back again. Brunch was scrumptious!

Jonah with Stacia, Dominic, and a
"hidden" Baby K, outside Coca Cafe.

By the way, today is Jonah's 3-month birthday!  We've had an excellent first quarter, I must say.  Happy birthday (of sorts), Jonah!  We love you.

Jonah Laughs

Things that make Jonah laugh:

• Silly noises
• Other people laughing
• "Flying" above Mom's head and then "falling" (like an autumn leaf)
• Irony
• Tickles
• Belly kisses

Okay, well, I'm not 100% sure about that fourth one yet, but I can prove the fifth and sixth...

Jonah "Talks"

Jonah's an undeniably loquacious little boy, and yesterday in particular he was talking up a storm (though today he already seems to be going for a new record!).   Anyway, here's a sampling:

12 Weeks

I can't believe Jonah is already twelve weeks old.  He's almost a teen-week-ager.  Crazy.

You know what else is crazy?  For his age, Jonah seems to be crazy-strong.  Just watch him as he practices standing.

Standing is probably Jonah's favorite way to be these days (though he still requires some support, obviously).  I wonder if he'll be an early walker.  Remember that time I first realized we might have a troublemaker on our hands?

Nine Weeks

Today's challenge: write a long overdue blog post with Jonah sleeping on my shoulder, inhibiting the use of my right arm.  Tomorrow's challenge:  get Jonah to fall asleep (and stay asleep) on his own.

Tomorrow's challenge is actually a work in progress, and it's very, very, very slow-going.  Our little boy just loves to cuddle, and, since an independent nap time means an extremely short nap time (and ultimately a very fussy day), cuddle is what we do, more often than not.  It's a rewarding sort of sacrifice, but we realize it's not sustainable--and so we're always on the lookout for signals that Jonah's ready to catch those Zzz's on his own.

Though he's not really willing to sleep by himself yet, there is lots of evidence of Jonah's growing independence more generally.  These days, for instance, our little guy is perfectly happy to babble away in his bouncer while Mom takes a shower or to amuse himself in his crib long enough for Mom to change out the laundry.  That's a significant change from a few weeks ago, when I couldn't even go to the bathroom without hearing him cry--before I'd even reached the door.

Physically, Jonah's continuing to make strides every day.  His legs are so strong, it often seems like he is just so close to standing up on his own.  Hold his little hands with your fingertips, and he'll use the little bit of balance you provide to pump his legs and stand tall in front of you (albeit with a bit of a drunkardly wobble).  He's also recently entered a grabbing phase, in which everything within grabbing distance quickly finds itself trapped in his miniature death grip.  (My glasses have fallen victim multiple times.)  We're working now on increasingly his upper arm strength, hoping to help the process along with a little tummy time each day.  Tummy time is a great photo opportunity, by the way:

Another big development:  laughter.  I'm talking real, hearty little laughs from deep in his chest (not those other sounds that sometimes pass as baby laughs but are more akin to coughs or hisses).  Jonah started producing genuine honest-to-goodness laughs about two weeks ago, but the big news this week is that his mommy has finally figured out how to elicit them purposefully.  A few funny noises and some bangs tickling his forehead, and Jonah cracks right up into big smiles and belly laughs.  It never fails, and it's awesome.  (I just wish I could catch it on camera, but Jonah is remarkably camera shy.  A few fun tummy time shots aside, almost inevitably, as soon as I take the camera out, Jonah's face adopts a dour and skeptical expression which he stubbornly refuses to remove until the camera is well out of sight.)

At nine weeks old (today!) our baby boy is making fast progress toward toddlerhood.  Can't wait to find out (tomorrow--at our next pediatric appointment) how much he has really grown.  I'm guessing he's close to 15 pounds now, which would mean that in two short months he has doubled his birth weight!  Oh my.

Stolen Rewards

This morning, in order to give myself time to hang the laundry outside, I tried a new tactic with Jonah:  I left him in his crib and listened to him on the baby monitor.  (Usually, I put him in his sling and carry him outside.  But with all the bending and stretching involved in hanging laundry--and Jonah still being so small--this hadn't proven a particularly comfortable arrangement for either of us.)

During the period I was gone, Jonah didn't cry exactly, but he did let loose a long string of very dissatisfied moans and whimpers.  Heartstrings pulled.  As soon as I was finished with the laundry, I made a beeline for the nursery, where I could tell my boy I loved him.  I picked Jonah up, placed him in my lap, and received the biggest smile ever in the history of Jonah!

Oh, I wish I'd had my camera ready.


Unfortunately, now I feel doubly bad for having received such a wonderful reward in response to what essentially amounts to some (unintentional) motherly trickery.  Alas!  Sometimes the joys and pitfalls of motherhood are indistinguishable.

Three Weeks

Today Jonah is about three and a half weeks old, and he's continuing to grow fast.  In fact, our last doctor's appointment revealed that Jonah is a bit ahead of the curve in terms of size:  babies his age are generally expected to gain half an ounce to an ounce per day, but Jonah--our champion eater--has been gaining closer to an ounce and a half.  He's lean, but he's long, much like his tall, thin daddy.

Awesomely, it's not only with his size that Jonah's been impressing us.  Every day he surprises us with new behaviors and signs of mental acuity.  He's increasingly alert, for instance, spending his wakeful hours staring intently and curiously at the things around him.  He's developed the ability to follow with his eyes objects that are passed in front of him.  He has come to realize and take advantage of the fact that grabbing and/or slapping certain objects--like a plastic ball attached to his crib mirror--will cause them to move and make entertaining noises.  He's also becoming more and more adept at mimicking faces.  Try sticking your tongue out at Jonah, and you'll see that he responds in kind!

Jonah's development over these past couple weeks has been aided, of course, by the lovingly enthusiastic attentions of his Grammy and Grandpa, who have been visiting from their home across the continent.  Check out Grandpa giving Jonah his first driving lessons (they used an imaginary car).  Jonah's got his hands on the wheel, and Grandpa is setting up the atmosphere with appropriate vrooming noises (and helping Jonah hit the gas and brakes as needed):

Grammy, on the other hand, preferred to read with Jonah, who, in keeping with the genetic pool from which he ventured, is already an avid reader.  Hello, Bugs! is currently one of his favorites.  Here he is learning about the butterfly.  Look at those animated hands!

Sadly, today is the last full day of Grammy's visit.  And Grandpa has already returned home.  We're sure to very much miss both of them!  (But already have plans for a future visit in the works.)

Bye-bye, Grammy and Grandpa!  We love you!

Two Weeks

It's been almost a week since my last post, I realize.

Time just continues to fly by.

Over the past two and half weeks since Jonah came home with us--even through our bleary, unrested eyes (the hallmark of parenthood, which we duly wear)--we have already observed many ways in which Jonah is growing and changing.  It's not lost on me that if we don't share soon, these days will pass us by too quickly and unmarked.  So, here I am, feeling unusually rested after getting nearly a straight three hours of sleep last night, finally making time to blog.

The weeks so far have been busy ones.  In addition to growing accustomed to our new sleep schedule, Bryan and I have been hosting a string of family visitors, eager to meet Jonah and graciously hopeful to lend a hand to his beleaguered parents.  (I exaggerate, I should admit, when I use words like "beleaguered".  We're tired but well-rewarded.  Even so, we are very appreciative of all the help we've received.)

Here are a few tidbits of what we've been experiencing so far:

A few days after Jonah, Bryan, and I returned home from the hospital, we received a week-long visit from Jonah's Aunt Kate.  Kate was a godsend, as far as I was concerned:  completely on top of all the household jobs Bryan and I were letting fall by the wayside in favor of caring for Jonah.  But Jonah seemed no less grateful to share time with his aunt.  That wonderful lady has a gift with people of the still growing sort.  Here's a picture of a wide-eyed Jonah listening intently to the loquacious Aunt Kate's sage advice.  I swear, Aunt Kate's afternoon heart-to-hearts with Jonah made a noticeable difference in Mom and Dad's ability to get at least a little bit of sleep at night.

After about a week hanging out with Mom, Dad, and Aunt Kate, Jonah also made the acquaintance of his first set of grandparents.  Papa and Nana drove in from out of town to extend their welcome to our special little man.

Entertaining visitors, however, is only one of Jonah's many talents.  As his days in the world accumulate, he's showing off more and more skills of a variety of sorts.  Jonah's already developed a fascination with books and reading.  He can lift his head with the best of them.  Although it'll be a while before he can flip himself over (from back to belly, for instance), he's a proficient turner from back to side.  Like many babies, he enjoys checking himself out in his mirror and slapping at--almost grabbing--toys within his grasp.

Jonah looks surprised when his play mat
begins to move and make music.

Most of Jonah's time, of course, is spent eating and sleeping.  Sleeping and eating.  And that means much of Mom and Dad's time, too, is spent feeding and sleeping.  We try to catch naps with Jonah when we can, as we did here:

And here:

(Now how adorable are those pics?)

This week, though Aunt Kate, Papa, and Nana have all returned to their respective homes, Grammy and Grandpa from the other coast have traveled in to share time with their new grandson.  Pictures and stories from this current visit are to come.  In the meantime, I think it may be time (again) for a feeding.  And then a nap.  And then a feeding.  And then a nap.  And then...