hike

Today we went on a hike, hoping that after a few days of rain there would be some mushrooms. No mushrooms, but the hike was still nice. The moist air smelled so good and fresh, the forest seemed happy. The hike led to a beautiful small lake that was peaceful and still. The water was green and.... the mosquitos hungry! Jonah walked quite a bit and loved wacking young trees with a stick and throwing rocks at stomps and in the lake. The mosquitos didn't bother him a bit. He also let his dad carry him in the backpack a ways. My mom, who ate wild blueberries along the way, came with us. I put some pictures here.

happy

Today when my dad called from the Czech Republic, I made a big deal out of the story of Jonah using the potty for the first time yesterday. I watched Jonah's reaction. After the phone call, I told him his Czech granpa was very happy about Jonah using the potty. Jonah thought for a minute, then proclaimed: "Pancho happy too." Pancho is one of our cats. I am sure the cat was thrilled about Jonah peeing in the potty :)

Jonah did pee in the potty about four times today!!! I was very impressed! I hope he continues to do so.

is this really the same child?

August 2005



May 2007

another milestone

Jonah peed in the potty for the first time today. My mom was over and we cheered and clapped for him. Then we called daddy and uncle Andy at work to share the good news. Jonah was so excited, he kept trying to pee in the potty, but obviously, there was nothing left to squeeze out. I hope this is the beginning of a new trend!

On another note, this is the third day in a row when Jonah hasn't taken a mid-day nap. Not good for the parents, I will tell you that. Hopefully this is just a short phase and the naps will resume very soon.

babysitting milestone

Jonah had his first experience being babysat by someone other than a family member. The first day he missed his parents and cried and got angry, but the next day he did great, said my friend Mia who watched him. Her son Ira and Jonah played well together and generally had a good time, which they usually do, but I have always been there. This time I had to go to an all-day workshop. In the end, all turned out great. What a relief!

big news

Many of you already know, but for those of you who don't, here is the big news: Jonah's brother or sister is on the way. The due date is January 25th. I am very excited and at the same time anxious about how we will survive the first few months of dealing with two demanding little beings. Eventually, things will settle down and we wil recognize, I'm sure, that it was all worth it.

When I told my boss I was pregnant, his reaction was: "Again?" Mind you, that's coming from a man who has five children, if I remember correctly. It's best just to laugh about such reactions. The last time he found out I was pregnant was two and-a-half years ago. I guess time flies and it seems just like yesterday. Jonah will be turning two next month.

4th of July, another day at the ZOO, and fun at the park

We spent the 4th of July at our Czech friends' house. They are both artists and wonderful people. They had a few other friends over. We ate like champs, played in their backyard, watched a homemade display of fireworks in the street, and then had a fire towards dusk. Jonah thoroughly enjoyed himself, though he was the only child at the gathering.

Today we went to the ZOO with Jonah's friend Ira and his mom Mia. The highlight was petting the goats. But even better than that, there was the old favorite - the sandpit with dump trucks, shovels, and buckets. I have put a few pictures here.

Later in the day we went to our neighborhood park to check if the wading pool had water. Sure enough. The city has started filling the pool every weekday afternoon for the summer. The perfect time to go is late afternoon, right before they start letting the water out. The day camp program is over, so there are fewer kids. Plus the wading pool is mostly in the shade at that time. Just perfect. I took Jonah to the wading pool a few times last year. He had just learned to walk and was still a little too young to appreciate it. This time he was so excited, mostly watching the older kids play. We will go to the wading pool often from now on!

Won't you be my neighbor (or mail man)

Jonah's imagination has really been expanding. Today I noticed he was playing "post office man" with a fridge magnet that he would stick in the horizontal slots between his dresser drawers, saying: "Post office. Magazine - in. Movie - in." He was obviously sticking mail in mail boxes. I asked him if he was "post office man" and he smiled, all pleased with himself. How great!

Before that, he has pretended to be daddy going to work with a bag over his shoulder and keys in his hand. He has also pretended to be a digger (and a driver of one). He has fed and changed his bear and doll and taken both on a stroll. Sometimes he plays "kitchen man" too, baking pizzas in the oven and cooking in the pots.

Lately he has been imagining random things to be other things - a piece of a fried egg may become a bulldozer, for example. When he draws, he now describes the drawings sometimes. He will draw a squiggle and call it a dump truck.

As you can tell, he still hasn't quite moved out of his obsession-with-construction-equipment stage. That's why the mail man game was so encouraging to me!

The other day Jonah caught me off guard. I made various objects out of play dough, fulfilling his requests: dump truck, digger, garbage truck (that one was tough . . . and hardly recognizable, I must confess). Then I made a person, sitting on a chair, starting from the feet up. When I finally added the funny-shaped head with ridiculous hair and unintentionally spookey looking facial features, Jonah took a look at the play dough person, and remarked with conviction: "Neighbor." My mom and I almost fell over in our chairs. I am glad the neighbor didn't hear.