Thursday, March 26, 2009

Gateway Food

Know how pot is a "gateway" drug? Well, Jonas has introduced us to the gateway drug of junk food - cheese puffs. Gerber's "Graduate" brand actually sells these in tiny little tins for about $3. We bought some. He loved them. We then decided to economize by buying the regular Cheetohs brand, albeit the organic white cheddar variety. We like to think they're healthier. (Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, as the saying goes). So now Jonas has placed himself on a starch-only diet of cheesy poofs, graham crackers, and saltines (the low-salt variety). He is no longer interested in yummy full-fat yogurt (which tastes like heaven to me!) or the homemade goodies we provide: Louisiana sweet potatoes, pureed carrots, and mashed bananas. It's all junk food all the time. I hate this. At least we're insisting on the daily vitamin, which he continues to take like a champ despite its disgusting metallic taste.

Here's a pic of him intensely indulging in a cheesy poof moment:


Let's see....what else is he up to? Oh yes, planting seeds with Poppa:


I managed to hide the seeds from him:


He's crawling all over the place, and is super fast. His favorite past-time is to open drawers and explore the contents. It doesn't matter if the drawer is taller than him; that's just a special challenge.

In the kitchen, he races for the refrigerator whenever the door is opened. He loves to get in there and pull things off the shelf. Exhibit A:


He loves to dig dirt out of potted plants, swirl his fists in toilet water, and crawl into the wet shower. Oh, and I forgot to mention his love of trash cans. Those are even more exciting to discover than drawers.

As you might imagine, we have our hands full. Baby gates are up, plants have been moved, and bathroom doors stay closed. We also have locks on appropriate cabinets. But I'm still so scared to leave him along for more than 10 seconds. He's always into something. I think I use the word "no" about 50 times a day. When I say it (in my loudest authoritative voice), he stops what he's doing, looks at me and smiles the most angelic smile. Then, of course, he continues to do what I'm telling him not to do.

This weekend will be a busy one. His christening is scheduled for Sunday at 10:30. Godmother Angela is joining us from Houston with her son, Mark. Godfather, John, will drive in from Westwood, KS. Pastor Scott will officiate. And there will be a cake. You need a cake for a baptism, apparently. Why is this such a surprise to me?

Forgot to mention that there's a forecast for snow this weekend.

More updates and photos to follow soon.

Friday, March 6, 2009

"God made dirt,

and dirt don't hurt."

I hope that's true.

Yesterday at the park, Jonas discovered what sand tastes like. Today, he tried dirt and dog toys. Here are the highlights:

Dog toys!

And then he found the plant:


And the dirt:


My mother and godmother are probably horrified that I paused long enough to grab the camera and take these pictures. Ladies, I did make him wash his hands, and I checked his mouth.

You may have noticed the bling. Yes, he does resembles a "white and nerdy" version of a hip hopper, especially with the overalls undone. He actually put the beads on himself.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Cigars and such....

Brief update: Jonas ate soap yesterday while in the shower. His choice, not ours. That may change in the future if he inherits Mommy's potty mouth.

And today, he discovered toilet water, and I don't mean the old fashioned perfume.

For the first time last night, we didn't go to him when he cried. He woke up about 3 times, and cried for about 20 minutes each time. I felt so guilty. Each time he stopped crying, we would get up and check on him. It's so hard not to comfort him. Rather than learning to "sooth himself to sleep" like the books and experts say, he is just crying himself to exhaustion. He basically passes out and falls face forward. Here's what it looks like:


Some good news - the ear infections are gone! We are finishing up our last round of antibiotics (4th round!), and I honestly think Jonas will miss his meds. Here are some photos of how much he likes Augmentin:


Am I the only one who thinks he looks like he's smoking a cigar?

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Chew

Each day brings us new adventures in parenting Jonas. Although it sounds nauseating, we enjoy each new lesson and chapter more and more.

For the past month, Jonas has been fighting a double ear infection. This week, it appears that the many antibiotics we've been shoveling down his gullet might be taking effect. He's finally eating like a pig, and pooping like a bird. He's also conquering some chunkier foods. Remember the raisin debacle? Well, he downs them like a pro now. Strike that. I learned today that he actually warehouses them in the corners of his mouth, like a squirrel. Sometimes they will even accidentally fall out as surprising little partially masticated morsels. I swear that he looks like a toddler with Skoal; the raisins are even the same color as "chew."

Today, Jonas was in full business mode, modeling his special "tie t-shirt," a gift from his Aunt Desi.


Some of his new "hobbies / achievements" include:

  1. crawling into the wet shower to play with soap. He's not eating it yet, and this fun activity usually necessitates an outfit change because he gets quite wet;
  2. beating his wooden puzzle pieces on the wood floor, which makes a racket that scares the cat and worries the dog;
  3. waving his arms in the air;
  4. chewing, gumming, drooling on everything;
  5. ripping eyeglasses off of adults who get too near his quick little hands;
  6. sticking his fingers in your mouth to explore;
  7. banging things together (see number 2 above);
  8. uttering lots of verbal noises, including a few consonants;
  9. screaming bloody murder when I leave the room;
  10. Ed's favorite - climbing over people (usually their legs) like they're an obstacle course;
  11. pulling himself up on furniture using his teeth.
Other random facts: His favorite kitchen toy is a wire whisk. Puffs are his favorite snack food, then Cheerios and raisins. Yesterday morning, he had a Cheerio stuck to his butt for about an hour. Last night, he tasted his first caper and didn't seem to enjoy it. He laughs when his Poppa sings "I've Been Working on the Railroad" to him, and he won't wear socks for longer than 10 minutes. Oh, and his hair is now long enough to have bad hair days.