Developmental Leaps

I can't believe how Jonas has grown in the past two weeks. We've been in San Francisco with him, living in a hotel suite with my mom. Mother-in-law joined us halfway through, and he's been bathed in love and attention. I'm sure he will be a spoiled pain in the butt when we get home, but for now, we are enjoying him immensely.

All day long, I witness him doing something new or unique, and think to myself, "I can't wait to blog about that!" And when blog time finally rolls around (after mealtime, bath time, bedtime story, etc.), I'm mentally empty. But I'll try to remember something!

Tonight, as I was reading him a bedtime book, he identified the cat on the page, calling it "at" repeatedly. He also selects the books he wants me to read him, though he's done this for months. Tonight, he decided to read one on his own while I was in the middle of reading one to him. It was funny to see him pick it up, lean back on the pillow, and flip through it on his own.

He's also indicating that he really understands the world when we talk to him. When he hears "go bye bye," he heads to the door or gets in the stroller. He brings my mother her hat when we wants to go out. And he LOVES going out. Even though this is a 3-room suite, I think it must get to feel like prison to him, he is so eager to go out.

In our weeks here, we have developed some rituals. He sleeps with Noni, and when he wakes, she puts on the Zydeco CD, and they dance. Then, he runs into our room to wake us. We put on his shoes, and head down to breakfast. He runs around the lobby, checking everything out while we get coffee and food. Then, he sits and eats Fruit Loops, waffles, sausage, but not much else. He's still a picky eater. After about 10 minutes, he begins to buck the highchair, and screech. We capitulate, and let him loose. He runs for the stairs, and one of the grandmothers will monitor him going up and down. Then, he heads to the business center to watch a little pbskids.org, especially the Dinosaur Train trailer. It's hard to pull him away. He LOVES computers, and often climbs up on the desk to get at the keyboard.

Speaking of climbing, he's like a little monkey. And he loves to push buttons, including the ones on the TV and DVD players. His favorite toys right now are balls (any kind or size) and little cars. When we eat in restaurants, we break out a little dinosaur who likes to help him eat his food and drink his juice. He likes to mimic what we do with the dinosaur.

And he loves to drive the car. When let loose, he will rush the front seat, and dive into the driver's side to start turning the wheel. Again, he mimics what he's seen us do, so he turns up the radio (leaving it quite loud) and flips on the signal and wipers. I'm embarrassed to admit that I encouraged this as good entertainment during a particularly difficult day in Sonoma Wine Country (who thought that would be a toddler friendly activity?!!) He ended up pulling down the GPS and shattering its face on the gear shift. This was a rental (car and GPS) and we were 70 miles from our hotel with no idea how to get back home. Thanks Jonas! He also broke a few objects in the wine shops, some of which we had to pay for.

There have also been some interesting developments on the "potty" line. He seems to have become quite a little guerrilla pee-er. I used to take off his diaper without much worry of a surprise pee, but no longer. In the time we've been here, he's peed in or right outside the bathtub at least 3x, plus on bed dust ruffle (I hope they wash those!), his father's fleece pullover (during a trunk diaper change), his grandmother's hand-quilted, silk-lined jacket, and his father's ankle. He's also had some bathtub poopies, for which he seemed embarrassed. He goes behind a chair to do number 2, and seems to prefer a quick diaper change, and this wasn't an issue in the past. Maybe it's time to think about potty training? I know it's a long process. I'd better find a book, or some good advice, about where to begin.

He's also had his first official haircut; don't worry, we have video. It's a horrible cut - too short, and not even. But I can't blame the stylist. He just wouldn't stop moving. We should probably try to fix it while he's sleeping.