Long overdue

No, not me, just this post. :)

Jonathan has changed so much in the past few months, and I definitely haven't succeeded in keeping up on blogging about his new quirks and accomplishments. So here are some quick notes on what he's been up to lately:

Reading. Jonathan is really blossoming as a reader. He loves to be read to, and will often sit and really listen for over 30 minutes. He still enjoys some of his board books, but more often will request longer story books. Not only that, he'll narrate the stories to himself after I've read them a few times.



He can actually be pretty accurate about this, and it is so much fun to listen in when he's doing it. Current library favorites: Jennifer and Josephine (Bill Peet) and Amelia Bedelia. Favorites which we own include Professor Wormbog in search for the Zipperumpazoo, Llama Llama Red Pajama, The Snowy Day, and his "Jesus book" which we read each night before bed.

Language. His ability to use language has just exploded. He uses basic sentences now, such as "put milk on counter" and "please, go outside?" We're working on teaching him to "be polite" and he is getting a rudimentary grasp of when to say "please", "thank you", and "you're welcome". He also says "bless you" whenever anyone sneezes or coughs, which is simply adorable. Another one that always cracks us up is "oh my goodness!"

Hugging. He has to be in the mood for this, but Jonathan gives great hugs (and kisses, for that matter). Parenting can be hard sometimes at this stage of his development, but his hugs always remind me how much I love him! He will often ask for hugs, sometimes offer them, and depending on his mood, give them when asked. A funny part is that he likes to hug inanimate objects as well as people. Lately he's been hugging a stuffed giraffe, his rocking horse, and trying to hug the picture of a snowman on the computer screen when I visit Rocks in my Dryer. (Shannon, you should see it - it is too cute!) His latest attempt (today) was when we were blowing bubbles outside and he chased after the bubbles asking "Hug a bubble? Hug a bubble??"

Lack of clothing. Oh, he is such a little boy!! His favorite type of clothing is nothing but a diaper.



Really, he'd rather skip the diaper too, but I draw the line at that! Every time we change his diaper he asks "run-a-naked?" Translation: "Run around naked?" I actually have a video of this which I seriously considered posting because it is so hilarious - but I decided not to in the interest of my son not hating me when he's thirteen years old and his friends find it on the internet.

Creativity. I'm seeing more and more of this every day. He plays with his toys in such purposeful and non-standard ways. For example, I might find all his cars and trucks carefully lined up in the crack of the sofa. Or stacked on top of each other as high as they'll go without falling. The other day I got this picture:



If you look carefully, you'll see that the keyboard on the floor is plugged into the car on the desk. Oh, and the pajama pants on his head? Evidently that is his latest fashion statement. He always wants to wear them as a hat. :)

Jonathan is also very specific about how he wants to build towers. Before we sort of just built towers for him and he knocked them down. Now I'm enlisted to help him stabilize towers of his own design, and boy is he picky! Here is a picture of his latest creation. Isn't it interesting? And see how hard he's concentrating!



Imitation. Jonathan wants to be just like Daddy. He loves getting to "use" Daddy's tools, or at least similar ones! He wants to help anytime Gabe is working on a project - for example, hammering became a serious business when Gabe was building a closet shelf, and when the garbage disposal was being installed, I got this sweet picture:



Jonathan also likes to imitate me, particularly if I phrase it as getting to "be mommy's good helper!" He'll use a rag to wash walls or mirrors or the table, which keeps him busy while I do the "real" cleaning. And recently he's been able to really help me with folding and sorting the laundry. He pulls all of Gabe's socks out of the pile, stacks them together, carries them into the bedroom and puts them away in the sock drawer. It is a little thing, but it is a trip that I don't have to make, and he knows that he is a big boy who can really help mommy!

Babbling. No, not regressing into baby talk, exactly. I think he's just practicing sentences. He'll string together a long paragraph of sounds that sort of almost sound like words, but they aren't. At the moment it doesn't seem to bother him that I can't understand him. If he wants my attention I'll simply say "I don't know what those words mean. Can you use some other words to tell me?" Usually if it is something he thinks is important, he will.

And last but not least, Jonathan is developing a very real sense of humor. He laughs with us, at us (yes, usually at times that make sense!) and sometimes out of the blue for no reason that I can discern! A few days ago I was driving in the car, half-listening to Jonathan's non-word babble, when suddenly he burst out laughing really hard. I asked him what was so funny, and he responded "Joke! Funny!" and kept laughing. I have no idea what it was that was so amusing, but he surely enjoyed it!

That's all I can think of for now, and I should be in bed anyway. I hope you enjoyed the update!