9 Month Check Up!

On Monday, Jonah had his 9 Month well visit. He is definitely growing! Jonah is now 18 pounds, 4 ounces and 27.5 inches long. He is healthy and strong according to Dr. Meyer and sooo cute according to the nurses ;) His hemoglobin (iron) level is 11.4 which means it is at the normal rate and he does not need any iron supplements or vitamins. It also means that he can start having milk and other dairy products like yogurt. According to Dr. Meyer, it's not necessary to start milk yet since I'm still nursing and not using formula. When I stop or cut back, then we'll start...for now we'll try yogurt and see how that goes! Oh and as Dr. M. joked, "Basically it's okay if anyone has given Jonah a taste of ice cream." To which I replied, "Oh yeah, Grandpa is really good at that!"...and Uncle Adam, and Grandma and even Daddy, much to my dismay. Of course, I'm "only" the Mommy...why should they listen to me, right?! ;)

Anyway, all is well with my little man. He's doing all the things that he is developmentally ready to do, crawling, standing, climbing, babbling, clapping hands, shaking his head "no, no, no", nursing 3-4 times a day, eating 3 meals a day, sleeping 10 hours a night with two naps a day, and showing his curiosity with everything. He didn't even flinch when the nurse drew a little blood from his toe. What I found so funny about the whole appointment was that Jonah's smile was a mile wide with the office staff and nurses, but with Dr. Meyer he was so serious. Jonah just stared at him with his bottom lip pouting. Maybe it's the doctor's quiet, unexcitable nature...or maybe Jonah just takes the time to absorb all the things he does and the tools he uses on him. It is almost comical how serious and quietly observant Jonah is with the doctor.

The following day we ventured over to Potter Park and played in the grass with Jonah. Soft grass is a rarity down here in the sunshine state. So we took advantage of the large patch at the park and played with Jonah while he practiced standing, crawling, sitting and just touching the grass that he occasionally tried to taste :) Super cute!

I think Jonah liked being on the soft grass. Something new...At first he didn't want to move, he was just observing and feeling it out.
Then he pulled on some blades and tried to see what it tasted like..."Oh Jonah, don't eat the grass, that's yucky!"
"Ha, ha Mommy...I wasn't going to put it in my mouth, really."
Then we were on the move! It's tough getting pictures of my little guy at times these days since he doesn't sit still much anymore! Check out Jonah standing!
"I'm coming to get you, Mommy!"
There's so much to look at, observe, and take in....I love seeing the world all over again from Jonah's eyes...

9 Months!...Already?!?!!!!

Happy 9 Month Birthday Jonah!!!

Oh that sweet face...I can't get enough of it!

I know that I keep saying this over and over again and I'll probably say it again...but I can't believe how fast time goes by! Yes, my little Jonah is 9 months old today!!! Happy 9 Month Birthday my sweet baby Jonah! :) Jonah has officially been in our "out-side" world as long as he was in my "inside" world and I can only hope that we are making it a wonderful world for him so far. He just amazes all of us everyday...lights up my life with his smiles and giggles and fills my heart with those big sparkling brown eyes as he looks up at me with his endearing look of love.

As far as all his growing, Jonah is starting to stand up stronger while holding on to things with only one hand, changing hands while standing, and even letting go for a few seconds when he doesn't realize it yet. He is also climbing on anything he can, greeting us every morning standing up in his crib with a big sunshine smile on his face.....and he crawls every where, talk about a work-out! Jonah has 5 teeth that seemed to have come in all at once; the two middle ones on the bottom, two side ones on top, and one of the middle ones on top...we're waiting for that second middle one now! He also eats like a "champ" (as Grandma always says)! Jonah loves his bananas, carrots, zucchini, squash, and sweet potato. We've even tried mango, thanks to Daddy bringing home some ripe mango the other day;), pieces of grapes, pineapple, and blueberries, yummy! And yes he is even eating those peas...thanks to Grandma, who says he loves them! ;)

Jonah is clapping his hands now, banging toys together, taking a few steps at a time while holding on to a walking toy, cruising around the furniture, laughing when we laugh or play "I'm going to get you", is starting to give hugs and kisses, and is in the big bath tub without that bath seat since he starting climbing out of it. It was a little scary for us at first but we're getting use to it, just less water and a few toys and we're happy. And "talking", oh boy are we talking ;) .....Jonah says, "ma, ma, ma" and "da, da, da" and "na, na, na" (I'm sure it's for banana), and "ba, ba, ba" along with lots of other adorable sounds especially when he wants someones attention! He even babbles to strangers in the supermarket if they pass by to make sure they notice him. He wants them to talk to him and give him a smile, especially the ladies...He's such a little flirt! ;) Jonah will move his body over to the side in order to look around me just to see a new face...as long as I'm in front of him, of course. Yes, he's very attached to Mommy. He will play with Daddy and everyone else but he needs to know that Mommy is around...I actually love it because I know that it won't last forever...

Our adorable Jonah is growing so fast! I love every moment with him, my days, my life is so fulfilled teaching him and most especially learning with him. I am so grateful that G-d has blessed our family with this healthy, beautiful, sweet, happy baby boy! I love you Jonah! Happy 9 Months!

My beautiful 9 month old boy...He's getting so big. Jonah loves his cars and choo, choo train.
Can you see those 2 bottom teeth?!?!

Some yummy Mango from Daddy!
Here are some other adorable pictures from the last few days....
Oh, the silly smile....
Jonah's favorite...the swings!!!

Yes, I'm a Mommy!!!

On this very first official Mother's Day I felt so excited to be part of all the Mommies out there who get acknowledged, even by total strangers, that today is a special day. Daddy surprised me with a manicure/pedicure and set up a "Spa" bath for me while he played the morning away with Jonah. Plus, I got cards from both him and Jonah, Grandma and Grandpa and my siblings, along with some pretty earrings! Wait...I thought I was a Mommy every day ;)!

I am incredibly blessed to be Jonah's Mommy! I feel so rewarded as a woman to have reached this amazing milestone in my life. I look at my sweet, beautiful boy and I know that my heart is full. Being a Mommy is like nothing else in the world, the smiles, the laughter, every new experience, all the worries...there's no words to describe the incredible love and devotion that one feels. I am soooo lucky!!! I love the way Jonah's face lights up with bright eyes and a smile when I walk into the room, the way he crawls after me so that I'm not out of his sight, the way he hold onto me so tight when I'm feeding him, the way he laughs when I become the "tickle monster". To think that you, Jonah, you made me a Mommy. I am so thankful for you each and everyday...I love you sweet Jonah, so so very much!!!

Yay, Jonah and Mommy!

Jonah with his two favorite Mommies! (Like the shirt ;)?!?!)

"So Big!"

My little Jonah is getting "So Big" and I just can't believe how fast time goes by. Having a child really makes you realize how precious time is and how badly you just want to freeze it. Last weekend we meet up with friends that we haven't seen in a while. I put on this cute polo-like shirt on Jonah with sporty pants and sneakers...my goodness, he looked like such a big boy to me! But he'll always me my little baby,...right?! Here are some cute pictures from that evening...

Oooh, I just want to smooch that face all day!

My Jonah is getting so big!

Some more fun pictures from that evening with Mommy, Daddy, and our friend Lorena.

Swimming, Swimming!!!

After the fever finally broke and his appetite came back Jonah was back to his happy, active self . But, then it was my turn. Yuck! I can't remember the last time I've been this sick. Thank goodness Grandma was able to come and spend a day last week with us to help me out! She brought over her "cure-all" chicken soup and played with Jonah so that I didn't get too close to him when it wasn't necessary. I'm so worried about getting him sick. Yesterday, after six days, I slowly started to feel better. Mommies have no time to be sick!!!

In between all this sickness, our dear friends Kristin and Jonathan come into town from Boston for a mini-vacation and of course to finally meet Jonah. They were staying at The Ritz Carlton (our favorite place) so Jonah and I took two days to spend with them. Some much needed fun in the sun! It was absolutely wonderful to see them and Jonah warmed up to both Kristin and Jonathan very quickly. He showed off how he eats, babbles, and smiles his wide 5 tooth grin...and then, we went swimming!!! Yay! Jonah absolutely loved the pool! It was just the right temperature and when we first got in, he starting smiling and laughing. It was great! I was so relieved that he liked it. We splashed around, bounced, kicked our feet, and blew bubbles in the water (at least mommy did). Jonah didn't even mind water getting on his face when he slapped his hands down on the surface and he loved playing with the water that was coming up from the spouts. Unfortunately, daddy couldn't join us since he started his new job this week but Mommy took lots of pictures to show him. We had a wonderful time and will be making good use out of the pool as the weather continues to warm up for sure!

Jonah is all ready for a day out in the sun! Check out the sandals! :) Jonah's cute bathing suit...My little surfer! "Watch out pool here I come!"
(Oh, and as you can see I started having some fun with that "picnik" website...so cool!)
Jonah loved playing with the water spout. What fun!!!Hanging out with Kristin and Mommy...

Happy 8 Months Jonah!

Jonah is 8 months old today, but unfortunately it is not such a happy day for our sweet little guy. He has a fever (his first) that started yesterday morning of 101.8 and went up to 102.4 this morning, poor baby. The fever has gone down throughout the day and luckily there are no other symptoms so we are pretty sure it's because he has 4 teeth coming in at the same time. Yes, 4 teeth!!! The doctor told us to give him tylenol as needed, but I think that if he still has a fever tomorrow (Monday) morning, I'm taking him to see Dr. Meyer just to make sure he doesn't have an ear infection. So, we have spent the weekend lounging around. Jonah seems very content in my arms cuddling, talking, reading books, and singing softly. He is definitely not his usual upbeat self on the go all the time, crawling and climbing and getting into all sorts of fun mischief. In a way it's very cute, but only if he wasn't sick. :( Hopefully he will be better within the next 24 hours and we can get back outdoors and play!

Family photo...before Jonah's fever struck.

Sleeping the fever away...
My "cuddle bug"....we'll post happier 8 month pictures when Jonah's "all better"!

Mommy's Spring Break!

Last week I was off from teaching; it was Spring Break! I had a whole week to soak up Jonah without work and boy did I love it! I can't wait for the summer now!!! We spent all day playing with toys, exploring all around our house on hands and knees, swinging at the park (Jonah's favorite), crawling all over the grass instead of the blanket, trying new foods, visiting with friends (sadly saying good-bye to Liz and Abby, for now), celebrating Passover with our family, and laughing A LOT! Jonah is expressing himself more and more these days so it has been amazing to interact with him. He wants to move around, climb up, stand and play....and boy does he laugh and even roars "like a lion", it's too cute! I'm so happy when he is happy...it's funny how that works!

Jonah is loving eating and trying new foods, except peas, he's still not fond of those. He does however love those banana "Puffs" and has already mastered the "pinch grasp", gobbling them up as fast as he can while saying "Mmmmmm...." whenever he doesn't have any left on his tray and wants more. :) I have also discovered another tooth, this one is on the top...too funny! And so my baby is growing and I can't believe how fast! I truly love every moment I get with Jonah! :)

I absolutely love this picture! We are at the farmer's market and Daddy is holding Jonah in the baby carrier, the hat is still a little to big, but I just think it's adorable! :)

Later the same day at the beach....Mommy's turn with the carrier.
Jonah is making a kiss, kiss face!
So sweet....Jonah loves his squishy, soft bear pillow from Grandpa! Roar!

Jonah is all ready for Passover...
What a face...I just want to nibble on that chiny, chin, chin!
Jonah wanted to explore the grass...
and thought about putting some of it in his month...
and almost succeeded!
Then it was time for the swings...Weeee!!!
We also played with some new toys! Jonah is really excited about them!

Vrooom, vrooom car!!! Jonah loves his new car from Grandma!
And it turns into a walker!...Mommy says, "Let's not rush this!"
A big boy eating "Puffs"...Mmmm, Mmm, more!