Mine!

I have a favorite word. Know what it is? Mine! It's such a good word, I say it all the time. And saying it once is never enough. Things aren't just "Mine!" they're "Mine, mine, mine!" See how much better that is?

Mommy also says I'm becoming a little bit of a turkey but I don't agree. Can I help it that the whole world revolves around me? If my brother and I are both in the bathtub and I want to be right in the middle of the tub and not on my side what's wrong with that? So if you try to move me back to my end of the tub, of course I'm going to scoot back to the middle and add a little scream. That was my spot! And so what if I'm now fighting with my brother? We got along great for 21 months. Let the fun (read fights) begin! And I like to tattle on him too. If he barely bumps me, I look around to see if my mommy noticed. If she did, I do a fake cry and hold my arm, leg or whatever he bumped to let her know he "hurt" me.

I might do some challenging things, but I'm also a sweet boy. Mommy says that too. I like to do the splits in the middle of the floor and laugh the whole time. I got the split ability from Daddy, not my mommy. Daddy claims he can still do them, but I haven't seen him. I also like to give knucks (a fist bump) and I give high fives and I finally decided waving bye bye is a fun thing to do so I do it all the time.

One day while my brother was in school, I went with my mommy to get a pedicure. I didn't get the pedicure, she did, but I do like that place. You know why? They have lollipops. So while my mommy was getting her toenails painted, I got to sit on her lap and get really messy sucking on a red lollipop. My clothes were filthy when we left, but it sure was yummy. And I really like things to be in their place too. I always close doors and drawers and so of course I had to close all the drawers on the nail stations on the way out, even the stations where people were working. I think they appreciated my help.

DVD Man

Look what I can do now! I like to get a DVD from the case and put it in the DVD player. I used to try to put it in the VCR but now I know the difference. It's one of my favorite games these days...putting movies into and taking movies out of the DVD player. Check me out in action.

Hold the DVD with your finger in the middle hole and don't touch the bottom.
Push it gently (I try anyway) into the PS3.
Smile and usually clap for myself afterwards.

Copycat

I think it's pretty obvious that I really love my brother. Now, I like to copy his every move. If he's making Indian whooping noises, I make Indian whooping noises. If he's running back and forth across the living room doing "Olympic Running," I'm running back and forth across the living room doing "Olympic Running." If he's jumping off the stairs (he jumps from the 3rd step), I'm jumping off the stairs (I stand on the bottom step, squat way down, stand up, and then step off). If he's playing Wii, I get a Wiimote and "play" too. If he's going to wear a hat, I go and get a hat. So far he doesn't mind that I copy him, he gets really tickled by it. Imitation IS the highest form of flattery in my book.

Wheeee!

Before I get to the story referenced by my title, I wanted to give you an update on my bed climbing situation. When I went down for a nap that afternoon, it happened again. And I got hurt and cried again. And it happened fast. My brother and I share a Jack and Jill bathroom and my mommy planned to watch me through the bathroom door to see how I climbed out of the crib. She left through my bedroom door and went through Thomas' room into the bathroom. By the time she got there, I'd already climbed and fallen again. But I haven't done it since. It hurts!

Tonight, Mommy and Thomas were trying to play Chutes and Ladders. I wanted to play too. They would let me spin when it was my turn and I'd take Elmo, we have the Sesame Street version, and I would put him on a slide and say, "Wheeee!" all the way down. Next time it was my turn, I did it again. It's fun going down the slides. My brother didn't think so though. He was about to win when he landed on the longest slide of the game and had to go back almost to the beginning. He didn't say, "Wheeee!" and I don't understand why.

Guess What I Just Did?

Something my brother never did. I climbed out of my crib! My mommy knew I was awake this morning but was trying to get something done before coming up to get me. When she heard me crying, she came upstairs quickly. Imagine her surprise when I walked out of my room, crying, into her arms.

I think my mommy thinks I'm still too little for a big boy bed. Maybe they'll figure something out.

My New Game...

is a lot of fun. First, I sneak upstairs when I think no one is watching. Then, I find stuffed animals and drop them over the top railing to the floor below. If no one stops me, I go get another one and another one and another one. It's a blast. The stuffed animal facing certain doom in this pic is a pirate dog. He was tough though.

Spongebob Squarepants and More

I had some free time the other day and was reading my brother's old blogs. I found something I thought was funny and wanted to share it with you. Remember when my Mommy said this about Spongebob? And then a year and a half later, he had a Spongebob backpack? And now, whenever Thomas gets to pick a show to watch, it's Spongebob. When he went to Lubbock last month for a few days, I really missed him, but I also missed Spongebob. When we got to Granny's house, Thomas got to watch a little before bed, and I saw what he was watching and started yelling, "Bob! Bob!" And last week at the grocery store, I saw a display and yelled the same thing until my mommy let me go over there and pick out some Spongebob stickers for my brother. My mommy has come around and now likes him and agrees with what Lisa said 2 1/2 years ago, he is lovable and optimistic and hysterical.

We were at CVS the other day with my Gma picking up a prescription. I was walking around and finding all kinds of neat treasures. Mommy kept making me put them back, but one time I got past her, walked up to Gma's cart with a box of toffee popcorn, said, "Buy!" and put it in her basket. She bought. :-)

I LOVE the water. And I'm absolutely fearless. Thomas and his friends can swim and I think I can too. We were at Corbin, Cooper, and Cole's neighborhood pool the other day and we were all swimming in the kiddie pool which was 18 inches deep. All the big kids were zooming around on their tummies and I wanted to do it too. So I would just dive forward, face-first into the water. My mommy would have to pick me up and set me back on my feet. Each time I came up laughing. I thought it was funny but after it happened about 6 times, my mommy made us all go to the deeper pool where I couldn't be quite so crazy.

And I LOVE going to the water park. We have season passes to Hawaiian Falls and every time we go, I start screaming "Wah Pah! Wah Pah!" the second I see it. Do I even need to translate my 19 month old speech for you? Water Park. I love the lazy river, the wave pool, and the little red kiddie slide. I'll go down it 15 times every time we go to the water park.

Communication

I'm starting to use more words each day. It's hard making myself understood and sometimes I throw fits when I think I'm not. At my 15 month check-up, my pediatrician was a little concerned about my speech. But this time she said I was just fine. Mommy had written down all the words I can say now and she had at least 25. If you see me, you might not understand me, but my mommy does. Between my attempts at saying a word and my gestures, I bet you can understand me if you try long enough.

We were going to meet Grandma and Gma the other night at Blackeyed Pea. As soon as we pulled in the parking lot, I held up both arms (my sign for "I'm ready") and started yelling, "Eat, eat, eat, eat!"

I know I told you I used to call my brother "bruh" but now I try to say his name. I have a hard time with the begining and end of words, but I can say the middle. So Thomas comes out sound like, "Omah." When I wake up, I always like to go look for him. I always run into his room yelling his name. In the morning, he's usually there and I just don't understand why he's not there when I get up from my afternoon nap.

Climbing Maniac

I like to climb. No, I take that back. Climbing is an obsession for me. I was climbing stairs long before my pediatrician thought I should. And now, there's nothing I won't climb. The other night, I threw off all the magazines from the coffee table, climbed up on top and stood up. My parents got me down and told me, "No climbing." Well that only made me mad, so I started crying, ran into the kitchen, pulled out a kitchen chair and climbed up on top of the kitchen table. Can you believe my mean old daddy spanked me for that?

This week, I've learned I can have a LOT of fun climbing in the bathroom. I figured out how to stand up on the side of the bathtub and get things off the bathroom counter. And then I thought, "Why just stand there and play with all the things when I can get up there and play with everything." So, if things get really quiet in the house and you know I'm probably doing something I shouldn't, here's where you'll likely find me. I like it when my brother forgets to close the bathroom door.

Dental Health

Ever since I went to the dentist, I've been very focused on my dental health. I will brush my teeth at every opportunity. Especially if you put my Elmo toothpaste on my toothbrush. I like to walk into the bathroom and say, "Eeetth!!" That means I want to brush my teeth right now. And this day, I used not only one toothbrush....

but two!!!! Even better!
Do you like my crazy post-nap hair?

Piano Man

I LOVE our piano. I like to go in and play all by myself. I like it even more now that I can climb up on the bench by myself. But what I really like is to help my mommy play. Last night, I was in the living room with Thomas and Daddy when Mommy went into the dining room where the piano is. The second I heard her start playing, I ran as fast as I could in there to help. I think the songs sound better with the notes I add. Mommy let me play for a little while and then she decided she wanted to play one song by herself. So she made me get down from the bench. And then when I tried to walk over and play notes at the end of the piano, she stuck her leg up to block me. That made me mad. So I started pushing on her leg and saying, "Down!! Down!!" She was so surprised to hear me say that, she put her leg down and I got to keep playing.

Poor Me, Part 2

I know it's been a week since I last wrote about my teeth. I'm only 17 months old and thought the visit to the dentist last week was the worst of my trauma. I was wrong. Last week, the dentist just looked at my teeth and took an x-ray. This morning, he patched my teeth. He told my mommy that he was worried that my tooth would splinter more if/when I fall again. So this "dental bandaid" will hopefully be the part that gets damaged if I do fall again.

May I just say that I didn't like it one bit. My mommy was holding my body and my hands while my head was in the dentist's lap. I screamed bloody murder the whole time. After working on me a few minutes, the dentist told me that he was worried about my inability to express myself. They thought it was a funny comment. I just screamed louder. Then we got to take a break while the assistant went to look for something to sand the patch. And the fun started again. I got to take one more break while the dentist went to get one of those tools with a hook on the end that they use when they clean your teeth. He came back and used it on my teeth to try to smooth over the rough patches. Then he finally said, "Ok, Jonathan, we're all done." I'd been screaming the entire time but when I heard that, through my sobs you could hear me say, "All done. All done. All done." And I slowly stopped crying.

I'm glad it's over and I already got to test it out on my lunch. I ate just fine. Now I'm going to take a nap because that wore me out. It was only about 20 minutes, but felt like an hour and a half. And my whole head was sweaty from my screaming. Now I just have to go back in a couple months so they can watch it and see how my teeth do. Hopefully the worst is over.

Poor Me

How many times does a baby fall when learning to walk and run? Hundreds? Thousands? I've taken some pretty good tumbles in the past. Remember I even fell down some stairs several months ago. But no matter how hard I've fallen, I've never really hurt myself too much. Until now. We were in Austin last weekend visiting Evie and her family and I was squating down on the sidewalk looking at an ant. I fell forward and my hands got caught under me and my face fell about 4 inches onto the concrete. Four measly little inches but look what happened. I chipped not just one but both of my middle top teeth. I cried for quite a while and then I wanted to go get some ice cream and that helped me feel better. I'm going to the dentist this afternoon to get it looked at. Wish me luck.

I've also learned something new. And no, it's not Jazz Hands. Whenever you ask me a question like, "Where's your toothbrush?" and I don't know where it is, I do this. It's my way of saying, "I dunno!"

Double Ready!

My big brother, Thomas, has taught me a trick. Whenever we're getting ready to do something: go eat, take a bath, take a nap, go outside, etc., Thomas asks, "Who's ready to _____?" and he'll raise one hand. Then he says, "Who's double ready?" and raises both hands. I only like raising both my hands and not just one so whenever I hear the word "ready" up go my arms. I'm very good at it and it's one trick I'll actually show people...at least for now. :-)

Feed Me, Seymour

Boy, first I reference the closing tag of Family Ties with Sit Ubu Sit and now I bring in Little Shop of Horrors. What a well-informed 16 month old I am! :-)

Last Thursday morning, we were going to eat breakfast out because our maid was coming and we since we had lots of errands to run, we could be out of her way longer. At least that's what I found out later. All I knew then was that I was hungry and thirsty the second I woke up and I didn't understand why Mommy was making me wait 30 minutes.

First, I went to the fridge fussing and saying my version of the word 'milk', "meeeel." Mommy usually responds to that but she didn't this time. I thought maybe she didn't understand me so I walked over to where we keep the cases of water bottles and got one out and took it over to my mommy. She smiled and went ahead and got me my milk.

Then, I walked over to my high chair and asked her to put me in. She didn't. So I thought she didn't understand that I REALLY wanted to eat right then. I went over to the diaper bag, opened it up, got out the freeze dried apples and brought them over to her. I didn't get to eat them then but we did get donuts a few minutes later and I LOVE donuts.

Mama!

Tonight, my mommy was sitting on the floor trimming my brother's fingernails while he was watching TV. I wanted some attention too, so I walked up behind her, squated down and peeked around her shoulder to look in her eyes and said, "Mama!" I think that made her happy.

Now my daddy's pushing me to call him by name. I'll take that under advisement.

Tomorrow I'll be 16 months old! Yea for me!

I'm Very Smart

Did you know that? I've known it all along. I'm stubborn and don't always like to do what you ask me to, but I know exactly what you're talking about and I'm very observant. I know how to wave bye-bye. I just usually choose not to do it. I know how old I am. I just don't like to brag about it. And I can clap my hands but again, I have to be in the mood. And I'm even learning some of my body parts, but I rarely show you that I know them. Last night, I was in the mood to be a little revealing about what I know and observe. At Thomas' swim lessons, I was eating some Gerber Graduates fruit snacks. Mommy was only letting me eat one at a time because I like to put all of them in my mouth at a time and she says that could choke me. I ate until Mommy said they were all gone and showed me the empty package. I then took the package from her and walked away. She wasn't sure what I was going to do with it so she followed me. I walked over to the corner and tried to put it in the big trashcan. It had a lid on it so Mommy had to help me open that and then I put the trash in all by myself. And then at dinner, she handed me a baby wipe and asked me to clean my hands and face and I put it up to my mouth and wiped away. Two firsts in one night. See how smart I am?

Sit Ubu Sit

What species am I? I think I'm human, but lately my brother's been treating me like a dog. He'll take a ball and throw it as far as he can and say, "Fetch!" Just in case he's right and I am a dog, I go get it and bring it back to him. He says, "Good boy!" throws it again, and says, "Fetch!" and off I go again.

I Can Play T-ball Too!!

We went to the park yesterday afternoon so my parents could help my brother practice t-ball. When he took a break from hitting to play catch with my daddy, I took that opportunity to show them that I know exactly what to do.

First you put the ball on the tee.

Then you get your bat ready.

Then you hit the ball with the bat.

And the ball goes flying.

And then you repeat the process.

My mommy wanted me to include this pic because she said I had a cute expression.

Same thing with this one.

Do they have leagues for 15 month olds because I'm totally ready.

Goalie Helper

Thomas was playing goalie in the last quarter of the soccer game on Saturday. I thought I could be of some help to him so I kept going out on the field. I must have helped because they won 1-0. Yeah me!

Me and My Bruh

My mommy took these pics of me and my brother today at the Dallas Arboretum. We wore shorts yesterday and coats today. Crazy weather here in Texas. I sure did have fun walking all over the place there. I didn't take a morning nap and fell asleep in the car on the way home even though a movie was playing and I never fall asleep when a movie is playing in the car.

I haven't written in a while. I've been busy walking. I had my 15 month check-up yesterday. I'm 80th percentile on height, 90th on head, and 60th on weight. I'm 1/4 inch longer than Thomas but a pound and a half lighter. I'm not as chubby as he was but I eat like a horse. The other day, we went to the park with James and his mommy, Lisa, and I ate all four chicken nuggets from my Happy Meal and 1/3 of James' cheeseburger before my mommy cut me off.

Since I'm still tired, I don't feel like typing anymore. Maybe I'll tell you more about myself next time. For now, enjoy these pics of me.

Check Me Out!

I'm walking more and more each day. In the second pic, I'm multi-tasking: walking and doing my rock star impression with a flashlight. :-)

Guess How Old I Am

Watch the video and you'll see that I know. Thomas thought Mommy was taking a picture and not videoing which is why you'll hear him keep telling her to take the picture. I love telling you how old I am.

Really Almost There

Hi everyone! I am SO close to walking all on my own! When I try to walk from Mommy to Daddy, I get so excited I only make it a few steps before I fall down laughing. But if you ignore me and watch me walk from one place to the next, I can walk at least 5 feet by myself without falling down. The other day, Mommy was in the bathroom and saw me walk from the changing table to the bed. She said, "I SAW that walking boy!" And I started laughing and did it over and over again, back and forth, back and forth. I'm pretty proud of myself for learning how to do it. My only problem is that I want to run and my feet can't keep up with me so I fall down. I'll get it though!

I had fun in New York. I liked standing in the snow and I liked being out in the cold but I got very mad when I fell down face first in the snow. I was very good on the flights home, but wasn't very nice on the way up there. Well, that's what Mommy said. I say, all I wanted to do was push the light button on and off for the entire 2 hour flight (we took two 2 hour flights to get there) and it's not MY fault that I'm not tall enough to reach it by myself and needed Mommy to lift me up. Why couldn't she hold me up to it for 2 hours straight? Is that too much to ask? So, of course, I screamed bloody murder when she sat me back down in her lap. That's understandable, isn't it?

Almost There

I'm getting braver on my own. I'll take 4-6 steps by myself now. It won't be long.

Dandelion Fun Too

I didn't want to be left out of the dandelion fun (see the other two blogs my mommy writes) so I'm posting this one of me and Grandma last night. I loved them too. And I got mad when they wouldn't let me bring it inside.

Straw Drinker

I'm letting my Mommy post this one because I'm napping.
We went to eat at IHOP last night, Thomas' choice, and I forgot to bring Jonathan's sippy cup with us. We ordered him a cup of water thinking we'd just help him drink from it when he was thirsty. When she brought the drink, he picked up the straw and tried to put it in the cup so we helped him get it in the lid. Then to our surprise, he put the straw in his mouth and started drinking. I know good and well that I didn't even give Thomas a straw till he was MUCH older than this, probably age 2. And here's Jonathan, drinking like a champ at 13 months. Wow. Thank goodness for cell phones or else we wouldn't have pics and videos of this exciting first time.

Want to see him in action? Click on the video above and enjoy. Listen carefully and you can hear Thomas' excitement in the background. He was just as proud as us.

Noggin Nodding

I like to encourage people to do what I want and I've recently found a new tool: nodding my head. I nod when Mommy plays Grandpa's Song on the piano. I nod when Mommy asks if I'm ready to get out of my carseat or my crib. And at mealtimes, I point at whatever item I want to eat next and when Mommy says, "Do you want more blueberries?" I nod my head and grin at her. Then I point at my peas and she says, "Do you want more peas?" I nod again. Then when I think it's time for dessert, I point to the Teddy Grahams box and grunt. My mommy asks if I want some bears and I nod so hard I shake my high chair.

I'm A Movie Fiend!

I LOVE watching movies in the car! In our family, we have a rule that says that we can't watch a movie in the car unless our trip is at least 30 minutes long. The only problem with that is that I can't tell time. So the minute I get in the car, I start squealing and pointing at the ceiling where I know the screen comes down. And I've found if I'm really cute doing it, Mommy will give in and let me watch one even if it's just to the grocery store. I'm not sure how long she'll keep breaking that rule but I'm going to enjoy it as long as possible.

Walking and Playing Piano

Today I am 13 months old. I'm not walking on my own yet and you can't make me. I know Thomas was already walking by now and I don't care. I'll do it when I'm good and ready! So there!! I do enjoy walking everywhere as long as I can hold one of Mommy's fingers. When I want to walk somewhere, I'll look at her and hold my hand up and grunt. And if she doesn't immediately comply, I get mad. Sometimes she even tries to trick me by letting go of my hand while we're walking, but I'm too smart for her. I stop walking and sit down the second she lets go.

I really enjoy playing our piano. I like to sit on Mommy's lap and we play together. Whenever she tries to play a song, I help her by adding a few banging notes of my own. But there is one song I really like. We call it Grandpa's Song around here because Mommy's Grandpa used to play it all the time and he taught it to her. Thomas loves it too and from the time he was about my age, he'd clap his hands as Mommy played that song. I don't clap my hands but I do sit quietly while she's playing it and don't play any of my own notes. And then when the song is over, I give one regal nod of my head. Good job Mommy.

I Love My Bruh!

I know I've talked about him before but I really do love my brother. I can't say his name yet, but I can say "bruh" so that's what I call him. I don't even say Mommy or Daddy yet, but I say Bruh. Don't get me wrong, I can say mamamamama and dadadadada, but I just don't choose to call them those names yet. Kind of like I won't wave bye bye. I CAN do it, I just choose not to.

The last week or so at school, when Thomas gets out of the car at drop-off, I cry. I miss him when he's not with us.

In the morning, when Mommy says it's time to go wake my brother up for school, I say, "Bruh!" and point the way upstairs. And when we get up there, Mommy puts me on Thomas' bed and I crawl all over him until he opens his eyes, smiles, and give me a big hug and a kiss. But don't tell him I told you that part. It might embarrass him.

This weekend, Thomas is staying over at Grandma and Grandpa's house. When Mommy and I got in the car last night after dropping him off, I pointed to his booster seat and said, "Bruh!" I was trying to tell my mommy we forgot him.

Earlier this afternoon, Grandpa and Thomas kept me so Mommy and Grandma could go to the movie. When we pulled into their driveway, Mommy asked me if I knew where we were. I started looking around trying to discern our location. When Mommy told me we were at Grandma and Grandpa's house, I started smiling. Then she said we would see Thomas and I said, "Bruh!" See, I told you I know his name.

Baby Einstein Car Video

I told you how much I enjoyed watching Baby Einstein on the way to Lubbock. I forgot that my mommy took this video of me that day with her cell phone. Enjoy!

I'm One!!

I am ONE! Woo hoo!! This picture was taken on my actual birthday, December 28th. I was standing with my grandma's help, but now I can do it all by myself. That is until I realize what I'm doing and then I sit down. I can also walk really well...as long as I'm holding one of your fingers. I just don't have the confidence yet to let go. But it won't be long.

Want to see a slide show of my party? Click here. It was very hard selecting background music but after working on it for over an hour, I got tired and decided to just post it as is. So if you don't like the music I selected, turn it down.

I had a great time at both of my birthday parties. I had one in Lubbock with lots of family members and a smaller one here at home with a few friends and family members. I loved opening presents and figured it out pretty quickly. I liked taking the tissue paper out of the gift sack and putting it back in. Sometimes I even forgot to see what was inside before putting the tissue paper back.

If you watch the slide show, you'll see that I did not like my smash cake. Thomas loved his when he turned one and got cake and icing all over himself. Me, not so much. I didn't like the feeling of icing on my fingers and I didn't want to get that dirty. I kept sucking on my fingers because I was uncomfortable so Daddy thought if I got cake on those fingers, I'd like it and dig in. But that made me mad, and I started sucking on the fingers of my other hand instead.

My parents turned my car seat around before our trip to Lubbock and I got to watch Baby Einstein while we were driving. I was SO excited about that. I kept squealing and kicking my feet all during the movie.

When we were in Lubbock, we were eating lunch at my Gma's house and I was sitting by the vertical blinds in the kitchen. They were really tempting to play with so I grabbed some and started shaking. Mommy told me they weren't a toy and to let go. So I stopped. But a few minutes later, she got up to get some dessert for us and I decided to try again. I quietly reached back, grabbed one blind, and snuck a peek at my Uncle Jerry. He slowly shook his head "no." I looked at him for a second and then let go. Darn it all.

I had my one year check-up on my actual birthday. Wasn't my Mommy mean making me get shots ON my birthday? Four shots! On my birthday!! I am a miraculous case though. The Case of the Incredible Shrinking Baby. Somehow I got shorter between my 9 month check-up and my one year. ;-) I know it's really hard to measure a wiggling baby and they must have mismeasured last time because I'm definitely 30 1/4 inches long. I am 1/4 inch longer than Thomas was and 3/4 pound lighter at this same age. I am pretty sneaky though. The doctor asked my mommy if I was saying any words yet. She said no. The doctor asked if I was standing on my own yet. She said no. We got home that afternoon with balloons for my party and I LOVE balloons. I started saying, "Ba! Ba!" and pointing at them. And then I started standing on my own. Hee hee.

Don't Leave Me Unattended!

I know you're probably waiting for me to write about my first Christmas and my first birthday, but I don't have time right now. I need to go take my morning nap. But I did want to share this picture with you that my mommy took this morning. This is what happens when you leave the diaper bag on the floor and me by myself for a few minutes. I can't be trusted, but I sure did have fun!