Jonah Videos

As we mentioned in previous posts, Jonah has really developed some new skills in the past few weeks. It's hard to describe in words just how much he is growing and changing, so we thought you might enjoy seeing these videos shot during play times yesterday:

On the Move (and Getting into Trouble)

Since Jonah really started crawling forward two weeks ago, he's really gotten into it and much better at it, even on the hardwood floors.  He's beginning to explore the house more (for better and for worse), and discovering new ways to get into trouble.  He's quite good now at moving into the sitting position from his stomach (I first saw that on the 16th), and last night we watched as he pulled himself into standing on the lowest of the stairs.  Today, he managed to pull himself all of the way up a couple of times at his musical table, on us, and using various other things around the house. My, how quickly he is learning!!

Here are some pictures of him in action:

Guilty as charged. I'm on the tile in front of the fireplace again!

This little knobby thingy is so cool!

Daddy's DVD collection is intriguing. Which shall I watch first?

I have good tastes - went right for Back to the Future!

Reaching up to the second level after getting to my knees.

Working toward standing up!

Glamor shot!   Posing while playing on my knees and feet.

The Misadventures of Mr. Monkey

Mr. Monkey, one of Jonah's first toys (and a favorite from his activity center), joined me on my recent trip to Istanbul, and I decided to document his journey.

After getting through security, Mr. Monkey was thrilled to see that his first flight on the way to Istanbul was showing as "On Time."

Mr. Monkey thought about getting out some cash, but unfortunately the ATM was out of order.

Mr. Monkey also scoped out some Super Bowl Champion Packers merchandise at the news stand.

Mr. Monkey was thrilled to be upgraded to first class for the first two legs of his trip to Istanbul.

Mr. Monkey enjoyed the extra leg room!

In Detroit, Mr. Monkey stopped to watch the really cool world fountain for a little while. 

Mr. Monkey also enjoyed the colors and music in the tunnel between the A and B terminals.

Despite a delayed flight and the chance of missing his connection to Istanbul, Mr. Monkey kept smiling.

Mr. Monkey thought the first class seats on the second flight were even better than the first!

Mr. Monkey enjoyed watching the scenery out the window.

Phew! Even with the delay, Mr. Monkey made it to his flight to Istanbul.

Mr. Monkey watched things happen at the airport while waiting for the plane to take off.

Mr. Monkey wondered how far he is going to travel and how long it would take. 

All tuckered out after a long day, Mr. Monkey took a nap.

Mr. Monkey was thrilled to arrive at Atatürk International Airport in Istanbul.

Because it was the biggest plane he had ever been on, Mr. Monkey stopped to look back at the plane that brought him to Istanbul.

After getting his visa and going through passport control, Mr. Monkey picked up his checked luggage.

Mr. Monkey checked out the view from his hotel room at the Nippon Hotel.

Mr. Monkey sent some quick emails to let family know he made it to Istanbul safely.

Then Mr. Monkey decided a little nap was a good idea to prepare for seeing the city later in the day.

When he woke up, Mr. Monkey took a shower using all the nice amenities provided by the hotel.

Mr. Monkey was amused by this little card that told him to "Have o nice stay."

Mr. Monkey chose to have lunch at "The House Cafe" on Istiklal Caddesi.

Mr. Monkey settled on Turkish Meatballs served on a garlic aubergine mash for lunch.

After lunch, Mr. Monkey made his way to the Galata Tower to get a 360 degree view of Istanbul.

Mr. Monkey visited the Yeni Cami (New Mosque).

I had been thinking about putting together a little book for Jonah with these photos, but unfortunately he fell out of my pocket at some point (or he really liked Istanbul and decided to stay). I searched all over and retraced my exact steps to the place I took this picture, but alas, unsuccessfully. Because it was raining, I kept  putting my camera under my jacket. I suspect this popped him out at some point.

I know this was probably more sad for me than it will be for Jonah when he is old enough to remember Mr. Monkey, but I was really upset by this.. I may even try to see if it is possible just to get a replacement monkey. 

I will be sure to use a pet leash the next time I bring stuffed company on a business trip. :)

More pictures from the trip are posted in my picasa album. I will be posting more soon, including a refresh of the ones already in the album with captions.

On your mark, get set, crawl!!!

It's official, the little guy is now a crawler!  As Ben had described in earlier posts, Jonah has been trying to crawl for some time and had managed to go backward and some side-to-side action, but nothing more than maybe one hand movement forward.

On Monday morning (Valentine's Day - what a great gift!), he crawled to me on the floor at day care and as he neared, I moved my hands back, and he just kept coming right for them.  Since then, he's continued to impress both us and the people at day care with his progress. It's not always elegant - sometimes he attempts it with one leg out to the side, sometimes he'll army crawl a bit in the middle, but most of the time, he's up on all fours in a standard crawl position.  There are a few things that seem to motivate him more than others:  a plastic water bottle, our hands, the weight for the helium balloon we bought a few weeks back, etc.  As soon as he thinks he's close enough to reach his object of desire with a dive versus the crawl, he will!

Earlier this evening, I sat him down on one side of the kitchen, thinking he could sit there for the few minutes it would take for me to throw a salad together (everything was already prepped).  In no time at all, he had crossed the entire kitchen and was at my feet (my shoes today seem to have been particularly interesting to him).  We are in trouble!!

And just when I thought I was in enough trouble with the crawling, tonight after his bath, he discovered that there are drawers in the bathroom that he can open.  I'd already been planning a trip to Babies 'R Us tomorrow; now it's a necessity!

Here are some videos taken this morning before Ben left for Istanbul, though they don't necessarily show Jonah at his crawling best.  It's rather difficult to successfully capture...

Will you be my Valentine??

Our snow angel...

 ...is a handsome little devil...

who wants to know...

"Will you be my Valentine??"

You can see more of Jonah's Valentine's Day photos on Picasa.

Standing, crawling, and tooth watch

Jonah hit a new milestone earlier this month: he stands up and supports himself while he is standing. This first became evident with his Leap Frog music table (ours is a little different than the one on Amazon). When we first began using it, we didn't bother putting the legs on it. He could sit at it and access it better without them. Then he started to reach more and climb across it to get to more of the buttons, so we put two of the legs in it to put it up at an angle. Not long after, he started to climb up it a bit, so we put the other two legs in to complete the table. We would stand him up at it so he could play it, and it soon became evident that he didn't need us to hold him in place. He could support himself!

Jonah's making music!

Supporting himself in a standing position!

Standing at his music table is one of his favorite activities now. When he sees it upon entering the living room, his eyes just light up! He isn't pulling himself into a standing position yet, but he certainly enjoys being set up in a standing position.

Crawling is still a work-in-progress. Jonah really wants to crawl, especially when there is an enticing toy in front of him, but he can only seem to go backwards and sideways (with a bit of rotation). He's worked himself into a couple awkward positions, like under his music table:

Backing into the garage...

and between a house plant and love seat:

"Hey, wait a minute... you're taking a picture of *this*??"

"Ha ha... very funny, Mommy and Daddy... now will you please get me out of here?"

That being said, he is trying really hard to get moving forward. I like to say that he is revving the engine, but not getting any traction as he rocks his body forward and backwards (I think Michelle may have caught some of this in video to post later). Sometimes he even gets up on one or both feet.

Jonah checks out his feet

Not sure if he is thinking about crawling or eating his sock here...

Up on all four!

"I think I can! I think I can!"

With my luck, he will probably start moving forward while I am away on a business trip... sigh...

Tooth watch: None of Jonah's teeth have broken through the gums yet. His drooling slowed down a little and we thought they might be close, but the drool is back in full force today. When we are able to actually look, it seems like we can see some faint outlines of teeth in his gums. Maybe we will see something soon!

You can see some more pictures from this month in Picasa.

Carrots!

Jonah ate some solid (pureed) food today, and he ate it really well! We tried him with carrots for the first time, he did really well! So well, in fact, that we didn't get any pictures. We were so excited that he was not only taking bites of food but also swallowing them, that we didn't want to jinx it by getting the camera. Add to that the fact that he wasn't spitting food back out, so the process was NEAT and CLEAN and there wouldn't have been much in the pictures to show that he was eating carrots. He even ate two helpings! He did so well with the first, that we got some more to feed him, and he proceeded to eat most of that! Hopefully this is a sign of things to come!