Our "big boy"

Our little guy just keeps growing up. Right now he is on a "big boy" kick where he wants nothing to do with anything he thinks of as being babyish. He will have no more to do with toddler plates; it's all about a "big plate" even though the ceramic plates Ben and I use at many meals are physically smaller than the plastic plates he used to use. Using toddler-sized silverware doesn't always fit with his plan, either.

This fascination with "big boy" activities translates to activities at the park as well, where he has begun to resist the toddler swings. Remarkably - at least to our minds - he has done quite well with the regular swings (they sit pretty low to the ground at Enderis Park), and even managed to stop it by himself and dismount successfully a couple of times on Sunday. Here's some video showing his thorough enjoyment of the swing:

For some time, major sources of enjoyment at Enderis Park have been the ramp to the field house and the stairs up and down on the west side of the field. This weekend he discovered a new activity: walking the "ramp" on either side of the stairs.

I'm sure we'll see even more of this emphasis on being a big boy in the coming months and years. Don't grow up too quickly, Jonah! We want to hold on to your "little boy" moments!

Going on an Egg Hunt

With Ben's crazy travel schedule the past couple of months (plus a business trip for me and a family vacation), we're a bit behind on posts. Hopefully we can catch up in the next week or so and then stay on top of things moving forward. However, given that Jonah's birthday is at the end of the month and we'll have preparations for that and tons of activities in association, I think I'd better just aim to get caught up by then!

The local neighborhood association sponsors and Egg Hunt for kids each year. We didn't bother taking Jonah last year, but were curious how he would respond to the activity this year.  The day was cold and it looked like it might rain, but we all bundled up and walked the 4 blocks or so over to the park.  They had an Easter Bunny there to entertain the kids while we waited, but Jonah clung to me in fear.

There wasn't much "hunting" at this location: the eggs were simply all over the ground in a roped off section of the park (a few were placed a bit strategically behind legs of tables and up on columns, etc.). Fortunately, they allowed the kids to enter by age range, so Jonah was in the first group to gain entry.  He was raring to go and could hardly wait to get at the eggs!

He didn't seem to have any problem grasping the point of the activity, though it was really interesting to see how kids that age go about picking up eggs. He walked right past some eggs to get to others that caught his eye for some unknown reason.
 

To keep things fair, they limited the number of eggs each child could pick up to ten, and we were able to meet the quota before the next age group gained entry.  Jonah wasn't terribly happy about being pulled from the hunt before he was finished participating, but he showed off a couple of his finds for Daddy:

We opened the eggs to keep the candy - pretty much all Starburst in his eggs, not exactly ideal for his age - and turned them back in for use again next year. I'm sure we'll come back for this activity again!

Fast forward a week to an egg hunt in Findlay, Ohio sponsored by Northwest Ohio Railroad Preservation, Inc. Jonah still didn't like the Easter Bunny:

but he was raring to go at the start of the hunt (a hunt in an open field where kids of all ages have access at the same time and can gather as many eggs as they want/can. The eggs are empty, however, and are turned in at the end for a standard gift bag):

In general, his search strategy was the same as before, walking (and tripping) over eggs right in front of him to get to others that caught his eye, but this time he was more particular about the color of the eggs he picked up.

Ignoring all of these eggs at my feet to find that perfect other one!

However, after a short period (around a dozen or fifteen eggs), he had had enough and wanted nothing more to do with the egg hunt. I love the long pouty face he puts on when he is sad or upset:

By the time we left, he was in a much better mood, chilling on Uncle Dave's shoulders:

Jonah at the Pool

Wow! We have gotten unbelievably behind in blogging! Almost two months since our last post. Things have been pretty busy. We've got some topics to blog about, though!

Here's a quickie post with a video we got in late July. The neighborhood park has a little wading pool for small children. Unfortunately, the hours weren't great for us to get over there very often, but we did get over there several times over the course of the summer. Jonah usually enjoyed going in and out of the water, but once in a while he would stay in the water. On this particular day, he was having some fun crawling around in the water, chasing us and playing with other kids in the pool.



We think he had a pretty good time. :)

Enderis Park: Concerts in the Park

Our neighborhood park association puts on four "Concerts in the Park" each summer. It is a pretty good time, hanging out with neighbors and listening to the music. We went to a couple last summer when Jonah was too little to get around on his own. Last Thursday, we went to the first one where he was (relatively) mobile, and we brought along a toy that he likes to push around the house.

Well, he was all about pushing that truck around the park, both on the sidewalk and on the grass. He seems to really like checking out people and seeing everything going on around him. I also think he likes the freedom of moving about on his own.

Here are a few pics of him with his method of getting around:

"Hmmm... stay on the sidewalk or drive on the grass?"

"Geez, this is hard work!"

Just toolin'!

Fortunately, he didn't run anyone over, but he did have a few narrow misses. He is pretty good about turning things now. He even made a pass in front of the stage when One Drum was playing. He seemed very interested in the speakers, but thankfully didn't get too close.