Climbing to the Top!

Ok, Jonah isn't really climbing the stairs yet, but he does like to use the bottom steps as props for standing.

They are spaced pretty well for him to practice standing. He can have his hands on the bottom step or stretched to the second step.

He's getting pretty good at moving himself laterally along the steps,

and it is rare for him to try to climb the steps, though he does occasionally throw a leg up. It doesn't usually get him very far.

Unfortunately, I was at the wrong angle to capture his leg up in this shot. It is also too bad that he sometimes pays too much attention to the camera and not to what he is doing. Sometimes it is nice, however, ...

...and it allows us to get some fun shots of him. :)

An Upstanding Young Man at 8 Months

As we do every month, we got pictures of Jonah sitting with Tigger. He is now almost twice as big as Tigger!

"Uh oh! What's going on here?"

Having some fun with Tigger.

Jonah was actually a little more calm at first while sitting with Tigger. Perhaps getting some advice?

"So you've gotta tell me... how do you bounce around? I can get a good bounce going, but it isn't getting me anywhere..."

Then Jonah realized the armchair would provide a great support to get up on his feet. Yes, not even a full two weeks after figuring out how to crawl forward, he has figured out how to get into a sitting position from crawl position and now can pull himself up to a standing position.

On your mark!

Get set!!

Go!!!

Last night he also stood up in his crib when we tried to put him to bed. Time to lower the mattress in the crib again (only a week after Michelle lowered it because he was sitting up in the crib)!

Tooth update: It has been difficult to confirm, but we think one of Jonah's top teeth has started to poke through his gums a little. Just barely...

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.

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.