Mom's Proudest Moment

Well... close to my proudest Mom moment. There was the day Jonathan was born, his first steps, and the day he first said Mama. But this ranks right up there.

Jonathan discovered "clean-up." After 15 months of wrecking havoc on the house, today he discovered that everything has a place to which it is to return. I came home from work and gave Jonathan a cup of milk. After drinking it, he asked me 'please' while pulling on the fridge door to get me to open it for him. He then reached his little hand up as far as he could go to put his cup back on the shelf. Hmm... nice. Later we were playing in his room and he unpacked boxes of wipes and burp cloths from a cabinet, then put them all back and closed the door. I was pretty pleased. It was when he unloaded all the socks from his drawer and proceeded to put each back into it's bin before attempting to stuff the bin back into the open drawer that I started to see the pattern. I think I'm going to like this phase! What are the chances he's this excited about picking up for the next 18 years? I'm doing my best to contribute... there was lots of praise and enthusiasm for each sock that made its way back in the drawer!


Here's my little munchkin at what I fear may be the peak of his enthusiasm for cleaning house.

Mass Casualties at Lunch

My parents did a pretty good job raising us kids (Thanks Mom, Dad), so I tend to rely on much of my experience growing up for parenting style. Plus, it's faster than reading the books, which I don't have time for anyways. But come'on Mom & Dad... I could use a little follow-up in terms of what worked and what didn't -- from an adult perspective. For example, we kids skirted the lights-out bedtime rules by keeping the hallway outside our bedrooms dark. When we saw a crack of light under our bedroom door, we knew the perimeter had been breached and that our own doors were only seconds from opening, too. Flashlights were quickly stowed under the pillows 'til you'd returned to the secret super-cool adult world were you had all the fun after we were forced to go to bed. So, did y'all know we were so insistent on keeping that hallway dark so we could read as late as we wanted... were we allowed to keep our little flashlight game going 'cause at least it kept us in our rooms?

What I'm really getting at here, though, is the mess on my floor. Which I'm blogging about while the dog cleans up. (Pepper's household value has risen dramatically since Jonathan started feeding himself). That little airplane game ... where you put the yucky puree green beans on a spoon and whirled it around our little toddler heads like a plane until the excitement was too much to take and we eagerly opened our little mouths to gobble up the now appealing green mush that was looking for a landing... did that work? Granted, we ate the green beans. But how about a few months down the road? Am I the only parent this has backfired for?

Jonathan is very excited about using a spoon. It's quite cute, really. And, as is the case for just about everything these days, he wants to do it just like Mommy and Daddy. Which means while eating chili (RED chili) today, he was insistent on whirling his airplane spoon, topped with chunky chili passengers, all around his increasingly messy head before eating each bite. Or rather, before licking the spoon, which inevitably landed passenger-less. The casualties were innumerable. I don't think a single chili passenger actually landed in his mouth the entire meal -- and he's actually pretty good at the spoon thing, when the path is a little more direct. Each spoonful toppled off somewhere in the circling pattern before being called in... some hit the table, many hit the floor, and plenty hit any one of the white chairs in a 4 foot radius, since the plane was flying a little fast and reckless. And there was no talking this toddler out of the fact that every spoonful needed to make a minimum of a few passes, complete with airplane noises, around the high chair before being allowed to land.

Dog's about done with his job, but we haven't found a training school that even purports to teach dogs to do laundry, so it's now my turn to complete the clean-up. And I'm thinking we'll have cheese and crackers for snack... much safer, and no airplanes needed.
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Thankfully, there's no photo evidence of the wreck that is the dining room at the moment, but here's a token photo:



If you don't count the Oreo(s?) Jonathan manages to finagle out of David every week at the grocery store, this is about Jonathan's 3rd cookie (to my knowledge), and a much cleaner day in the life of the dining room. He was pretty happy about eating the cookie, but stopped long enough between bites to smile for a picture.

Zoo Boo

I joked to some friends this week that Jonathan was dressing up as a Monkey for Halloween, and David and I would be going as Tired Toddler Parents. This morning, Jonathan played his part quite well and had a blast at the zoo with friends, and we were actually relatively 'with it,' as toddler parents go. This evening, Jonathan started out in his Monkey costume, to welcome Trick-Or-Treaters (or at least those who came before bedtime). But dinner got underway, things were looking messy, the costume got scrapped, and we had a toddler eating egg drop soup in a diaper. Toddler shares his glass of water with Mommy. Doorbell rings, dog barks, toddler cries, Daddy consoles crying toddler. By the time we arrive at the door, we are in fact the scary version of Tired Toddler Parents. Jonathan's in a wet diaper with food down his chest. I'm drenched in water down my front. And David now has swirrled eggs scattered across his brown cashmere sweater, from picking up the crying toddler, who was himself covered in egg drop soup. Our neighbors all think we're quite a mess, but we did at least get the candy distributed to lots of small children, who wouldn't have cared if we'd had eggs in our hair, as long as we had a basket of Nerds.

A few photos of our little Monkey's day at the Zoo...




Weee!

Every Monkey needs a Banana break once in a while.

PJ's, stories, & Skype

A few shots from bedtime the other night.

Jonathan loves talking with his Halmony and Hariboge on Skype.

He's into standing on top of...

and sitting on top of... everything.

Story time, and Night Night!

Camp Toddler

Wow! So much has written since we last posted! Since our last post 2 or 3 weeks ago, Jonathan's vocabulary has grown from Dada and Ack (quack for a duck) to well more than 15 words and a handful of signs. He's figuring out more every day, loves stacking blocks, walking Pepper, giving his Monkey rides on his push truck, and collecting things in little baggies and boxes.

As I put Jonathan to bed this evening I found myself thinking of how being his Mom is more fun every day. It absolutley is. It's amazing to watch him learn and engage his world more each day than the day before. Of course, this evening our toddler was absolutely delightful. It wasn't but two days ago that I called my own mother to say, "Wow, today I realized for the first time what 'You're asking for a spanking' means. It means 'You're asking for a spanking.'" Leaving aside the debate on parenting styles, it hit me as my sweet toddler looked me in the eyes to watch my reacion as he put that piece of paper in his mouth for the 4th time or as he reached out to smack poor Pepper again after being told that we don't hit, "THIS is what my parents meant when they said, 'You're testing my patience,' and 'I don't want to spank you, but I will if you make me.'" I can still hear my own thoughts, "I'm not MAKING you spank me. I'm not MAKING you do anything." Oh no... no, I get it now. Jonathan, in all his enthusiasm to explore life and the world around him, is also learning to "test the limits" and thereby is definitely participating in the Good Lord's plan to sanctify his mother with a character that apparently needs a little more patience. That said, we're having a blast with Jonathan and can't help but laugh at most of his little antics.

He LOVES the outdoors. I'm about to start my own toddler Boy Scout troop if there isn't one. We were outdoors Saturday hiking, then Monday through Thursday camping. On Saturday he was again so insistent on playing outside that between us we must have spent 4 to 5 hours of the day talking walks, playing at the park, or exploring the backyard. Here are a few highlights from our adventures of the week:



Last Saturday we went hiking at a nearby state park with church friends. It was a great time to visit with friends, and Jonathan enjoyed his ride on daddy's back in his hiking backpack. No morning nap was no problem for this happy camper, but he sacked out in the car on the ride home.


First order of business on arriving at our campsite Monday was Snack. Once Jonathan had had his cheese and crackers at the picnic table, he was set to go.


While his Mommy and Daddy set-up the tent, Jonathan found an empty baggie and started a leaf colletion. He was pretty excited about it and clapped for himself when he saw me admiring the leaves he'd found. After the leaves, he got to working on finding good sticks. He spent much of the week digging in the dirt with sticks or dragging around branches that were taller than he is... back and forth across the campsite. He also developed an affection for our car, parked right beside the campsite. He learned the word "car" and would walk around it in circles, stopping every so often to reach up his arms and press his cheek against it, hugging the car more or less just like he does us. My attention is now called to the window by an excited toddler every time a car drives by the house "Car! Car! Car!"


I don't remember what he found so funny at the moment, but he thoroughly enjoyed our hike on Tuesday despite the rain. We were grateful to have our raincoats and actually enjoyed a beautiful walk in the rainy woods.




Wednesday was sunnier, and we spent the afternoon near some small falls. Jonathan enjoyed dipping his feet in the cool water and scrambling around the rocks (not these... some much farther from the water, of course).


Riding on Daddy's shoulders is super cool.


Look at how happy these guys are. I love living life with these two.


Jonathan was so excited to sit up in a big chair beside his Daddy and watch the camp fire. We were lucky to arrive just after a 2 year ban-burn was lifted (thanks to all the rain). We usually set up the campfire after Jonathan was in bed, but the night he got to see it he was pretty impressed. We were equally impressed with how well he slept in his little pack-n-play in our tent. There were a few minutes of protest when we peeled him away from the excitement of bouncing around on Mommy and Daddy's air mattress (yeah for car camping and air mattresses), but after that he and Monkey called it a night. Jonathan usually sleeps to the sound of waves on a white noise machine, but this week his nature sounds were real, and he slept great.

Monkey Rescue

It's been a busy month in the Hong House. We have both been working long weeks and can't wait for a fresh start this coming month. We are grateful to my parents and Jonathan's wonderful nanny for their extra time this month to help us hold it together. Even with the busy schedules, Jonathan's been having a blast being an active 13 month toddler and we're loving every minute with him. Here are a few highlights.

Jonathan's favorite game these days is Monkey Rescue. David puts Monkey at the top of the couch and creates an obstacle course out of the couch cushions while mimicking Monkey's desperate voice: "Jonathan... come save me! Come save me!" Jonathan cracks up laughing, then gets a look of concentration and determination while scrambling up the cushion tower, sometimes with a little assistance. He finally grabs Monkey with a screech of satisfaction, laughing, then clapping to acknowledge the achievement. Any accomplishment... be it getting a taste of yogurt into his mouth with his own spoon or climbing onto the couch, doesn't slip by without a moment of celebration. If we don't clap for him, he'll take care of it himself. Jonathan's so into Monkey Rescue that when David comes home in the evening, Jonathan takes two steps towards the back door, then as he see's the first hint of his Daddy stepping into the house he tears off towards the couch, waiting for David to join him and play.


"Jonathan... come save us!" (Two Monkeys participated in this round, which means the Grandparents must have been around. They always seem to break out all available Monkeys.)


Oops... wrong way, no Monkey down there.


"Gotcha!"


Proudly surveying the room from above.

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This picture pretty much tells it all.
While my parents were down over Labor Day weekend David and Jonathan's Grandpa enthusiastically set up Jonathan's sandbox. A birthday gift from his Grandparents, we were excited to see him explore it. It turned into a classic parenting moment. We broke out the camera to document Jonathan's anticipated excitement and then set him in the sandbox... to his complete horror and panic. Guess Little Dude doesn't like the feel of sand on his bare feet. He freaked out, couldn't get out fast enough. You can see the tears streaming down his cheek here. And the look on David's face pretty much says it -- a mixture of disappointment and frustration. "You've got to be kidding... we spent hours putting this together." So we gave the little guy a respite from the horrors of the sandbox. I've been letting him sit on my lap while I shovel the sand around every so often the past few weeks. Then yesterday Jonathan sat on the side and before he knew it, he was in the sandbox playing too. He stopped... looked down with a worried look, then looked up and started clapping with a look of satisfaction. "Yeah! I did it! This is kinda fun, actually!" After the drama of the first attempt I'm impressed how quickly he's taking to it :) Thanks, Nonnie & Grandpa! I think we'll be having a lot of fun in the sandbox from here on out.

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This weekend we went to the park. Jonathan had a blast riding the train and watching the ducks and the fish.




LOVED the train.





Fish, ducks, people... too many interesting things to see to spare a second for the camera.

Sleepy on Daddy's shoulders after a fun day.

Garage Bling

David spent a good deal of last week working on the backyard landscaping and the garage, and they look awesome. The backyard is getting greener and more colorful by the day, and I never thought I would appreciate a nice garage so much. We always teased my dad growing up about how he'd "clean" the garage while we'd clean the house. I figured a clean garage was about as useful to the rest of us as if he'd been trimming his toe nails. But I had to say, I love our new garage. The 4 banks of bright lights turn on automatically when you walk in... no more scary dark garage when you go looking for something late at night. There's new shelving, a place for shoes, racks for hanging chairs, brooms, camping supplies, etc. Hangers for a host of tools... many of which I could swear we didn't have until the new improved garage appeared. Maybe they were a part of the package. I don't have pics of the backyard, but here's a few shots of my hubby's handiwork: