So...yeah. My blog.

It's been a busy month-and-a-half since I last wrote!

On November 16th, I got the news that I was laid off. :( It was hard to deal with at first, but honestly the timing isn't all bad since Baby D#2 will be arriving soon anyway. Since then, I've kept extremely busy fixing up the house, running errands, and setting up networking lunches to try to position myself well for getting a job next year.

The last couple of weeks have been a mad scramble to get the baby's room ready (it is!) and to get everything bought and wrapped for Christmas (I did!). Now, at 36+ weeks pregnant, my goal is to lie around and send this baby girl vibes to stay in there as long as possible. Of course, by "as long as possible," I mean "until like 38 weeks, and then you're free to join us" because our latest ultrasound shows that she is BIG - 80th percentile!

Jonathan has been continuing daycare since I've been home over the last month. He loves it and it allows me to get everything done and rest a little bit too.

I worry about how his new little sister is going to change his life. He is going through a "mommy stage" and I think it will be rough on him when I am majorly occupied with breastfeeding and baby care. It should be a good chance for Jeremy and him to develop even more of a special bond though.

Finally, no blog entry is complete without the "cute things that Jonathan is doing lately" section:

- He likes to sit in his car seat and sing the ABCs at the top of his lungs. At the end, he likes to be tickled and will specifically request it if we don't act quickly enough.

- He loves our Christmas tree. Every day after school, he runs into the family room and asks for the tree to be turned on. He gets this amazed, wide-eyed look every time the lights go on. Then he runs around, pointing out the Santa Claus ornaments, requesting to touch the tree and reminding us that the train ornament near the top came from Grandma and Papa.

- He sits at the table each evening and colors while we make his dinner. Inevitably the first thing out of his mouth is, "Mommy, Daddy, come sit right heah. Next to Shashan."

- If there is football on TV, he volunteers "Gooo NOLES!"

- When we put him down to bed at night, we always ask for big hugs. He gives them, then says "KISS!" and puckers up.

- Sometimes I see him give our black lab Kahlua a big hug and say "K'lua a gooood gull."

Halloween!

Jonathan was a pretty darn cute Cookie Monster for Halloween this year. He was quite unhappy about the costume, but we cajoled him into wearing it. Of course, wearing the hood was even less appealing. We did manage to get him to put it on for a few pictures by using a bit of bribery ("Jonathan, leave your hood on and you can have a bite of pizza").

We went to the neighborhood Halloween party and he ran around throwing his football and generally having a great time. Then Grandma and Papa came over for dinner, which was a fun treat! We intended to go trick-or-treating, but we ran out of time, and honestly, it was just as well. Jonathan didn't know any better and I'm not sure how well he would have done with all the walking. He was totally fascinated with the kids coming to the door. He kept peeking timidly around the doorframe at them.

It was a fun night, and I look forward to next year when he will be old enough for trick-or-treating and young enough to not notice that we steal 3/4 of his candy.

Baby Sister

We are so excited that Jonathan's baby sister will be here in 3 months or less! We've been talking to him about her frequently, although he doesn't seem terribly interested. Typically when asked if he wants a baby sister, he says something along the lines of "No - OOOOH! I find da football, daddy."

But over the past few months he has taken an interest in babies at daycare.

"Baby! Das a baby right dere mommy. Hi baby!!"

He's also been quite sweet and gentle with little baby Denley, our friends' 7 week old. They were over last night and he "shared" (read: shoved towards her face) his spaceship placemat with her.

"Heah, baby Dee Dee, heah."

And it's very promising that he likes to kiss my belly goodnight before bedtime. All in all, he is such a sweet and loving boy - I know he will be a fantastic big brother to the littlest Duguid.

Two Years Old

Jonathan turned two on September 30th! The time has flown and our baby isn't a baby anymore. It was a very emotional day for me. But soon enough we'll have another little baby to remind us how hard having an infant is and how easy a crazy, wild toddler can be in comparison.

We had a few friends over to celebrate last Saturday and had a really nice time at J's "choo-choo train party." The kids played on the playset and in a bouncy house we had rented. Jonathan looked completely bewildered as people sang "happy birthday" to him, but really enjoyed the balloons. He halfheartedly ate a cupcake and two bites of ice cream - he just isn't that into sweets. We MAY need to conduct a maternity test with this one.

Here are a few pics from the day:

Our Chatterbox

Jonathan is talking up a storm now. He has always been a talker, but now you can tell he is really speaking in full sentences, even though 75% of it is still unintelligible.

Here are a few of the cuter (and more understandable) things that come out of this kid's mouth:

"Thank you daddy. Thank you mommy" (sometimes unprompted, when we hand him a toy or some milk)

"MOVE Emmy." When the dog is in his way.

"Hippo Thomas" When referring to a hippopotamus (I think he thinks the hippo is named Thomas, like his current fave, Thomas the Train).

"No, daddy." When Jeremy attempts to sing.

"NO Gus. Not NIIICE." At random times, unknowingly tattling on his friend from school.

"Heh Heh, Dee Dee pizza?" Said all the time. Apparently we have pizza too often with our friends Jeff ("Heffay") and Jaime.

"Daddy's juice." Beer.

"Fire truck! WEEEEEEOOOOOOOWEEEEEOOOOOOOO!!!...Uh oh...where fire truck go?" Just talking to himself in the backseat of the car.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, favan, ett, nine, ten, 'leven, thirteen, thirteen, thirteen..."

"A B C D E...mumble mumble...Q R S!!!!...mumble mumble V! W X!!!! Y and Z!"

While he is giving us a little more resistance now that he's really entering the toddler years, we are also enjoying him more than ever now that he can communicate so well. And his personality is really shining through. He is so full of joy and energy!

Froggy Potty!

We recently purchased a potty for Jonathan. It arrived about a week ago and he's been sitting on it every night since.

It was pretty cute to watch him attempt to sit on it for the first time. He was practically standing on his head in front of it, trying to figure out how to get on that thing. Now he's got it down to a science and it's his favorite part of the evening. He sits, we read three books, including a new book about going on the potty which he really enjoys, and then we have to practically drag him off of that thing for bathtime.

No actual pottying has occurred yet (unless you count the time he stood two feet in front of the potty and peed all over the floor), but we're just taking it slow. For now, I'm just glad "Time to go sit on the potty, Jonathan" is getting him to go upstairs willingly at night!

Jonathan has been a little defiant lately. Heading upstairs for bathtime is the worst. He dawdles, he delays and he flat-out disobeys.

And I've been struggling to keep my patience with him. Now that I'm 18 weeks pregnant with our little girl (YAY! - more on that in a future post), leaning over is getting more and more uncomfortable and picking up a 27 lb toddler is getting difficult. I want him to just listen and cooperate so I don't have to lean over and grab him kicking and screaming.

But I came to a realization about the personality traits that are causing this defiance and I hope it will bring me a change of attitude.

Jonathan is stubborn. The positive view of this is that he is determined. This quality shows itself in his willingness to try, try, and try again to buckle his own carseat or get his shoes off. But you know what? It pays off. He eventually gets it.

Also, Jonathan is the happiest, most fun-loving little boy you'll ever meet. He loves to run and spin and tumble and laugh. And going upstairs for bathtime gets in the way of all that joy. But you know what? There are worse things than a child filled with happiness and delighting at the simple things in life.

So I think I need an attitude adjustment. And Jonathan needs a little more patience and understanding from mom.

Aaaaaand...the occasional timeout.

Our ebullient boy:

"No, mommy"

Jonathan's favorite new saying is "No, mommy."

It's not what you'd expect - this is not screamed in fits of frustration or 2-yr-old rage (well not usually anyway), rather stated quietly, calmly and in a tone of voice that says, "Oh geez, here she goes again (long-suffering sigh)."

Me: Jonathan, it's bathtime. Let's go upstairs!
Jonathan: No, mommy.

Me: Jonathan, how was your day at school!? Did you have fun playing with your friends!?
Jonathan: No, mommy.

Me: (singing along with his Music Class CD) Little red caboose, chug chug chug!! Little red-
Jonathan: No, mommy.

Annoying my kid already at the age of 22 months. That's gotta be some kind of a record.

Wyoming Trip!

We made our annual trip to Jackson, WY earlier this month and had such a fantastic time, as always. Jonathan was really able to appreciate the experience this year, including such Wyoming-specific attractions as the club pool, rocks in Grandma and Grandpa's driveway, and legos.

OK, so maybe he doesn't appreciate the amazing mountains and prolific wildlife, but he had an absolute blast. I felt guilty for taking him home.

One of the biggest highlights of the trip was definitely trips to the pool, where Jonathan was able to stand and run around in the very shallow water. He has absolutely no fear and would plunge headfirst or flop sideways while spinning at a million miles an hour only to laugh hysterically and do it again moments after we rescued him from under the water.

Another popular activity was exploring "Nana" and "Peepa's" yard. He wanted to be outside the whole.dang.time. Throwing rocks, chasing Cricket, playing basketball or tee-ball, it didn't matter as long as he was outside. I didn't mind because we had fantastic weather compared to the crazy heat wave we'd been having in Atlanta.

Jeremy and I had the chance to get away one evening and look for animals - we saw a few things, including a moose, which was my goal all along! We also saw some elk in the backyard, so I got my wild animal fix on the trip. The other non-Jonathan-related highlight was a fancy party we went to on the last night. The rich lady had hired musicians from the Houston orchestra and flew them in for her party. We got a private violin/guitar concert.

I took it easy on the hiking - just going on a 2 mile walk one day - but Jeremy and my mom went on a really long hike. Mom went 8 miles and Jeremy ended up going 10. WOW.

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for a wonderful time as always. Here are some pics from the trip that pretty much sum it up. Please note - I did actually have more than one shirt with me on the trip.






























And just for fun, a pic of Jonathan on the swings last year vs. this year. Last year's pic was the very first time he was ever on a swing.

Jonathanisms

Just a quick note today to talk about a few of the cute things Jonathan says:

"Shoshy"
Said when referring to himself, things that are his, and also whenever we bring out our phones or computers - because he believes that the sole purpose of those devices is to display pictures of...well, Jonathan.

"Gocka ball"
Refers to his soccer ball. Also used to describe the photo of our beloved late dog, whose picture is still hanging in our hall. We like to go through the pictures and talk about which doggy is which. Emmy, Kahlua and Oscar have become "Eee," "LaLa" and "Gocka Ball." We find this so adorable.

"Uh-tide down!"
Shouted when daddy grabs him by the ankles and flips him upside down in the air. Giggles and requests of "'gain?!" ensue.

Can I even catch up or are we too far gone?

Once you've abandoned your blog for 3 weeks, you start to think, "there is so much to update, I can't even bring myself to try."

But I'm not giving up on the blog! So, to all of my legions of readers, you'll just have to deal with the quickest three-week-update of all time. Starting...now!

Jer and I went on a Baltic cruise - the weather was beautiful, we met some fun people on the boat and saw some cool cities and cathedrals.

Jonathan meanwhile was living the life with Grandma and Papa, aunts, uncles and cousins. I knew he had a great time when they pulled out of the driveway and Jonathan gazed forlornly out of the window, lower lip quivering, sharp little intakes of breath threatening to erupt into full hysterics at any moment. He held it together though, and things are back to normal now.

Except that in the 11 days we were gone, he is a completely new, grown up boy.

Exhibit A - when we asked him if he had fun playing with cousin Maggie, he said, "I pay wif Mannie!" I swear he did. He said it twice. I have never heard him put more than two intelligible words together.

Exhibit B - "Buttball" is now "Beatball." I am not sure that is really progress towards the real word, "football," but it is a big change - he'd been talking about "buttball" for 6 months.

Exhibit C - Yes and No! He was saying "no" before like any good 1 year old, but now he will say in a quick little breathy voice, "No, no, no, no" while shaking his head and turning away. And while he still doesn't say "yes," he will smile broadly and nod his head.

We missed our sweet little boy so much. I don't ever want to be away from him that long again. Remind me that I said this when he's a teenager.

Weekend at the beach

We had a wonderful time in Amelia Island last weekend! As you can see from the pictures, swimming was a big hit with Jonathan - that is, when he wasn't talking about, pointing towards or gingerly poking at his favorite object at Grandma and Grandpa's house, the clay duck by the pool. "Hi, Duck." "Bye-bye Duck." A big hit with Jer and me were the 3 hour naps that Jonathan took EVERY DAY.

PS - Proof that Jeremy was there too in the last photo.

Bye-Bye Trunk

Here's a cute little moment from tonight that we want to remember.

He loves elephants and requests his animal books all the time, getting especially excited about the pages with elephants on them. He also loves a song from music class about elephants - at the end he likes to raise his arm and make the trumpeting noise.

But he can't say "elephant" yet. He calls them "trunk."

Tonight, after we sang the elephant song, Jonathan noticed one of his elephant toys on the rocking chair in his room.

"Trunk?" "Trunk?" He looked worried, and ran over to it to point emphatically. "Trunk??"

"Yes, Jonathan, that's an elephant who has a trunk. But now we have to say bye-bye to the elephant and go to bed."

Waving slowly, Jonathan sadly said,

"Bye-bye trunk (babble babble babble)"

"Bye-bye trunk (babble babble babble)"

"Bye-bye trunk (babble babble babble)."

Jer and I started to laugh. The harder we laughed, the more he said it and the more somber his sweet little face became.

Love that kid so much.

Catching up on some photos - Easter

We had a great time on Easter at Jim and Jo's! Jonathan, Maggie and Will raced around in the yard for "horse shows" and enjoyed the egg hunt.

Perfect Day

Today is a day I would like to remember. It was honestly just perfect, from beginning to end.

Jonathan woke up on the right side of the bed, happy and chatty. He played calmly by himself for a few minutes while I made banana pancakes for us in peace.

After breakfast we went to Music Class and walked around the Dunwoody Arts Festival with friends Jodi, Justin and Sydney. Jonathan was happy and quiet, watching all the people and dogs go by. It was breezy and 70-something. Perfect.

We got home, made him lunch and put him down for a nap. We were hoping for 2 - 2.5 hours. We got 3.

When our rosy-cheeked boy finally woke up, he was happy as a clam. After snacktime, we decided to check out Hammond Park in Sandy Springs - I hadn't been there since I was little. Jonathan had a great time climbing up the stairs and going down the slide, feet first on his belly as he prefers, over and over again.

Finally, we ended the night with dinner at one of Jer's and my old fave's, Willy's Mexicana Grill. Our little bottomless pit finished up his quesadilla and part of my burrito bowl.

Today was the ideal mix of activities and relaxation, plus perfect weather and a cheerful little boy. I guess every once in a while, everything comes together just right like that.

Bit by bit, no longer a baby

One more sign that our baby is a big boy now. Saying bye-bye to the paci.

Jonathan's paci, or "bappy" as he lovingly refers to it, has been a staple for the last 18.5 months in getting him to sleep, calming him in the car and just generally...well...pacifying him. Over the past few months we've reduced the usage occasions of the paci.

No paci at daycare for naptime - he sleeps fine without it.
No paci if we're just hangin' around the house and he happens to be cranky.
No more taking the paci out in the diaper bag in case he gets fussy at dinner.
The paci is not always available in the car when he gets mad about being strapped in for too long.

But the naptime (at home) and nighttime paci has always been there for him. Jer and I have been scared to change anything since he tends to be a pretty good sleeper, and really, how much harm can a paci do to a kid's mouth if it's just during naps and night anyway?

But a couple of times recently we've put him to bed without it. Just to see. We told ourselves if he asks for it by name, we would give it to him. The first time, he cried a bit, but no desperate pleas of "bappy?? bappy???" Then he slept fine until halfway through the night when he woke up crying. Jer gave him the paci.

The second time, last night, he went to bed with no crying and slept all the way through. He didn't even miss it. Could this be the beginning of the end for the pacifier? Only time will tell.

2 word phrases

At Jonathan's 18-month appointment last week, I asked Dr. B when we should expect to start hearing 2-word phrases. "Mommy help," "I hungry," etc. She said around 2.

Then tonight, while Jonathan was eating his dinner and Jeremy had stepped out into the garage to grab something from his car for a second, Jonathan looked up, smiled and said softly, "Bye bye Daddy."

Jonathan is 18 Months!

Jonathan is halfway between 1 and 2! Depending on the moment, sometimes he seems like a 1-year-old baby to me, and other times he seems more like a big 2-year-old kid.

He had a great 18-month appointment with Doctor B today. His stats:
- 25lbs, 14oz (just under 50th%)
- 31.25 inches (75th%)
- "Healthy as an ox and cute as a puppy!"

Jonathan will be 18 months on Wednesday and like they say happens around this time, his vocabulary has really exploded recently! I am going to try to list the words that he says now, but I am sure I will forget some:

ball
uh-oh
"bashka bashka" (basketball)
"butt-ball" (football, but also used to refer to the basement)
TV
no-no-no-no-no
block
truck
cracker
more (with signs)
doggie
duck
daddy
mommy
"woof-woof"
"meoooooooow"
"moo"
"ooh, ooh" (monkey sound)
"duck duck" (what a duck says)
"neigh neigh"
"baaaaa"
"dit dee" (get down)
"hoo-hoo" (sound an owl makes)
"GohGohGooooh" (cockadoodle doo)
"Uhheeeeeeeeeuh" (sound an elephant makes)
"Zzzzzzzz" (sound a bee makes)
"AUGGHHH!" (sound a lion makes)
::Smack, smack:: (sound a fish makes)
not nice (what teachers and parents say when toddlers misbehave)
eye
nose
head (also refers to Mr. Potato Head)
beebee (belly button)
baby
book
knock-knock
hi
bye-bye
banana
snack
"nonny" (yummy, which he repeats frantically while I am preparing his food)
shoe
bubble
Barbara (his teacher)
door
Mr. Marbles (the name of the little stuffed dog he sleeps with)
paci

WHEW! 47 words! Since his vocab is so big and growing so fast, I imagine that will be the last time we can even count them.

How did our baby transform into this little giggly, wiggly chatterbox??

Fun day at Grandma and Papa's House

Saturday, all of the Duguid grandchildren were together for the first time ever. Fun cousins coupled with a beautiful evening in the 70s made for a fantastic time!
In attendance:
Jadyn, 10
Jayce, 2
Maggie, 3
Will, 11 months
Jonathan, 1