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

Weekend Recap

We had a fun and busy weekend! Maybe borderline too busy...that's something I need to work on. But we had a great time anyway!

On Saturday we visited with Grandpa David for a while. Jonathan was a bit shy at first, but warmed up quickly and was running around showing off all of his new animal-noise talents in no time.

After naptime (for Jonathan, not us, sadly), we went for a hike at Jones Bridge Park in Duluth. It was so beautiful! I would love to go back once the flowers are in bloom. Jonathan had a blast in the carrier, schlepped by Jeremy, thank goodness.

Straight from our hike we went to dinner with the LaMore's and had yummy burgers at Luckie's in Roswell.

Sunday morning we went to our first session of The Music Class. For one hour, Heather, our patient teacher tried to herd 6 toddlers (and their parents) and get them to participate in actual music-making. Jonathan was a deer in headlights for most of it, and ran around knocking on windows and squatting in the corner for the rest. I think once he gets the hang of it, he will like it. As a special treat, we get to attend class with our friends Justin, Jodi and their little sweet 11-month-old, Sydney!

Sunday afternoon my friend Joanne came over with her cute little boy, Owen. He is a super precious and plump little 7 month old. Sometimes I miss the days of immobile, nonverbal, chunky babyhood. ::Swoon:: We played for a bit and went for a walk in a nearby park.

Finally, Sunday night we had dinner at Jer's parents' house. A delicious and fun time was had by all!

Whew! I'm exhausted just in time to start the hectic workweek.