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.