J's idea of Entertainment

 Doggie door cover off? Guaranteed ticket to the backyard.

Climbing

How much electricity does this waste Mom?

I love fake MOSS!

These days Jonathan's idea of a good time involves me screaming, "NOOO!" and taking him away from the mischeif he is creating only to have him try again moments later.  After ten straight times of him helping himself through the doggie door I finally had to cave and put the cover on it (now the poor dogs have to beg to come in and out of the house).

Don't Touch!

Johnathan is all about feeding himself these days.  It takes everything in me to just let him go at it because OH MY GOSH look at the mess he makes!  And now that I'm feeding him refried beans to help with his iron...OYE VYE!!

Jonathan at 11 months

STATs-21 lbs 4 oz (50%), 30" (75%), GINORMOUS HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE-OFF THE CHARTS!!

-Jonathan is WALKING!  It is such a neat surprise for me to have Jonathan come around the corner and be walking instead of crawling.  WALKING and TALKING have been my FAVORITE MILESTONES.

-September 2, 2012 (Labor Day Weekend) Jonathan starting sleeping through the night.  He goes down around 7 or 8 pm and wakes at 6:30am.  

-Drool, drool, drool...and then more drool.  I can't even put on his PJ's until I know he his ready for bed because his top will be wet from drool and need to be changed. 

-He typically only takes one nap a day now.  He fights going down for that mid morning nap but if we are on the go at 1030-11 am  he inevitably will fall asleep in his stroller or car seat. 

-He is a DAREDEVIL.  We have a kiddie pool at our Clubouse that is 3 ft deep and Jonathan throws himself into the water "to swim" without any hesitation.  

-He is so michevious.  He is always looking for something to get into.  Isaiah was never getting into this much trouble.  Jonathan refuses to leave the dog food bowls alone, he continually goes through the doggie door, he  is always opening and closing the wine fridge or demolishing my articfical trees I have around the house.  He loves to climb and if you leave him in his high chair for to long he stands himself up and turns himself around (to play with the light switchs behind him).

-He loves playing/hiding in our POP UP KID'S TENT.  

-He gives you a kiss when you ask for one and goes "MUAH" as he leans in with his wet  lips.

-He is extremly tough.  Isaiah is always pushing him down or climbing on top of him and he takes it like a champ.

-I am terrified of Jonathan's stair climbing abilities.  I had so much more confidence in Isaiah at this age going up and down the stairs.  Jonathan insists on walking down the stairs instead of backing down them "baby style."  DAILY my hearts skips a beat as I race after him at the top of the stairs (unfortunately a gate can not be properly placed there).

-He refuses to eat his baby food.  HE WILL ONLY EAT TABLE FOOD.  And he has to feed himself.  His iron was down at his 11 month check-up- Hgb was 10.3 normal is (11-13) so along with iron drops I'm trying to get him to eat more iron rich food-beans, peanut butter. . .oh and supposedly spinich and liver!?!.  

-He enjoys drinking from a sippy cup.

First time with shoes on.

Strolling in the park with shoes.

I've been waiting for this exact moment.

WALKING TALL

-He loves to be with his Mama.  Lately around 6:30-7pm when he is ready for bed he starts crying and walking around the house looking for me.  At this time I'm usually trying to tidy up the downstaris before we head upstairs for our bed time rituals so standing still is the last thing I'm doing. Jonathan will follow after me pleading for me to pick him up.  When I finally give into his pleas I can feel his whole body relax in my arms.  What an amazing feeling...for both of us.

Jonathan's Facial Expressions

Talking up a storm.

Telling me how cool he thinks he is.

"See Mom I know how to get past the gate."

My Butter Ball.

I love this face and I love all the animation that comes with it. 

Buzz and Woody

Buzz and Woody are Back!  I couldn't have chosen a better Disney film for Isaiah to be so in love with.  I hope the powerful, implied message of loyalty, friendship, adaptation, happiness and lasting love thread throughout all three movies are subtly making an impression upon my sweet boy. That's why when I saw the smaller toy versions of Buzz and Woody being passed up for his cars I wrote this post-Goodbye Toy Story, Hello Cars, but as I'm learning with both my boys NOTHING stays the same for long.

Striding

I am so anxious for Jonathan to start walking.  He will be one happy boy when he can keep up with Isaiah and get around the backyard, park, and house easier.  Everyday he is getting one STEP closer.  He has taken two-three steps on his own at random times and is mastering walking with his push toy.  Jonathan you are so, so close!!

Jonathan at Ten Months

-Top two teeth have broken through, but we are STILL WAITING for them to fully come in.
-He will stand on his own for 5-10 secs then slowly lower himself to the floor.
-He is able to get off the couch by himself.
-NO MORE SPIT UP!!!
-The drool still continues:(
-When he gets a toy dinosaur in his hand he starts to GRRRRRR.
-He will randomly babble, "MAMA, MAMA."
-He has started to give open mouth kisses.  *The other night Jaime was lounging on the living room rug watching TV and Jonathan crawled over to him, climbed up on his tummy laid his face into his shoulder and then proceeded to give him several open mouth kisses all over Jaime's face.  It was the sweetest thing EVER and something Jaime says he will never forget.
-His finger foods are increasing everyday and so far he is enjoying all the new options presented to him.  For example: mash potatoes, softened carrots, apples, nectarines, cantaloupe, watermelon (can you tell we are in the summer season with all our fruit options?), stick pretzels, cheezits.
-We have regressed into bad sleeping habits once again:(  Jonathan was waking up Isaiah in the middle of the night because both my boys are the LIGHTEST SLEEPERS EVER, so we ended up putting Jonathan in our bed which in turn sent Jaime to Isaiah's bedroom floor??!???  It is so ridiculous it's hard to even type.
-Jonathan wakes up at midnight and 4 am to drink a 6 oz bottle each time.  I've been trying to increase his daily intake but so far he is still waking up to drink his bottles at night-so much for Sleeping Beauty.
-So far Jonathan relishes following the lead of Isaiah. Isaiah gets so excited when "Thomas the Train" comes on and now so does Jonathan.  Jonathan throws both his arms up in the air and gets a huge grin on his face while Isaiah tries to sing the lyrics of the opening theme song.
-Jonathan's favorite activity is still being pushed around on his toy Zebra but ten months has brought him a new found realization that his mommy will only push him for a short while so gradually he has started to learn how to maneuver the Zebra himself.  It is remarkable to watch him take the "bull by the horns" (zebra by the handle bars) and make things happen.
-Life is starting to change in the Torres House.  The other night Jaime and I were able to watch an evening show in the living room while the boys entertained themselves for half an hour in the playroom.  It kind of makes me chuckle because it was at this age with Isaiah that I wound up pregnant with Jonathan.

JONATHAN MICHAEL TORRES

 Day after day I find myself repeatedly saying, "Good morning Jonathan, no, no Jonathan, let's change your diaper Jonathan, are you hungry Jonathan?" and  "Isaiah, Jonathan's awake, or sssshhhhh Jonathan's sleeping."  How could my handsome Mr. J  not know his name yet?  On a daily basis we probably say his name well over a hundred times.  Although in all honesty, we have been so infatuated with how sweetly Isaiah pronounces, "Jonathan" we can't help but call him "Johnnon" too.  Luckily Jonathan has caught on and responds to both pronunciations.
    Once again, Jaime and I  found it difficult deciding on our second son's name.  Not only did the decision have to be agreed upon by both of us; we also wanted a name that coincided with ISAIAH (our first son's name).  We would go for weeks referring to Jonathan as "Aiden, Adrian, or Ethan but none of them ever seemed to harmonize within our happy home. As much as our final decision was determined on a "good feeling"   logistically it made PERFECT sense. First off, Jonathan is Hebrew meaning "given of God." Ideal, for the Hebrew theme we started with Isaiah.  Jonathan is three syllables and Isaiah is three syllables.  The letter "J"  follows the letter "I" in the alphabet.  My maiden name is Johnson so saying the name "John" felt natural and in a certain way representative of me.  And most importantly, Jonathan is a strong, masculine name that holds up to a name like Isaiah. Saying aloud, "Isaiah and Jonathan" we didn't feel one name overshadowed the other.  The two names seemed to support one another exactly how we hope our two sons will support each-other in life.

     Jonathan, I am so happy to see you respond to the name we so diligently chose for you.  I hope you will represent this name with dignity.  Everyday I am so grateful that I get to see you exclaim with excitement when your Dad, brother, or I call out your name.  You will always be our JONATHAN MICHEAL TORRES that rounds out our family beautifully.

Jonathan at 9 months

-TWO BOTTOM TEETH ARE IN!
-He has now been upgraded from the infant car seat to his very own toddler car seat. I look to the back seat of my car with the TWO MATCHING CAR SEATS and would swear I have TWINS!!???!!
-Loves to be in the upright position.
-He recently stood on his own for a brief moment.
-Loves when you hold him upright and help him walk around.  When you go to put him down he crys with frustration because he wants to keep walking.
-He gets a kick out of me pushing him around on the four wheeled zebra we have.  He will crawl up to it and start to squeal...his way of getting my attention for a ride.
-NEVER CAN LAY STILL TO GET HIS DIAPER CHANGED.
-Endless drool but at least the spit up has decreased drastically...in fact today he didn't even spit up once (that is remarkable)
-Has found a new love for stick pretzels
-Loves putting his face in the water.  In the pool he is always trying to dunk himself and now in the bath he dips his face in the water too?!?
-He eats three "baby food" meals/day.
-Still drinking 6 ozs of formula 5-6 times/day.
-Wakes up around 3:30-4 am to drink a 6 oz bottle. (When teething he has been waking up 3-4 times/night)
-Rises at 6:30-7am, bed by 8pm.

Me, Mom, Grandma Metro, Isaiah and Jonathan

Enjoying Great Grand Parents Back Yard

Proof of the endless droll and two bottom teeth

Meeting Great Grandpa &Grandma Metro for the first time

-Finally made the five hour trek up to my homeland and he did great on the car ride.  He got to meet his great grandparents, aunts, and second cousins on my side of the family for the first time.

Pool Time-2012

We have been enjoying our pool once again during the blistering California heat.  Jonathan loves to be dunked under the water while Isaiah has found new independence swimming all around the pool in his life jacket.  It has been so much fun spending our summer evenings taking a dip in the pool and making one last ditch effort to wear out our rambunctious boys.

Goodbye Toy Story, Hello Cars

    Isaiah is changing so much.  He no longer drinks from bottles and  his language is improving everyday.  He is able to tell me when he is hungry, thirsty, and what he wants to eat.  He'll say "I want yogurt or I want an apple, or I want soup Mama."  He is very good at using please and thank you too.  When he asks for a cookie (Oreos are his favorite) he'll keep saying "peas... peas...peas, yeah I want cookie...peas...peas...peas."  When I ask him if I need to change his diaper he will respond, "no it's dry or yes it's wet."  He has also started to read along with me and piece together the ABC song while I sing it aloud.
    Along with these changes has come his switch in preference of toys.  Isaiah was enamored with Buzz and Woody from the Toy Story movies.  Everyday he carried his Buzz and Woody figurines around playing make believe but now all his focus has turned to cars.  He loves watching the Cars Disney Movies while having his toy cars in hand.  *Note to self-(I have a great home video of him singing to the Cars 1 intro song and mimicking the cars in the movie with his own cars.) All his make believe play revolves around his cars.  He always has one in his hand and has to take at least two of them with us when we go out on outings.  It makes me sad seeing Buzz and Woody sitting on the shelf all by their lonesome.  Hopefully Jonathan will take interest in them soon:)

Goodbye Bottles

Isaiah's final days with his bottle

Isaiah at 28 months

When I took Isaiah in for his two-year check-up his pediatrician and I had a lengthy discussion about his love for drinking bottles with milk throughout the day.  As his mother it was hard not to give into his plea for a "ba, ba" and a moments' peace as he relaxed on the couch while drinking it.  But as his pediatrician recommended it was time for Isaiah (and me) to retire his bottles.  Her suggestion was to fill the bottles with water instead of milk and his love for the bottle "should" gradually wean.  Four months later and after enjoying countless bottles filled with water Isaiah is finally bottle free.  I have to admit, a small part of me is sad because it is a HUGE step toward my first baby turning into a little boy. Now when you ask Isaiah if he wants a bottle his response is, "No, Johnnon." (No, bottles are for Jonathan).

The Game of Clue

It wasn't difficult pin pointing two suspects in the case of who broke Quincy' tail; but narrowing it down to one suspect was never accomplished.  What we do know is that Isaiah knows how to open and close doors and Jonathan likes to pull the dogs' tails when given the chance (either one a valid opportunity to unintentionally break Quincy's tail right at the base.)  Fortunately after five days of being on pain meds and laying low Quincy was back to chilling along side the dangerous duo. 

Stair Gate

Since re-applying the stair gate for Jonathan's safety all my two boys want to do is go upstairs!?!  You would think I was running a carnival on the second floor by the way they beg to get up those stairs morning, noon and night!!!