We gave Jonathan the opportunity to open his own presents this year. We figured that he would get the hang of it since he loves to crinkle paper, but he wasn't really interested. He preferred to eat the presents instead. He got toys, clothes, pajamas and books but his most favorite thing was Grandma Vicki's snowglobe! He also enjoyed the hugs and kisses he got from his cousins Garrett and Odin!
Chris and I bought these trucks for Jonathan for Christmas. He got them early though because we couldn't wait for Christmas to come!
When Chris and I drink from most cups, we are safe, but when Jonathan sees us drinking from one of these blue cups, he thinks he needs to also. So far, we've only let him drink water. He still gets most of the water down his front, but there are times when he actually gets more water swallowed than on himself!
Jonathan is getting so good at sitting up. He still tips over occasionally, but he can now sit without any support. He likes to sit and play with toys that he can reach around him.
Jonathan is eight months old now! He's been working really hard to get mobile! He is getting pretty good about scooting around. He will get up on his hands and knees and then push his legs to move himself forward. He doesn't move his hands yet, but he still seems to be able to move around. When he sees something he wants to get his hands on, he can really move! No more sitting on the carpet to read the newspaper unless I want a helper!
This photo is just too cute for words!
Chris doesn't usually let Jonathan play with the remote for the TV, so when Jonathan found that it had been left on the floor within his reach, he was overjoyed!
Forget about crawling, scooting, and rolling... Jonathan wants to WALK! There are times when he just doesn't have the patience to play on the floor--he wants to walk around on his own feet. He has the "walk between Mom and Dad" game down pretty well now, including turning himself around when he reaches one of us so he can go again!
Sitting up in the Bumbo chair (yes, it's pink but it was free)
Somehow, Jonathan ended up with two spoons after eating his cereal!
Wow, where did these last seven months go? Jonathan is growing into such a big boy! It's fun to watch him grow and change each day. So what's he like at seven months? Here's a little snapshot into his life right now:
Jonathan got to dress up twice for Halloween this year! On Friday, he was a pumpkin. He got to visit my classroom and watch the crazy kids dancing around the room while we listened to the "Monster Mash" and did a cake walk. He loved it and laughed at them all! On Halloween Day, he was a cute bug. Jonathan only got to trick-or-treat at Uncle Jack's house, where he thought the bag was better to play with than the treats inside (Dad got those!). At home, he helped Dad pass out the candy to our three trick-or-treaters!
Today was the day that Chris was able to give Jonathan a blessing in Sacrament Meeting. We had to wait until after we went to court to have Jonathan sealed to us and the blessing couldn't be done until after the sealing. Poor Chris. He was nervous about giving the blessing anyway, but today just happened to be the day that a missionary was giving his talk before entering the MTC. The entire chapel and cultural hall were packed with people. It didn't bother Jonathan though. After the blessing was over, Chris held Jonathan up so the congregation could see him and he just grinned!
We were able to take Jonathan to the temple to be sealed to us on Friday, October 23. It was such a great day. Jonathan was so good the whole time. When they brought him into the sealing room, he charmed everyone. My mom held him while the sealer said the words. Jonathan put his hand right on top of ours (with a little help from Grandma) and then looked at the sealer like he knew just what was going on! It was a wonderful day!
We took Jonathan in for his six-month checkup on Friday. He weighed 15 pounds, 15 ounces and was 26 inches long. He's still in the 25th percentile for height and weight. He also got three more shots. Luckily for him (and us), he doesn't have any more immunizations until he is a year old! Yea!
Wednesday, October 7, was court day. Jonathan is now legally part of our family! After it was all over, someone asked if we felt any different. I had to say no. We already felt like Jonathan was a part of our family. We love him so much! Thank you, Shelbi, for making this possible for us!
Jonathan has two games that he likes to play with Chris. In one, he will stare at Chris until Chris looks at him and then he will laugh. Chris will look away and look back and Jonathan will laugh again. In the second game, Jonathan will look at Chris but when Chris looks at Jonathan, he'll say something like, "Boo." Jonathan jumps and then laughs. Both games are repeated over and over. This video isn't very clear, but you can hear Jonathan laughing and that is the best part of all!
(I'm posting the video in two different ways so that maybe everyone can see it this time!)
Jonathan is six months old! It's hard to believe! Today we looked back at some of the first pictures we put on the blog. Jonathan was so tiny! The bunny was bigger than he was!
I shot this little video while Chris was playing with Jonathan. Jonathan is an active little guy. He gets so excited sometimes and just kicks and kicks!
We gave Jonathan his first solid food on Monday: rice cereal mixed with formula. It went better than I expected. I thought that we would have more cereal ON Jonathan than IN him, but he actually ate the cereal. He would often get his fingers in his mouth and suck on them, which would help him swallow the cereal. Jonathan even reached for the spoon if I didn't feed him fast enough!
This is one of Jonathan's smiles that I like best! As he smiles, his tongue is sticking out! 
