The Walker

Jonathan loves the walker that Aunt Mel let us borrow. He figured out how to move it around within just a day or two and now goes all over, even on the carpet. When Jonathan sees the cat, he'll let out a squeal and then chase after her! Also, I'll put a line of toys along the edge of the couch and he will amuse himself by going down the line and playing with them until he has knocked them all on the floor. Today, I put some sweet potato cereal puffs (made by Gerber) on the tray of the walker and he took right over putting them in his mouth after I fed him one! I shot this video just a couple of nights ago while Chris was playing with Jonathan. Jonathan thought it was great!

Eight Months Old

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!

Reading with Dad

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!

Videos

Here are a couple of videos that I had been meaning to post. They were taken about two months ago. I love the peek-a-boo video! We had only played peek-a-boo with Jonathan a few times before I noticed that he was playing it by himself. If you left the burp cloth within his grasp, you would often turn around to find him covering up his own face!

He's Getting So Big!

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!

Seven Months Old

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 had his first cold a couple of weeks ago (not the flu--we checked!) and when he would cough at night, it would wake him up. He's still not quite back to sleeping all the way through the night again, but waking up once is better than three or four times!
• Jonathan doesn't stay on his back for long anymore. As soon as you put him down to play, he flips over to his belly. He's not crawling yet, but he can use his arms to push himself backwards. He also uses his arms to change the direction he is facing.
• Jonathan can't sit up by himself yet, but he can pull himself up to a sitting position while he is sitting on your lap. He's getting better about sitting up when he is sitting on the floor, but he is still prone to tipping over!
• Jonathan loves to "walk" back and forth between Mom and Dad. He also gets so excited when he sees the cat. If you hold him up, he will "walk" over to her and pet her (with help).
• People ask us all the time if Jonathan is always as happy as he seems. He is. He loves for people to talk with him. He laughs and smiles and talks and growls all day. He does get unhappy, but it's usually only in the evening when he is tired. We couldn't ask for a better baby! We sure love him!

Happy Halloween!

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!