Jonas - 27 months

Two has been a really fun age so far, and so far (knock on wood), we haven't encountered a lot of tantrums or crazy boundary-pushing. Jonas has started at a new pre-school that he really likes. They have a little paper they send home every day with details about his eating, napping, etc. It has a section that says, "Today, I was:" and lists all different adjectives. Jonas's almost always says "happy" and "chatty."

He is a really sweet and polite little guy. He says thank you and I'm sorry very frequently. And he often compliments me on my shirt, earrings, nail polish, etc. We're working on saying please instead of just demanding things now. He's also very affectionate and likes to hold mine and Darby's hands while we're walking and give us hugs.

He doesn't get into much trouble because he always pauses before doing something that's not allowed to see if he's going to get reprimanded, or he just announces what he's about to do. The one time I've seen him be truly sneaky was when Darby and I were cleaning up the kitchen one night after dinner. Jonas was playing in the pantry cabinet, like he often does. I noticed that he had gotten really quiet and still and was basically standing as close as he could to the cabinet without climbing in. When I asked him what he was doing, he turned around with a giant marshmallow in his mouth. :)

He moved up to the toddler class at church and now goes to Children's Church instead of the nursery. He took all of these transitions in stride and really enjoys showing off his crafts when we pick him up.

He is still a dedicated finger-sucker, and we aren't looking forward to having to break that habit in the near future. Our few attempts to gently get him to stop have resulted in even more forceful sucking and the reply, "I like to suck my fingers all the time." Okaaaaayyy.

It's so fun to see his personality develop more and more. He is so sweet, silly, and good-natured. Of course, we would love him no matter what, but he's so easy to love. While I don't always love waking up early to "Moooooooooommmmmmmyyyy", it's always so fun to see his little face and hear "Tan we eat bekfast?"

Favorite Foods: oatmeal, "the new kind of Cheerios like Mama has" (multigrain Cheerios), macaroni and cheese, apple juice, berries, bananas, apples, donuts on Sundays, cheese and "circle" (Ritz) crackers, Goldfish, marshmallows, "lenomade"

Favorite Toys: Play-Doh, busy board that he and Daddy made together, puzzles, mini trampoline, stroller for pushing his doll and stuffed animals

Favorite Phrases/Topics of Conversation:

• His birthday party. That made a HUGE impression on him. He talks about it every day. Anything good or fun happened at his birthday party, even if it actually didn't. He knows that his birthday is December 19th and will tell anyone who asks. He also asks everyone, "When is your birthday party?"
• Matt and "Leya" (Leila) - They are still his favorite people. We went over to their apartment for dinner one night, and that was pretty much the highlight of his year. 
• Why? - He asks this constantly. And no answer satisfies him. He just says "why?" again. Or, even if I tell him why initially, he still asks. For example: Me: Jonas, you need to put your jacket on because it's cold outside. Jonas: Why? Me: Because it's cold outside. Jonas: Why? Me: (pulls out hair)
• "This is tozy "(cozy) - He likes me to put a blanket over both of us while we read books. 
• "Thank you for all the people. In Jesus's name. Amen." - This is how he ends his prayer every night at bedtime. 
• "I'm going to the hospital to see the flamingos." - We have NO idea where this came from. After we went to see Darby's grandpa in the hospital, he talked about it a lot. He also likes to look at the pictures of himself in the hospital right after he was born. So, the hospital part I kind of get. I don't know where the flamingos come from, though. 
• "Who's coming over today?" - He really doesn't like days at home with just Mom and Dad. I think we have an extrovert.  

Favorite Activities: Coloring, placing stickers on paper, going to the library to get a "big stack" of books, taking walks in the neighborhood to find "pa-tans" (pecans), lining up toys (cars, stuffed animals, pom-poms), eating snacks, "pulling" (petting) Mama's hair, running around naked after bath time, watching the "Wheels on the Bus" video on YouTube

Favorite Books: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Green Eggs and Ham, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, The Mitten, "Mickey and the Pet Shop" from the Disney Bedtime Storybook, Highlights High Five magazine

Tricks: "Reading" books (He has basically memorized several books.), singing ABCs

All bundled up for church (on one of the two cold days we've had this winter). A woman at church made that scarf for Jonas - so sweet!

This is Jonas's "surprised" face. 

A friend at church knitted Jonas a sling for his baby doll after seeing the idea on facebook. 

Jonas and Papa on the slide, with G-ma ready to catch at the bottom. 

Jonas enjoyed having Auntie Hannie visit for the weekend. 

Love that smile!

Jonas did his first hike (0.31 mile) on our Spring Break trip to Santa Fe. We went with our friends, the Kennedys, and had so much fun. 

Jonas was super into his frozen yogurt. He had a total meltdown when we left the shop.