Happy birthday Tom

Yesterday was Tom's birthday.  Unfortunately, he had to work and he was sick.  Not exactly fun.  But he did enjoy a birthday brownie.  We gave Harper one too.  When we were singing happy birthday to Tom, Harper sang, "Happy birthday to me," so I don't think she understood that it was Tom's birthday.

opening a few presents

Since we aren't going to be home for Christmas, Harper opened a couple of presents the other day while talking to Grandma Jackman on Skype.

Here she is opening her (not quite finished at the time) stocking and an awesome present from her cousins.

And her favorite gift of all: a piece of gum that was in her stocking.  She was so excited.

Happy half birthday to Jonah!

As of yesterday, Jonah is 6 months old.  I was a slacker about making his 6 month doctors appointment and his doctor fills up really fast so we won't find out how much he weighs or how long he is for a few more weeks.  We celebrated the day by being stuck inside most of the day because it was raining.  Boo.

A couple of days ago Jonah started rolling from his back to his stomach.  He has been going from stomach to back for several weeks, but he doesn't really like to be on his tummy so he hadn't tried the other direction.  Now he is a rolling around like crazy.  I left him on a blanket in the middle of the living room for a couple minutes this morning and when I came back he had rolled a few feet away.

As you can see from the above photo, Jonah loves food (and he also gets to wear Harper's pink bibs).  Whenever he sees his spoon he gets really excited.  He prefers fruits and rice cereal, but will also eat vegetables if he's hungry.  He got (both of us) especially messy this morning since he sneezed twice with food in his mouth.  Carrots were everywhere.

He has a very sweet personality and is frequently described as "jolly."  He loves Harper and enjoys sitting next to her and jabbering.  Right now he sits pretty well, but I have to stay close by because he falls down if he gets excited or tries to pick something up.

Jonah is a champion napper.  He sleeps from about 9-12 every morning and then from about 2:00-4:30 every afternoon (pretty much the opposite times of Harper's nap).  He is not the best night time sleeper, and wakes up around 11pm and 5am most nights.

If you start laughing, there is a pretty good chance that Jonah will start laughing.

He loves to stick out his tongue, take baths, go on walks in the stroller, and jump up and down while you hold him (not necessarily all at the same time).

He is so sweet and we are very grateful to have him in our lives.  I can't believe how fast the last six months have gone.  Our little guy is so grown up.

These guys are . . .

Best buds.

Most of the time.

Sometimes Harper's hugs are a LITTLE too tight.

haircut

Jonah's hair was looking more and more like a really bad comb over, so we decided it was time for a haircut. 

I loved all of his hair but he looks so cute with it cut.  Plus, his bald spot is now a lot less obvious.  But it's still pretty obvious.

 

And here's a little cheesy grin from Harper.

Thanksgiving

We went to Redlands this year for Thanksgiving with some of Tom's family.  We had really, really yummy food and got to visit with family.  Harper must have had a great time because she was asking about Aunt Judy's house all day today.

It was great to see everyone, and to introduce most of them to Jonah for the first time.  He loved the attention and the kids were happy to see Grandma and Gramps.

Harper had fun playing with her second cousins Savannah and Ella.

Somehow we managed not to get pictures of anyone else, but Tom did get one of the turkey.  Yum. 

Speaking of food, Jonah is loving solid food these days.  He can eat eight ounces in one sitting and still act like he wants more.  I don't think he is going to have any trouble passing up Harper in weight very soon.  

I did get up and do a little Black Friday shopping this morning while Tom watched the kids.  It actually wasn't too crazy and I was able to get several things, but now I am exhausted.  I think next year I am going to stick to buying things online. 

5 Months / 31 months

Our little chunk is 5 months old.  Lately . . .

• He loves grabbing his toes.  He has been trying to do it for a while, but he couldn't quite reach over his giant belly until recently.

• He loves to put everything in his mouth, especially my fingers.  He has gotten really good at holding onto things.
• He is now sleeping in the same room as Harper.  I have been nervous about this for a while, so he has been sleeping in the living room at night, but I decided that it was time to give it a shot.  It has gone much better than I anticipated.  Both kids even slept until 8am today.

• He has started eating some solid food.  I haven't given it to him regularly, but a couple of times he has seemed hungry after he has eaten, so I have given him a few bites of mashed avocado.  He was a big fan.
• He always gets a huge grin on his face when he looks at Harper.  When Harper sees that she usually says, "Baby Jonah is happy to see you."  
• This is probably too much information, but he blows out of diapers all of the time.  At least once a day.  Usually twice.  We have tried all kinds of diapers in all kinds of sizes, and he still blows out of them.  
• He loves to blow raspberries back and forth.  He will blow a raspberry, and then I will do one, and that can go on for a long time.  He thinks it's very funny.

• He has completely given up on tummy time and will roll onto his back within a few seconds of me putting him on his stomach.  He will sometimes try to roll onto his tummy from his back, but he hasn't been successful. 
• He continues to be very jolly.  When people see him, they usually either comment that he is very big or that he is very happy.  Both are true.

Harper is acting so grown up these days. 

• She is definitely a Daddy's girl.  

• She loves to be a helper.  When I say that I am going to change Jonah, she will bring me a diaper and say, "Harper is Mommy's helper."  
• She is getting better at identifying letters of the alphabet.  We were waiting in line at Costco today and she correctly identified most of the letters in "Costco Wholesale" that are printed on the front of the cart.  I was surprised at how many she could name.
• She is really enjoying reading.  When I put her down for a nap she likes to have a stack of books next to her to read until she falls asleep.  

• She is getting a little better about trying some new foods.  It usually takes some negotiating and bribing, but at least it is progress!
• We are working with a dermatologist and are making a little bit of progress on her eczema.  This is not the first dermatologist that we have seen, but it is the first one that I have liked.  

• We have made no progress on potty training.  Harper is afraid of the potty, so I'm going to wait a little while until we try.  She is extremely stubborn and I am not ready to battle with her.
• She loves to snuggle.  Harper was not a snuggly baby, so this has been lots of fun.  

Conversation with Harper

We have had this conversation several times over the last few days:

Harper- what is that?
Me- what is what?
Harper- my stomach! It's talking!
Me- what does it say?
Harper- it says it's hungry. My stomach is hungry!

jumperoo

We decided to give Jonah his Christmas present early so he could get more use out of it, so we got him a jumperoo this week.  He LOVES it.  He is tall so he can already touch the ground in it (we had to put a little stack of books under Harper's feet in the jumperoo so she could touch the ground) and he just bounces all over the place. 

 Here is a comparison shot of Harper and Jonah.  I think that Harper was about 4 months, 2 weeks old in this picture and Jonah is about 4 months, 3 weeks old (you can click on the picture to make it bigger).

Tom's mother gave Harper a headband and some bows a few weeks ago when we were in Bakersfield.  Harper likes to wear them all at once.  Thank you, she loves them!

 And here is one more of Jonah, just because I love those chubby cheeks!  He doesn't love tummy time, but he tolerates and can kind of scoot in a circle when he is on his stomach.

Happy Halloween!

I have mentioned before that I'm not much of a holiday celebrator, but I am trying to get a little more into it for Harper.  I decided that I was going to make Harper and Jonah's costumes this year, and it really helped me get into Halloween and I have been so excited to get the kids dressed up.

Last night we went to a party at Tom's office.  I failed to take any photos, but we had a good time trick or treating around the offices and chatting with Tom's co-workers.  I think Tom enjoyed showing off the kids.

Tonight we went to our ward's Trunk or Treat.  Here is Harper in her Dorothy costume:

And Jonah in his Superman costume.

My favorite thing about Halloween is the candy, but I have been doing a Healthy Habits challenge with my sister and some friends (I will make a blog post about this another time).  I have a cheat day, which I used yesterday, so I am currently staring at a bucket full of candy that I can't have.  It's probably for the best.

Also, Kimora Lee Simmons was at our Trunk or Treat.  Tom didn't know who she was, but I have a small interest (maybe a little more than a small interest) in celebrity news so I used to watch her reality show.  Her little boy Kenzo comes to Musicmakers (a music class some women in the ward do once a week at our chapel) with his nanny, but I never realized that he was her son.  This makes the third celebrity citing I have had a church, since I have also seen Larry King's wife Shawn and Dr. Rey from the show Dr. 90210.  They are both in one of the other wards in our building.

that's a spicy meatball!

Harper is officially in the copying phase of her life. She repeats new words as soon as she hears them, and she loves to mimic what you do as best she can.

Today Erica was in the kitchen making some lasagna and Harper was eating some grapes. All of a sudden she started yelling, "yucky grapes, yucky grapes!" It turns out that she had grabbed our container of Tony Cachere's Famous Creole Seasoning, poured it onto a measuring spoon, and then dumped it on her grapes, just like Mommy. Now I love me my Tony's, and I like to put it on a lot of foods, but I think the spicy red pepper and the sweet grape flavor were not the best match for Harper.

Not even water could remedy the situation. Luckily we have an endless supply of gum on hand and the disaster was contained.

I hope this isn't a setback on Harper's willingness to try new foods...

Two and a half

Harper is now 30 months old.  We have just been hanging out at home this week as Harper recovers from a cold.  Poor girl had to lounge around eating candy to celebrate.

But since she was doing better today, we spent some time at the park this afternoon.   Here are a few things about Harper.

• She is a wild child, but she is also incredibly sweet.  She is very empathetic and likes to give lots of hug and likes to snuggle.  Sometimes if she wakes up in the middle of the night, she will yell from her room, "Mommy, Daddy, snuggle."  We have a hard time refusing that. (Also, notice my grey hair in the photo below!)

• She knows all of her colors and a few letters.  She can also recite the alphabet and count to 15.
• She is currently obsessed with Super Why, which is a show on PBS.
• She enjoys going on our afternoon walk and always asks to make sure that Jonah is doing ok (he is behind her in the stroller and she can't see him).

• She LOVES oranges.  Her dermatologist recommended that we avoid citrus fruits, but she likes them so much and she is so picky that we have a hard time turning her down.
• She is very particular.  She likes to have things a particular way and does not like when her room gets messy.  In fact, she frequently complains that our room is too messy.  Oops.
• She also likes to help clean up her room (yay!) and while she puts things away she will say, "I'm Mommy's helper."  

• She is currently taking a little class at our local recreation center called Fun with Fitness.  There are several other kids around her age in the class and Harper is definitely the most enthusiastic.  She runs around like crazy and loves every minute.
• During the week she will occasionally ask if we can go to Costco.  She is a child after my own heart.
• She has recently become very opinionated about what she wears every day.  She usually wants to wear pink.

 She is just the best.  And so are these two guys.

4 month appointment

We took Jonah in for his 4 month appointment today.  Here are his stats . . .

Height: 28 inches, 99th percentile
Weight: 17 pounds 5 oz, 86th percentile
Head: Very big, I don't remember what they said

So it looks like he has dropped a little bit in the weight percentiles which is great because I am already having trouble lugging him around.  Harper was 27.5 inches and 17 pounds 9 ounces at 9 months old.  The nurse actually measured him twice because he didn't think that 28 inches could be right.

Harper got her flu shot while Jonah was getting his vaccinations.  It was weird because she and Jonah have very similar sounding cries and it sounded so funny that they were crying in unison that the nurse and I started laughing.

 

Fun with the Pedrozas

John, Denise, and AJ were kind enough to come visit us today.   Harper and AJ had a blast together.

We ate lunch at Pitfire Pizza.

 And then went up to the Getty with hopes of enjoying some beautiful views.  Unfortunately, this is what we found:

But we didn't let the fog stop us from having a good time.

Thanks for visiting!