Jon Has a Good Side

Does that surprise you? I hope not. Sometimes I wonder if I share more about the challenges with Jon than the joys. So let me just tell you that Jonathan has been happy this week. He has been snuggly, giggly, and even helpful at times. All right, he has also had numerous tantrums and expressed his frustrations with screams rather than words (oh, those elusive words). But I have enjoyed being his mommy at so many points through out the last few days:

• He spent half an hour playing with the sand table in the backyard all by himself. It may not sound like a big deal, but anyone who experiences a toddler boy on a regular basis knows that their attention span is not long. Spending half an hour quietly doing anything is amazing, particularly when he is playing all by himself.
  


• We have clean up time every day about 4:30pm, so that the house isn't a disaster when Daddy walks through the door. Yesterday I said to Jon, "Time to clean up your cars," believing that I would walk him over and show him how to put them all back in the basket. To my surprise, he immediately ran over and began putting them away. (Ah, so he is understanding, even when he's not talking. I'll remember that, Jonathan!)


• He is such a boy. He loves playing with his cars, his tools, and almost anything outside. It's so fun to watch, since I'm used to a very girly girl.


• He has a major obsession with all things Sesame Street--especially Cookie Monster. Of the few words he does say, most of them are Sesame Street characters: "Ehmo" (Elmo), "Num Num" (Cookie Monster), "Abbay" (Abby), "Uhmee" (Ernie), and a weird throat-clearing sound for Oscar. While we're at it, his other words are "ba" (ball), "ahbbb" (up), "ah duh" (all done), "ma ma" (more--no, he doesn't call me that or anything else), "Da" (Daddy), and "abu" (which can mean open, help, on, off... you get the point). He still does signs for sleep, milk/water, and eat. I pray for more words on almost a daily basis, just because he gets so frustrated when he can't tell me what he wants.


• And he loves giving his mama kisses. Need I say more?