Jonah {Summer 2015}

Size: In July, Jonah had a visit to the doctor and got measured: still bouncing between 39-40lbs in weight and height was still at 43" but she said he was taller than that but she "had to guess on how much to take off because of his shoes" and then said "it may not be right". Sooo, he's at least 43" tall. Wearing all 4T-5T, boys' 4/4-5/XS-S clothes. I've been retiring some 4T shirts because they're too short, but he's starting to really fill out the clothes that are bigger in size. I'm curious to see how he's going to fit into pants when the weather cools off. Shoes are a 10.5 right now.

June:

Illness: After his "belly button infection" last month and a round of ant bites, this month has brought us THREE more rounds of any bites that have turned into giant welts, that itch, that take him 1-3 weeks to recover from. It's ridiculous. We've talked to him about this several times, but it just doesn't seem to be sinking in yet.

Favorites: Music--specifically Christian music (probably because that's what I play in the car). He has continually requested that I play the Chris Tomlin "How Great Is Our God (World Version)" only 1000 times, to the point that he sings the whole thing--in multiple languages! Legos, big and small--he's always building. Bugs! He absolutely loves bugs and catches everything he sees and has to show everyone what he has.

Firsts: Jonah got to be a ring bearer for Uncle Brad & Aunt Christine's wedding! He's been so much better at swimming this summer and isn't so afraid. He can use a kick board (if we hold it for him), swim everywhere with his puddle jumper on, put his face in the water, wear his goggles, and float on his back. Clearly he's not a quick learner in this department but it seems that every summer it's getting better, so I'm proud of him. Papa took him on his first field trip with school to his first time bowling! It was fun for a little while and then he lost interest in it. He went blueberry and blackberry picking for the first time.

Funnies: His artwork is getting better and better but this one in particular made us laugh. Family portrait with [big] Jonah, Daddy, Mommy and Nolan; the sun, apple tree and ground are noted. But the details of himself are the best part--and I had to ask about it. "The little dots are my ant bites and the big dark spot is my belly button infection."

Observations: He's a pro at riding his bicycle now--maybe he's not too far off from taking those training wheels off.

July:

Illness: On Independence Day, he seemed to be feeling under the weather and went to bed early that night with a low grade fever. He didn't seem to have any other symptoms over the next couple days but the following Tuesday morning, he woke up covered in ant bites/welts AND had early symptoms of another belly button infection. I was able to get him in to see the doctor and we started a round of anti-biotics and began the bactroban regimen to manage the infection. She also gave us a prescription for [STEROID CREAM] to rub on his ant bites for the next few days to minimize the irritation and that stuff worked like a dream! In a matter of days, his bites were tiny and looking so much better than the other times he had the bites. Clearly he's got some mild allergy to bites because he welts up just like his daddy does with any bug bite. He cleared up pretty well and hasn't touched ants since...

Favorites: Coloring, music, books, movies/TV, bugs, rocks/collecting, playing outside in the water (blow-up, sprinkler, water toys, etc),

Firsts: Although I wasn't there, reports are that he went on the "big" inflatable water slide at school and even put his face under the water and wasn't scared! This is a bit surprising because one of the last times we were at the pool, Mr. Confident said he could swim "like a big boy" and didn't need his puddle jumper. He did fine for several minutes, but then he wandered a little too deep and had his mouth just above the level of the water and crying when I spotted him and jumped in to fetch him. He was fine, I was fine, but he didn't want to swim anymore that day. He dressed up for free Chick-fil-A this year because he loves going there! Not exactly a first, but he made a field trip with Mommy, Papa, Nolan and his summer class to the Tellus museum to learn about science (his favorite)!

Funnies: Despite our displeasure with the ant bite saga this month, when I was chastising him for playing the in the ants, yet again, I stated that he had played in them 3 different times and how could he have not learned his lesson. He very quickly corrected me saying "Five times. I've played in the ants five times, mommy".

Observations: His four-year-old tendencies are so interesting to think about. Jonah can be the sweetest, most awesome helper and then be the most beligerent, uncontrolled, stubborn child in a short time span. He gives the absolute best hugs and kisses and tells you how much he cares for you. But he also has no emotional self-control at times and screams at the top of his lungs when we redirect/enact punishment on a behavior or recently, he's taken to hitting you. I feel like we are handling these situations okay so far, mostly just isolating him and giving him a chance to correct his behavior before more punishment occurs, and he'll usually start crying and then pull himself together to approach you and apologize. It's just so weird to see these mood swings! He is able to count to 50 with very little help and his math skills are really good. For problems under 10, he can almost always do addition or subtraction without our help--just some extra time and encouragement. I think we may have a math & science whiz kid on our hands.

August:

Favorites: Legos, star wars, coloring, science, bugs, dinosaurs

Firsts: First day of GA Pre-K with Ms. Amanda and Ms. Kiersten! Baseball season has officially begun with practices 2 days a week. Watched Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode 4) for the first time (first Star Wars movie). Attended his great grandfather's funeral where he asked a lot of questions--reasonably so, he was a US Marine who served in WWII so they had a gun salute and beautiful service for him.

Funnies: First day at school, he comes home with a picture of his friend Graysen, a girl, (who he hasn't been in class with for many months but they adore each other) and himself having a sleepover. Eek! Randy and Jonah went into a store together and I went into a store next door with Nolan. When Randy/Jonah finished in their store, they were to come meet me in my store. Apparently, when they entered the store to look for us, Randy asked Jonah "where do you think they are?" Jonah replied with a "shhhh.... listen for Nolan giggles". Guess he knows his brother is a little loud. :) The best part was that Nolan had just dragged me into the bathroom to poop---ugh, I hate 3 year olds in public restrooms for pooping!

Observations: He loves field dirt and really is okay with learning baseball. I am so glad we started him with soccer, though, because he would have been overwhelmed if we had skipped those 2 seasons and just started here. He certainly needs a lot of reminders to stay on task, but he is attempting to participate and is getting better. Jonah really likes to draw pictures and they're usually pretty good (for a 4 year old) and he likes to practice writing the alphabet. I keep thinking we are on the verge of learning to read once he says he wants to. He knows a few sight words and has memorized countless books, but that's as close as we've come so far.