Jonathan at 41/2

Jonathan and Faith are only 10 days away from their half-birthday, and I thought now was as good time to do a 4.5 year update.

This picture shows Jonathan scampering up a rock-climbing wall at a playground. He started off trying, but got nervous and started yelling for me to help him. Quick as a flash, Faith clambered up the hand-holds and over the top! Well! Jonathan looked at her, looked at the wall, and with renewed determination climbed right up! Sometimes having a twin sister is very motivating!

Okay, this really amused me...at the park, a family of boys tumbled out of a minivan, and started playing soccer. Jonathan immediately ditched me and Faith and jumped right in to their game! The funny part is, he has NO idea how to play soccer. He kept trying to pick the ball up and Faith and I were on the bleachers screaming "Kick the ball!!!"

This picture makes him look like he knows what he is doing, but since we have never played soccer with him, he is clueless but was having a great time with all of the bigger boys.

I don't have any pictures of this yet, but Jonathan had his first basketball lesson this week! Since Faith started dance class I have been investigating programs for Jonathan. I didn't find anything that didn't require Saturday games/meets. So, we hired the neighbor boy, whom F and J have called "Basketball Matt" for the past 2 years to give Jonathan a private lesson at a local gym facility. Their first lesson went very well! Jonathan was hot, red, sweaty and drinking water like crazy! Exactly what I was hoping for! They practiced chest passes, overhead passes, dribbling with both hands and some other things I didn't understand because I know nothing about basketball (or soccer!)


Here Jonathan is showing off one of his coloring pages. This kid LOVES to color. He colors all the time, and he is very proud of himself for staying in the lines. I have to say, I think he is doing an exceptional job!

I have my parent-teacher conference this coming week and I am excited to hear how Jonathan is doing in school. I know he loves going, and he has the sweetest attitude about anything his teacher tells him to do. He usually has his homework completed within 15 minutes of arriving home, because his teacher told him to do it! She offered him a slice of fresh red pepper one day and he has been picking them out of the salad bowl since then chowing down! Oh, the influence of a teacher!


At 4.5, Jonathan weighs 40 lbs and wears 4T clothes. His favorite foods are: oatmeal, any kind of cold cereal, pancakes, waffles, eggs and toast, peanut butter, yogurt, cheese, all fruit except kiwi, red peppers, carrots, cucumbers, salad, croutons, grilled cheese, salami, cheese quesadillas, pepperoni and mushroom pizza, mac & cheese, hot dogs, turkey kielbasi, chicken sausage, turkey sausage, pasta without sauce, shrimp cocktail, fish sticks, zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, apple sauce, all other baked goods and sweets. He is especially fond of anything with nuts, and has taken a liking to baklava which is one of my favorite desserts. He likes pecans, walnuts, pistachios, peanuts and raw almonds. It is a good thing he likes nuts, because he boycotts most meat. He won't eat ground meat (meatballs, tacos, hamburgers), steak, chicken, ham or turkey. This tends to drive Jay a bit crazy, as protein is his favorite food group! But as long as he tries a bite of everything on his plate, we don't make a fuss about it.


Jonathan is very confident in groups of kids. He makes friends very easily, although he doesn't always understand when a group of older kids are trying to shake him. He is kind to smaller children, and talks to adults everywhere we go.

He is starting to pull away from me, and is becoming more independent. He is responsible for loading his dishes into the dishwasher; bringing the recycling bins and garbage cans in from the sidewalk; stripping his dirty sheets; putting his own clothes away into his dresser; putting away his toys, shoes and hanging up his coat.  He gets himself dressed (but prefers for me to pick out his clothes because he isn't very good at matching); brushes his own teeth; puts on his own shoes; straps himself into his car seat and unstraps himself and Faith (her thumbs aren't strong enough.)

He loves our cat, but can't seem to leave the poor thing alone. He is too rough with Monty, and doesn't understand why he sometimes gets scratched after putting the cat in a headlock. He likes to be outside, but has been stung by bees 4 times since summer. Every time he sees a bee it sends him into a tailspin of fear. We hung up a bee catcher in the backyard and that has made our yard safe enough for him...our teenage babysitter told him his blood tastes like honey and he totally believes her.



Since our trip to California, he has been obsessed with planes and helicopters. He asks more questions than I can answer, and is very thirsty for knowledge. We watched a really lame documentary on planes and he was glued to the tv. He wants to go back to California as soon as possible, and if I had the money for tickets I would take him in a heartbeat! He has proven to be a very sturdy traveler.

Jonathan needs to practice self-control with his sister, and he needs to tone down the sassy attitude toward me. He has begun telling me he isn't going to go to this place, or leave that place and in the car today he told me he didn't love me anymore because I made him leave the playground and may or may not have given him the wrong cup of juice. He is a ball of emotions sometimes, and I never know from hour to hour how he is going to react to something Faith or I say/do.

He is a lot of fun to be around when he is in a good mood. He has started making jokes, and is an excellent conversationalist. He still holds my hand a lot, but less and less in public. He still likes to sit on my lap, but at 40 pounds and more than half my height it isn't always comfortable. He continues to be very, very loud when he gets hurt, which is often, but he is recovering quicker than he used to.

He is a wonderful son, and I am so thankful God choose to place him in our home. I love being his mama, and mourn the passing of time. And yet, I love watching him morph into a boy, not just a toddler. I love seeing what he can do, what he can learn, and how he is changing. I can hardly fathom that it has been 4.5 years since my 7.12lb baby boy entered our lives. Love you buddy!