Manny Moo

Happy 3-month Birthday, Manny! (Okay, okay, so I'm now two days late, but we've got a lot going on!) Manny celebrated his 3-month birthday by holding his head up when he was propped against the Boppy pillow. It's hard to tell in the picture below, but he was holding it well off the pillow. With Jonah, we were much more on top of making sure that Jonah had tummy time every day so that his neck and arm muscles would grow strong enough. I'm a bit embarrassed to say that it hasn't been quite the same with Manny. However, when I asked his much-trusted doctor about it at Manny's 2-month visit, Dr. V said not to worry about it; by the fifth kid (his words, not mine!), we won't raise an eyebrow when the baby's juggling knives. Having a second child has made me more sympathetic to my younger sister.

Here's a little video of Manny Moo being his amiable self, and chattin' it up. He's very social. So maybe Jonah's videos are a little more exciting, but that doesn't mean that Manny is any less cute, as you will see.

Our days...

...and how we spend 'em.

Looking cute and smiley. To be fair, Manny's days are filled with as many tears as smiles, but he is a great baby. And cute. Did I mention that?

Acting silly. What is Jonah doing in this picture? Exactly what it looks like he's doing. No explanation for this one.

On really fun days, we have playdates. This is our best bud, "buddy James". Jonah and James LOVE each other. It's very sweet. And look at how nicely all three play together! I think that Manny was just happy to have made it thru this playdate alive.
Some playdates involve even more friends. Here are James, Jonah, Isaac, and Josephine. Baby Miles and Baby Manny were present at this playdate too (as were five of us mothers), but chances are that they were either nursing or sleeping at the time of this picture. At any rate, they're much too little to sit at the table and eat "nuggies."
Manny usually has to undergo some forced tummy time. These sessions are usually ended shortly after he bursts into tears.
Changing dipes! (I'll spare you that pic. I don't actually have any of a diaper being changed, you'll be relieved to know.) For Jonah, this often involves reading a book, typically one about trucks. (Surprise!)

Putting boullion cubes into an empty spice container, or some other activity that involves repetitive organizing. The cubes-&-container activity pictured here kept Jonah occupied for at least 25 minutes the other day, if not more. Place them in, one at a time, dump them out, repeat. We do love this silly little boy. He makes our lives so much more fun that they would be otherwise.

More reading. This is another book about trucks. Jonah likes to hang out with Manny. He asked (okay, he pointed and grunted) me to boost him up, then demanded his book so he could sit quietly with baby brother.
Every couple days, Jonah likes to get his "mobile fix" taken care of. He's absolutely fascinated by Manny's (formerly Jonah's) mobile, and he likes to be in the crib with it for several minutes. Once he gets bored with it, he swipes the sock container from the dresser next to the crib and dumps them out (dumping and organizing again!); that's how I know when to end mobile time.
Eating. Though we don't usually have "nuggies" (these are a special treat that Auntie Katie gives him!), Jonah LOVES any food that he can dip. He begs for as much dipping condiment as possible, sometimes eating it plain, but he's actually really good about dipping his food into it. He also likes to dunk graham crackers into milk. Gangee says that's the German blood in him.
Our days always include kisses! Jonah loves giving hugs and kisses. I don't know if Manny loves to receive them, but at the very least, he's a good sport about it. Mama and Dada, on the other hand, definitely love to receive them, especially because one day Jonah won't even want to be seen with us, much less touch us. Jonah has a hugging sound effect, which make his hugs even more endearing. He says "awwww" when he hugs us. Awwwwww. It's so sweet.

Godparents in town!

We had the great pleasure of welcoming our boys' godparents and god-siblings (word?) to town last week, their first visit back after moving to Pennsylvania last April. Brandon and Corene, with Jude, Abigail and baby Ezra in tow made the trip for the occasion of Manny's baptism into the Church, and we were so happy to see them! To celebrate, our friend Katie (a.k.a. James's mom, and Laura's life-saver of a neighbor) hosted a large number of people at her apartment, firstly as a welcome-back party; secondly; for her annual Christmas-but-never-actually-held-on-Christmas breakfast; and finally, because she likes having her apartment overrun (at least, that's what I'm beginning to think). She's very nice, and I'm pretty sure she would never do anything terrible, like moving to Texas, for example. Anyway, here are some highlights from our Saturday o' fun:

Miriam, a.k.a. Jonah's favorite Latina helps Abigail unpack her St Nicholas stocking. Jonah got in on that action, biting into chocolate coins, foil and all.

Jonah rides the pony, one of his favorite things to do at James's house. We sing a pony song at home, but we're not quite awesome enough to have a pony ourselves. Sad. It's every little boy's dream, isn't it? (Please don't flood our house with ponies, though.)

Here's Madrina Corene with baby Manny. Look at this woman. She has three kids under age 4, a husband who works full time and is in law school, and she still manages to glow with beauty and maternal goodwill. I'm going to figure out her secret, patent it, and sell it. Private island, here I come!

Finally, the kids had their own little party crowding around James's door to kiss the "icons" and the cross there, effectively shaming us adults with their religious fervor. From left to right, Josie, Jonah, and James. In all seriousness, this is one of my favorite pictures. I think that for an Orthodox parent, there may hardly be a sweeter sight than this.

On Monday, the fun continued when the Swisher clan came over to our house for brunch. Jonah learned how to play Ring Around the Rosy with Abigail and Padrino Brandon. This isn't a bad picture of Brandon. He pretty much always looks this crazy/enthusiastic.

Jonah also had a LOT of fun playing a peek-a-boo game with Jude and the tunnel. Maybe I should try it with him sometime, assuming that I can squeeze myself into the tunnel. I'll try it when no one else is around to avoid extreme embarrassment.

Jonah also got his first (I think) kiss from a girl. Here you can see Abigail tackling Jonah and insisting that he let her kiss him, as he'd done earlier, though Jonah is busy trying to kiss baby Ezra, who's been rescued by Madrina Corene (see top right corner). What a tease, that Jonah. I think that at this point things were starting to get a little crazy for our sleep-deprived children. There was, however, no escape from the fun...

...as Abigail can attest. She tried. No. Escape.

Anyway, it was wonderful to see our dear friends; we just wish that they were closer so that our boys could get to know them better. The Swishers have always been so wonderful to our young family, and we miss them greatly. I guess now we have an excuse to travel to State College, Pennsylvania, that destination of (somebody's?) dreams. Look out!

Where's the truck?

Though you won't have the pleasure of hearing it in the video below, Sweet Baby J has started in on two-word phrases. (Considering this, maybe it's about time we stopped calling him "Baby", but he's just so cute! Don't tell him, but he'll always be Mama's Baby.) Any guesses as to what the two words might be? If you know Jonah well, it won't surprise you that he now says: "Buh-bye, truck." A spontaneous utterance upon seeing the garbage truck depart the alley behind our house! We try to catch it when it visits circa 10:30 on Monday mornings; Jonah has the ears of an owl for its sound. He's since added "Buh-bye, Dada" and "Buh-bye, Baby" to the repertoire.

He likes to play hide-and-seek with his trucks, as you'll see in the video. Seriously, have you ever seen a cuter kid? Didn't think so. Baby Brother's giving him a run for his money, though...

Pop quiz

Jonah is upset because:

a) I put his hair in a ponytail.

b) I'm refusing to give him a chip.

c) Both (a) and (b).












(Looks like persistence pays off. Nothing he can do about that ponytail, though.)

Contents label

Did you know that babies come with labels? Apparently the cute ones do, at any rate.

If at first you don't succeed...

While Jonah is busy training for his American Ballet Company audition, Manny is persistently busy with something much more important and, apparently, difficult: sucking his thumb!

He's ready and in position, fist raised to a height level with his mouth.

Then his fist and thumb are brought closer to his mouth.

Often, however, the experiment ends like this, in tears and disappointment. Poor Manny. Life can be hard when you're just a little baby!

Sometimes, though, he tastes sweet, sweet success. Delicious baby fist!
(Incidentally, the first three pictures were taken on New Year's Day, when our friend Jill and her husband Romeo were supposed to come visit and meet Manny. We had to cancel, though, when Jonah vomited 10 times before 10:30 a.m., the second time he's gotten sick in a week. Were he not so sweet, I might suspect him of trying to steal Manny's thunder. -- Thanks for the cute onesie, Jill! Manny was all dressed up for you.)

Jonah-fitness

In addition to all the running around he does, which keeps him quite trim, Jonah also likes to engage in the leg-toning exercises he sees Mama do every once in awhile. They're ballet-inspired, in case you can't tell.