Happy Birthday, J-Bird!

I still can't decide if it's hard to believe or not: It's been three years since Jonah rocketed into the world, 3 minutes till midnight on July 4, our "joke" due date. ('Cuz who ever thinks that their first child, a boy, will be born 11 days before his due date, on a holiday? It was a joke 'round our place, evidenced by the fact that my hospital bag was only half packed.) I say that I can't decide because it seems like there was hardly a time before there was Jonah in Gabriel and my married life, though I do have fond memories of our dating, engaged and married life, all not-quite 3 years of it, before Jonah was born. At any rate, it's been three years of the child known variously as "Jonah-Bean," "The Jonah Owl," "Senor Impaciente," "Mr. Poop," which morphed into "Mr. Poo," and , currently, "Little Bear" or "J-Bird". Considering my pregnancy, the extent of our summer travels and the fact that it still sort of seems to me that we "just moved," we opted for a lower-key celebration this year, inviting just a few mom-friends and their offspring over to our place for play, lunch and cake. The party managed to be fun without being crazy (at least that's my interpretation of it), and Jonah thoroughly enjoyed himself. That's the important thing, right?

(You wouldn't know it from the photos below, but we had eight children and five mamas in the house. Clearly, I should've designated picture-taking. Also, the darkish quality of the first few pictures is due to the fact that Gabriel bought me a spectacular new camera for Christmas, but I often forget that I need to switch the setting from outdoor to indoor. Also, there's something called a "flash" that really brightens things up. Who knew?)

I made Jonah a construction sign / dump truck cake, chocolate inside (from Christopher Kimball's "The Cook's Bible"), cream cheese frosting (Betty Crocker cookbook). It was a really good cake. Jonah was a bit perturbed that I put his dump truck out of commission for an evening and a day, but I do think that he forgave me. It's not for nothing that we call him "Jonah the Merciful." I made the mistake of telling Jonah to smile. Yup, that's a camera-worthy smile, not a grimace of pain. It took long enough for him to blow out the candles that I actually got a picture of it. Maybe that's why no one else ate the cake?

Jonah was able to choose his birthday breakfast on July 4. He chose French toast, which surprisingly won out over pancakes. Jonah loves to help me in the kitchen. "Help," of course, is a relative term, but I do like to have him with me. Look, he's mixing the egg mix with all my measuring spoons. Hey, whatever's handy!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Jonah! You are our little sweetie, and we love you dearly.

In color, and with moving pictures!

My dad ("Pop-Pop," in our boys' parlance) fairly recently resumed work on his model railroad, a project that had been on hiatus in our basement for many years. I can remember being excited about it when I was a girl, but I'm pretty sure that my long-ago excitement would be faint next to Jonah's enthusiasm. Pop-Pop showed Jonah (and even Manny) how to use the control board to direct the trains, something at which Jonah became farly adept (he is, after all, not even three yet). In this video, though, you'll see that controlling the trains is hardly better than watching them: It's something of a miracle that Jonah's nose wasn't skinned by the passing locomotive. (This video is from our early April visit to Michigan.)

This truck was a Christmas gift from my sister and her husband to the boys. I won't say that I hate it: It's not out for play often enough for me to have developed any strong feelings about it. It does, however, provoke some pretty cute reactions in the boys that keep me from re-gifting it to another child. I'm just glad that the boys don't yet know just what it is that they're supposed to be shaking.

The great outdoors

At our new apartment, we at last have a usable backyard. Besides the dog poop that initially lurked in the backyard of our former apartment, there were two sets of treacherous cement stairs; a giant, sharp piece of metal that I dug out of the grass one day; and a significant portion of what might've otherwise been grass claimed by a garage stuffed impossibly full of junk (trust me, I once got a glimpse) and a giant cement pad on either side of the double-wide lot. I'm thankful that we had a park almost right out our back door, but I wouldn't trade that for the luxury of the play-in-able backyard that we have now: It's paradise! (Though I do need to find a way to secure that back and side gates, now that the Monday Monkey has figured out how to open them and hears the siren song of the alley.) As I write this in June, the peonies are in full bloom out back. As these pictures are from mid-April, said peonies are still in the ground. The neighbors I've met are nice and have pretty backyards, and the ease of just going downstairs and into the outdoors makes living in the city feel that much more homey. This lovely plot of grass alone may have been worth all the hassle of moving.

Despite the face, Jonah actually loves to play in the backyard. Manny's far too small for this yet, but that doesn't mean that he can't try.

The neighbor's barking dog caught the attention of both boys.

Dog barking from one direction, bus going by from the other.

I "re-purposed" what I think is an old dog food-and-water stand that I took from someone's trash pile at the curb as a play table. ("Re-purposing" from other people's trash or litter is a skill that I watched my dad hone over the course of many years. I've never actually dove into a dumpster, though.) I've since upgraded to a plastic under-bed storage bin filled with sand, which the boys love. The dog food stand will do in a pinch, though.

Hammy Manny

Yes, Manny's a pretty happy kid. Why do you ask?

Outings with Jackson

Before they moved back to their home state of Wyoming, our friends Lexie and Jackson ("Jacksie and Lexon" in Jonah's parlance) were superb at shuttling us around during the dead of winter, making sure that the three of us made it out of the house every once in a while. It was great getting to know their family. Jacksie and Auntie Lex lived in our neighborhood, and we dearly miss seeing their faces at our favorite park.

The blondie on the left is Jackson. That's my monkey in the middle and the Pig on the right, waiting for his chance to dive into the pond.


The boys face the jungle at the Garfield Park Conservatory.
The fearless Auntie Lex helps waiting lads ford the stream.


In the kids' area, Manny scales the tree, but can't manage to get himself down. Cat-like, that one is.






At the Notebaert Nature Museum, which we hit up twice in the space of a couple months, Manny finds a bear! Raaaahhhhrrrr!






The locks and dam system on this great water exhibit is a bit over the heads of toddlers, but the splashing isn't.

More water. More stopping Manny from diving in. The child has no fear.

Jack and the Moo.

I know, I know, these are winter pictures posted in May. This is what happens when one's computer sorta-breaks, then one is pregnant and sick, etc. These pictures are too cute not to post, though.
Manny fell down. I probably should've helped him up quickly, BUT, what's a mom to do when the pictures would be just so cute? Sorry, Moo.

Everywhere Jonah goes, people comment on how great this hat is. This was my best Hyde Park laundry room finds. Yes, just like my dad, I scavenge.

If Manny were as brown as Jonah, I'd say that he looks like a ketchup-and-mustard-covered hot dog. Maybe he's a chicken-dog.

Newsy news

In true procrastinators' form, neither my husband nor I have managed to fix our computer yet. Thus, still no photos. Let me mitigate your disappointment, dear reader, by offering you some excitng news: Our family is expecting Baby #3 this November. The precise due date is November 15, which, despite my history of birthing before the due date, is still far enough away from dear Manny's (a.k.a. "Middle Bear's") 2nd birthday that we shouldn't have a double birthday. Whichever other day this child will be born, I'm just praying (no joke) that Manny's birthday will be spared.

The pregnancy is proceeding fine. Per usual, I am currently sick, though now that I've turned the corner on 12 weeks, I'm hoping for relief in the next week or so. My diet is truly appalling: quesadillas; egg-cheese-and-bread sandwiches; the occasional strawberry; toast with butter; and Snickers bars. Somehow I've actually lost weight on this diet, though the trend will undoubtedly reverse before too long. I had my first appointment with the midwifery practice just shy of 10 weeks, at which point we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat.

The boys continue to be a barrel of fun, when, that is, they're not being naughty. (Almost never! Ha ha.) We recently moved (a couple blocks), which they took in stride. Though we're now a few blocks away from our beloved park, we gained a wonderful backyard, with a patio, nice grass, lots of "bioleds" ("violets," in Jonah-speak), flowers and at least three visiting bunnies. Manny, at 18 months, and Jonah at almost 3 years are really starting to love each other, which is no less than heart-melting. Of course, Jonah alternates between careening around and knocking Manny over and calling him "Little Sweetie," but the love is there. Besides, Manny is no push-over; in fact, sometimes he pushes back. Both are indeed my little treasures.