Face Mask

In the last few weeks, Jonas has continued to perfect his grabbing skills. Thanks to the bibs that he unfortunately gets to wear since Mom and Dad have grown tired of changing his milkified outfits every hour, his grabbing episodes often lead to some humorous results. His best legitimate progress in the grabbing arena seems to be while playing with one of his favorite play toys, which Mom and Dad no longer have to twirl since Jonas can do it himself now...

...at least, he does until he sees us watching him...

...at which point he usually starts to realize that he could grab his bib, too...

...which often leads to the bib flying over his face...

...which, ultimately, at some point every morning, just leads to this...

But at least he's making progress.

Hat Tricks

The last few mornings have been unusually chilly here, and while Dad took Jonas along on his morning coffee run, he decided Jonas could probably use a little hat, a relatively new experience for him. (Amusing Southern California moment: On Monday morning, we were walking in the lightest drizzle likely ever recorded, so light that it probably couldn't even be recorded, when we passed a man who looked at us and said, "How about this rain!" Well...) In any case, Jonas once again proves that his adorable-ness transcends to hats as well.

Stinker

We'd like to say that Jonas smells baby-fresh at all times, but...

Easy Choice

One of Niki's long-time dreams has been to own a Porsche. (Curiously, not even a new Porsche, but an '80s-era red 911 Carrera...) She was so interested in the concept that in recent years we've half-joked about skimping on all other expenses to see what it would take to own one. When Jonas came along, though, that idea took a back seat. But Niki's dream car still managed to play a key part in how she told me that the former Nub was coming into the world. "You know, a Porsche probably isn't the most practical car," she said that morning. "Why not?" I asked. A few moments of silence later and I caught on. So, it was with interest that Jonas and I saw the car of Niki's dreams parked outside the coffee stop the other morning. I snapped this photo, sent it to Niki and asked which one she would pick now. The one on the right won hands down.

Looking Good

We can't get enough of Jonas' namesake T-shirts. He looks like one cool customer.

9 to 5

Nearly every day, Niki and I are asked some variation of the question: Is Jonas sleeping through the night? Unfortunately, since the day he was born, we haven't been able to say yes to that one. But last night, we tried yet another little parental experiment that, at least for one night, paid enormous dividends. A few weeks ago, instead of a tight blanket swaddle, we tried putting the big guy into a "sleep sack" that allows him to kick around but still be confined to a cozy little sleep environment. He didn't like it, and let us know all about it. But last night, we thought we'd try again. The result: We put him to bed just before 9 p.m. and he didn't wake up until 5 a.m.! There once was a day when 5 a.m. seemed so early. But 5 a.m. is the new 10 a.m. for us, especially since Jonas normally is up at 1, or 2, or 3, or just about whenever. But for at least one glorious time, we can proudly say that Jonas officially slept through the night. And as you can see, even he had to celebrate when he finally woke up.

Calming Waters

Jonas' first bath way back when was a memorable experience (for a brief reminder, click here). But we've moved on quite a bit since then. Jonas now seems to get that he can kick around and have fun if he likes. But usually, he's quite peaceful and calm, as seen here...

And afterwards, instead of a scream-fest, he now maintains his composure and even seems to enjoy the process. We can't tell if this blanket makes him look more like E.T. or Mother Teresa, but either way, he seems to like it.

Tongue Not in Cheek

Jonas has a new favorite game, which is to listen to Mom or Dad blabber their lips like an airplane propeller while he tries to imitate us. He simply cannot get enough of this game. But now that he's discovered his lips, he's also discovered his tongue, which he seems to enjoy showing off at all times of the morning or night.

Sweet 16

It was 16 weeks ago today that Jonas graduated from being called Nub to being his own person. And just in the last few days, he has shown off some fabulous new tricks worthy of someone who's been around the block for 16 weeks. Over the weekend, he had his first official roll-over, a clutch performance that took place during a live video chat with his grandparents and aunt and uncle in New York. He seems to be enjoying time on his stomach a lot more these days, and with one solid rolling over behind him, no doubt more fun awaits.

Holding Pattern

In addition to holding and eating his hands, Jonas has also started holding (and unfortunately trying to eat) some of his play mat friends, including his oldest friend, Pulkie the Tiger.

Hand Sandwich

In the last few weeks, Jonas has discovered that he has hands and that they are, in fact, delicious. Evidence below.

All Smiles

Go Lakers!

Dad and Jonas watched an exciting Game 7 of the NBA Finals tonight and Jonas seemed to get into his "hometown" Lakers beating the Celtics (see above). But when it was all over, the excitement had once again proved too much to handle (see below).

Two of a Kind

Uncle Eric took this photo of two good friends (and a funny snail thing) sharing a moment.

Still Smiling

Mom and Dad and Jonas each had an epic Southern California commute home yesterday, the type that would test the patience of even the most patient of drivers. But after finally arriving after a long day of work and daycare, we all managed to squeeze in a little playtime, and Jonas was back to his usual giggly self, even messing with Mom in the process.

Happy Guy

Nothing is cuter than watching Jonas stick out his tongue in glee when he finds something amusing.

Aunt D and Uncle E

Jonas had yet another new relative to meet when his Aunt Debi and Uncle Eric stopped by for a few days on their way back from Japan. It was his first meeting with Aunt Debi, who along with his uncle, read Jonas stories (his new favorite activity) and kept him quite amused for two days. Just like old friends.

Have a Seat

Every time we think we've seen Jonas at his cutest, he goes and does something like this. Just sitting in his new seat, oozing cuteness. That's our guy.

The Captain Returns

Captain Adorable, Jonas' alter ego, made a rare public appearance recently, being called into action to preserve cuteness and the American way. We have exclusive footage of the super hero in this Bonus Jonas video.

Trip to the Office

Jonas made a guest appearance this week at Mom's work, where her residents, safe to say, just ate him up. He didn't even have to wake up to impress them. Here we see Jonas with his friend Evelyn, who is still probably telling anyone she can about how he smiled at her in his sleep...

And here we see Jonas with his friend Gloria, who told him all about her own grandchildren in Germany...

Here, Jonas is so comfortable by the pool that he decides to take an afternoon snooze...

And here we see Jonas content as can be in Mom's office. A fun day for all.

Rock Star

Coffee Crew

During their three months together at home, Mom and Jonas had developed a nice little routine during the day, filled with playing, walks around the neighborhood, eating and napping (for him at least). But Dad has thrown another daily ritual into the mix during his time off the last two weeks: A morning run to the local coffee place to help him regain some of the energy that a certain little guy tends to drain at, say, 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. or 3 a.m. As a nice bonus, we've run into one of Dad's former co-workers, Matt, and his son, Ray, thus forming a coffee crew to discuss the topics of the day, including the best hockey video games of all time. You know, important stuff. Mostly, Jonas is so excited that he sleeps through the whole thing, but yesterday he woke up to show encouraging signs that one day he, too, might enjoy a good cup of Joe.

First 100 Days

Jonas participated in his first election on Tuesday, one of the few people who showed up at his Dad's polling place for the California primary election. As seen here, you can see how excited he was. (In fairness to him, it was a pretty lackluster ballot.) But it does give us the opportunity to reflect on a milestone that presidents often use after their own elections: Today marks Jonas' first 100 days in office, so to speak. So let's recap how he's done on the issues. You might recall during his 9-month campaign that he pledged to focus solely on domestic issues. True to his word, he certainly has. He pledged we would not sleep until all his work was done. Again, he certainly has proved that he will not sleep. He vowed to take a long, hard look at our healthcare system. An initial stint in the hospital, followed by multiple doctor visits and shots has allowed him just such access. Lastly, he promised to lower taxes. And come next April 15, our little tax deduction will do just that. So nice going Jonas. If your career in eating, napping, fussing, giggling, going on walks and playing with Mom and Dad doesn't pan out, there's always politics.

Goofballs

Jonas and Dad have been having fun on their time off. They've even managed to crack each other up with some silly faces.

Sitting Up

So far, Jonas has become quite good at spitting up. Now we're introducing the concept of sitting up. Thanks to a "Bumbo" seat, Jonas got his first sensation this weekend of what this whole sitting rage is all about. His head is still a bit bobbly, but it's just a matter of time until he's sitting up on his own. So far, he seems to like what he sees.

Separated at Birth?

Dad found an old photo of himself as a baby today and it couldn't help but remind him of someone.

Dad, Enough Photos!

Strained Veal

Although we respect the concept, Niki and I are far from vegetarians. But even we had to pause after looking over a hand-out that Jonas' doctor gave us the other day describing the process of introducing different foods to his diet. There among the sketches of healthy food choices -- images of fruits and vegetables and basic food groups -- was a sketch of a sole jar of baby food. But instead of a jar of pureed carrots or peas, of all the flavors this flier could have selected to highlight, the sketch was a jar of "Strained Veal." We have yet to explore the world of baby food jars and their flavors, but can we not all agree that the veal has it bad enough without needing to be made into baby food, let alone to be strained?

More Story Time

Mom got in on some of the reading action today too, reading Jonas one of her favorite books growing up, "The Poky Little Puppy." The big guy seemed even more enthralled by this one. And with a title like that, who wouldn't be.

Story Time

They say it's never too early to start reading to your kids, so Jonas and Dad have been spending extra time with some books this week. We start our library session with the previously mentioned "Farm Tails," which is essentially the "War and Peace" of the infant set, involving such tragic characters as horse, pig and lamb, each on an endless quest to locate their tails. But now we read a few other picture books that have colors and images that Jonas seems to enjoy. Mom and Dad went last weekend to the bookstore and had fun filling his library with other books they remembered having as kids. We're hoping he enjoys them, too. So far, he seems to be off to a good start.

Holding On

Jonas seems to really be grasping the concept of grasping these days. Among his new discoveries are his ability to grab hold of his play set, as seen here...

...and his ability to help Dad by holding on to his bottle during a feeding the other day, as seen here...

...but it can also be seen in his desire to make music come out of a silly bear on his play set. As seen in this exclusive video taken by Mom, Jonas keeps trying and trying until he twirls the ball on the bear, reaching his ultimate goal.

Surfer Dudes