Sweet Boy

Sometimes, like at this moment yesterday hanging out with Dad, Jonas just overflows with cuteness.

Getting Around

Well, there's one more day in July still, but it's looking unlikely that Jonas will be up and walking on his own before month's end. Taking a peek at our little poll on the right, it seems most everyone, including ourselves, thought he might be doing it by now. Still, Jonas is awfully close. He likes stomping around with Mom or Dad holding on to one of his hands. And he loves cruising around the house with the walker that his Uncle Alden and Aunt Sarah got him a while back. Here are some shots of him exploring new territory as we await the day he'll figure it out on his own.

Spoon Fed

While Dad was away on a trip for work this week, Mom taught Jonas a new trick involving this ridiculous thing called a spoon. Here you can see one of Jonas' promising attempts at using the crazy contraption on his own...

...but it's even more amusing to watch it on video. Watch Jonas' fine technique and Mom's gleeful reaction in this Bonus Jonas footage, but play special attention to the very end where Jonas proves that a finger-full of puffs probably works better than any spoon ever could.

Don't Stuff Yourself

When Dad was growing up, one of his father's favorite expressions at a restaurant was a warning: "Don't stuff yourself on the bread." Well, we tried that with Jonas the other night at a local restaurant in Castle Rock, but it was no use. Jonas simply went to town and for one of the first times in his life had trouble finishing the rest of his real dinner. Now Dad will be practicing his "don't stuff yourself" line to be as forceful as possible in the future.

Putting It Together

Jonas continues to impress his Mom and Dad with the things he's becoming capable of doing. This week, instead of just tossing some of his plastic puzzle pieces around in a bucket, Jonas figured out that you can do other things with them as well.

New Look

At breakfast the other day, Jonas offered his own take on the goatee: the Cheerio-tee.

Mountain Man

It took us a while to do it, but Jonas finally had his first real trip into the mountains yesterday, an adventure with Mom and Dad to Idaho Springs. There, he got to enjoy one of Mom and Dad's favorite places, Beau Jo's Pizza. This isn't quite like the New York pizza Jonas has already been accustomed to eating. In the mountains, let's just say they do things a bit thicker, if not delicious in their own way. At Beau Jo's the crust is so thick...

...they give you a container of honey at each table to drizzle on top when you're nearing the end of your slice...

...Jonas, of course, took to the place instantly. First, he took thoughtful consideration of the menu and its insightful history of Idaho Springs' mining legacy...

...but then he took even more playful consideration to his kid's menu, having a blast while we waited for our food...

...but afterward is when the real fun began for Jonas. After practicing his walking down Idaho Springs' main drag (with Mom and Dad holding each hand), Jonas pulled up a bench with Mom and watched as the cars and trucks zoomed by...

...reaching out for each one as if it might be the last one to cruise by that afternoon, Jonas could not have been happier, thoroughly enjoying his first adventure into the mountains.

Poster Boy

You might recall Jonas' first 100 days in office and all the promise he had as a budding upcomer in the world, if not the world of politics. Well, Dad was playing around with some camera filters on his phone yesterday and took this shot of the Big Guy, which reminded him more than a bit of a certain iconic political poster. Only if Jonas was going to campaign, instead of "Hope," his poster might say something like "Cars."

In Transition

Perhaps no photo better explains Jonas' transition period at the moment between crawling and so-wanting-to-walk than this. Here we see him literally not being able to remove his hand from the truck he likes to wheel around while crawling, and not being able to remove his hand from the walker he's been using to trudge up and down the hallways with. Soon it will be time to decide once and for all which mode of transportation he likes the most.

Animal Sounds

Jonas is starting to say some pretty cool words, but among his most adorable sayings are his animal sounds, which he can more or less perform at will. You might recall a few weeks back he was still struggling with his early efforts. But here's a look at how far he's progressed. Still some work to go, but awfully cute nonetheless.

Mother Lode

In recent days, Jonas has finally discovered the stack of burpees we leave near his dresser. And oh what a discovery. You might recall that these cloth diapers are one of the joys of his life. He uses them as a blanket of sorts whenever he takes a nap, and generally finds comfort in every fiber of their being. But now that he's discovered the secret stash, the real joy has begun. This afternoon Jonas hit the mother lode. And he couldn't have been happier.

Flick!

Jonas has been getting more adventurous, discovering new parts of the house that previously didn't seem to impress him much. One of his latest finds: a doorstop. Yesterday, Jonas spent quite a bit of time in flicking heaven playing with this one in the hallway (but not before the old one-finger inspection just to make sure it was all legit).

Friday Night Bites

Back before Jonas was around (and it's getting harder and harder to remember such a time...) Mom and Dad used to enjoy going out to eat every Friday night to get caught up on the week past and think about fun things ahead for the weekend. We've put that little ritual pretty much on hold since the Big Guy came around, but now that he and his appetite are getting even bigger, we decided to try out the old tradition this weekend at the local Rockyard Brewery. Jonas made sure he took a close look at all the microbrews available for a time uncertain 20 years or so in the future...

...then he proceeded to do his thing, scarfing down chicken fingers, broccoli, french fries, bread, a million puffs, and anything else that came into sight. In fact, Jonas couldn't even stop stuffing his face when the waitress came by to take a nice family portrait...

...but maybe that's appropriate. Since that's Jonas' favorite thing to do these days, maybe it's a nice way to celebrate one of Mom and Dad's favorite things to do as well.

Totally Tubular

Jonas (and Mom and Dad) had another interesting life moment this week as the Big Guy survived his first surgery of sorts, that being tubes put in his ears to hopefully prevent the surge of ear infections he's suffered through the first part of this year. They say if you have four infections in a year, then tubes make sense. Jonas had four in four months, so he safely met the criteria. And for undergoing a reasonably safe but still frighteningly unsure experience involving doctors and gowns and a bit of anesthesia to boot (how else would they ever get so close to a boy who does not like his face messed with), Jonas did amazing. But it wasn't all fun and games. Jonas' Mima came along to give Dad moral support along the way. And just before Jonas went in for the 10-minute procedure, neither father nor son looked terribly pleased...

...but Jonas turned out to be a trooper, waking up shortly after it was done and wooing all the lady nurses to come his way and take a look at how cute he was. They told us we shouldn't feed him too much after he woke up, but they obviously don't know our little chow hound. Within minutes, Jonas, who couldn't eat all morning because of the procedure, awoke ready to scarf. By the time we got home, all was back to normal as Jonas devoured a snack and was back to his old self...

Mmmmm!

Jonas had his first taste of vanilla pudding the other day and, well, let's just say he enjoyed it. In fact, he couldn't stop saying, "Mmmm!" Soon, of course, Mom and Dad joined in as well. Here's a Bonus Jonas video of how it all went down.

Clear Skies

We've been having some epic thunderstorms the last few days here. On his way out to pick up dinner last night, Dad took this shot from the road (that's a solid wall of rain falling in one unfortunate spot left of center)...

...but the sky cleared up nicely last night for a bit, prompting a trip to the back deck for Jonas and Mom. There, they shared this nice moment looking out on the landscape.

Sweet and Savory

Jonas, as we have mentioned, went to town on the food front in New York. And so what better way to leave our New York memories than with two images that reflect the delicious food we had. The first, from the most yummy bakery on earth, and the second, from Nathan's, whose french fries can only be properly eaten with a red plastic pitch fork. Mmm...

Some That Got Away

We'll wrap up our New York photos soon, but before we do, here's a look at a few photos that got away. First is a cityscape from Highline Park with a view of the Empire State Building on a beautiful day that Mom and Dad will remember for quite some time...

...Dad likes this shot of Mom from their lunch that day. He thinks it belongs in a travel magazine. If only he knew someone who worked for a travel magazine...

...Mom and Dad enjoyed the sights of Midtown as well, stopping for a pose at Rockefeller Center...

...while Dad and his brothers were enjoying the train ride home from the city, Mom looked like she was having a nice time too...

...Jonas and his Uncle Alden had a fun time clowning around in the backyard of Nana and Papa's house...

...while Jonas showed off the winning smile, his Aunt Debi and soon-to-be Cousin Blueberry looked on...

...it was this trip that Jonas finally seemed to perfect his "so big" routine, performing at the beach club several times a day...

...and speaking of the beach, there's no way to underestimate the delight he felt playing in the sand and the water...

...Dad enjoyed his time at the beach with Jonas, too...

...especially those moments just looking out in the water together...

...and Papa seemed awfully proud of his grandson as well, sharing a nice moment after one of Jonas' many culinary feasts.

Beach Boy: The Movie

We're still living off our memories of our great trip to New York, so we've got a few more posts left in us. Here's a little video montage of two of Jonas' favorite moments: His first time playing in the sand and his first experience with ocean waves. (And come to think of it, his first walk along the beach...) With a little help from the Beach Boys, here's a look at what happened.

Bakery Goodness

In addition to his fine dining in New York, Jonas got to experience yet another culinary first with his first trip to a New York bakery. There, Dad pointed out all the delicious cookies his dad used to buy him as a kid. From the first smell, Jonas realized this was a special place. Here, he seems to be saying, "Um, Dad, can I have a cookie, and, um, a chocolate babka, and, um, a Philly fluff, and, um, a black-and-white cookie, and, um, maybe one of these over here with the sprinkles..."

Eating Well

Jonas is still thinking about all the delicious food he had during his visit to New York last weekend. And why not? It was a trip filled with many culinary firsts. Here's a quick recap of the Big Guy's culinary tour of the Big Apple. It began the first morning with his first bagel and lox...

...for his most impressive feat, he scarfed down an adult-size portion of filet of sole at an Italian restaurant near Nana and Papa's house, part of a two-hour foodfest where he basically didn't stop eating...

...At Vincent's, one of Dad's favorite pizza places growing up, Jonas wasn't satisfied with just a slice. So he had a meatball and some pasta. Delicious!...

...at the beach, it was his first taste of Chinese food, which had him going back for more...

...by the end of his trip, Jonas felt so comfortable eating his last meal at LaGuardia Airport that he put up his feet and cherished every last delicate bite of a turkey sandwich, a dainty capper on a bounty of great food.