Smiling Face

Today we offer yet another photo of our smiling boy with his smiling face.

Flutter Flutter

Jonas, Mom and Dad took another fun adventure yesterday by visiting the Butterfly Pavilion, a cool sanctuary of sorts for the winged set not far from where we used to live near Boulder. Jonas had himself a heck of a time discovering all sorts of gross insects and walking in the butterfly area, where the little creatures flutter around and land on top of you, among other things. At first, Jonas was content to look at the cool bug and insect displays, and even check out some crazy-scary spiders...

...but the real action was in the Butterfly Pavilion itself, an area that forced Jonas to look up to see the action...

...and what action there was. The butterflies were fantastic...

...Jonas, however, seemed to get even more pleasure by a pair of little bridges that he got to walk over, again and again and again and again and again...

...on our way out, Jonas and Dad stopped to take a picture by a big bug waiting outside...

...and our little boy, after a little gift from the gift shop to remember his morning, was left to dream about all the new creatures he got to see.

Mom and Dad's Bed

Is there anything more fun as a kid than playing on Mom and Dad's bed? Jonas doesn't think so. He's been especially interested in it of late, bouncing up and down, burying his head in the pillows and enjoying all the "friends" Mom and Dad have lurking about.

Nice Pats

Jonas likes giving his dog "nice pats."

Scarry Fun

When Mom and Dad were kids, they used to enjoy books by Richard Scarry, who would draw the coolest cars and trucks for page after page. There were plenty of normal-looking vehicles in Scarry's pages, but the fun stuff were absurdly cool "banana cars" or "pencil cars" or "pickle trucks" made after whatever they were named for. So we couldn't resist getting our little car freak a big book of Richard Scarry cars, which of course Jonas has taken a liking to. With each page in his new book, Jonas will let off a genuine "Wow!" as he recites everything he sees, accepting on its face that there is a pickle truck or banana car in front of him and that these might actually exist just as easily as would a garbage truck, school bus or race car.

Big Squeeze

Jonas has been learning how to hug all of his friends at home, and he's getting very good at it—both in quantity and quality, as his friend Blue Dog experienced the other day.

Cold Play

Yesterday was a bit chilly around these parts, but that didn't stop Jonas from bundling up—right down to his monster gloves—to run around a local park. Mom and Dad might have been cold, but Jonas seemed happy as could be with a whole park all to himself.

Taking Stock

Mom, Dad and Jonas went on an adventure yesterday to the 106th National Western Stock Show, a Denver institution that features rodeos, a huge trade show and livestock galore on display and for purchase to the lucky bidder. Jonas, of course, had himself a heck of a time. And why wouldn't he? To start, we had to park far away and take a real-life bus...

...then, once we got on the stock show grounds, the trade show featured all kinds of car, truck and tractor displays for the discriminating farmer, rancher or transportation-obsessed little boy...

...here, Jonas seems to be saying, "Dad, I pick this one. Let's do whatever we need to do to make this happen..."

...soon, however, Jonas caught on that the real action was outside at the stockyards. So, off we went through the cavernous stock show campus to find us some animals...

...once in the yards, we got to see a real-life cattle herding competition where dogs beat the clock to herd a group of three cows into different bins...

...but the real fun stuff was just beyond the arena, where rows and rows of pens held various livestock ready to be judged and sold...

...Jonas made sure to get up close so he could get a good look...

...and it wasn't too long until he really started to look the part of the rancher, wanting to see each and every bin so he could decide which animal he might want to make an offer on...

...but the only way to really tell what you have is to get your hands dirty. So Jonas gave some "nice pats" to a yak that he had his eyes on...

...and he even stopped a herding dog to get some more "nice pats" in as well...

...inevitably, the thing that really caught Jonas' attention in the yards was an animal of a different sort, the kind that's green and yellow and has big, big wheels...

...in time, he had seen (and stepped in) enough and it was time to head back to the bus, Jonas looking like he owned the place as he walked the grounds...

...and as we waited for the bus to take us back to our car, Jonas couldn't hide the smile from a fun-filled morning.

Plop, Plop

This may not be the classiest post we've ever done, but it's too darn amusing to let slip by. Let's just say that after a certain naturally occurring biological event that Jonas experienced the other morning, Mom and Dad found themselves thinking about the word "plop," which somehow led to us singing the most famous jingle ever associated with that word (albeit in a different context), the Alka Seltzer song. (Click here if you need a reminder. And click here for maybe the coolest version of this song, by Sammy Davis Jr.) Technically, we offered Jonas a variation on the lyrics, possibly changing "fizz fizz" to "whiz whiz." The result? Jonas, who thought it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard in his life, has a new favorite saying and song. In fact, pay attention near the end when Jonas offers his own scat improv, seemingly paying homage to Sammy.

Silly Boy

Jonas is being especially silly of late, like last night when he rediscovered the use of his tongue for comedic effect...

...he also seemed to enjoy when Dad got in on the action...

...and then there was this shot in which silly Jonas also looks like he could be 5-year-old silly Jonas. He is getting big.

Crackers

Jonas has moved up to a new class at his daycare and now, when Mom or Dad go to pick him up, it usually coincides with the last snack of the day—two Saltine crackers on a paper plate. While Jonas is naturally excited to see us, he also has made it clear if we arrive anywhere near this precious time that his priorities are 1. crackers, and 2. Mom or Dad. Yesterday, Dad arrived just as Jonas and friends were sitting down for their snack. And Jonas seemed pretty thrilled about the chance to finish eating...

...and even while the rest of his buddies snacked along, the smiling Jonas proceeded to cram his crackers into his mouth, making sure they were all accounted for in there, before running over to give Dad a nice hug.

Fenced In

A few weeks ago Jonas' Mima brought over a farm set for the Big Guy to play with, complete with fencing to keep all the toy animals in check. Mom and Dad liked the idea of at least one non-transportation toy for Jonas to play with around the house. And while he will indeed take the farm animals out every once in a while, the inevitable has of course occurred: The fencing is now used to make sure all his parked cars don't get loose on the farm.