Glamour Shot

When Jonas gets his first GQ photo spread, here will be his cover shot.

Day at the Aquarium

This summer has been unusually cool, but the last few days have more than made up for it. So Mom decided to take Jonas on an air-conditioned adventure yesterday, presenting the big guy with his first experience at an aquarium. From the beginning, Jonas was wide-eyed and fascinated by all the unusual sights and colors...

...at the sea lion exhibit, he was mesmerized...

...even the divers cleaning the tank seemed to notice Jonas, waving to him from the other side...

...eventually, Mom remembered a page from one of Jonas' favorite books called "Baby Colors." In the fascinating chapter on the color orange, Jonas is introduced to a crab with giant pincers...

...so when Jonas saw the real thing (well, maybe a bit less orange...), he was once again in shock...

...not everything seemed to go over well. Let's just say the giant whale sculpture was a bit intimidating...

...but Jonas pulled it together and by the time it came to go, he seemed to be asking, Hey Mom, when can we go again?

Jonas' Island

One of the fun parts about living in Long Beach is knowing how much of the city has been used as backdrop for television and movies. One of our favorite pieces of trivia is that the marina where we go to the farmer's market every weekend was where they filmed the opening sequence of "Gilligan's Island," the part where the castaways depart for their "three-hour tour." In recent weeks, we've taken Jonas to the market and walked along the marina to check out the boats. Jonas has slept through most of it, no doubt dreaming about how we would have gotten off that island. Or, perhaps, all the delicious milk he could have extracted from all those coconuts.

Dining Out

Jonas went for his first dinner outside the house this weekend, joining Mom, Dad and his Aunt Barbara and Uncle Steve at a Mexican restaurant in Santa Monica. He seemed to enjoy the experience reasonably well, but eventually Mom took him outside to take a look at the scenery in an environment where maybe he could talk as loud as he wanted without being quite so distracting to his fellow diners. Once outside, and in Mom's familiar arms, he seemed to enjoy the outing even more.

Bright Eyes

Jonas has always had beautiful eyes, but they seem to be glowing of late. The other night, as the sun was going down, they were especially bright.

Veggie Tale

Tonight, Jonas began what hopefully will become a lifetime habit of eating actual vegetables. And to celebrate the occasion, we set up a high chair that we had received as a gift to get Jonas in the mood. And boy was he in the mood. It all began simply enough, with the big guy waiting patiently for his meal...

...before long, he was getting his first taste of green beans, literally eating them up...

...then, it was on to a combination of green beans mixed with his old standard, rice cereal...

...pretty soon, Jonas was directing Dad with his finger, telling him exactly where he wanted all this delicious food to go...

...and not long after that, Jonas was screaming for MORE!!!!

...safe to say it looks like he'll be a good eater.

Music Man

A few weeks back, we took Jonas to see the Long Beach Municipal Band in a local park, a summertime tradition here that Jonas mostly slept through. But last night, we tried again, and the big guy really seemed to catch on. First, he sat on Mom's lap and took in all the surroundings...

...then, before long, he was imitating his best "Opera Man," holding up his "kerchief" at the dramatic parts of the music...

...but to truly appreciate Jonas' time at the concert, here's some Bonus Jonas video footage, captured as Jonas attempted to play every instrument during the obligatory "Stars and Stripes" played near the end. 

Jonas-Eye View

Jonas spends much of his awake time in the play area we created for him before he was born. So the other day, Dad got down to see what the world looks like for the big guy when he's not focused on Mom or Dad amusing him. Now it's even more clear he's always so happy, as some of his favorite things in life are there in one view—pictures on the wall, bright yellow paint and a ceiling fan. What more could he possibly ask for.

Dimple Dandy

Jonas has many endearing features, but his cute little dimples, which reveal themselves during moments of pure glee or silliness, may be among the best. Fortunately, he's gleeful or silly most of the time, so the dimples make regular appearances. But catching them on camera has proved somewhat elusive. Here, though, he shows off the deepest of the dimples below the left side of his mouth, cute as can be.

Too Cute

I mean, does it get any cuter than babies in sunglasses?