Motor Mouth

It's no secret that Jonathan is the quiet one, I am the chatty one and JJ is the Motor Mouth.

New things to do!

This past week or so, Jonathan has been doing new things that to most of you, may not be a big deal, but to me, it's maj! Things that Jonathan Jr. has been doing this week:

1. He now grabs on to my shirt when he eats and he just holds on tight. I find this terribly sweet and adorable.


2. He is getting much better with lifting his head during tummy time. Tummy time is NOT his favorite thing to do, but as long as I let him do a little bit throughout the day and then Daddy and I have him work on it during the evening, I am sure he'll be lifting the head that ate MD, DE and PA in no time.


3. He most definitely follows me when I walk around the room, he will twist his body, turn his head and look around for me (or Daddy).


4. He LOVES to be "naked nakedz" as I like to call it. And when the opportunity arises he shakes what his mama gave him.


5. His hair is changing from brown to platinum blond and I'm pretty certain his eyes will stay blue. He will be a blond bombshell, just like his mama.


6. He "chatted" with his Grandma the other night. I held the laptop up above his face so he could look up at her face (via Skype) and while she was talking to him he was talking back, staring directly at her face. Thank God for Skype.


7. This may sound silly, but for a month now I have been teaching him his ABC's and his vowels. When he gets fussy, singing the ABC's immediately soothes him and when I say A, E, I, O, UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU he mimics me and tries to repeat it back. Seriously. No joke. Ask Jonathan he has witnessed it many of times. The child, at 3 months old is trying to say his vowels.

HAPPY THREE MONTHS OLD BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love you so much Jonathan. Happy 3 month Birthday baby boy.

A baby that is changing by the day...

Dear JJ,

Please take your time growing up. Mommy is in NO rush to have you crawl, walk, talk, etc. I Cherish every single day with you and I want you to stay my little cuddly baby boy forever. With that said, here is what JJ has been up to:

1. JJ has been sleeping through the night for awhile now. He has been going 9 - 91/2 hours between bottles, he will wake up to eat, go right back to sleep for another 2-4 hours.

2. The other night I decided to not swaddle his arms, just wrap the swaddler around his waist and see how he does. Well, being the smart and amazing baby that he is, he had NO problem with it. It was like he hasn't been swaddled these past 3 months and it wasn't a big deal to him at all. I'm so happy because I was starting to worry how I would wean him from being swaddled.

3. JJ made his first real laugh to today ON FATHERS DAY while Daddy was giving him a bath. Daddy was laughing and JJ laughed back. I'm smiling right now from ear to ear.

My son is wonderful in every way. He is my world and I am so lucky that he chose me to be his mommy.

One night swaddled!

Next night, arms not swaddled!

Off to West Virginia

This past SaturdayJonathan, JJ and myself spent the day in West Virginia with some of the Yost/Emig families. My cousin Glen and his partner Mark have a beautiful home located on a resort called "The Woods"in West Virginia, about 17 miles from Martinsburg. Glen and Mark generously rented two big houses right next door to one another so both families were right next to each other. We ate (a lot) and played board games. JJ got passed around and even took a very short cat nap IN A CRIB for the VERY FIRST TIME! I was so excited and sad at the same time. My little boy is growing up!! But don't get it twisted. He still sleeps in his bassinet when home and will for at least another 2-3 months. Mama is not ready for her baby boy to go into his own room. Anyways, the resort was beautiful! What an amazing getaway that is only 1 hour from our house. There are pools, spas, restaurants, beautiful grounds, tennis and other fun stuff to do. Jonathan, JJ, Anne, and myself took a ride to Berkley springs after lunch and walked around their downtown area. We got some lattes and walked around the natural springs where families were standing and playing in the springs. Jonathan and I did dip our feet in which was very refreshing. The next day (Sunday), my Aunt Patsy, Uncle Rick, Grandma Yost and her friend Anne stopped by our house on the way back to New Jersey so my Uncle Rick can evaluate all of the painting that he agreed to do this coming September (I was lucky he agreed to paint the house BEFORE he saw the house). Aunt Patsy has been to our house before, but it was really nice to have my Grandma see where we live. This coming weekend JJ is going to go to his FIRST Italian Festival at MDG. MDG (Mother of Divine Grace) is where I went to catholic grade school. The festival is a big deal in my neighborhood and I know there will be LOTS of friends and family anxiously awaiting his arrival. After all, he is cutest baby boy in the entire world. Ok, so here are some pictures of JJ getting ready for West Virginia and some pictures with family.

Sleeping through the night?!?!?!

This picture above is JJ in his coming home outfit that my mom got for him. It was super big on him 2 1/2 months ago, but now looks great on him :)

It is ALL about the tube socks.

Well, this week has been WONDERFUL. JJ has consistently been sleeping through the night. His schedule is this:

Last bottle between 9-10 p.m.

Wakes up for next bottle between 4-5 a.m.

Falls right back to sleep after bottle

Wakes up again 3-4 hours later for another bottle

Bring him downstairs, he finishes bottle and is black to sleep for another 2-3 1/2 hours

After his morning nap I keep him up for as long as he will let me. During this time we sing and play, I walk him around the house sometimes stopping in the dining room for a quick photo shoot and then he goes back to sleep. He naps off and on until 7:00 p.m. and then is up for a good 2-3 hours. During this time we do tummy time, play mat time, bouncy seat time, singing, bath, bottle and back to bed again. It's nice to finally have some kind of routine with him, it makes getting stuff done around the house a lot easier. Here are some pictures I took of JJ this week.

Thank Heaven for little boys!

Mouth meet fist. Fist meet mouth.