Wednesday Moment of Zen: Storytime Zen

Thomas stories are best read by someone with an English accent...



and a good steam whistle impersonation.

Four Picture Friday: Jojo, City Inspector at Large

"Good work, men. Not bad at all."

"You missed a spot."

"Don't forget to cut down this tree!"

"What do you mean, 'micromanaging'?"

"Alright, I'll give these guys some space."

"Just gonna walk away..."



~ five minutes later ~



"I can't help it."

Santa Sunday

JoJo, Man of Mystery

What happens when you don't blog about your son for three months? He becomes a little man, that's what.

My happy, handsome son.

Sometime around Halloween Jojo's personality, comprehension and communication all shot through the roof. He's using signs now, asking for books, registering opinions (complaints) and has developed the inevitable boy passion for trucks.

Feeding himself?

No big deal.

Lemur attack?

I can handle it.

Merry-go-round?

Well, maybe just a little help.

His relationship with Chimpy is very typical (long moments of peace interrupted by sudden hair-pulling or toy-grabbing). It's obvious he loves his big sister, in this picture they were eating cupcakes when he spontaneously needed to give her a hug.

A perfect moment.

Here we are on our way to pick Chimpy up from preschool. The hand waving is his sign language for 'music.'



That's an update on our wonderful boy. I'd write more, but I often feel like I'm just getting to know him myself. I love this guy!

Fall Guy

This is Jojo after taking a faceplant at the park:

No, you da man!"

What a guy!

Happy Birthday, Jojo!

You make us very happy.

Jojo Signs

Continuing on the fast track to toddlerhood, Jojo took his first steps yesterday. In unrelated news he hit his head and needed an ice pack and a bit of quiet time. I missed catching his first steps on camera, but I did catch Jojo doing some sign language while recuperating.

Ten Months of Jojo

The last few posts have been Chimpy-centric, so let's even things up with a Jojo post.

September

October

November

December

January

February

March


April

May

June

July

Week of Pictures: Day 5

More Jojo
After seeing this picture a few people chimed in to say Jojo looked left out so we thought we'd dig through some pictures and prove that Jojo gets to do plenty of things. For example, Jojo gets to fly kites:



Jojo gets to plays trains:



Jojo gets to ride ponies:



Oh.

Sorry, Jojo.

Week of Pictures: Day 4

Jojo's Teeth
4/13/09
4/23/09
5/1/09

The upshot of all this teething is Jojo is on the fast track for food. He has started to refuse his baby food and yells for what we are eating, something he can sink his chompers into.

5/11/09It's not steak, but it'll do.

Tomorrow: More Jojo!

Return of the Yaya

Answering the question: "Where did JoJo's yaya gogo?"

Jojo's First Tooth

Jojo's first tooth has made it's debut but unlike Chimpy, who was eager to show off her new chomper, Jojo prefers to remain tight-lipped over the whole affair. The only way I could get a picture of it was to get him angry enough to yell at me which isn't hard to do when there is milk on the line.

Life with Jojo

"Hello. This is my brother, Jojo."
"Hee!"

"Please excuse his hair."
"Ha!"

We took Jojo to my sister's last weekend. Now, if you had asked me two weeks ago how Jojo compared to Chimpy at his age, I would have said Jojo was a much more serious baby. If I had said that, I would have been proven wrong last weekend. That kid was off the hook, he skipped his nap and spent the time gooing and cooing, making eye contact, grabbing and mimicking. It made K and I feel bad because we suddenly realized how little attention we had been giving him. Just a couple hours of uninterrupted attention and the kid passes a month worth of milestones. We figure we'll go there again this weekend, maybe he'll pick up Spanish.

mimicking

smiling

attention grabbing



Jojo does tend to be a more serious kid, though. He doesn't fuss much, but when he does it is more of a yell than a cry and his demands are very specific. Smiles from him aren't exactly hard-won, but they are rarer than Chimpy's were. He loves his sister and reacts to Chimpy's presence with wide eyes and attempts at talking. When he fusses, she manages to calm him down, which is a strange thing because this comic pretty much sums up their relationship:

Peanuts. March 8, 1953.


The change in the weather has brought to mind that K's is in the last third of her maternity leave. Things are always bittersweet this time of year, but right now she's enjoying her days with her little man.

New Looks

Jojo turned one month old and is getting more wakeful and focused.



Chimpy got a stylish new jacket from Uncle Jeff.



Daddy shaved his head.



Chimpy got wheels.

Four Picture Friday: We Kiss Jojo