Jonah - month 8

It's almost impossible to believe that Jonah is 8 months old already! It seems like just yesterday that I was pregnant and preparing for his arrival.

Drugged up and getting ready to head into surgery.

Amazingly, Jonah remained very healthy this month. We were not battling any ear infections or even pneumonia like we did last month. In fact just yesterday, Jonah had surgery to have tubes put in his ears. He did great! Dr. Adam, his ENT, said that there was a lot of thick fluid in his ears that he had to suction out and that it was a breeding ground for infection. Additionally, he said that it is very likely that now his hearing will improve several decibels. I am so glad that we did it! Stella had tubes as a baby as well because she battled 9 ear infections within an 11 month period. Needless to say, she hasn't had a single ear infection since and as far as I'm concerned it's the best thing we did. Here's to hoping that Jonah has the same relief and outcome as well.

Jonah still hasn't quite mastered crawling. He gets on all fours and just rocks back and forth and even moves backwards. He loves to roll around on the floor and if your not paying close attention you'll look up and he will have rolled all the way across the room. He loves his toys and of course he still loves to go after the remote and my cell phone.

During Jonah's bout of pneumonia last month his blood showed that he was anemic. He is now taking iron drops. They smell foul and I can only imagine how horrible they taste as well. The first time I gave them to him I just put them directly in his mouth and well that didn't go over so well. Not only did he give me a mean and dirty look, he essentially spit it all out and all over me. Since then, I now put the drops in his rice and banana cocktail that he gets each night before bed.

Daddy & Jonah napping- their favorite past time!

Jonah is trying new foods daily. He is now eating stage 2 jars and likes just about everything except the beef and chicken varieties. I can't say that I blame him because if they taste anything like they smell well, then that's just gross! So if I am ever forced to feed him a beef or chicken variety I mask the taste by blending it with one of his favorites like sweet potatoes or apples sauce. I still loves his little puffs which are made by Gerber and are essentially little puffed snacks that dissolve as soon as they hit the saliva. Every once in a while he will hold his own bottle but he still mainly depends on one of us to do it. I broke out the sippy cup a few weeks ago and we've been working on getting him used to the sippy cup and how to drink out of it.

Teta and her babies on her birthday!

Jonah is getting bigger everyday. He weighs 21 pounds and 13 ounces. He's now wearing 18-24 months clothes and is eating me out of house and home. He would eat every hour on the hour if I let him. His hair is blond like Stella's but its begun to get curly in the back. I LOVE THE CURLS! It is really quite funny because it is straight and soft in the front and course and curly in the back.



My Curly-Q!


Probably the biggest change for Jonah this month was his daycare provider. Since Stella was 12 weeks old she has been going to Kids R Kids Daycare which is conveniently located right at the entrance of our neighborhood (it doesn't get much more convenient than that). We liked it because not only was it close to home but we loved the staff too and we had the ability to log onto the computer while we were at work and look at the kids because they have camera's in all of the rooms. However now that we have 2 kids, Kids R Kids was considerably more. Stella only goes after school but Jonah was in the infant room full time and it was quite costly. Thus, earlier this year Todd and I  struggled with what to do about our daycare options!?! Do we continue to pay  LOTS (almost the cost of 1 year of college) each year in daycare expenses and remain at Kids R Kids and then in turn let the kids pay for their own college or do we shop around and find a home care provider at a fraction of the cost and save that money and pay for their college educations (like both sets of our parents did for us). Since we were accustomed to the quality of care and education that we've received over the past 7+ years at Kids R Kids, I knew that the process of finding a home care provider would be difficult. We asked around and interviewed several candidates including folks that even lived so close by, they could be considered walking distance. Although, we had a long wish list our primary requirements were the following: low child to adult ratio (state of Ohio requires 5:1 with infants), location (close to home or work), care takers education/degree's/certification(s), someone that reported their income (because who knows, I might want to run for public office one day!) and most of all someone that both the kids and us would like and be comfortable with. After meeting several candidates, we opted to go with a lady named Ginger that watched my niece Sophia for 3+ years. The good news is that the kids LOVE her! Because she is located in our school district, Stella takes the bus to her home everyday after school. By the time we pick her up she's had a snack and finished most of her homework. What Stella loves the most is being able to spend time with Jonah (something she wasn't able to do at Kids R Kids). Additionally, she lives 1 street over from Gido & Teta (my parents) and because my dad (Gido) often used to pick up Sophia from there he is familiar with the location and Ginger and able to help up out when we are in a bind or time crunch. Finally, Jonah loves it so much there that sometimes when we pick him up and it's time to leave, he will fuss and cry. Nothing gives me more comfort then knowing that the kids love Ginger and love being at her home. What a relief we found a great person to watch the kids and we are now able to save a ton of money each month for the kids college and do as our parents did for us (pay it forward) and provide the kids with a college education.

Pooped after a long, fun day at Gingers!

The summer is quickly approaching and we can't wait for the weather to improve and have tons of fun with the kids. We're excited to take the kids to Kings Island, the pool and the lake this year. It should be a whole new dynamic with Jonah in the mix now. We've also got some fun trips planned and  several friends/family weddings quickly approaching; it will be a fun and busy summer for sure! It's amazing how fast time flies and that Jonah 1st birthday will be here before you know it!