Jonah - Month 6

Happy Half Birthday Jonah!

Oh my! Where has the time gone?...

I can hardly believe Jonah is 6 months old. I know that I say that each and every month but I truly can't believe that he is 1/2 way to being a 1 year old! So many things changed this month....

At Jonah's 6 month vaccination visit he weighed 19lbs 12 oz (16lbs 15oz at 4 month visit) and was 27 inches long (25 inches long at 4 month visit). Overall, he grew nearly 3lbs and 2 inches in just 2 months! He's in the 90th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. My little Chunky Monkey is now wearing 9-12 month clothing depending on the brand.

The biggest change in the last month is that Jonah can now sit up by himself and without the assistance of the Bumbo seat. Frankly, his legs are beginning to get to fat and chunky and tend get squished in the Bumbo seat. The first couple of days of him sitting by himself he was wobbly and a bit unsteady. He face planted a few times and even fell back until he got his balance in check. Stella said "mommy Jojo is like Humpty Dumpty."

Not only does Jonah love to play and splash in the tub (see above photo), he now loves playing and splashing in the pool. He started "Baby and Me" swim lessons earlier this month and loves to play and splash in the pool. The few times we've gone, Todd has gone into the pool with him. Mommy is not ready to be in a swim suit quite yet.

We've also brought out a lot of Jonah's toys too. Kind of like most kids at Christmas, Jonah was initially interested in the boxes and the packaging that most of the toys came in but once he realized that many of the toys made noise and lit up, it became a whole new ball game. Not only did his balance improve this month but so did his grasp. He can hold on to stuff really well and of course his first instinct is to put EVERYTHING in his mouth.

 

Jonah has also expanded his vocabulary too quite a bit this past month. He is a non-stop "chatty cathy"; he is constantly babbling and as of late some of his favorite phrases are "da da da",  "ba ba ba" and "ga ga ga." He's only said "ma ma" a handful of times and none of his babbles as yet are intentional (as to signify a specific person or object like his bottle).

Jonah is now very much aware of his surroundings and sometimes fusses a little when I drop him off at daycare. If you look at him and smile, he will smile back at you unless of course you are Dr. Eberhart (at Jonah's 6 month visit he refused to smile at Dr. Eberhart but would smile at all the nurses- typical ladies man). He even chuckles and giggles now if you tickle him or make funny faces or noises at him. It is really quite adorable and hysterical if I do say so myself.

Sadly, Jonah is also beginning to exhibit small signs of stranger anxiety. He is becoming very observant and apparently beginning to decipher people he knows and doesn't.

Exciting  news- Jonah is officially now off of the expensive hypoallergenic formula, Nutramigen. He is now on the Gerber Gentle Plus formula. I can't say that I miss paying $33 for a 19oz formula can. Now I pay $19.99 (or $14.99 whenever I have a Gerber $5 off coupon) for a 24oz can. He's taken to the new formula quite well. With the exception of some nasty gas the first few days, he's 100% acclimated to it. Oh and did I mention that it also smells so much better than the expensive stuff.  Jonah's also expanded his pallet. He's now eating 1 fruit as well as 1 vegetable per day and some of his favorites flavors so far are pears, applesauce, bananas, sweet potatoes and carrots. Squash, green beans and sweet peas are his least favorite choices but all growing kids need their green veggies...

What I have missed over the past 6 months is 6 straight hours of sleep. Unlike Stella, Jonah is NOT a great sleeper. Though he loves to sleep on his belly like she did, he doesn't sleep for more than 5-6 hours. He loves to snuggle for sure; I am of the belief that he deliberately will fuss just so we will bring him into our bed.

I cannot believe that Jonah is finally 6 months old and he has crossed so many milestones over the past 6 months . I look forward to many many more and even celebrating his 1st Birthday in the near future.



Happy St. Patrick's Day!

If you've kept up with my blog you know that I continually say (and cannot say enough), how LUCKY and BLESSED I am to have these 2 beautiful miracles as a part of my life. I look at them each day and I ask what have I done to deserve them. They continually remind me how precious, innocent and miraculous life is and how each day we need to seize the moment!

These 2 little leprechauns (blonde no less) are such a joy and I am definitely feeling like the luckiest person in the world, especially today!

Wishing you love, luck and leprechauns from our house to yours!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

Aunt Sandy, Mamoose & Papaw come to visit

Today we received a visit from some much missed family. Aunt Sandy (Todd's moms sister) and Mamoose & Papaw (Todd's maternal grandparents, Stella and Jonah's great grandparents) came over to visit. They hadn't seen the kids since Christmas and were surprised to see how big Jonah had grown.

Jonah was a well behaved little boy and greeted them with big smiles. Aunt Sandy held Jonah and they played Patty Cake and he loved it! Aunt Sandy said that she keeps track of Jonah and all of his doings and milestones on facebook and that his pictures are all so cute that she sometimes just wants to kiss them. Luckily she didn't need to kiss his picture today and was able to get some real time Jonah time and kiss on him in person.

Aunt Sandy brought Mamoose and Papaw along to visit too. Papaw had a great time playing with Jonah and Jonah loved playing with him too. They exchanged smiles and grins and was quite possibly the cutest exchange of the visit.

Finally it was Mamoose's turn to get her Jonah fix in. She couldn't believe how big he had grown since she last saw him at Christmas.  She enjoyed holding him and got a kick out of how much he was smiling and how well behaved he was. She truly enjoyed him and couldn't believe how much of a "wiggle worm" he was.

I absolutely loved their visit today! It made me realize how lucky and blessed Todd is that until recently he had all of his grandparents still living and that they all played an active and influential role in his life.  I've always been jealous that Todd was so blessed to have grown up surrounded by his extended family and grandparents. Unfortunately, my sister and I didn't get to experience growing up close to our grandparents and some of our extended family like aunts and uncles because they lived in Egypt and we only saw them the few times they visited from Egypt or the few times we made the trek to Egypt. In fact, by the time I was 15 (that means my sister was only 5 years old) all of our grandparents had passed away. However, I'm lucky to have some of the fondest memories of my Teta Stella (maternal grandmother), whom my daughter Stella is named after, because she lived with us for several years during my childhood before she passed away. Teta Stella's memories have left such an imprint on my life. It was because of her that I learned to speak Arabic and I know for a fact that had she not lived with us that I wouldn't understand Arabic and speak it as well as I do. Sometimes the smallest things remind me of her. I remember her cute little laugh, her adorable smile, how much she loved to drink warm milk before bed and how sometimes she would eat a banana without putting her dentures in. These cherished memories will be ones that I keep forever and share with the kids.

Unlike my sister and I, Stella and Jonah are so lucky to have all of their grandparents and most of their great grandparents still alive and that they all live fairly close by. They will be able to experience things that my sister and I never did but that Todd and his siblings did like them attending important events in their life (i.e. school activities, sporting events, graduations and weddings).  Although Stella and Jonah are still very young, I hope that one day they will appreciate and realize how lucky they are that their grandparents, great grandparents and extended family were an influential part of their lives. 

Even now, I can see some of the imprints and influence that people like their Teta and Gido have begun to leave on them. Stella already loves Egyptian food and understand some Arabic. Teta and Gido speak to them in Arabic and they know Arabic hymns they hear and sing in church. I always encourage my parents to speak to them in Arabic as that's how I learned it when my Teta lived with us when I was so young. I can only hope that they will appreciate it when they grow older and realize how lucky they are and will pass down the same to their children and grandchildren.

So on a day like today when we get to visit with loved ones, I am reminded how important family is and how blessed we are!

Happy Birthday Mikey!

Can you believe that Mike is 25 already? Oh wait this is not the month by month Jonah blog. LOL

It was Mikey's birthday was this past weekend! My sister Sarah (Mikey's beloved wife) had an entire weekend of festivities planned with friends, family, Mikey's favorite foods and activities and such! You can read all about it in her Mike's Birthday Extravaganza blog. Saturday evening we packed the kids up and trucked all the way (less than 1 mile) down to Mike and Sarah's house for an evening of fun!

While at their house, Auntie Sissy had her patty cake time with Mr. Jonah. As you can see, his favorite part is at the end when you "throw it in the pan!" I'm so lucky that my sister lives so close by and that she is an important part of Stella and Jonah's lives. She is one of the few other people that love my kids as if they were her own. I am honored that she is their Godmother!

Sarah made a lasagna dinner and we sang "Happy Birthday" to Mike and we even had yummy cake too! My sister found a little cake place called Cake, Hope and Love that was made a red velvet cake that was covered in fondant and  was decorated with a chcaricature of Mike on it. It was pretty awesome, I must say. It was no Ashley's Pastry Shop cake but it was definitely a close competitor! :) As you can see we are not in the least bit loyal to Ashley's. They've made almost every important celebration cakes for our family, from graduation cakes to shower cakes to wedding cakes and now even our kids birthday cakes!

Mikey has recently been taking piano lessons so for his birthday my sister bought him a Yamaha GDX640 Portable Grand Piano. Needless to say he absolutley LOVED it and he played around on it and even played several songs for us while we were there! He's so talented artistically, it doesn't surprise me in the least that he's musical too.

My favorite part of Saturday evening was watching Mikey playing with Jonah and beat boxing to him. As you know, Mike is Jonah's Godfather and they share a unique and special bond that even makes Teta a little jealous (if you can even begin to fathom that). Mike loves JoJo so much and vice versa. Jonah and Mikey Skype a few times a throughout the week and Jonah always smiles at Mikey even if its just through the computer on Skype.

Then, Sunday evening we went to Carver's with the whole family. It was a lot of fun and yummy no less. Not only was the food delicious, the company wasn't too shabby either. Once again, Teta was jealous that Jonah was smiling at Gido and Mike and not her; this was definitely the highlight of the evening.

Nothing makes me happier then big family dinners. It seems lately that everyones schedules with work, school, travel and extracurricular activities have been crazy and so these dinners are always a good time to catch up and decide on our annual family vacation. We used to have Sunday dinners with my family every Sunday but again because everyones schedules have been crazy we haven't had them in quite some time. Which reminds me, I'll be calling Teta now and getting her back on the wagon so that we can resume our Sunday dinner rituals. I'll also be requesting (and by requesting I mean demanding) my favorite dishes while I'm at it.

During dinner we discussed where we wanted to take our annual family vacation over the week of Thanksgiving. Thankfully Teta doesn't have to work during the Thanksgiving holiday this year so we're planning on going on a family vacation. Also, Gido turns 70 in early December, so this trip will also serve as his celebration too. Can you believe that my adorable dad/Gido is going to be 70??? Surely he doesn't look a day older than 30! Right? ok maybe not 30, but not a day older than 40!

I am excited for this vacation! The last vacation we took was this past summer to Hilton Head Island while I was 6+ months pregnant with Jonah. Additionally as many of you know, the holidays are typically very stressful for me; so nothing makes me happier than to get out of town around the holidays. Consensus is that we're either going on a 1 week Disney Cruise (Eastern Caribbean) or heading to Orlando for a week. Disney World is always fun and "it's where dreams come true." And any place we go the weather will be much warmer than the weather in Ohio. As always, I'll be doing the research and leg work  to see what kind of deals are out there and what seems to make the most sense monetarily. Stay tuned and I'll keep you posted as to where we'll be going...

No family get together would be complete without "double trouble" aka Stella and Sophie.

 

Overall it was a wonderful weekend, and we were so excited to be a part of Mikey's 25th Birthday celebration. Here's to many more blessed years Mikey, we love you!!

Jonah- Month 5

Jersey day at school.


Wow- my little boy is already 5 months old! Where has the time gone? Oh no- that means it's been 5 months since Jonah was born and I still have maternity weight I haven't lost!

Where do we even begin this month... Jonah has changed so much and is definitely turning into a "mama's boy!" I see little changes in him everyday and he is crossing many more milestones each day. Just last week Todd said "Jonah doesn't even look like a baby anymore!"

Jonah got yet another tooth (bottom tooth #2) this month. I found it while I was changing his diaper one evening; he smiled at me and there it was, the most beautiful little pearly white jagged little tooth. Of course he is still drooling like crazy and still requires a bib all the time otherwise he will soak his clothes in saliva. At this rate he should have a full mouth of teeth by the time he's 8 months old.

We've expanded Jonah's pallet this month. Not only does he love sweet potatoes, he loves squash, sweet peas and green beans as well. I tend to gag a bit at the green veggies because they really stink but he loves them so much that he spazes out (waves his arms incessantly) if you don't feed him spoonfuls quick enough. I am clearly convinced that babies have absolutely NO taste buds at this age! It is impossible Jonah can actually taste what he is eating because the smell is so disgusting and Stella tends to run of the kitchen and says "I'm outta here that stuff stinks mommy!" 

Yummy cereal!

Jonah is beginning to grow out of his pumpkin car seat. Not only are the straps maxed out at the largest settings but at times when he has his winter coat on it can be very difficult to latch the chest straps. The seat alone weighs about 10lbs so when you add my fat baby (19lbs+), the pumpkin seat can be back breaking! I even find myself panting walking up and down the stairs with him, then I remind myself that he weighs nearly 20 pounds now (great exercise). We're flying through his wardrobe...each week when I put away his laundry, I find myself moving another outfit to the "too small" bin. Jonah even moved up to size 3 diapers this month. The size 2 diapers were barely fitting his Buddha belly. He's filling out and getting really cute chubby legs with (rolls) of course.

"Are these people really my relatives?"


Not only does Jonah smile but if you tickle him or make funny faces at him he will chuckle and giggle at you. In this picture (see above) Jonah is wearing a onesie that Teta bought in Hilton Head this past summer while we were there on vacation. It reads "Are these people really my relatives?" Are you surprised that Teta bought yet another crazy onesie. No matter where she is she feels the need to buy the kids stuff!

Sibblings

Jonah is able to grasp things very well now. When I place a rattle or toy in his hand it makes his way to his mouth immediately. Jonah also loves to tug on my hair and I've had to limit wearing necklaces and earrings when holding him because he will pull on them. Poor Stella has had her glasses torn off her face by Jonah on a number of occasions. He loves to tug on her hair too and I sometimes have to remind Stella that if she wants to play with Jonah she has to remember that he doesn't mean it when he accidentally pulls her hair or glasses.

 

Jonah is now rolling over from belly to back but not from back to belly. He is still quite the chatter box still and on February 11th, he said "momma!" There is nothing more amazing then hearing your children say "momma" I love talking to him and having him babble and coo back at me. He's like a little person and can respond in his own little way.



Jonah is sitting really well and soon enough we won't need the beloved Bumbo seat anymore to hold him up. He still loves his excersaucer and loves playing all of the toys on it. I now have found myself dragging him and the excersaucer into the kitchen while I'm cooking and baking because if we're home alone or if  Todd and Stella are in the basement and he can't see one of us then he freaks out. It just facilitates my life and allowes me to do more when I pull the excersaucer into another room with me. Just this week Todd had to raise it 1 level because Jonah is getting so big.



I can giggle!



I had to go on my first business trip since Jonah was born (Orlando, Florida) earlier this month. I never like traveling without Todd or Stella and I especially didn't like traveling and leaving my little baby boy behind. Todd said that Stella was such a great help him while I was away. She's like a little mommy to him and just adores him!

Hanging out with Gido!

Uncle Mikey makes funny noises!



Jonah is beginning to know who people are. When you say his name he makes eye contact with you and will look in your direction.  He just lvoes and adores his Uncle Mikey and smiles at him when he beat boxes or sings to him. Uncle Mikey and Jonah have a unique bond that I doubt will ever be replicated. Jonah especially loves lounging with his Gido. They are buddies, Gido will sing church songs to him and they even hang out and watch lots of Fox News together.

Jonah celebrated his first Valentines Day earlier month! He finger painted a wooden photo frame at school and his teachers took a picture of him wearing a Valentines heart antenna headband and put it in the frame. And of course in classic Teta tradition, she bought the kids Hallmark toys that make talk and make noise. Stella received a cutest pillow pet and Jonah a little puppy that talks and sings and moves his cute little ears. The folks at Hallmark just love Teta and know that she is a sucker for holiday toys that sing, dance or make noise!

Mommy's little Valentine!

I cannot believe how much Jonah has changed this month and how much he's grown. I know I say that each month but I cant get over how much he's grown and changed these past few weeks. I look forward to watching him cross more milestones and get bigger and bigger. I am truly such a lucky mom and I'm so blessed to have a wonderful family. I can't fathom my life without Todd, Stella or Jonah!

Walk Like An Egyptian!

I've never blogged about political issues in the past but I can't help it now since what’s going on thousands of miles away in my motherland of Egypt is not only affecting all of our family and friends that still live there today but all of the world too! Who would have thought that an 18 day revolution led by the young people of Egypt would oust President Mubarak shattering more than 3 decades of his dictatorship and overturn established "order" in the Arab world!?! In all honesty, if you would have asked me 18 days ago what the outcome would have been, I would have never predicted an outcome of such magnitude!



I have never been more proud to be an Egyptian like I have since January 25th! The people have spoken, they want to be heard and most of all they want to see change after nearly 30 years of tyranny/dictatorship. Did you know that 60% of the population in Egypt is under the age of 30 and 90% if that 60% is unemployed? These young people are determined and want to be heard and their courage should inspire us all!

I read the most wonderful article from the New York Times written by Nicholas D. Kristof entitled "We Are All Egyptian." He articulates the pure determination, astounding grit, and, at times, heartbreaking suffering the Egyptians have faced and to no surprise these are people that are willing to give their life for their country saying "If I die, this is for my country." Kristof ends his article by saying "The lion-hearted Egyptians I met on Tahrir Square are risking their lives to stand up for democracy and liberty, and they deserve our strongest support — and, frankly, they should inspire us as well. A quick lesson in colloquial Egyptian Arabic: Innaharda, ehna kullina Misryeen! Today, we are all Egyptians! "

Now that Mubarak is out we are not sure of what is yet to come for Egypt and its people. Who will be in power next and what will the Egyptian people experience now? What trials and tribulations are facing Egypt, it's people and the stability of the Arab world? What about the Coptic Christian minority in Egypt, will they finally be given the freedom to practice their religion like the 92% Muslim population? 



Todd and I riding horses around the pyramids in 2000.



 So while Egypt's fate and the fate of its people are still unknown, I want to remember the wonderful times I've had visiting Egypt. Whether it was cruising the Nile River, riding horses in Giza while experiencing the beauty of the pyramids and the sphinx, relaxing on the gorgeous beach's of Sharm El Sheikh, strolling through the streets of Heliopolis and Shubra or admiring the treasures and antiquities at the Cairo Museum.

Thankfully our family that remains in Egypt are all safe. We were left in a lurch  for a few days when the internet and cell service was down in Egypt but we have regained contact with all of them. They ave been remaining indoors to ensure their safety and now that the demonstrations are over they will continue to go about their day to day business.  I pray that any new regime that takes power will honor the christian religion and not persecute our brothers and sisters in Christ as they have in the past.

"Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people..." Isaiah 19:25



Blessed!

I don't know what's wrong with me lately! I know that I am a very passionate person (which sometimes gets me in trouble because it also makes me a very stubborn person). In fact, I'm probably more emotional than most women (I like to blame it on all of the infertility drugs and hormones that has been pumped through my body over the years). But as of late, I have been filled with so much emotion.....




Just yesterday, I was remembering and reminiscing that last year around this time (in early February) we had just found out that I was nearly 5 weeks pregnant with Jonah. Neither of my pregnancies were easy by any means! I was on bed rest for nearly 16 weeks total with Stella. I had to have several liters of fluid drained from my belly (due to ovarian hyper-stimulation), I was hospitalized twice for pre-term labor and that pregnancy began with me carrying triplets and ended with a singleton.

My pregnancy with Jonah was no cake walk either. I was put on bed rest early on for spotting (causing me not to be able to travel to my companies annual sales meeting in Orlando), diagnosed with gestational diabetes, had borderline high blood pressure and severe sciatic pain.

Would I do it all over again? ABSOLUTELY! Look at the 2 beautiful and precious gifts, I've been blessed with. Hmmm...maybe this is why I've been so emotional lately.

I just love watching Stella and Jonah interacting together. She just absolutely adores him. To be honest, I was initially concerned about having 2 kids that were 7 years apart. You see, I am 10 years older than my little sister, Sarah, and felt like and technically was the only child for a longest time. I resented her when she was born because I wasn't the center of my parents attention anymore and when I was 15 and she was 5 I would be stuck babysitting her. It wasn't until we were older that we became best friends and now I can't even begin to fathom my life without her! I'm definitely very blessed and lucky to have her, I don't know if she would say the same about me! LOL


So when Todd and I began discussing starting a family, I made him promise me come hell or high water that we would never have just one child! I remember telling him once "I hated being the only child for 10 years and I never want to do that to another child!"

So as Stella got older, and I still couldn't get pregnant without the help of modern medicine (aka infertility treatments and infertility drugs), I began to worry and even panic! We tried several times to get pregnant after Stella, all of which either resulted in miscarriages or no success. We struggled with the decision to keep seeking the aid of modern medicine again. In 2007, several years after Stella's birth I was diagnosed with DIL (Drug Induced Lupus), likely as a result of several years of being on infertility meds and undergoing infertility treatments. Infertility medications put such a lot of strain on your body and organs to begin with, but add to it having an auto immune disease like Lupus can make it even dangerous and even life threatening. 

After a lot of prayer and soul searching, we decided to roll the dice and give it one more FINAL try with the help of infertility meds/treatments! If it worked, great and if not, then we would begin researching other means like possibly adoption. Then on February 1, 2010 we received the news that we had been long been waiting to hear...we were PREGNANT (see my post We're absolutely positive!)!

So here we are exactly 1 year later and nothing makes me happier (or more emotional) than watching Stella and Jonah together. She loves to help us with him and will do just about anything for him except change his diaper (I can't say I can blame her for not wanting to help with that). Stella will read to him, sing to him, play with him and he just loves it! Jonah smiles at Stella, as if to say "I know that your my sissy!"

Although they are a little more than 7 years apart, I know that Stella will always watch over him and mother him as she does now and when he gets older I know that Jonah will look up to her with such admiration. I have no doubt in my mind that they will always love each other and will look out for each other as much as my sister and I do.

So if I've been a little emotional lately, it's probably because when I look over at my 2 little miracles, I realize that I AM BLESSED!