Thanksgiving

Happy Turkey Day!


















Gobble-Gobble! My first Thanksgiving was pretty fun. I wasn't compared to a turkey...although I'm sure I'm much bigger! I didn't stuff my face with pumpkin pie...although mom and dad did get me some pumpkin pie baby food (we forgot to try it though, oops!) But in the past week I went to two Thanksgiving feasts! (That makes 3 for me including the Canadian one!) First we went to our friend's house just up the road a couple villages. I got to play with a plastic bowl and spoon while everyone else ate, but I was very happy the whole time. Then this Thursday we went to the Hubbard's where my parents have gone for the past 4 years. There were over 30 people there so I got passed around quite a bit. I was also out way past my bedtime and I wasn't really happy towards the end of the evening so I made mom and dad take me home before dessert! I'm guessing they didn't go home hungry though, Mari Hubbard is the best cook in Hong Kong and I'm pretty sure they both got seconds!
I didn't get to eat any of the real food but I did get my "Grandma's Turkey Dinner" baby food and it was yummy.

10 Months!

I'm in double digits! Mom can't believe how fast I am growing up.
My Herzog grandparents sent me this outfit just a few days ago and it's a good thing cause I was running out of basketball outfits for my pictures!

Sorry I don't have any stats (weight/height) for you this month. I don't have to go back to the clinic until I am 1. But I do have a lot of new tricks. I am walking around holding onto furniture around the house and I can stand for a couple seconds all by myself. I can even hold on to the wall and stand up that way too and yesterday I took one step and grabbed the chair before I fell.
I make all kinds of sounds like ma-ma-ma, da-da-da, ba-ba, etc.
I love to play in the hallway and in my room. Sometimes when I'm in my room mom will call out, "Where's my baby?" and I come crawling out of there real fast and stick my head out of the doorway and giggle at her. Then we wave to each other and I go back to play. I have this cupboard thing that I love to open and close. I also think it's very fun to play in my crib. I squeal and drop all of my babies (stuffed animals) out and mom picks them up for me.












I still love to eat and I get very sad when the bowl is empty. As soon as I hear mom say "all gone" I start to cry. It's also not fun to get my face wiped off after eating. I wave both of my hands really fast and yell but it doesn't seem to help.

I'm still sleeping 11-12 hours at night and I love bedtime! Mom and dad are trying to change my bedtime to 7:00pm instead of 6:00pm but I get so tired in the evenings. They always take me on walks before it's bathtime and I love to be outside so I don't mind. I take 3 naps a day, usually just an hour each. Mom can always tell when I'm getting sleepy. We read a couple books before she puts me down. My favorite books now are "Picture Me" books. One is called Cute As Can Bee and the other is In the Circus. I have my picture in these books and I am dressed up as a different animal on each page along with other babies in costumes. It's so fun to read and I can even help turn the pages!

I like to listen to music and I love to dance!

I still won't take a bottle but I'm learning to drink water from a cup. Mostly I blow bubbles but occasionally I get a gulp full down my belly!
I am a very happy little boy and my personality is really starting to shine through.

How BIG is Jonah?

SO BIG!
Yep, that's right. I'm a big boy! My Gramma Jani taught me this great new trick one day when I was watching her on the webcam. She was actually telling me a story about when my mom was a baby. She would ask, "How big is Susie?" and my mom would throw her hands up over her head. I thought to myself, how hard could that be and I did it! She and mom both laughed and I was real pleased with myself. Sometimes I just raise one arm and that is pretty cool too.

I created a Slide Show! Check it out!

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Boo!

Happy Halloween! I've been out all night trick-or-treating, eating lots of candy and scaring everyone in my peapod outfit!
...Actually my first Halloween was pretty uneventful if you don't count being crammed into a costume. You see, before I was born my parents found this great outfit that was size 9 months. After doing the math they realized I would be 9 months old in October so they thought, perfect! Well, I quickly outgrew size 9 months a few months back but how could they let a good costume go to waste?! I happened to be in an exceptionally good mood today and let them have their fun dressing me up. I also got a jack-o-lantern outfit since I didn't get to carve a real pumpkin. You can't see it in the picture but my feet say "Little Pumpkin". Mom thought it was cute.

Fall Fair at ICS

Dad's school had a Walkathon and Fall Fair yesterday. It was so much fun. Mostly dad carted me around and with all the excitement I didn't sleep all day! There were games, food, an auction, white elephant gifts and mom's favorite...baskets for sale! She got a laundry basket, a toy basket and one more that I'm sure she will find a good use for...
Mom and dad also bought me some Christmas presents and I even got to hold one of them! (They think I won't remember it in 2 months, ha!)



I got to play with my friend Emily and a water bottle too!












Here are Jeff and Anna getting sponges thrown at them!






It was a fun day but boy was I tired. I slept the whole bus ride home then went to bed at 5:30!

Canadian Thanksgiving Eh!

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! Uncle Tim and Aunt Connie threw a great Thanksgiving feast. They invited me since I am so adorable and of course I had to drag mom and dad along too. But I do have some Canadian in me...my great grandma on my dad's side was from Nova Scotia!
Here I am with my friends Ceiba, Montana and Kenya (can you guess where they were born??)



Mom's friends Salome and Anna
Newlyweds Jeff and Anna Goh

Jeremy, Dad and Kaiser (drinking Canada Dry)

Mom put this silly hat on me but she must have forgotten that I don't like hats because I quickly jerked it off. It did have some cool bells on it that I liked to play with as long as it wasn't on my head!


We played lots of fun games while we were there. Mom volunteered Dad to play one where he had to read this speech and it was so funny!

"Hey, I'm not a lumberjack, or a fur trader....I don't live in an igloo or eat blubber, or own a dogsled....and I don't know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada, although I'm certain they're really really nice. I have a Prime Minister, not a president. I speak English and French, not American. And I pronounce it 'about', not 'a boot'. I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack. I believe in peace keeping, not policing, diversity, not assimilation, and that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal. A toque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch, and it is pronounced 'zed' not 'zee', 'zed' !!!! Canada is the second largest landmass! The first nation of hockey and the best part of North America! My name is Joe!! And I am Canadian!!!"
He didn't win but we were still proud of him.

After all the excitement I was a little tuckered out so Dad and I took a nap together. I can't wait for my American Thanksgiving!

9 Months!

This is my special month birthday because I'm 9 months old on the 9th. Dad bought me this great Spurs outfit and I love wearing it! It is shiny and fun to touch. The shorts look more like pants on me but that's okay, I've got growing room!

My newest trick is waving. I can't totally do it on command yet but I love to wave at mom when we're playing. And none of this little open hand stuff, I get my whole arm into it! I would be great on a float in a parade!

Here I am anxiously awaiting my next bite! I am a very good eater, I love every food I try. Lately I've been snacking on shredded cheese, it's quite fun to chew with my two little bottom teeth. Oh, but no Cheerios for me yet! Mom thought I might be ready for finger foods so she let me try one. Well, everything was going okay until I started hacking a bit and she thought I was choking so she quickly dumped me upside down and oops, out came the Cheerio!

The week before last Dad left me for 3 days to go to a high school camp but when he came back we had some fun bonding time riding the train together and swimming!

Rub-a-dub-dub!

Here I am getting my nightly bath! Ever since I got back to Hong Kong I've wanted to go to bed very early. In fact, if mom would let me, I'd go to bed at 4:30 or 5:00! But that's when dad gets home so I stay up to play with him. We usually go on walks (ok, I just ride in the pouch most of the time) or sometimes we go swimming. Then when I hear that bath water running I get really excited, I can hardly wait to get in! I have lots of water toys but I love my cups the best. I've been dunking them in the water lately and then I just put them up to my mouth to bite them but for some reason I've been getting a mouth full of bath water, yuck! I also like my little basketball because it makes a cool squeaking sound when I bite it.
And since I've learned how to stand I no longer want to sit in my bathtub.
After the bath sometimes I will let mom put lotion on me if I'm not too tired and I will roll around and play...but other times I am too tired and I protest.

Here I am yelling at dad to put my jammies on faster!

A whole new world...

Hi everyone!
Like my title says, it's a whole new world for me now that I can sit or stand up whenever I want. I prefer to sit with my little feet tucked under my bum. That way I can sit low or get up quickly to my knees. It didn't take me long to learn how to pull up on things. Once I figured out how to get up on my knees, 2 days later I learned how to pop right up on my feet! I love to stand on my tippy toes (I'm taller that way). Sometimes I get so excited when I'm standing that I start jumping like I'm in my Johnny-Jump-Up only I fall down for some reason. It's all a bit confusing... I still like to play on my back a lot and chew my toys but if mom tries to leave the room I go after her!
Today mom and I went to Ikea to find me a high-chair. Mom noticed a lot of people waving at me but little did she know I was waving at everyone first. My hands are pretty amazing things, (I've re-discovered them) they can open and close really fast and they can swing back and forth too. What can I say, I'm a friendly little guy.

I'm still eating like a champ but not gaining much since I've learned these new skills. I'm a mover and a shaker now! Watch out world!

8 Months!

I am 8 months old today! Since I've learned how to crawl and get around more I don't really like to sit still for my pictures. I've got places to go people!

I'm also getting another little toofer so I've been drooling a lot today. And with my new teeth and all, I decided to try my first Cheerio at my friend's house. I pretended to eat 2 of them but I guess I didn't really like them because I spit them out on dad a few minutes later.
We got caught in a big downpour today but luckily dad and I had an umbrella. Dad always carts me around on the weekends to give mommy's back a break. Poor mom wasn't so lucky and she got a little wet. I liked watching all the rain come down and it was fun to look up at the raindrops falling from the umbrella.

Yesterday I went on a trip to Daddy's school and got to watch Dad play soccer and Mommy play volleyball. I even got to play with some really nice girls there too. I get to go on adventures every day...usually to the grocery store, train station or dad's school. I like dad's school the best cause everyone oooohs and aaahhhhs over me. Some of the kids there said that I have a "tall nose". Mom thought that was pretty funny but comparatively I guess I do have a tall nose. The worst thing about going out is the old chinese ladies like to poke at my cheeks and say, "Be be, Be be, Hello Be be!" and they are very loud. I just stare at them. Once Dad let a little old lady in our village hold me and now they all want to hold me every time they see me. But they are nice so I don't mind.

I'm so glad our computer is working again. I missed seeing my grandparents on the webcam. This morning my Gramma Jani got to see me eat breakfast...cereal with bananas, applesauce and blueberries, yummy!

I'm back!

Long time no blog huh? Well, my computer has been out of commission for the past 3 weeks but it's all better now. A lot can happen to a guy in 3 weeks ya know! I can sit up, crawl and pull myself up (to my knees) on the couch, the chair, the tv cabinet, my crib...you name it! Oh yeah and I sprouted my first tooth too! Mom says it's sharp as a razor blade but she still lets me chomp down on her chin or fingers whenever I want. You gotta love moms. I've also been sleeping through the night for the past month. After dinner I take a nice bubble bath, put my smell-good lotions on, play on the bed and chew a few books, nurse and go to bed. When I go down in my crib I play for a little while with my stuffed animals then I call for mom or dad to come rub my face a bit before I drift off to sleep. It's so relaxing, I love it! I go to bed at 6 or 6:30 and sleep till 6:30 or 7:00. If I happen to wake up at 6:30 I get to play with dad before he leaves for work. I really like that and I know he does too.

I am such a good eater also. I love all of the foods I've tried so far with the exception of bananas...go figure. I don't mind them mixed in with my cereal but when I get them plain it's yucky! My favorite food is spinach; I can't get enough of that stuff. Mom thought for sure I wouldn't like it and she had the camera all ready to capture my funny face but I smiled instead and opened my mouth for more. One thing I do not like is to get my face washed after I eat. I turn my head every which way to get away from the cloth. But I'm stuck in this little chair that I can't escape so mom always wins.

Well, my last check up I weighed in at 20.68 lbs and I'm 28 inches long now. I seem to be gaining at a much slower pace now thank goodness...I'm back on the charts! I am also able to wear my clothes more than a couple times before retiring them now. Mom says I'm looking more like a little boy instead of a baby.