Jonathan Day 161

We started the day by having a quick breakfast and picking up Gramma Rosie at Uncle Mike's and Aunt Sue's house.  JH played with their cats and was fascinated by them.  He fed them with Aunt Sue and was a really good boy.

We drove to Aunt Jo's and Aunt Susie and Uncle Dave and Molly were there and ready to shower JH with his Christmas gifts.  This child must have been a really good boy because he really scored this year.  I think Santa and family/friends will need to have a little more restraint next year :-)

The video above is when cousin Damian was running and sliding on the wood floor.  JH was belly laughing at everything Damian did today.  He also had fun pushing his other cousin Avery around in her baby pre-walking thingy.  Good thing we missed the earlier months with JH or you would be hearing all about the contraption Avery's ride.

We left in the early afternoon to be sure and get back to MI before dark.  It rained like crazy so it took us a little longer than expected but we beat the dark.  It was 53 most of the day in the area so we have little snow left.  It's good to be home with my two boys bringing in 2011; though I doubt any of us will be awake.

Jonathan Day 160

The day went pretty quick now that I'm back to work.  JH woke-up at about 6:00 AM and after trying to get him to go back to sleep for 15 minutes I decided cartoons were a better idea.  He watched Nick Jr for a bit and then Da Da woke-up too.

We stuck to the condo for most of the morning and decided to run out and grab a bottle of wine and a bite to eat.  We were invited to Mike, Derek, and Abby's house so we needed a "take along".  We had Dim Sum and JH was a pretty good boy eating his Siu Mai and steamed Shrimp  Rolls.  Then we ran to Binny's to grab a bottle of wine.

The afternoon was uneventful and JH took a 45 minute nap.  He and Da Da played while I worked and then we all got ready for our big night out.  JH and Abby played with her new Thomas Train table the entire time we were there.  It was great to see them play (or not) while the adults all stood one room away chatting about THEM.  Funny that all we talked about was our kids and the daily joys and misery.

JH stayed up way past his bedtime and he is finally comfortably sleeping at almost 10:00 PM MI time.  We won't make a habit of this but it was great to get out and spend time with two dads that are as passionate about their beautiful little girl as we are about our boy.

Tomorrow we pick Gramma Rosie up in the morning and go see Aunt Susie, Aunt Jo Jo, and Uncle Dave for his Christmas with them.  I'll work from Jo's and then we're dashing back to MI for New Years Eve in our own little house.

Jonathan Day 159

When the alarm went off at 5:00 AM we just weren't ready to get up.  Da Da and I went to bed at 8:00 PM so we were sure to get enough sleep for our big day today.  The drive was effortless since no one was on the roads that early.

The appointment was at 10:00 AM and we got there at 9:45 AM after killing 15 minutes getting a coffee.  JH was very well behaved and the woman from Child Advocacy seemed impressed by his behavior and development level.  JH was able to spend the last half of the interview in the lobby with Da Da.  The whole interaction took a little over an hour and I felt good after.

Next step is for a social worker to contact us in about 10 days and arrange a home visit.  They may need to do two but we won't know until after the first.  I'm sure it will all work just fine and they'll see that JH is well cared for and loved no matter how big the space is for him to play :-)

In the afternoon we went to lunch at Melrose Diner and walked over to the Gap on Broadway. They had 50% off Clearance so JH scored some great jeans and sweatpants for about $5 ea. Then we came back to the condo to wash the bedding (from the trow-up incident last time) and relax.

The evening is ending after a walk to Target to kill some time and get some exercise for Daddy and Da Da.  Dinner was quick and after JH and Da Da play with his blocks it's bed time for this little boy.  Good thing because we're all pretty exhausted.

Jonathan Day 158

Okay, so this video is a bit boring but it was a blast for JH to play Thomas with Daddy.

We all slept pretty late this morning and JH was in a pretty good mood.  I was worried since he was a BRAT yesterday.  There were only a few "MINE" and nicer "My turn".

We drove to Benton Harbor to checkout a Habitat for Humanity resale shop.  Unfortunately, it was closed until after New Years.  Rick wants to build a Green House this spring so we're looking for old windows.  If we find very cheap old barn or house windows we'll piece them together to make a structure.

Jonathan was pretty good today and we pretty much kept the TV and DVD off all day.  We watched an episode of Supper Nanny where Jo identified that TV can often be used as a babysitter.  While we don't do that intentionally, we want to be more aware.

We are making this a very early night so we can make our 10:00 AM appointment with Adoption Services tomorrow.  I'm a bit worried since I don't know what the appointment is about other than an interview.  I collected beautiful letters from 4 people (non-family) that have observed me with JH and wrote their thoughts about how we're doing.  I wish that I could ask the people that read this to write something because if you have been following for 158 days, you know just as well or better than someone that spends a few hours with us.  Luckily Janine, Michael, and Staci are regular readers :-)  Love you guys!!

Jonathan Day 157

How can such a sweet boy one day become a monster a day later?  I swear this child is like a wild animal today.  If I hear "it's MINE" or it's MY turn" in an angry voice one more time I'm going to pull my hair out!

My brother Mike came up this afternoon to install the new basement windows with Rick.  So, Rick had to spend the majority of the morning in the basement getting a few things done and cleaning his work mess.  So, that means JH and I have spent the entire day together on one of his monster days.  A few days ago Rick spent much of the day working in the basement and JH was a prefect little boy.

I pulled the Super Nanny and What to Expect books out to see if there is a clue to the MINE or MY TURN.  Nope, they just tell you it will happen.  I'm trying not to react or punish too much.  I did have to put the blocks away because we went from a fun game of JH bringing me blocks from his room to the living room to a "MINE" fit.

The video is one I grabbed when JH started walking around in my snow boots.

Jonathan Day 156

Bright and early we drove in to Mishawaka to score some after Christmas deals.  Da Da bought 2500 white lights so he can light the 10 or so trees in the very front of the property.  It will be beautiful next year but like this year, I want no part of decorating :-p

JH watched his new 150 minute Thomas video that I scored for $6 last week.  Best $6 we have spent in months.  This boy loves his Thomas!  In fact, Thomas is turned on running behind our dishwasher as I type this.  I was washing dished and JH was playing with one of his two Thomas trains (that I JUST changed the battery on), and it made it's way on the side of the dishwasher, and is out of reach.  We don't use the dishwasher so it's not a big deal, it's just listening to it run that will drive us crazy.  I hope I put in a cheap IKEA battery and not a Duracell.

When we got home in the early afternoon we had lunch and tried to get JH to nap.  We laid down and didn't hear him but after about 1 hour I went in and he said "I had a nice nap Daddy".  No way!  he was too chipper and giggly to have just woke-up.  We usually ask if he had a nice nap after he actually naps.  Little con man!

Da Da went down and finished the TV wall in the basement and JH and I played all afternoon.  He is getting so much better listening and making choices.  If he gets too rowdy I ask if he would like to play nice or have me put the toy away?  He usually focuses and plays nice.  If he brings too many toys out of his room we ask him to pick one or two to return to his room and he does it with little fuss.

We all had dinner a few minutes ago and are getting ready for our hour or so of Nick Jr shows before JH hits the hay.  Tomorrow we may have a visit from Uncle Mike to help us install the new basement windows.  Either way I'm on vacation still and we'll be sure to have some fun :)

Oops, the picture above is JH making a snow angle.  There have been a could of Nick Jr shows this last week where they made snow angles and he just started doing it and said "I'm making a snow angle".

Jonathan Day 155

Merry Christmas!  Today was awesome for all of us.  We got up when we heard JH stirring in his room but not talking yet.  Da Da snuck out and turned on the Christmas Tree lights and all the other decorations.  Then he set-up his video camera so when JH came out he could capture his reaction to the gifts Santa left him.  The vide didn't turnout that great, and it's like 18 minutes (a 2 1/2 year old is not a fast package opener).

JH loved his ATV but won't make it go automatically yet.  We'll need to wait until the basement is done or the snow thaws so he has some room to ride.  The other hit of the day was his set of blocks.  He has been playing with them all day!  He was excited about the Thomas The Train box but lost interest when he realized that it was a drum and NOT a train.

I'm typing this in a hurry to get it done before we have guests an 45 minutes.  JH and Da Da are on the floor building a castle and they keep handing blocks back and forth and JH is saying "oh, thank you so much".  He started saying the so much part earlier this week.  May be another one that we say and don't even realize.  He is so darn polite, most of the time.

We went out and pulled JH around the yard in his new snowsuit that Gramma and Grandpa got him.  He laughed like crazy when we ran and pulled him fast.  He kept grabbing bits of snow and eating it.

We ate lunch at about 2:00 PM so he could stay up a bit later tonight.  Linda and Neil will want to play some with him.  I forget of I mentioned that we came home from Chicago last week and there was a play kitchen with food, pots & pans, and food set-up in his room.  He has been feeding us plastic pizza and chips all week.

Last thing before I end for the night, Elmo potty is officially a foot stool now.  JH has started hovering over the seat on his Elmo like he does on the big potty and pee pee is missing the mark.  He only uses the little potty once or twice a day anyway so it's time to retire Elmo.

I want to thank you again for the love and support we receive on a daily basis from all of you.

Jonathan Day 154

Our first Christmas and we entertain JH by playing the touch the door game.  He ran back and forth at least 50 times, teetering on the bathtub, waiting for Da Da to yell "attic".  You can even hear him say "attic" in the video so he can run back.

We all slept past 7:00 AM and JH was chipper this morning.  His diaper was dry and he went pee pee for about 15 seconds.  I hesitate to say it but he may be potty trained.  He tells us when he has to go and wears underwear all day long now.  There were a few accidents when we started the process last week but just dribbles.

At lunch we all ate together and he entertained us with his Dinosaur and Monster noises.  He tried to nap and was quiet as a mouse for more than an hour but when we opened the door he was wrestling with his new "nice and warm" that Gramma made him.  Even if he doesn't sleep it's nice to have quiet time during the day.  That way when he goes to pre-school he'll be prepared.

We took a ride again and did a little more shopping to get snacks for Linda and Neil's visit tomorrow evening.  We were busy shopping and had the cart about 1/4 full when a woman tapped Rick on the shoulder and said "he's eating the grapes", we're turning in to "those parents"; You know the ones, don't really care as long as the kids aren't hurting themselves or others :-)

I'm posting early so we can watch the tree and lights turn-on and have a nice relaxing dinner.  Tonight Santa comes and we hope to get a good video tomorrow morning.

Jonathan Day 153

We measured him again today and he has grown about another inch.  We're making lines and dates on his closet door.

I woke-up at 5:00 AM not able to sleep, and the terrible part is I'm on vacation!  JH didn't get up until closer to 6:00 AM so we all started pretty early today.  He was Happy Gilmore today, all sweet and compliant.  He had Oatmeal and sliced Apple for breakfast and ate it all.

Most of the morning we did laundry and laid around the house.  Da Da isn't feeling 100% so I tried to keep JH occupied.  We played and watched several episodes of Little Bill.  After JH finally did his long awaited poop we went to MI City to do some shopping.  We went to Meijer (grocery store) and he was so nice and sweet.  He laughed, wanted hugs, and asked tons of questions.  I gave him the bottle of gummy vitamins to hold and before we knew it he had peeled the UPC sticker off.  Da Da had to run back and get another so the cashier could ring it up.

After we got home we had lunch and JH took a pretty good nap.  I think it works best if we have nap later.  We may need to start letting him stay up a little later.  I read that you add an hour for each year of age up to 9:00 PM.  That means in a few months we'll late him say up until 7:30 PM :-)

I noticed yesterday that he is saying Daddy much clearer and is enunciating better.  He used to say DaaYee and now it's "DadDee".  I think it's because Rick makes sure he pronounces things very clearly and not using words like he says them.  I'm bad and I use his words because he says things so adorably like Sheeps=Sheets.

His toy of choice today is an etch a sketch type thing that has a pen to draw.  Da Da was drawing pictures and he was guessing 90% of them.  He shocks us all the time with things that we're not sure he picks-up.  Da Da drew Santa and he knew exactly who he was.  The toy is only about 5" by 4" so not much detail.  I drew a bird and he said "no it's a goose", WTH?

We're going to have dinner in about 20 minutes and play a bit before his 6:30 bed-time.  When he takes a nap we keep him up until 6:30 PM and if he doesn't, we try to shoot for 6:00 PM.  Crazy huh?

Jonathan Day 152

One thing comes to mind to recap the day, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde!  Sweet as pie this morning, he wouldn't eat his Banana or any breakfast other than two sippy cups of milk.   When Da Da went down to work in the basemen JH and I watched Luna and Molly several times and played "let's hide in the fort" (means get under a blanket) a few dozen times.  At lunch we gave him a cheese and turkey sandwich and cooked carrots and he only ate the carrots.

We didn't think he would nap since he's not getting much exercise being inside for so many days.  Today was bitter cold so we drove to MI City (I'm on vacation) to order some blinds for his bedroom.  Maybe having it darker will help with naps and when the sun stays up until after 9:00 PM in the summer.  He was a little crabby and demanding but his demands usually followed with a "plEEZE" when asking for his Thomas DVD.

When we got home one of us put him on the potty and he started repeating "I don't" over and over.  We're not sure why and what he was saying, suddenly out came the full blown Mr Hyde!  He cried and whined for a full 10 minutes.  We decided a nap was probably needed and in he went.  It was hard to tell if he napped but we think he may have for about a 1/2 hour so we were hopeful for the evening.

Dinner was a full blown disaster and JH would not even eat a bite without spitting it out and then asking for more.  We thought maybe he needed to go poop since he only did a nugget earlier so we tried to get him to sit, and again with the "I don't" that turned in to "I don't try" about 50 times.  Da Da looked up what food constipates a toddler and yep, we have been giving him almost all the items on the list daily!  Banana, Milk, Yogurt, Cheese, and Cooked Carrots!  I think Mr Hyde is coming from a backed-up little boy.

We made him some peas and gave him a fiber bar and he was pretty good during all of the second seating of dinner.  He used his new puppy spoon Aunt Jo gave him earlier this week.  He was chipper and sweet and after dinner we got multiple hugs.  He was saying "sit nice with Da Da" or "sit nice with Daddy" running back and forth to us while watching Wonder Pets.  We're both beat and need a quiet evening.  Goodnight.

Jonathan Day 151

We woke-up at about 3:00 AM with JH crying and saying his tummy hurt.  He spit-up and Da Da changed him and got him on the potty.  He didn't go potty, and after he wanted to sleep with us.  We woke-up again at about 5:00 AM when he poked each of us several times in the ears and eyes saying "I'm not sleepy".

Breakfast was a bust and he just wouldn't eat or drink anything.  With that we jumped in the car and carefully drove up to MI.  The roads were amazingly clear and the traffic at 5:15 AM was non-existent.  About 40 minutes in to the trip JH started coughing and said he was sick and then threw-up :-(  I had brought a damp wash cloth so I wiped his face and hands.  He said "thank you Daddy" and held my hand most of the remainder of the trip.  I was all twisted reaching to the backseat but having him watch his movie and hold my hand was priceless.

We got home and Da Da and I emptied the car and got JH on the potty.  He seemed incredibly happy to be home and finally wanted to eat.  Da Da gave him something to eat and after filled the bath and JH played in the tub for about an hour, when I walked out of my office or by the bath he said "I'm playing in the bathtub Daddy".

We're getting close the the end of our day and are all so happy to be home in MI.  The tree is lit, the laundry is done, and I'm on vacation until the 28th!!   There are many things I wanted to type tonight but I'm just too relaxed and happy to be home.

Jonathan Day 150

Today was a pretty exhausting day.  We stayed at Jo's last night so I could get a paper signed by my Dr confirming I'm healthy enough to be JH's adopted father.  Again, I understand and all of these steps are so worth the final outcome; but someone with cancer can have a child.  Many people with addictions are also having children.  Then there are the thousands of bigoted and ignorant that are breeding like bunnies!  I'll stop now.

JH loves his Auntie Jo Jo!  He ran around like a crazy man and played all day.  I worked from Jo's and Da Da and JH colored, watched Little Bill, Yo Gabba Gabba, and the entire cast of Nick Jr Cartoons.  My appointment was at 5:30 PM and the snow started dumping at about 4:00 PM when we ran out to get some groceries to take back up to MI.  Our hope was to go to the appointment and get to MI.  No such luck, we were lucky to get from the Dr's office to the condo in 2 1/2 hours.  Scary stuff out there and luckily JH slept through 90% of it while Da Da carefully drove and I worried the entire way.  JH is snug in his bed in fresh PJs and sweet as can be.

If we need to we'll stay here until the weather breaks but hope to get to MI before Christmas since the attic is loaded with all JH's gifts that Santa is bringing.  I'm too sleepy to keep rambling; just know that we love you all for the amazing support and love.

Jonathan Day 149

We were so exhausted we all went to bed before 8:00 PM.  JH laid there and talked until he was given the choice of a spanking or going to sleep; he chose sleep.  It's so funny that of the 100 times we threaten a spanking he gets a light tap about 1% of the time. 

JH woke-up before 6:00 AM and we went down and Gramma and Grandpa were already up and having coffee.  I'm not sure if it was Daddy snoring that kept everyone awake most of the night or just so much going on.  Christmas was a blast and Gramma and Grandpa went a little crazy with the gifts!  Outfits, Firetruck, a new tractor, snow suite...I can seriously keep going but I'm eating pizza between typing.  We're at Jo's and JH had a second round of gifts and spoiling. 

The condo we looked at was great but we decided to ride it out in the condo and MI until the adoption is finalized.  If we focus on the basement (Thank Jo for the Lowes card) it will all get better.  No reason to rent a place just for more space when we can improve the space we already have and and not have to buy more furniture.

I'll write more tomorrow night when we get back to MI.  We're all exhausted from driving and running around all day.

Jonathan Day 148

I have 12 minutes left on my battery so I'm typing fast!  JH had fun at the party amd Da Da brought him back here to Gramma's about an hour ago.  I stayed home and made dinner for tonight so I was busy busy; made Chicken Parmesan with a homemade sauce.  Smells good!

I put JH down for a nap about 30 minutes ago and he finally went to sleep.  I told him to close his eyes and laid down with him.  He lept his eyes closed but hunted around like Helen Keller making her way around a room all over the bed.  I had to laugh and couldn't get mad because it was so darn cute.  He kept petting my head and holding my hands.  He fell asleep with Tiger between us and his hand on my head.  I delicately as possible moved down the air mattress to escape to type this entry.  Doubt I'll get to post again because I'm pushing 9 minutes.  Night!

Jonathan Day 147

I forgot my Mac charger again and there is limited internet connection so this is my first black berry post. We drove to Chicago very early yesterday so I could work. After lunch we drove to Grammas and Grandpa's house. JH was happy to see Gramma Deb with all her moving christmas decorations and candy canes. We only stayed about 30 minutes and jumped in the car to go see Gramma Rosie. We stayed 45 minutes and back in the car to get back to G and G for dinner. JH smiles big when he sees his Grandpa :-)

Today is the big 90th party for Gramma Junker so I have a feeling JH is going to get tons of attention with all those "mature" party goers. We'll have his Christmas here at the house after the party and then head back to Chicago in the morning. These is a larger condo in Rogers Park that we might rent. We have a potential renter for our studio so it might all work great. Sunday night at Auntie Jo Jo's.

Jonathan Day 146

JH is standing in his room looking out the door (with one of my hats on) saying "hello friend".  My guess is the video he is watching has someone saying the same thing.  I'll have to try and catch Madagascar next time I have a play date with him

I had to capture the video above so you can hear the song his little train plays.  Over and over he presses the button to play the song.  I guess if it makes him happy I should just wait until the batteries die and then say it's broken.

JH got a haircut and a good scrubbing for our trip to Gramma's tomorrow.  I'll work a shorter day so we can get there before dark and be sure to not be driving in bad weather.  It'll be nice to get away and have Gramma and Grandpa spoil JH a little.  Da Da and I will get to eat "bad" (not bad tasting) food for a few days.

A little while ago I walked by JH's room and had to chuckle because Elmo was on his potty and he had his undies pulled down around Elmo's feet.  I love how Jh makes his own fun and seems to be happy playing by himself or with us when we join him.  Now to find some kids closer to his age :-)

Jonathan Day 145

The day started and ended pretty much the same; JH on the potty.  I feel like all I ever write about is potty, eating, or Walmart.  SO, potty, potty, potty, and a trip to Sam's Club today.

When we pulled-up after shopping there was a box in front of the door!!  JH received an early Christmas gift from Auntie Laurie and Uncle Corbett from Oregon today.  We opened the box in front of him not exactly sure what was in it and lo and behold "Potty Elmo" popped his head out.  JH about blew a gasket yelling "it's Elmo, it's Elmo".  We told him it's Potty Elmo and he said "yes, and he has a sippy cup too".  He didn't even have his coat off and ran in to the living room to play.  I'll try and get a better video tomorrow.

I think the worst part of the day was when JH tricked me in to putting new batteries in his Thomas the Train.  The first 20 times the little song it played didn't bother us too much.  After a couple of hundred times we are ready to pull our ears off.  The good news was when Elmo arrived the Thomas was replaced!!

Dinner, bath, and bed.  Now it's time for Daddy and Da Da to get ready for Top Chef and a glass of wine.

Jonathan Day 144

I think we almost have a potty trained little guy.  He has not had an accident and is so not interested in sitting on the little potty (Elmo) anymore.  He is only wearing a diaper at naps and bedtime.  Da Da ran caulk around the bottom of his step stool to make sure it doesn't slid on the tile, so JH pulls his underwear down and jumps right up.  He is also washing his hands on his own and is all of a sudden interested in the all important flush.  Today after potty he said "goodbye poo poo".

JH slept until almost 7:00 AM so it was a good start to the day.  He had his banana and I made him some oatmeal that he just wasn't interested in eating.  Then we dressed and hit MI City to stock-up in case we get another couple feet of snow.  He was jovial and playful with anyone that looked his way.  The cashier made a comment on how handsome he was and he said "thank you".

I gave JH lunch with Da Da was cleaning the driveway.  It was day two for the pasta I made him yesterday.  I just am not as creative as Da Da when it comes to making JH lunch.  I try and get something green (peas, beans) and carrots in every meal.  He ate everything I made for him so I must have done okay on my own.  After lunch he actually took a nap!

He's laying on his bedroom floor now putting Elmo to bed.  He has his blanket over Elmo and has repeated "goodnight Elmo" at least 10 times.  I think he knows what's coming in less than an hour :-)  I hope tomorrow is a little warmer so we can at least run him up and  down the plowed driveway.

Jonathan Day 143

BLIZZARD Alert!  We woke-up to almost 2 feet of snow this morning.  We're on day 3 in the house and going a bit stir crazy.

JH and I watched Da Da plow the driveway and JH ran from window to door to window saying  "hi Da Da", "Da Da is on the trac a tor".  After Da Da came back in frozen to the core he and JH did some school time and watched Lady and The Tramp.

Lunch was uneventful and it was impossible to get JH to take a nap.  Poor little guy didn't get more than a run back and forth from the attic door to the bathroom door a few times.  Dinner was about the same and we just put him to bed so, goodnight.

Jonathan Day 142

It wasn't too bad of a day other than non-stop snow.  We got out for a minute to go to the small grocery store in town and to get gas.  We're expecting up to 2 feet of snow so we wanted to make sure we're prepared if we're stuck for  few days.

There was really not much JH drama today.  He wore underwear all day again and actually told me he had to potty before going in his underwear.  I'm hoping a few weeks of this and he'll just go in his own and we won't have to ask him or take him.  He can get them up and down on his own so there is no reason why he won't do it himself.

The video above is after we had dinner and were listening to Christmas music waiting for the timer to turn all the Christmas lights on.  You may hear him whisper "shut-up" in there but we're not reacting when he says that.  He does also call Santa "Christmas Clause".  Tomorrow we'll post a video of him getting his nightly exercise by running between the bathroom and attic doors :-)  He did it for at least 10 minutes tonight and laughed himself silly doing it.

Jonathan Day 141

Today Da Da worked in the basement and I was on JH duty.  That child wore me out!  I kept him on the every 30 minute potty plan and he "produced" on each visit.  He wore underwear all day and didn't even dribble in them once.  We watched his Leap Frog DVD about a family of frogs working at an alphabet factory.  I kept singing all those damn songs in my head all day long!

Da Da came up after lunch and JH was already down for his nap.  I made him chicken strips (not processed but fresh) and carrots and he would not eat the chicken at all.  He cried and cried and finally I let him spit it out, but told him he wouldn't get any lunch if he did, and he did.

We had about an hour of quiet while he laid in his room chatting and singing.  Funny that when we have time away from JH we just sit and vegetate.  We decided we really need to find a day care or a way to get some time away from JH.  We love him desperately but never get a chance to miss him.  There have only been a few times that Jo has stayed with him and we have been able to go to dinner or do some shopping.  Does that sound bad that we need time away?  It's been 141 days with only about 6 hours apart!!

This morning I got up with him first and went in to get his Banana and he said "Banana, B A N A "  Because every morning we say would you like your Banana and spell B A N A N A.  It 's moments like that where I think our time with him is really doing something for his development.  I also think he needs to be around other kids so he learns to play with others.

We drove to St Joe to get JH a new Christmas sweater for his visit to Gramma and Grandpa's house next weekend.  We hope the weather is good enough for us to make the 5+ hour drive. We're under a winter storm warning for the next few days.  Looking at the 10 day forecast it doesn't look good, but that could change!

Jonathan Day 140

The sun came out just enough to make those powdery snow drifts heave enough to build a snowman.  We have been talking to JH about building a snowman for more than a week now and today was the day!  The bottom is really really big and then we sort of lost steam.  It has a carrot nose, drawer pull eyes, and a rock grill (smile).

We had to wake JH up after 7:00 AM and his bed was soaked.  I guess the key to a dry bed is the mix of the 10:00 PM wake-up and an early morning rise.  It wasn't so bad because his sheets needed changing anyway.  There are times I go in and make his bed (he destroys at least 3 times a day) and I find a chip or cracker corner.  He gets snacks in his room on occasion and we're not there to supervise.  We always ask that he sits at his table and most times when we walk by he's sitting and watching a DVD while eating.

JH has not wet a diaper at all today.  We only put one on at nap and when we went our and built the snowman.  While Da Da and I were building he was laying in a drift saying "mmm this is good"  he made nummy sounds like he was really enjoying that snow.  I'm sure he drank at least a sippy cup full :-)

Tonight JH finished dinner and I released the lap strap that holds him in his booster and he wasn't ready to get out so he reconnected them.  I told him while he was doing it that If he locked them I would not let him back out and he would have to ask his Da Da and I heard CLICK.  So now he is asking Da Da to "LET ME OUT", that's not going over very well.  I guess as soon as I finish writing this we can renegotiate his release.  He's not too upset because Elmo is on and he is mesmerized by his first love.

Jonathan Day 139

I'll start with the last funny thing that happened tonight.  I was on teeth brushing duty and my phone rang and it was for Rick so I walked away for 5 seconds to give him the phone, when I returned JH had the tube of tooth past in his mouth squeezing it saying "this is delicious Daddy".  My response was at $2.99 an ounce it should be delicious and he smiled and nodded.

JH woke-up at about 5:00 AM and was quickly shuffled to the potty and had a DVD popped in to keep him busy while we slept.  I was startled when I looked at the clock at 7:30 AM and we heard JH singing in his room.  When we went out he said "I want breakfast".  Usually he says "munch" so he's starting to get the meal names right :-)

He is so darn independent that the usual "it's my turn" 100 times a day was at least 150 times today.  He went #2 on the big potty five times today!  Three of the five were gum-ball sized but took the same effort to clean :-(  He gets on by himself and wants to get off as soon as he does his business, and THEN wants to do more.  Enough about potty.  One more potty story, Da Da had him on while I was working and I heard OMG and roaring laughter from outside my door.  JH had fallen in the potty and all Rick could see was a head and legs sticking out.

Today I received a pile of paperwork from my attorney about the home studies and now we're scrambling to get documents, appointments, and checks in order.  I know without a doubt all of this red-tape is worth it but boy do they make an uncontested/family member adoption complicated.

Jonathan Day 138

Pretty slow day around here.  JH went the entire day wearing underwear and didn't wet them once!  It could have helped that we took him to potty about every 30 minutes.  I think the positive is that during his nap, we had a diaper on him and he didn't wet it.  Once we got him up he did a mega pee pee on the potty.  It's too soon to start the celebration on this one but I think we may be closer to day time underwear :-)

After work we went to MI City to look for snow boots for Da Da; no luck.  Most places don't keep size 12 on the shelf.  We stopped at the dollar store and the grocery store to pick-up a few things like a saucer sled for JH.  Tomorrow we hope to pull him around the yard a little.  It's warming up to 32+ this week so we hope to get him out of the house more than a ride in the car seat.

We're on day 2 with the eye patch and JH doesn't seem to mind at all.  I was in the kitchen this morning and he came in and said "i'm a pirate Daddy".  He is one of the most adaptable people I have ever met and I'm not sure if that's good or bad yet.  Maybe it's because he loves and trusts us.

We just finished dinner and JH is playing in the tub saying "a bath, I'm taking a bath".  We're running late tonight because I made a more elaborate dinner (WW version of Chicken Piccata) and we held his up so we could all eat together.  I think we'll skip Yo Gabba Gabba to try and keep him close to his 6:30 PM bedtime.

btw - I did get that hug and kiss last night after his 10:00 PM potty trip.

Jonathan Day 137

Give me strength!  We have had so much snow in the last few days and it's so flipping cold out that we are all going crazy.  JH has taken to running from the bathroom door to the attic door (20 ft) over and over again.  We ask him to touch the attic door and he runs to the attic and then we tell him to touch the bathroom door....you get the picture.  He is huffing and puffing after about 20 times.  We put the basement on hold until we can save a bit more money so we don't have to charge.  Maintaining Chicago while it's empty 95% of the time kills us; not to mention every tax and insurance bill hit us at once :-(  Enough complaining!!

JH has been very whiny lately.  He fake cries almost constantly and it's wearing on us.  We went weeks where he was cheerful, helpful, and compliant.  Now it seems like a fight to get him to do the simplest things.

Today we started the big boy underwear attempt again.  We set the microwave timer for every 30 minutes and take him to the potty.  As long as we're stuck inside and Da Da is not able to be tearing up the yard or house we're trying to get JH off diapers.  He is SO good about #2, he won't go in his diaper at all.  #1 is a different story, he'll wet 5 minutes after we put one on him.  He only wet a little today twice in his underwear but told us immediately after he went.

We have Jonathan's surgery scheduled for January 28th.  There are a few pre-surgery Dr appointments we'll need to go to so we'll use the condo a few more times in January.  The surgery is outpatient so while we're cautious; we're happy he won't have to stay in hospital.

Tonight when we put JH to bed, he was mad at me and wouldn't give me a kiss :-(  He gave Da Da a hug and kiss and even threw in a "I love you Da Da".  I'm sure I'll get my hug and kiss when we wake him for his 10:00 PM potty.

The video above is Da Da faking crying and JH responding.

Jonathan Day 136

This morning we woke-up in Chicago pretty early since it's 1 hour earlier.  JH was awake at about 5:00 AM but laid there until he heard Da Da get up to go potty.  Then he was chattering away and even used the always gets a response "I have to go potty".  I got up and put him on the potty and tried to put him back to sleep with no luck.

We had breakfast and loaded the car so we could get to the Dr and get back to MI ASAP.  They are calling for up to 3 feet of snow.  We had been "schooling" JH for the last month on the pictures the Dr gave us the last time we were there.  He got every picture correct at home.  At the Dr office all he would give us was "it's my turn" over and over again.

JH will need surgery and they want him to have it as soon as we can get it scheduled.  Apparently his muscle reaction is worse than the last time we visited in October.  I'll be calling tomorrow to schedule.  Both Auntie Jo and Gramma want to be there for the surgery so we'll have plenty of support.

We got home in the afternoon and gave JH lunch and he actually took a nap today!  After, we played a bit and after I finished work we drove to get groceries in case we get the expected 3 feet of snow.  On the way home we asked JH a question and his answer was "you betcha Da Da".

The video above is one we took when Gramma and Grandpa visited last month.

Jonathan Day 135

I forgot my charger in MI so I have to be quick, I have 19 minutes left on my Mac and I want to check email in the morning.

Jo came this afternoon and stayed with JH while Da Da and I snuck away to the new Dominicks on Foster and Sheridan.  AMAZING store!  It was sort of nice to casually shop for groceries and not have a little monkey screeching and turning "upa side down'".  We had that a little later when we went to Target to pick-up a new outfit for Great Gramma's 90 birthday party on the 18th.

We have an early eye Dr appt so I'll let you all know the outcome after we get back up to MI.  They are calling for up to 3 FEET of snow so we're bolting back after our 8:45 AM appointment.  They want to do surgery soon but we decided they will need to schedule after December.  This is an important 1st Christmas with us and we want JH to totally enjoy.

Jonathan Day 134

5:00 AM and we hear "I'm scared, I'm scared Da Da", so Da Da went in and settled JH down and came back to bed.  At 5:15 he was saying he wanted "munch" (means lunch).  I knew at that point there was no sleep to be had on this fine Saturday morning.  Five minutes later Da Da came out and we watched some cartoons.

After we tried to get JH to take a nap we went and saw Santa.  JH fell to the ground in fear and tried to get away; until he saw the bucket of candy canes.  Once Santa held up a cane JH was ready to sit in his lap.  Da Da took a few pictures that I'll post later this week.

The picture above is JH in front of the Christmas Tree.  He was really great posing for pictures tonight and when we finished snapping a photo he would say "let's try again".  He says the funniest things and I wish I could remember when I'm typing these updates.  When I gave him a snack in his room earlier I asked him for a kiss and when he gave me a kiss I said I love you, he said "I love you too Daddy".  My heart melted because usually when we say I love you he parrotts back "i love you".  This was clearly an exchange and I felt like he meant it.

After the photo shoot we put him to bed and when I was closing the door Da Da was yelling "I love you" from the living room and JH yelled back "I love you Da Da".

Jonathan Day 133

Today was a pretty good day.  JH got up early and we all had breakfast together.  Da Da and I are still on Weight Watchers and both hit milestones today.  Da Da exceeded 30 pounds lost and I'm at 18 pounds in 30 days.  The only time we "cheated" was when Gramma was here and we just couldn't resist her good cooking.

Da Da and JH took a ride this morning to run some errands while I worked.  It was a light day so I was able to play a bit with them in the afternoon.  The video above is of JH when we found a nickle and we're putting it in his piggy bank.  He saw me taking a video and wanted to see so it's not that great and you can also see how messy his room is too.

After we finished dinner I went in to wash the dishes and Da Da was giving JH some apple sauce and he said "yummy yummy yummy I havea food ina my tummy".  He talks like my old Italian relatives adding an "a" to the end of words.  My favorites is "upa side down".

JH and Da Da are getting him ready for bed since we got up at the crack of dawn this morning.  Da Da and I also rented two movies so it's going to be a nice relaxing exening :-)

Jonathan Day 132

Daddy needs a day off from writing the blog.  Please check back tomorrow.

Jonathan Day 131

The day started at about 1:00 AM when the building maintenance man knocked on our door.  Aparently the unit below ours had water dripping from their ceiling and they thought it was ours leaking.  It wasn't :-(

JH kept waking up saying "I'm awake Da Da" (I went back to sleep) so both of them were up most of the night.  We all got up around 6:00 AM and got ready, had breakfast, and hit the road.  On our way back to MI it started nowing and hasn't stopped since.  We have about 4 inches and the roads look pretty covered.

It was a very long day and only got worse after we gave JH a homemade pudding pop as a snack in his room and when we went in 5 minutes later it was all over his wall.  He was eating it nicely but his hands and face were covered.

Dinner was nice and easy and now JH is laying on the sofa watching Ni Hao Kai-lan.  Da Da is also showing him a video on his laptop of JH and Da Da having a conversation about a Snowman.  Tomorrow we'll go out and actually build one :-)

Jonathan Day 130

JH gets his 2nd eye appointment on Monday so the video above is Da Da quizing him on the shapes they gave us.  He has to learn and identify what each image is and when he has 3-d glasses on they ask him which one is jumping out at him.

This morning was pretty uneventful; JH played in his room and Da Da continued in the basemet.  He has all the walls built and is on the framining for the soffits (to cover all the duct work and pipes).  I had an improtant meeting so I was under lock-down in my office.

In the afternoon we drove to Chicago to get all our piles of mail at the condo.  Being that we're "living" in Chicago we have to receive all our adoption related mail there.  JH had dinner and after he was just CRABBY (no nap) so he went to bed 1/2 hour early this evening.  This will probably work better for us because we want to wake-up very early to get back to MI in the morning.

goodnight.

Jonathan Day 129

It was difficult to jump back in to work after 5 days off :-(  Good thing it was a light day and I was able to balance spending time with JH and getting my work done.  JH got up early and we all had breakfast and then Da Da finished decorating for Christmas while JH and I ran to the store to get groceries for the week.

We stopped at Aldi and JH was being so silly.  He kept grabbing the chain that holds the carts together and saying "I bix it" (meaning I'll fix it).  That kept him busy until he started bending over the side saying "i'm upaside down" (upside down) looking at the ceiling.  Then as clear as anything ever said, while at the checkout he says "I farted Daddy" and the cashier snickered and kept ringing away.

On the way home he started saying that he wanted to go home and see Da Da in the basement.  Either Da Da is spending too much time in the basement or I'm no fun :-p.  I'm betting on the no fun part because when Daddy hits a store it's all business and I'm in and out and no stops in the toy department.

The video above is JH saying good morning to the outside when Da Da had his window open to attach the lighted garland under his windows.

Not much really happened this evening other than JH helping Da Da place all the lights on the bushes outside.  Now we're watching our second episode of Wonder Pets and it's almost bedtime.  More tomorrow :-)

Jonathan Day 128

This morning JH woke-up pretty early and since he was dry I put him in bed with us.  That lasted 10 minutes and we both had elbows and fingers to the eyes; so Lion King went in the DVD.

I woke-up at about 9:00 AM and Da Da and Grandpa were in the family room and JH was having breakfast.  It was a perfect Sunday morning; slept late and the grandparents here to give JH the attention he needs in the morning.  Gramma and Grandpa left at about 11:00 AM and it was so cute to see JH follow Grandpa all around while he packed the car.  We stood on the driveway and waved and JH kept saying "bye bye Gramma and grandpa" over and over again.

We played a bit and then had lunch and tried to give JH a nap but he was too wound-up.  He had such a great time this weekend and last night.  We took a quick video at dinner asking him about the weekend.

In the late afternoon the sun started shining and we all went out and planted tulip bulbs.  JH and I also collected all the pumpkins and gourds from the yard and loaded them in the wagon to take over to Linda's.  She is planning on harvesting the seeds so she can plant them at their farm up the road.

The evening ended with Da Da setting up the Christmas tree and JH asking us at least 200 times "what are you doing Da Da/Daddy".  Patience is something that we both work very hard to maintain :-).  We have tried answering in many ways to not dismiss him but stop him from continually asking.  No luck so we'll stick with patience.

Jonathan Day 127

Today was our official Thanksgiving.  Da Da and Grandpa spent the majority of their time in the basement adding outlets to the newly built walls and finishing soffits.  Gramma, Daddy, and JH stuck to the house since it was in the 20s outside.  Gramma cooked like a fiend and Daddy helped with peeling, chopping, and clean-up.  It was a great day!  I also got to watch Snow White with JH while he built forts and chattered away.

Linda and Neil joined us for dinner and we ate ourselves sick.  JH ate everything that he was given and wanted more when he finished.  We talked for hours after dinner and when we went to wake JH to have him do his last potty of the day he was like a little zombie.  He went potty and said goodnight again and fell asleep immediately in spite of being 10 feet from 6  adults talking and laughing pretty loudly.

I hope we make this an annual event spending Thanksgiving with Gramma and Grandpa!

Jonathan Day 126

The JH alarm went off at about 7:15 AM and it started.  "what are you doing Da Da", "what are you doing Daddy", "what are you doing Gramma" . . . . .

We gave JH breakfast, a banana and waffles. JH entertained us by talking while we all rushed around eating breakfast and getting ready for the day.  It was Gramma's Birthday so we took some time to give Gramma her cards and JH helped.  Then we all piled in the car and drove to Mishawaka to get some great deals.

It was in the 20's so running in and out was fun because JH held Daddy and Da Da's hands and we ran and he belly laughed.  We had lunch at T.G.I. Friday's and JH had a small pizza and fries and he was VERY HAPPY!  Several times he surprised the waiter with his "thank you" or saying "please" to us.

In the evening JH played and interacted with us all as we sat in the living room.  On Gramma and Grandpa's laps.  Down to get a toy, on the laps again...

We let him stay up a little later and then is was hugs and kisses for everyone and not a peep when we put him down.  We're very lucky parents :-) to have such a well behaved and loving child.

Jonathan Day 125

This is our first real holiday with JH.  Good thing he has no idea that we're postponing Thanksgiving until Saturday.  Gramma and Grandpa drove-up from the Quad Cities this evening and Gramma is cooking for us on Saturday.  Tomorrow is Gramma's birthday so we're having dinner out.

JH was very happy to see Gramma and Grandpa and immediately Gramma noticed how much taller JH is since the last time she was here in August.  He was being silly and entertained us all while he ate dinner.  After dinner we got him ready for bed and he gave hugs and kisses and he was off to bed.  

I'll write more tomorrow after we have a day of shopping and fun with JH and the grandparents.

Jonathan Day 124

Ah vacation!  It was nice to sleep until we heard JH chatting in his room at 7:00 AM.  He was in a great mood this morning and we all had breakfast and started getting the house ready for Gramma and Grandpa's visit tomorrow.  After breakfast we ran a few errands around town.  Post Office, Bank, and looked at a house in town that is a bargain.  It's a 4br 3 ba that was built a few years ago and the builder went belly-up.  Needs work but what a dream to have a few extra bedrooms and a bath for each of us :-).  We're not doing it since we are already a bit too house heavy until the AZ market recovers.

Lunch was nice and easy and JH actually took a nap today.  I ran to the grocery store in town but opened his door before I left so Da Da could get him on the potty when he caem out.  Apparently, he was in a very bad mood after his nap because when I got home he was laying on the floor in his bedroom.  I knelt down and said what's wrong and he sharply turned over and said "NO",  Da Da was already giving him some space and I did too.  He's a funny little guy that is happy 90% of the time but has a "mood" now and then.

We played in the evening before dinner and while I cooked, and Da Da started getting the Thanksgiving table "stuff" ready, JH watched Snow White.  The photo above is him enthralled in the movie.  He was actually on the end of his bed watching.

We're going to "brush your teeth" in a minute and get JH in bed.  Big day tomorrow waiting for Gramma and Grandpa to get here :-)

Jonathan Day 123

It was a busy pre-vacation day at work.  I have corrupted files and have spent more than 60 hours running scans and working with my work technology support group :-(

Da Da worked around the house while I helped watch JH this morning and after lunch Linda came over and sat with JH until 4:00 PM.  Lucky that we have amazing friends only two doors down.  Linda and JH played several games while I worked and Da Da finished his list of 25 things to get done.

We finally have a completely clean garage and the car is out of the elements.  JH had a grilled cheese and ham for dinner and Da Da and I had salads and leftover Asian food.  While I was eating my salad JH kept asking for a bite of my salad.  I was giving him peppers and onions to try and make him not want more.  No luck, he ate half my salad.  I guess we need to make sure he gets fresh greens and vegetables more often.  When the garden was producing we gave him way more greens.

After dinner we watched Yo Gabba Gabba and played until a few minutes ago.  The video above is JH sitting under my desk today while I was working.

Jonathan Day 122

The video above is JH singing the Hot Diggity Dog song from The Mickey Mouse Club.  It has nothing to do with day 122 but I had it so I thought what the heck.

It was rainy and miserable here today so we were all stuck inside.  JH played in his room and occasionally ran into my office to ask the standard "what are you doing Daddy".  He and Da Da watched some classic Disney movies (Snow White, Dumbo, and Pinocchio.  After work we ran to Michigan City for some Thanksgiving shopping and to stock-up on some wine.  JH didn't get a nap so we sang his kid songs to make sure he didn't fall asleep.

Dinner wasn't very eventful.  JH had a sandwich and carrots and we had a Weight Watchers version of spicy asparagus and turkey.  I'm getting pretty good at making low point meals.  Rick has lost about 20 pounds and I'm at 12 since we started 18 days ago.

I read JH a book while we watched a few episodes of Elmo while Da Da finished the laundry and then it was bedtime for a very sleepy little boy.

Jonathan Day 121

All I was doing was whispering at JH and he was cracking-up in the video above.  It was chilly here in MI today so we staying indoors until almost 2:00 PM when we all went out and worked in the yard.  JH "helped" Da Da plant spring bulbs  (stomped on plants, broke two yard lights, and rolled several pumpkins around the yard).  I continued organizing the workshop and then Da Da brought JH over to "help" me.  It wasn't so bad because he spent most of the time playing with his Thomas The Train on the floor.  

At dinner he wanted more peas and carrots than the bow tie pasta that I made him.  I think we may have a vegetarian on our hands (not a bad thing).  When we make anything with meat in it he doesn't really want to eat it,  Even chicken nuggets don't do much for him.

After dinner Da Da read JH three books and he kept asking for more.  He is finally settling down a little.   We tell him he can stay up later only if he is calm he sits and watches TV with us until bedtime.  Tonight he did just that :-)

Jonathan Day 120

I love the weekends!  We all slept a little late this morning and switched-up the usual breakfast of Banana and Oatmeal to Waffles and Yogurt.  JH was giddy this morning and he had no memory of how angry he was when I woke him up and carried him to the potty last night.  He was so mad he wouldn't look at me and kept turning away on his potty.

After a quick breakfast Da Da hit the basement and JH and I played in his room.  Once Da Da ran out of 2x4s we headed to MI City for some shopping.  We went to 3 or 4 stores and JH was a perfect little boy.  He doesn't get angry or upset when we shuffle him from car to cart and store to store.  He is starting to listen to our music a little and seems to enjoy it.  We were listening to an oldies station and Diana Ross was singing I'm Coming Out and when Da Da was singing along we heard JH from the back say "I'm coming in".

We had lunch and JH took a nap while we worked around the house.  Once JH woke-up he helped me in the workshop (still organizing and unpacking) and then we went down and helped Da Da in the basement.

Dinner was nice; we all ate together and talked.  It's amazing that we are actually having back and forth exchanges with him.  Not only is he 2 inches taller and 5 pounds heavier, he is way smarter than the day we got him.  We were in the workshop and he was on the floor playing with the Drill Press that I haven't found a spot for yet saying "drill Daddy".  How would a two year old know that a drill press is a drill?

Bath, Elmo, and bed.

Jonathan Day 119

We have a very fussy boy that we're trying to get ready for bed.  Da Da asked him to put a crushed water bottle in the trash, JH says "oh okay", then he starts crying "garbage".  He is happy one second and the next he is whining and crying.  This has been going on all day.

We woke-up to a happy little boy and 3 minutes later he was crying about having a banana.  Then he was laughing and playing, and then he was crying about his chocolate milk.  Is there a full moon tonight?  We're thinking it may be because he hasn't had a nap all week.

While what we had for dinner was great, the experience was terrible.  JH cried at almost every bite.  Now that I mention it I'm remembering seeing some new teeth coming in towards the back of his mouth.  I wonder if he is teething bad and that's why he also had a low grade fever Wednesday and Thursday.

JH just jumped up on my chair and said the usual "what are you doing Daddy" and I said I'm typing the blog and he said "oh bog".  We have been teaching him to shake hands so I just put my hand out and said, Hi my name is Daddy and it's nice to meet you, what's your name? and he said "I'm Jonathan Harper Kinyon" very clearly.  Then Da Da said what's my name? and he said "Da Da Kinyon" and Da Da laughed and said I'll bet your Daddy likes that response.

The video I posted above is one from a few weeks ago when it was warm here.  Now we need multiple coats and gloves when we leave the house and especially when we go to the park.

Jonathan Day 118

When we put JH to bed last night he felt a little warm so we took his temp and he had a 100.5 temperature.   It was probably due to so much activity yesterday.  We gave him medicine last night and this morning and he was fine now.  He woke-up having a nightmare in the middle of the night and Da Da went in to help.  At about 5:00 AM we heard him saying "I'm sick" over and over so I went in and laid with him.  He was fine and was building a fort with his blanket after about 5 minutes.

Da Da and JH watched an A B C marathon (not the 80s band) while I worked.  At lunch we drove in to town and JH and Da Da stayed in the car when I ran in to Lowes to get a longer dryer plug since we stacked our washer and dryer for the basement re-do.  Then I ran in to JC Pennys to pick-up the ride-on power car we got him for Christmas.  Da Da and I are in conflict on the whole Santa thing.  I think it's okay for him to believe in Santa but not for him to think Santa is bring him all the gifts.  Maybe one bigger gift from Santa and the rest from Da Da and Daddy.  Da Da wants to do it the opposite, all from Santa and one from us.

They did dinner without me while I worked and I just came out a few minutes ago to get this post done and to grab a bite.  Time for a Yo Gabba Gabba and to put our son to bed :-)  I can say that now.

The picture above is JH wearing a hat that my friend Pat from Oregon sent today.

Jonathan Day 116 and 117

I hope to get back to daily postings!

Yesterday we made a mad dash to Chicago between my meetings because I had a condo board meeting.  In addition we had our first court date in front of the adoption judge.  It all went amazing well.  JH was such a good boy!  We got to the court building at 7:30 AM and waited in a long line to get to the Sheriffs Office for finger printing and a background check.  JH got a Sheriff badge because they had to deputize as part of the process.

Once we met my attorney we went to a waiting room where there were a few other families there for the same reason.  Mostly people with infants so JH was the star of the room with his "come on Da Da" or "come on Daddy" as he ran from toy to toy.  That waiting room was decked-out with toys!
He found a room with a wall of "trac a tors" and trucks and he was in heaven.

They called us in and all three of us stood before the judge and took our oath.  The judge asked us several questions and before we knew it my attorney shook our hands and said "you're officially his father now".  There is a 6 month waiting period so this will all be completely final on May 17th when they issue a new birth certificate with our names as his parents.

We had a quick lunch at Subway and hit the road back to MI.  It's good to be home with our little boy napping and we're catching-up on episodes of Glee and Raising Hope.

Jonathan Day 114 and 115

Bad Daddy!  I missed a day of posting and just didn't get to it until now.

Sunday - Day 114
Jo left in the morning and JH asked about Auntie Jo Jo all day long.  We had breakfast and during he asked for Jo, at lunch he asked about Jo, then finally after dinner he was still looking for Jo.  I wonder if that's because all we did this weekend when she was here was to eat or talk about food.

I took JH to the park again between meetings and let Da Da focus on the basement walls.  It's so odd to walk down there and see closets and rooms.  It will be nice to have it all done so JH can burn some of his never ending energy.  Not much happened on Sunday so I'll jump to Monday.

Monday - Day 115
We heard JH at about 7:00 AM and lucky Da Da went in to take him to the potty.  I turned over and didn't hear another sound until Tasha started belting out a song on The BackYardigans.  I dragged myself out of bed and got a booming "Ga morning Daddy".

I worked while JH and Da Da watched his new A B C video that both Rick and I are now singing to constantly.  It's funny that even in the car when his "songs" are playing JH doesn't sing, we do.

After lunch we played in the yard a bit since it was so nice today.  A bit chilly but we won't get many more 50s days so we're taking advantage.  JH napped a little and then watched Elmo for a little while until my work day ended and we all had dinner together.  The picture above is one I took a few minutes ago of JH in his new PJs.  When Da Da started to put them on him he repeated "putting on my coat" at least 10 times.  Rick is getting our clothes ready for our court date on Wednesday and all I hear is "what are you doing Da Da", he asks us what we are doing at least 100 times a day.

After dinner he said he had to potty so I took him in the bathroom and asked if he wanted to go on the big potty or Elmo.  He said the big potty and went pee pee right away.  After he was done I set a stool next to the potty so he could get down and he did pretty well.  Then it was "try again" (another thing he says 100 times a day).  I set him back on the potty and he went more pee pee, down and another "try again" and he went more pee pee.  This went on several more times until he was only giving drips and then it was a poop!  Fingers crossed that he will start using the big potty all the time now and he'll soon be off day diapers!!

Jonathan Day 113

I'm a day behind :-(

This is one of my work weekends that happen 4 times a year.  Luckily this is the last one in 2010 and I won't have to do it again until February 2011.

Jo came on Friday afternoon so she was there when JH woke-up and that made both of them very happy.  While I worked and Da Da built walls in the basement Auntie Jo Jo and JH kept busy.  She'll have to add comments if he said or did anything that was noteworthy.

Oakley hurt his paw in a terrible photo accident so I was taking care of her baby while Jo took care of ours.  It was easier to have Oakley because he laid in my office and slept :-)  In the other room all I can hear is JH saying "AUNTIE JO JO" in a booming voice.  There was no doubt that they had a blast.  In between meetings and getting some work done I went down and helped Da Da.  I'm not sure I'm much of a help but I held the level a few times and cut some 2x4 when asked.

The evening was great because after JH went to sleep Jo, Rick, Oakley, and I all lounged in the living room and talked about our favorite subject...JH.  Oakley didn't interject much :-P He was on my chair with me most of the evening and we were enjoying spending time together.

Jonathan Day 112

TGIF!  Today was a great day, Jo came in the afternoon and was able to watch JH while I worked and Da Da worked in the yard.  After lunch I laid JH down and said when you wake-up Auntie Jo Jo and Oakley will be here and he smiled and said "jo jo".  That must have had him too excited because he didn't sleep a wink.

After work I took JH to the park while Jo made us a a great Weight Watchers dinner and Da Da started the basement walls.  Sad that there were no kids at the park so JH had to rely on Daddy as a playmate.  JH is such a happy little boy!

Tonight Jo and JH were playing in his room and he was belly laughing at something about a hat.  It's always a hat with that boy :-)  I'm skipping the dialog and posting a quick video of him playing at the park.

Jonathan Day 111

It was so nice to have a day off during the week.  Thank you Veterans :-)

We got up pretty late because we all went to bed so late.  JH got up at 7:00 AM and Da Da put him on the potty and turned on Toy Story.  At about 7:25 AM he was yelling "movie, robot on movie".  How Da Da slept through that I'll never know.  I went in and laid down with him and after about 10 minutes notice the same short scene was playing over and over again and it happened to have a robot in it :-)

Da Da got up at about 8:00 AM and we got JH breakfast and started our day.  After we cleaned-up we headed to Mishawaka for some shopping.  We had a 20% coupon for The Christmas Tree Shop and we scored big on holiday "stuff".  After we went to Home Depot to look at dining-room flooring since the carpet is looking VERY nasty.  Only so much Banana, Oatmeal, and Carrot can a carpet take.  We decided to hold off until after the holidays and left.  As soon as we got in the car JH said "I have to potty", the only time he ever says that is when he has to poop.  We dashed across the street to Walmart knowing they have a family bathroom.  False alarm; we got a so so pee pee.

The video above is him climbing on the big kid equipment at the park.  Three months ago he was almost unable to climb the 5 steps to the slide.  Now he's like a monkey swinging from vines.

After the park we headed home and had a great dinner and JH had a bath and got a haircut.  We played and watched Yo Gabba Gabba before bed.

Jonathan Day 110

It was a busy day.  It's 11:38 PM ET and we're exhausted.

Quick re-cap:
Early to rise with this darn time and time zone change
Daddy worked
Da Da and JH played and took a walk (it was 70 in Chicago today)
After work we went to the park - quick story:
There was a man swinging with a 8 year old boy at the park and JH picked the swing next to them.  When JH gets off the swing he doesn't look and walked in front of the man swinging.  We caught him before the man hit him so it all seemed okay but the man looked agitated.  The next thing I noticed was the man following JH up the ladder to the slide and then he turned around and walked back down.  At this point I was freaking-out!   THEN I noticed that the man was with a group of mentally challenged adults.  JH ran by him again towards a different slide and he got up and started walking towards JH again and Rick and I bolted between them; at the same time one of his caretakers yelled his name and he returned to the swing.  We moved JH to another part of the park and noticed the man was watching his every move and we immediately left.  The scary thing was he started approaching other kids too and the swing-set was empty.  I don't think we'll be using that park again.

Anyway, after my condo budget meeting we loaded up the car and headed back to MI so we can enjoy my day off tomorrow.  Please ignore the multiple run-on sentences above and the fragmented thoughts.

Jonathan Day 109

Today was a great day!

We woke VERY early due to the time change. When in Chicago we are two hours behind our MI time.

We had a little breakfast and JH and I hit the streets to run some errands. Groceries, dry cleaning and to just take a walk while Daddy was working.

After lunch we had scheduled a play date with Derek and Abby. We met at this great park close to their house. JH and I will definitely be going back!

Before Derek and Abby arrived JH was playing with a few other boys his age. JH and one little boy were balancing on a 2 foot wall. The little boy fell and JH ran over. I saw him hovering over the boy and when I asked what he was doing he said "helping him up"! It just made me smile and be so proud at the same time.

JH and Abby hit it off. Jonathan was following her around and mimiking some of the same things that she did. It was funny to see Abby talking to him and telling him to come on, or are okay. She would give JH the occasional question and he would respond back. It was a refreshing site to see him play so well and communicate with another kid his age.

We ended our day to a little dinner and some cartoons. We have about an hour before bedtime.

Jonathan Day 108

Tonight JH sat on Da Da's lap watching Wonder Pets before bed.  He has been such a good boy today.  We got up at about 3:30 AM due to the time change and being in Chicago.  We're really struggling with sleep and meals (and I don't just mean JH).  Luckily his diaper was bone dry and after about 15 minutes of chattering he fell asleep again until 6:00 AM when we set the alarm.

We ate breakfast and headed to the Dr's appointment at Children's Memorial Hospital.  They dilated his eyes and he only teared up and had a trembling chin at the 3rd set of drops.  He played with blocks in the waiting room for 30 minutes while the drops took effect.  He sat on my lap during both exams and only sat perfectly still with the choice of a spanking or sitting; he chose sitting.   The Dr will see him again on Dec 6th but is pretty sure he'll need outpatient surgery in the next 60 days.  His muscles on the lower part of his eyes are too tight and when he looks up his eyes sort of cross.  We had to put these funky glasses on him so the sunlight wouldn't hurt his fully dilated eyes.  He looked like he was seeing a 3D movie.

Da Da and JH played while I got caught-up at work after being gone a few hours this morning at the Dr.  After lunch JH napped and Da Da and JH played at the park up the street.  Once I was finished at work we did our 5 mile walk down to Belmont where I got a haircut while the stylist questioned me about the "adorable little guy" in the stroller.  When he first started living with us I was hesitant to talk much about our situation; now just try and stop me.  Maybe it's because I was unsure of how our family worked but now it's an efficient machine :-)

Dinner was effortless and JH and Da Da moved on to a new show until bedtime in 30 minutes.  We're all pretty exhausted and are looking forward to a potential play date with Abby and her Dad's who we met at The Rainbow Families Meet-up on Halloween.

Jonathan Day 107

We woke-up early and got ready for our short drive to Chicago.  By time we hit Lake Shore Drive Aunt Jo Jo texted and said she was 10 minutes away.  She beat us by about 3 minutes and came down to the lobby to help unload the car for our 4 night stay.  This will be the longest we'll be away from MI since JH joined our family.  Jo missed seeing him yesterday when she wasn't feeling well so made it a point to come visit for a few hours this morning.  I want JH to read these years from now and know how much love he has in his life.  I have no doubt that he'll already know it but then :-)

Jo took JH to Target and Da Da and I went to the market to stock-up on Weight Watchers friendly foods.  We started on Tuesday and Da Da has lost 10 and I have lost 6 pounds.  We really want to get close to the weight when we met more than two years ago.  WW is a great program so it should be pretty easy.   Jo said that JH was the most charming friendly little guy at Target.  He was in the elevator next to a stroller with a 12 month old baby and he reached over from his stroller and said "tickle tickle tickle" while he tickled the kids neck.  Luckily the mother thought it was pretty funny too.

Jo left around noon and we headed out for a 5 mile walk to buy Da Da some vitamins.  JH was very quiet and a few times we had to check if he was sleeping.  This time change has us all off.  He was just looking around having a good time.  He said "hi outside" a few times.

After the walk Aunt Staci came by to see us...RIGHT, she was here to see JH.  Again, the love this boy has in his life.  She played with him while Da Da and I recovered from our walk.  I tried to nap but the laughing and screeching got in the way.  We returned to Target to get a few more groceries and so Aunt Staci could get some shopping done too.  We went our way and Staci went her way.  Every time we saw or passed her, he yelled "it's Auntie Staci, oh HI Auntie Staci".  We were walking in front of her and someone passing her said "that's a happy boy".

It's 6:00 PM here and we just finished dinner and will be putting JH to bed soon.  It's as dark as it can be so we might try to slip him into bed a few minutes early :-)

The video above is on Halloween when I asked JH to say Happy Birthday Uncle Mike so I could send him the clip.  It's cute so I thought I would share it.

Jonathan Day 106

So sad that Aunt Jo Jo didn't make it today.  She wasn't feeling well and didn't want to pass any bugs on to us.  We got up at about 8:00 AM and had breakfast and got JH ready for the Curious Kids Museum in St Joseph MI.  We got there at 10:00 AM when it opened and immediately he was having a blast.  There were rooms and rooms of interactive exhibits.  A few gave us ideas for the basement :-)  We think he needs a playhouse in the basement and there were a few that we saw that wouldn't be too hard to build.

After stopping at Target to get a few groceries we came home and had lunch.  JH took a nap, Daddy also took a nap, and Da Da watched a few episodes of Law and Order.  I would have kept napping but I heard some gleeful screams from the living room.  JH was running like crazy and playing with his dump truck.  I reluctantly got up and joined the fun.  Luckily the sun was trying to come out and the snow looked like it was melting so we jacketed-up.

Da Da and I added a shelf to the storage shed and JH sat on the tractor saying "come on Daddy".  I had to keep walking out so I could watch him climb up on the tractor and then say "it's scary Daddy" when Da Da started the power saw.  I'm not sure why it was so scary but every time he did it I got a hug; so no complaints.

Da Da took him to the back of the property while I was turning the compost pile.  When I caught-up they had just seen a rabbit so JH kept saying "bunny rabbit", I am not exaggerating when I say that he said it at least 100 times.  The video above is of him sitting on the front porch while we were cutting some plants down for the winter.

He ate like crazy at dinner and now we're watching Yo Gabba Gabba.  Looking forward to a quiet night.  Tomorrow we head to Chicago for a few days.

Jonathan Day 105

We started waking JH just before we go to bed to sit on the potty.  He doesn't always like it but 9 out of 10 times he does his business.  Last night he was so upset and was crying so I sat with him and asked if he wanted to hold my hand and he nodded so I held his hand and he stopped crying and just sighed...and went pee pee. 

Last night we kept hearing a very loud beep, it sounded like the battery in one of the smoke alarms was dying.  Being that it started at about 11:00 PM we just let go and slept through it rather than waking JH up to find the culprit.  It wasn't the wired ones in the house after-all, it was a Carbon Monoxide monitor tucked behind the TV.  Years ago in Chicago we had the fire department banging on our door to check our apartment so we bought one.  Ugh!

While eating breakfast we noticed the odd white stuff falling from the sky.  SNOW!  JH was so funny because he kept saying "white rain" and "it's raining Daddy".  When Rick loaded him up in the car to run to MI City to get some groceries he was saying "I'm soaking wet Da Da", Rick asked him if he wet his diaper but he said "my head" so he was talking about the melting snow on his head.  Last years winter he would have only been about 18 months so we doubt he knows what snow is.

When Da Da and JH returned we had lunch and they hit the basement to play while Da Da measured for the future walls.  I went down a few times and while JH rode his tricycle he would say "come on Daddy".  I noticed that he says that while he's driving his truck in the yard.  I love it!!  I'll follow him anywhere :-)

Da Da gave him a bath tonight and after a few warnings to not drink the water he had to be removed from the bath.  We tell him that it's icky and that bath water is for playing and cleaning, but when we're not in there or watching he takes a few gulps :-/  Minutes later he was in PJs and we were tucking him in bed with smiles and kisses.  

Jonathan Day 104

It was a nasty day here in MI.  Rained all day long and we even had sleet at one point.  I guess winter is here :-(  We had workers in the basement sealing some cracks in the floor that happened last year when we had the basement sealed/waterproofed.  They ended-up causing new cracks and a little water was seeping in.  No sense in finishing the basement if it's not watertight.  Now Da Da can start on the walls this weekend when Aunt Jo Jo comes to watch JH.  I have been assigned organizing the new storage shed.  Fun!!

I really don't have much to say about our day other than it was challenging.  This child needs space to run and play and it's not our current living space.  We MUST get a play area built ASAP in the basement :-)  We are also thinking about renting out the condo in Chicago and then renting a place in the suburbs.  We still have the house in AZ and with that, the condo, and the MI house so we're a little house (mortgage) heavy.

The only funny thing I can think of is how JH goes and gets his blue blanket so he can lay on us and cover our heads.  Then he says "in the fort with Daddy" over and over again with a huge smile.  I know I have said it many times but this is one happy boy, until he's not.  Luckily that only happens a few times a day and lasts for seconds.

Jonathan Day 103

I forgot to post this video of JH laughing at his cousin Damian playing the guitar.  He was cracking-up!  I have several of these but this one was the best since you can see both kids.  Damian gave JH his entire Thomas the Train collection but we forgot to take them with us on Halloween.  Hint hint Aunt Jo Jo :-)

Today was another busy day so I wasn't really part of the playing until after work when we burned some brush.  Da Da and JH walked around the yard collecting sticks and branches and I broke them and tended the fire.  JH was dragging 6 ft branches through the yard and bringing them to me.  I hope his work ethic continues because he is such a little helper.  After dinner I was vacuuming and he wanted to help, he usually does his room and the living room floors.  He has trouble on the rugs so that's when daddy steps in to help.

Tonight I made a vegetarian chili and JH liked it very much.  I think the buttery crackers might have helped.  Da Da and I are trying to shed a few pounds before the holidays so we're doing Weight Watchers.  So far it's going well.  We know when Gramma V comes for Thanksgiving that we'll gain 10 pounds each.  Many of you have had her Carmel Pretzel Bites and Mint Bon Bons!

Enough for tonight.  Hope you like the video Aunt Laurie :-P  xoxo