He's smiling...

because he had his first ever 4 hour stretch of sleep. Matt and I are smiling too.

Chums

Jonas weighed 10 pounds 4.5 ounces at the doctor's office yesterday. He is 22 inches long and his head circumference is 39 cm. Jonas is growing so rapidly that he changes every day. He stays alert for longer periods now. He is interested in studying faces and new surroundings. Jonas likes to move and wiggle when he is awake and to sleep during his walks. He is colicky in the evenings and fussy early in the morning like he wants to get on with the day. His muscles are quite developed for his age and he doesn't like people manipulating his limbs. He is very impatient when he is hungry (one nurse at the hospital said "Oh my, he has quite a temper!" when I was trying to breast-feed him with little success the day after he was born and the doctor called him a "greedy eater" when she saw him chugging his bottle as if for dear life yesterday). He gets a serious look of concentration when he drinks his bottle and if he thinks I am taking the bottle out of his mouth too often (to let him digest his food) he fixes me with a very stern look (and if he thinks his burping he taking too long he makes angry grunts while pushing off me with his legs and flinging his head recklessly back). I can only imagine how difficult it will be to convince my headstrong boy to eat vegetables in the future!

His favorite daily activity is bath-time. First I sit him on my lap. He always keeps his legs folded up close to his body for the first couple seconds he is in the water, then he slowly stretches them out and his whole body relaxes. Then I lay him on his back on my lap and sing silly songs while I wash him. He looks up at me contentedly and makes funny "o" shapes with his mouth like he is a fish breathing underwater. He is so happy in the water he doesn't even mind when water gets in his eyes while I wash his hair. And finally comes his favorite part- the "swim lesson". He kicks off my tummy and I slowly move him away from my body and then back towards me as he kicks his legs and splashes his arms above his head with a look of pure joy on his face. And if I try to take him out of the tub before he is done playing he lets me know by trying to move his head back so he can continue "swimming". Once he is tired out I lay him wrapped up in a towel on the floor while he calmly waits for me to finish getting dried and dressed. Okay, maybe bath-time is my favorite time of the day too.

Birthday Girl

Amy turns 17 today! I am so lucky to have such a loyal and kind sister (and such a capable aunt to babysit Jonas- this girl is amazing with kids- one look at her and my Sunbeams were smitten). I've enjoyed watching her grow up and feeling the difference in our ages close as she matures and we've become best friends as well as sisters. I'm proud of the beautiful person she is. I love you Amy bean!

Book of Mormon Stories

Ever since the baby was born I haven't felt like I've had an abundance of time to do much else besides feed, change, burp, bath, comfort and entertain Jonas. But I did notice I had quite a bit of time to read while I was feeding him- probably about 4 hours out of every 24 (he eats every 2-2.5 hours). So last week I felt inspired to take a Book of Mormon challenge I read about a year ago, which is to read the entire Book of Mormon three times within 90 days. The focus of the first read is to gain a better sense of the story and to make general observations and questions; the second, to pay special attention to references to Christ and his atonement; and the third, to liken the scriptures unto me. Each day I read 18 pages, so even though I only started less than a week ago I am already reading Jacob which really allows the story to flow in a way I haven't experienced while reading a chapter a day. The people become much more vivid and lifelike and I feel myself growing to love the words of the prophets more everyday. Unfortunately it is extremely difficult to mark important passages and write notes in the margin while feeding (Karen, maybe we should invent a Zaky for feeding babies?) but it really allows me feel the spirit throughout my day. I was excited to hear the conference talk about the importance of reading it to infants because I feel that Jonas has been benefitting from listening to the stories too even though he is too young to understand them. It's sweet to look down at him from time to time and see him looking at me very solemnly with his dark eyes while he watches my face as I read. I love the sense of peace and hope I feel each time I read and I'm looking forward to gaining a deeper understanding and testimony of this great book.

One Month Older

Easter

Jonas and his new, younger cousin Cole (1 week old).

Brody was always eager to watch, snuggle, and hold his cousin Jonas.

Grandpa Harker and Jonas on Easter morning. Jonas turned four weeks old!

First Easter basket!

Finally able to hold Jonas again after recovering from a brutal 24 hour flu- luckily there was a plentiful supply of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins available to take my place.