Over the past few weeks Jonathan has really started to develop - both physically and mentally. It's fun to witness him growing up since I've been able to spend so much time with him over the past year. So you all know what's going on and so we can have a record of it, I decided it's time to make a post about some of the more memorable things he's now doing at 1 year old.
1. He definitely understands words. Cheerios, fan, stinkies, hungry, eyes/nose/ears, etc. I don't know everything he comprehends, but it is substantial. Although he doesn't speak much yet, he seems to know what's going on. For example, today we were in the basement while feeding him. The entire time he was playing. When we finished I asked him if he wanted to go upstairs. He made a beeline for the stairs and climbed all the way up them to the main level. Not only can he climb stairs, but he obviously knew was I was referring to when I said "stairs".
2. He's got a serious temper. Well, at least much more then Julia ever did. If we tell him no or take something from him or prevent him from getting something he wants, he throws a little fit. Now that he's walking it's pretty funny to watch. He'll get really mad and randomly take a path over to the closest wall, door, or piece of furniture and pound on it. That, or he'll just lay down and flail on the floor. We are pretty much just ignoring it. This is something Julia never really did, so it's funny to see him get so worked up about something.
3. He's really walking well now. In fact, he's probably walking more then crawling now. I think he prefers it since his balance has quickly improved.
4. He waves at cars that drive by...and airplanes. When he hears one of them while we're walking outside, he starts to wave. Today he got a wave back. He probably learned this one by watching Julia wave at the cars and garbage trucks that go by. The fact that he waves at airplanes because they make noise just shows you how innocent the entire waving act really is.
5. He likes to yell out open windows. Julia also taught him this, but now he does it on his own. From our bedroom window sounds echo back of off the neighbor's house. Although I asked Julia to stop yelling out the windows, he still does it on his own and thinks it's funny.
6. Headstands. Ever since he started crawling he's gotten a kick out of putting his head on the floor, straightening his legs, and looking back through his legs like a center in football. This gets a lot of laughs and a lot of peek-a-boos, and even sometimes a flip over on his back if I get a hold of his hands.
7. Ni-Nights. He goes gown for naps and at night like a champ. All we have to do it tell him it's time to go ni-nights and he goes straight down without a sound or a fight. I really think this started when we got him his own blanket for his birthday. I could be wrong or it could just be coincidence, but he does like his blanket and at least now it is a big part of him going to sleep. There must really be something to the concept of a security blanket. He reaches for it when it's time to go to sleep and that's all he needs.