Jonathan is almost 1.5 years old!

Jonathan is almost 1.5 years old! He is just growing so fast! Just recently by paying more attention I have noticed he truly understands what I say, and even chooses to do as I say...sometimes. My elder sister who has two children of her own says this is the beginning of the sweetest age, from 1.5 to 3.5 years, children are simply cute! With parts of words and a lot of body language, Jonathan is communicating clearly and is most definitely simply cute!

Growing up means he needs to move up a class in kindergarten. He was probably ready to move on a few months ago already, because he was already walking at 13 months, but he had such a good friend in kindergarten his age, and it was clear both boys loved each other so much, that I did not want to move Jonathan to a new class and separate them. After wards the other boys parents moved, and he left, but because of the spring holidays here in Israel I was advised to leave the boy in the current class, and now he just got stuck in it because I was doubting into which class he fits and if he should move at all so close to the year's end. The doubts for me were very great! I know he is just 1.5 year old and this is most certainly not the kind of decision that will decide his course in life (after all this is not university...) and still it was very difficult for me to decide what was the best timing. This lack of proportion in energy investment in a decision is probably due to the fact that Jonathan is my first child. I am sure with the next one it will not be so difficult.

My boss likes to say that with is first child every time the pacifier was dropped on the floor his wife washed it with hot water before giving it back t the baby, the second child saw the pacifier washed only with tap water (cold), with the third child his wife only wiped the pacifier, and with the fourth she did not even do that, maybe blow on it, or just let the kid pick it up from the floor alone!
My elder sister, who has two children of ages 8 and 6 also says she was much more easy going with the second child (e.g. she could go to the toilet even though she was alone with the baby...)

Finally I have decided!Although it is almost the end of the year, I decided to move him up anyway. He will ave two months in an interim group and then I hope he will be ready to move to the new class with children his age. Although I am worried that the transfer may not work out well, I believe that children are resilient and that he will thrive, after all with older children I hope he will make further steps towards talking and other development signs. I want the best for Jonathan and being with children his age and not with babies will surely promote him in the right direction.

Jonathan is growing older and more daring, he climes chairs and grabs things in ever higher places. He has recently taken to the gas stove. He likes to take out the cooking plates. This kind of action along with the fact that my kitchen is very old has prompted me to renovate the kitchen! This is going to be quite a project and I have no idea how I will manage with a 1.5 year old and a renovation all in the same apartment, but as I have mentioned before, children are resilient. Jonathan is sure to survive the ordeal, it is myself that I am worried about...

In my disparate attempt to keep Jonathan away from the stove, I brought a wooden door that is supposedly meant to keep children out of rooms (usually used for staircases in homes that have a stair case and a baby, I also this contraption used for dogs). My husband saw the door and started laughing! He said that Jonathan already opens a similar door in the kindergarten (meant to keep the kids out of the kitchen too). The kindergarten teacher confirmed this. Although I never saw Jonathan open the door, it is clear that this is NOT what will keep him form any kitchen! And he seems to just love kitchens! Also when visiting my mother he always goes to the kitchen.

Another favorite room is the location of the television. I think his love for the kitchen and the TV room is based on the fact that both rooms offer a verity of electric items that have buttons! Jonathan just loves pressing all kinds of buttons and causing havoc doing so!

His motoric development is, I believe, advanced. He performs really delicate actions, like eating egg with a fork. He even gets one of the fork teeth into the whole of rounded “wheel” shaped pasta! In the bath tub he knows how to pt in the cork that stops the water, and the hole is small. He can do so with both hands and still I detect a difference. He likes to perform large actions, like taking things, with his right had, but the delicate actions, like sticking small circle stickers onto a drawing (he has recently discovered the world of colour pens and will draw on anything, including the floor, the table, the wall and even his own stomach!) are made with the left had. So he will take a spoon with his right hand, change to the left and then try and eat with it.

I am discovering new words all the time. As he shakes his head to signal no, he also clearly says the Hebrew word for no (which is LO). He says “baba” and waves his had, for bye bye. And he says “tada” which is very similar to TODA, thank you in Hebrew. He uses the true musical tone all adults use in Israel for thanking children. He imitates sounds I make when watching a DVD and imitates certain places in the tape correctly (saying “wawawa” for a miaowing of a cat, always at the right time when the cat appears on the TV screen). He says “dur dur” for ball (CADUR in Hebrew) and “kuku” for a peekaboo game. He also seems to show signs of a thinking process, with correct deductions! He connects my bag and keys to leaving the house and will go to the door what I pick them up, if I put on his sandals he will also sometimes go to the door, understanding that he needs the sandals for going out. The kindergarten teacher asks him to bring certain animals to her and he brings the correct ones that she mentions.

All these wonderful things are happening all at once. An explosion of development which I am sure will only be strengthened by the challenge of being with children his age! I just hope that he will not be intimidated by kids who are his age or a bit older after he has spent almost 6 months with children who are all smaller than he is physically and are also younger is age. But as I mentioned before, children are resilient and besides the new kindergarten is just around the corner, so we can walk there... and Jonathan is still in the age that he prefers to walk (and not be driven around...) Ah! The freshness of youth!

The Development Doctor

The Development Doctor

Just as predicted, Jonathan is a healthy boy, growing and developing well. The doctor said he is really a “by the book” baby and she gave him the “grade” 10.5 out of 10! Now that\s talent!

As I paid for Jonathan's health care in advance for 5 years, I might as well make the most of the services offered at the children's station near our home (the system is Israel is that one has a general health insurance paid from one's wages – Jonathan is ensured through me, his mom, but one also pays for extra standard services a reduced price, and so I have paid the proud sum of 531 NIS (about 100Euros) for the service of having Jonathan monitored including all required shots for the first five years of his life).

A baby is supposed to visit the “development doctor” at the age of 3 months, nine months and 1.5 years (at least that is what I know so far...no idea about later visits). More visits are possible if required sue to some problem, and the service is included in the price already mentioned above. The development doctor is a children's doctor who specializes in development. We came to see the doctor when Jonathan was 3 months old and she was worried about his strength, because he could then still not hold his head up so well, she sent Jonathan to a physiotherapist. By the time we got the appointment to the physiotherapist a month later, Jonathan could not only hold his head up high but he was rolling to both sides freely and proved in general to be a rather early bird when it comes to baby movement... Since we could not get an appointment for 9 months, we finally visited the doctor again yesterday. The visit includes a physical check for Jonathan and questions about him for mom. The doctor makes a check list of his development and ability and sees if it fits the current norm. In other words, Jonathan's abilities should be more of less what the scientist think today that babies his age can do.

So,what can he do? Does he sit properly? This the doc could see for herself, because he was sitting on the play rug in her room turning our the toys (and feeling quite at home, I might add) Can he sit up from lying down, yes! Can he stand, well not quite...he can while still leaning with one hand on a wall, a chair or on mom, he even lets go by now for a few seconds when he “forgets himself”but he grabs back for support very quickly. He drags and pushes chairs about! Even pulling and walking backwards in the process of navigation (while waiting for the doctor he was walking all over the clinic and driving the secretary crazy because of the noise the chair he was pushing about made). He gave the doctor a short demonstration with a chair in her room. Does he talk? i.e. gibberish and making all kinds of sounds! Oh Yes (he is very capable of complaining bitterly if something is not to his liking...like when his heavy mom is sitting on a chair he want to push!) Does he recognize him mom (yep!) his dad (yep!) grandmas? (yep! - he sees only his Israeli grandma regularly, the other one is in Germany) is he happy to see people he knows? Oh yes! The doctor said he was string and healthy (“great Tonus” were her exact words) and as already mentioned, Jonathan is by the book! His sight, weight and height are all OK! (I got all three checkups – nurse regular follow up, development doctor and the sight check for 1 year olds, all in one day! Now we have it easy for 6 months!)

Well, that's good news, but a competitive mom may wonder why he is by the book and not beating it! After all he was an early starter! I did not need the doctor to tell me he was no longer advanced, I could see that his cousin was catching up with Jonathan. I might want to make the most of this and worry about it (as competitive moms tend to so) but as I also understand the deep workings of a lazy and convenient mind I have already got an answer to Jonathan slower advancement, its all about motivation. Convenience is the drive! As long as he is comfortable where he is now, he will no develop further... Comfort is combined with strength, understanding and curiosity with babies. For now he has developed exactly to the level that his strength, understanding and curiosity have driven him. I elaborated on this theory of mine in the last blog though, so I will not repeat myself. A competitive mother however must have something to complain about, so here it is!
I wish that my husband would spend more time with the boy when they are together. I know the working hours of my husband (10-19) do not make it easy but I would wish the in weekday mornings my husband would play more with Jonathan and not just take him directly to kindergarten (at least now my husband gets up! He no longer prefers sleep over his son... certainly a step in the right direction!). I would also wish that the half hour evenings that they have together also be spent in play! I am sure my husband means well when he calls his mom in Germany (the German grandma) so that she can also hear Jonathan's chatter, but then the conversation takes my husbands attention form the boy and oops, its bedtime for Jonathan and his dad/son evening time gets lost! On weekends my husband prefers a mix of surfing on the web, the wish to see friends and go to the market in Tel-Aviv.

I know that my husband has very little free time (just like me) and that he is tired (just like me) and that also has the need to do some grown up things in this time (I have long given up on that for now, and I guess my husband is right when he says this choice is my mistake) , but I still would wish that he spend more time with Jonathan on the weekend! After all they have really little time available to them!
I can only hope that when Jonathan is a bit older, he and his father will have more fun together (after all a little boy is more interesting to play with and one can also allow the boy to take part in activities like going to the market...).

In general I know I must be quite content! Jonathan is a healthy baby and most important a happy one!
I should have nothing more to with for, except that he continues to be so!

Here are Jonathan's Growth and Weight Details:
He is 70% in height (tall) and 50% (average) in weight.
Date Height-cm Weight-kg Head Circumference-cm
28/11/2007 3.38
03/12/07 3.2
11/12/07 53 3.76 37.2
30/12/07 55.5 4.58 38.8
03/02/08 58 5.76 41
21/4/08 66.5 7.36 44
29/6/08 69.5 8.9 45.5
30/10/08 76 10 47.1