A Monkey Suit Video

Here's a little video of Jonas in the monkey suit. Enjoy.

The Rumpus from Joshua Moore on Vimeo.

The Pumpkin Patch: 2009

We had another wonderful day at The Farm (our favorite pumpkin patch) this year.

Once again we went with the Haugs and once again we got a beautiful Autumn day. This year Jenny was able to join us and we all had a lot of fun. Jonas caught his first fish and we all enjoyed the corn room. We also were treated to a wonderful breakfast at Louis and Ani's grandparents' house in Mount Vernon. A perfect day.

Enjoy the pictures.

The Other Camera

This is a collection of pictures dating back to last spring from the camera Jenny carries around in the diaper bag. I always forget to go and check them out, and I'm definitely missing out because there are some really great pictures here. Hope you enjoy.

More Monkey Suit

On the second or third day of this fascination with his new monkey suit, we had a picnic with friends at Ella Bailey Park. It was a grand time that involved lots of climbing, playing in the dirt and rolling down a grassy hill. The time was bittersweet as our friends, the Swanglers, were getting ready to move back to Chicago, we will definitely miss them. The weather was beautiful and the night memorable.

The Monkey Suit

Sometime in the middle of August, we stopped in at a costume shop to pick up some magic wands (Jenny and a coworker need them for the tech training they do) and we ended up walking out with a monkey suit. No, not a suit and tie, but a costume that looks like a monkey.

Jonas initially showed little interest, until one night a few weeks later, when looking for something warm to wear to an outdoor concert, we found the suit in the back of the car. Jonas put it on and, well, it was days before he wore something else.

He wore it all around the house, to the park, to concerts, to the zoo, day and night (though we didn't let him sleep in it.) One of the things he picked up very quickly was the need to carry his tail when walking around so that it doesn't catch on things (though sometimes it still trips him up.) The net result is a very cute kid carrying his tail in his hand.

Jonas and the Principle of Scarcity

Editors Note:
It has been way too long. I have no excuse except the business of life and my laziness. What you'll find below is a sketch of a blog entry I started in early August and then never got around to finishing. I've since gone back and tried to patch it together into something resembling a narrative but alas the time since has erased some of the details and made it difficult to recall exactly what I meant to say. So I present it to you as what I was able to reconstruct, a rough approximation of what I had hoped for.

The task of catching you all up from where this entry ends to where we are today has overwhelmed me to the point where I no longer intend to provide anything other than a brief sketch and some pictures from the last six weeks. Those will come in the next couple of days, so stay tuned, and thanks for your patience and I hope I'm able to help fill in a few of the details for those who've not been apprised of them already.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming:

Jonas has had an action-packed summer in which he took daily trips to parks, a tour of Northwest Trek and visits from friends.

One of the things he loves to do is be a parent, to his toys. He is "helping the mommy and the baby Elmo" here.


In late July, his friend Grace, and her mom Jen came through town and stayed the night with us. It was really good to catch up with them. Jonas and Grace played together, rode trikes together and even brushed their teeth together.



You may remember the last time Grace visited, she and Jonas (and their friend Amos) posed for a round of photos in Jonas' Radio Flyer. We couldn't let the opportunity for some more photos in the little red wagon pass.



While at the zoo, Jonas insisted on showing Grace his new favorite exhibit, the birds, where they let you feed them.





Jonas also showed Grace the penguin cave, where you can listen to sounds of the humboldt penguins and even see the remains of a nest.







The Principle of Scarcity
So sometime in the last couple of months, Jonas seems to have discovered the principle of scarcity. And the funny thing is we're not sure where he learned this principle, because scarcity has never been something he's really been exposed to. One example of Jonas demonstrating this principle occurred the other night when we were in a pizza restaurant and Jonas demanded that he get the entire pie to himself, that he wanted "all of the pizza". He has always had a big appetite but we've never not had enough to satiate that appetite, so we don't know why he was so concerned. This is a discussion that has occurred with other meals and other situations too. Maybe it's an innate understanding about the way the universe works.

In other news, Jonas has been a reading superstar this summer and once again earned a free book.




Here's a brief and incomplete list of things Jonas likes
- Blueberries
- Diggers
- Trucks
- Reading
- The Sandbox
- Northwest Trek
-Trains (to play with)

And here's a brief and incomplete list of things Jonas doesn't like
- Bag Monsters
- Scarcity
- Naps
- Trams & Trains (to ride on)
- Monkey Howls








Jonas On Tiger Mountain
Jonas and I got another chance to head into the hills, so we headed up Tiger Mountain for a quick jaunt and the views.

The views were great and the best part was that Jonas walked a good portion of the trail himself (only the safe parts Grandmas.) The views were spectacular that day and Jonas truly enjoyed frolicking in the meadows and trees.







The little brown patch (an inch to the right of Jonas' elbow) is Issaquah High School (where I teach)



Jonas Goes to Northwest Trek
While Jenny was down in Reno helping our friend, Grandma and Grandpa offered to take Jonas and me to see the animals at Northwest Trek. This nature preserve is one of the gems of the Pacific Northwest, full of animals from all around the west. Visitors are able to board a tram that tours the woods and grasslands, giving everyone an up-close view of the bison, caribou, mountain goats and a number of other animals. The thing was that Jonas somehow developed an abiding fear of going on a tram (see above) and was really nervous to board. We made him do it anyway, and he spent the first half of the ride cuddled up on Grandpa's lap. Eventually, he relaxed and enjoyed pointing at things like animals and trees.

Later on, we were walking up a meandering path that zigged-zagged back to the entrance, and Jonas kept telling everybody that we were going up the 'switchback.' At one of the 'switchback' turns, Grandpa ran ahead and yelled 'heh heh heh heh' from a spot up above Jonas. He was surprised and tickled and scampered around the corner to see Grandpa and laugh some more. Then he scampered back around the corner and waited for Grandpa to do it again. I think he could have done this all day. You can watch a video of this little game below.

Hide and Seek: Jonas Style from Joshua Moore on Vimeo.

We finished up with a quick tour of the gift shop and then headed back to Grandma and Grandpa's for a barbecue and a big surprise for Jonas.





The Diggers
Jonas has been obsessed with big machinery for a long time now. His favorite piece of big machinery is a digger. He loves it when we drive by construction sites and can see diggers in action.

So a few days before Jenny left for Reno, on an impulse I bought him a little toy digger, which he loved and wouldn't stop playing with for the next several days, and he wanted to take it everywhere.

A few weeks earlier, Grandma Lindy told us about a powered, drivable digger that she found and asked if she could buy it for him. That digger happened to arrive while we were at Northwest Trek. Jonas saw the big box on the doorstep and, observing his newly discovered principle of scarcity, claimed it for him and him only. He was too excited for words. It has been a source of endless play and imagination ever since.


And finally, this is a drawing of a dinosaur by Jonas. The neat thing about it was that he declared it was a dinosaur (without me asking what he was drawing) and proceed to point out the legs (the two parallel lines that cross the oval diagonally) and it's head (the little curve above the legs.) It was the first time I've observed him intentionally attempting to represent the real world in his art. I snapped a picture because the medium of aqua doodle is a transitory one not intended to last.

Fouth of July at Family Camp

This year, like last year, we spent the Fourth of July weekend at Soundview's family camp. Since Jenny and I spent some formative summers dating while working as camp counselors at Soundview and its sister camp, it was extra special to be there with our son.
Again this year, the whole Moore side of the family went, so we had 3 cousins, an aunt, an uncle and a Nana all there. Jonas was in heaven.
The weather was beautiful, we explored the beach, took Jonas canoeing and kayaking, and enjoyed the woods and the campfire. The only downside to the weekend was Jonas developing a crazy rash all over his legs the second day we were there, and then spiking a fever which went up and down all four days. For the most part, he was in good spirits, and we credit his good behavior in the canoe and kayak (sitting still) to not feeling great.









He enjoyed watching his cousins in the inner tube.



Mommy kept a firm hand on him while on the dock. Isn't that what the little loops at the top of the life preservers are for?



Going for a boat ride



Watching his auntie ride in the inner tube


Did I mention that he is really a great little canoe-er?











And then, when we got home, Jonas wanted to play in a box. Good times.


And here is a little video of our time at family camp (some of you may have already noticed it on the video sidebar a week or two ago.)

Notes From Camp from Joshua Moore on Vimeo.