Things I Like #8: This Other Kid

The little heart-breaker on the left is another of my cuter-than-a-baby-animal nephews, Jonas. He's 2 1/2 and, like his older brother, says hilarious things. Unlike his brother, he says them in a high-pitched, Mickey Mouse-like voice that makes his comments even cuter.

On Saturday, my sister and I took her kids to Mt. Vernon so her husband could do some home improvement projects without being distracted. As we were approaching the mansion, my sister pointed out the river, saying, "Look, there's the Potomac River." Jonas immediately declared, "That's where John the Baptist was!"

Later that day, the boys were playing in the "hands on history" kids' play area inside the exhibition center. Jonas had one of the little dolls from the doll house, as well as a toy horse. He sat the doll-turned-action-figure atop the horse and exclaimed, "I'm Captain Moroni!" (Moroni is a prophet and military commander in the Book of Mormon, which we use along with the Bible as holy scripture.) He then galloped his horse off in search of adventure. Apparently something my sister is doing in their daily scripture study (using pictures to tell scriptural stories) is sinking in.

Here he is on the right at my company picnic this past summer, all sweaty from the moonbounce and incredibly high humidity.

Jonas has a little impish side to his personality, as well as a very sweet side that likes to cuddle when reading a book or watching a movie. He calls fireflies "flashlight bugs." He's also very musical. He can frequently be heard humming or singing to himself and he loves listening to music and being sung to. Whenever he talks to me on the phone, he asks "When you come our house?"

Jonas also makes everyone laugh whenever the subject of our soon-to-be new president comes up. A couple of weeks ago, in a bookstore, my mom picked up a magazine with a picture of Barack Obama on the cover and asked Jonas who it was. Without missing a beat, he responded (in his little voice), "I don't know, Barack Obama." We love to ask him who our next president is whenever we're in public, because it's so cute to hear such a little guy say "Barack Obama."

You can see why I just want to eat him up every time I'm around him.