Jodi & Jake

He's Gonna be a BIG boy...

2009-05-04T21:06:00.000-07:00

I was talking to Jaime the other day and relieved to know Jake and Jack have the same shoe size. Jake has HUGE feet and hands for his age. (Jack is Jake's cousin who is 3 months younger than Jake.) And like Jake, Jack's Dad is tall. Both Jake and Jack range somewhere in the 80th/90th percentile for height and weight. Except I believe Jack is about 10% leaner than Jake. Where they are both tall, Jake is the bulky one and Jack is the lean one.

Then I was talking to Jessie the day after and learned Jake's feet are the same size as Ella's. Ella is Jake's cousin who is 18 months older than Jake. And I won't be surprised if on our next visit they are close to the same height. Jake grows out of his wardrobe about every 6 months. Which totally feeds my shopping bug. I ALWAYS have an excuse for retail therapy.

He can almost stand at the kitchen /bathroom sink without a stool and wash his hands.

In the image above - he has already grown out of that onesie AND he doesn't have to tip toe to reach the top of the counter.

Slacker Mom - Singing Child

2009-05-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

Slacker Mom to Catch Up Family on nearly 4 months of 2008 News.
Yowza! I know there isn't much I can use an excuse for not keeping my blog up to date.

Just at the end of a long day - the last thing I want to do is power up the ol' laptop...
Jake is growing in leaps and bounds. He is 2 1/2 going on 22. He can talk fairly well for his age and he's super tall. Many people think he's 3 1/2 rather than 2 1/2.

He is still fascinated with the washing machine and calls it the washa-mine. He is also fascinated with volcanoes (from little Einstein's) and calls them O-canos. Have I mentioned he sings? All the time. Especially at dinner. Seems I cannot get him to eat his dinner - he'd rather serenade everyone. What are his favorite songs to sing... you are wondering?

Thanks to Grandpa he knows the first two verses of the hymns, "High On A Mountain Top" and "How Firm A Foundation". He also likes, "Redeemer of Israel", "Come, Come Ye Saints" and "Ye Elders of Israel" which round out his repertoire. Nina is now teaching him, "Spirit of God".

I have tried to capture him singing on camera and tape it. His singing is so pure and innocent yet filled with gusto. But as soon as the camera starts rolling - he switches to his silly monster voice which sounds like Red Foxx from Sanford and Sons. (How does he know I am taping?) Still he figures it out.

I have included a video of him "composing" an original piece on the "panano" (piano)

He reminds me of Jared when we use to live in the Summit house.

Holiday in Heber

2009-05-04T19:57:00.000-07:00

This December we rented a cabin in the mountains near Heber, UT. Not only was it Christmas but it was Mom's 60th birthday and Shay's commission into the Air Force. Our cabin was about 10 miles east of Park City. We actually got snowed in and 3 ft of snow dropped on the 24 inch base and snowed us into our cabin.

To me the highlight, (after being all together of course) was the sledding hill Shay, Ilene and I carefully groomed for all of us to slide down. And as you can see... even Jake went down.

Homemade Haircut

2008-12-09T21:56:00.000-08:00

What I meant to do was only buzz the back of Jake's hair with the buzzers and then leave the top long... I had successfully buzzed the back of his hair before. And I thought I could duplicate the hair cut again.

We've all had homemade hair cuts from our parents that made us cringe. I didn't think I'd be on the giving end of a bad hair cut so early in my parenting career...

But he turned his head - or I slipped with the buzzer and next thing I know... his hair is all gone.

As clumps of dark brown hair were falling all around Jake's shoulder and lap - he kept exclaiming in a worried tone, "Wha happen?" I continued to reassure him it was all okay.

I have been tempted to buzz Jake's hair for awhile but hesitated because his hair is so fine and it took so long to come in. And my mom (grandma) was positively against me buzzing his hair. Boy is she in for a surprise tomorrow morning... I expect to receive a stern phone call when I am at work.

But with a little pomade... he looks less like a plurb and more like a little boy...

Santa? You sound familiar...

2008-12-09T21:50:00.000-08:00

This Saturday Dad-Jeff (Grandpa) dressed up as Santa for the kids in the neighborhood. So Jacob and I headed over to Cottage Lake Beach Club to meet Santa. I thought Jake might recognize Grandpa's voice but he didn't. Grandpa said at one time, Jake looked at him a little closely. But we made sure Jake didn't see "Santa" enter or leave the house on Grandpa's way to and from the event. And in the end, all potential questions were dismissed when Jacob accepted a mini-candy cane from Santa. That was certainly the high point of the whole evening for Jake.

Jake gets a package

2008-12-09T21:15:00.001-08:00

This video is for Grandpa Meyer & Grandma Sherry. Jake got a package in the mail from them and I was trying to video Jake opening a present with one hand while trying to help him open the package with another hand.

Jake turns TWO

2008-12-06T19:15:00.000-08:00

We had two small family parties for Jake's second birthday.

Grandma was in Manhattan with Aunt Jaime (who just has twins) for 6 weeks so we had one small party Sunday night on 11/9/2008 with Jake, Grandpa and me. The included video is Grandpa and me singing happy birthday to Jake. He stuck his finger in the flame of the candles. I didn't expect Jake to do that - and next time will have a little pep talk to explain not to put our fingers in "the hot".

Oh, by the way, in the video - Jake has a screw driver in his hand covered in painters tape.
This item must be in his hands when not sleeping or taking a bath at all times...

Boats or Girls?

2008-11-13T20:44:00.000-08:00

In a few very short years - Jake will start to realize girls can be just as cool as sitting in a play boat. But in the meantime, Jake is smiling that he is allowed to play in a boat on his daycare field trip to the pumpkin patch. And at the time of this snap - he was oblivious that there was another person in the boat - let alone a... GIRL!

Haircuts & Halloween

2008-11-13T20:19:00.000-08:00

The end of October, I took Jake to get his first real haircut. I had tried to trim his hair a couple of times. "Tried" being the key phrase. Each time I trimmed his hair it turned out looking like an obvious home-made haircut. So I decided to have his "edges trimmed". My little guy still doesn't have very much hair and I just wanted to trim the wispy edges that are getting longer. Because I haven't had great success in persuading Jake to hold still while I am cutting his hair, I decided to take him to a children's salon that has chairs geared towards children. Jake got to sit in a chair shaped as a jet; which was right up his alley. He was an angel and held perfectly still while also watching Thomas the Train Engine. I couldn't believe this was the same kid...

That night, we went to a Halloween party. Last year, Jake was an adorable penguin. This year, I wanted to find a costume that was just a cute. I ended up settling on a Prince costume. I tried to spike Jake's hair a little - but his hair is so fine the style wouldn't hold.

All Boy

2008-10-26T20:28:00.001-07:00

My little man. He is ALL boy. If it's loud, roudy, and active - my little guy is all over that activity. He loves tools and trucks. I am amazed that no one taught him how to be a boy - he just IS.

He is very charming. We have started to morph into the terrible twos and times outs have become a reality. He definitely has an opinion and is not afraid to tell me all about disagreement my parenting decisions.

But at the end of the day we kiss and make up. I still marvel when he's asleep like in these pictures at this little person, with his darling body and how much personality he has. I am very blessed to have him in my life and I often feel like he is my teacher and I am the stubborn student.

Uncles!

2008-10-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

My apologies I am between 6-8 weeks behind on blogging. I have been busy working 11-13 hours days, being a full time Mom, going to school and doing a re-model.

Jake has been thriving and charming us all. He has mastered jumping with both feet, climbing up and down the bed. Doing laundry. (Not kidding - he loves to take clothes in and out of the washer and dryer.) He has a cute sense of humor. He loves to sing. And he has been talking up a storm.

His 24 month check up last week showed he's in the 80th percentile for weight and height. He's 35 inches and 31 pounds.

He has also started talking in more and more phrases rather than just single words. Lately he has been telling me things like, "Mommy this is a shirt, Mommy this is a bed, Mommy this is the dryer."

Remarkably he's not a great eater. And mealtimes seem like more songs and dance to get the kid to eat. And I am lucky if I can persuade him to have 2 bites of anything green at any given meal. I have resigned myself that 2 bites of anything green is good enough.

This summer Uncle Shay and Uncle Jason came to visit about 2 weeks apart. Jake enjoyed both their visits and had some male bonding with both of them. Chasing, wrestling, a good time was to be had by all. I am grateful for brothers who are willing to be positive role models and friends to my little Jake.

New Jake Vernacular

2008-08-25T22:25:00.000-07:00

Jake is beginning to talk up a storm! Generally, he's a pretty sweet toddler.
We have the occassional upset when he's over tired and the occassional power struggle as he begins to assert his own opinion.

Here is some of his new vocabulary

Moff (meaning 'come off')
Mon (meaning 'come on') As in, Mon Mama upstairs.
Saner - sandwich
Shu-shu - Tissue
Don tair - down stairs
Uh tair - upstairs
Gank - Blanket
Guck - Truck
Gink - Drink
Mook - Milk
Ni - Lid

I have included a video of Jake in the tub - I am trying to get him to sing the ABC's.

Reagan's First Steps

2008-08-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

Today at GG's (aka Grandma Fereday's house) Reagan took her first steps.
And I was LUCKY enough to catch it all on video.

Just prior to the video Shay & Elisabeth took Reagan out in the yard and she surprised them both by free standing for them. After she stood on her own - I happened to turn on the camera to film Shay giving her hugs.

You will hear all of us cheering when we realized she was taking her first steps.
On her second attempt - I think our cheering actually distracted her
And on her third attempt - she grabs Jake's shirt for stability.

And Jake was SO cute - He wanted to sit with Uncle Shay and help cheer Reagan on.
He was also very cute in joining in on cheering her on - and was very sweet to give her hugs.
Even though - once or twice he knocked her down.

Enjoy the video!

Love, Jodi & Jake

COUSINS

2008-07-30T21:29:00.000-07:00

Jake has a whole passel of cousins

(and two more are due in October)

Jonas 1 (Jared's youngest) & Reagan 10 months (Shay's daughter) - are very close to being mobile. Jonas is working on walking and Reagan has recently discovered the joy of crawling. And in no time, they will be romping around with their other cousins.

Ella is 3 - she and Jake often enjoy chasing one another, riding her trike and jumping on beds. (Ella is obviously better at dressing and undressing.)

I am having a great time watching all the kids interact and grow together.

Mr Fix It

2008-07-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

Jake LOVE tools. He loves Grandpa's tools, especially screw drivers.

So much so that Grandpa got Jake a set of plastic tools from Toys R Us.

Anytime, Grandpa has any kind of project that requires repair, yard work or installation Jake is all over that situation.

2008-07-30T21:16:00.000-07:00

Jake is blossoming. He has such a cute personality. He is charismatic, strong-willed and very funny (cute sense of humor). Downside - he is a screamer. He screams almost everything throughout the house and in the yard. I worry the neighbors always know when the obnoxious neighbor kid is outside. And some days I can tell Mom gets really worn down by the noise. I am trying to gently encourage him to use his "gentle" voice or his "soft" voice. He will scream stuff like, "Uh-oh, Mama the door is open!" as if it's a crisis. (Maybe it's because he has only recently figured out how to articulate the occurences he see around him?)

Today we went to the beach for the first time and spent 3 hours playing in the water and sand. Jake loved it. We both had a great time playing in the sun today. He is talking up a storm and pretty much mimics everything we say.

Some of his new (brillant) words include:

Denna = Music
Shide = Outside
Feener = Finger
Happy
Tigo = Tickle
Dwy, Dwy = Dryer
Sha de doe = Shut the door
Hug
Wat-ter = Water
Wock = Rock
Shun = Sun
Weenoh = Window
Mopen = Open or Broken (depending on the context mopen is used)

Uncle Jason Gets Married

2008-07-30T21:01:00.000-07:00

A little over a month ago Jake and I traveled to Utah to see Uncle Jason get married.

While the wedding was idyllic the trip to Utah was not. Unless you count the scenario where you are trapped on a full flight and your child screams the entire time. (Not just 10 minutes, not just 45 minutes, but the ENTIRE 90 minutes.) Yes, that was MY trip. In retrospect I have come to a few conclusions. First and foremost, NEVER book a trip during naptime. It may seem like a good idea at the time when you are booking the reservation. I had good intensions that Jake would nap on the flight - but should of realized he would be too excited about being in public, being in a new situation to be able to settle down. NEVER book a window seat. Book an aisle seat so you can get up and walk up and down the plane OFTEN. DO bring new toys that have never been seen before. DON'T bring cheap new toys that only hold 5 minutes or less of interest. DO bring favorite familiar story books OR new never-before-seen story books. AND lastly, I would have brought chewing gum to ease any inner-ear pain I was too obtuse to pick up on.

I have enclosed a picture of Jason and his new bride, Marin.

I have also included a picture of Jacob with Granpa Meyer and Grandma Sherry. And his cousins R-L Jack, Jacob, Ella & Jonas. Jacob was the first one crying and influence all his cousins to cry. Yep, my kid is the ring leader...

It's Official

2008-06-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

It's official. Jacob's legal name has been changed to "Jacob Theodore Daniel Meyer" as of Friday, May 31st. A long name I know... but if I am only to have one child; I wanted to fit it all in.
Beside the name has a cadence that just sounds... right, to me. His name sings in my ears... and my heart.

It only cost two trips the the district court house on my lunch break - including 2 minutes in front of the judge, a sound argument and $100.

I didn't want Jake to ask me why his middle name was Leoncio for a grandfather that didn't have any relative significance in his life any longer. And I wanted to de-hyphenate his last name from Meyer-Robson to just Meyer.

His basic name, Jake Meyer remains the same. I felt really strongly the last 2 months of my pregnancy that Jacob's middle name should be "Theodore" after my dad. Stephen Theodore.

I also think Jacob T. Meyer sounds somewhat distinguished should he decide to be a laywer or a doctor.

If he decides to be a musician however, he may have to come up with a creative diminuitive of the long name I have given him... "Theo" perhaps? He will have to decide. I will leave that up to him...

In the meantime, I find myself trying to divise ways to manage his willfulness. He has enthusiasm and passion just like his mama. And he does not hesitate to allow his passion to show - particularly when I won't let him have something he really, really wants.

It's the age and stage - I know. I just find myself teetering between being too strict or too lenient when his tantrums arise. And I am waffling on a consistent plan of action when his voices finds wind. And let me tell you - this kid has a diaphram and can make some noise. He is also a very sweet boy. Who loves his mama, nina & pompa. He's really discovering his interests and finding his OWN voice and becomes vexed when I come between him and his desire...

plantive and the road is just beginning...

End of May

2008-05-28T21:36:00.000-07:00

This month just flew by... I have been busy concentrating on getting settled at the new job.
Jacob is thriving - his new obsessions include playing outside in the yard every time the weather permits. (which is not often - been a cold, grey, rainy spring) And he has mastered going up and down the stairs standing up - which he is very proud of I may add.

Jake often becomes obsessed with small items that fit in the palm of his hand and he will carry them around everywhere for a few days at a time and then he's onto the next item. For example a little plastic film case, my sample size mascara tube, a lid from a propel bottle, my wireless mouse, and the gold string from my mother's day chocolates. He will even take them to bed. I find this habit charming - sometimes I find the items in vexing locations. For example, in a random bathroom drawer or bookshelf etc.

Here are the highlights of April & May

Mid-April cousin Jack visited. Jake had a little trouble sharing toys AND grandma and grandpa. He kept saying, "No!" emphatically to poor Jack. Towards the end of the visit the boys got along well and Jake even showed Jack the best drawers for emptying. Including grandma's towel drawer in the kitchen with all the napkin rings (another Jacob favorite) and mom's makeup drawer. (Thank goodness at the time he still had not figured how to unscrew various make up tubes.)

First weekend in May - went on annual Bainbridge Island camp out. Had a wonderful time! Jake really enjoyed the outdoors and camping even though it rained everyday except the last day.

Mother's Day - Grandpa made breakfast, and dinner. Mom and I scrapbooked most of the day...
And Jake got me some Sees candy. (Thanks Grandpa...)

Weekend before Memorial Day - had a family dinner with Aunt Kelli & Uncle Michael Sattler (mom's youngest sister). Michael on much pain medication but on the mend. Doctors didn't think he would live after being in the ICU for 8 days. Ol' guy is as tough as ever despite two broken feet, broken hand, broken clavicle, dislocated shoulder, a few broken ribs and punctured lungs.
We are all grateful he's still with us.

Memorial Day weekend - went to visit Jared & Jessie in Oregon. Jake & Ella had a wonderful time chasing each other. And Jake was captivated by Ella's tricycle. We even convinced Ella to give Jake a ride. There were a few tussles involving taking toys from each other. And lil' Jonas was recovering from a fever all but the last day. And the noise 3 children can make! They love joyfully screaming at each other - especially during mealtimes. I will be glad when this phase of development passes.

Jared was busy installing a sprinkler system in his front yard, and I helped Jessie build a rock wall for a flower garden in the back. While the kids were napping. Grrl power!

Hope all is well with each one of you!
Love, Jodi & Jacob T

"Deekub"

2008-04-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

Last night Jacob was "extra" fussy at bedtime. I have found if I go in and spend a few minutes visiting with him, talking, playing a little silly game after our bedtime routine (bath, bottle, story, bed) that - he will settle down fairly quickly.

Last night he was chattering, "Deekub, deekub, deekub" which I realized meant Jacob. He was singing his own name to himself. Then I asked him to say, "Jodi". And he said, "Doey".

Sidebar: Normally Jake doesn't call me Jodi but earlier that night Mom was calling something to me from the kitchen and I was folding laundry in the family room. Jake who was in the kitchen with Grandma would scurry to the top of the entry way stairs and yell, "Doey?" And then a string of gibberish - almost as if he was Grandma's self appointed messenger. Whatever it was Mom wanted me to be doing - Jacob wanted to be sure I got the message.

Flash forward to Jake and I talking before bedtime. So them I asked Jake to name the following family members.

Mommy - Mama
Grandma - Nina
Grandpa - Pampa
Cousin Jack - Gak
Aunt Jaime - Nini

Then I asked him what the following animals said:

Cow - Moo
Doggie - wof, wof (his version of ruf, ruf)
Kitty - Eow (his version of meow)
Piggie - Ngk, ngk (his version of oink, oink)
Froggie - Rrrrr (his version of ribit)
I have tried to add Horse, Bird, Mouse & Sheep - but he doesn't seem as captivated by their noises.

Last Sunday we had Sheppard, Jake's half sibling over for lunch - He is 2 months older than Jake and just as cute as a button. I feel it will be nice for Jake to be friends with someone who is from a family like his but they are also related. My hope is for the boys to be friends the way I hope Jake is friends with his many cousins.

Jaime & Jack are visiting this week so I hope to have some great pictures and stories from their visit. I can say after Jack's arrival today - Jake followed him around the house saying, "No!" I thought Jake would be saying no over the toys - but Jake was more jealous about sharing Pompa, Nina & Mama.

Teeku, Teeku Little Lah

2008-03-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

I was hanging out with a group of friends a week ago (maybe 2 weeks ago) and I was watching Jake move about the room singing to himself. I realized after a few minutes that I recognized the melody of, "Teeku, Teeku Little Lah" as "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star". He knows the first 3 words of all the verses and then resolves himself to Lah, Lah, Lah or Do, Do, Do... whichever monosyllable strikes his fancy at that moment.

We have all been very charmed by Jake's beginning of communication beyond one word commands. (And let me tell you this kid can "COMMAND". He really believes he is in charge of this household which to my realization, we have all kind of fostered in one way or another.)

I have also realized Jacob is passionate about his convictions. (Which feeds into the command / center of his universe persona) which is totally age appropriate but I have had the jagged pill realization - this kid is dramatic. Kind of a karmic payback after years of trying to get my own drama/ passionate convictions into a reasonable, pragmatic expression parameters. Oy Vey!

Jake is also very bright and has after being scolded by either grandma or I for less than desirable behavior - will initiate a hug or a kiss to apologize or "make nice". He figured this behavior entirely out on his own. He is all together too clever for his own good and very charming. (Now if I can only "channel" his super powers for good....)

This evening I gave Jake a spoon and an open container of apple sauce. Partly to foster the desire to feed himself,partly to encourage fine motor skills and partly to keep him engaged enough for me to get dinner on the table. After a few minutes of quiet - I checked on Jake and found after he dumped the entire contents of the container on his tray, he had smeared a large portion in his hair. He was also dipping the palms of his hands in the puddle of applesauce and clapping his hands together and marveling at the little spots of applesauce that would spatter himself and the nearby refridgerator. So I have enclosed pictures of the latest groovy experiment by the "professor".

And I have pic of Jake playing with Cooper who is 2 months younger. Cooper's Mom, Cory and I worked at Expedia together. Our offices were right next to each other when we were both pregnant.

Love y'all - Jodi & Jake

The Adventures of Jacob T Meyer

2008-03-09T10:58:00.000-07:00

Jake is 16 months and continues to be a source of amusement and joy for all of us.
Here's the latest in Jake's adventures.

What happens when you sneak a bag of cheerios out of the cupboard... carry the bag upside down and shake while walking about the entry way? All the while minutes before I am set to leave with Mom?

Hmmm... very interesting... ahhh... yes... testing my hypothesis on the scattering theory. (In mathematic and physics, scattering theory is a framework for studying and understanding the scattering of waves and particles. Thank you CBS...)

Then as I tried to sweep up Jake's scattering theory experiment - he started to throw cheerios into the living room. (Not as a protest mind you - more like the absent minded professor working out the next step in his hypothesis.) I can see the wheels in his brain turning.

"Since mom foiled my scatter theory experiement - I should save the cheerios I can and... hmm throwing them on the living room carpet works..." And just to add insult to injury while I was picking cheerios up from the living room carpet - he saved what he could and started to line them up on the coffee table.

"A boy's work is NEVER done..."

Cousin Reagan (Shay's daughter) was here to visit 2 weeks ago. Jake seemed very interested in her pacifier and enjoyed patting her on the tummy when they were in the bath together. Other than that he was very cordial except the time he tried to climb on her to get to the back of the couch. I see I have my work cut out for me in oh so many ways...

Jake is a sponge and has learned 3 words this week.

1. Pompa - Grandpa
2. Nah-Nee - Mommy FINALLY!!! (not to be confused with Nee-Nah which is Grandma)
3. Moo

Grandpa also says he said the words, "eat" and "cheese" this week but failed to repeat them under interogation. So we are unsure if these words will be utilized in the full vocab rotation.

Until next time...

Jodi & Jake

Waaaay over due Jake Update

2008-03-02T21:26:00.000-08:00

Jake is thriving - he is walking, (starting to do a jaunty run) He goes up and down the stairs on his own and can climb down from the couch and chairs but not up yet.

He is a chatty social baby who loves people. His newest thing is to say, "Hi" to everyone while we're in the grocery store.

He can also say about 11 words. (A friend of mine who is a public health nurse is really impressed that Jake has more than 4-5 words which the average for a 1 year old)
His 10 words in order of frequency are:

1. NO! (with exuberance)
2. Nina - Grandma
3. Uh - Up
4. Ow - Down
5. Lye - Light
6. Nye - Nice
7. Eee-Ouw - "Meow" for Kitty. (He calls our Kitties - Meows)
8. Uh-Oh - for anything he drops or throws
9. Tee-Too - ThankYou
10. Gacker - cracker
11. Ba - Ball

Yesterday I got him to say, "wheel" and "coupon".

And when he wants me - he just calls out. He doesn't have a name from me yet. (Sometimes it seems he is calling me "De-de" for "Jodi" but it has been too inconsistent for me to be sure.

He does call specifically for grandma and sometimes he calls grandpa Nina too. (Nina may be generic for grandparents.)

At 15 months he has also been practicing the art of the temper tantrum. (Which I didn't think I would see until around 24 months) He does throw himself back on the floor, scream, get red in the face and hammer his arms and legs into the ground. I just ignore him - so far it has only been at home and he hasn't embarassed me in public yet.

Jake has also shot up. We went to the doctor two days ago for his shots/checkup and he has grown 2 inches since his first birthay in November.

Here are the stats -

November / 12 months
Weight - 22 lbs. 14 oz. 50th percentile
Height - 30 inches 50 percentile

February / 15 months
Weight - 24 lbs. 12 oz. - 55th percentile
Height - 32 inches 75th percentile

Yup! My kid may be tall... and he hair is start to curl a little on the top.

Included is a picture of Jake naked in a rocking chair.
He ran away from me during a diaper change and climbed into the chair.
I couldn't resisit a photo...

Slacker Mom

2007-12-17T21:13:00.000-08:00

Wow!

I made a goal to post once a week! And WHOLE month has slid by.
Let's back up and just cover Turkey day.

Jake had a wonderful Thanksgiving - we drove down to Albany, OR to see my brother Jared his wife Jessie and kids Ella, 2 and Jonas 5 months.

He really enjoyed chasing Ella. (Ella really enjoyed being chased) Thanksgiving dinner marked the first meal where Jake ate all solids. No baby food.
The key - cut everything into really small peices. He also enjoyed mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and stuffing. Ella introduced Jake to peas. He even ate turkey.

By the end of the weekend Jake was saying Ella. "Eewa" and "Eeya"
Ella also introduced Jake to jumping on the couch and how to empty the coffee table and hide onself inside. (All valuable toddler & early development skills - especially for future mom evasive manuevers.)

Mom and Jessie were busy Thanksgiving cooking dinner - so I volunteered as chief kid wrangler. And let me tell you those bronchos and palmino put in a full day. I don't know how Jessie manages TWO babies. I can just manage one.

Poor Jonas - seemed to want to join in the cavorting. But he was always good for a smile.
Next year - Jake & Jonas will be walking. I can only imagine the mischief intensifying.

Below are pictures of Ella showing how to hide in the coffee table and sharing her peas with Jacob.

Jake TURNS ONE

2007-11-11T19:55:00.000-08:00

It was a fun weekend as we celebrated Jake's first birthday.

He turned one on Thursday - I brought a giant mylar balloon shaped as the number 1.
The balloon is as tall as Jake (30 inches) Jake enjoyed slobbering and rolling over the balloon.

Later that evening we celebrated by opening two presents.
And having a little ice cream after dinner.
On Saturday we went to Great-Grandma Fereday's (or GG as she likes to be called) and had spagehtti dinner with chocolate cake for desert.

We sang Jake, "Happy Birthday" and had him (grandma mortensen) blow out a candle.
He liked the cake - but didn't dive in face first. He only ate it if we gave it to him and he seemed not to like having his hands dirty.

Jake continues to keep us in stitches and surprise us. He has a great sense of humor. He's very patient - he let the pediatrician look at his ears and eye with minimal fuss. The doc was suprised he was so complient.

Jake l0ves to rough house, and crawl up behind grandma or I and grab onto us. He will throw a tantrum if he doesn't get something he wants but he is easily distracted. He is learning out to give kisses and he hates bed time.

He calls all animals kitty. He has said car and hand but I think he was mimicking me and I haven't seen any solid word association. I have made a goal to read 3 books to him a night to help boost his vocabulary. I haven't been diligent about reading to him in the past.

Halloween

2007-11-03T09:06:00.001-07:00

This year - I took Jake to a work Halloween party a few days before Halloween. I dressed him up as a penguin. The costume came with a penguin pajama costume, feet, a hood and a top hat. Jake hated the hood so we never got as far as the top hat on his head... But he was adorable!

At the party he was engaged for about an hour watching the noise and all the other kids in costume. He even tried fresh pineapple (a new favorite) then he was ready to head home.

On the big day we played it low key and Jake dressed up as a penguin and handed out candy to the neighborhood trick or treaters. The girls in particular seemed to notice his costume and one time when a group of girls was cooing about how cute he was... he started to trill. Almost as if to say, "I'm not just a pretty face - look what else I can do." He's almost a year old and already he knows how to flirt.

Boys, Cars & the Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

I bought Jake a new toy from someone at work who has 3 boys and was cleaning out some unused toys. This car Jake can either ride or we can convert to a walker. I happened to be working late the night of the purchase and I was so excited to show Jake that I showed him the new toy just before bedtime. BIG MISTAKE! He loved the new toy SO much there was great lamentation when he had to part with it just to go to bed!
I even had to put the toy out of sight in order for him to take his nightly bottle.

The next morning it seemed to me like he was looking for this new toy right away. Now that we've had the car a week - it's lost a little of it's novelty. It's still a favorite toy - just parting from it is not as dramatic as the first night.

I have never seen Jake so attached to a toy before that night last week. Usually common items we allow him to have around the house are just as engaging as his toys. He loves mom's rollers, her pick, lids off propel water bottles, his nose squeegie, pill bottles with child proof lids and his ultimate favorite - the caps off the bolts on the toilet. You know the ones near the floor. Also repeatedly flushing the toilet is a favorite passtime.

And I have found myself cleaning niches and crevices - I never paid detailed attention to before. Just in case my curious explorer happens to end up in that location.

I also took Jake to the pumpkin patch last Saturday. He hated it. It was incredibly cold, windy & rainy. I thought I had bundled Jake in enough layers but his little hands were freezing. He didn't like the pumpkins and every time I set him down to snap a photo he cried. After surviving an entire hour (he did stop crying long enough to pet the sheep and the kittens on the pumpkin patch farm) I packed it in and he took a nap in the warm cozy car.

cousin Jack visits Oct 8-14

2007-10-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

This was a fabulous week! Cousins Jack 8 months and Jacob 11 months had the WHOLE week to hang out and become re-acquainted since Jack's blessing in New York 61/2 months ago in April. Jack was 10 weeks old and Jake was 20 weeks old last April.

During their visit, Jake demonstrated the finer arts of being mobile - standing and crawling. While Jack showed the subtlety of being congenial, very smiley and even tempered. Both boys LOVE the bath. Jack loves to splash and Jake likes to stand and throw all toys within arms distance into the bath. Which seems to delight Jack - when he's taking a breather from splashing.

They both have the be coaxed to eat at mealtimes. Jack is more comfortable with solid grown up foods. (Which we noticed and Jake was willing to try eggplant rigatonni cut into very small pieces.) They both have very similar boyish grunting sounds of approval or disapproval. (Hard to tell which at this age.) When I was feeding Jack this morning as Jaime got ready to pack - I almost recognized that, "will ya hurry up?" sigh coming from Jack as I get from Jake when he is close to being done in the high chair.

Both boys also enjoyed digging into the toy chest and enjoyed the same toys. Only twice did Jake take a toy away from Jack. Who was surprised but didn't protest. In the name of chivalry - I gave the toy BACK to Jack. (I worry because Jake is an only child this may be an issue with future cousin visits.)

The highlight of the week was when both boys were playing on the bed (under our supervision) and Jake (who was a little wired after a shortened afternoon nap) kept doing acrobatics that would delight Jack and make him laugh out loud. This kept us all entertained and in stitches for at least 45 minutes. At one point Jack put his hand on Jake's should almost as if he was saying,
"good one, cuz."

A few times when Jake was down for his nap Jack would look around for his compadre.
Even though they are a few months apart they are the same height - 29 inches. Jake is 2 pounds heavier than Jack. Jacob seems heavy around the middle and a little stocky - while Jack seems wirey and leaner. Will be interesting to see of Jacob can keep up with Jack's height?

By the end of the visit Jack enjoyed standing with a little support - I think he saw the advantages of being mobile. Once or twice I saw Jacob motion to Jack as if to say, "C'mon, Jack there's trouble to be had over here." Jack would smile and kick his feet enthusiastically and Jake would turn and set out to find mischief on his own.

I noticed that between the two - Jacob is a little more hyper. I have either a daredevil or showoff on my hands. I love the spirit in the boy - but in the words of Maria Bamford, I am trying to channel his super powers for good.

However, we had a fabulous visit and we don't want to let too much time pass before we get the boys together again.