The Warren Family: "They outgrow us so much faster than we outgrow them."

The title of this post is a line out of the book I'm currently reading (My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult) and I just can't get it out of my head. I suppose the reason it has stuck with me is that I can already see the truth in it. Jake is becoming more and more independent. He really takes pride in doing things for himself... brushing his teeth... feeding himself.... walking... etc. Its really bittersweet to see your child growing up. You are so proud of every little thing that they accomplish but yet you're a little sad too because you're reminded that they will rely on you less and less as time passes. Every parent that we know has told us to savor every moment because it all goes by too fast and trust me we are taking their advice. Jake is our priority and we take great pleasure in every smile... every laugh... every hug... every word.... every little thing that he does... every single day.

We've had our first batch of corn soup this season and boy howdy was it good! Jake had already had supper but he wanted to try it too and I think he liked it because he came back for another bite.

Mmmm... so this is corn soup.

We're still hiking and sometimes we depart from a parking lot at a facility on the parkway. Jake really likes it when we do use that as our starting point because he gets to run around a lot longer. If we park on the side of the road he doesn't get to get down so we let him play and explore when we use the parking lot and its always tough to get him to leave.

Don't forget the water for our hike Mama.

There are a few cabinets in our kitchen that don't have cabinet locks on them because they don't contain anything that Jake could get hurt on and we thought it might be good if he had a few places that he could explore on his own. One of the cabinets has cutting boards, serving trays and cookie sheets and Jake empties it out regularly. He is especially partial to one of our serving trays that has snow flakes on it and he loves to pull it out and sit on it. We're not sure but we think he's practicing for sledding season.

Daddy can I use this as a sled?

Jake has always been a "propper". Literally since the very day he was born he has always liked to prop his feet up and still does it all the time. We've just started using his booster seat without the tray and it took him no time at all to figure out that he could prop his feet up on the table... yikes! We're working on teaching him that he really shouldn't put his feet on the table but it was just so darn cute that I had to share a couple of pictures.

I'll just hang out here until breakfast is ready Daddy.

Whewwww I need to relax after eating my breakfast.

This past Sunday was Mamaw's birthday (yep... just 3 days after Grandma's birthday) so we took dinner to her to celebrate. My wonderful husband made Chicken Tetrazzini, garlic bread and a huge salad which were all delicious. I made some really great (if I do say so myself) Strawberry Cream Cupcakes for the birthday girl. Jake provided entertainment for the gathering. As always he brought Mamaw and Papaw lots of smiles. He pushed one of their outdoor tables all over the porch like it was his job, he "talked" on the phone and flirted with a pretty girl (yep... I'm talking about you Laura).

Mamaw... your fung shui is all out of whack.

Hello

Who should I call now?

Happy Birthday Mamaw!

Papaw ... you're my buddy!

Jake is now 16 months old and still an absolute joy. He has such a sweet personality. Admittedly, he does have a bit of a stubborn streak that his Daddy says he got from me but so far its a cute trait. I might not say that when he gets older.

Happy 16 Month Birthday to Me!

I better proofread Daddy's sign to be sure that

he got everything right.

Jake is still loving his water and sand table. That thing was worth every penny! You can see from the picture below how wet he gets splashing but it doesn't bother him one bit in fact he LOVES it!

One more big splash and my shirt should be wet all the way around.

Mama... if I'm good can I play here all day long?

I need just a little more ketchup.

Last weekend... we took dinner to our friends that just had a baby. We enjoyed a really nice visit with them and their precious baby boy. Jake was intrigued and kept saying "baby" over and over.

Hi baby Kruz!