Happy Birthday Daddy!

WARNING: I'm a little behind on my posts so this one is pretty long.

Happy Birthday Daddy!


Jake had a great doctor's visit last week. He is 31" tall and weighs 21 lbs. He has learned his colors and his shapes plus he knows lots of concepts like big/little, up/down, in/out, over/under, open/closed and on/off. Our Doc calls him our little genius which really tickles his parents :)

Today we visited one of the parks near our house. It was our first time there but it definitely won't be our last. They converted an old speedway in our community and now it has bike paths, walking trails, volleyball courts, basketball courts, roller hockey, lawn bowling, open fields and a fantastic playground.

Wheeeeeee.......

Hey... wonder if I can walk through this tunnel? I might be too tall now.

Check out this cool airplane that I got to "drive".

Hey Mama! We're up here!

Daddy ... you should ask Mama if you can have an ice cream sandwich too. Remember to say "please" and "thank you".

I'll throw this big rock in the water next Daddy.

I love to help Daddy rinse the truck.

We have been on the road again... another business trip with Daddy... this time to Raleigh. We left bright and early for what should have been a 4 hour drive. Unfortunately... just 15 minutes into our trip we came to an abrupt stand still on the interstate. A tractor-trailer had overturned and all lanes were completely blocked. We were parked for a little over 2 hours before they were able to reopen a lane. Well ... believe it or not... about 30 more minutes down the road... another parking lot. This one lasted about a little over an hour and then we were off again. By this time... Trip had already called in to let his co-workers and his boss know that he was going to be really late for the staff meeting and it was a good thing that he had because we ran into yet another slow down that delayed us by another hour! Our 4 hour adventure ended up taking us 8 hours! Thankfully, we had packed a cooler full of water, snacks and sandwiches so we didn't starve or have to eat fast food. Thanks to the food along with lots of toys, a couple of good naps and his portable DVD player... Jake did amazingly well.

Daddy and I are standing on the interstate!

Can I drive us to Raleigh? I'll wear my seat belt.

Jake really enjoyed staying in a hotel again... especially the pool and the elevator. Trip took him swimming both nights that we were there and as you'll see from the pictures and the videos... he loved it. Jake and I had our own little adventures during the day while Trip was in meetings. We visited Marbles Kids Museum one day and Pullen Park the next. Both were great fun and sure to be on our to do list when we visit Raleigh again. They had a huge train table at Marbles and Jake was so sweet with the other kids. If he saw another child that didn't have a train to play with he would find one and take it to them. Trip and I have always believed that he has a tender heart and he continues to reinforce that belief.

Catch me Daddy!

Mama... where is all this water coming from?

I shared with lots of kids and this little boy shared with me.

I loved this giant train table.

Playing in the water is ALWAYS fun!

What color should I use next Mama?

Mama and I built a big house with these giant Legos.

Get in Mama and I'll take you for a drive.

Mama ... do you think Daddy will let me borrow this shirt?

Daddy... can we get a pool at our house?

Again Daddy... again!

Swimming... jumping and dancing...

Mama... riding this carousel is so fun!

I'm so excited! I can't wait to ride this train!

Mama... this has been such a fun day!

Do we have to leave Mama? I'm not even tired yet.

Below are a few more snapshots from our day to day life the past couple of weeks. He still loves to "write" with his "pens" and I'm eternally grateful that Crayola makes washable products. We have always called our little man Jake-a-Pooh or Pooh for short and as luck would have it Winnie the Pooh is his best friend. He has to have Pooh now when he goes to sleep and his Daddy and I have to kiss and hug Pooh good night which we don't mind at all.

No Daddy... I'm not ruining my supper. I'm just having a few animal crackers as an appetizer.

Here I am kicked back in my very own La-Z-Boy!

Wonder what my foot will look like if I color it green?

Mama... no picture please. I just woke up.

Drinking from a cup like a big boy!

Thank you Grandma!!!

Grandma knitted Jake the most precious sweater. It is a beautiful color of blue (matches his eyes) and it has the cutest little owls knitted into it with buttons for eyes. Jake just loves it so we just wanted to post a quick note to say thanks and show off some pictures. It's already starting to feel a little like Fall in the early morning and the late evening so he'll be wearing his new sweater very soon.

Grandma... I'm going to give you a big hug and a kiss when I see you to say thanks for making me such a great sweater.

Don't you just love the way it shows off my eyes?

Look ... the little owls are on the back too.

18 Months Old - Favorite Foods and the Water Hose

Our little boy is growing up! He's already 18 months old. It has been the greatest year and half of our lives and we can't wait to share many more experiences with our little man.

Happy 18 Month Birthday to Me!

I think we should hike this trail today...


Jake is still enjoying his new car. We even bring it in the house sometimes because he just loves to sit in it and "practice" driving.

Where should we drive to today?


Jake has learned to use the water hose and it has provided a great deal of fun for him and an immense amount of entertainment for his Daddy and I. If we had only had the video camera ready yesterday ... we would have been able to show you how he turned the hose on me. He squirted me in the chest and the face before I could scurry out of the way and we all got a good laugh out of it.

MMMM... cold water....

This is great! Now I can fill up my pool whenever I want to use it and I won't have to wait on Mama & Daddy to do it for me.

Mama... you can come back now... I've finished washing out your chair for you.

Fun with the water hose...

Each morning when Jake finishes his own breakfast he likes to "help" Daddy finish his bowl of cereal. It usually results in a little bit of a mess since he's still learning how to keep his spoon flat with liquids but we figure that he has to learn so we just let him keep trying.

Look Daddy... your cereal bowl makes a great hat!

Mama says this is a bad habit but it's so much fun!

I love to help unload the dishwasher!

Jake has somewhat unusual tastes for a toddler. He likes for his food to have some serious flavor. We've discovered that he especially loves Mexican food and olives and he also enjoys a good homegrown tomato sandwich.

Guacamole is one of my favorite things to eat!

Mama... look... the olive is stuck on my finger.

Daddy... I just picked this tomato. Can you please make me a sandwich?

A big adventure, a new ride, a new friend and a family cookout...

We've had a busy week here and Jake has enjoyed every minute of it. Jake and I started the week by tagging along on a business trip with Trip (that sounds funny doesn't it?). On our way to the hotel in Greensboro we stopped in Winston-Salem to meet Uncle Paul (Trip's twin brother), Jennifer (Uncle Paul's girlfriend) and Nolan (Jake's cousin) for dinner at one of our favorite pizza places. We ate some yummy NY style pizza and had a really nice visit. Jake and Nolan really enjoyed each other and continued to visit even after we had strapped Jake back into his car seat which was so cute to watch.

Catching a few ZZZZ's in the car.

Mama... when is the pizza coming? Uncle Paul and Daddy are hungry.

Nolan... this next video is my favorite so watch...

After dinner we made our way on to Greensboro and stopped to pick up a few things at a Harris Teeter. They had the coolest shopping carts for kids and Jake spotted them as soon as we walked through the door. He was so excited because he could "drive" and he literally giggled through the whole store.

Look Mama... I'm driving!

We're so grateful for the opportunity to experience life through the eyes of our child. Everything is so fun! Jake loved the hotel! It was like a big adventure for him . He loved exploring in the room, counting the lights in the hallway, seeing all the new people and especially playing in the pool. It was his first time in a real pool and he was so excited. He loves the water!

Again Daddy... again!

Wheeeeeee........

Okay... I'm almost warm... can we get back in now?

Sesame Street is a great way to start the day!

When we got home from Greensboro I was unloading the dishwasher and as usual Jake was eager to help but he decided to put the silverware in the drawer instead of just handing it to me. He was so proud of himself and of course we were too.

I'm Mama's little helper!

A few days ago I realized that Jake only plays with the things on the top of his toy box. He never digs in and pull out everything. We wanted him to know that he could play with anything anytime so we have both showed him that it's okay to pull everything out. I'm happy to report that he learned very quickly and now cleanup time takes a little longer at the end of each day but he's happy to help.

What? You said it was okay... right?

As you may remember from my previous posts, Jake is really into driving right now so we decided to get him his very own car. I'm so glad we did because he LOVES it! He was so excited to get it and couldn't wait for us to get it put together. He "helped" us a lot because we weren't going fast enough.

Check out my new ride!

Friday night we had some friends over for dinner. They have a little boy who is about 8 months older than Jake and we were eager to get them together to play. They got along great! They played outside quite awhile before dinner and then moved inside for more fun. It was a really nice evening and we all enjoyed time with our friends.

Hank... do you want to play some basketball?

Thanks for pushing me Hank! Do you want to ride next?

Yesterday we enjoyed a big cookout to celebrate Uncle Russell's birthday. Jake had a blast! He played football with Trip and Gage (our 13 year old nephew who is 6'1" and 190lbs!), got pulled around in a wagon by Abbie and her friend Levi, ate outside on the grass, and enjoyed some birthday cake. He also enjoyed being loved on by Mamaw and Papaw, Uncle Russell, Aunt Kristi and Katie and showing off for Uncle Russell's friends.

Who should I play with next?

Wow! First I have to get some of these great rocks!

TOMATO UPDATE: I'm sorry to report that although we have enjoyed several wonderful homegrown tomatoes that we won't be getting too many more this season thanks to the evil horn worms (picture below). I noticed our plants were looking odd and realized that tons of leaves and blooms were gone so I performed a little investigation and discovered one horn worm on each plant. They are harmless but they are can destroy a plant in nothing flat. We got rid of our unwelcome visitors but unfortunately it appears that too much damage was done so we'll only be getting a few more tomatoes this year. Oh well... we have enjoyed what we've harvested so far and we'll definitely try again next year.

Counting

Jake is counting now! He can count to 10 and then he says 13, 16, 19, 20.... so cute!!

Corn on the Cob

Jake and I visited Mamaw and Papaw while Trip was out of town one day last week and Papaw had some corn ready in his garden. He and Jake picked it and he sent it home with us to eat. It was Jake's first corn on the cob and he was excited about it since it came from Papaw. He carried his around for a little while before Trip cooked it and he would say... "corn.... Papaw" and just smile. Well...in 1996 Trip taught our niece, Carley, to eat corn on the cob and
we have always loved the pictures I got because you can literally watch her figure it out. It was one of the first times that I knew Trip would make a wonderful father and I was right. Thirteen years later he taught our son to eat corn on the cob the exact same way and it was just precious. Below are photos of both corn on the cob eating lessons. REMINDER: If the pictures are too small for you ... just click on them to make them big and then you can hit your back button to return to the original blog page.



Papaw gave me some corn!


Our local Nature Center had a free day this past Saturday for local residents and we took advantage of the chance to take Jake to see some animals. He really enjoyed it and learned several new words including wolf, coyote and peacock. He's still all about the hugs too so he would say things like "wolf... hug".

Bear....HUG!

I'm Daddy's best buddy!

Run... I think I saw another bear!

Mama ... are you sure that was a wolf because it really looked like a dog to me?

Jake still loves to "drive" ever since Papaw and Uncle Russell let him do it a couple of weeks ago. Every time we go anywhere now Jake wants to "drive". He just giggles while he turns every dial and pushes every button within reach. He also throws his whole body weight into trying to turn the steering wheel... ADORABLE!

I love driving Daddy's truck!

We're still enjoying our homegrown tomatoes. Jake loves to pick them and eat them. We can barely wash the cherry tomatoes before he takes a bite.

Mama... what do you mean we have to wash it first?

When Jake and I visited Mamaw and Papaw last week they treated us to burgers from a local drive-in that has been around pretty much my whole life. Jake had never eaten a hamburger but he decided to try mine and he really liked it.

Where have these been my whole life?

You might have noticed a new picture of Jake at the top of the side bar on the right of this page. It was his very first professional picture session and it was hard to keep him still but we got some cute shots. After we finished having his picture made I was being silly with him and Trip loved his laugh so he shot a little video to share. His laugh is wonderful! I would walk a million miles just to hear it for a even one moment.

Mama... you are so silly!