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!

Summer fun with Jake....

There is nothing like having a toddler around to make you remember how much fun summer can be if you just take the time to enjoy it. We're having a blast with our little man and enjoying every precious moment.

He's recently become enamored with hugging which for his Daddy and I is like having lots of little unexpected gifts throughout our day. Several times a day he'll stop whatever he's doing and come running up to one of us and say "hug" and then give us the sweetest little hug. He'll also bring us one of his stuffed animals to hug and then he'll hug it too.

No really Mama... I don't need a nap... I'm wide awake...


We had a fun afternoon with family yesterday. Our washing machine is on its last legs so my Daddy and Mama came down so Daddy could work on it for us. He drove his van so he would have all of his parts and tools accessible and Jake loved "driving" the "truck" with Papaw... especially when Daddy made "truck" sounds. My brother and sister-in-law and their three kids were also down doing a little shopping and they stopped by too which was a very nice surprise. We got takeout from a famous BBQ restaurant... blueberry chipolte ribs which were amazing and the most delicious corn pudding you can imagine. The restaurant has been featured in Southern Living and on Good Morning America and also enjoyed a visit from President Obama when he was in town during his campaign. They are only open for lunch and there is always a line out the door but it is totally worth the wait.

I love driving Papaw's "truck"!


Jake is really enjoying his ride-on toys now. We've pushed him around on them for months but he finally decided to take off on his own. He has a Clifford the Big Red Dog (a hand-me-down gift that he absolutely loves) to ride on upstairs and his big Tonka truck to ride on downstairs and outside. Every night after his bath but before he gets his diaper and pajamas on he has to take Clifford for a spin and it's just so adorable that I've had to snap a few pictures. The one below is one of my favorites because it's a tiny mirror image of how his Daddy looks from behind sitting on his Harley (but of course his Daddy has on clothes... LOL).

How do you like my new ride?


We're trying to incorporate some arts and crafts into our routine. Jake has enjoyed crayons and pens for a few months and we've now added paint to the mix. We've finger painted a few times and this past Friday we did rock painting which was fun.

This is my first rock painting...

Look out Mama...

We're starting to enjoy our homegrown tomatoes and boy are they yummy! Jake has picked one cherry tomato which he ate and two nice big tomatoes which he allowed his Daddy and I to share. There is nothing like the first homegrown tomato sandwich of the year!

Check out the tomato that I helped grow.

I can pick this one since its red.

Soon to be displayed at a fingerpaint gallery near you...

Happy 17 Month Birthday to Me!!!

Getting ready to create another masterpiece...

When I need to relax I just do a little yoga. Here I'm doing my favorite position... "Downward Facing Dog".

I think I'll give this to Mama.

Daddy... check out this great rock!

Ta da!

Running is so much fun!

For the 4th of July we enjoyed a cookout at Mamaw and Papaw's house with Uncle Russell, Aunt Kristi, Gage, Katie and Abbie. It was a great day! It's really important to me that Jake have the same kind of wonderful childhood memories that I have so we're trying to start traditions that we'll carry on throughout his life. You may remember that I made him an Easter Bunny cake for Easter this year (just like the one's that my Mama used to make for my brother Russell and I when we were little). Well ... I decided to take a stab at a flag cake for the 4th of July and I have to say it turned out great. It was really pretty and tasted fantastic (if I do say so myself). It was an endeavor since it was made completely from scratch but thanks to Barefoot Contessa's great recipe I was able to pull it off. It was a huge hit and will definitely be one of our family traditions.

We also picked up a fantastic hand-me-down kitchen that was Abbie's when she was little. I think you all know that Trip is the cook in our house (yep... I'm a very lucky woman) and now Jake "cooks" while Daddy cooks and its so cute!

Papaw this tractor is awesome!

My very first watermelon and it is yummy!

Katie ... can I have some of your watermelon now?

Gage ... do you want to play in my new kitchen?

Uncle Russell and Abbie took me for a ride on the "cycle".

Check out Mama's pretty flag cake...

On the really hot days we've let Jake enjoy a little pool time. He has two pool options and he loves them both. One option (shown below) is just a basic pool but the other has water spouts that shoot up all over the place (thank you Grandma). Jake loves both and I need to get some snapshots of the water spout pool or maybe even video because he just giggles when he plays in it.

Splash!

Splashing is so much fun!!!!

Do you want to come play in my hippo pool?

Trip taught Jake how to eat an apple recently and Jake was just fascinated with the whole process.

Wow... did I do that?

Okay... I think this is what Daddy did...