Jake rides a giraffe

Taken at the Sac Zoo on June 6th riding his favorite animal!

Random stories

I decided, in lieu of the “things I want to remember to embarrass Jake with later” post that I had been contemplating, to do a “random stories to show how cute my boy is” post.

He's such a mimic! We have "Elmo in Grouchland" (an Elmo classic with Mandy Pitinkin. a "must see" for Elmo-obsessed toddlers and not horrible for adults. I give it 3 pacis out of 5) and at one point the villain, Huxley (played by Pitinkin with comic timing and cartoonishly exaggerated but non-scary villainy), is showing how everything he touches is "mine." He touches something with his pinky, goes "bing" and says "mine." Jake was doing that in the car on the way home from the zoo. Everything was "bing. mine." His knee? "Bing. Mine." His cup? "Bing. Mine" It was hilarious!

After the zoo, we were playing hide-a-boo (a combo of hide and seek and peek-a-boo, obviously) and Ama was delivering the time-honored "Where's Jake?" line when she asked if Jake was hiding. This little voice pipes up from behind the sofa. "No." He just can't resist talking. Definitely a lawyer in training.

Momma taught Jake to play “Red Rover.” For those who don’t remember this game, one side links hands and says “Red Rover, Red Rover, send right over” and the aforementioned person has to run over as fast as they can and try to break the line on the other side. Jake is more of a “tackle ‘em and giggle” player, but his form can’t be beat – nor can his enthusiasm for the game. I know I said I wanted a running back (and I’m still hoping) but I think we may definitely have a lineman.

Closing notes in general: Jake has started giving the BEST hugs. Big tight squeezes! I swear he really is the reincarnation of my dad sometimes. Jake has discovered my bear, Murphy, who is almost as big as he is, and loves to give him kisses and carry him around. He’s big enough to collapse on, but not so big he can’t be carried. I love to see him with a stuffy that was so special to me.

We had a fall out of bed last night, but otherwise he’s been doing great in his big boy bed. All it takes is a pillow at the edge to “warn” him when he gets too close. I really will try to pull some of the pictures I’ve taken recently, but he’s moving so fast it’s all a big blur!! Water fun starts at school this week, summer’s here and we’re ready to “run run run!”

Still not awesome.

Jake's new word (one of many, as usual) this weekend was "awesome." Clearly my son is being raised in the best California tradition. So far "Daddy awsome." Papa, Ama, and Dippy are also awesome. However, here is the inevitable rest of the conversation:

Me: Is Mama awesome?
Jake: Uh, no.

Thanks, kid. My friend Lori has suggested than Mama is just SO totally amazing that awesome doesn't even cover it. That's why I have friends. Love you guys. You're AWESOME!

How about a pic-a-nic, Boo boo?

We had a lovely Mother's Day picnic in Sonoma with Ama, Mamaw, and the fam. Jake, despite a bad night's sleep, a crummy nap in the car, and teething, was a doll. He played with the toys other families brought, and made friends wherever he went. There was some toddler drama, but that's pretty expected by now. We stopped at Nut Tree on the way home (BTW, the play area is closed and being sold - possibly never to open again) and he was running up and down the Bocce courts saying "Run, run, run!" He has also added "Please" as a word, not just the sign, and a couple of others. It's amazing that he really does seem to add 1-2 words each day! Oh, and the hat was a Whole Foods purchase. It's so ugly it's cute and I could always find him in the busy park. And, best of all, he seems to like it because he kept it on almost all afternoon! He's my little plaid fedora man!

As can be seen in the picture, he loves his new tricycle. "Bike" has been added as a new word and he never fails to point them out when we're out and about. He wants to ride his bike at all hours - 6 a.m. and the sun is barely up and he's pointing out the back door saying "BIKE!" Uh, no. Not yet. Let's wait until the sun is all the way up, ok?

Another new word is "Monkey" whch he has just taken off with. He has these PJs with monkeys on them and he just loves to say "monkey" and make "ee eee" noises while getting them on and off. It is seriously, OMG cute. We may have to go to the zoo next weekend and see the real monkeys!

Happy Mother's Day!

A picture of my present...

Random information (and a picture)

Here's a picture of Jake chillin' on his new big boy bed. Reading one of his favorite books at the moment, The Little Engine That Could (a/k/a "Choo Choo" to the under 2 set). This led me to decide to write down for posterity all of the little random pieces of information about my darling son that I will treasure (or use against him) when he's older. I know this seems like a Facebook note, but oh well, there's probably a reason those things are so popular:

Favorite books: See above. Also "I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today (Dr. Seuss), any of the "Jake" books (Jake's Perfect Day, Jake's Big Adventure, or Come and Play, Jake), and My Momma Had a Dancing Heart. Daddy requested that I add The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming.

Favorite music: Swing. Also likes salsa and ska at Grammy's - basically anything wiith a good dance beat.

Favorite TV show: Sesame Street, obviously, especially the Elmo highlights.

Favorite color: Don't really know.

Favorite food: Cheese, pasta, or apples.

Favorite activity: Anything with water or bubbles. Least favorite activity: first diaper change of the day and having his nails trimmed.

Favorite shape: stars!!

Favorite toy: Choo choo (either one).

Favorite words: Apple, Up, Mine (or my), More, No, and Daddy. Most recent new word: Down.

Speed: Running.

Things Mommy thinks are especially darling: Making Gir-Gir and DUI (the drunk fox) kiss and sharing milk with the stuffies. Insisting on being the one to give Dippy her treat in the morning (although I'm sure she wishes he wouldn't shove it in so hard). Giggles when he splashes me in the tub and I make a face. His use of "I do!" as a replacement for "yes." Oh, so much more I could go on for days...