Deck the Halls

For the first time ever we actually put our tree up over Thanksgiving weekend. We wanted to be able to enjoy it as long as possible, and I admit I'm a little bit of a Christmas junkie. The decorations, music, excitement - all of it. I am so happy to be able to share the fun with Jake now that he is big enough to "help" out. He makes it all so much more fun!

Mmmm.....Jam

After round two of Aunt Janet's blackberry jam on biscuits.
And smiles on cue. And a bath soon following!

Happy Halloween!!

What a great day. It's Jake's second Halloween but he was much more involved this year. I think he wasn't so sure about what he was getting from people, but he LOVED eating the candy (I promise we didn't give him too much). By next year, he'll be a pro. Hope you all had a great Halloween too!

The balloons didn't show up in too many pictures, but they were with us all day. Jake is a little obsessed with balloons, so this was the perfect costume for him....

Here's our little clown.


Helping mommy apply the makeup. He was so patient!



Stopping for an adjustment.



Mastering the "drop in the bucket".



The cutest clown you'll ever see!

15 Months

This first picture perfectly describes our lives right now....he's on the run and we're always trying to catch up.
At his 15 month check up, he weighed 24 1/2 pounds and is 31.5 inches tall and for the first time he didn't cry at all during his exam (until the shots of course).

Jake is such a fun 15-month old. It's amazing to watch him learn, and of course we think he's brilliant. He knows almost all of the objects in his picture books and points to them when we ask him where they are. He's starting to talk a little more too. Here are some words he can say...."Balloon" (sounds a little like vroom vroom), "Mama" for anything he wants or if he's frustrated, "Baby", "Diaper" - only once but clear as day, "Ball", "Hat". He shakes his head to answer yes or no to questions we ask (more no answers these days). And he communicates through signs also..."More", "Water", "Milk / Hi / Goodbye /Star" (those 4 are all the same), "Hat". He loves his books and his animals (both real and stuffed). And we think he's the greatest ever.

Here are some pictures over the last couple of weeks.

Bronx Zoo

We went to the Bronx Zoo a few weeks ago and had a great day! Jake never got to take a nap, so it was a long day for the little man. But we all had fun and look forward to going back next year.




Feeding the animals.

Notice the shirt change. We had an explosive poop just before the monkey house that I swear was the stickiest and grossest of his life. And of course it happened at the zoo and when we didn't have an extra shirt. So we changed him outside and bought a shirt at the gift shop. What a day!




Here are some of the animals we saw at the zoo...


Jake LOVES "Goodnight Gorilla" and he was SO excited to see the gorillas. One of the baby gorillas actually slid down a tree right in front of us at the window. It was so fun to see them in action. This guy was a little grouchy.

The polar bear was one of our favorites - he was so cute. We saw him swim and then try his hardest to break the barrel to no avail. Strong barrel!

Buzz Buzz....Snip Snip

JAKE'S FIRST HAIRCUT!
We finally gave in and got Jake's hair cut. I almost lost my lunch when I realized they would be cutting ALL of the curls off. But I'm so glad that we did it. He looks like such a big guy! Hoping the curls come back at least a little. He's so tough too. Not one tear or scream! Or maybe just stubborn. I'm sure he heard the warnings of our barber that he would most definitely cry and just wanted to prove her wrong!













By the way, he's starting to run (GULP)!

Ribbit

Jake pulled this frog out of his closet this morning and used it as a chair while watching Sesame Street. Sounds good to me! It just looked so cute, I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Look Ma...No Hands!

This is how we've started giving Jake oranges. It's how I used to eat them as a kid and I remember it being fun. He wasn't so sure at first, as you can tell. But now he can pretty much eat one half of an orange for PART of his snack. He's such a good eater and thankfully loves some good-for-you food too. Mmmm....oranges.....

Backyard Fun

Jake LOVES being outside. He plays hard, which is good for everyone (good sleep!) except maybe Bailey, who is getting beat up on a pretty regular basis these days. I'm thinking it might be about time for the first haircut. I'm hanging on to the curls for fear that they won't come back. But they are getting a little unruly (see bottom photos). Maybe in a couple of weeks...or months :)


Practicing for the U.S. Open. Our future ball boy.




Look at that form! He's a natural!





The serious face. Isn't he a doll?