Cookie crumbles

So this picture proves I cave about the sugar rule now and again --
those are Starbucks shortbread cookie pieces on him! But everyone
deserves a daily dose of SB, and he still hasn't mastered a zippy cup
so lattes are out. ;)

Naked baby

My newest strategy in my baby-food-stained laundry battle.

Playing in the yard

We spent an hour this afternoon "walking" back and forth across the
front lawn. Good news? This has helped him conquer his strange grass
phobia. Bad news? My back is killing me - it's hard to stay hunched
over holding those little hands!

Manic monday

Jake's daycare provider took a vacation day today (don't even get me
started on that) so I stayed home with him. I had envisioned a day of
me finally using my jogging stroller to go for a run, followed by me
catching up on laundry and checking in with work while he napped, then
a lunch picnic in the park (organic fruit and pasta for him, a salad
for me), and ending with a trip to the art museum to check out the
Warhol exhibit. You don't want to hear all the details but after a day
of no naps for him & no coffee or shower for me, we had not left the
house and the two of us were sitting on the living room floor
splitting a box of cheez its ( while I googled "10 month old cheez-its
ok?" on my phone) while we watched "Rock of Love" and I iced the spots
where he'd bitten me. My day job is SO easy (but nowhere near as fun).

Bunny slippers

It took a ton of distraction, but I finally got a semi-decent shot of
Jake wearing his bunny slippers!

First burgers and fries

Yesterday this little guy devoured pieces of cheeseburger, bun, and
french fries. I've never seen him eat so much, and be so excited about
eating. So much for only letting him eat only local, grass-fed beef
and organic potatoes! I'm quickly learning that I only talk the talk. ;)

Feeding himself

I guess this means I can't give Jake a container of snacks to shake to
keep him entertained any longer....

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I couldn't get him to stop Irish step dancing long enough to get a
decent picture. ;)

Happy 10 months to our everything

Amazing Owen

Jake is finishing up his stomach bug, and it breaks my heart to see him not feeling well. It's also a reminder of how lucky I am to have had my worries about his health limited to colic, a cold here and there, and now his first stomach bug.

Our little friend Owen spent his early days in the NICU and ultimately had brain surgery. I try, but I truly can't imagine what it's like for his parents. This week, specialists decided Owen no longer needed early intervention programs to gauge his development. (I'm probably getting the medical part a bit wrong, but that's how I understand it.) I know for sure that it's unexpected, great news. And I know it's utterly amazing... just like he is. http://marchforbabies.org/owen_nicholas

Exorcist baby

Jake threw up all over Dave and me this morning. I couldn't believe
the amount of stuff that came out of the poor kid's mouth and nose...
I really expected his head to start spinning. When I called Julie to
let her know he wouldn't be in day care, she said another little boy,
Ciaran, was also vomitting. Big surprise - I watched Ciaran drool on
Jake's face when I picked Jake up yesterday. Sick or not, it was nice
to spend the day with Jake, but it was a good reminder of how much
easier my job is compared to being a full-time mom!

Noggin meets floor

It's hard to believe how mobile jake had become in a few short weeks -
I can't keep track of him, and he hates being contained. It's a tricky
combination that proved disasterous today. He pulled himself up on a
kitchen chair and as it started to slide he took a few steps, tumbled
backwards and broke his fall with his head. On the tile. Hard, hard
tile. I don't know who it scared more, or who cried harder. He was
back to himself in a minute or two (took me close to five), but I plan
on checking on him throughout the night thanks to the 'American
academy of make parents panic' - oh I mean 'American academy of
pedatrics'. Anyone else notice that everything in the book is "this is
normal so don't call your doctor but sometimes it could be something
fatal so just keep an eye on him." Sheesh.

One exciting night... did you catch the bit about him taking a few
steps? Yeah so he was aided by a chair and trying to save himself from
crashing, they were legitimate steps!

Birthday wishes

My birthday wish very much came true last year so this year was hard
to measure up. :) Erica and Nic were kind enough to babysit so Dave
and I could go out to dinner. As you can tell we don't get out much
and we were a little overexcited, which led to us being embarrassingly
overdressed. It just took a glass of champagne to stop me from
worrying too much about it. Jake had a great time with N & E - so much
so he wouldn't go to sleep for them!

Checking out the checkout man

At our local market, you have to send the cart through the opposite
side of the checkout counter. Jake loves it - he just stares at the
checkout person until they give him some attention. In HUGE news, jake
is crawling (on all fours) and can pull himself up! His new mobility
has also led to another new favorite - getting lint-brushed. Due to my
great housekeeping skills, I have to run the lint brush all over him
after he crawls around. Embarrassing for me, very fun for him. I get
the best belly laughs out of him when I roll the brush all over him.

Loving the Dugout

I think we have a baseball fan on our hands... This was Jake's
expression during most of the PacBell Park tour.

Giants stadium

We went to San Francisco to go on a tour of PacBell (I refuse to call
it AT&T park) and, more importantly, see Liz! Jake got a kick out of
riding around in his backpack. He totally charmed the tour guide -
wouldn't take his eyes off of her. She as smitten. I didn't have the
heart to tell her that I think the fact that she was a petite, middle-
aged Asian woman had Jake thinking she was Dave's mom. He had that
"Grammie!!" look in his eyes.