Delayed response to mom

After a week in Zurich for work and a total of 9 days away from Jake and Dave, I'm back home. And although I fell absolutely in love with Europe and am already itching to get back, I can't imagine leaving Jake again. Jake, on the other hand, didn't react much to me when he met me at the gate and I have to admit that made me feel a little sad and very guilty. But yesterday, everything changed. I went to pick him up a daycare and he clung to me... snuggled into me when I picked him up, and cried when I tried to put him down when we got back home. I've never been so happy to make spaghetti and meatballs one-handed, with 25 pounds of cuddles and hugs in the other arm. :)

Santa Barbara or bust!

... and it was a bust. Here we are on our way home after, oh, 12 hours
actually in SB. And most of those were spent trying to comfort an
extremely cranky teething Jake. So we gave up, packed up, and headed
back up 101. Luckily the little guy spent most of the ride home like
this (with Dave and I in complete silence so as not to wake him). So
our 4th anniversary trip was definitely a bust but once we were home,
Jake was sleeping soundly in his crib, and Dave and I were enjoying
wine, a big hunk of triple cream Brie, and 'Dexter' -it was a nice
anniversary after all. Oh and a shout out to our friends Steve and
Jenn who bravely took on a screaming Jake so Dave and I could enjoy a
quick, but amazing anniversary dinner in SB!

Aw Dah

Jake isn't one to sit and enjoy his meals - he's a picky eater and the faster he can get out of his booster seat, the happier he is. So when he recently started announcing "Aw Dah" when in his chair, I wondered: Is he really saying "All done"? Even if he is (maybe it's something he picked up from the older kids at daycare), he surely can't understand what it means. Hell, he still doesn't really say "Momma."

But then I realized he is in fact saying "All done" and he knows exactly what it means. Here are some examples:

When his strawberries are gone from his tray and all that's left are chicken nuggets and vegetables which he refuses to eat = "Aw Dah"

When I try to change his diaper = "Ah Dah"

When the pediatrician tried to take a look in his ears and mouth at his checkup = "Aw Dah"

When I try to hold him in my lap and put his shoes on = "Aw Dah"

And the best example, when I knew for sure? When I recently had to take his temperature rectally = "AW DAH AW DAH AWWWW DAHHHH!!!"

(Here he is riding the "roller coaster" at Gilroy Gardens)