I haven't kept track of many milestones lately, because I've been so close to the action that it doesn't feel as though much has changed with Jake lately. It's just constantly go, go, go with him. But then I realized that this in itself is a huge milestone. It's not the matter of Jake doing something new, like cruising or feeding himself; it's more a matter of how much BETTER he is at this stuff now. Almost all the food bits make their way into his mouth now (including any stray bits on the floor). And he's become so quick at cruising 'round the couch or coffee table now that it's a race between Jake and Mommy as to who reaches the full cup of soda sitting on the end table. So far I'm ahead, but I'm not counting on that lasting much longer.
Jake's favorite thing lately has been to shake his head "no". Whatever the question you ask him, he'll happily or sometimes seriously shake his head. This has been a source of great fun for Mommy. I'll ask, "Jake, do you think Daddy should spend the rest of the evening playing video games?" or "Jake, is Daddy allowed to drink all the milk?" This game elicits the usual eye-rolling from Dan, of course. I tried to teach Jake how to nod his head "yes", but the effect was confusing when Jake tried to simultaneously nod and shake his head. The poor little guy's head was bobbing in every direction.
Jake is still our Little Thundering Herd. He received the nickname after Dan and I watched "Into the West" on DVD, Netflix being our sole source of entertainment. We then decided that Jake needed his own Native American name. Jake's method of "sneaking up" on us is to thunder down the hallway on his hands and knees, breathing loudly in anticipation of surprising us. Then when he sees us and we do the obligatory gasps of mock surprise, Jake will crack up laughing. Thus he became our Little Thundering Herd. Hopefully he develops a little more subtlety and discretion before his first game of Hide and Seek, or at least before he starts dating.
Peek-a-Boo is still a mandatory part of our repertoire for entertaining Jake. In fact, I challenge anyone to try to change Jake's clothes without a brief game of peek-a-boo. He turns into a bored, wriggling, whiny octopus on the changing table. Whereas a simple "Where's Jake? Peek-a-boo, there he is!" while putting on Jake's shirt elicits a beaming grin.
In other news, I've already started planning the festivities for Jake's big First Birthday Bash! Dan has pointed out that Jake isn't even going to know what's going on. That could just be pre-party grumbling from Mr. Unsociable though. Jake and I both LOVE parties, events, festivals, gatherings, and get-togethers of any kind; Dan doesn't. I've already got the menu planned, and some of the party supplies purchased.
Jake's big birthday gift from Mommy and Daddy is an inflatable kiddie pool with a slide, shelter, riding toy, and sprinklers all built into one. Between that, the tree swing, and the little plastic slide his grandparents brought along on their last visit, Jake has his own backyard amusement park. I'm waiting to add the sandbox later when Jake's old enough not to eat the sand.
Jake, I must apologize right now for not being more careful to journal all your precious moments up to now. I do feel guilty for not cataloguing each moment away for us to savor together later. Please be aware though that just raising you occupies every free moment, ounce of energy, and iota of sanity that I can spare sometimes. Not that I'm not enjoying it, believe me I do, immensely. Just know that those brief half-hour lunchtime naps you take allow me to do a few things for myself, such as eat, shower, use the restroom, etc. I will try to be better at noting everything at least once a week. I'll pester your Daddy to be good at helping out so that I have a few free moments once a week to do so.
Well, I can't end this entry without listing all our events this week. Most of the week we've spent getting ready for Uncle Brandon's graduation. We bought his gift, and signed his card. We went to watch him sign the letter of intent to play baseball. Jake got his first picture in the paper in the process; he's sitting there so proudly, like we all came to see him, not Uncle Brandon. Then the graduation was Friday.
But we did do something just for Jake and Mommy. Wednesday was our first meeting with the local playgroup. Jake had a blast! From the moment we arrived, he wiggled out of my arms and was across the room playing with a couple of kids. The mommy who organizes the group and I were marvelling over how well her son and Jake were playing together. They were sharing a firetruck, and both boys had their hands on either end of it, pushing it gently back and forth. This went on for a good 5-10 minutes... miraculous! Then it ended nicely with both of them distracted by something else... even more miraculous! But Jake REALLY enjoyed watching the "big kids" play. A couple of 3-year-olds were bouncing a ball back and forth and running after it. Jake was just fascinated. You could see the little gears in his head turning, trying to figure out how to do that himself.
In fact, Jake was having so much fun that the first hour he wouldn't have noticed if I left. That is, until one of the big kids started playing with him. One of the 3-year-olds, a girl, apparently noticed Jake following her around and decided he'd make a wonderful baby doll. She quickly grabbed him by the wrist and tried to drag him over to her. When that didn't work, she tried to pull him to stand up, yanking on the same arm. By this point in time, Jake had had enough, and was started to look slightly panicked. I tried to admonish the girl to play gently, and Jake honed in on my voice and crawled over fast as he could. For the next half hour, Jake was more than happy to cuddle in my lap and suck on his bottle. The little flirt finally found a girl who was more than he could handle! ;)
Next week should be more sedate; my mom and Brandon are out of school for the summer. We don't have any major events upcoming next week, or important errands to run. So now that we're not going to be crazily running around trying to get stuff done, I hope we don't get too bored with all the peace and calm! Watch me get in trouble for saying that.
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