the town of or

We love Kitt yes we do! We love Kitt, how 'bout you!? Kitt - thanks for fixing our blog....it's awesome!

Lisa has added lots of pictures of Jake in his online photo album including his first time in a big boy swing, and his first time in a canoe:

One of the fringe benefits of receiving a large donation from Safeco is that you get to go on-field before a game and receive a "big check" in front of the fans. OK, so the Mariners are the worst team in the big leagues this year...but still nothing beats a thumbs-up (hoofs-up?) from the Mariner Moose.

We saw these two otters, playing on a dock in Port Townsend, WA. Then on the way home, we saw this bald eagle in Poulsbo, WA. Quite a nature day!

Yesterday, on the 623rd day of his life (20+ months old), Jake did something we weren't sure was possible. He went an entire day without crying once! (Well, at least he didn't cry in the morning or evening with us - it's entirely possible he cried at daycare during the day).

It's a first! To make sure it didn't become a trend, he kicked off this morning crying when his Dad changed his diaper.

IslandWood held its summer staff party this week. We hired the "Bubble Man" to entertain the kids.

After the show, he told me that the weather was perfect (humid with cloud cover) for creating some of the biggest bubbles he has ever made!

One of Jake's favorite activities is to play with his Cheerios book. The game works with Mommy or Daddy placing Cheerios on various pages of the book, and then he laughs and eats them up!

Despite the fact that this book was a gift from his grandparents, I'm not sure some of the text is appropriate for children. How did the editor miss this?! :-)

My parents came to visit in early June to get some quality time with their littlest grandson, and Jake took to them right away! I was worried that with all his issues of separation anxiety (or "mommy-itis") that he wouldn't warm up to them quickly. But he proved me wrong. It probably helped that they brought him a big, cool wagonful of giant lego blocks :-)

Every morning when they came downstairs, Jake would look at them like, "Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?" but then they'd make a silly face or noise at him and the ice would be broken. By the end of their visit, he was actually making bids for their attention as much as (if not more) than he did for mine & Ben's. It was cute.

So, back during the '06 holiday season, Jake had a crazy round of teething (remember that?), where he got his first 6 teeth within the span of 6 weeks. All that drooling and chewing and crankiness finally came to a head... and then (phew!) we were done. For a little while.

Teeth #7 and 8 came along, rather unceremoniously, sometime around Valentine's Day.

But now - drumroll, please! - teeth #s 9 through 12 are making as dramatic an entrance as #s 1 through 6. And they are molars, to boot!

For the past month or so, Jake has been in crazy yucky teething mode... again. He's actually been in a much better mood this time around, but I can't believe how quickly they just keep coming! Funny, isn't it, that this is the way in which Jake's development is most "advanced"...?

Ben thinks that if Jake is the first kid to have all his teeth but the last kid to walk, then life isn't so bad. And I suppose he's right.

But the inconsistent nights of sleep are killing me!

Napping, that is. Jake hates to succumb. He needs it, but he hates it.

Actually, that's not entirely true. I do think he likes sleeping. He certainly enjoys life a lot more (as do the rest of us) when he gets his fair share of sleep. Especially at night...

But he just doesn't like to do it in the middle of the day.

More often than not, the info sheet for the day from First Years will say that he didn't take a morning nap. Alas!

And when I have him at home, it is an uphill battle a-l-l t-h-e w-a-y. Eventually I just have to leave him in his crib, crying, and walk out the door. Usually he'll cry for a good 10 minutes or so (sometimes more!) before he realizes that he's not getting out of it.

Then - magically! - he is in a MUCH better mood when he wakes up and has already forgotten all about the struggles that we had about napping in the first place.

Ah, ignorance (a.k.a. lack of short-term memory) is bliss! :-)