two more...

Jack, being expressive. Baths and toy basketballs--ecstatic.
Sweaters with the hood up--not so much.

Here's a little bit of video from earlier this month, at Liam's birthday party. I finally figured out how to get videos to work here-- so watch for more to come!

Jack's first public transportation

This morning we celebrated the grand opening of the Euclid Corridor by taking advantage of free bus service and taking the Healthline from Cornell to Public Square. Despite a blustery wind and some spitting rain, we managed to have a delightful time and, as always, were left asking ourselve why we don't come downtown more often...
Jack thoroughly enjoyed his first bus ride. At first, he was a little overstimulated, I think, snuggling with us and very soberly observing the other people on the bus. Then, once he relaxed, he realized he could stand up on our laps, watch the world go by out the window, and try to make friends with all these new people... great fun! He pointed out the fact that many buildings we passed, in fact, had doors. The kid is very serious about doors right now.
Jack also thoroughly enjoyed the rather crappy fall weather. We might have felt a little guilty for randomly walking around downtown on a cold, rain-ish day with our slightly sniffly proto-toddler, if it were not for the s**t-eating grin on his face the whole time. We went into the Starbucks on Playhouse Square for a warm-up and he just wanted to get back outside the whole time.
The weather, of course, was much improved by the time we boarded the bus to head home. At a quick stop at Zagara's, we plopped Jack into the cardboard box of pumpkins. Can't miss a fall-themed photo op! We may be going out to actually purchase some pumpkins later today, so keep an eye out for even more orange-tinted photos...

pictures!

Here we are at Eddy's fruit farm on October 12th...

About time....

I posted an update, huh? Shortly, I'll post some pictures from our trip to Eddy's fruit farm, which was almost 2 weeks ago now. Wow. Fall is flying by... we've been lucky to have some lovely weather weekends. The weekend of the 11th was crispy and wonderful and spent picking apples, baking a pie, and taking some walks. The intervening week blew by in a blur of meeting and not getting quite enough done at school, and evenings of walking in the neighborhood with Jack and Cor. Thursday we had a lovely time at breastfeeding support group. Jack's drinking buddy Kenny celebrated his 1st birthday with snacks and the two boys had a good time sharing animal crackers. And by sharing I mean, sucking on a cracker for a bit, then handing it with smile to a friend. Good thing Jessica and I both have dogs and are pretty laid back about the whole spit-sharing thing! I can't believe Kenny is a year old-- seems like yesterday we were first meeting them, and Kenny seemed so much younger than Jack (though he's always weighed more!) Now that they're both in that nebulous category of "one," they are practically indistinguishable. They really play together now; for a while they teamed up and pushed around one of the folding chairs...
Friday the 17th was NEOEA day, a quasi-day off for us teacher types, and we celebrated with a real, genuine night out as grown-ups. Jack stayed home with grandma and Nat and I headed out with Melinda, Will, and Kate to Wolf-Creek Winery. We shared two bottles of wine, petted goats, enjoyed the view and talked a lot about cheese. It was lovely.
The rest of this most recent weekend seems rather nondescript in retrospect, as we did not have any particular agrarian themed activities going on. The highlight of Saturday was a trip to Trader Joe's. It's a good thing Jack seems to enjoy shopping. He continues to charm people everywhere we go. Sunday we had dinner at Melinda and Will's, where Jack was a delight, playing with trains (he can say "choo choo", or at least a close approximation thereof) and sitting at the table with us on a regular chair.

Here are some updates on our soon-to-be 14 month old:
*He has apparently been in the mood to reminisce recently, going back to waking 3-4 times a night. Sigh. Hopefully, like all things, this is a phase...
*He is still a bit of a booger about eating. Current successes include eggs with asparagus and deli sliced chicken, and goldfish grahams.
*His vocabulary is constantly evolving. It's hard to say that he's adding words because it seems that after he uses a word for a week or so he retires it in favor of new words and noises. But, new words recently include "do" for phone, a very clearly stated "hello" when answering phones (a new favorite activity), babbling in a questioning tone, "down" and "car".
*He is very into trucks and enjoys pointing at them when they drive by.
*He is a speed demon on the stairs and consistently turns around to climb down off of things.
*He is starting to like walking with his hands held. He particularly does this at the park, like he wants to show off and get around like a big boy there.
*Speaking of parks-- he is obsessed with playgrounds. He loves turtle park and I do beleive he tried to day "turtle" as we passed the park on our run today -- "tur? tur?". He also loves the "big kid" playground at Peace Park. The other day I let him crawl around and explore and he was so excited to climb up on the the platforms-- and so mad when I made him come down!
*He is a very opinionated little guy who gets upset when told no-- but generally listens. He loves to throw food off his tray at meals. Tonight when told no, he put on a dramatic whining face, then looked over the side of tray and said "no no" while he cried a bit. Almost funny...
*Tonight he sang along to the ABC song. OK, not letters. But, his do,do,do sounds were in perfect rhythm and I DO think he said "s" with me at the appropriate time.

Turtle park

Jack and I discovered a wonderful spot the other evening-- a small neighborhood park designed just for the "under 5" set. We've driven by Turtle Park before but Wednesday evening was the first time we tested out the walking distance there. Turns out it is about a 20 minute walk from home and that Jack LOVES it there. He can't decide which part is his favorite-- the sterring wheel on the climbing equipment, the sand toys, or the wide array of ride-in cars. Corydon, on the other hand, was not impressed as she had to wait, tied up, outside the fence. We weren't more than about 20 feet away from her at any given time, but she quivered and paced and acted generally miserable the entire time we were there. Jack didn't want to leave but eventually our hands were cold, the dog was about to hyperventilate, and it was nearly kiddo's bedtime, so with much protest we headed home. Thursday we went back and brought daddy instead of the dog. Turns out he was a much more cooperative park-goer. We ran into Jack's friend Van and his mom, who we know from the parent center. It's pretty neat to know people in our neighborhood and run into the around town... actually the little girl in the background of the picture lives a few streets behind us, too! We're reveling in another week of 60-70 degree sunshine and I am glad we discovered this park before cold weather set in.

A day at the farm

(Above, Jack and Daddy commune with Nancy the cow...)

Today, in an effort to both enjoy the spectacular fall afternoon and escape spending more time in the house with teethe-o-matic Jack, we went to Lake FarmPark. Nothing like a little agrarian immersion to brighten up the afternoon. Jack, who at home was a royal, screeching crab, was a perfect and charming young man during our entire outing. Go figure.

He LOVED all the animals. No pictures of the Percherons-- but they were among his favorites. Giant, imposing beasts with the kindest eyes. Jack wanted desperately to pet them and we kept trying to keep his tiny little fingers from sneaking into the stalls with those great big teeth. Anytime he was able to sneak his hand in and touch the horse, he would flash this triumphant grin.

Another highlight (and probably mommy's favorite part)-- piglets!! Twelve of them, 2 weeks old and adorable. If it weren't for the fact that they grown up to be pigs, I would reall want a piglet. Jack spent quite a bit of time bonding with the little things...

Here's the little man enjoying a seat on the tractor stool in the gift shop...

And with daddy, saying "bye" to some people walking by. He's been so social recently when we're out and about, saying hello to everyone, especially kids and babies (though this morning he was quite the flirt with a middle aged woman at Jo-Ann Fabrics..).

Teething and other news...

Tooth 12 is on its way and we have had a crabby Jack on our hands the past few days. Actually he's not too bad. I suppose its a credit to how sunny his disposition has been in recent months that even a moderately serious and clingy boy is such a shock to us.

Aside from teething, little man has been his usual, exceedingly cute self. Here are some updates on his latest developments.

Phones: He loves them, in all their forms. He has, over the past week, gained and then refined his skills at pretending to answer the phone. I am a bit sad to see him outgrowing his early attempts, which consisted of him placing the phone directly on his nose and forehead when we said "ring ring". I am not sure how he decided that we answer phones with our faces... but, so cute! Tonight he started putting it up to his ear. My baby is growing up!

Mobility: Crawling like a banshee. Speed crawling around the first floor loop is still a favorite activity, as is crawling up and then crawling/sliding very rapidly back down the stairs. Today he turned himself around at the top of the stairs so he could get himself down! He is also pushing his scooter and new walker around the house with increasing proficiency. And, when he is busy playing in a standing position, he sometimes lets go and stands on his own. He is also trying to stand from a squatting position. So, there is progress towards walking, but Jack continues to show caution and a desire for precision and proficiency in all his attempts.

(Aside: this evening at drinking buddies Jack and his 11 month old friend Kenny were playing with Kenny's box of wipes. Once they had each obtained a few, they began to each play with a wipe. These two little boys are very different in their personalities. As Kenny enthusiastically bunched up his wipe and put it into his mouth, Jack carefully pretended to blow his nose (another cute new skill) and then, with utmost sobriety, wiped his chin, first on one side and then the other. There it is in a nutshell: the way Jack approaches the world, as demonstrated with a wipe.)

Eating and weight gain: Still picky. But, there is progress! He will now eat scrambled eggs containing a wide variety of veggies, and waffles with a wide variety of fruit. He likes yogurt, cheese, and Kashi cereal bars. He ate a ton of chipotle tonight, just about "straight up," salsa and all! And, through Nat's liberal use of half-and-half, cheese, and butter, Jack has managed to put on about a pound in the last month... the Dr. had better be happy with his percentile now!

Talking: Jack's words to date include-- dog (daw), dad, Hi dad, mommom (said in a whine, of course), stick, door (do-oh), uh-oh, no, that (dat), num (for boobies), yum. Also he says "gum" all the time. No idea what that means... Today he added Cor-din. Clear as day! We had a bit of a traumatic event this afternoon, when an excited Corydon bumped Jack into a headfirst collision with a doorframe. After the screaming dissapated, a teary Jack looked back towards the front of the house and said "Cor-din. Do-oh". Sad to have a bump on his head, but neat to hear him "tell his story" about it!