Sip Up Straight

posted by Evan Jake at 7:00 PM

It's not just mush and bottles for me anymore. Now I get veggies and toast and other fun foods to eat with my fingers. I can also drink out of a sippy cup all by myself.

I admit it, I was a little slow to catch onto the sippy cup thing. I think the name was confusing me. "Sippy" implies that one would gently sip from the cup. In fact it requires tipping and sucking. That's a lot to coordinate. It really should be called a "tippy sucky cup."

That's me in the first picture sitting on the kitchen floor drinking from my cup. It's easier to drink from it on the floor, because when I'm in my high chair, my sippy usually ends up down there pretty quickly anyway. That's not what you think it is in my sippy. It's just apple juice.

Meanwhile, mealtime no longer consists of warm bowls of orange goo. That's me in the second picture eating peas, bananas, toast and cheese. And no one has to feed it to me. I can just jam it right in my mouth. What a mess it makes. It's so much fun!

I'm becoming a little more independent every day. Feeding myself. Taking a few steps. Drinking from a cup. Soon I won't need mom and dad anymore. Except to take me on car rides. I love car rides. But I also love my sippy cup and I know it's against the rules to drink and drive.

~:O

Thanks for Giving

posted by Evan Jake at 7:13 PM

I'm back home now with Mom and Dad after a fun and eventful Thanksgiving. I had never heard of Thanksgiving until Thursday morning when I was packed up and put in the car. I love car rides, but I'm not crazy about car sitting -- which is what we did a lot of in heavy traffic on the way to nana and papa's house. Apparently Thanksgiving is about everyone getting in their cars at the same exact time and trying to drive in the same direction. It doesn't make much sense to me, but, hey, it beats day care.

Despite running a bit late, we made it to nana and papa's house just in time for dinner. And I'm really glad we went. A lot of my family was there when we arrived -- some of whom I'd never even met! There were my mom and dad, two grandparents, two uncles, two aunts, six cousins, two kitty cats and me. I wish everyone had worn name-tags. It might have made life a bit easier, but I can't read yet anyway. Plus, sticking name-tags on the cats probably wouldn't work. But I digress.

We all ate a big dinner cooked by my nana. I got to eat turkey and peas with my Cheerios for a change. It was all very tasty and none of it came out of a frozen box or the microwave. I hope mom and dad were taking notes.

Then, after dinner, there was a special surprise for all us cousins. Presents!

I guess we're not supposed to get gifts for another month or so, but since this was the only time we were all going to be together this year, us kids all got to open presents early. That's me in the picture surrounded by a bunch of presents and wrapping paper. (Mom had to help me a little with the unwrapping part. Meanwhile, Dad just stood there and wondered how all my new toys would fit in the car on the way home.)

When we were done opening gifts, we all got to spend time as a big happy family. I had fun with my cousins. I liked watching them all run around. While they made laps around the house, I was able to move in on their toys and get some solid play time in before they noticed.

The next day we all got up early and ate a homemade breakfast. Again, I hope mom and dad were taking notes. Then we went to a nearby park and played on some swings. After that, so some of us got to go to the zoo!

This zoo was way better than the Maryland Zoo mom and dad once took me to. And I got in for free, which I'm sure went over big with dad.

The zoo had all kinds of great animals that you could see up close and some you could even pet. That's me in the picture feeding a giraffe. He looked a little sad because I think people had been trying to feed him cold leftover turkey all day. There were also prairie dogs and lemurs and monkeys and kangaroos. But I wasn't allowed to pet or feed any of them. Maybe mom and dad will take me back there again some day when the monkeys are hungrier so I can feed them, too.

But the zoo was really just a highlight in an overall great trip. I had an awesome Thanksgiving at nana and papa's. I was very grateful we could all be together as a family. And I know I have even more grandparents, an uncle, an aunt, a great-grandmother and lots of other family that I didn't get to celebrate with this year. No matter where we spent Thanksgiving, we all surely have a lot to be thankful for. Especially the new toys.

~:O

Sick Days Rock

posted by Evan Jake at 7:25 PM

Last night mom and dad took me to the emergency room. These people are crazy.

Turns out I have a little bit of an allergy to the medicine for my ear infection. I thought the medicine was supposed to make me feel better not worse! At least it tastes good.

Anyway, I guess all those red bumps and rashes I had got mom and dad a little freaked out. I was a little worried about it myself. My hands and feet were all puffy, too. And they're pretty puffy for normal, so you can imagine what they looked like.

Even though we had to wait around a long time at the emergency room and we stayed there past my bedtime, I was glad we went. I didn't mind. I just slept right there in the hospital. Plus, it meant a couple extra car rides. And even when I'm sick, I love car rides.

After getting some new tasty medicine, we went home and straight to bed. This morning, I woke up feeling peachy and bright. With all the drama behind us, Mom took me to daycare as usual. But there was a problem.

The nice lady in charge of the daycare found out that I'd had a bit of a fever last night. So I got kicked out. She called mom to come and pick me up. It was against the rules. I felt like such a rebel. Hey, no problem. I was feeling great and got to spend the whole day with mom at home. Actually, we weren't at home the whole day. We went shopping. (When mom's not working, she shops.)

Then this evening all the invitations for my big party got prepared. They're being mailed tomorrow. It's safe to say that if you don't get your invitation in the next few days, you're probably not invited. These invitations are the most exclusive ticket since TomKat's wedding! If you have a problem, call my dad and yell at him. But please don't hold it against me. You can send me a present anyway. I won't tell dad.

~:O

diaperant: Pitter, Patter

posted by Evan Jake at 7:38 PM

I'm usually a pretty mellow baby. I don't complain much. And I'm fairly easy to please. But I've got something to get off my chest.

I'm a pretty sound sleeper. Most nights I get to sleep pretty quickly with very little fuss. But lately, I've been hearing a lot of stomping, whirring and banging coming from above my room.

As I'm trying to go to sleep I hear loud footsteps. I hear vacuum cleaners. I hear a washing machine spin off balance. I know these noises aren't coming from our house. There are no footsteps because mom and dad are usually to tired to move once I go to bed. And they certainly don't have time to vacuum or do laundry. No, those noises are coming from our neighbors from upstairs.

Our upstairs neighbors must do ten loads of wash every day. Maybe someone up there messes their sheets and spits up on their clothes. Only they don't have any babies living upstairs.

So there I'll be, snug in my crib, dreaming of car rides (I love car rides). Suddenly, a din from above will rouse me from my peaceful sleep. When I get woken up, I'm not a happy camper. If I don't get at least eleven hours of sleep a night, I'm one cranky baby. Plus, I really need my cutie sleep. How do you think I stay so adorable?

Once I'm up, I cry so loud, those neighbors up there must surely be able to hear me. But it doesn't seem to stop them. Maybe if I cry loud enough, dad will go up there and give them a piece of my mind. Or maybe he'll go out and buy us a real house. With stairs.

Hey, keep it down up there! This baby is trying to sleep!!!

~:O

30 Days and Counting

posted by Evan Jake at 7:21 PM

Today I turned eleven months old. Let the countdown begin!

The next 30 days are sure to be filled with all kinds of excitement in preparation for the big day -- my birthday!

I've already had one birthday in my life. It wasn't a whole lot of fun. I hope this birthday is a little less stressful...at least for me. I'm sure my birthday will be plenty stressful for mom and dad as they make all the preparations for the big event.

I hear mom and dad are planning a party in my honor. I guess there are invitations to send out, gifts to buy and a house to clean. Come to think of it, 30 days probably isn't enough time. Dad has been putting off planning my party for months, while mom has been obsessing about it since I was six weeks old.

I wish I could invite all of you, my internet friends out there, to my house for the party. But I was watching Dateline NBC last week and realized it's probably a bad idea.

If you're wondering about buying me a gift, you should call or e-mail my mom. She's already bought me almost every toy out there, so she knows what few things are left that I don't already have. Whatever you do, don't ask my dad. He'll just say we don't have room for any more stuff and that I have everything I could ever need. He doesn't know what he's talking about. Trust me.

Whatever you do, don't think you'll get away with giving me just one gift. I know the holidays come right after my birthday, but no double dipping!

Okay, enough about gifts for me. I'm not that shallow. I really am happy with all the fun stuff I have to play with. All I really need are clean diapers, warm bottles and lots of car rides. I love car rides!

Meanwhile, the leaves are changing, fall is turning into winter and I'm becoming a toddler. That's me in the picture playing in the leaves. I'm still practicing my walking, trying new foods and saying a few words now and then. I've come a long way in eleven months. Imagine what life will be like by the time my birthday comes around!

Shop early and often!

~:O

Make Mine a Double

posted by Evan Jake at 3:30 PM

Ouch. My ears hurt. That's because I have two ear infections.

I've never had an ear infection before, let alone two. How many ear infections can you have at once anyway?

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night in a pretty foul mood. Mom and dad tried everything to soothe me, but little seemed to work. Dad thought maybe it was my teeth. I do have a brand new tooth on the bottom of my mouth, and another one about to break through on the other side. But that wasn't it.

Mom and dad didn't seem to know what to do with me. I guess a car ride was out of the question (I love car rides). So I got some of that tasty purple medicine and I was able to fall asleep for the rest of the night.

This morning, I woke up a bit cranky. So did mom. Mom took me to daycare at the usual time. I was doing okay until nap time when I woke up all hot and sweaty. The ladies at daycare called mom to come pick me up because they thought I had a fever.

I guess mom had had enough of me last night because dad came to pick me up instead. Dad took me to see the doctor lady.

The doctor looked in my ears and gave me some medicine. The medicine is supposed to make me feel better in a day or so. She said I'd be better by Monday, in time to go back to daycare. Just great.

~:O

What Next?

posted by Evan Jake at 6:38 PM

Well, I capped off my weekend yesterday with one of my biggest milestones yet. Taking those first few steps on my own was one of the coolest moments of my life. But before walking into that new phase of my life, I actually had a pretty cool weekend.

This weekend we went on a fun road trip to dad's hometown. Dad wanted to visit some family and friends we haven't seen in a while. Me, I just wanted to go for the long car ride. And I'll be the first one to say that I love car rides!

First, on Saturday we went to my bubbe and pop-pop's house. They were happy to see my mom and dad, but they really only wanted to see me. I crawled all around their house and showed them how good I am at cruising the furniture. Their house is bigger and has stairs. But that didn't stop me from exploring as fast as I could. That's me in the picture doing the one-legged crawl across their kitchen floor. (It's before I discovered this walking thing.)

We also went to visit some of mom and dad's friends. They didn't want to see mom and dad either, they only wanted to see me. I crawled around their house, too. But not before I pooped in their living room. They just made me feel so at home! I had fun playing with all the baby toys at their house. Sorry about spilling all those candies all over your floor. But you all should have been faster to stop me in time. Four adults versus one baby -- it was no contest.

Then we went to visit my great-grandmother (aka mom-mom-mom). She didn't really care about seeing my mom and dad either. She was just so happy to see me. I visited her in her fancy new apartment. I had a great time cruising her furniture also. I helped to pick up every little piece of fuzz off her brand new carpet. Because I approved so much of her new apartment, I pooped in her living room too.

Then we went back to my bubbe and pop-pop's house and the whole family ate a big dinner together. They hardly ate or talked to each other during dinner. They were just all staring at me. And talking to me, telling me how cute I am! Well, duh -- how about sharing some of that brisket?! Then I went to bed and slept in my dad's old room. His room is still full of his old toys. I hope mom and dad save all of my toys. I never know when I might want to play with those stacking cups again.

Then on Sunday, I went to visit my aunt and uncle in their house. I crawled and cruised all around their place as well. Their house is also very nice. I didn't want them to think I didn't appreciate their hosptitality, so I pooped in their living room too. My aunt had fun musical instruments for me to play with. I got to bang on them and express my inner John Cage. There was a piano, a Clavinova, maracas, a triangle, you name it. They even gave me my own set of percussion instruments to take home. That will entertain me for hours. I know mom and dad will love listening to me play at all hours of the day and night.

After music time, we all ate lunch and then we hit the road back home. I was so tired from all the socializing and music-making that I slept the entire way. I guess that long nap in the car gave me enough energy to try some walking when we got home. It's too bad no one we visited this weekend got to see my mad new skills. I guess we will have to go and visit them again soon.

~:O

Stepping It Up

posted by Evan Jake at 7:06 PM

I love car rides. But that won't be my preferred mode of transportation for long. Look out world!

Dad managed to capture some of my very first steps right here on this video. Oh, and check out the look on my kitty friend's face. She doesn't seem too pleased by this sequence of events. She better learn to move out of my way faster than that!!

Okay, without further adieu ... here's the video of me taking four steps all on my own for the first time. Count 'em. One! Two! Three! Four!


~:O

Trick-or-Zzzzz

posted by Evan Jake at 8:11 AM

Last night was Halloween, the night that all children everywhere dress up in fun costumes and get lots of candy from strangers -- that is all children that aren't in bed by 7:30.

Apparently there was a time change over the weekend. Mom and dad have been trying to put me to bed later, but I still wake up at the same time as before. It doesn't matter to me if it's 6am or 5am. It's all the same to me because I can't read a clock yet.

So there I was, on Halloween, snug in my bed while all the other children were out trick-or-treating. That's right. No costume for me this year. No candy either. Nothing. Isn't that terrible? (That's me in the picture not wearing a costume.)

I guess it makes sense. I can't eat candy. Mom and dad would just take it all for themselves. And I certainly didn't expect mom and dad to dress me up in a silly costume. I'm just grateful if they remember to change my diaper a few times a day.

If I had gotten to pick a costume, it probably would have been dressing up as a car seat. I love my car seat. Then I could have pretended to be on my own car ride. I love car rides.

Walking door-to-door asking for candy sounds like something I'd be good at. I'm so cute, I bet people would have given me lots of extra candy. I'd need a little help with the walking part, of course.

Oh, well. Maybe next year I'll get to put on a costume, collect some candy and stay up until 8:30.

~:O