Officially a Toddler

posted by Evan Jake at 7:17 PM

If the walking and talking and grabbing things and throwing little trantrums wasn't enough of a clue, today I was officially designated a toddler. At daycare, I was finally moved out of the last baby room and in with all the other toddlers.

I don't really care for the nomenclature: "Toddler." It seems an unfitting and unflattering sobriquet. Perhaps my walking isn't always the most graceful, but heck, I've only been at this since November. So cut me some slack, okay?

The other big news is that the pool is open again. I love the pool. That's me in the picture in the pool with mom. (Settle down, ladies. Settle down.) Dad wouldn't come in with us. Something about not wanting to swim in luke warm water with babies that aren't potty trained. Wuss.

I had a great time at the pool. I had so much fun that I insisted on staying in the water until they kicked us out and said it was time to go home. I still kicked up quite a fuss and cried almost all the way home. Partly I was sad to leave the pool. And partly I was sitting in a soaking-wet diaper. I hope my antics don't discourage mom and dad from taking me again real soon. If they don't take me, I'll just throw a fit anyway, for good measure.

~:O

Man, I'm Cute

posted by Evan Jake at 9:20 PM

Thanks to my Bubbe for taking such wonderful pictures of me this weekend. This is just a small sampling of my many adorable photographs. Well, with a punim like this, even Stevie Wonder could take great pictures of me!






~:O

Welcome Sara Flynn

posted by Evan Jake at 6:11 PM

Yesterday we all went to a special ceremony to give Sara Flynn her name. I guess before then, she was just referred to as "baby." Sara Flynn is a beautiful new baby who belongs to some good friends of ours that I've known my whole life. Sara Flynn's parents look way calmer and more prepared than my parents did when I came home. But that's not saying much.

Sara Flynn has a really cute room that's all decorated and everything. I wish I had a room decorated like that. (I wonder what my room in the new house will be like...hint, hint.)

Sara Flynn is so tiny! I've never seen a baby that small before. Well, except for myself. It seems like forever ago when I was that small.

Mom especially liked Sara Flynn. Mom got to hold Sara Flynn for just about one minute. This is where I feel I must be a bit contrite. When I saw mom holding that little baby, I may have acted somewhat inappropriately, and for that I apologize. Seeing mom cradling such a cute little baby brought out a bit of a jealous spirit. To be honest, I totally freaked out, and that was wrong. The writhing and screaming on the floor might have been a tad hystrionic. I see that now.

Welcome to our world, Sara Flynn. I warn you, the next few weeks are pretty rough. But trust me, it's all worth it. Soon you'll have the run of the place and will be able to get whatever you want, whenever you want. Just stay away from my mom. My dad, you can have.

~:O

Evan Jake in a Box

posted by Evan Jake at 8:12 PM

We're scheduled to move in about three weeks. So mom and dad are collecting boxes. Everything we own is getting tossed into boxes -- including me!

That's me in the picture testing out the boxes to make sure they are strong enough to hold my toys. I will not tolerate any breakage of my toys in the course of this move. If I had my way, I'd have my precious toys all wrapped individualy in that bubble stuff, placed in sturdy boxes and taken carefully one at time over to the new house. Forget writing "FRAGILE" all over those boxes of porcelain china and crystal!

I just hope that after mom and dad pack everything up, that they'll be able to find stuff I need again. Like my stacking cups.

It might be a while before they get all these boxes emptied at the new house. From the looks of it, it appears that some of these boxes haven't been opened since like way before I was born.

Well, let the countdown begin until we get into that new house with stairs! Meanwhile, if you wish to contribute to our box and bubble collection, you know where to find us. All packing materials will need to withstand the rigors of Evan Jake's quality inspections.

~:O

E·van·Jake

posted by Evan Jake at 11:03 AM

Yes, today I celebrate my seventeenth month. It's a prime number and devoid any real excitement except for the fact that it's the month that preceeds the big 18-month celebration.

Over the next 31 days, I hope to expand my vocabulary just a little bit more. I'm already quite conversant -- although when you first meet me, you'd not be so convinced. I can be a little hard to understand sometimes. Often it's because I'm trying to talk with food or my fingers in my mouth. Also, the words I say are sometimes out of context, so they can sound a bit random. So I thought I would provide you with this handy lexicon to understand "Evan Jake."

ap·puh n. apple, orange, other round fruit
bye·bye intj. bye or farewell
bah n. bottle
bah·kih n., v., adj., adv. applies to almost anything, wild card
buh·buh n. bubbles
da·da n. dad or mom (interchangeable)
eh·eh intj. "Excuse me."
gra·guh n. cracker, cereal, any food that is crunchy
iyh intj. hi or greetings
kah n. car
kee n. key
kih·kee n. cat, kitty, kitty-cat
uh·oh intj. "Look what dad did."
up v. to pick me up, put me down or otherwise change my elevation
wee intj. awesome

~:O

Happy Mother's Day

posted by Evan Jake at 9:26 PM

Need I say more?

~:O

Burn Out

posted by Evan Jake at 8:56 PM

This was a rough weekend. It all started yesterday.

I was watching one of my many beloved videos when it started jumping and skipping. The DVD player has been dying a slow death and finally the bell has tolled. I guess all my Baby Einstein videos set to "repeat play" at last melted the whole video player. I think dad was devastated not to hear those charming little songs wafting through the house. I've now had to go like 36 hours without a DVD to watch.

Okay, that's not really true, because I also have a DVD player in the car and mom let me watch a little today while we were driving around in the biggie van. But while I'm at home, it means I have to play with my toys and interact with mom and dad without my videos.

Alright, I shouldn't exaggerate. I don't really watch that many videos. I'll chill out watching a vid while mom changes laundry or checks her e-mail. It's certainly not all the time. But I am learning a few things from my videos. The sign language movie has taught me some really helpful signs that I use to communicate when my words don't quite do the trick. I can say words like "cracker," "bubble" and the ubiquitous, "uh oh." But it comes in quite handy when I can combine them with the signs for words like "more," "book," "car," "go" and "drink," just to list a few of my favorites.

Since the trusty DVD player is broken, here's a very brief online video of my own saying a couple words and signs. If I didn't have such stage fright in front of the camera, this video might have been a little bit longer.



~:O