Who's That Baby?

posted by Evan Jake at 11:02 AM

What a difference a year makes. Dadda was flipping through some old pictures of me from last August and compared it to this one he took of me just a couple of days ago. If there's such a thing as a cuteness curve, I think I'm definitely keeping up.



~:O

Summer Fun

posted by Evan Jake at 7:04 PM

Both Momma and Dadda were on vacation for the last couple weeks. This past week, we've just been hanging out at home which has been a nice change of pace from all the driving we did the week before. But we haven't been sitting idle. No, there will be no relaxing, lounging or general slothiness in Evan Jake's presence. So to keep me occupied, Momma and Dadda have come up with plenty of activities.

I've recently acquired a mild obsession with airplanes. When I'm outside, I'm always looking up to see if there are any airplanes in sight. If I hear a sound that remotely resembles the roar of an airplane (be it a lawnmower, car or dishwasher) I will point skywards and proclaim "Airplane!" just in case one is on the approach.

To slake my newfound passion for aeronautics, Dadda decided he would take me someplace special. The airport! At BWI -- I mean Thurgood Marshall -- Airport, there is a big park at the end of the runway. So Dadda took me there to watch airplanes as they buzzed overhead. At first, I was a bit startled by the noise they made, and how low they flew to the ground. But after a couple flybys, I was in my own Federally restricted paradise. I watched as plane after plane raced by, each time announcing, "Airplane!" What fun.

Speaking of big machines, my Dadda also took me to a construction site to see all the big trucks at work. Down the street they are building a big dirt pile next to some expensive houses. I don't know why anyone would pay that much for a house with a pile of dirt in the backyard. I much prefer our deck and barbeque grill to a pile of dirt. Anyway, I got to watch all the dump trucks, cranes and diggers that I only get to see in my books. This time I got to see them in action. That was pretty cool, too.

And speaking of construction, I also got to hang around as Dadda took on a lot of home improvement projects around the new house-with-stairs. Dadda was putting in some new floors, fixing faucets, building closets and hanging shelves. I tried to help as much as I could, but mostly had to observe. As I watched Dadda try to build things, I got to learn some fun curse words. Watch those thumbs. And he better watch his mouth!

Anyway, Dadda has to go back to work soon, so I won't get to hang out and curse with him quite as much. I'm bummed, but I suspect he's somewhat relieved not to have to keep pace with me on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, I've loved having so much time with Momma at home, too. She takes really good care of me, showing me puzzles, teaching me new words, playing LEGOs, reading me books and giving me ice cream cones! I wish I could spend more time with Momma. But she's going back to work now, too. She's going to be working part-time with some other children while I go to daycare for a few hours a day. I think it's good for Momma and me to see other people. Just not too many other people.

So this week it's back to the grind. And no more slacking on the blog!

~:O

Road Weary

posted by Evan Jake at 8:22 PM

I just finished up a week on the road with Momma and Dadda. It was both a delayed northeast promotional tour for my book, diaperlogue: the first year, as well as a chance to meet a whole bunch of new people, see family and show off my shiner.

Our first stop was in Hartford, Connecticut. I got to meet my Bubbe's first cousin (or my first cousin twice removed for those keeping score at home) and her husband. They have a beautiful new home without stairs. It made me a bit nostalgic for our old home-without-stairs. They cooked brunch for us. Since I don't usually eat much for breakfast and get fussy for lunch, I thought I would skip brunch and just watch cartoons. But Momma and Dadda seemed to enjoy their tasty eggs and bagels.

Then, from Hartford, we went up to Vermont. Dadda took me to meet some people at a music festival there. He went to a concert that night, while Momma stayed with me at the hotel and tried to get me to sleep. That wasn't fun for either of us.

Eventually, I got to sleep and the next day we got up and went shopping in some art galleries and antique shops. What were they thinking?! Somehow, Momma managed to keep my hands away from anything breakable.

Next we headed to Boston, Massachusets. There I got to meet my great-uncle "Meeguh" and we stayed at his house. I was bummed I didn't get to meet my great-aunt because she was also on the road, away from home. I really liked "Meeguh." And his house was a lot of fun. There was lots of stuff to grab and small places to crawl into. I also got to look for worms in the mulch pile. (There weren't any). That's me in the first picture looking for acorns in the back yard.

That same day went to my aunt and uncle's house and I got to play with all my cousins. I had an amazing time running around with all of my cousins and playing with all their toys. They know how to party. That's me in the far right of the second picture hanging out with all the cousins. Can you believe we all sat still long enough for a photo op?


After leaving Boston, we headed to the mountains in Pennsylvania. There I got to spend lots of time with my Bubbe and Zaide. It was a big beautiful house next to a lake. I got to go swimming, play at the park, go on walks and exhaust everyone around me. There were four adults in the house and just one baby, but they just didn't seem to be able to keep up with me. When I wasn't running around on the deck, throwing stones into the lake or circling the living room, I was able to catch up on a bit of e-mail. That's me in the picture updating my blog -- in case you didn't actually believe I blog myself.

So now I'm back home, watching Momma and Dadda catch up on a bit of housekeeping and do some work around the new house. It was a good trip, but I know we're all happy to be home.

~:O

20 Months

posted by Evan Jake at 6:57 PM

Today I crossed out of the teens and into the roaring twenties. At twenty months, life gets more interesting and more full every day. Right now, I have so much energy in my body, I almost don't know what to do with it! And it seems to exhaust everyone around me.

As you see from this photo, my shiner is gradually fading. Soon, it will be a distant memory, making room for a new injury or scar.

Thanks to my Uncle "Meeguh" for taking this great picture and finding just the right lighting to de-emphasize the black eye. More on my visit to "Uncle Meekuh's" and all my other summer adventures very soon. Stay tuned!

~:O

The Shiner

posted by Evan Jake at 7:13 PM

When I woke up this morning, my face felt unusually puffy. As I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I couldn't help but notice the numerous colors under my eye where I had fallen yesterday. Momma said it's called a "black eye." But really, it's more like a "red-blue-purple-yellow eye." Now when people see me, they have to make comments like:

- "Aww, that poor little face!"
- "What did your parents do to you?!"
- "Nice shiner, kid."
- "Hey, Evan Jake, chicks dig scars."
- "Man, I'd hate to see the other guy."

Hopefully it will clear up soon. Besides, it doesn't really look that bad, right? You'd tell me if it looked really awful, wouldn't you? Yeah, that's what I thought.

~:O

Pavement 1, Evan Jake 0

posted by Evan Jake at 3:37 PM

When Dadda says not to run on the pavement, I guess I should listen.

Tonight, Dadda took me to the park. I was so excited when I got out of the car, that I immediately started running toward the jungle gym. Somewhere after the first couple steps I seemed to lose my footing. Luckily, my face managed to break my fall.

I admit it. I cried a little. I screamed a little. Dad put me right back in the car and took me home to Momma.

Momma heard all about how I tripped on pavement and hit my face. At least that was Dadda's story. And he's sticking to it.

~:O

My Dad: The "Hero"

posted by Evan Jake at 8:42 PM

It was so hot today, Momma and Dadda hardly let me go outside at all. I had to spend the entire morning and afternoon cooped up inside watching Momma and Dadda work on the new house with stairs. Dadda spent a lot of the day working with tools. I tried to help, but he kept taking the tools away from me.

Finally, after dinner, I got so cranky from being inside that Dadda finally gave in to my fussing. It had cooled down a bit, so Dadda decided to put my shoes on and take me for a short walk around the neighborhood.

When we walked out the front door, we started walking down the street. But there was this strange smell in the air, like someone was having a big barbeque (I love barbeque). I pulled on Dadda's arm and insisted he turn around to check it out. I dragged him with all my might so that he would take me down to the end of the street to see what was happening. When we got there, to my great disappointment, there was no barbeque. But there was a whole lot of smoke. The smoke was coming from one of the trees. The tree was on fire! All around the base of the tree were red-hot pieces of dirt and lots of smoke. It looked pretty cool and smelled nice too.

I tried to stamp out the fire myself with my little sandals, but Dadda wouldn't let me. He quickly swept me up and took me inside. Normally I would have expected Dadda to call the fire department at this time. But he didn't. Instead, he grabbed one of my water pails, filled it up and carried it outside to the tree.

When we got back to the tree, it was really smoking a lot. I got to watch as Dadda poured the water all over the dirt. It made a loud hissing sound and then all the smoke stopped.

Dadda went back inside and called the fire department because he wanted to show them what he'd done. He was quite proud of himself, I think.

A few minutes later, a big red truck came down the street. And there were four big guys in fancy uniforms that all hopped out. Dadda happily showed them the tree that had been burning. (They probably thought he was the one that set it on fire in the first place just so I could get to see a fire truck.)

With all the hot weather and all the trees being so dry, the firemen said that Dadda was a hero for putting out the fire the way he did. In another few minutes the whole neighborhood could have gone up in smoke! Or at least a few banches and a bird's nest.

But, Dadda wasn't really the hero. It was Evan Jake! If I hadn't insisted Dadda walk to the end of the street, he may never have noticed what was happening. And if not for my water pail, Dadda never could have put out the fire. I should be the one getting a medal and a parade down Main Street.

While Dadda was still talking to the firemen (they thought the fire was caused by a burning cigarette) Momma showed me some of the buttons and lights on the fire truck. It was really cool looking. Notice that I'm not including a picture of me riding on the fire truck in this post. That's because Dadda didn't have the guts to ask the firemen if he could take me onto the truck for a photo op.

Maybe if Dadda had told him that I was really the hero of the day, they would have taken me on the truck and made me an honorary member of the department!

~:O

I Want Corn

posted by Evan Jake at 6:56 PM

**Insert dirty diaper joke here.**

~:O