special visitor

Jake (and so did we) had a special guest come to see him. Mark's cousin Rachel came down on Sunday and left this morning. We felt so special to come have her visit us on her spring break from college. Jake loved all the extra attention, and we had some fun girl time. Sadly Mark was very busy with work so she didn't get to spend as much time with him as we had hoped. We had beautiful day yesterday and were able to go to the park and show off our wonderful South Carolina weather. Jake had a lot of fun swinging and playing in the grass with her. Thanks for the visit, Rachel. Come stay anytime!

Fun on the swings. This is one of the rare times where he actually kept his hat on briefly. He thinks it's great fun to pull it off and drop it while swinging.

Playing in the grass. Jake was very interested in the twigs and pine needles, which he is tasting in this photo!

"Riding" the frog; mainly Rachel bouncing him up and down, which he loves!

fun in the tub

Jake's Great Aunt Chere sent down some colored bath tabs with Grammy and Grandpa. The jar came with yellow, red, and blue tablets that color the bath water. Well, Jake hasn't seemed to notice that his bath water is any different than normal, but we've enjoyed experimenting with the colors. Thanks, Chere, for making bath time even more fun for us.  Here are our favorite shots- we didn't photo the yellow alone because it was very pale and looked a little suspicious...

Blue.

Red. 

It's a little pale and looks a bit like pink- maybe if we used two or three tablets instead it might look more red.

Blue + Yellow = Green

Red + Yellow = Orange

Again a little pale. Maybe with more tablets.

Blue + Red = Purple

The camera makes it look more like a deep blue.

an unusual toy

A while ago I gave Jake a spatula (the one you use to scrape a bowl clean not the type you use to flip a pancake) and a plastic bowl to play with while I was cooking dinner. He enjoyed it, but would leave it by the kitchen and forget about it. Well, while Grammy and Grandpa were here, it became an appendage. Jake took it everywhere! He would crawl with it, place it on the coffee table and then pull up to play with it on the coffee table. We even taught him how to hit a ball with the spatula! Who knows, maybe he'll enjoy sports with a bat or stick (baseball, hockey, golf...).

Well, since it was a full-sized spatula, we thought he should have one more his size. So we purchased a mini silicone spatula that he can chew on, bang on the coffee table, safely crawl with, and pretty much take anywhere without injuring himself! It's what he grabs before we leave the house- it goes everywhere! He loves to balance his blocks on it and then shake them around. He even puts it through the net on his basketball goal and then moves it to put a ball through. Sometimes he waves it around like he's conducting or points it while talking as if for added emphasis. It's pretty amusing what he finds to do with that spatula! What an unusual toy!

big boy

On the way home from the retreat last weekend we stopped in Gaffney to visit the outlets and look for new clothes for Jake. One of the stores, Carter's, had a little play area for kids inside. This definitely makes shopping more fun for little ones! Jake looked like such a big boy standing at the lego table. It's hard to believe he's already eleven months old!

Daddy and Jake played while Mommy looked for good deals.

Playing with the other kids.

flat rock, nc

This past weekend we had our annual resident retreat. We went up to Flat Rock, NC just outside Asheville and stayed in cottages and cabins. This is a weekend where all the residents are free and the attendings take care of all the patients and cover all shifts. It is always a fun time, and, even though the forecast was rain all weekend, we had a great time. Luckily it was nice Saturday morning and early afternoon so we were able to take a little hike to Triple Falls (where Jake's first hike was). There was so much more water this time, and the falls were magnificent! Unfortunately it started hailing while we were hiking, but luckily I had packed an umbrella along just in case it started raining. Jake was in the Ergo, which has a hood, but it wouldn't be enough if it poured- or hailed in this case! We had a great time and can't wait until next year!

The group before the hike.

In front of the lower falls.

Jake liked his shoulder ride, but I think it's only because he enjoyed holding onto and pulling my hair! He has a handful in this picture!

Overlooking the falls. Jake was so excited that he started clapping:)

The group on the covered bridge above the upper falls.

Looking out at the upper falls from the covered bridge.

at last!

Jake got a new tooth today. This is the first new tooth since before Christmas! It is his lower right lateral incisor, which brings his grand total to eight- four on the bottom and four on top! He definitely enjoys using his teeth as he loves to bite and chew his food. Probably the cutest thing he does with his front teeth is bite his cheerios into pieces. He'll hold the cheerio and take a bite or two before putting the rest into his mouth. I think he likes the noise his teeth make:)

grammy and grandpa come to town

Last week, Grammy and Grandpa were in town to see Jacob- and us, but mainly Jake:) We had a great visit, and Jake loved all the attention. They hadn't seen Jake since Christmas, and, needless to say, Jake has changed dramatically since then! They loved how mobile and interactive he is now, and Jake couldn't get enough of them!

They brought him some new toys and gifts from family back home. Thanks, Uncle Tom and Aunt Sarah, for the fire truck with blocks and the adorable plaid shorts! Jake played with that truck all week, and we even took it with us this past weekend on the retreat. Thanks, Great Aunt Chere for the fridge toy and the bath color tablets. While they were here, Grammy and Grandpa bought Jake a little basketball goal, and Jake enjoyed putting the basketballs (and everything else possible) through the hoop. Grammy and Grandpa had him working on hand-eye coordination all week:) Thanks so much for the visit!

Grammy and Jake with his Grandma shirt on.

Jake reading with Grandpa.

Grandpa about to feed Jake his dinner- whole wheat rotini with no salt added tomato sauce mixed with blended broccoli and lean ground beef. Grammy and Grandpa were amazed by how much food Jake can put away in one sitting! This was just his first course!

Tuesday was the only nice day while they were here (it poured down rain the rest of the time) so we decided to advantage of it and went to the park. Jake loves the swings, and Grandpa even took him down the slide!

Playing in the sand at the park. Jake just wanted to eat it!

yummy berries

One of Jake's favorite snacks is frozen mixed berries- blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries! He imply goes crazy over them and gets so excited when he sees me getting into the freezer. In fact, we were making blueberry pancakes for dinner while Grammy and Grandpa were here, and he saw me get the blueberries out for us and had a fit. He wanted those blueberries for himself. It was all he could do to finish his pasta he was so anxious to get to his berries. Needless to say, he is quite a mess after eating all those berries! Oh well, he has fun!

I love berries!

Just getting started- still relatively clean.

This is fantastic!

I need more!

Now wait a second... my fingers are a funny color. How did this happen?

Well, maybe I've had enough for tonight:)

happy birthday, paige!

Today our sweet niece turns one year old. Happy birthday, Paige! We are so bummed we can't make it in for your party on Saturday:( Hope you have a great day and enjoy the cake! Jake can't wait to come and play with you again soon!

Paige at 8 months

crazy sleep positions

Lately Jake has been falling asleep in some pretty unusual positions. Most of them requiring way more flexibility than the average adult can demonstrate. Somehow he manages to fall AND STAY asleep in these gumby-like positions. They certainly are amusing...

It started out with just a leg in the air resting on the bumper...

Then it was having his torso and legs twisted in opposite directions.

Next came bending in half.

Here's the classic bum in the air.

And, finally, the ultimate position... Trying to kiss his toes while asleep- at least that's what it looked like to us:)

trip to the dentist

Jake had his first dentist appointment yesterday morning. You may be thinking it's a bit premature for this, but both the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) and the ADA (American Dental Association) recommend a visit after the first tooth comes in or before the first birthday. Since Jake has seven teeth and they have been in for quite a while, we thought we'd go ahead and visit the pediatric dentist here in town. Basically they liken this initial visit to a healthy child well visit to the doctor, but for teeth! Jake loved playing in the waiting room and thought the decorations in the rooms were pretty cool. He didn't even mind when they brushed his teeth. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience, and we'll go back in six months.

Jake even got a new toothbrush and some new toothpaste to try. It's called Baby Bling, and it has a mild vanilla ice cream flavor. Needless to say, I think Jake enjoyed brushing his teeth more than usual last night. The best part about this toothpaste is that it has xylitol in it, which studies have shown decreases new tooth decay as well as reducing dental caries (cavities). The research is very exciting as it shows that the xylitol effect is long-lasting and possibly permanent (low decay rates persist even years after the trials are over). The studies also show that if I chew xylitol gum 2-3 times per day until Jake is two years old (technically I should have started when Jake was three months old), then he has the potential to have up to 70% fewer cavities by the time he's five than he would if I did not chew xylitol gum. Pretty amazing! I think I'll be researching 100% xylitol gum...

Checking out the hygienist's gloves.

Ready to get his teeth brushed:)

Fun decorations in his room.

The hygiene bay where older kids can get their teeth cleaned beside one another.

Jake showing off his mad teeth brushing skills:)

snow again!

Yep. Greenwood got snow again yesterday afternoon. It was gone by this morning, but it caused quite a stir. Schools and daycares closing early... It was a mess! Hopefully this will be the last of the white stuff and we can enjoy a little bit of spring before it gets blazing hot down here:)