Today

We took a ride in the boat! We rode about 20 minutes to Assateague Island where we anchored on the ICW side and walked to land (the water was 3 feet deep).

We studied the sand.

And studied the sand.

And studied the sand. The sand and splashing the waves was a HUGE hit. Hurray for simple entertainment!

Then we waded around for a little while.

We had so much fun that somebody fell asleep during the boat ride home.

Yesterday

We saw the Ocean Pines, MD 40th anniversary parade. The firetrucks were a big hit (so were the swings in the park behind where we saw the parade).

Jack enjoyed some Uncle Tom time.

We went to the pool. The baby pool was oh so cold! (We spent most of the time in the big pool practicing our skills. Ladies like a man with skills.)

But Gigi helped keep Jack warm.

Jack enjoyed an extra-large dinner after his extra excitement today!

I Lied...

I am still posting.

On Thursday we went shopping for some fall clothes, and boy do we have clothes to wear! Jack is very excited about his new duds... too bad we have to wait 2 months to wear all our new cute clothes!

We used the ducky bath for the first time. Monkey (the cat) was absolutely terrified of the inflatable tub.

We went out for an adult dinner!

This morning a heron landed on the boat.

Here's an oldie but goodie... this was from Jack's bonk earlier this week. We had a potty accident, meaning he face-planted off the potty :-(. Either he heals fast or that witch hazel is some amazing stuff (or both)!

Gone fishing

Well, we're not gone yet. But we're leaving for the beach tomorrow. I might blog, but it's more likely that I won't find the time because I'm not going to bring my laptop (just to make sure we have enough room in the car.) This means: a. If anything supercool happens while I'm gone - call me! and b. I will try and post many pictures upon my return.

Hurrah! Our summer getaway is here! (and a Happy 30th Anniversary to my parents!)

Then and Now

You'd think this post would be about my baby... maybe a picture of him right when he was born and a picture of him now, to show how much he has changed and grown. Nope.



We are done with the kitchen renovation!! I cannot believe it. This was before: (Those aren't tiles, it's contact paper.)





And this is after:

TA DA!!!

How they change

Remember when they barely held their heads up; they ate every hour or two, and they didn't have feisty little opinions of their own? Oh how times change...

Here we are making the pottery! We were only 22 hours or so late...

Pottery

Today I took Jack to a pottery place (pick the piece, paint the glaze and they fire it for you). Yesterday was the group-designated day but Jack's nap schedule did not permit our attendance. When I walked in I was plesantly surprised to see Brenna and Amedeo (and Brenna's parents). Our coencidental play-date was such fun, and Brenna's parents were such a wonderful help to me, I'm so appreciative to them because I must have been crazy thinking I could do it by myself.

Now in a week I get to pick up his little footprint, frozen in time.

Early potty training

We are early potty training Jack. After a swim class where we met a 19 month old boy who was completely potty trained and his mom recommended a book: Diaper Free Before 3. I was curious to see what type of book this would be. I was pleasantly surprised!

The one sentence summary is: Before the 1950's all babies in all countries started potty training before 1 year of age but, in the 1950's disposable diapers were invented and at the same time the "wait till the child shows interest in the potty" school of thought was born; coincidence? I think not.

So at 6 months the book recommends 'starting' to potty train. Really all you do is choose a few times a day to sit the child on the potty and read them a book or sing them a song. If nothing happens -no big deal- but you are creating a positive association with the potty and teaching the child that the potty is a part of the routine (not an interruption from play time as some older children would see it).

Well.... for the last 3 days we've been sitting Jack on the potty and reading a book and singing a song. For the last few times he's let out some righteous farts... men. Tonight we sat him on the potty and read and sang...and... he pooped!!! Do I have any expectations? No... but I do have fantasies about having a potty trained big boy some day!

Another busy weekend

Jack took the opportunity to demonstrate how agile he is. It was at this point that I realized we're going to be in lots of trouble very, very soon because he's already taking steps, one or two at a time.
With all the home improvements going on at E&E's and our place the boys find it hard to keep up.

The Weigh-In

Jack went for his 6 month check-up today. He weighs 19lbs 2oz and he is 28 inches tall. He is the size of an average 9 month old. The doctor said "I expect he will be an early walker, he already seems ready to go." To which I replied "What do you mean 'early'?" (anything before 1 year is considered early.) I guess we really need to get some baby gates!

The Pre-crawl

And he's off!

Worker Bees

Here we are installing the back splash! It's been a busy weekend and the hive has been buzzin' with activity. I'm still feeling pretty overwhelmed that things are not in the best working order. It's funny because normally I'd be slightly put-out having no sink and what not but with a baby everything is exponentially more difficult.
Where will I get the water for his cereal? Will he get fussy right after breakfast or will he give me time to run to a sink and wash out his dishes (no dishwasher... because they drain into the sink)? What can I cook that requires virtually no clean up? Am I being helpful enough or am I getting too distracted with the baby? Can I watch Jack and paint the cabinet doors for the 15 millionth time?

But, we're nearly there and it looks FANTASTIC!

Luau!

Andreas threw a fantastic Hawaiian party and was gracious enough to invite us along!

Jack- just chillin'.

He's developing an early love of cars. He spend most of the time trying to pop the hood and see what was underneath!

Hollow Leg?

Since the babies are eating solid food we have been discussing how much our babies eat. Here is a typical dinner for Jack: My hand is used as a frame of reference for size. This is a salad bowl.

Jack ate it all. But then he wanted more...

So we gave him seconds...

Where does it all go? His stomach shouldn't be able to fit all that inside it at once, right? Maybe he has a hollow leg?

The swimmer

Watching him kick his little legs is hilarious! Enjoy.

After swimming we are sure to dry off-

Swim class was a huge hit again. Yay!

Pro/Con

Pro: We're going to have a fantastic kitchen, dining room and living room when we're done.

Con: We have no kitchen sink this week.

Pro: I painted a coat of polyurethane last night (which is the final step before putting the doors back on).

Con: It was the wrong kind of polyurethane and now I have to sand it down and start over because my doors went from white to yellow.

Pro: We are adding value to our home using our (and my parent's) sweat equity and spending a minimal amount of $$.

Con: Nothing is where it should be, everything is harder to keep clean and my life feels like it's in disarray sometimes.

Pro: I think it will all be over soon.

I'm just trying to keep it in perspective, here.

Site Supervisor

Hello, Jack here, I'm the site supervisor here at casa d'Fruit and Cake. I am happy to report that the counter tops are coming along beautifully!
My crew has been putting in some long hours. This weekend they installed the plywood, HardyBacker, and granite tile. Cutting the 2 inch wide back row and the 1 inch wide front row was challenging. Also buffing the front edge to give in the same shine as the polished top took a lot of work with a belt sander, orbital sander and granite polish. My crew is pretty sore from all that work.

I watched to make sure everything went ok.

and WOW what progress!! (I bet if I hadn't told you it was granite tile... you might not have noticed the tiny seams!)

Happy Birthday!

Today we went to the pool (again) because swimming class was such a hit! I like this picture because Jack looks like he's in the water by himself... I guess I should have cropped my arm out to maximize the effect.

Here's Jack and the ladies. Jillian and Cady are in swim class with us, we all decided to do a tutorial so our babies can be ahead of the game next week.

See the ripples behind his feet? He's kicking, I'm not sure if he's trying for breaststroke or butterfly.

And of course the obligatory 6 month photo! Oh how he has changed.