10.0

Today is the ten month mark in the ongoing Life with Jake saga. I am ready to admit that you were right when you told me that things do get better. Months one through three were hellish, four through six promising, and seven through nine were practically fun. Jake is doing tons of stuff and is enjoyable to be around, his antics are entertaining and he is so excited about the things he can do that it is hard not to point and laugh.

Jake pulls himself up to stand and then stands and stands and stands with no hands for awhile. Sometimes he gets so excited that he starts jumping and then he falls. And we laugh. Then he laughs. And does it again.

He has figured out how to sit down from standing or lying down without doing a floor routine worthy of Olympic gold.

He runs all over the house with his walker, and figured out how to twist to reach stuff on the floor without pulling a hammy. When the floors are clean we let him free-range, and he has figured out doors and drawers and shelves and the space between the cushions but he hasn't noticed the stairs yet. This is good. To baby-proof all we need to do is put our junk on the stairs, but this has created somewhat of a falling hazard for all who try to get to the bathroom. There are bags and shoes and mail and pens and wallets and coins and clean clothes and and and other stuff that really belongs up in a room from stair number three to about eight or nine, ten on a bad day. You would think that each time one of us would go up we would take an armload of stuff up with us, but no.

Jake is happy in his playpen, as long as we look at him every forty seconds and say 'look at you, big boy!' or 'I see you, monkey!'.

He doesn't get to watch much television, but we sometimes stick him in front of Sesame Street because it is an hour long. He watches a little, plays a little, then watches a little more while we do grown up stuff like making out or making dinner.

Speaking of dinner, Jake has eaten almost every type of fruit and veggie available in this town. This week we will be adding parsnips and lychee. No seriously, I'm not kidding. He loves Cheerios (which are all over the house) and eats baby oatmeal and his pastina every day at some point. No Atkins in our house, thank you. I mix the pastina with plain yogurt and either cheddar cheese or mozzarella and sometimes tomato paste, and yesterday for the first time I threw some fish in there. I haven't fed him any meat, so it was a big day for him. Someday when he is older and making decisions for himself he can try pork, beef, and chicken but for now I'm keeping him off the livestock. Or deadstock, as it would be by the time it reached the table. Jake eats plenty of beans for protein and good digestive health. I heard somewhere they are good for your heart, too. I bought a food processor that I will use to soften some of the really hard food and mush up soup for him, but I'm really trying to get him on as much normal stuff as possible. I'd say that he can just eat what we eat but there is no way. Last night we had chili, and the night before that I had a Hershey bar and Red Bull for dinner, and Dave had a nap. Then we both had a little bit of apple almond stuffing and one of Jake's string cheeses. We aren't much of dinner people. Jake is still drinking the Enfamil, and takes about 22 ounces per day. In a couple months we will switch him to milk but he seems happy with formula so we aren't in a rush. Plus, milk isn't chock full of vitamins and minerals so I feel better with the formula.

Jake struggles with the sippy cup, and we struggle to make it happen. I now understand those children who drink out of a bottle even when they have the skills to show you how many fingers old they are. Luckily Jake abandoned the rarely-used pacifier at two or three months and he seems to have forgotten about his thumb too.

Jake sleeps where ever he falls, but prefers his crib at night. He goes down around nine and wakes up between six and seven. He has a little bear in there, but he just pushes it out of the way if I try to get him to cuddle with it. I can't figure out if he has a favorite toy, but he really likes the Ernie puppet that I tickle him with, and he loves the little glittery fish from a box of toys that his Grandma and Grandpa Arrowsmith bought him for Christmas. He carries it around in his hand (or in his teeth when he is busy climbing or crawling) and pokes it at things before he touches them with his hand. He's kind of like a swashbuckler in that way.

The daycare is working out terrifically, and Jake seems to be the darling of the bunch. I often walk in on the other parents playing with him while their own brat is putting on its coat and the other babies look on from their designated play station. They have walkers and play mats and play pens and all sorts of toys that are set up around the living room. The lady clearly loves him, and he clearly loves the lady. She is working on waving hello and goodbye and clapping with him, two things that Jake could care less about. I know that separation anxiety might kick in any day now, but it sure is nice having a very social baby. I could leave him with you and he would be as happy as he would be with me. Until I come in the room, and he will want nothing to do with you because I'm the best. And Dave is second best. But you are definitely third, maybe fourth.

We try to get at least one book a day in, but sometimes that doesn't work out. Jake prefers the Baby Einstein board books and I favor the Dr. Seuss ones. We can get through four or five pages before the book goes in the mouth or gets kicked from behind.

The cats have a love/hate relationship with Jake. They love the leftover food, hate the pinching and tail-pulling. He does really well with the dog at daycare, who doesn't mind being mauled.

Jake does well in the car, but is quickly outgrowing his rear-facing position in the new big boy seat. His legs are cramped up so he usually raises them up on the seat back or spreads his legs wide so that his knees aren't bent. I guess we'll have to turn him around when we can at either 20 pounds or one year. He gets a little bit testy in there since he has to sit like a fetus, but safety first, comfort second.

And work third, and since I'm safe and comfortable, I should probably go and do some work.