15 months

I'd like to say that I can't believe it has already been fifteen months, but it seems like Jake has been around forever. I mean that in a good way.

Jake is always on the go, which is fun at times, terrible at others. He doesn't stop talking, even when he sleeps. We gave up on the baby monitor a long time ago when we realized we wouldn't get any sleep with a bunch of yammering in our ears all night. We can hear him if he screams, so I think it's okay.

Jake is pretty advanced with the vocabulary and just picked up the word "love" last night. Super cute. He holds his finger out and says it, and he wants you to touch his finger with yours. So friggin adorable. Jake is not so advanced with feeding himself and tends to make so much of a mess that I don't feel like being patient and letting him get the hang of it. I give him the fork with his dinner and the spoon with some oatmeal every now and then if I can stand it.

The boy devours everything, but his favorites are cheese, apples, hummus, Spaghettios, babaganoush, garlic, yogurt, pizza, and veggie burgers. What kid likes babaganoush and veggie burgers you ask? One that eats off his mother's plate and won't stop until he eats the entire thing, leaving her with nothing. I'm okay with it. It's good for him. It puts hair on his chest.

He can run and push and pull and kick and throw and turn in circles and do the Itsy Bitsy Spider dance and Ring Around the Rosie (but he just says ashes ashes ashes ashes down the whole time while you sing). He loves singing and tries his best, but the words just don't come out right.

I introduced Jake to the magic and wonder of bubbles, which is a great way to be forced to scrub your kitchen floor with non-toxic cleanser.

Kisses are doled out to everyone who doesn't mind an open-mouthed baby stuck to their face for a minute. Big hugs go all around too.

Dave and I took Jake to a birthday party for a little boy in Dave's old neighborhood yesterday. We aren't friends with the mom, but Dave's Aunt Chrissy is. When we got there all the other mom's at the party introduced themselves to me and said how much they adore Jacob. This morning when I went to pick Jake up, there were clothes that the other moms had passed on to him. How this kid builds such a fan club I'll never know, but he sure does get around. Dave calls him a gypsy. Jake will go anywhere with anyone and do anything. It's scary, but nice. I tell myself that I did such a good job providing Jake with love and security that he trusts others and feels comfortable in all sorts of surroundings because it makes me feel good, but really he was born that way and would go with anyone from the start.

Much to my dismay, however, Jake is showing signs of being just a little bit of a momma's boy lately. He cried when I left to get the paper this morning and he runs to me when something scares or hurts him. He used to stand in front of it and give whatever it was a good piece of his mind before moving on to clobber something else.

Life with baby is tough, but it is getting easier. Dave and I have more support than most families I know put together, so there can't be any complaints. Jake is happy and healthy and full of piss and vinegar and he makes us melt inside.

Things are pretty good.