Traveling, Growing, Changing

So much to catch up on this month!  This has been a month of explosive growth and big changes for Jacob.  We went up to New York City at the end of September and had a great time there.  We went to the Central Park Zoo and to the Children's Museum of Manhattan. We had a great time at both.

Jacob's biggest change started a couple of weeks ago. He started going to nursery school two days a week at Baltimore Hebrew Day School.  He is still adjusting to this, but I think it's going well.  Caroline got an opportunity to take a part-time job that was just perfect for her.  And coincidently, we got to visit the school when picking up Jacob's buddy, Aidan, who goes there too.  It seemed like a great school, and Jacob and Aidan get to be together.  There are still some tears from Jacob when he gets dropped off, but when I call during the day to see how he's doing, the teacher reports that he's having a great time playing with the other kids.  I think it's giving him a great opportunity for socialization.

I'm pretty sure Jacob is going through or has recently completed a growth spurt.  He just gets bigger and bigger.  His 2-year molars are coming in now which has led to some wakeful nights.  But overall, Jacob is doing great and having fun.  He has a pretty good list of words now that includes (but is not limited to) water, woof woof (for dog), up, down, stinky, eggs, juice, and of course, his all time favorite "kitty cat." 

Now on to the pictures!

In NYC, Jacob became friendly with a kitten and chased it all around.

Breakfast at Big Daddy's NYC.

At the Central Park Zoo with Mama and her friend, Caroline.

Enjoying musical instruments at the Children's Museum of Manhattan.

Jacob and Aidan.  Aren't they the cutest?  I can't believe how fast they're growing.

Jacob's favorite new toy is a toy stroller we found for him at a yard sale.  He loves pushing it around.

Jacob sporting his new raincoat. 

Checking out the baby elephant at the Maryland Zoo.  He had a great time running around and seeing the animals.

Running all over the Maryland Zoo.

Of course he had to pet the goats.  He loves livestock.

Fast asleep after a morning at the Maryland Zoo.

Jacob on his first day of school.

Caroline is a nanny for a 6-month old baby 2 days a week (also named Caroline). Jacob loves her.

Jacob cuddling baby Caroline.

Well, that's all for now!

L'shanah Tovah

Happy New Year!  I hope you're enjoying some apples and honey.  I have more for you to enjoy! 

Jacob is growing fast!  He'll be 19 months old in two days.  I can't believe it.  He's grown from a baby to a little boy.  It's been such a joy.  There are new words and games and funny things every day.  He's graduated from physical therapy.  He's a full fledged walking toddler with gross motor skills right on target.  He's been exploring his surroundings and Caroline and I are busy trying to find new things for him to do.  He's been to a music class and an art class and he goes to sing-a-longs and Mother Goose on the Loose.

Jacob loves books and loves to be read to.  He also loves to play with cars, trucks and anything else with wheels.  Here are some recent photos. (mostly taken with my phone so they aren't the best)

Getting ready to stroll through the farmer's market.

In his Superman pjs running around in the yard.

"Petting" the cat.

His first car. At the Rodger's Forge Tot Lot. 

Watching Sesame Street with Mama.

His first train ride at the B&O Railroad Museum.  He loved it!

Reading Pigeon Wants a Puppy - one of his favorite books.

Helping Uncle Rob "fix" the garbage disposal! 

At the Stadium Place playground.

At Rosh Hashanah Under the Stars with a strawberry in his mouth. In the distance, Governor O'Malley is chatting it up with some constituents.

Mama, Mommy, and Jacob at Rosh Hashanah Under the Stars.

L'shanah Tovah!

The Pictures I Promised

Looking out the balcony of Tradewinds. We had a great view!

A paddle boat ride at Tradewinds brought swans for a visit.

Eating ice cream after our exhausting paddle boat ride!

Happy vacationing Jacob!

(l -r) Uncle Sy, Mommy, Jacob, Aunt Ninette, Bubbie

At the Lowry Park Zoo, in the bird house with dozens of parakeets and other birds.

Petting goats at the petting zoo at Lowry Park.

Feeding the goats at the petting zoo.

(l -r) Mama, Jacob, Mommy, Bubbie with the kangaroos.

Hanging around at Clearwater Beach, FL.

Jacob loved playing with his shovel and pail on the beach.

Walking with Bubbie at the playground.

We had a lovely vacation with lots of swimming, family and fun!

Florida was Hot!

Just a quick update. Pictures will soon follow. We just returned from Florida where we were visiting Bubbie. Jacob had a great time. We swam daily, sometimes in the pool and sometimes at the beach. Most days we did some of each!

Jacob is walking around all the time now. Of course he's still a little wobbly, but he's enjoying his new skill and the freedom it gives him.

We visited the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, which is really a great zoo. It has a really large children's zoo that Jacob really enjoyed. There were lots of animals to pet and interact with.

When I get a little more time, I'll post some pictures of our vacation. For now, I'll just leave you with one.

First steps (caught on video)!

As I mentioned in a previous post, Jacob has been experimenting with walking. It's been challenging to catch it on video, since he is, at times, reluctant to perform. But I finally managed it. Here it is:

In this video, Grandpa is sending Jacob over to his Mama. Jacob is getting really good with these steps. I'm not sure what will motivate him to walk on his own, but at least I know that when he wants to, he'll be able to.

Traveling Fool

Well, Jacob has kept a busy calendar for the month of July. The first week of July was spent in Cumberland, Maryland where I was working. Caroline and Jacob explored Western Maryland and really had a good time (pictures forthcoming).

Then last week, Grandpa came to town and we promptly headed to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Here's a picture of Jacob and Grandpa at the beach.


Jacob's favorite summertime activity has been swimming. We go to the pool almost daily. And when we're not at the pool, we've taken him to the lake or beach.

Jacob enjoying a dip with Mama in the kiddie pool.

Jacob and Grandpa snacking poolside.

Unfortunately, our Rehoboth trip was cut short when Jacob came down with a mad fever. We have just discovered that Jacob was suffering from Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. It was at its worst on the day we took Jacob to visit Mom-mom and Pop-pop (Jack's parents). He was quite sick, but it was good to see them. We will surely visit when Jacob isn't suffering from a fever.

I'm saving a juicy video of walking for my next post.

"Hi Kitty Cat!"

Jacob said his first full sentence today, "Hi Kitty Cat!" It was so cute. Jacob was climbing the stairs to the kitchen and Jack (the cat) was waiting for us. Jacob is growing fast! We are proud to announce that Jacob took his first solo steps on Tuesday. He still prefers crawling when he's doing it on his own, but at least he's working on the walking. Unfortunately, he refuses to cooperate when I'm taking a video of this remarkable feat, so that will have to wait. I do have some fun videos and pictures for today. The quality isn't great because they are from my phone, but still enjoyable.

You've seen him eat avocado, but have you seen him eat it with a fork?

At our favorite playground, climbing around.

Today, we went to the Maryland Science Center. They have a huge Kids Room, and Jacob had a blast. Here's a video:

There was a fun water-play area in the Kids Room that Jacob adored. It was all we could do to pull him away.

More adventures ahead!