come to think of it, daddy is the source of many "jakieisms"

"Mommy, you are a GenXer," said matter-of-factly while eating a waffle for breakfast this morning.

"Where did you hear that?"

"Daddy told me. He said you were born in 1945. No, 1940."

where does this come from?

yesterday i pulled out the top shirt in J's drawer to help facillitate the getting dressed part of the day. i could tell he was not thrilled with my selection (a plain blue thermal long sleeve tee)--no "McQueen" or "Thomas" or "Spiderman" to adorn the chest.

"This shirt is not delighting me," he said.

here's what 4 looks like

After all my belly aching about how big my little boy is getting and how fast these past four years have gone, on the morning of his 4th birthday, he still looks, well, like my baby!

And, he still loves to ham it up for the camera!

first day of school

Jacob started pre pre-school last Monday. His first day went extremely well. How could it not, really? He was only there for an hour and his best friend, Samson was there too. So, between Samson, little blankie and a new McQueen backpack (a "graduation" gift from Pati, Jacob's daycare "mom" since March 2005 sob sob) his first week went at school went swimmingly!

face painting

Happy Birthday, Maddie! We went to Maddie's sixth birthday celebration on Saturday, where I became the official face painter at her backyard country fair party.

I had no idea how much kids love to get their faces painted. (Most kids, anyway--see second to last photo, above)

El Mo's world

J to new friend who's name is Eric: "My daddy's name is Eric!"
New friend's mom to J: "What is your name?"
J: "My name is Elmo."
New friend's mom: "What is your daddy's last name?"
J: "Daddy."
New friend's mom: "What is your last name?"
J: "Mo."

At first I'm thinking "Mo? Where did that come from?" And then it dawned on me....Mo. As in El Mo. I guess we should start calling him "El." And save "Elmo" for those times when we really mean business. Which is most of the time, these days.

Before and After

Well actually, an "after" and a before:

Moving on up

Jakie passed Pre-Beginner 1 (not that there is a test or anything) and Miss Annie said he's ready for Beginner 1 next fall. Now, the trick will be to find a class that she teaches. Jacob learned so much from Miss Annie this last swim session. She's kind of a legend at our local pool...kind of a baby swimming whisperer. She's off to Alaska for the summer, the outdoor pool is open, and we're ready to keep on swimming!

Jakie in the City

We took a little weekend trip to Manhattan last month to visit friends and just hang out. The trip was a test of sorts: It was the first time we traveled with Jacob to a destination other than a family home or a family vacation spot. (Read: Child must be on somewhat decent behavior at most times.)

Although the drive took six hours slogging up 95 and the NJT in the rain and Friday afternoon traffic, the trip was well worth it and the test was passed with flying colors. And, in retrospect, our parenting style was as much on the line as the behavior of our little son.

There were many wonderful moments but perhaps the highlight was when a waiter at a small corner pizza/bar said Jacob is the cutest kid he's ever seen and asked us if we lived in the neighborhood. Was it the minimalism of the hoodless Maclaren stroller? Our casual yet quietly effective parenting style? Was it the fact that our 3yo ate every bite of a "Shroomtown pizza" with portabellos, oysters and shittakes and truffle oil (much to our shocking surprise)?

Nothing like a sibling to cut you back down to size. When I relayed the weekend's events to my sister, she immediately reminded me of the SATC episode where Carrie cautions Berger that his novel is flawed because no self-respecting Manhattan woman would wear a scrunchy. To prove her point, Carrie asks the scrunchied woman ahead of them in line where in Manhattan she lives. The poor out-of-towner virtually beams at being mistaken for a local.

Was our waiter toying with us? Angling for a bigger tip? I don't know but, whatever his motive, it worked. (And, I don't wear scrunchies...anymore.)

better late than never

jakie all decked out for a visit with the easter bunny. (this was before easter, in case you were wondering.)

Adventures at the pool

Jacob has been taking "Pre-Beginner 1" swim lessons since September. His time slot must be undesirable to swim teachers because they always seem to have a hard time having a consitent teacher. This session, it's been Mr. S--a man, which is a little unusual in the world of swim teachers at least at this pool. Jacob and his friend Samson have been a little afraid of this guy--not to say he's not a good teacher, but I guess it's just different for them since they were practically imprinted with Ms. Annie as the ideal swim teacher when they started "Get Wet" classes at 4 months old.

So, Jacob was dragging his heels to go in the pool and grasping my hand as we walked toward the water's edge when suddenly, he sees that Mr. S. has been replaced by BETHANY. The hesistancy he had at walking toward the pool totally evaporated upon seeing Bethany's smiling young face. It was as if I did not exist.

To top it off, he had a private lesson with Bethany. Samson was sick and the other little girl, who is apparently nameless since Jacob will not speak of her, did not come last week.

Class ended and Jacob is usually among the first to trot out from the pool area all dripping and shivering. Nope--not this time. I literally had to go onto the pool deck and drag him out of the pool. He said "I'm not leaving!" and Bethany would kind of prop him out of the pool whereupon he would jump right back in to her.

Mr. S. will be back this week. But, Bethany said she would be on lifeguard duty.