(Press play on the video above before continuing!)
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(Sung by 13 Month old Jack-Evan, Typed by Mommy)

I’ve been walkin’ these streets so long
Singin’ the same old song

I know every crack in these dirty sidewalks of Broadway
Where hustle’s the name of the game
And nice guys get washed away like the snow and the rain

There’s been a load of compromisin’
On the road to my horizon

But I’m gonna be where the lights are shinin’ on me!

Like a rhinestone baby
Riding out on a steed in a rocky-horse rodeo

Like a rhinestone baby
Getting cards and letters from people I don’t even know

…..and offers comin’ over the phone!

Well, I really don’t mind the rain
And a smile can hide all the pain

But you’re down when you’re ridin’ the train that’s takin’ the long way
And I dream of the things I’ll do
With a subway token and a dollar tucked inside my shoe

There’ll be a load of compromisin’
On the road to my horizon

But I’m gonna be where the lights are shinin’ on me

Like a rhinestone baby
Riding out on a steed in a rocky-horse rodeo

Rhinestone baby….
Gettin’ cards and letters from people I don’t even know

And offers comin’ over the phone!

(Voiced by the now 1 year old Little Jack, yet still typed by Mommy)

Once upon a time, I had to take a bath.

Mommy said it was so I would smell good for everyone at the party.

Turns out, I wasn’t the only thing that smelled good! 

As we waited for everyone to show up….

Daddy headed to the store to pick up more Pepsi and my great Aunt Faye took over grilling!

Music was playing, people were taking pictures left and right….

…and everyone was just kicked back, having a great time.

(I’m glad they all had such a good time.  I, however, was much too sleepy)

Here is my girlfriend mommy’s friend’s daughter, Alyse.

(Don’t tell her, but I think she’s cute.)

 I even tried to show her how capable I am by providing her with food.

Then I had to concentrate on my own dessert.

(Oh…my bad….did you want some cake too?)

After throwing all my cake on the floor eating my dessert, mommy opened my presents.

I always thought it was I who was supposed to open my gifts,
but I didn’t really have the heart to take the fun away from mommy.

All in all, I had a fabulous day.

(And 4 more baths that evening.)

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THE END.

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That was a video I took with our new Sony SR-11. It has a built in slow motion feature, and I went quite silly over getting slo-mo’s of the waves, birds walking, and Jack digging in the sand during our trip to the beach at the end of April.

We went originally to visit with my husband’s brother and his family, who were down from New York on vacation. Then we ended up staying for 2 more days after they headed back home. It was the first vacation we have had (where we were totally by ourselves) in ages! It was Jack’s 2nd time seeing the ocean (the first time he was only 3 months old), and he had a blast.

(Two brothers, two cousins)

(My nephew headed down to the beach)

(I had a blast flying Jack-Evan’s kite!)

(The beach wore him out)

Peace out, everyone!

(Voiced by 11 Month Old Jack-Evan, Typed by Mommy)

Here is an urgent public service announcement, urging all mothers everywhere to read to their children.

Thank you.
Sincerely,
Jack-Evan.

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Ok, so being a new mom, it constantly amazes me how much babies understand and can do. Jack-Evan began mimicking sounds (I love you, and Hey) when he was 2 months old. He’s also been doing “motorboat” (aka raspberry with the tongue) since he was 2 months old (thanks to my Dad). Last month, my mom taught him how to sing a little song they call the “La La” song - and now all we have to do is say “Jack, sing the La La song for Grammy”, and he’ll grin and sing lalalalala in the tune the taught him. He never lets me get the full song on video though, the little stinker! He seems to know when the camera is aimed at him.

I did manage to catch a little of the LaLa song today while we were out at lunch with my parents - along with a “new and improved” motorboat. Jack use to use only his lips…now, for some reason, he thinks it’s hilarious to use his full tongue. Ahh…the life of a baby.

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….well, if you are a baby, you ignore them and choose something completely surprising to fall in love with instead.

Meet “Just Bunny”.  He’s a 12″ tall, skinny, hairless, eyeless, white country bunny that my cousin threw out 14 years ago.  Jack-Evan found him back in January and hasn’t let go since.  

Here’s a video of the happy duo upon the commencement of their love affair.  This was taken at the end of January when Jack was approaching 9 months old (he’s currently almost 11 months!).

Each night, as Jack-Evan and Just Bunny lay down to sleep, I tell a continuing bedtime story saga about Just Bunny and his brave, noble friend named Jack-Evan who sets out on a quest to find the little hairless bunny some new fur.  Currently, Jack-Evan and Just Bunny are in the woods, witnessing the birthday party of Fairy King Minos the 15th.

Jack-Evan, for the most part, ignores the story (preferring instead to munch happily on a board book), but at the end of tonight’s imagined chapter my husband, Kevin, suddenly spoke up and said…

“Aww, why do you have to stop at that part?  Can’t you make it a little longer tonight?”

(Voiced by 6 month old Jack-Evan, Typed by No One)

Dear Family and Friends….

Sincerely, Jack-Evan

Monday evening was the first time we put Jack in his high chair. We got it out of storage a few minutes before dinner, and we were so excited that we didn’t even think to adjust the straps before putting him in it. Poor son. At least it kept his head from bobbing to the side.

He’s been a regular table guest since he was born. For the past few months, he has sat on my lap and watched us eat, or just nursed contentedly while we dined. He has also sat on my lap numerous times at restaurants, although I haven’t quite gotten up the nerve to breastfeed in public. I find nothing wrong with it….I’m just shy like that. By the time we have our 2nd or 3rd child though, I’ll probably “plop it out” anywhere. Anyway, back to meal times….We feel that including him in every meal gets him accustomed to adult eating styles and habits. Lately, however, he has increased in the use of his “reaching” and “grabbing” skills, and it’s becoming a little too haphazard to have him so close to a hot plate of food. He’s at the point right now where his biggest goal in life seems to be pulling the plate I’m eating from down upon himself. Luckily that hasn’t happened yet though as I’ve been pretty vigilant in stopping any potential accidents.

So, since Jack was introduced to rice cereal this past weekend, we thought it was the perfect time to introduce him to his high chair as well. He seemed to enjoy having his own special spot during dinner time! He also took to eating with a spoon fairly easy - much easier than I expected. Dinner proceeded with me feeding Jack-Evan a spoonful or two of his food (with me and daddy making a HUGE amount of proud-parent praise, of course), then with me eating some of my own food. Conversation took place as usual, with Jack being included as if he were an adult as well. Family meal time is very important to us, and we hope to instill this into him as well. No TV viewing is allowed, candles are always burning, we eat off of “real” plates (pretty blue willow ones), and sometimes I have soft classical music playing. It’s very relaxing for all of us.

As our (adult) meal was winding down, Jack had already finished off his portion of rice cereal and he was just sitting there happily watching us chit chat. At one point, I picked up a toy that I had set on his tray for him - it’s this bright colored clicking thing that has three triangles that twist. It’s really fun actually (little things amuse me). In fact, I think mommy has more fun with it than Jack does (shhhhhhh… don’t tell). But anyway, I had picked it up to show Kevin how cool it was, as I had just gotten it out of storage earlier that day. I didn’t realize at that point that Jack was paying attention to me. Upon finishing showing the toy to Kevin though, I turned around to give it back to Jack and he was watching me with the most curious expression on his face - then he burst out laughing. HARD. Of course that made me laugh, and, realizing the toy is what caused the outburst, I started playing with it and this made Jack laugh even harder. All three of us then spent the next 30 minutes laughing our tushies off. Up until this time, Jack had never shown any interest in engaging playfully with a toy!

Here’s a glimpse into just a few seconds of what life was like at our home Monday evening….

Who doesn’t like hearing a baby laugh?  Jack-Evan has begun laughing full force.  Smiling at him will get him to laugh.  Pootin’ on his belly will get him to laugh.  Tickling his cheek will get him to laugh.  But there is nothing that will get him to laugh as hard as eating his feet. 

And that’s what mommy does best, I guess.

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As mentioned earlier, Jack-Evan had his first trip to the park today! 

Here is a little video we shot on the slide.  Today was the first day that Jack was able to sit out “forward” in his little body sling.  Usually, he sits facing me and sleeps when he’s in the sling.  It’s exciting that he can now look out on the world, but it’s also a little sad because of how fast he is growing.  He use to be barely visible in it!

This was his very first “slide” down a sliding board.  I use to slide down this same slide when I was 3 and 4 years old!  It’ll be quite a while before I allow Jack to slide by himself though.  Probably about 27  years at least.