Grandparent identity crisis

We were in Florida for a long weekend to see the grandparents. Here is Jacob (the big hand in the foreground belongs to my mom) playing on the living room floor on top of my old baby blanket.  Mom still can't quite figure out what she would like to be called by Jacob. My idea at first was to call Dad "Pa-paw," which was my name for my grandfather - then Mom could be "Ma-maw," which was my great-grandmother's name. Then Dad threw Mom for a loop by requesting that he be called "Granddad." I guess "Grandma" wasn't working for her. Her first idea was to call herself "Sue Mom," which I nixed. Now she wants to be called "Ma-maw" but after trying it out, it's just not working for me.  They're coming to visit (again) in August so we'll see what happens - but chances are it won't be resolved until Jacob starts talking. 

The Exersaucer

SNC00002.jpg
Originally uploaded by js_hale

Obviously a huge hit with the kid - but like so many toys like this, I wonder - why do they have to make them to be so unattractive?? I guess it wouldn't be as interesting or stimulating to a kid otherwise, but what I wouldn't give for a nice, soothing palette of creams and tans instead of yellow-gold and royal blue!

Dr.'s office

0617091615a.jpg
Originally uploaded by js_hale

Jacob had more shots today - so far, Peter has made it to every single appointment, which is good b/c I have no tolerance for shots. Jacob did great though - smiling and laughing through his tears by the time we were leaving.

in his good ol' boy outfit

in his good ol' boy outfit
Originally uploaded by js_hale

Disappearing "skullet"

 

Someone in my mother's group used the term "skullet" to describe that tuft of hair below the bald spot on the back of a baby's head.  Jacob's hair is growing in so you can barely see what's left of it. 

Sausalito jazz festival

causality jazz festival
Originally uploaded by js_hale

at the Grove on Fillmore

at the Grove on Fillmore
Originally uploaded by js_hale

Head up!

 

Jacob stands pretty much on his own now, which is scary. He has also discovered his hands - when he's not clasping them in front of his chest (he looks like a choir boy), he has them in his mouth. Big breakthrough yesterday - he soothed himself to sleep with no coaxing from me, by sucking on his fingers. AND he finished a bottle today, no fussing! Progress!

Jacob & Grammy

SNC00333.jpg
Originally uploaded by js_hale

New discoveries

SNC00331.jpg
Jacob is discovering his hands and feet. He clasps his hands a lot, which is really cute.  And now he can hold onto toys and really examine them. 

Tummy time

SNC00322
Originally uploaded by js_hale

Piece o' cake! Now if I could just start sleeping through the night...

Sitting up

Sitting up
Originally uploaded by js_hale

Jacob can *almost* sit up on his own - he was looking very adult-like with his elbow on the arm of the chair.

peter cooked!

peter cooked!
Originally uploaded by js_hale

grilled halibut with papa mango salsa and steamed artichoke!

Gutentach!

Peter, Jacob and I are back from Germany - we were there for a wedding, a good friend of Peter's who is from the town of Bremen. This was taken in one of the oldest wine cellars in Germany - they actually have wine that was bottled in 1648. Some of the oldest bottles are stored behind the doors pictured here. A tour of the cellar was part of the wedding festivities, along with sampling real bratwurst. We have all these pictures of Jacob asleep at various sites in Germany. We joked that he'll have to go back one day to all the places that he visited as an infant.

After Bremen, we traveled to the Mosel region (not Iraq) for more wine sampling. We opted for the countryside, figuring it would be easier with a baby (which was true) and more relaxing. Peter bought Rick Steves' guide, which helped us decide where to stay & what to do. The highlight was Burg Eltz which is listed as one of Steves' must-sees. That and the restaurant at the place we were staying was FRICKIN' AMAZING - the meal (my Mother's Day treat) was not cheap, but it was a worthy splurge. Nothing German about the menu - damn fine French-inspired cuisine. The hotel was a cute B&B, but like most places the walls were super-thin. I was extremely glad that Peter had decided to lug the laptop with us because the place had wireless, and I downloaded some delightful white noise off iTunes - I highly recommend it. Only cost 6 bucks and worked like a charm.

I am very happy too b/c I finally figured out how to save my photos from my phone onto my computer - WOOOO!! It was a whole ordeal, installing software, the software not working, trying to make it work, not happening...I finally figured out a back-door way to get the photos and I couldn't be more pleased with myself. AND the baby is sleeping, Peter's making dinner...life is GOOD!

Germany

In our rush to get packed and go, we forgot USB connectors and such to upload photos - and since my phone is a CDMA and Germany is all GSM, I can't automatically upload from my phone like I normally do. We'll catch up when we get home. 

I had forgotten how great the food is in Germany, especially the bread!! Big mounds of fresh, dense peasant breads every morning for breakfast. . . makes me swear up & down that I'll go to the local bakery at least twice a week when I get home, instead of merely subsisting on grossly inadequate loaves of store-bought poo that we normally eat. :) 

We are in the Mosel wine region for the next 2 days, just taking it easy. Cochem is a medieval town from which we are basing our operations - it's kitschy and touristy, but small-scale and charming - a lot like St. Augustine, but older.  It's raining, so we're planning on visiting wine cellars today and saving the castle hikes for tomorrow - fingers crossed that the weather is better tomorrow. Peter is chomping at the bit to "storm the castle." 

say cheese!

say cheese!
Originally uploaded by js_hale

Jacob practices his flirty face

Baby's first beach trip - Crissy Field

Met up with Peter after a particularly "what-a-day" workday. Watching the dog frolick in the surf is an effective way to get rid of stress. Funny that we have to come into the city to go to the closest beach. :)

Baby monitor is ON...

I am frittering away precious Jacob napping time, but had to announce that he is taking a very rare afternoon nap BY HIMSELF - like, not on my chest, or next to me, etc. I won't make too much of it b/c it might be an isolated thing, but MAN it feels like progress!!! 

We're in "sleep training" now, trying to get Jacob to sleep by himself. Starting out very easy by trying to get him to nap on his own during the day. It is fairly easy in the morning - afternoons are much more challenging, and sometimes it's tough for him to nap at all. Nighttime will still be the same bed-sharing routine probably until he's a year old or so. We'll see. For now, I'm celebrating this very small step - I probably should go before he wakes up.  Jeez, what to do next before he wakes up....laundry? pay bills?? Prepare dinner??! The possibilities are endless and ooh...so enticing! Uh oh, just heard a little cry....so much for that. :)

Napping & nappies

favorite napping position
Originally uploaded by js_hale

Peter is on a ride this morning, and so I put Jacob in the Didymos sling as I do every morning and took Teddy for a walk around the complex. He definitely prefers the Didy over the Ergo, and at this stage, it's more comfortable for me too. This is the next best thing to breastfeeding to get him down for a nap. 

I just remembered what I've been wanting to rant about! CAN SOMEONE PLEASE MAKE A CLOTH DIAPER THAT DOESN'T LEAK??  And if you, gentle reader, have been lucky enough to find one that works, PLEASE let me know. So far, the only thing that works is layering - I use 2 pre-fold cloth diapers, and a wool diaper cover, and that usually works. It's really funny to see how big you can make his butt look when you put a giant diaper ensemble on him! :)  Anyway, I've tried Thirsties, Bum Genius, Knicker Nappies (do you love these names??) and a few others and invariably, they leak when he urinates. So if anyone knows about a cloth diaper that works, I'm all ears! 

On the same subject, I am trying to figure out what is ultimately better for the environment -it would seem like a straightforward problem - disposables are made mostly of plastic and use up landfill space. But it takes a lot of water to rinse out & clean cloth diapers. But it's definitely cheaper to use cloth - right now I'm "hedging" and using a combination of both.  Thoughts? 

poop face

poop face
Originally uploaded by js_hale