Jake & The House of Discovery

TOTS IN TOY LAND

Jake loves playing with toys, and we love that he can finally get himself to them with minimal fuss. Ever since he was about 4 months old he's seemed frustrated at the fact that he couldn't get to whatever he wanted. He learned to inchworm, then crawl, then cruise around the furniture - and can now reach almost anything he sees. Fortunately he doesn't often look above his eye-level or I'm sure he'd be climbing the book cases. His current fascination is with balls, or anything vaguely resembling them. So he loves his Busy Ball Popper toy, as well as the Roll-A-Rounds balls that have fun things inside them. When we're at the store he lunges toward the huge cage of big bouncy balls saying "Bah! Bah! Bah!" like his life depends on squeezing them. He does the same thing in the produce department when we pass the cantaloupes or tomatoes, which Haley thinks is hilarious. I can't wait to see what the poor cabin-fevered kid does when he actually gets to play outside with balls. For now he just has to think they're a living room toy.

CURIOSITY DID WHAT TO THE CAT?

Jake is on the move, and he's fast. He's also very curious, which of course is normal for a 10-month old. He likes to explore the kitchen cabinets and drawers, the computer CPU with its many buttons, and the pile of dirt and debris that I gather with the broom. I certainly remember Haley going through this stage, but somehow it seems like more work with Jake. Maybe it's just because now there are 2 of them, but they are perfectly capable of trashing the house faster than I can keep it clean. One day Jake got into the pantry cupboard (I know, how hard would it be to put on a childproof lock) - and discovered the box of Honey Nut Cheerios. He wouldn't let go once he'd tasted them since he'd only had plain ones up until then. Haley couldn't believe I was letting him make such a mess, and was only too happy to join him in eating them from the floor. Another day Jake managed to reach the packages of applesauce. He stacked them up, banged them together, then bit into one. He was delighted to find he had bit through the foil top and proceeded to slurp it up. It was too cute to stop him, and surprisingly little of it wound up on him.

One evening after dinner Rob went in and started the bath water, then came out to get the kids. Before we even realized it, Jake crawled into the bathroom and into the tub - clothes and all. Fortunately it was just cute and not a disaster, but we keep a much closer eye on him now! And yes, we know we're out of the running for Parents Of The Year.

ROCK ON, LITTLE DUDE

Jake's other love, besides bouncy balls, is music. And musical instruments. And anything resembling musical instruments. And anything on which he can drum. He stands by the keyboard in the living room and screeches out his distress at not being able to reach the keys. He points and bobs up and down to get Rob to take the guitars off the wall. He puts his whole mouth around the microphone and "sings"/drools into it. And in the basement he makes a beeline for the music room (as does Rob!). Nothing could make his father prouder, and I see many garage jam sessions in the future. Haley likes to join in too, playing and singing Mary Had a Little Lamb over and over while Jake enthusiastically accompanies her on the lower half of the keyboard. Here he is strumming on a mint-green Fender Stratocaster. The only question now is whether he'll play Bach...or rock...