Jakie Pasta Hands

Drumming on water glasses with rock candy sticks

At Augies in Larchmont with the whole family (Mommy, Daddy, Peepa, Geedah, Mema, Papa, Uncle Greg, Aunt Laura and our friends Emily and Justine).

First Day of Pre-School!

My tiny little baby boy is at his first day of pre-school as we speak! He protested beforehand - "I don't wanna go to school!" - but was completely excited the minute he got there. Luckily, his great-aunt Maddie works at the pre-school, so I know he is in good hands.

(Note about pic below: even the most technology savvy among us have technical difficulties. I can't find a card-reader for my point-and-shoot camera's SD memory card, so this is a cell phone shot of my digital camera screen - pathetic!)



Now, what on earth do I do with 3 hours all to myself while Jake is at pre-school?? First order of business: pick a gigantic bouquet of hydrangeas from the big healthy bush on the side of our house. :) Thank God for all this rain! I am thrilled to have hydrangeas in the house before July. The hydrangea bush has come a long way in the last two years. Last year it had "dozens" of blooms, two years ago it had barely any. This year, I have estimated at least 100 blooms. Maybe I DO have a green thumb afterall... Big shout-out to my mom who taught me last year what to do with the poor old plant, and I have been rewarded by it ever since! :)

Disney, Part One

Jake went to Disney.... uhhh.... a few weeks ago?... (Hey - it's wedding season and I've already had 6 weddings in 8 weeks - cut me some slack!) with my parents, aka Geedah and Peepa. He had an amazing time and my parents were delighted to go on "It's A Small World" nearly a dozen times!

I've been meaning to post pictures, I really have. Actually, if you want pictures, head over to my photo blog! ;) Sorry, shameless snarky plug. I promise think it won't happen again.

Anyway, here are some lovely images taken by the lovely people at Disney, who were hoping I would buy these pictures instead of just taking a screen shot and posting them on my poor neglected blog. Sorry. As a photographer, I should know better. Should.

As with every single other picture of Jake ever taken by a 'professional' other than myself, Jake looks thrilled:









Okay, he actually does look really happy here:







I PROMISE other Disney pics will be coming soon. Geedah and Peepa gave me their memory cards to download, so I HAVE the pictures, I just need to edit and post them. Thanks again, so very much, Mom & Dad, for taking Jake to Disney. I know he will remember this trip for years - he STILL hasn't stopped talking about it!

(Late) lunchtime entertainment

Jakes Birthday - The Finale! (3 of 3)

We head out to York, PA to celebrate the third and final gathering for Jake's 3rd Birthday with Geedah, Peepa and some of Jake's PA relatives. We had nice warm spring weather, got to fly a kite with the expertise of Uncle Bob, had a super yummy Carvel cake, and got to play in the sandbox! It doesn't get any better than this for my little boy's finale celebration of turning three!

Jake, Caley, Aunt Marianne, Brad, Rebeccah and Uncle Bob (and Jamie sneaking in to see if anything has been dropped yet)


The star of the show...





Yes, this is his third birthday cake, for anyone keeping count.



I think this is probably the first time I have documented the true beauty of a slightly melty Carvel cake...mmmmm...... No, I didn't just try to lick my screen!



Jake's funny "angry face" - this is on cue. Although it may also be a reaction to me swiping some of his melty vanilla ice cream...





Cousin Bec has a good time with Jake's new Spiderman kite. I had fun shooting these unusual angles - I think someone joked about getting all of that in one shot. I made it happen :)



Even Ruthie celebrated by scratching her back on the grass and finding something stinky to roll in.





Jake enjoys his new bubble toys with Emma and Ryan (my parents next-door neighbors, and Jake's York friends)



The crew (Bec, Geedah, Marianne, Caley, Brian and Aunt Nancy) watches...



...while Bob finagles the kite strings for the neighborhood kids



Jake: "Brad, I want a bubble THHHHHHIIIIIISSSSS big!"


Bec, Jake and Geedah (aka Grandma, aka Mary Ellen, aka my mom) play in the sandbox





And, in honor of my only son's third birthday, I will make a rare appearance on the blog. Happy Birthday, baby boy! I love you!

Jake's Birthday (Part 2 of 3)

Three years old, three celebrations. Does this mean I get 33 parties on my next birthday??

Part two was at Mema Mary & Papa Ralph's house:



Jake gets his first left-handed baseball glove from Mema & Papa


The Thomas theme continues with his new bike from Aunt Barb




Which he immediately has to try out outside! (wearing his new jacket from Geedah & Peepa)


As if he didn't already have a cool birthday cake, he gets another one! This one has Oreo wheels, and just happened to have the number 30 (his birthday) and the letter V on it! Cool! :) (The happy birthday Jake part was added, we didn't get that lucky - lol!)







He always enjoys blowing out the candles




Part 3 of the birthday celebration coming in a few days - we wrap up the celebration out in York, PA with the Valentine clan.