wild*life

When I was little, I was never much of a “breakfast for dinner” kid.  I was more of a “dinner for breakfast” kid.  But now that I’m an adult who has to think of quick, nutritious, delicious meals on a nightly basis, I am definitely pro eggs and toast every now and then.  Before Jake came along, I was not above milk and cereal as an under-appreciated evening entree.

Speaking of firsts and dinners… tonight Nate had his very first bowl of milk and rice baby cereal.  He seemed a bit perplexed, but approached it as an eager novice.  Not even any funny gagging.  He even tried to control the spoon which I took as a good sign.

It has been a whirlwind summer of firsts.

First boat driving at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk which led to…

Jake and Nate’s first trout fishing trip followed by a stop at the local rodeo…

Which led to an insatiable need to ride a “forsey” (horsey).

What will we come up with for next weekend?  I’m thinking we finally fulfill our promised response to the weekly inquiry, “Mama on the choo choo train?  I want to ride it!”

P.S.

(Product Description from Amazon.com)

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Jacob is clearly a potential product poster child.  These chopsticks have definitely added “an element” to our dining experience.

Last night we had pork chops for dinner.  Jacob looks up at me and says, “I want my pork chops Mama.”

“Oh good.  Well, here’s your pork chop right here.  Eat these bites.”

“I want my pork chops Mama.”  (Clearly, he’s not getting through to me.)

“Yes, this is your pork chop.  Here is your sauce.”

“My pork chop with, with the owl on top.  Owl on top.”  (Subtext: Mama, it’s like I’m talking to a brick wall.)

“Owl on top?”  James is looking at me like Jake has clearly lost his mind.  Who knows what’s real and what’s made up these days?  He’s always telling us about imaginary lions and tigers roaming the rooms of our house.

Jacob gets up and starts tugging on one of the drawers in the kitchen.  We’ve never had to babyproof most of our kitchen because you have to have a special combination of muscle, persistence and luck to actually get any of these drawers open.  We watch him and continue debating the existence of pork chops with owls on top with our two-year-old.

Then that little part of my brain that actually understands Jakey’s thought processes finally kicked in.  “Your chopsticks with the penguin on top?”  I find his special Korean kid-friendly chopsticks.

“No this a penguin, Mama.  This a owl.”  And then he successfully ate his entire pork chop with his pork chops with the owl on top.

James literally just looked at me, speechless.

After months of anticipation, numerous threatening calls to an unnamed retailer and lots of talk about what “big boys” do… Jakey slept in his new big boy bed last night for the very first time!I woke-up in the middle of the night and James was gone.  Apparently Jacob was “‘cared” and needed his Daddy to lay down next to him on the bottom bunk.  He just doesn’t seem to find his Key-Rex dinosaur or Fire Lady particularly comforting.

I’ve come across several kids who treat their beds like islands that they’re trapped on.  I’m pretty sure Jake is not an island child.  How do I know?  When he yelled this morning that he was awake, James told him to get up and come in himself.  We heard him climb down, open two doors and then climb up into our snugly bed.  As long as this is happening after 6am, this new big boy bed could be a major improvement in the morning Jake-up call.

My friend Emily is from Boston and she claims the best, most authentic lobster roll in the Bay Area can be found at Sam’s in Half Moon Bay (www.samschowderhouse.com).  I think I even saw it featured on The Today Show.  She’s right, it is delicious, but I’ve found one that’s even tastier…

THE Best Lobster Roll in the Bay Area.  Sorry Sam.

At dinner the other night we were enjoying warm chicken souvlaki wrapped in flatbread.  Good stuff.

Jakey tells me, “I want sprinkles, Mama.  Sprinkles.”

I look across the kitchen table… I’m not seeing any sprinkles.

“This?”

“Yesth.”

“Olive tapenade with feta cheese?”

“Sprinkle it, please.  Sprinkling.”  Imagine little fingers pantomiming sprinkling over a plastic plate.

I love that Jake is lukewarm about hamburgers, can rarely be talked into potatoes and gives white rice a skeptical once over.  But bitter black and green olive tapenade with salty cheese?  Rainbow colored dinner confetti.

Jakey’s buddy Costa is infamous for his love of garbage trucks.  You might even call it an obsession.  He wakes up like clockwork to see them.  He has numerous toy garbage trucks.  He even watches garbage truck home movies.  Whenever we hear or see a garbage truck, Jake always asks if it’s going to Costa’s house.

Lately Jake has collected an assortment of ice cream scoops.  Several that were left over from some marketing James did and then of course, the one that I actually like to use.  Now when you want ice cream at our house, you have to look in every room, including the toy box.

A couple of mornings ago Jacob was playing and he says to me, “Ife cream ‘coops Mama.  They’re my favorite!”

I think I speak for myself as well as Costa’s parents when I say we have more ambitious dreams for our little sanitation engineer and frozen novelty distribution specialist.  But these little two-year-old hobbies are totally my favorite.

This morning the microwave timer rings, signaling my hot tea is ready.

“Jacob help you Mama!  Jacob open it.”

“Thank you JJ.  That is so helpful.”

“No ploblem!”

Natesy is a sock loser.  We’ve already lost a red driving shoe and two red cowboy boot socks.  We’re down to only one pair of red argyles.  This reminds me of a quote I will never forget from Carson on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, “My mom always said red shoes are only for hookers and babies.”  Personally I’m a fan of red shoes.  Maybe that’s why he doesn’t have a show anymore.

In any case, Nate gets this unique lost sock trait from his Daddy… of course.

One day James says to me, “Have you noticed that Nate rubs his feet together just like me?”
“Hmmmm, no I hadn’t.  You rub your feet together?”
“Yeah, you know how you hate the sound it makes?”
“Oh yeah… that is kind of weird.”
“Nate does the exact same thing.”
“You’re right, he does.  How can the way you rub your feet together be genetic?”

This sounds like a question for Research and Development.