Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

Jake just took his first step!  Well, I'm calling it his first step (mostly because it was with me).  John tricked him into taking a step by holding his hands for a few then letting go mid step.  That was about a week ago, and I was really impressed.  Today, I coerced him a little, but I didn't trick him.  Jake was looking at me and wanting me to pick him up.  I held my hands just a few inches out of grasp.  He tried to go down to his knees, but I pulled him back up and he did it!  I tried for a second step, but he was too eager to get to his knees.  At any rate, HE DID IT!!  Oh, and he's also got 2 more teeth coming in.  Bottom left (4th on the bottom) and top left (3rd on top).  That brings the total to 7.

Table Rock

While Buck and Jake were away, I appeased the others by telling them we'd do big kid things.  They were all very excited to go hiking, except Ellie didn't want to walk.  I figured that, so I just planned on letter her ride in the pack, which she usually doesn't get to do.  Since it was just big kids, we went a little further to Table Rock.  It was a beautiful fall day.  Although the leaves were past their peak, they were still fairly colorful.  We hiked the Carrick Creek Trail...not to the top of Table Rock.  It was wet and slippery, but lots of fun.

 Lots of slippery rock stairs and creek crossings.  Ellie enjoyed swaying back and forth and going crazy in the pack, which made keeping my balance really tough, but she was very good about sitting still when I asked her to while crossing creeks and such.

 What a find!  A huge snail out of its shell!

 Another awesome find!  It was maybe the size of a nickel or smaller.  A friend tells me it's a Crowned Slug Caterpillar, but I've decided to call it a Green Snowflake Bug.  It was absolutely beautiful!

 Grandma went with us.  One of my favorite things to do with her has always been hiking.  She always finds really cool things, and knows how to identify lots of wild flowers and such.  It's just always fun.

 At the end of the hike I pulled Ellie out of the pack so she could climb on the rocks.  She was not quite as thrilled as I was.

 There are really tempting rocks in the creek right at the start of the trail.  Ellie was already in the pack, so I suggested we not climb on the rocks until after the hike.  Turned out to be a better choice than I realized.  You can't tell it here, but Eve is soaked.  One entire leg of her pants, and most of her shirt.  While I was fighting Ellie to walk after being removed from the pack, Mom went ahead and took John and Eve to climb on the rocks.  Two minutes later we caught up and found Eve screaming in anger and wailing in tears.  Not hurt at all, just very angry to be wet.  I joked with Mom that I was glad it wasn't on my watch.  Of course earlier I had said, "We have band aids, so I'm pretty sure nobody will get hurt.  Something tells me the same logic will apply to not having dry clothes."  Anyway, she recovered quickly and enjoyed playing on the rocks some more...and riding home in her underwear.

 John was a daredevil and kept jumping from rock to rock (some quite a ways apart), despite the fact that I kept saying, "JOHN, no jumping".  (and he kept replying, "yes ma'am"...then jumping again).  Minutes later he walked up and said, "I guess I can't wear my pants in the car either.  It's OK, though.  I didn't jump."  He had a destination in mind, and since he couldn't jump, the only other option was to sacrifice the dry pants and shoes.

And this picture just made me laugh.

One Amazing Year

 Wow.  Just wow.  Jake is 1 year old, and what a special year it has been.  He is such a treat.  At one year, he weighed in at 25 lb 8 oz (94th percentile).  He measured 31 in (85th percentile) and head 18.5 in (74th percentile).  He's wearing 18 month clothes, but it's hard to cover that belly!  I don't know what size shoes he wears because, well, he doesn't wear shoes.  I can't find any that will fit the tallness of his feet without being ridiculously long, but I find his feet to be so cute, I honestly haven't tried very hard.  Pretty soon I won't have a choice.  Jake loves to point to everything and babble about it.  He loves (and there is no way to say this strong enough) his brother and sisters, and loves rough housing, being silly, and laughing with them.  He shakes his head a lot, but not to say no, just to be silly.  He blows kisses all the time, but with more of a "ba" sound than a "mwa" sound.  He's really learning to master stairs, up and down.  About a week ago we practiced turning around to come down stairs.  He was already pretty good at realizing he was at an edge.  He reaches his hand down over the edge to prove it to himself, then stops.  Now, he's able to turn around, and actually goes down the stairs with a lot of speed and confidence, which is a bad combination at his skill level.  He just started signing "more" and "hungry", but he rubs the belly of whomever is holding him rather than his own.  Whenever he does something we've been encouraging (kisses, turning around to go down stairs, signing more, etc), he starts, stops for a second to clap for himself, then finishes what he's doing.  I think it's partly because he proud that he's learned it, and partly because that's the reaction he always gets from me and he likely thinks it's required to finish that task.  He absolutely loves Bo (the dog).  I'm not sure the feelings are mutual.  Jake isn't really saying anything yet, but I think he's trying.  I think he realizes the sounds he needs for several things, just can't make the connection to forming those sounds.  He's likely got several words that all just sound the same to us.  I've mentioned that he bangs his head when he's frustrated or upset.  He's also still quite a biter.  He mainly bites out of frustration when he's hungry or tired.  I don't think he's bitten out of meanness...yet.  Jake just experienced his first trip on an airplane.  He went with Buck out to Portland to visit family (so nice that he still flies free...the rest of us were rather jealous).  I hear it was a fantastic trip and he did pretty well flying.  I know he enjoyed meeting lots of family he's never met before.  Jake still isn't walking, still has no interest.  He stands for a while, but doesn't even want to walk behind a toy or holding someone's hands.  I think one day he'll just take off when he decides it's a good idea.  I'm pretty sure he just doesn't want to lose speed.  He's a fast crawler!  He makes us smile and laugh every day.  He is such a dear sweet child.  I only wish he would snuggle more with me, but I'll settle for the sweet kisses he sends my way.  We love you so much, Jacob Scott!

One Of Those Moments

Last night we had another one of those moments.  Those moments I wish I had the video camera rolling.  We have those all the time, and when I actually pull a camera out, everything changes and nobody shows their true colors anymore.  So, since I didn't have the camera, I'll do my best to describe the moment.
Jake has not handled the time change well...at all.  He's been getting up really early despite going to bed an hour later.  So last night he was really tired, but we were still trying to keep him up.  We had a friend over for dinner.  The older 3 were sitting at their small table in the den eating and watching "fun tv" (a special treat).  Jake had already eaten a ton, but wouldn't leave their food and drinks alone.  To keep the peace, I put him in his high chair.  He wasn't happy, so I pulled out the big guns.  Oreos.  I set a stack of 3 on the table and handed him one, which he devoured, loved, and smeared all over his face.  When he finished the first one, he pointed to the stack and started babbling.  He knew exactly what he wanted and communicated quite well!  We've been trying to work on some sign language, including more.  It hasn't been going so well.  We said "more" and showed the motion, and magically he knew exactly what to do.  Funny how that works.  Anyway, cue the video camera.  I gave him the second cookie.  He held it and looked at it, then started to smile at it.  Remember, he was past tired, so he just stared, smiled, and every now and then giggled at the cookie as if he was high.  He looked at it seriously for a few moments, then got the goofy grin back, never looking away at us or anything else.  He and that cookie had a moment, and we all had a good laugh.

It's Pitiful

Over the past, I'd say 2 weeks maybe, Jake has started something new, and it's just pitiful.  He's been loving head butting.  Now, when he's upset or frustrated, he gets into a low crawling position or just all the way on the floor, and starts banging his head on the floor (or sometimes substitutes the wall, or my chest/head if he's crawling around on me...I have to be careful that my nose isn't in the way!).  It's just pitiful to watch, especially when he does it on something that's harder than he realizes, like the driveway.  Ouch!  Pitiful :(

We Have A Winner!!!

We've reached a stage in our family where the number of teeth is constantly in flux.  John has lost 4, grown 3 back, and has another loose.  Eve has 2 loose, although she says 4, but when asked which ones she always picks different ones, and never the ones that are actually loose.  Ellie's good for now.  Jake has 4, 3 on bottom and one on top (the third on the bottom snuck in without me noticing because I've been looking for that second top tooth).  He's also got several trying so hard to poke their way through.
For the past several weeks we've had a race going on.  Jake and John are both anticipating a front top tooth.  To feel like a good mother, I've got to pass my competitive nature along to my children, so it's become a race.  It was so close that both had a tiny corner poked through and the rest just under the surface.  Well, we have a winner.  Last night Buck and I both noticed independently that John's tooth has broken completely through.  And in noticing, we immediately made a plan to start a savings account for orthodontics.

The Blame Game

It's something as old as time, and we never grow out of it...blaming others.  Two stories, one old (and maybe I already told it), one new.

A while back John got in trouble.  His quick response, "But Eve told me to do it!"  Something tells me he was telling the truth, and that's likely going to be an accurate statement many times over, but still, blaming needs to be disciplined, and this one was just too easy.  "John, what did Adam say when God asked him if he ate the fruit?"  "Eve told me to."  No lecture necessary.

I've mentioned before that Eve has a pretty (VERY) short fuse.  Interestingly enough, this isn't a problem at school, but that's neither here nor there.  Sunday after the church (and after we watched "the sacrifice") apple cider was served.  Eve brought hers into the car and it didn't have a lid.  Half way home she started screaming.  Don't worry, it wasn't hot.  She was just mad.  "What's wrong Eve?"  "Ahhhh! (angry scream)  You made me spill my drink because you're driving!  Why are you driving!?!"  Clearly I was in the wrong for driving, but sin is in my nature as well, so I had to pass the blame back.  "Why were you drinking while I was driving?"  Well, that was just a silly question.  I just shouldn't have been driving.

Birthday Boy!!!

Good gracious, my sweet Jacob Scott is ONE!  I can't believe it!  I've received some impatient remarks for not posting cake pictures yet, so I'll have to tell all about one-year Jake when I post his stats after his well visit next week.  So, without further ado...here's Jake's birthday.

 It was an all hands on deck effort to make his birthday special.

 Jake's cake and our cake.

 Bella and Marco, Aunt Amy, and Grandma all came to the party.  We even got to Skype with Grandma and Grandpa Bucky and Uncle Greg.

I'm 1!!! (Actually he's quite a chatter box.  He loves to point to everything and talk about it, but when trying to get a "one" picture, it sure worked to my advantage)

 Jake actually seemed to know what was going on while he was opening his presents.  He was not happy when a gift was taken away, even if it was to make room for a new one.

 How many people does it take to blow out a "1" candle?

Jake started slowly and systematically, eating each M&M one at a time around the perimeter.

Then he went all-in (and John thought it was hilarious)

 I love his French facial hair

 Jake had a blast and loved his cake.

 He ate almost the whole thing!

And after his bath, he went back for seconds!  I think this is my favorite picture ever.

Denver Downs - Red Neck Disney

Denver Downs is one of my favorite fall destinations.  It's in Anderson, close to Clemson and just a mile or so from where Buck works.  The amount of fun we have there convinces me we were made to live on a farm...well, maybe one that someone else cares for.  It's like Disney for red necks. 

 It was a little chilly, and John was well prepared.  By the time we got there, though, most of this was not necessary, still I had to snap this hilarious shot.

 I grew several gray hairs stepping away for this shot, but Jake loved the horse swing.  Oops, mother of the year forgot to bring sock for him.

 John found a different route "through" the hay maze.

 It took a while for her to muster the courage, but she was so proud of herself for making the jump.

 Jake sure got dirty, but had a blast everywhere we put him down.  There aren't many pictures of Eve because Buck mostly tried to keep up with John and Eve, while I was with Jake and Ellie most of the time (with the camera).

This is the pumpkin patch.  It was very picked over by this point, but still a beautiful area.

 PIGLETS!!!!  They were so cute!

 And baby goats.  I think they were 2 weeks old.  One lifted its head toward the sun with its eyes closed and a "grin".  So cute!

 They have corn boxes instead of sand boxes.  We'll be finding corn for weeks.

 We went with our friends the Powells.  Fortunately they had some gloves to keep Jake's feet warm.  We cracked up because it looks like he has chicken feet...but they were warm.

 The corn maze was also fun.  Probably a good thing we had maps.

 Ellie's special prize from the corn maze was a mini bottle (empty).  I told you it's like red neck Disney!  She was so thrilled.

 Probably the most fun part is swinging on the hay bales.

 

I think we could play there every day and it would never get old.