Monday,
The mighty hiker, ready for anything. Water bottle? Check. Walking stick? Check. Binoculars? Check. Toy gun? Check. Hat? Check. Sunscreen? Check. Bug spray? Um, bug spray?
Soon after this picture was taken, the mighty hiker moved into the shade. Swarms of the Wisconsin state bird (aka the mosquito) attacked. End of hiking trip.
Sunday,
As a special treat, I took half a day off work so Jake and I could go to Vitense’s Golf Land, a fun family entertainment center here in Madison. Jake and I pass it every day on our way to school and work, marveling at the many fun creatures populating the mini golf courses. I told Jake he had been so good lately, he would get to play putt-putt for the first time (or as he calls it, “hutt-hutt”).
Before we went, I took Jake to lunch. While we were waiting for our food (“Why does it take so long to cook our food, Mommy?” he always asks) we were building forts with the jelly and sugar packs. Jake asked why there were three different colored packets of sugar in the container. I explained about the difference between sugar and artificial sweeteners, and we talked about calories and making healthy choices. Jake was really into it, and talking about healthy foods. I was mentally congratulating myself for raising a kid with such a good attitude toward food, when Jake informed me he likes sugar.
M: “Yes, I like sugar too. But I don’t want to eat too much, because I don’t want to be unhealthy and get fat.”J: (seriously) “Noooo.” (thinks for a minute) “Hey, Mommy! That guy is fat!” Pointing to customer at the next table, who of course heard him and gave me the evil eye.
So then we had to have the talk about not pointing at people and not talking about them in public.
Jake in July
What a busy month! Earlier in July, we went to my parents in NC for vacation. Jake had an awesome time. MeMe and PapPap spoiled him, of web recon.com course. Here are some highlights:
Jake went to the beach for the first time! He was very excited. He loved the sand, the waves, the salt air. just like Mommy does. He had a blast with his Uncle Nate, who took him out “way far!” in the waves and helped him ride the boogie board MeMe bought.
Speaking of MeMe, here are Jake and my mom at the estuarium in Washington, NC. Jake really liked all of the open tanks they had with different crabs, shrimp, turtles and fish. They also had a baby alligator, which fascinated him.
We had a lot of fun in NC — sometimes too much fun. Jake’s schedule got a little off some days. He handled it pretty well most of the time. He had a blast on the Fourth of July — we had a cook out, he played with the neighbor girl, he went swimming (it was really hot while we were there), and of course we went to the fireworks down by the river. He got to stay up until pm and have ice cream! He thought the fireworks were really cool. Either Nate or I held him the entire time (Poppy, who is not a big fireworks fan, stayed home with Charlie) and Jake just oo’ed and ah’ed the entire time. Here he is at the end of a long day. Thank goodness he isn’t too old to want to snuggle with Mommy.
Here’s the family, after our $900 Mexican dinner (there was a little error on the Visa charge. oops!). Uncle Keith is taking the picture, and once again, Poppy is home with Charlie, enjoying some peace and quiet. Everyone just loved Jake, and couldn’t believe how big he’s gotten. It was really nice to spend time with my sister and brother, and my brother-in-law and niece.
