Playscape

Discovering what Santa left

Opening Christmas Gifts

Christmas

, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jake -

Christmas has come and gone, leaving only a sonic boom in its wake, having flown by so quickly. We had a delightful several days during which many family members joined us in Hartford to celebrate the Yule-tide. During this time, you became frightfully spoiled by your doting grandmothers, aunts and uncle who were all more than happy to honor your every command. As a sign of the tremendous number of gifts piled under the tree during this time, there still remain several unopened packages as I write this, several days post-manger. Santa brought you a huge playscape, which is currently located in the basement. You've enjoyed shutting your parents out of the playhouse portion, climbing on the climbing wall, and sliding down the slide. One of your other favorite gifts is one that we got for the entire family: Rock Band. You are so smart and observant that you have figured out the steps required to start the game, and you will insist that these steps be carried out so that you can help to play the instruments. You are truly a musical kid. I am not exaggerating here either. Last night, you brought me the remote control and the xbox controller and in your loudest and least compromising tones demanded that I launch the Rock Band game. As I type, your are busy watching a youtube video of your cousin Emmeline, who is playing a keyboard and singing into a microphone. The world awaits the debut of the Jacob and Emmeline band! We'll post some xmas videos soon. Love,
Mom & Dad

Piano In Denver

, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Dear Jacob -

As an early Christmas present to your devoted audience, I thought I'd blog again after a long hiatus. To catch you up, we took a trip several weeks ago to visit your Magah in Denver. You loved getting to see her and many other family members, and especially loved playing with your cousins.

Here is a photo of you with Magah playing piano. Which reminds me: at a recent parent-teacher conference, I learned that you are among the most musically talented of your peers and that you love to play the musical instruments at school.

Although I don't have a photo to share with you of the other recent noteworthy item, your cousin Margaret (second cousin, actually) visited recently and you had a great time playing and hanging out with her! We had to ask her to leave though after she beat your mom and I in Settlers of Catan one too many times.

Well, your puppy is whining to me to go play with him, so I'll talk to you again soon.
Love,
Dad

Trick or Treat

, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jacob -

Happy Halloween! What a day you've had. This morning, you accompanied your uncle Jim and me to the gym. (Jim's in town for the weekend and you've been having a great time hanging out with him.) Afterward, you got dressed in your halloween custom and hung out with other West Hartford kids at a Halloween gathering replete with Firetrucks and Balloons. A quick nap was all your busy schedule would allow for, because you were soon off to a fun walk in the park and play on the playground, followed by trick-or-treating with Rahul's family. Although at first you were more confused than excited, you soon got the hang of things. You remained too polite to dig into the piles of candy offered up, but when handed an item you were more than happy to oblige. You topped off the night with a visit to the hospital to hang with Dr. Mom, who unfortunately was stuck doing a 25 hour shift (thanks to the end of day-light-savings). Too tired to eat dinner (for the first time ever, I think), you promptly passed-out as soon as your head hit the pillow. Love,
Dad p.s. Your forgetful dad forget to bring the camera to trick-or-treat time, but tomorrow perhaps we'll get a few more T-I-double-G-"erh" shots posted to this here interwebsite.
Later dude.

Breakfast

, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jake -

Here you are at breakfast today. You are just waking from your nap, so I've got to run...

-Dad

Pumpkin Carving

, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jake -

Here is a picture from last weekend when you and your mom carved a jac-o'-lantern. You really liked making a mess with the pumpkin guts!

- Dad

Pumpkin Patch

, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jacob,
Today we went to the pumpkin patch in Avon, CT. You really liked riding on the hay ride! The tractor dropped us off at a spot where you helped your mom choose a couple of pumpkins for us to carve tomorrow while I took copious pictures. On our way out, you tried some apple cider and thought it was delicious. Click the photo for more pictures.

-Dad

With Emily

IMG_0079, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jake,

Here is another picture from Big's Burgers. You are seen here hanging out with Emily, shortly before you ran off to play soccer with Maddie.
-Pop

Texas!

IMG_0094, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jake -

On a more recent note, we just returned from a week-long trip to Austin, Texas, or, as Bob Schneider called it at the concert your mom and I went to this weekend, "Austin, Teh X" You had a great time visiting your gradma, or Nana, aunt Sam and aunt Cathy, who flew in from D.C. to join us. After hanging out in Austin for a few days, you, your mom and I drove to San Antonio to see friends there. This picture is from the night we arrived - we went to your favorite burger joint on the planet where you got to run around with Emily and Maddie Reynolds while we had dinner with their parents and Shifi, Kate, and Matt. On our way out of town we had lunch with Brian, Dana and Devon, but you were so worn out from the trip that you slept the entire time and didn't get to see them. That is fine though because I just got a text message from Brian saying that Dana is in labor right now, so the next time we see them, you'll have a bonus Holden to meet!

-Dad

Lake House

IMG_0027, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jacob -

Long time, no blog! I'm going to try to catch you up on the latest with a whirlwind blogging session. Here we go: A few weekends ago, one of the Attendings that your mom works with generously offered to let us use his lake house for the day during her day off. The three of us took a quick drive to the North Western part of Connecticut, passing through some extremely beautiful parts of the state, and got to the good Doctor's house in time to enjoy the site pictured in this photo. (click the photo for a link to more pictures from that day). We found a life jacket that fit you (unfortunately, pink) and with only a modicum of protestation, you obliged us by wading in the clear (but cold) waters of the lake. After playing by the lakeside for a few hours, we turned over the canoe that was stashed by the side of the house and the three of us piled in to brave the large waves caused by too many speedboats in too small a space. Your first canoe trip was awesome, as evidenced by your excited expression from the bow as your mom held on to you while I paddled. We passed a number of beautiful houses that your mom and I can't wait to buy once we win the lottery. :) You were a natural on the water and I can tell that in no time at all, you'll be the one paddling.

-Dad

New Videos

Jake-

You are really turning in to a toddler!  You are learning to walk and feed yourself.  Today when I went to pick you up from school you walked right over to me!  You are more advanced each day.  Here are some videos I took with my new camera from earlier this week.

I love you!

Mom

First Haircut

Jakey,

Your dad has been asking me to cut your hair for a while now.  I always loved your curls but after one too many "she" comments I finally caved.  I think your new cut is incredibly handsome but you don't look like a baby anymore which is kind of sad.  

Love you big kid!

Mom

Cape Cod

, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jacob -

We just got back from a vacation to Cape Cod with your mom,
Dad and aunt Sandy. You thought the beach was alright, but you loved being at the pool! When we got home this evening, we went to sushi, where you demonstrated your latest trick: shaking your head no when you don't want to eat something. Turns out you aren't a huge fan Asian food lately. Well, off to play Settlers of Catan. Later!
Dad

NYC with Jim and Jay

, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jake -

A couple of weeks ago now we took a trip with your mom to New York City (New York City?!?) to see your uncle Jim and honorary uncle Jay. Click on the picture above to see the rest of the photos from that trip. Today we're packing up the car for a trip to Cape Cod. More pictures soon of that trip!

-Dad

Let Jake eat cake!

, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jake -

Although you won't officially be a year old until Thursday afternoon, we had a birthday party for you on Sunday. Click the picture with this post to see the rest of the set in Flickr.
Your aunt Cathy and her boyfriend Steve flew in from DC and we had a fantastic weekend showing them around Hartford.
You had a stupendous birthday party and especially liked the cake, I think. It seems like you were just waiting for a reason to act like a big kid, because this weekend you started to point at objects, you started to hand me legos and help me to construct lego castles and you started laughing at Pixar animated short films. What a remarkable kiddo you are.
Love,
Dad

Yankees Fan?

Yankees Fan, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jacob,
On Independence Day, we took the "game train" to New York to watch the Yankees play against the Blue Jays with your uncle Jim. You seemed to like baseball, but you refused to wear your new Yankees cap for more than 10 seconds at a time. Are you trying to signal that you are a Red Sox fan, perhaps? Click the picture to see some more shots from our outing.

-Dad

Our House

, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jacob -
Well your slacker parents have finally gotten around to taking some pictures of our new house. You can click on the picture above to see the rest of the set.

A couple of notes - your room is incomplete because we're waiting on your new crib to arrive, and your parent's room is excluded for the safety of the eyes of your fans (eyes which would otherwise be scalded by the sight of the mess contained therein).

-Papa

Power Outage

, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jacob -
This weekend our adventure in Hartford became even more interesting. On Friday afternoon a severe thunderstorm blew through the area with 75 mph winds and nickle-sized hail. In cities throughout Connecticut, the high winds, coupled with more than a solid two weeks of rain meant that many large trees were toppled. About one block from our house, a large tree fell on some power lines that serve our neighborhood. Because of this, we were without power for about 43 hours. We are happy to have light again, and more importantly, Internet connectivity. :) It turns out that we are pretty deeply dependent on power. Sad, yes, but unimpeachably true. Love,
Dad

Picnic Playtime

Picnic Playtime, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jake,
Partway along our trip to Connecticut, we stopped by Washington DC to hang out with some family. We had a fantastic dinner at a very nice restaurant with your aunts Sandy and Cathy, Steve, Lindsay and her sister Emily, and Nicole and her husband. It was a great meal, but what you liked even better was the subway ride to get there and back from Cathy's house. It was your first time on a subway and you thought it was great stuff...although you totally broke the rule about no eye contact by flirting with all of the girls on the train. The next morning, we had a late breakfast with your aunts, then drove across town to your cousin Emmy's house, where you played for several hours (unfortunately we narrowly missed seeing Sam, who was on an airplane during our visit). After playing in the front yard at the Brown's house for a while, we walked to a nearby park where you and Emmy played. We got some good pictures of the whole thing, which you can find here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benvolio/sets/72157620154235404/. So this is my last post for the night. I have to get to bed because I start work tomorrow for the first time in about a month. Vacation has been great, but you, your mom, and I have not had much time to relax during our time here in Hartford so far. But that is a story for another night.
Dad

The Journey

View Larger Map

Jacob,

 So after we packed the house, the movers came and loaded it all into a truck and hauled it away. We weren't to see our massive collection of furniture, toys and (predominately) junk for two weeks.

 Left with an empty house, we attached a uhaul trailer to the pickup truck, and loaded your mom's car onto it. That sentence makes it sound as though it was easy to accomplish the trailer hookup and loading. It was not. Our family will be forever indebted to the Kohls for Matt's help in getting loaded safely.

 So car hooked up, and dogs in back, we said our tearful goodbyes to our friends in San Antonio and began the 2000+ mile journey from San Antonio, TX to Hartford, CT.
We decided to give ourselves an extra day (for a total of four days) so that we could enjoy the drive, and have plenty of time to stop and play with you and the dogs at rest stops along our route. It is a good thing we decided to do so, because we ended up arriving in West Hartford within 30 seconds of our scheduled appointment time, and that was with us pushing hard the whole way.
(I'm not kidding about that 30 second thing, either - it was kind of awesome).

 You did extremely well on the trip, but by the end of it you were finding increasingly creative ways to avoid being put back into your car seat at the start of each leg of the journey. 

 Our slow progress was partly due to the fact that we were limited to a top speed of 60 mph with the trailer. We also managed to sqeeze in a few fun stops along the way. Notably, we stopped in DC to see your aunties Sandy and Cathy, and to see your cousin Emmy.

 But that is a story for another post.

-Dad

Graduation Pics

DSC_0210.jpg, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Hey Jake,
I forgot to mention, you can see more photos of your Mom's graduation here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benvolio/sets/72157618750278808/
-Dad

Graduation!

DSC_0244.jpg, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jacob -
Long time, no blog! Sorry for the lull in the chronicles of Jake. Your mom and I hereby pledge to you (and more importantly, to your loyal readers) to resume henceforth. Well, it has been a while since my last update to you. A lot has happened in the intervening time. My plan is to bring you up to speed on the broad strokes by posting a few notes about the major events of the last few months here. So the first of these big events was your mother's graduation from Medical School! We had a great time celebrating together. We went to the Tower of the Americas for dinner the night before with your Nana, Cathy, Steve, Sandy, Samantha, your mom and me. The next day was graduation - you were great during the ceremony, and you were excited that your Magah came to join in the festivites too! It was such an incredible culmination of hardwork, determination, and craziness and we are all so proud of your mom, the new Doctor. Afterward we all went to Port Aransas for a few days to soak up some rays, sit by the pool, and wade in the ocean. The water was just warm enough for your first dip - you really loved the floaty that Shifi got for you, and loved floating around in the pool with your mom and dad. When our fun at the beach came to an end, we rushed back to San Antonio, while at the same time your Magah flew back to Denver to go under the knife for knee surgury (and to officially begin retirement. WooHoo!). While your Magah was braving the Dr., we furiously packed what was left in our house in San Antonio, had several fantastic goodbye dinners (and lunches) with our friends there, and then got in the car to begin our trek to the East Coast. But that, my friend, is a story for another post. Love,
Dad

Giggles

Jake,
 

I just love to hear you laugh so I am constantly tickling you and I just had to capture it on video.  You still aren't crawling but you are getting closer everyday!  Your new favorite game is to stack blocks with your Daddy (or should I say knock over the blocks after he stacks them).  Yesterday he came home for lunch to play with you and you started crying when he left.

Love you,

Mom

Sleeping in

Jacob,

One Saturday you and I woke up early and decided to let your dad sleep in.  After a couple of hours of playing I got hungry so I asked your dad to wake up and watch you so that I could go grab some breakfast. He woke up (or so I thought) and said that he would, so I left to get food.  I returned less than 15 min later to this sight...

Your dad claims that he doesn't even remember me asking him to watch you and had been asleep the whole time!  I'm just glad you didn't roll off the bed.

Love you silly boy,

Mom

Getting close....

Hey Jake!

As you know we are moving to Hartford, CT in just a few months!  We are really excited about it and we will blog with more details  soon! In the meantime I just had to post a couple of pictures of you getting ready to crawl, I bet it won't be much longer now!

Family Photos

Jacob -
Two weeks ago we went to Austin to take some family portraits.  We're still waiting to get all of the photos back from the photographer, but today she posted some of her favorites on her blog. She did a great job and we're looking forward to more photo sessions with her as you grow!  Click the image below to see the early picks:



-Dad

7 months!

Hey buddy,
On Monday you turned seven months old!  I can't believe how fast the time is going by.  Today you went to the doctor and you are 17 lbs, 10 oz and 27 3/4 inches!  Unfortunately you have an ear infection that won't clear up, if this antibiotic doesn't work it will be off to the ENT for you.  Today you were having a great time playing with the toy Magah sent you so I had to record it....

Aquarium

DSC_0200.JPG, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jake -
Here is a shot that we took at the Houston Zoo's Aquarium a week or two ago. You totally loved the aquarium and found the fish to be completely fascinating. Can't wait to take you fishing one day, and snorkling!!
Dad

Reading the Paper

DSC_0116.JPG, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jacob -
For Christmas, your mom got us a subscription to the New York Times. This has turned out to be one of the best Christmas gifts either of us got. It allows me to stay abreast of the Second Greatest Depression, and it allows you to work on your crossword puzzle skills. Admittedly though, you are mostly focused on trying to grasp the words at this point...literally. This morning we left chocolate lips and candy roses on your mom's pillow for Valentine's Day. She was very excited when she came back in the room after her shower and saw them. We both got a kiss for our efforts. :) A few minutes ago your Nana and aunt Samantha arrived. They have volunteered to be your valentines tonight while your mom and I go out to our first date night without you. It'll be strange to watch a movie without you there to comment on it! Later Dude,
Dad

New sunnies

Your aunt Cathy will be so proud.

25 random things...

Jake,

On this silly site called facebook there is a trend going around to list 25 random things about yourself. We decided to list 25 random things about you.  So, in no particular order:

1. You are always practicing for Tour de France by kicking and cycling your legs

2. You can get where you want to go but only by scooting backwards

3. You LOVE to hang upside down.

4. You get excited when you see your sippy cup but you like sucking on the handle more than the spout.

5.  You like to sing and dance with your mom,
Dad and aunties.

6.  Your favorite move is batman.

7.  You recently learned to jump up and down in your bouncy seat.

8.  You love to watch your doggies and laugh, especially when they are getting into trouble.

9.  You get frustrated when you want to do something but can't figure out how.

10.  You are more interested in the tags on your toys than the toys themselves.

11.  You love to wake up to your mom singing you the monkey song ("good morning to you, you live in a zoo, you look like a monkey and you smell like one too") but you don't yet realize it is offensive. :)

12.  You recently discovered sleeping on your stomach and you love it, no matter how much we try to fight you on it.

13.  We call you Houdini because you can escape your swaddle in record time

14.  You have already had 2 ear infections in 6 months, not a good sign as chronic ear infections run in our family.  You are great at taking your medicine though.

15.  You love eating solid foods and making a huge mess when you do.

16.  You love taking a bath and get very mad at us if we take you out before you are ready.

17.  We used to be able to take you to the movies, but now you like to talk loudly whenever there is silence.

18.  You smile and flirt with all the girls.

19.  You own more clothes than your dad but you don't like getting dressed.

20.  You like to talk all the time, and don't know how to use your "inside voice." :)

21.  You hate it when the sun is in your eyes and you love the sunnies Aunt Cathy bought you.

22.  You rarely wake up without a smile on your face.

23.  You like to do push ups with your daddy.

24.  You are often very serious and pensive like your daddy and other times silly and talkative like your mommy.

25. You are incredibly loved! 

laundry

laundry, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jacob,
When you're grown and married, help your wife with the laundry. In fact, help your Mom. In fact, don't wait until you're grown. Start now.
Dad

Mission: Missions

Hey Bud!

Your dad wanted to try out the new wide angle lens he got for Christmas so we headed to some of the San Antonio missions to take some pics.  Here are a few of my favorites.

Love, Mama

Half a year

Jake,

I can't believe you are already 6 months old, it has been the best 6 months of our lives. Since today Is a holiday you and I are hanging out but tomorrow you will have your first day in a new room at daycare with the 6 to 12 month olds. You are already learning to sit but I bet you will be crawling soon after watching the big kids. This afternoon we will be going to your 6 month check up so I will post again later with your stats.

Love,
Mom

Practically an adult

Jake,

We finally got you a high chair yesterday and you love it! In addition to rice cereal you have also tried pears and thought they were great, you kept taking the spoon from me to feed yourself. Your other new trick is sitting up. Today you sat unsupported for almost a full minute. You are getting so big I can't believe it!
Love you, Mom

Descimination!

airport, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jake,
You and I are at the airport, waiting to board a flight to Hartford, CT, where we will meet your mom, who left this morning. Everyone at the airport keeps acting like it isn't possible for me to fly alone with you. I thought we wouldn't get through security when they found out that I didn't have a woman to help. So here is the lesson for you when you are a dad: when you travel alone with your child, wear a wig.
Dad

sippy cup

sippy cup, originally uploaded by ben.truitt.

Jake,
You just tried drinking from a sippy cup for the first time. You thought it was great stuff!
Dad