Sweet Home Alabama

Hello again!  We're now 2 week into living in Alabama.  I'd hardly say we've got the house settled, but the essentials are in place (like, say, internet as of yesterday).  I've been down with a bad cold, so haven't gotten too much done since the first few days here.  The house is an old duplex on base.  Plenty of flaws, but fine for 10 months.  Biggest concern is the lead paint report they handed Laurie upon signing for the house (she drove Monster the cat down in advance).  Everything is "encapsulated" (painted over numerous times).  Just so Jake doesn't sink one of those razor sharp teeth into a window sill or something.  They're still a little high for him, fortunately.  And we avoid messing with the walls.

Lobster backlog:  8 months

I'm going to back up a bit before talking more about our short time here.  In the weeks after my last blog he got progressively better mainly at getting himself into trouble (pulling things over, finding small objects, pulling drawers open, and the like).  Then came Milisha's last day as nanny, and things started to get shook up.  Nana Mimi cama up and took care of him for a couple days that they both enjoyed thoroughly.  To include a trip to the playground, where he merrily practiced waving at the passers-by on the nearby track.  Then Uncle Greg and Aunt Twyla arrived from Iowa enroute back to India (seen "Mumblings from Mumbai" yet?) for a few days of QT with him.  Aunt Christie and cousin Maya arrived from Brazil a couple days later, and we all headed for the cape.  Somewhere in there was a great Marc Cohn show, and more importantly Jake's first two teeth:  bottom front.  He also started saying "mmmmm - mmmmm - mmmmmaaaaamaaaa" - usually in a pitiable tone when he was sad and needed her.

Greg and Twyla - First Impressions

Great Pond is Grrrrreeeeaaat!

Time on the Cape with all his aunts and uncles (minus 1, still in Brazil) was great fun.  Wellfleet has wonderful ponds - clear water, great temps, mostly not too crowded.  That's where he got his first "open water" play time, and he loved it!

 

Near the Wellfleet Pier

 

Jake got on famously with his cousins.  Maya had been waiting to meet him since admiring Laurie's largish belly the previous summer.  She and Nadia took turns feeding him, and Alexa enjoyed sharing with him and patting him on the head - always with a twinkle in her eye!  

For our final week before shipping the goods and driving south, Laurie went back to work.  The week was only survivable with the help of Nana Mimi, Christie, and Maya who came over for a few days to watch Jake while I prepared and the movers took it all away.  Thanks, once again!

Standing!

The trip was pretty good, except for Jake getting sick during the latter part.  Laurie's instinct to not drive him the whole way was, of course, right.  We drove the 1st leg to New Jersey together, where he had a great time again with his cousins, to include a trip to the pool.  I also saw him stand on his own, three times!  I don't think he realized that the legos (and later a bag handle) he was holding weren't supporting him.  Thanks, Nadia, for showing me!

Alex and the neighbor labs

Then I flew with him from New Jersey to the SW corner of North Carolina (Laurie did the drive twice, you say??  Crazy, but it's true), where we met his Great Uncle Keith and Great Beth (no typo) at their mountain cabin.  He and their two friendly labs were a little afraid of each other at first.  Lettie's mothering instincts eventually came through, but Alex (2 yrs) never quite trusted him.  The neighbor's labs, however, showered him with effection - especially the puppy - which he enjoyed to a point. Unfortunately, that's also when he started to get sick and not sleep well.


The car ride and our stay in Atlanta, with Beth's sister Mardi, were rough while he got what I think was his first real fever.  Just over 100 - no big deal, but lousy for a car ride and new place.  Mardi and her husband Charlie were great hosts, as were their other guests who were working hard with Charlie to publish a historical document (3 vols) about Mt. Willing, SC.  It was very interesting to talk with them about the many years of work that had gone into it.  Especially over amazing peach cobbler!

Last stop:  Montgomery!  On our way into town we stopped for sandwiches.  While eating and playing with Jacob in the highchair, he very clearly looked at me and happily said "Da-Da!"  I was, of course, elated.  As was Laurie, I think.  So we merrily packed back into the car for the final 15 minutes to our new home.  Since Laurie had already been down once, she took over the driver seat and I joined Jake in back.  After about 5 minutes of me failing to entertain him, he again very clearly said it, but this time with much annoyance:  "DAA-DAA!"  And so it goes . . .

Jake got over his cold while mine came on strong. Meanwhile, the next day our stuff got delivered, and the day after the frantic search for child care started.  No known daily options on base until September.  The day cares we liked had waiting lists or were at least 20 minutes away (45 minute round trip twice a day?  only if we need to).

Backlog Lobster #2:  Getting Ready to Roadtrip

Laurie started work Monday, and I kicked off Tuesday afternoon.  Monday morning we interviewed a nanny based on a recommendation, but she had a suspended license and couldn't get on the base.  Oy.  It looked like we'd be making the drive.  But Monday afternoon Laurie arranged another interview - she didn't have the experience we wanted, but with Laurie working at home we decided to give her a try.  Further details will have to wait, but basically we're still undecided about whether to take the day care slot here when it opens up.  Certainly it's much cheaper and still convenient, but he'll have to give up the morning nap and his afternoon nap would be in the same bright room with kids of various ages still playing/crying.  Back to cranky underslept Jacob??  But he loves being around other kids.  hmmm.

Oh, if you're wondering:  he hasn't taken to regularly saying da-da, but Laurie has seen him stand again finally in the last couple days.  He's a tease.  But he does still call for his Mom when he's sad - which is only fair since I cannot compete with the level of love she showers upon him, unconditionally and tirelessly.  I will say, though, that the days I spent with him while Laurie was working/travelling were valuable, in addition to the QT had with him, as they brought me back into better standing (he was getting to be a Momma's boy).


ps - since I'm posting, I'm happy to announce that the old black Trek 1200 which I rode on so many RAGBRAIs, is looking good again!