Aug-tober

Andy, Jack, Louie, and I arrived at the lake house yesterday. We're taking next week off work, and the plan was to spend a nice long family vacation enjoying some hot August weather. Mother Nature apparently had other plans, since we almost had a frost last night, and it's only gotten into the 60's today. Oh well.

Jack's still managing to have a good time. I took some pictures of him this morning all bundled up and playing in the living room and out on the porch. He loves to gaze out at the water and bring his toys out onto the porch, even if it's chilly.



"Is she really taking another picture of me?"


Hopefully we'll get lots more good photo ops this week, and especially Labor Day weekend, when several friends are coming to visit.

Happy Birthday Dad!

We celebrated Andy's birthday last night at Grandma and Grandpa Nold's. Thanks to Grandma and Aunt Lisa for making such a yummy dinner! Jack seems to be suffering from either a cold or allergies, so he was not in the mood to smile for the camera. Here's a couple more pictures from last night--the first is Jack, Andy, and Louie making friends with a neighbor's dog, and the second is Jack watching his favorite ceiling fan.



Jack had actually stayed the whole weekend with Grandma and Grandpa while Andy and I went up to the lake house. I hadn't been to the house in a while, so I was happy to see it was still standing after a couple weekends with Andy and his buddies. Unfortunately there was one casualty--Jonathan Livingston here suffered a mysterious wing amputation. Andy pleads ignorance as to how the crime was committed.

As usual, the weather didn't cooperate, but at least we got a lot of work done around the house. Here's a picture of one of our accomplishments--the "gas bong" we created for the boat. It took several trips to auto stores and Home Depot to create, but it proved worth our efforts after a successful gas fill-up yesterday.

Now we're in trouble

I hope at least we still have a while before he figures out how to unlock the doors.

Here are some video clips I took this evening. The first is Jack saying his favorite, and only, word: "bagoom." We still have no idea what it means.

Playing peek-a-boo with the closet door

Jack pestering Lou, as usual

Finally, here's a picture from Sunday when Aunt Lisa stopped by. Jack had a good time playing with his Auntie Lisa.

Fun Saturday

Jack, Louie, and I had a busy Saturday out in the burbs. Grandma Nold took us to a really cool park, which Jack loved. (At home, the playground in the park across the street from us has been shut down for construction, so Jack won't have a playground nearby until October.)

Louie enjoyed himself at the park too, in the shade. Unfortunately Louie also took a liking to the wood chips on the ground, so he had to be moved before he ate too many.


After the park, we went to the pool at the country club. The water in the kiddie pool was just at the right level so Jack could stand up and move around. It took him a little while to get used to walking around; at first he kept leaning forward and didn't realize he could stand upright without support. I took this picture right after the first time he did that and got a face full of water.

Fortunately the tears didn't last long, and Jack had a good time playing with his ball and other water toys.


After the pool and seeing Grandpa Nold at lunch, Jack decided to put on a show for us in the locker room. He was so funny; he kept walking around making these little poses and folding his hands behind his back. I wish I had taken a video instead of pictures, but I got a few decent shots of Jack strutting around and showing off his hot bod:


Killer abs



Last night, we went to visit our friends Sarah, Dan, and their daughter Lilly. Unfortunately Jack was a little grumpy (I know he was tired from a busy day) and acted kind of standoffish from Lilly. He was much more interested in her toys than actually playing with her, though before he noticed the toys he was captivated by the fan:



Sarah with Jack and Lilly. For comparison, see the last picture of Jack, Lilly, Sarah, and me that was taken about a year ago!

Just hanging out

Not much going on here. Jack still lays on Lou whenever he gets a chance, especially when Lou's trying to enjoy some peace and quiet. Lou's such a good boy; he puts up with everything Jack does to him. This weekend Jack sat on Lou's head and bounced up and down for a while. Poor Lou just laid there, sad eyes peering up at me from underneath his smushed face, as Jack's rump kept going up and down.

Jack and Dad enjoying a Baby Einstein DVD that Grandma Nold bought.

Playing at the park

The picture above was actually taken a couple weeks ago when we had our big family weekend at the lake house. Grandma and Granddaddy Fields recently sent that picture to me, and I thought it was so cute I just had to post it. The picture below is Lou swimming in the water after being given a little "help" jumping in by Grandpa Nold.


Jack, Louie, and I spent a little quiet time at home this weekend while Andy and some friends were at the lake house. Jack needed a chance to recuperate from the bad cold he caught earlier this week. Fortunately, with the exception of a little runny nose still, he's just about fully recovered. Yesterday he was quite a grump, but today he was in a much better mood. It was really hot outside, but we took a short trip to the park. Here's a couple pictures of Jack and Lou, and some short video clips of Jack walking.

Feeling under the weather

I took that picture earlier when we were putting Jack to bed. He started feeling a little crummy yesterday. Hopefully whatever bug he's got will be short-lived--he was already acting more energetic this afternoon and doesn't seem to have a fever anymore. Maybe after a good night's sleep tonight, he'll be back to his normal self tomorrow.

We had another fun few days at the lake house last weekend. Our good friends DJ, Courtney, and Dustin joined us this time. Here's Jack playing with the oven light. He's absolutely fascinated by light switches these days. If he's ever grumpy, a sure-fire way to cheer him up is to hold him up to a light switch panel and let him flip the switches around for a while. This lower oven light switch is just the right height for him.


Jack snuggling with Lou on his bed.


Jack snuggling with Lou again out on the porch. Not sure why he was giving me that weird look.


Jack watching the rain come down on the lake. Fortunately it only rained for a little while on Saturday morning.


Jack loves to be chased. It's fun to play with him and listen to his giggles and squeals, though it's not so fun when you're trying to pack and he keeps running off to be chased. Here's a short clip of me chasing after him. The lighting is bad, and I wish the sound had picked up more of him laughing, but you can get the general idea.