The Zog Blog

Before I say anything, Jacob would just like you to know:

dadadadadadadadadadadadada…

…DaDaDaDaDaDaDaDaDaDaDaDa…

…DADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADA!!!!!
(Got that?)
*****
Anyone who has shown even the slightest willingness to let me whine at them over the last 6 months knows how tired I am of nursing. At the same time, I appreciate how important it is to Jacob and I don’t want to [...]

I am thankful for so very many things. But at the top of the list, I’m thankful we’ve gone from here:

To here:

With no major illnesses, catastrophes, or even seriously hard times. We’ve had a wonderful year, and I’m so grateful we’re all still here.
I’m thankful, too, for curiosity.

And wonderful friends to [...]

This weekend we spent a wonderful Sunday with our friends Stacy, Neil, and Asher (6 months). The farmer’s market up in San Jose is larger than our Thursday market, and I tried two new foods there: Chestnuts, which we roasted tonight and which are fabulous, and pineapple guava, which I think is disgusting.
We then [...]

Ah, fall.

That special time of year when a boy’s mind turns to one thing: puppies.

Just kidding. One of my favorite things about Jacob as a toddler is that he has such a wide range of expression with us, now. When he was very little, it was basically crying. Then crying and smiling/laughing. Now, [...]

Thank you all so much for your warm wishes, nice comments, and memories of my mother. They really mean a lot to me.
I was worried that I’d really miss fall this year. (It was nonexistent in LA, and I hated that.) I needn’t have worried, though. While fall here in Monterey isn’t as pronounced [...]

Of course we had a lot of fun with Jacob’s second Halloween. Trick-or-treating still seemed like too much for him, but on Saturday we had a great party with lots of other families, old friends and new. Adults were supposed to dress up as tv characters. Jon was Jamie from the show Mythbusters, and I [...]

Son, I love you more than words can say. Nevertheless, here are ten things that I really wish you’d hurry up and learn.

Triscuits are not an interior design element.
Egg salad is not a fashion accessory.
When you are so exhausted you can no longer walk, the solution is not ‘try to nurse, [...]

Jacob has come down with a bit of a head cold, his first since he was about 4 months old.

And it’s the weirdest thing. We’re treating this cold like he’s a big kid, basically. OJ and chicken soup, lots of fluids and rest, and Robitussin. Hallelujah, a decongestant! No more sleepless nights and trying [...]

That “first word” milestone is trickier than it seems. While I was pregnant with Jacob, I indulged in daydreams of my adorable little boy looking up at me with big blue eyes and an unruly mop of red curls, saying a perfectly-formed “Ma ma!” and smiling.

Of course, it turns out he needs to practice [...]

We’re smack dab in the middle of the Jewish harvest festival of Sukkot. Formal practice of this 8 day holiday includes building a “fragile hut” in one’s yard and “dwelling” in it, and waving around a collection of greenery called a lulav and smelling the citrusy scent of an etrog. (Informally, one simply spends 8 [...]

In celebration of the imminent closing on the land we’re selling in Maine, we had steak tonight for the first time in a couple of months. Jacob, of course, wanted to know what this INCREDIBLY EXCITING THING was all about, and pined at the door.

I don’t know what exactly he’d do with fiery ashes, [...]

Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you: Is there anything in this world more cute than a toddler in feetie pajamas?

I didn’t think so. (Whenever Jacob finds something on the ground, he picks it up, holds it as high in the air as he can manage, and stomps around loudly proclaiming his prowess to the [...]

Jacob’s first two molars popped through the surface today. (Right top and bottom first molars.) Now, his runny nose and fever haven’t subsided and he’s got two painful-looking lumps on the other side of his mouth, so I bet we’re not done with them. But this does make me feel a little better about all [...]

A huge thank-you to those who contacted me with suggestions for Jacob’s sleep. Tonight, Jon is trying the strategy of reading several more books than usual to Jacob, in the hopes of lulling Jacob to sleep with reading. We’ll see how it works!
One of the big downsides to our new house is that it doesn’t [...]

I finally found the camera battery charger from where I had stashed it while “cleaning” (in the disconnected paper shredder… go, me). Soon, there will be fresh Jacob pictures. Until then…

(Eat the cheese. Shake the rattle. Drink the tequila.)
After an amazing time on our road trip, and a couple of pretty blissful weeks here, Jon [...]