Happy Halloween!

Jake had a great time doing his first real trick or treating! On the advice of his speech therapist, we did a lot of practicing of "trick or treat" and "thank you" and answering "bear" when people asked him what his costume was. It really paid off! "Trick or treat" often came out more like "treat or treat" (but isn't that really what he was after?), and his precious "thaankooo" will probably stay with me forever (perhaps I need to take a video of that!). We are loving having Kathryn and Lily here with us (Aunt Kat and Vivi, as Jake says). Enjoy the photos!

And check out the updated photos from Jen and Brett's wedding - little Jake was pretty dapper in his tux!!

Got some good practice at the Junior League Trunk or Treat!


Loved the Bounce House!


Lily took the plunge for apples!

Pumpkin carving night!!

Dora and the Bear ready for candy!!

Pumpkin Patch!!

We took Jake back to the same Pumpkin Farm we went to last year. There are all kinds of activities there, and apparently, a plethora of goofy plywood cutouts to pose with. Lots of fun was had once again. Enjoy the photos and happy halloween week! The cutest bear ever pictures are coming next weekend! :-)

Aunt Jen and Uncle Brett make it official

In early June we headed up to northern Michigan (Jake took his second airplane trip!) for Aunt Jen and Uncle Brett's wedding. The wedding was at the Grand Traverse Resort which provided a beautiful setting and some great golf!

Not only was almost all of Jeff's family there, but Gamma B and Papaw came up as well. They were a big help with Jake and we enjoyed sharing a condo with them and getting to stay out late while they retired early with Jake. Jake also got to meet his Navy family contemporaries - Will and Max (sons of Casey and Greg). He also met Kathleen and Omar, but Cyrus, Leila, and Sam will have to wait until the next time.

Unfortunately, Jeff and I only took about 3 pictures all weekend. Boo! We did get the pictures that Jan and Dale took - but they didn't take any pictures at the actual wedding (they were a little busy being parents of the bride), so our selection here is limited. Pictures or not, the entire wedding weekend was wonderful - from the amazing view at the rehearsal dinner restaurant to the sweet Hawaiian-influenced ceremony and super fun reception which kept everyone dancing!

Jake loved riding forward facing for the first time in Grandma's minivan!

The Happy Couple successfully finish rehearsal!

It was great to see Colorado family at the wedding - here's Denny, Georgia, and McKenzie

Wait a second - that's my grandma!
(Grandma Jan, Will, Jake, and Gamma Kit)

Jake enjoyed one of the hotel restaurants (and yes, Gus the dog goes everywhere!)

We don't have any pictures from the wedding - but here's what Jen's hair looked like! :)

Dad and Jake at the Sunday wedding brunch - they both still love the iphone!

Jake really loved his cousin Kenzie (can you see the resemblance?)

Georgia was not so sure about Jake eating lemons!

At the airport - happy to go home!

In his tux with Papaw...

With Mom....

And finally, we celebrated Jeff's third Father's Day (wow!) later in June. Jeff and Jake dressed alike (I believe they did so on purpose) and Jake gave Jeff some great presents - including some framed photos and a Michigan bolo/ladder golf gameset (a version of which is being played in one of the pictures in the birthday post).


Two posts in two days and I'm caught up to July! Hooray!

Almost dark

I was about to turn the blog dark, realizing that I never post anything but then I started looking over old posts and realized this is the closest thing we have to a baby book or a scrapbook for Jake. So, here we go, I'm going to try again!

Trying to recap the last 5 months seems daunting. But I'll start with Jake's 2-year old birthday - can't skip that!

Happy boy celebrates #2 with Pop-pop!

And Gamma B!


We celebrated with Colorado Grandma's mayonnaise chocolate cake!

Jake hung with the guys...

For his birthday, Jeff and I installed a slide off our deck
(all those years of HGTV viewing are paying off!)


A very happy 2 year old!

And of course the bear photo!

Next up - Aunt Jen's wedding, a visit to cousins, and Bald Head Island again!

March for Babies Success!

A quick post to say THANK YOU! and post some pictures from the walk on Saturday. Thanks to everyone's generosity, Team Cubby raised $2,860! Twelve adults and two babies joined Jeff, Jake, and I for a great walk. Thanks again to Carmen and Jeff at Koala Tee for our great shirts!! We had a lot of fun and really appreciate everyone's support.

Yay for healthy babies!

Give me a solid for healthy babies, Steph!

A nice, leisurely stroll

Plenty of time for pictures

And hi-jinks

In case you wondered which one was him...

We were really excited to run into Jake's primary nurse, Annette, in the parking lot as we were leaving!


Quite a difference from August 2008...


And finally, on a different note, does anyone know where to buy (or know someone who makes) busy/quiet books for toddlers? These are the cloth/felt books that have buttons, snaps, zippers, ties, etc for them to practice on. I had one as a child and loved it, and Jake has a lot of interest in buttons, snaps, etc lately. Click here for an idea of what I'm talking about. Thanks for any leads!

Spring Time

Spring is in full force in North Carolina. The dogwood blooms came out this week and the daffodils are already saying their goodbyes. We're supposed to have temperatures in the 80s all through this Easter three-day (at least for me) weekend.

Jake learned the sign for "outside" a few weeks ago, and he signs it almost as soon as he gets up. He loves, loves, loves being outside. He plays with his basketball goal, goes down his slide, chases the dog, and just likes to wander through the yard, picking up leaves, acorns, rocks, and anything else that looks interesting.

We started a signing class last weekend for parents and babies/toddlers. The teacher comes to our house and a few other families come over with their kids. Jake liked it and paid attention fairly well for an almost 2-year old in an hour long class. The class was recommended by Jake's speech therapist, Tracy, who advised that we continue to teach him new signs as we work on his speech. Tracy now comes once per week and we have seen some real progress. Jake is far more vocal than he has been in the past and he now has at least three true words (mama, dada, and baba for ball).

Even though he has had some progress with speech in the last few weeks, Jeff and I are coming to terms with the fact that it seems that Jake might have a condition called verbal apraxia. The easiest way to explain it is that for kids with apraxia their minds have trouble telling their mouths how to form words. Jake is too young to diagnose, but he seems to have some classic symptoms - receptive language is far ahead of expressive language, he can say a word several times and then not be able to say it again (for days or even months), and when you watch him try to speak it is as though you can see the wheels turning and he is trying very hard, but he just can't get it out.

Of course, this isn't news that any parent wants to hear and when the speech therapist first suggested it (we've been operating from the thought that he just has a "preemie speech delay") it felt like a kick in the gut. In fact, it still feels like a kick in the gut. But after doing some research, it feels like we can't really deny that apraxia is a definite possibility.

One of the main websites we've been going to is www.apraxia-kids.org. The first time there I was reading through their Family Guide and came across a page on Feelings, Emotions, and Coping. I almost laughed out loud when I read the following line:

"Your picture of your child’s perfect life has been shattered."

Any dream I had of a "perfect" life for Jake was shattered almost two years ago lying in a hospital bed. We knew that life, especially the beginning, was going to be very, very hard on Jake. At that time, I wondered why something so many women do without really thinking about it (carrying a baby to term) couldn't be reality for us. And now I can't help but find myself wondering now why something that nearly everyone takes for granted (speaking) can't come easy for my child. Jeff is an eternal optimist and reminds me that we have been incredibly lucky and that we have a wonderful little boy. And he's right. But sometimes you can't help but wish you were a little luckier...

Here's a video and a few pictures of Jake from back in February when we still needed hats and gloves. Thanks to Andrea for knitting him the adorable bear hat, and thanks to Jenny for coming to visit!

Three generations of Walker men