A boy and his dogs

Jax loves his new dog Raven but his favorite will always be Kaiko.

Another tooth

and not a moment too soon as the biting is pretty out-of-control. Fortunately he has not been biting at home. Unfortunately the other kids at daycare have not been so lucky. Anyhow yesterday I noticed that his lower left canine tooth finally broke through. No runny nose, no crankiness ... nothing.

Term of Endearment

I have always called Jax little bubs. Not sure where it came from other than a friend of mine when he found out I was having a boy started referring to Jax (while in utero) as the little bubba. Not seeing myself as the mom to a bubba I suppose I just sort of shortened it to bubs. Not that that is really any better. :) Over time the nickname has sort of morphed into something that sounds more like ba-ba and now Jaida as well as myself call Jax this and he responds to it. I don't use this as his name all the time it is mostly reserved for snuggle time.

Anyhow, I have noticed over the last several weeks Jax calls me ba-ba when he wants to snuggle or wants a hug. Last night we were in the living room and Joe and I were pointing to everyone and getting Jax to name us. Joe is dada, Jaida is yay-ya, Jax is baby and I am ba-ba ... said with the biggest cheesiest grin you can imagine.

Jax really loves his mama

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Originally uploaded by gias_kids.

and Jax's mama really loves this quality in him. :)

Dolphins and the little boy

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Originally uploaded by gias_kids.

These dolphins really did seem to be interested in Jax. Several times they would swim by in the opposite direction and then suddenly the three of them would turn and basically float right in front of us as if they were watching us. Jax made his come here kitty sound at them and then offered them his sippy cup. :)

Cousins

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Originally uploaded by gias_kids.

During a recent visit to Aunt Noa's house Jax had lots of fun being pushed around in this laundry basket with his little girl cousin Mattie. At one point Jax was wearing Noa's shoes and HE was pushing Mattie around.

Beach Bum

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Originally uploaded by gias_kids.

We recently returned from a week and half long trip to Florida. It was sort of a thrown together trip that involved staying in Orlando for a few days. While there we went to Seaworld and Aquatica. Both were a good time. We then headed to St. Augustine for the rest of our trip. Very relaxing!

The kids turned into total beach bums and enjoyed exploring the lighthouse, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, Old Jail, the Spanish Quarter, and Castillo de San Marcos (the fort). The slower lifestyle of Anastasia Island was much more in line with what we were looking for in a vacation.

Tooth

Jax also cut his upper left eye tooth ... you know, the pointy one. I think it cut through around March 18th. I say "around" because I really try to avoid getting too close to Jax's mouth or ever having to put my finger in his mouth because he bites. Have I mentioned the biting before? ;)

He speaks ... (finally)

Jax is an odd little bird. At a year old he was saying more than a handful of words .... pretty clearly. Then he started walking and climbing and opening drawers and doors and all other sorts of mischief and the talking stopped ... more or less.

Now at 21 months old he is starting to pick back up on the talking. His speech is not all that clear but he is making an effort. Jax is such a busy kid that any talking to him has to be VERY deliberate. When I say deliberate I mean we must grab him and hold him still and make him look at our face while we speak to him. I suppose this is paying off as he is starting to mimic the words we say to him.

He has picked up probably about ten words in this last week alone. Not all of them are said consistently yet but he has used them in appropriate situations.