Jake on the lake

We took Jake out on the boat for the first time on a gorgeous Saturday over Memorial Day weekend. Jake was a little rockstar and ate the whole thing up. He drove the boat, he swam, he waved the flag, and he even went out on the tube! That boy was in heaven. It was such a perfect day!

We made the season's maiden voyage with Nate, Laci and their kids. The second we boarded the boat, Jake wanted to drive. And so he did -- he sat there in the captain's chair, with his hands on the wheel, carefully looking out as we prepared to launch. Then I held him as Matt drove the boat out to find our little uninhabited corner of the lake.

We parked the boat to blow up the tube and let the big kids swim for a little while. Jake started trying to climb out of my arms and onto the back of the boat so he could swim, too. Matt obliged and held Jake's hands while dipping his legs into the water (with Nate next to him in the water). Jake LOVED it. He was giggling and kicking his little feet, and kept making Matt do it over and over and over again. Matt and Nate finally let Jake "swim" with them for a minute. That boy was so sad to come back into the boat, let me tell you.

Nate went out on the tube first and tried to get his kids to take a ride, but they were being a bit apprehensive. Meanwhile, Jake was (again) trying to climb out of my arms and onto the back of the boat so he could go on the tube. So we let our little one-year-old go for a little ride. Matt hooked onto his life jacket and held onto him and we took it super slow and Jake was in heaven. He laughed and jabbered and had the biggest smile on his face the whole time! It was so stinkin' cute. And you'd better believe that little dare devil insisted on round two after all his cousins had taken their turns.

After that, we got out the wakeboard and Matt had a party. Jake put himself on flag duty and alternated between hiding underneath the beach towel during the windy/cold-ish ride and then talking and cheering and waving the flag while we were stopped. Jake made it clear he was having fun the whole time-- "Alwight! Weeee! Woohoo!" -- and declared it a "Happy Day" on numerous occasions.

The sweetest part came later that night. As Matt was rocking him to sleep, Jake laid on his shoulder and whispered: "Happy Day, Happy Day."

Immediately after my taking the first picture, Jake noticed the phone, turned to the camera and said "Cheese!" Haha.

(The only sad part was that I left my camera at home! iPhones just don't cut it on the lake, but oh well. Next time!)