Halloween

Halloween

James had a great first Halloween.  We went up to Heartland after lunch and got to see all my co-workers dressed up.  Everyone enjoyed seeing James the pumpkin!  After Heartland we went to my mom's house to meet up with Jami and Morgan.  We also got pictures with Abby, Jack, Gillian and Sarah!  Jami and I dressed as the MOM's we are!  Late afternoon we headed back home to get ready for our weekend company.  We had Aaron and Dixie Evans in town for the KU and Chiefs game.  Friday night we counted 76 trick or treaters before 7:30.  We were pretty much out of candy and ready to enjoy dinner with our company so we turned off our porch light.  I seriously think we would have had more than 125 if we would have had enough candy and patience.  Our neighborhood is full of kids.  Todd took James around 5:30 to a couple neighbors so he could say he did trick or treat his first Halloween.

School Day!

James goes to school at church on Mondays and Wednesday from 9-3:30.  He loves it and always gets a big smile on his face when he sees his teacher Ms. Melanie.  He gets to take music class, movement class, go on buggy rides around the church and swing outside on nice days!  Here is a picture of James dressed up for Halloween on Wednesday!

Tuesday Afternoon

An afternoon walk on a beautiful fall day!

 

I love my new highchair at G-ma's!

A fun weekend with Grandma Robin and major TEETHING!!

Grandma Robin, Great Aunt Susan and Great Aunt Joan came to visit this weekend from SD/MN.  They picked a great weekend to come since we had the most beautiful weather here in KC.   They arrived late Thursday night after we had all gone to bed.  We woke up Friday morning and James had some ear crust so we thought it could possibly be an ear infection.  The last 6 weeks James has been very unsettled and irritable at night.  Needless to say we have been extremely tired.   The past week things had gotten really bad and he was waking about every 3 hours.  He also had a runny nose(can be possibly teething or ear infection), but no fever.  He is usually happy during the daytime, it is just the nights that are bad.  We decided to take James to the Dr just to rule out the ear infection.  Thankfully James is fine and the Dr said he is working on 5 teeth coming in at the same rate.  I think it is amazing the Dr can tell this just by looking at the gums.  He already has one bottom tooth and is working on the second bottom and all 4 on top.  Unfortunately for us tired parents, the Dr said this could go on for another month or two depending on how quickly they come.  It is frustrating because James has always been a good sleeper up until now!  After the Dr visit we came home to get our guests and headed to downtown LS for lunch at Ciao Bella and some shopping.  Friday evening we relaxed at home and played our favorite game, Ticket to Ride!!! We are addicted so if you are ever over at our house we'll teach you how to play.  Saturday morning we slept in and then headed down to the Plaza for lunch and more shopping.   I think Todd was worn out from all the shopping, but he was a good sport!  On the way home we stopped by the Kaufman Gardens. They are well worth a quick visit if you are near the Plaza. This morning we went out for breakfast at First Watch before Grandma Robin headed back to SD.  We thoroughly enjoyed their visit and the weekend went by way too fast.....

p.s.  Todd predicts James will be crawling within the next couple weeks.  We'll have to wait and see.

Working so hard!

James is getting really active.  In just the last few days he has started getting on all fours and rocking back and forth.  I thought this video was extremely entertaining as James goes from rocking to a plank position back to rocking.  This guy is going to have a strong core!

A day in the life of James

Playing with some old school toys at G-Ma Holly's on Tuesdays!

Spending time with Papaw Greg

We are enjoying James more and more.  He is getting to be such a little person with his own likes/dislikes.  Todd returned yesterday from a 4 day trip to Vegas and James got so excited to see his daddy.  He is sitting up on his own very well now and only occasionally tips over.  It is so nice for me too because he is becoming more independent as far as playing and since I know he isn't going to fall over I don't have to be right at his side every second.  He is starting to rock a little bit so I'm sure the next step will be crawling.  James is also enjoying all of his new food and it is so fun to watch the funny faces he makes when he tries a new taste/texture.  So far he has had broccoli, apple, banana, avocado, plum, sweet potato, russet potato, carrot and pears.  I think his favorites are banana and pear!

James waking up so HAPPY!

So sleepy

James was eating some banana in his highchair this morning and really enjoying it.  I noticed a yawn and thought, "time for this boy to take a nap".  By the time I got a washcloth to clean him up he was dozing off so I had to get a quick video.  Other big news in our house is that  James went from his tummy to sitting up all by himself on Thursday.  Both Todd and I were home to see it.  Unfortunately we didn't get it on video and he has only done it the one time.

Sweet potatoes for a sweet boy!

This is James eating his first sweet potatoes.  At first he wasn't quite sure, but by the end of the meal he was coming around to them.  They were all over him as you can see, so it was straight to the tub!

Road Trip

We are home from a great weekend in Illinois and Iowa. We left Thursday afternoon around 4pm and drove until 10:15 which got us to the Quad cities. James was an excellant traveller. He slept from 4-6pm, played from 6-7pm, and then back to sleep after a quick stop in Des Moines. However, once we were in our hotel James thought it was time to play. He finally settled down at 12:30 and let his tired parents sleep. He was back up by 6am and didn't fall back asleep so we were back on the road by 8:30. We made it to our freinds, the Schneiders, house by

10:30. We were so excited to see Ashlee, Glen, Corinne(19 months), and Caleb(2 weeks old).  We spent the day hanging out and going to the park.  James enjoyed the swings and the slide.  James and Corinne ended the day splashing around in the tub!

Corinne and James splashing around!

We left for Mt Vernon at 10:45 and arrived just in time to enjoy a late lunch at the Lincoln Cafe.  Then we headed to the football game to watch the 3rd quarter.  We then joined Fred(my former tennis coach) and some former tennis players at the courts.  Todd played while James and I watched from the sidelines.  We enjoyed a lovely reunion dinner at Cibo Fusion in Cedar Rapids to honor Fred and his induction into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame.  It was a late night for James. but he was such a trooper the whole evening.  We didn't get back to the hotel until after 11pm and he went right to sleep.  It will be interesting to see how he sleeps this week since he was out of his routine for a few nights.

6 month check up

James had his 6 month check up today, along with the dreaded shots.

He was 28 inches tall(90%) and weighed 18 lbs 2 oz.(70%), so he is starting to thin out a little.

We are headed to Chicago!  Bye

Great Grandma comes to KC

This week Great Grandma Helen is in town from Arizona, along with Great Aunt Lynda and cousin Rachel.   We are so excited to see them since it has been about 2 1/2 months since we were all in Michigan together.  James and I went over last night to visit and today the gang watched James from 9-3 while I was at work.  Todd joined us tonight for a yummy dinner of chicken, twice baked potatoes and apple pie!  Todd starts district tennis tomorrow and is hoping to get some players or the team to state!

slam dunk!

James is practicing his basketball skills with dad!

Pumpkin Patch

After church this morning we met Jami, Andy and Morgan(James' BFF) at a pumpkin patch for a little photo shoot. We had so much fun and the kids did very well considering we had a wardrobe change half way through the shoot. James loved playing with the straw and thankfully didn't try to eat it! Check out our little pumpkin!

6 Months Old Today!!!

Today was a BIG day for James.  He is 6 months old!  He also attended a birthday party for his friend Norah that is turning 1!  He slept through most of the party, but was all smiles when he woke up.  James ended the day doing one of his favorite things, taking a bath!

let the blogging begin

I have always thought a blog would be fun, so here we go.  Everyone knows I'm not good at journalling so maybe I'll be a better blogger!

Last night during dinner James was a little cranky.  The past few weeks he has been happy playing with his toys and sitting in his highchair.  But last night he started throwing his toys on the floor and trying to grab Todd's plate so I we decided to see what he would do with a piece of broccoli.  He loved it and couldn't get enough.  We weren't sure if he swallowed anything, but from the looks of this mornings diaper he sure did!