Today's Mission Impossible

So, as you may recall, James got some new sneakers a mere 11 days ago. Well, in the meantime it has gotten HOT. Baby Boy's feet are all sweaty and pink when we take off those shoes & socks! Here we thought we could last a couple of months before needing a pair of sandals...
Since he just got his foot measured, I decided to save a few bucks and forego the shoe store experience and hit a discount store or two...

Well, I went to Target, Marshalls, Century 21, another Marshalls, and TJ Maxx. NO LUCK!!! Boo! Hiss! There were a few pairs that I thought were contenders and had James try on. One wasn't wide enough (it was a 6M; James needs wide shoes); another was wide enough, but his toes were at the very end...

Basically, it seems that the bargain stores have a much smaller selection. Especially because Dan & I want to get James sandals that go over his toes (fore extra protection).

Oh well!

At least the weather forecast is for cooler temps starting tomorrow!

Here are some photos of James and his hot little sneakers in action over the last few days.

"...like the top of the Chrysler Building..."

OK, I know you all love a good mopping update :-)

I've been trying to get by with infrequent wet-swiffering lately. Let me tell you, it doesn't cut it. Especially with James's contributions to floor uncleanliness.

Today he & I swept the floor. It was pretty cute-- he had a broom and so did I. Such a good helper. Then he helped me bring the mop up from the basement. He was SO excited. Then he "mopped" the entire kitchen-- he was dragging the dry mop all over the place saying "Mop. Mop. Mop."

At this point it was nap time, so I swept him up and carried him off. He was quite displeased about having to leave such a great time of floor maintenance. Once he was in bed, I got to the business of really mopping the kitchen, and oh, how glorious it looks!

The only thing that saddened me when I finished was that the box of truffles was on the other side of the room (across the wet floor) from me...

Latest Trick

Lately James thoroughly enjoys gazing out the dining room window at the "dogs" (squirrels) and the "vroom vroom" (trucks and cars) and our favorite, "Daddy!"

Can I Interest You in Some Pants?

So James fought off his nap for quite a while this afternoon. We'd had a busy, fun-filled morning consisting of a playdate at the farm where he saw animals and quite enjoyed walking along planks of wood. He fell asleep briefly on the way home (which allowed me, upon our arrival home, to trim his nails while he slept in the carseat), then woke up for some dancing and lunch. Well, after lunch we followed our routine of milk and books, then I popped him into the crib with his latest favorite book ("Emma!"). AN HOUR LATER he finally stopped chatting, playing music, reading, and throwing everything (blankets, Bunny, Bear) out of the crib. I walked in to find him thusly:


Yep, there he is, cuddled up with his pants, which he evidently removed.

Oh dear, the camera's a bit shaky...

Ok, due to popular demand, I have invested the time to upload the funnier of Tuesday night's classic Baby Laughing in High Chair videos.  Enjoy! (I dare you not to smile.)

Comedy Night

So last night during his dinner James started cracking up.  Not sure why... evidently grilled veggies are not only delicious but also hilarious.  Luckily I grabbed the camera!  This clip is actually the second of two that I took.  The first one has better laughter by James, but it is very shaky (because I was laughing so hard watching/filming him).  I should attach it as well, but this one is taking SO long to upload that I can't bear the thought of doing it again...

Fun Friday!

Yesterday was a great day.  Dan was off from work, so that makes it fantastic in and of itself! But wait, it gets better!  James had a swim class to make up since he'd missed a few weeks ago when he had roseola.  Daddy was the accompanying adult while Mommy sat poolside photographing.  So fun!  James went under lots more; Daddy is a big fan of dunking.  Fret not; it appears James is a big fan as well.  He didn't inhale any water and came up smiling every time!  I'm not sure who had more fun at class.  Video footage at the end of post!

After we left the Y, we headed up to the shoe store to see how much James's feet have grown in the last 3 months.  A whole size, it turns out.  This time we went with some white and navy Nike sneakers.  They look huge!  In a mere 24 hours, though, they've lost their bright white-ness--  The weather has been gorgeous here both days, so James has put in lots of time running around at the playground and in the backyard.

Shoe shopping was followed by a trip to Grandpa & Grandma's.  They've been away for almost two weeks, so they were quite excited to see their lil' guy.  That was good since he was spending the night while Dan & I went to an afternoon wedding & evening reception.  We stayed long enough to feed him lunch and get him down for a nap.  Grandpa & Grandma took him to the park when he awoke, and then he had supper and a nice long bath.  He had so much fun that he and Grandma were out for a stroll when we came back to get him today!

Music for Aardvarks & James

Today we started a music class.

It was really fun.  Sean, our leader, was geeky-cute with his dark framed glasses.  James was dancing and having so much fun playing with the instruments (egg shakers, rhythm sticks, drums...).  He even gave his cute little cheer after one of the songs!

I was very proud of him when he was a good helper in putting things away-- when Sean would put out the basket for a set of instruments after each song, James would happily collect them from the floor, and put them into the basket (he's definitely in that stage right now).  

He also hugged two of his classmates (they happened to be twin brother & sister) spontaneously-- very cute.  

I'm looking forward to going back next week!

PS-- When we first arrived, before the class started and I was introducing James & myself to Sean, he (Sean) asked how we heard about the class and if we'd seen/heard the music on Noggin.  I think I may have ostracized myself from the other two moms there when I explained that we don't watch TV...  

Easter Dinner

So we enjoyed a lovely dinner, the three of us. Grandpa & Grandma are down in SC helping with softshell crabs. Nana & Pops visited us earlier in the week (and James called them by name all visit!), but were in DC with Auntie Ali & Uncle Preston for the weekend. We had a nice time by ourselves though. We ate ham and sweet potatoes. And guess who LOVES Brussels Sprouts?! James! (Which is great because Dan & I were happy to give ours to him.)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

It is a gorgeous day here today, although a bit chilly.  James enjoyed hunting for eggs at church this morning and at the town egg hunt yesterday (in a bit of a shower).  Thanks to Mommy's friend Christine (and her wonderful family), James looks VERY HANDSOME and Eastery today in his outfit!  

James loved the bunny (pronounced "Nunny!  Nunny!") card from Nana & Pops and carried it all around this morning.  After church he opened his lamb book from Auntie Ali & Uncle P.  We've already read it a few times, and he took it to bed with him for his nap.

The ham is in the oven,  the Masters on TV and James in bed for a nap.

Life is good.

They Might Be Giants

So, a week ago I found out that TMBG was playing in the Village on Saturday.  There was a show Saturday night, but better yet, there was a family show that afternoon.  After consulting with Dan, we bought tickets and headed in to the city for a fun family adventure.

Unfortunately the show was at 4:00, so that meant that the commute interfered with naptime, and the concert had the potential to encroach on dinner.  We made the best of it: got James to sleep in the car for the drive to Hoboken and hoped he'd nap on the PATH ride into Manhattan.  No such luck on the latter, so the nap was a bit shorter than usual.  Oh well.  We did give him lots of snackage-- greens puffs (a new favorite) and a cherry cereal bar and milk.  

James found the train ride pretty entertaining, and the snacks certainly helped bide the time as we waited-- first to get into the club, then for the show to start.  It was pretty funny-- this was a club that had completely made itself toddler/parent friendly for the afternoon: free stroller check, a clean floor for sitting with the kids in front of the stage...  They even handed out TMBG foam fingers to the kids!  (James LOVES his, even if he tried to feed me a piece during the show.)

When the lights went down and the music started, James was pretty awed.  He definitely recognized the tunes (we have our 2 TMBG kids CDs on heavy rotation) and broke out some dance moves to some of his favorites.  However, there was also a lot of clinginess (unfortunately, only to Mommy) and some whining.  No doubt due to the mini-nap and perhaps also a bit of unease at the strange situation (dark room, loud music, bright stage...).

If you asked James, he'd probably say his favorite part was one of the Special Guests.  No, not the young Hannah Levine singing "One Dozen Monkeys."  It was The Broom.  (Come on, you know how this kid loves the brooms, mops, swiffers!)  Imagine James's amazement and wonder as Broom "spoke" into the mic.  (It was a broom with a face made of tape being held up to the mic while John F. spoke for it into a different mic.)  Broom had quite a funny dialogue with John L. then, of course, they performed "I Am Not Your Broom" which, of course, is one of James's favorites.  The boy was MESMERIZED, completely awe-struck.  Dan said he doesn't think James blinked the entire time the Broom was on stage.  Hilarious.

It was a really fun show, and we had a great time.  We're looking forward to doing it again when James is a bit older. Oh, in case you're wondering, we went to a restaurant for dinner afterwards, so James ate at about the right time, and he fell asleep in the car (we'd put him in jammies in the parking garage).  So worth the alterations to the schedule!