A Walk in the Woods

We decided to take a little hike today. Then it rained. Then it stopped. Then it drizzled. We packed up and headed out, hoping for the best. James and I fell asleep in the car. It rained a bit more. We decided against it and drove around looking at houses. Then it got sunnier, so we headed out for a short jaunt up a mountainy path.

At the top we could see across many ridges and valleys and all the way to NYC, so that was pretty cool! James really enjoyed climbing around the rocks and jumping down.

He was not so fond of getting back into the backpack, but he eventually calmed down and enjoyed the scenery.

Farm Party

James's friend Chase turned 2(!) on Friday. He had a very fun birthday party at Abma's Farm. The party started with a fun make-your-own-stuffed-animal activity. James made a cow. He even kissed the star as instructed before placing it inside the cow. It was pretty cute.

Everyone was pretty excited for the cutely decorated cupcakes. James's had a sugar pig atop it. I was able to swipe a bite or two before he wolfed it all down. Oh-- and he also had his first juice box (and first apple juice). I figured it was a party, he could imbibe.

After dining on pizza, juice and cupcakes, we headed out to feed the animals.

James didn't really care about feeding the animals (I ended up giving his cup of pellets to an older, more interested party guest). In fact, he didn't care too much about looking at the animals (well, except the chicks). He much preferred sticking his head through the photo-op board.

All in all, it was a very fun afternoon. Happy Birthday, Chase!

"And on that farm he had some..."

TOMATOES!

James had a grand time helping Grandpa harvest tomatoes on Wednesday afternoon.

He even used his wheelbarrow to bring them up to the house.

Fun in Any Language

So today James & I went to our (my) favorite playground. James was having a grand ol' time and befriended the cutest Eurobaby. This German-speaking tot was stripetastic-- navy & white striped shirt, red & white striped (legging-type) shorts, light blue & dark blue striped Bob the Builder socks worn (pulled up high) with his sandals. His Bob the B. baseball hat did NOT have stripes. A pity.

Stripey and James played a fast and furious game of tag. There was lots of laughing and yelling (of the fun variety) and sprinting. Each "round" would end with Stripey enthusiastically "tagging" James which often involved James ending up on the ground, his shirt in Stripey's clutches. But they both had a blast. (And German Mom did intervene every time, which was nice.)

The family (Stripey has an older sis as well) just moved here a few months ago. Mom is super nice and said she hoped to see us at the playground again. Yea!

*It is worth noting that James happened to bring a lil' something with him to the park today-- a small American flag attached to a pipe cleaner (the plastic stick had broken, and he wasn't happy with it sans-stick, so I'd improvised with a "soft stick"). He carried it around with him everywhere. Hilarious. Especially with his worldly buddy.

School Daze

First off, let me make a confession. Even after James was born, I thought when people used the word "school" about their children's daycare, it was a way of making themselves feel better and that they weren't really fooling me.

Well, guess what... I totally have been saying "James's school." So, sorry people. I get it now.

I will say, lending to my semantics, is that fact that his daycare is actually housed in a school and part of a school district. (This was one of the selling factors to me.) It follows the school year calendar, and you only have to sign a 10 month (Sept.-June) contract. James gets to be home with me in the summer and not lose his spot for the fall.

Today was his first "trial run."

Last night, as we were completing the packet o' paperwork, Dan & I both freaked out. Did we really want to do this? Should I have given up my tenure and stayed home? I mean, I really love being home with him. It has been AWESOME. Especially now that he's talking so much and we go on so many fun adventures. Of course, now that school is just over two weeks away, I'm going back. The 60-day notice period is long gone. So, basically, I couldn't sleep last night. I stayed in bed for half an hour, wide awake. Then I got up, watched TV, read a magazine. Finally got to sleep around 12:45...

So, we woke up feeling a bit better.

James and I headed into his classroom just after 9. He was thrilled to see the ceiling fans. And the other toddlers. Then he heard a "moo." He looked at me and said "Moo. Cow." and headed off to the source of the noise-- the puzzle table. The farm animals make sounds when you put the pieces in place. AND there was a train/truck puzzle. That was it. He was good to go. So I did.

I headed to do a bit of work in my classroom in my school. My cell rang about 30-45 minutes later. Surge o' adrenaline. No need to fear, they were just checking to see if James has any allergies because it was snack time. And they let me know he was doing "GREAT."

I picked him up at almost 11. He was sitting in a little chair (all the kiddos were) for music time. He didn't jump up out of his seat to see me although he did say, "Mommy!" They asked me if he'd been in daycare before because he did so well. YEA!!

That certainly helped me feel better about it all.

And, of course, if there's another Bambino who comes along, I can take more time off to stay with both of them!

Oh, the Pain!

It seems that having teeth work their way through one's gums causes a great deal of discomfort. So much so that one wakes in a fit of hysterical screaming at 12:15. Even after one's father calms him down, moments later one begins screaming for one's mommy. Then proceeds to cuddle, ask for a few books (Baby Brains, "Ham" (Green Eggs & Ham), "Church" (What I See at Baptism)) and resume screaming when put into bed. It also seems that once awake for the day, one doesn't really want to eat, what with all the pain in the ol' gums. In fact, after refusing to eat dinner, one totally wigs out.

Yep, this is what is going down here this weekend. James was up until 2:00 after waking at 12:15. I whisper read him books, tried to cuddle him to sleep on the couch (during which he'd say, "Aww. Night Night." over and over before realizing he was in close proximity to a fan that wasn't turned on....), then finally gave him a drink of water and put him in his crib. A bit more crying then he passed out until sometime between 7:30 and 8!

Tonight he was crazy. Screaming. Crying. That's when we finally started comparing notes and thinking it might be teeth. Dan ventured a finger into James's craw for an exploratory poke. Sure enough, bumps abound and some little points coming through. That's when we called upon the magical powers of Tylenol. We still couldn't interest James in eating. Not even "pie" (peach cobbler). He is sleeping... for now.

Mommy's Little Sidekick

James came along with me today to my school. I did a bit of organizing, etc. to get my new classroom ready for my impending return (more on that in another post...).

Of course, he was DELIGHTED to see ceiling fans and a box fan, all of which I turned on immediately. I shut the door to the classroom and basically let him wander. He played with the recess balls and "read" books. He really enjoyed the Atlas-- he just sat in a (random, high school style) desk flipping through it. So cute.

James even fed himself a snack (snackbar & Cheerios-- aka "Chos") and flipped open his water bottle. How very grown up.

He LOVED riding the elevator and pressing the buttons. (I loved it when he held my hand waiting in the dark vestibule for the elevator to arrive.)

We were there for about two hours! I actually feel like the room is in pretty good shape. So much so that I would feel fine if I didn't go back again until school starts. Of course, I have no idea what I'd actually do with the kids, but the room would be ready at least!

After being such a good (no, GREAT) sport, I took him to a playground. We went to the sandbox, played with "diggers," had a picnic, watched the commuter train go past several times (though the excitement never waned), took a swing ride, went up and down the hill in the tunnel, ...

Dan was meeting us, but got held up at work. He finally got to the park and ate his lunch while James went back for more sandbox. By the time we got ready to leave, we'd been there 2 hours!

He sacked right out on the drive home. I just have to say, I LOVE that cuddly, sleepy arm around your neck when you carry in (sometimes successfully, sometimes not so much) a sleeping toddler.

**Oh! James has started reading along with many of his books. Thus far, he's filled in the ends of sentences in: Snuggle Puppy, Green Eggs and Ham, Curious George Goes to School, The Little Engine That Could, Little Pea, Hop on Pop, The Potty Train, Baby Brains, Corduroy...

Table for One

Someone thought he was all grown up at dinner tonight.

He climbed right up in the chair.

I asked him if he wanted to sit in his green high chair. "No." In his blue chair? "No." He was, at least, polite about it. Not all whiney or adamant.

But it was ridiculous.