Santa!

James has had a few opportunities to speak with Mr. Claus thus far this year.  Each time he's asked for the same thing-- a Hess truck.

The most amusing time was at an event in Ramsey.  We were at a party for kids, and James was sitting at a table multi-tasking (making a sticker gingerbread house and eating some snacks).  In walked Santa.  James jumped out of his seat exclaiming, "I've got to tell him to bring a Hess truck!"

He then raced around the room jumping up and down behind Santa saying, "Hess truck! Hess truck!"

Once Santa got on stage, James hopped right up there to speak with him one-on-one.  Somehow, the line formed next to James, so he had to endure several other children having their turns first. Finally, it was his opportunity to speak with the Big Guy.  No fear and no tears (see photo above). He happily answered the questions about his behavior and then enthusiastically stated he wants a Hess truck. 

30 Weeks!

Sorry I've been a bad blogger (I feel like I've been saying that a lot this year, alas.).

Anywho, sometime I'll try to catch you up on all the fun during November: trick-or-treating, re-decorating the family room, an exciting engagement (yea for Beardy and Auntie Maggie!), hosting the entire family for Thanksgiving, . . .

Meanwhile, as of last Saturday, I'm thirty weeks pregnant!  And I feel great.  Hooray!  Of course there are days when I eat too much or get too little sleep or do too much or any combination thereof, when I feel huge and tired and achy.  Usually, however, I feel good.  So good that I'll forget I'm so big and then bump into something or someone.  Ha!

Plus, I'm running!  I wasn't running at the beginning of this pregnancy, so I started briskly walking regularly.  Then I reached the second trimester and there was a lovely little cold-snap in early September.  The weather felt so fall-like when I was out for a morning walk that I *had* to run.  So I did.  For a minute.  Then I walked.  Then I ran.  I did a week of walking 8 minutes and running 2 for a total of 30 minutes.  Each week I adjusted a minute: walk 7, run 3; walk 6, run 4 . . .

This week I've moved to walk 5, run 20!  Woo hoo!  What is especially nice is that by this point in my pregnancy with James, I had stopped running due to sciatic pain.  It is so nice to feel kind of like myself every other morning!

Other pregnancy updates:

• I felt like crap most of the summer/first trimester.  Nauseated (not just "morning sickness," but all day or any-time-of-day sickness) frequently-- lots of preggie pops and ginger ale!  And I had to have naps pretty consistently.  Even when James didn't want to sleep, he knew he had to have "rest time" in his room until my timer chimed-- meanwhile, Mommy was napping in her room.
• I'm so thankful to my friends Lauren and Jenn who leant me their maternity wardrobes!  So nice!
• James is consistently predicting that the baby is a baby sister.  He's changed her name from Dutch to Trixie.  There were a few other (amusing) names that he came up with early on (Sharnee and Rosie, I believe), but he's stuck with Trixie for quite some time now.  Thanks, Mo Willems.
• James is very excited to be a big brother!  He often talks about when "our new baby" arrives and how he'll make him/her laugh.  (True story: he still considers Ezra a bit of a sibling.  For instance, when he first saw Ez at Thanksgiving, he proclaimed, "Ezra!  I'm your big brother!"  Then tonight we were looking at friends' holiday cards, and he was noting younger siblings in some cards and not in other cards. He asked who a certain friend's baby was, and I told him she was the only child in her family right now.  Just like he is.  "No," he explained. "We have a baby.  Ezra!")
• "Trixie" is moving around lots now.  I suppose he/she has been moving around for months, but I feel him/her regularly now.  Which is nice.  At times one can even see Trixie's moves from outside.  Dan has felt and seen Trixie move a lot.  James hasn't.  We've tried.  Until quite recently, he would put his hand on my belly ever so lightly then say, "Yep.  I felt it," and be on his way.  Just in the last week, he's started to keep his hand on longer and with more pressure.  I think he'll feel his baby sister/brother soon!
• I had a doctor's appointment today, and have now moved into the every-two-week stage.  Then, at 36 weeks I go every week and get a weekly ultrasound.  All my appointments are scheduled from now until the due date!  (Which is Feb. 11th, btw.)

Happy Snowy Halloween!

Well, let me start by saying that we did NOT go trick-or-treating tonight.
Nor this afternoon.

Because our police chief has postponed the event until Friday.

Because of downed power lines and trees.  I mean, it makes sense.  But so does limiting trick-or-treating to daylight, like the town where I teach.

Oh well.

So why are there so many downed trees and power lines?  Because we got a reported 7.3 inches (!) of snow on Saturday!  And the leaves hadn't fallen off the trees yet (since it's only October!), so the trees filled up with heavy snow, so limbs and branches started falling off.  It was much worse than Hurricane Irene (which was just two months ago...).

As an added bonus, James didn't have school today (nor does he tomorrow).  Daddy stayed home, and James "supervised" whilst Daddy and Grandpa went to work with the chainsaw on all our fallen tree parts.  Luckily Daddy had run out and gotten James some snowboots when the storm started on Saturday (I tried to get some about a month ago, but struck out at three stores: out of his size at two, and hadn't gotten them in yet at the third.), so he was well-dressed for frolicking about outdoors all day.

Shortly after Mommy got home from school, we all headed inside and James donned his Tigger outfit.  James played photographer and took some pictures of us.

Daddy and James carved one of the pumpkins (after much discussion about a design-- James said he wanted angry eyes and a smile with no teeth, then changed his mind and went with a spider).  Then we ate the delicious stew which was in the crock pot (conveniently awaiting our return from trick-or-treating, sigh).

After supper, James served us dessert.  Yum!

Other Recent Home Improvements

We're working hard to get the house "prettier" (buying rugs, painting rooms, new master bath) in time for Thanksgiving and Baby's arrival, but there were also some projects that took priority under the "getting ready for winter" category.

Dan had to put baffles in the soffets in the attic (this is supposed to combat the ice dams that form in one's gutters).

Grandpa came over to help with the drainpipes that lead away from the house (from the gutters).  They're subterranean and had gotten cracked and clogged over the years resulting in improper draining and flooding in the yard (and potentially could cause problems with water in the basement/foundation).

This also led to the extension of the retaining wall in the backyard.

And I'm not sure who was more excited about the new backpack leaf-blower-- Daddy or James!  (This acquisition is what lead to the previously posted game of playing landscaper.)

Dining Room

So back on Labor Day weekend, we (and by we, I mean Daddy, James and Grandpa; I wasn't allowed to help due to my "condition") painted the dining room.

I had a color in mind all summer, but it was too dark for Dan's taste, so I bought a different color.  It was too light for my taste, so I ran back out and got a compromise somewhere in the middle.

We'd like to get a larger carpet eventually, but this one (that was in the living room at the old house) will do for now.

We are trying to make some decisions about furniture.  There's the big china cabinet that came with this house,

and the one that goes with the table (and was Dan's grandparents').

We figure we'll put the big one on the big wall (where it is now) opposite the window

and the other one on the wall next to the door to the kitchen.

 But which one loses it's top?  Whichever one is "topless" will have framed photos, etc. on the wall above it.

Dan is not in love with the chandelier, but seeing as it's the best light fixture in the house, replacing it is low on the priority list.

Playing Landscaper

Mommy had a meeting in town on Thursday night, so James and Daddy played landscaper and took pictures of each other.  Please enjoy!

(Why am I sewing and painting stripes on a tiger costume?  This would be so cute on Halloween...)

Touch a Truck

Sunday morning was the Touch a Truck event at the Ramsey Farmers' Market.

James and I didn't have much time to go.  He was reluctant to leave the house-- having so much fun helping Daddy split logs-- then we had a birthday party to attend at 11 AM.

We certainly made the most of our time there!  James got to touch and explore a bulldozer, two firetrucks, an ambulance, an emergency truck, and a huge Army truck.

(By the bye, James was dressed in his helping Daddy outfit, rather than his birthday party outfit.)

Here are just a few of the MANY photos I took:

News Flash

i just busted out the iron for the first time since we moved (six month ago). For James's outfit. Ridiculous.

Meet "Dutch"

In the last few months, James has started naming his "pets" (um, yes, he calls his stuffed animals pets).  Of course, his train engines have always been referred to by name, even those that aren't officially from the Island of Sodor, but rather are the faceless type from Ikea.

Well, he did name Burnsey the Duck sometime last winter or so, but then stopped talking about him so much.  (I think maybe that was around the time Ezra was born.  I do recall that Burnsey was treated like a baby; James rocked him, swaddled him, put him to bed...)
You can see Burnsey (from behind) in this photo from the summer of 2010:

But the more recently named pets include Knuffle Bunny:

and Trixie (both of whom owe their names to Mo Willems).  Here Trixie is sleeping in the Pack and Play (which we had out when some friends were visiting with their one year old).

There is also "Grown-up Trixie" who sometimes even is said to have a baby in her belly.

Of course you know Woody, but James has taken to calling him "Tootsies" recently.  You can see him hiding behind Zumi the puppy here.

Speaking of Zumi the puppy, he went by the name "Puppy" for quite a long time.  Then last month when we were in Greenville, he was "James the Puppy" (not to be confused with James Lepori or "James the Grown Up," mommy's cousin, shown holding him below).  Not long after arriving back in NJ, he became Zumi and has been so consistently ever since.

And here are Gretchen, Frank and Ezra M'Jen.  Ezra M'Jen is waving the checkered flag, and I believe Frank is telling Gretchen that her helmet is not on properly:

It may be worth noting that these three were named almost immediately upon James receiving them as a half-birthday/baptism anniversary gift from Auntie Ali and Uncle Preston.

Oh, and there's Marie whom you may recall was named after James saw "Aristocats."

And also Murdoch the cat, whom you may remember if you're my facebook friend.  James said that Murdoch would be a "real pet" if we colored him with chalk:

But, this blog post is titled "Meet 'Dutch'."
Where's Dutch?
Right here!