Jen & Dan's Bambini

36 Weeks

2012-01-15T16:06:00.001-05:00

As of yesterday morning, I am 36 weeks pregnant. I still feel really good. By the end of the day, I'm usually pretty wiped out. However, I'm still running (!) and able to do most of the things I want.

In a possible bout of "nesting" today, I re-organized the linen closet, made our bed, sorted and started some laundry, and am updating the blog. I really need to pack for the hospital (just in case).

My weekly doctor visits (with ultrasounds) start this week, so I'll be getting professional updates every Tuesday. As of my last visit, Trixie was head-down. Hooray!

This Friday is my last day of school (until I go back for less than two weeks in June) which I cannot believe. I've been teaching my heart out the past few weeks. I am looking forward to having some time to rest and relax before the baby arrives (hopefully!).

Last weekend my mommy friends threw me a little party wherein I got this super-cute diaper cake. Love it! It's currently living in the dining room, and every time I pass by it, I get more excited for the arrival of James's sibling!

Before I sign off, let me just give you a quick lesson, lest you should run into a pregnant woman anytime soon. (The following are real quotes I've encountered recently.)

What to say to a clearly pregnant woman (or her young companion):

"I'm sorry, but this does not look like the face o someone who is 36 weeks pregnant. It must be a pillow under there."
"You look great!"
"You look so cute!"
"Congratulations!"
"Are you going to be a big brother soon?"

What NOT to say:

"You're bursting out of that coat!" (Um, no, I'm not. Not yet, anyway. And when I do, please don't tell me then, either.)
"Oh, you're starting to really slow down." (Well, I'm carting around quite a few extra pounds, but I'm still making it up and down the stairs to and from my classroom just fine, thank you.)
"Did you eat a watermelon? You're getting bigger and bigger." (I don't even like watermelon. And I'm supposed to be getting bigger. Duh.)
"It looks like a boy." (Maybe it is.)
"It looks like a girl." (Maybe it is.)
"Are you sure it's not twins? Sometimes doctors miss one." (I think I've been ultrasound-ed and doppler-ed enough to determine that it's just one baby. But thankyouverymuch for telling me that you think I'm huge.)

Trixie Update

2012-01-04T21:14:00.000-05:00

34 (and a half) weeks, and all is well.

I went for a check-up yesterday, and had only gained a pound in the last two weeks which they said was "perfect." (And impressive given that I ate lots of holiday goodies!)

I don't know what my belly measurement was, but whatever it was, they were happy with that as well. Blood pressure and such also was great. And, as I suspected, Trixie is now head-down. (On Friday I had this really weird sensation whilst we were grocery shopping, and felt kind of nauseated all afternoon. That night I felt a foot over in the area where James's had been four years ago and thought I felt the head down low.)

Other than the nausea on Friday, I feel great! I'm pretty sure I feel better now than I did at this point with James. I'm not having any of the sciatica problems I did then, and I'm still running. Hooray! Lately I've been running five minutes then walking one minute for a total of about 20-30 minutes. I feel like I'm plodding along, but Dan was outside when I was running this weekend and said I looked like I was moving along at a pretty respectable pace.

This weekend we're going to an all-day Lamaze refresher after which I'll go ahead and pack the bags. Just to be prepared. My last day is Jan. 20th-- no need to be in labor at school this time around-- which gives me three weeks off before my due date.

James is still excited. He's asked a few times lately, "Is the baby coming soon?" He likes to hug and kiss my belly which is super sweet and heartwarming.

Santa!

2011-12-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

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!

2011-12-06T21:47:00.000-05:00

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!

2011-10-31T20:48:00.001-04:00

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

2011-10-15T18:00:00.000-04:00

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

2011-10-15T17:43:00.001-04:00

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

2011-10-15T17:20:00.001-04:00

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

2011-10-11T16:22:00.001-04:00

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

2011-10-09T09:23:00.001-04:00

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

Meet "Dutch"

2011-09-25T16:51:00.000-04:00

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!

James's First Day in the Threes

2011-09-25T15:48:00.000-04:00

This post is a few weeks overdue. Oops.

James has settled into his new classroom with Ms. Lisa. He was thrilled to see all his friends again, though he regularly tells me that his favorite tracks are in the twos room.

During the first week of school, there was a lot of wistful talk of the twos room, as well as much jubilation when I'd arrive to pick James up from school. Now, however, he's returned to his more typical afternoon greeting of, "Mommy, wait! Don't come yet! I have to finish _________." You can fill in the blank with whatever activity he's doing-- reading a book, playing with this toy, listening to this story, having a snack, playing with my friends...

Here's James in his new classroom on the first day (Sept. 7th):

James and Daddy in the Threes Room (Sept. 7th)-

James finds a toy tractor in the Threes Room.

Unfortunately, there's not a full body shot of his cute little first day of school outfit, but alas.

My Little Cherub

2011-09-23T09:47:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago James got a postcard in the mail inviting him to the first Cherub Choir (ages 3-6) rehearsal of the year at church. That rehearsal was last Wednesday.

When I went to pick him up from school, he was still on his nap mat, and was quite grumpy about getting up. He then got upset because he didn't want to miss snack, specifically the cookies that were on the counter. He said, "When all the mommies and daddies get here, we can have cookies for snack!" Actually, the cookies were for the mommies and daddies, but for Back to School Night that evening, not for the kids at all. After much crying and carrying on, I finally got him to the car. Where there was more crying and carrying on.

"This is going to be great," I thought.

We made it to church on time, and went inside to find the two super-nice directors and the other children. James got to pick a smiley face and put his name on it (he asked Mommy to help) as well as a sticker for his attendence. He told me not to leave (the other mommies left), so I sat behind him. Well, partway into the first song, he yelled out, "Mommy!" and ran back to me. Then I sat next to him in the little semi-circle of cherubs. And I knew the song quite well by the end of rehearsal; meanwhile, he wasn't singing at all.

The children's choirs perform once a month, on Family Sunday (which is the third Sunday of the month). The way the calendar worked, that meant that the cherubs would be singing in church Sunday after their first rehearsal! I wasn't sure how that would fly with James, but the two directors assured me, his timidity was completely normal, and that some kids had even cried through their entire first practice(s).

For the rest of the week, I tried to practice the song with James, but any time I started to sing it, he'd tell me to stop. Okay.

Sunday morning came, and we all got ready for church. When we got there, we walked downstairs with James, and he marched right into the choir room and didn't even look back at us! After assurance from the director, Dan and I went back upstairs and found a seat in the church. We decided to sit more towards the front than usual (we tend to hang in back for the sake of James's behavior/attention). As Dan said, "If he really does this, I want to see it!" We also wanted to be sure he could find us.

Well, soon enough a little parade of cherubs made their way into the church, with James in line. They assembled on the steps at the front of the congregation and started to sing. James and his big brown eyes didn't actually ever open his mouth, but we were so very proud nonetheless!

When they finished, he saw us, smiled a BIG smile and came and sat down. He made it the entire church service (even joining the children sitting at the priest's feet for most of the sermon) and was more well behaved than he's been in church in years. No joke. I think it helped that two very cute, friendly, fellow- cherub twin girls were sitting in the pew in front of us.

After church we told him we were SO PROUD of him. "But I didn't sing," he replied. We told him that we were proud he got up in front of the whole church anyway.

This week, I failed to remind him of rehearsal Wednesday morning, so I was a bit nervous when I went to pick him up from school. I didn't want another tantrum. As I was pulling in, I saw his class on the playground. Great. But by the time I'd gone inside and gathered his things, they lined up and came in. He was at the end of the line and saw me. "James, do you remember where we're going today?" I asked.

"Let's go to the train playground after music class," he said, grabbing my hand and happily walking out to the car! Wow!

When we got to church, he marched off to rehearse in the sanctuary with the other cherubs, so I stayed back in the parish hall with the other mommies. It was lovely. Afterwards, as the director was handing out copies of the new song to us, she said that he knows it but told her, "I'll sing when I'm four."

Sleepy Boy

2011-09-11T22:20:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was Ramsey Day, and James enjoyed many glowing accessories while at the laser show. They're still glowing tonight as he and Zumi (his puppy) cath some Zs. James spent the day "helping" Daddy and Grandpa dig out the gutter leads and drain pipes. He was a dirty, happy, tired boy.

The End of Summer

2011-09-05T22:02:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm sorry that I didn't do a better job of posting this summer. I will try to post a slideshow of photos as a summer-in-review later this week. Or next weekend-- let's not kid ourselves-- I go back to work in a matter of hours...

This weekend we crammed as much of the activities we didn't fit into the summer as we could into a four-day period. On Friday, Dan was working, but James and I tried to get as much done as we could. We ran several errands in the morning then headed to the pool for the afternoon.

On Saturday, Daddy and Grandpa started painting the dining room. Yea! Hooray for color! Meanwhile, James and I did as much work as we could to prepare for Sunday when we hosted our first cook-out at the new house.

James was a wonderful host! Two families joined us, so there were six adults and six children (ages 1-6) altogether. The kids played together beautifully; James's souped-up Jeep was a huge hit. There was also sprinkler time, ball play, scooter riding, bike & trike riding (James LOVED Ava's bike and rode it for what seemed like hours), a kickball game,. . . The mommies and daddies had a great time visiting and catching up as well (and the daddies were all-stars in the kickball game).

When our guests left and we'd finished cleaning up, we headed over to the pool for a quick dip. It was the best idea, and we regretted not going to the pool in the evenings all summer! We had the pool to ourselves, truly, and it was so refreshing after a humid day outside. To cap off the evening, we watched "Beauty and the Beast" with James. He's been singing "Be Our Guest" ever since. I am Belle (aka "Beauty") and he is Lumiere. It's as cute as you'd imagine.

Today Daddy and Grandpa finished the dining room (pictures to come, I promise!), and James and I headed out to get his feet measured. Dan and I were pretty sure that James had been growing this summer, but I was pretty surprised to find that he'd gone up a size and a half! His new (boat-like) sneakers are size ten and a half! Crazy! After showing off his great new sneaks to Grandpa and Daddy (when the shoe-salesclerk brought them out to James he said, "Oooh. I think those will make me run fast!"), James and I headed to the pool. As I've mentioned before, we didn't get much pool time in during August, so James hadn't made much progress in his water skills. Today when we got there, I swung James around in the water to get him used to the cold, then he dunked himself several times in a row. Then, all of a sudden, he swam to me! Underwater! Arms crawling, legs kicking, eyes open. It was so cool! Then he said, "Mommy, you stay right there," and he backed himself up and did it again. And again, and again. We both smiled and laughed. He called me Mommy Fish and himself Brother Fish.

When we went home for lunch, he was thrilled to tell Daddy and Grandpa. After rest time, during which he did nap well and the dining room was completed, we headed back to the pool for one last hurrah with Daddy. James said, "I want to show you my underwater swimming!" and he did. We had a great time, and Daddy was just as impressed and proud as I was. Too bad today was the last day of the pool being open!

Train Bully?

2011-08-31T14:23:00.000-04:00

Today we were at the playground, as we have so often been this summer. (Let me just take this moment to whine about the fact that it has been so rainy and otherwise cool in August that we haven't been to the pool much at all this month! Boo!) One of James's favorite activities there --no wait, it IS his favorite activity there-- is to play on the train.

There is this three-piece playground equipment that has an engine (with steps up the coal tender portion and a slide down the cow catcher part; it also has a ladder on the side for the "engineer"), a passenger car (a tunnel with windows), and a caboose (a.k.a the Dining Car as it has a small table and benches built in).

Well, when we got there this morning, James bee-lined for the train. (Not sure if that's really a verb, but anyway...) Some little girls were there as well. James got on board the engine and promptly told the little girl that he was the conductor. Impressively, she held tight to the "steering wheel" and didn't budge out of his way. He kept insisting, and I told him he needed to take turns. He started to push her out of the way, and I removed him from the train. I told him he had three choices: 1) take turns, 2) play somewhere else and come back when the girls were done, or 3) go home.

He told me he was going to be the whistle and toot until her turn was done.

Well.

He got on that engine and tooted with all his might. He didn't touch the little girl or the steering wheel. He just tooted. And tooted. Loudly.

"TOOOOOOOOT!!!! TOOOOOOOT!!!!"

She started crying and left the train.

This is how we roll.

2011-08-17T18:03:00.002-04:00

There has been A LOT of this going on this summer. A LOT.

"Scales and Arpeggios"

2011-08-17T17:06:00.002-04:00

James is into "The Aristocats" lately. Here his blue cat plays the role of Marie while he is Berlioz.

He sat down at the piano then said, "Wait! I need to go get my cat." When he returned he said to the cat, "Okay, you be Marie. Sit right here."

Very cute.

A Morning at the Farm

2011-08-17T10:59:00.002-04:00

James the goat

A Morning at the Farm

2011-08-17T10:55:00.002-04:00

feeding time

The first animal that James fed this morning was a baby goat/kid. After it ate the cracker, James said to me, "He doesn't have any chin hair." He was pleased to see the adult goat's chin hair in place.

A Morning at the Farm

2011-08-17T10:34:00.002-04:00

James and I are enjoying fresh farm doughnuts at Abma's. When we finish our yummy treat we will head up the hill to feed the animals. (special crackers, not doughnuts.)

Thanks Daddy!

2011-08-12T16:09:00.001-04:00

Daddy repainted the Jeep last weekend and "retread" the wheels.

Thanks Grandpa!

2011-08-05T17:37:00.001-04:00

and thanks to whomever put this on their curb...

Just A Few Friends

2011-08-03T15:32:00.002-04:00

Whilst cleaning his room, James thought it was important to have all of these "pets" on his bed.

Breakfast at IHOP

2011-08-03T08:21:00.002-04:00

yummy! We dropped Daddy off at the train and came to the "pancake house" for a fun start to our day.

***Update***
At dinner tonight, Dan asked James where he and I went for breakfast. James enthusiastically replied, "The Entire House of Pancakes!"

We've been doing a lot of this this summer

2011-08-02T17:13:00.002-04:00

scooter time!

Sunday night fun

2011-07-31T18:48:00.001-04:00

the monkey cowboy strikes again

post dinner dance party

2011-07-29T19:36:00.001-04:00

breaking it down

Testing

2011-07-29T18:35:00.001-04:00

james is annoyed that I'm taking his photo, but i wanted to try blogging via the phone.

Little Fish

2011-07-22T20:47:00.001-04:00

We have trying to hit the Ramsey pool pretty regularly (gotta make that membership worth its pricetag!), and a couple of weeks ago, James really got into dunking himself!

He'll just be standing there in the shallow part (our pool has a lovely 1.5-3 foot section in the main pool-- no baby pool for us!) and suddenly squat down and go underwater. He comes up grinning and blinking and so proud.

Last week one day, when I told him it was time to go, he said, "Just three more dunks."
"Okay. One....two...."
"Actually, five more."
"...three...four..."
"Actually, eight more."
"...five...six...seven..."
"Actually twelve more!"
"eight... nine...ten... eleven...."
"Actually zero more!" Now, I think he thinks zero means infinity, because he certainly didn't stop after dunk number twelve. And these were in pretty rapid succession!

He's been keeping it up and even added a "back dunk" to his repertoire this week. It's a slightly terrifying move in which he arches his back and submerges his head to varying depths.

And after taking Auntie Maggie and her friend Joe to the pool on Tuesday, James became inspired to swim underwater on Wednesday! He kept saying, "I'm swimming underwater like Joe!" I had one hand on him most of the time, but there were a couple of instances where he went for it unassisted! He got a foot or two before coming up. Again, blinking and smiling and proud. He did it again today.

His other pool skill is working on the proper use of a kickboard. He borrowed one from a friend last weekend and a stranger today. (Literally, he got out of the pool and asked a woman if he could borrow the kid-sized kickboard she was toting before I even realized what was happening! And she let him!) he's doesn't always have perfect form, but he's working on it.

With over a month to go of summer pool time, I'm anxious to see what he'll be doing in the water by the time Labor Day rolls around!

Fathers' Day

2011-07-08T20:32:00.000-04:00

I was out of town for Fathers' Day (at my sweet cousin Clare's wedding), but James celebrated with Daddy and Grandpa by going "golfing" (driving range and putting green).

Where's James?!

2011-07-08T19:55:00.004-04:00

Perhaps you've been looking for James?
Or maybe you've just given up after so long without a blog post. . . (two months-- for shame!)

Well, summer is in full swing now, so hopefully my blogging will pick up, and you'll find what you've been looking for!

(by the bye, James LOVES to hide from Mommy and Daddy. And often his hiding consists of covering his face. Solely.)

Happy Mothers' Day!

2011-05-08T19:31:00.004-04:00

As you can see, James thinks I rock (ha! as if he's the one who bought the shirt...), but I think he's pretty amazing as well. Unfortunately, he spent the day with a fever of 102, so it was a pretty laid back affair, and he's already fast asleep for the night. However, we did have a lovely day complete with cupcakes. Yum!

Many thanks to James's school for teaching him this lovely song which has been melting my heart all week:

Oh, and btw, the photos that were missing from my "bad blogger" post, are repaired.

James the Speller

2011-05-07T21:52:00.004-04:00

(This happened back in March.)

We were here at "the new house," and James found the alphabet magnets in some box or bag we were unpacking. He wanted to put his name on the fridge, so I had him tell me the letters he'd need. "J.....A....M....E....S!" He was quite proud.

Then he said, "I want to spell 'funny James'." So I gave him the letters for "funny", one by one.

Then he'd take them down and put them back over and over.

Now he's been able to spell "funny" on command for about a month or so!

Not so much about the kid...

2011-05-05T20:46:00.007-04:00

Our first home improvement project took place back in March-- before we moved. The house originally had an electric oven/stove that was actually a double oven which no longer worked. Once it was removed, we were left with quite a bit of bare sheetrock as the formica backsplash didn't carry on behind the double oven.

So, it was off to choose our new backsplash and do some tiling!

We were very happy with how our handywork came out.

Additionally, we had the gas brought up to the kitchen so that we could get a gas oven/stove as a replacement. And I love the one we chose-- it is beautiful and cooks great as well.

We also got new handles for all the cabinets which was an instant improvement!

Bad Blogger

2011-05-04T20:45:00.005-04:00

Oops. Another month passed with nary a blog post. My bad. Sorry.

I know it's no excuse, but we moved!

In these first four weeks in the new house, we've had a lot of fun getting settled in with little trouble adjusting. Hoorah!

James has quickly befriended our next-door-neighbor who is a mere six months older than he. The two of them call out to one another as soon as they hear the other come outdoors. It's very funny. This past weekend, each boy was bedecked in his bicycle helmet for most of the daylight hours. Safety first!

It began when neighbor was on his trike (and various other outdoor transport) a few weeks ago. Then Grandpa and Grandma told James to take the trike they've had at their house for him to our new house. So he's been cycling quite a bit.

Then he busted out Daddy's razor scooter (with the handlebars pushed all the way down). I tell you, by Sunday afternoon, he was balancing quite well! We're pretty impressed.

The funny thing is when the boys carry on wearing their helmets even when their feet are firmly on the ground, and they're just pushing around dump trucks and the like.

Of course, it does come in handy when Daddy offers a ride on the wheelbarrow!

Thanks for the deposit, Blitzen.

2011-03-26T21:22:00.004-04:00

James LOVES his new back yard. Lately, every time we head to the new house, that's where he wants to go (even today, with a high of 30 degrees).

Last weekend, I spent lots of time out there with him playing funny games like stand-atop-a-boulder-then-run-to-another-one. Well, at some point James says to me, "Look at these things I found, Mommy." I look down, and he's moving some little objects from one spot to another....

"James, put that down! Don't play with that! Yuck! That's poop!" Yep, folks, deer scat. (Understandably, it looked like little marbles to Jamesy.)

James said, "Who pooped in our yard?"

"Some deer."

"Why did the reindeer poop in our yard?"

"I don't know, James. They don't have a potty. Now, let's go inside and wash your hands."

And, every so often this week, James will ask again, "Why did the reindeer poop in our new backyard, Mommy?"

Spring?!

2011-03-23T21:56:00.002-04:00

It is snowing right now.

It snowed Monday as well.

However, there are some early bulbs coming up in the yard. Last week, when they were just tiny green sprouts, Dan pointed them out to James.

"Look, James! That's spring!"

A couple of days ago as we were walking up the steps to the deck after school, James noticed one of the bulbs had sprouted much more. "Mommy! Look! Spring is getting taller!" he exclaimed. "I want to go check the others." And back down the stairs he darted to check on the others. "Look, Mommy! This Spring is getting taller, too. And this Spring. All the Springs are getting taller!"

Recent Jamesisms

2011-03-02T20:32:00.002-05:00

Dan told me about this exchange this morning:

J: Why isn't Mommy taking me to school?

D: She had to go to work, but it's my pleasure to take you.

J: Why isn't it Mommy's pleasure?

As we were eating sushi for supper:

J: No rolls tonight! No dumplings tonight! Just these!

Some favorite words and phrases of late:

perhaps
chuffing
pump your pistons
sure
yes, please
no, thank you
lackadaisical (they learned that one at school)
I'm not feeling very well.
I'm a baby.

Unfortunately, there's been a lot of whining lately as well. And emphatic declarations of, "I don't want to!"

Update

2011-03-01T21:20:00.008-05:00

I'm not sure the last time I failed to post for an entire calendar month. Sorry, February 2011.

The last week of February was especially action packed. Dan & I headed down to SC to be with family and celebrate the life of UJ at an amazing, music-filled memorial service. James was a champ and had lots of fun on a four-night sleep-over at Grandma & Grandpa's.

We were so happy to be back home together on Tuesday night, and spent a quiet day together on Wednesday. James opened a gift from Nana & Pops: a doctor kit! He loved it, and gave each of us an exam. Then that evening we headed over to the hospital for a tour because James was scheduled for same day surgery first thing Thursday morning.

He was super excited on his tour of the hospital. He took along his brand new Fisher Price doctor kit, and wooed all the nurses and staff (and greeted all the patients and visitors he passed along the way as well). He especially liked the little teddy bear dressed in scrubs that was relaxing on the bed in the pediatric area. James did not want to leave to come home, and was looking forward to returning to the hospital the next morning.

Of course, he had a hard time falling asleep, and ultimately ended up falling asleep in our bed with Dan around 10 (I tried to watch Top Chef, but fell asleep on the couch instead, and joined them in the bed after 11).

James was none to happy about waking up at 6 Thursday morning and said he did not want to go to the hospital, but once we got there he was chipper again. He did get upset that I hadn't brought along his doctor kit--oops! He remembered right where to go, and marched himself to the elevators and to Same Day Surgery. So cute. Again, he was quite cooperative, and everyone was quite enamored and complementary. He LOVED the plush puppy they gave him (and he also received a nice little quilt from the Linus project that actually coordinates nicely with his beautiful quilt from Neida).

When it was time for surgery, they gave him a medicine that is supposed to help with any anxiety-- James got loopy and was throwing his stuffed animals around. I was fine until they wheeled him away (with a goofy grin on his face). Then I cried a bit.

Dan and I got some breakfast at Kurth Cottage (the hospital restaurant) then hung out in the waiting area reading the paper. We got a call from the recovery room, and I could hear James crying in the background. Luckily, the nurse had warned us that a lot of kids wake up from the anesthesia very upset, so at least we weren't surprised. He was pretty much inconsolable for a little while. He was drifting in and out of sleep, but complaining about the pain ("My scrotum hurts"). Once he got some ibuprofen, he pretty much passed out.

We weren't sure how long he'd sleep given his late bedtime the night before, early wake-up, and anesthesia. At 12:30 we decided to at least change him from the hospital gown into his own jammies again. He woke up and got upset about that, so they ended up sending the hospital gown home with us! Ha!

Within five minutes of our getting home, a bouquet of balloons held by a cute teddy bear arrived for James from some of his friends! So sweet! He spent most of that afternoon vegging out in front of the tv, cuddling with his puppy.

As if that wasn't enough excitement for one week, on Friday afternoon we closed on a house! It is still pretty surreal since we've been seriously house-hunting for a year and a half (and casually for many years). James was again a trooper, and spent the day relaxing with Grandpa. That evening we all headed over to "our new, big house" (as James calls it), where James excitedly ran all over the place. He brought along some toys to move in to the house, and let me tell you that their noise really carries in an empty house!

Funny "Baby"

2011-01-23T22:01:00.002-05:00

I walked into the living room today to find James wrapped like a burrito in my fleece blanket (courtesy of Daddy).

"Are you a baby?" I asked.

"Yes. That's why I'm all swaddled."

So cute and funny.

Epiphany

2011-01-11T20:26:00.005-05:00

Well, we officially declared it Epiphany on Sunday and de-decorated (or shall I say corated?) the house. When we told James we had to take down the Christmas tree, he was sad (and asked, "Why?" of course) but also grabbed his handy hacksaw to help. Because that's the tool Daddy had used to "take down" the tree at the farm.

Then he saw that we had to remove the ornaments first. ("Why?") And he helped. And he removed some ornaments from their hooks and tops (which remained on the tree). He realized he was just the right size to go between the tree and wall which was somewhat helpful, but not really (see earlier hooks & tops comment).

Then came the arrival of "Baby Bird." Now while we did have a nest in our tree when we brought it home, it had no eggs, and this was not a real bird. This, of course, was James. Who was sitting behind the tree saying, "Tweet. Tweet. Tweet. Tweet tweet tweet. Tweet. Tweet. Tweet. Tweet."

It was pretty funny. (I took a video which I'll try to upload, but I'm not sure it is amusing enough to justify the inexplicably long time it takes to post to the blog...)

And in these last few days he's adopted Baby Bird as one of his new favorite pretend personas. As in, "Baby Bird is thirsty." Or, "Mommy! Save Baby Bird from the monster!" which he yells while "trapped" under an overturned laundry basket.

So, we finally got the ornaments and lights off the tree, boxed up, and put back in the basement. (Santa is coming OFF the tree in the photo below.)

James helped Daddy put away the train and its tracks as well. (Although he's volunteered a few times since then to help set it up again.) And all of the toys have a new home in James's bedroom. And the stockings are down. And the garland. So now our living room seems bigger, cleaner, and less festive.

I usually do not like de-decorating at all. Its often kind of depressing. However, as with every other part of the holidays this year, James just made it better and fun. So, how's that for an epiphany?

On the twelfth day of Christmas your blogger gave to you...

2011-01-05T20:34:00.009-05:00

... the much awaited meeting of James and Ezra!

James was SO excited to meet his cousin and loved having him here in NJ. When Auntie Peg and I asked James if he wanted to sit in the chair with his baby cousin for a photo session he was all too happy to oblige.

We had planned to head down to DC to see Nana, Auntie Peg, and Team Winter on Tuesday, but were THRILLED that they decided to come up to NJ instead. In this photo, James and Uncle Preston were playing Santa and his elf (I cannot remember who was who).
Here James helps Auntie Ali open a gift for Ezra. By this time (Thursday morning), he was a PRO at presents. He was so excited to see so much under the tree!
Here is the beautiful box of delicious Jaques Torres chocolates that Santa brought everyone. James had his eye on that dark chocolate heart truffle...
... and quickly popped it into his mouth in one bite!

Thursday night we had a family holiday dinner. Before eating, James and Nana participated in some festive dancing and merriment.
And Thursday evening Ezra had his first bottle.
James was very nice and let Ezra use lots of his outgrown goods. He'd see the papasan and say, "I could fit in there when I was little."

Friday morning came all too soon. James and Mommy said our goodbyes to Nana and Auntie Peg before heading to the New Year's Eve party and brought the Winters along with us. After the countdown to noon, James gave Ez a kiss goodbye,

and hugged his Auntie Ali.

When we were heading home, he asked where his little cousin Ezra was and was heartbroken to hear that he was on his way back to DC instead of at our house.

In the days since, he's been talking about Ezra a lot. One day he was playing with his cars and said, "Mommy, I am playing with the Jeep. Auntie Ali is going to play with the camper. And the Chevelle is for Ezra to play with when he grows up."

More Jamesisms

2011-01-04T20:52:00.005-05:00

Lately, James has been an official three-year old with the constant, "Why?"

Additionally, the past few days we've heard a lot of, "Ohhh, I didn't know ______."

As in, "James, give me a kiss. I'm going to work."

"Ohh, I didn't know you were going to work."

"Mommy, what are you doing?"

"Making dinner."

"Ohh, I didn't know you were making dinner."

For a while he's been replacing words in songs with "Med" or "goat" to his great amusement. For example, "You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. I'm telling you why. Santa Claus is coming to goat!"

His new favorite replacement word is "diaper." As in, "Santa Claus is coming to diaper!" He cracks himself up with this.

The other hilarious thing is that James now thinks that wearing a hat prevents ear infections! One day during the break Dan came in from outside, and James shrieked, "Daddy! You forgot your hat! You're going to get an ear infection!"

Come again?

Yep, every time we go outside, he comments on it. In fact on Saturday when we stepped out the door, he stopped dead in his tracks and covered his ears with his hands. I quickly put his hood up for him. I guess this is what they teach them at school...

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T16:23:00.006-05:00

Yesterday we went to Cora's house for what has become an annual tradition: a playdate/NYE party wherein we count down to noon. So fun!

This year's festivities included 2011 sandwiches for the kids,

hats, beads, and glasses,

s'mores! (marshmallows roasted in the fireplace by mommies),

and, of course, the annual group photo.

James was very happy to have Ezra come for a little while as well before heading back to DC.

Happy New Year!

Christmastime

2010-12-31T16:27:00.006-05:00

OK, so today is the seventh day of Christmas. Just a reminder, it ain't over yet.

With that in mind, here are a few photos from the season that I had as yet failed to post. Please enjoy.

At the moment of this picture, James is saying, "Our tree broke! Now we need to find a new Christmas tree!"
Here James is playing the role of Santa driving his sleigh (thanks, Daddy!).

And here's our annual placement of the tree topper. Note: this year James recognized that Santa wasn't the appropriate tree topper and said, "Not Santa. We need a star." Yes, that or an angel. Maybe next year.
James made a painting as a gift for his cousin Ezra. He chose the color himself. Then he began painting himself! His words, "I'm James. James the red engine."

On the Second Day of Christmas, we had our first real family movie night (thank you, Disney Channel). Toy Story 1 came on at 6:30, and we enjoyed it together on the couch whilst eating popcorn. Very fun!

(Upcoming posts: Cousins unite!, Annual New Year's Eve Playdate)

Blizzard of 2010

2010-12-27T14:46:00.007-05:00

So, you may or may not know that we got walloped with snow here last night.

It started snowing lightly early in the day yesterday, and James immediately put on his snow boots. It didn't amount to much yesterday. Just before dinner, it picked up, and so we took James out for a quick walk in the snow, but the white out was starting, so it wasn't very fun. James, however, wanted to stay outside and shovel. Unfortunately we don't have a small sized shovel yet, so he and Daddy did a bit of shoveling with the full sized shovels.

This morning we woke up to a few feet of snow. It was dumping all night and so very windy. Our cars were absolutely buried.

Dan was fortunate enough to be able to borrow a snowblower, and it still took hours upon hours to clear.

James and I went out for a little while before lunch. The snow was up to James's waist
and not sticky enough to make snowballs or snowmen, so we basically trudged around making trails and paths through the snow.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-26T20:42:00.006-05:00

On Christmas Eve, James was rather excited. He quite enjoyed the building of the creche during our church service. This year he carried Mary up to the altar, and was so serious and into it. Cute! I think his favorite hymn of the night was "Angels We Have Heard on High." He was singing it as we put on jammies later in the night!

After church Grandma & Grandpa joined us for the feast of the fish. (No seven fishes here, just shrimp.) We paid a short visit to the neighbors' then headed back home to put on jammies and get ready for bed. No late night meltdowns this year. Although James did yell at Grandpa for eating Santa's cookies, "Stop eating those cookies, Grandpa! Those are Santa's cookies!" James then plated the cookies-- five chocolate cookies and three chocolate chip cookies and put out a cup of milk. Then it was time for The Polar Express and Twas the Night Before Christmas.

James didn't sleep particularly well, so he woke up rather groggy. (One of the times he'd woken during the night, he called out "Santa is in the chimney.") Thus he was not quite as ebullient as we'd imagined he might be as he walked into the living room. However, he was quite happy to see the gifts. He also liked finding his (which read "James" in big letters). We did take a break for some Christmas pancakes.

It was relatively calm, and when we finished opening gifts, we had a little time to relax and play before heading to Grandpa and Grandma's house.

James was excited to see that Santa had left gifts for him in Ramsey as well.

Most exciting was the Hess truck, which was one of the two things James was hoping Santa would bring (the other being a driver for the train that goes around the tree...).

href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_e3YZruvxCNo/TRf2Z45TPdI/AAAAAAAACQ0/q0_5vUR_yHs/s1600/IMG_3548.jpg">

This year James joined us to watch Elf, and even acted out a few scenes. The first was the Buddy vs. Gimbell's Santa scene; "I'm taking off your beard, Santa!" James said to Dan. The other was the mail room scene; James was breaking out the dance moves-- hilarious!

Once we got the car packed up and started heading home, James fell asleep almost immediately. So Dan and I enjoyed some Christmas tunes and drove around looking at the lights. James was good and asleep when we pulled into the driveway, so we successfully transferred him from the car to his bed where he slept like a log all night.

Recent Jamesisms

2010-12-20T11:33:00.004-05:00

Here are some things James likes to say lately:

"Just one minute. One minute, Mommy." (said whilst putting up his hand in protest to the request being made of him.)
"Oh, I looove it! It's my best favorite."
"Mommy, can you do me a favor?"
"Ooh, I have a good idea."

He also likes to take on other identities and assign coordinating names to Dan and me. Popular personas:

James-Mickey, Mommy- Minnie Mouse, Daddy- Goofy
James- Santa, Mommy- Mrs. Clause or elf, Daddy- reindeer or elf or Mrs. Clause
James- Buzz Lightyear or Woody, Mommy- Jessie, Daddy- Woody or Buzz
James- Bumble Bee Boy, Mommy- Ladybug Girl, Daddy- the dog from the book

Also, James has been singing for us quite a bit. Some of his favorite tunes:

"Santa Clause is Coming to Town"
"Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer"
The days of the week song

Three Years Old

2010-12-16T08:46:00.003-05:00

James woke up yesterday morning to me singing, "Happy Birthday to You," to which he promptly said, "Stop singing, Mommy! Don't sing that."

I reminded him that it was his birthday as he headed into the kitchen. There a gift bag awaited him (filled with Toy Story figurines), and his mood shifted. Soon he was proclaiming, "I'm three! I'm not two!" for all to hear.

When I picked him up after school, he started singing, "Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday dear me-e, Happy Birthday to me!" So cute!

We had planned to have a festive family viewing of "The Best of James" (the red engine), a DVD one of his friends gave him for his birthday, last night, but James said, "I'm tired. Let's read stories, Daddy." Hmm, could someone be growing up?

The Claw....

2010-12-14T22:31:00.002-05:00

We just finished making the cupcakes for James's class tomorrow.

(By the bye, three years ago right now I was in the hospital in labor! Crazy!)

What a winning combination!

2010-12-13T21:25:00.004-05:00

On Saturday, Santa came to the Maywood Train Station! James was thrilled to go to the station, and then quite pleased to find that the big guy in red was there.

As we stood outside in line, James quite enjoyed the entertainment provided by two high school girls standing in the bed of a pickup truck. One played guitar and the other sang. James was bouncing to the beat and dancing away. He momentarily forgot about Santa, and was moving gradually toward the "stage." So cute.

When we made it inside, James smiled up until he got into Santa's lap, then he resumed his freaked out look. It was fine though, and he high fived Santa on the way out.

Afterwards we explored the engine and caboose parked at the station. A very fun start to the morning.

Toy Story 3 Birthday

2010-12-12T20:35:00.006-05:00

Since James has been so fond of Woody, Buzz and the gang since seeing "the movie" last summer, and he's turning 3, we had a Toy Story 3 birthday party for him today.

Grandpa and Grandma were ever so gracious and let us have the shindig in their home.

As the guests arrived, they played nicely together with some of James's toys. The magnifying glass was a huge hit. Once everyone had arrived, we played pin-the-tail on Bullseye (Woody's horse). That was a pretty great time.

Then we made bracelets/instruments/ornaments with pipe cleaners, bells and beads. This was not really Toy Story themed, but the kids liked it and could do it independently. I had kid-tested it on James earlier in the week, and he had a blast. Today I guess he was over it because he just kept pushing the beads all over the place with a truck or his hands. Nice.

After that it was pizza time (James ate fruit, veggies, crackers and cheese). I had planned to play Hot Mr. Potato Head, and to make toilet paper roll rockets (in honor of Buzz Lightyear), but oh well.

There was some more toy playing and general merriment (especially on the part of James & Chase) then it was cake time. Everyone returned to the table and donned their alien hats.

James quite enjoyed having his buddies sing "Happy Birthday," and he popped right up in his chair to blow out the candles on cue. Then the kids got their special Toy Story alien cupcakes while the parents had the layer cake.

After cake, there was more free play which mostly involved playing with the helium balloons. Then James was a gracious host and thanked each of his guests personally whilst giving them their goody bag.

He opened his gifts a little while after everyone left. Well, I should say he started opening his gifts. The first item he opened was a set of four puzzles all of which he put together before moving on to the next gift. Gift #2 was a crane truck which he proceeded to play with for quite a while.

"James, do you want to open another present?"

"No, I just like my truck."

Once we told him he could keep the truck and the other gifts, he was game and opened the remaining gifts all of which were quite fantastic as well. He played his heart out with his new toys all afternoon and evening. Then the exhausted Birthday Boy fell asleep on the way home and is snug in his bed now.

Such fun!

Christmastime

2010-12-06T21:57:00.003-05:00

James is quite enjoying the Christmas season this year. In fact, yesterday morning he came into our bedroom and asked, "Is today Christmas Day?"

On Saturday night we went to Ramsey's Home for the Holidays. They shut down the main street to traffic, and then had a light parade. James loved it!

We walked around town and got a coloring book; saw firefighters; got candy, lots of cookies and hot chocolate; and met Santa!

It was finally time for the parade, and James sat himself right down on the curb. "Do we have our feet in the street, Mommy?" He enjoyed all the floats, musicians, and rescue vehicles.

At the end, James popped up to follow Santa down the street. It was SO cute. He was going in a beeline for Santa's float. Finally, the cold caught up with us (sitting on the curb was chilling!), and we headed for the car.

So fun!

What We Learned Today

2010-12-02T20:20:00.003-05:00

. . . always check out the bottom of the slide before you head down.

James and I went to "the fish playground" briefly after school today. This was after going home briefly because Mommy cannot go to the playground in a skirt and high heels. At least not when it is so cold outside.

So, by the time I got changed and we got our coats and mittens on and loaded ourselves back into the car, there really wasn't much time to spend at the playground before A) it was too dark and B) it was time to go home for supper.

Darkness was fast approaching, so I told James it would be a quick trip. Little did we know just how fast.

After running a few laps around the little playground in a fun game of chase, James climbed up the ladder then jumped down the steps to the platform. Then he darted back upstairs with Mommy in pursuit and launched himself down the big corkscrew slide... which had a big puddle at the bottom, as it turned out.

Splash! he slid right into the sloshy mess before I could even get down the stairs. Yuck. And thus ended our outing.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T19:14:00.006-05:00

I know in the past I've done my list of things for which I'm thankful, but this year I didn't get around to it. So here it is:

1. My AMAZING husband

2. My ADORABLE son

3. Good friends

4. A wonderful family

5. My NEW NEPHEW!

That's right, Baby Ezra (formerly known as "Pavo" whilst in utero) came into the world Thanksgiving night. Nana & Pops were here in NJ celebrating Thanksgiving with us at Grandpa & Grandma's, so we were able to hear the news together.

James had LOTS of fun with Pops. They built trains, sang songs, and engaged in all manor of silliness. On Friday morning, when he saw Pops bringing his suitcase upstairs, James asked, "Pops, where are you going?"

"Oh, to Washington."

"Is my new cousin there?"

James headed up to Grandpa & Grandma's for a spend the night date while Dan, Mom, Dad and I drove down to DC. We were able to visit with Ali & Preston and sweet Ezra for a bit on both Friday and Saturday before returning to our respective homesteads.

James is looking forward to meeting his new cousin!

Thank you, Super Why.

2010-11-15T20:35:00.003-05:00

This weekend James caught an episode of "Super Why" in which the super readers enter the story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff.

The lesson that they learned was that you need to be polite. (The troll let the goats over the bridge when they used nice manners.)

Well, this episode certainly made an impression on our dear James!

First off, he was indeed frightened by the troll. However, he's been talking about and re-enacting the story ever since. Dan is the troll. I'm a goat, and James is a goat. A polite goat. "I'm polite," he says. "Troll, can I go over the bridge please? I'm polite."

Then there are the random remarks like,

"Troll, what are you doing?"

"I'll help you with the laundry, Goat."

"I'm polite, Mommy."

Trick or Treat!

2010-10-31T20:23:00.007-04:00

After nap today, it was time to suit up again and hit the streets. We headed up to Ramsey where Grandma & Grandpa's door was James's first stop.
He had a blast running from house to house, and was like a pro at each door.

I was always delighted when he was recognized as Super Why. He did get lots of complements even from those who didn't recognize his actual character, so that was nice too.

We drove around a bit to see some of Grandma's friends (and trick or treat on their streets), and every time we'd stop the car to get out, James clapped and cheered for more trick or treating.

When we finally got back to Grandma & Grandpa's house, James took stock of his loot and enjoyed his Tootsie Pop. He then asked us to open another "popsicle" for dinner. Ha!

It was so fun, and I am already looking forward to next year!

Oh-- this was funny: "James, today is Halloween!"

"Whose Halloween is it today?" he asked.

Seems as though he is equating Halloween to birthdays: Thursday was school's Halloween; Friday was Isabella's Halloween. Whose was today's?

Our answer-- "Everybody's!"

Five Little Pumpkins

2010-10-31T11:36:00.005-04:00

I must say that usually James sings the entire song by himself. Alas, once the camera's rolling...

And, just for the record, this took me over an hour and a half to upload onto the blog!

Our First Jack-o-Lantern

2010-10-31T10:40:00.005-04:00

First off, don't you like our Halloween centerpiece for the kitchen table?
Yesterday after "nap"time (yes, I meant to use those quotation marks; James didn't sleep), we carved our pumpkin. Hooray!

More Halloween Fun

2010-10-29T22:03:00.004-04:00

Today was Isabella's third annual Halloween party.

It is fun to see how it has evolved each year as the kids get older.

This year James boycotted the group photo (oh well) because he couldn't bear the thought of leaving the playroom. He did come out for the project-- making paper bag monster puppets.

The kids also appreciated the fun food more than in the past-- pumpkin shaped pb&j sandwiches, jack-o-lantern oranges filled with fruit salad, cookies, and rice krispy treats. And this year they could drink out of festive party cups (rather than straw cups or sippy cups).

After dining, James and Chase returned to the playroom where they had quite the dance party with the Sesame Street "radio."

When Chase showed James this dance move, it didn't take long for James to join him.
We had a great time!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-28T20:59:00.004-04:00

Tonight was the start of the Halloween festivities for 2010. We had the party for James's school. Unfortunately my camera was stranded at Grandma & Grandpa's house, so I relied on the crackberry for photos...

Super Why zips out of the shot--
Halloween decorations brought to you by the Twos Class--
Super Why, Spiderman, and Santa Claus chat it up--
Super Why and Spidey check out the scene--
Breaking it down for the singalong--

Tomorrow is Isabella's annual Halloween party, then we plan to trick-or-treat on Sunday, so there should be more (and better!) photos to come.

Fall Family Fun

2010-10-23T21:17:00.007-04:00

Well, it has only taken three years, but we finally took James to get a pumpkin! We headed out to Demarest Farms this morning. We took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch. James loved that we were being pulled by a tractor which was driven by a farmer. We got out to the pumpkin patch which is in the midst of the apple orchards. James loved exploring the entire area. We easily found a lovely pumpkin and headed back to the farm.

James was happy to ride behind the tractor again, but immediately started lobbying to ride the little carnival type rides he had seen set up back at the farm. After checking to be sure he met the height requirements, we bought some tickets and crossed our fingers that he wouldn't freak out once he was really on the ride... We need not have worried. James eagerly climbed aboard the Dragon Wagon (a.k.a. the dragon train on the funny track), and was nothing but smiles, "Whoa!"s, and giggles until the ride ended. He rode a motorcycle and firetruck ride as well before returning to the dragon.

We got some lunch there and DELICIOUS farm made doughnuts for dessert. So fun!

After that we headed home for nap time. Ahhh. (Of course, James fell asleep in the car, woke up when we got home, and never went back to sleep. I, on the other hand, enjoyed a lovely two hour nap on the couch.)

Then we went to the pet shop to get fish! Last weekend Dan and James had set up the aquarium, and so now we were ready to get some inhabitants for it. Very exciting!

Quite the exciting day.

Bedtime Update plus a Little Pretending

2010-10-20T19:30:00.002-04:00

So, James hasn't particularly asked to go to bed since Sunday night. However, he's not crying and carrying on at bedtime as he has at times. So that is good. Of course, on Monday night he didn't actually go to sleep until after 10:00! Mind you, he was in bed around 7....

In other news, James and Dan watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse one day recently. Since then James has taken to calling me Daisy Duck. Dan is Goofy, and James is Donald Duck. He walks into the kitchen and says, "What are you doing, Daisy?"

"Making you breakfast."

"You're making Donald breakfast?"

"Yes, Donald Duck, I'm making you breakfast."

One night this week in the middle of the night James called out, "Goofy! Where are you? Come back, Goofy!"

I walked in (Goofy remained asleep in bed), and James whispered, "I need duck milk." Really.

Tonight James wore his Woody jammies to bed. He walked into the living room and said, "You want to read me stories, Jessie?" When I told him that Daddy was going to do story time tonight, he said, "Come on Buzz Lightyear."

To which Dan replied, "Okay, let's go. To infinity!"

"And Beyond!"

Mark this date on the calendar...

2010-10-17T21:40:00.004-04:00

For the first time in his little life (at least in our recollection), James asked to go to bed tonight. Yep. "Mommy, I took a sip of milk. And now I can go to bed." And it wasn't even 6:00.

So we went back, put on jammies (he took off all his clothes all by himself!), read stories, and he nestled into bed and was sound asleep by 7:00 without any fuss!!!

Granted, he had no nap this afternoon.

And he ran around outside all day.

Maybe he is happy to be sharing his room with an aquarium. He and Daddy set it up (they even found rocks in the yard and cleaned them for decoration) this weekend. The fish won't move in for a week or so (as recommended by the pet store worker), but there are some pretty (real, not plastic) plants, the aforementioned rocks, and a shipwreck (from Daddy's childhood fish tank).

But seriously. He asked to go to bed!

James and "Cheeky"

2010-10-03T19:59:00.002-04:00

Today James (and Mommy) played with blocks.

What started as a tower became, by James's proclamation, a robot.

Named Cheeky.

Afternoon Concert

2010-09-26T13:30:00.007-04:00

There is supposed to be video here as well, but I tried twice to upload it. Alas.

Mommy's Running Partner

2010-09-13T19:07:00.006-04:00

On Saturday, Mommy had a race with her teammates in Central Park. There was a kids' run as well, so we decided to make a family outing of it and sign James up for his first race.

James carbo-loaded at dinner on Friday night.

He and Daddy cheered for Mommy in her race.

Then we waited for his race to begin.

Can you spot James on the starting line?

Sorry we don't have any photos of the actual race. It was pretty funny-- James, who usually runs everywhere, all of the time, just stood there when they said, "On your mark, get set, go!" The rest of the kids took off, and there stood James. I ran with him, and he just wanted me to carry him. What?! He still had a great time and was so happy with his t-shirt and ribbon.

Afterwards, we had a great time exploring the park from an almost three-year-old's point of view. There was much "mountain" climbing, playground playing, and walking about. We topped of our trip to the big city with a delicious brunch (James devoured his french toast!) and a well-deserved nap.

James's First Day

2010-09-08T19:57:00.004-04:00

Today was James's first day of school. This year he's in the 2s room; there are many familiar faces from the toddlers room and some new children as well.

This morning we got James ready to go, and I said, "James, let me take your picture for the first day of school."

"It's not the first day of school. It's the first day of building a tall tower," he replied and walked off with his bag of blocks.

He was pretty unhappy about the prospect of school until I reminded him about some of the great toys he had played with in his visits to the twos room this summer (trucks, flatbeds, Ernie,...). Then he popped up and ran to the door. "Let's go! Let's go to school!"

"Mommy is going to school, and James is going to school, and Daddy is going to work. We are all going to work."

He had a good day. While he was very happy to see me, he announced, "I want to go back to school!" as soon as we walked outside. Three cheers for happiness!

Farewell, Summer.

2010-09-06T21:15:00.003-04:00

Well, tomorrow I go back to school. Daddy and James get one more day together tomorrow before James starts in his new classroom on Wednesday.

We had such a fun summer: Lots of long mornings in jammies. A few lunchdates with Daddy (both picnics and choo-choo burgers at the restaurant by the railroad tracks). Playdates. Our fabulous trip to SC. A day at the Bronx Zoo. A train trip to NYC to the Natural History Museum. Bubbles. Playing with trains. Trips to the library. Lots of reading together. Putting together puzzles. Running together (most often by way of the bagel store). Riding carousels. Music class. Singing. Baking (pancakes, cookies, waffles,...).

James is really growing up into a sweet, smart, "big-boy." "No, Mommy. Little boy," he says. Well, Little Boy, I love, love, love you! Thanks for a wonderful summer!

Sucess!

2010-08-29T07:31:00.002-04:00

After the normal bit of chatting and singing, James went right to sleep without leaving his new bed. And when he woke up this morning, he called for us like usual. Yea!

It Happened

2010-08-28T20:01:00.003-04:00

Today at naptime, James got out of his crib. I wasn't home, but Dan said he heard crying and "Ouch, I bumped my head," and found James walking down the hallway.

When I asked James about the episode later, our conversation went thusly:

Me: "James, did you bump your head today?"

James: "Yes."

Me: "When?"

James: "I popped right out of my crib. Then I ran out of my room."

So, this evening, Dan took the drop-side off James's crib and made it into a pseudo big-boy bed. I actually shed a tear-- so goofy. James is quite excited! We'll see how things go tonight.

Airing Things Out

2010-08-27T14:47:00.002-04:00

So yesterday James put up his usual fight when it came to napping. I could hear him back there talking and playing. When I went to check on him, he'd finally fallen asleep... without any pants! He was sleeping peacefully in just a t-shirt; he'd removed even his underpants!

Last night, when Dan went to check on him at bedtime, he was half-nakey again! Dan asked him why he'd taken off his pajama pants and underwear. James responded, "Because I don't like Percy. I like Thomas." Oh. Of course. That makes complete sense. (The underpants had Percy on them; the jammies were Thomas.)

Well, this afternoon it seems he was too tired to be bothered with his wardrobe. He fell asleep rather quickly and kept his pants on.

Skills

2010-08-24T16:21:00.004-04:00

Finally remembered to get this footage from last week off the camera and onto the blog.

First off, you can see that James is becoming more fond of his crib since he likes to climb INTO it (thankfully, he doesn't climb out...). I'm happy to report that this does not happen often. :

Secondly, James is very into tumbling nowadays (this sadly doesn't capture his best form):

Not Yet

2010-08-21T15:43:00.002-04:00

So, buying a mattress is ridiculous. All the venders just seem so shady, and the mattress companies themselves don't help. They give their products different names in different stores to make it harder for you to comparison shop. Dan knows this, and refuses to just take what they're offering without being well-informed shoppers.

All of this is to say that no, we didn't buy a big boy mattress for James yet.

And he's readjusting to his crib. He hasn't been asking to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed very much anymore. So, we'll see what happens. (Meanwhile, Mommy and Daddy want a new mattress now too!)

In other news, James and I have been thoroughly enjoying our summer. This week we did some shopping and other errands and then spent some quality time with Grandpa and Grandma. James quite enjoyed "helping" Grandpa build a walkway in his backyard. We also had fun swimming with Grandma.

James has been singing for us a lot recently. His favorites are the theme song to Thomas the Tank Engine, "That's Amore" and "Home on the Range." He really belts it out! Adorable!

Big Times

2010-08-14T09:57:00.002-04:00

We're off to go mattress shopping today for our Big Boy! We already have a twin bed headboard and footboard (which was Dan's when he was a kid) that matches James's dresser, so we just need the mattress.

Mr. Big Boy

2010-08-13T16:53:00.002-04:00

James and I got all dressed up today (to go to a bris), and he just looked so handsome and grown up. It was the first time he'd worn sneakers in well over a month, and he exclaimed, "Mommy! I'm wearing my shoes!"

IOP 2010

2010-08-10T15:18:00.006-04:00

So on Saturday, July 31, we rolled into the beachfront house on Isle of Palms. We were very happy to see everyone in Dan's family; like last year there were 21 of us altogether-- 12 adults and nine children (ranging in age from 14 months to 16 years). After last year, we knew what to expect, so that was good (btw, what to expect was chaos-- but happy chaos).

James LOVED playing with all the cousins' kids. He and Jenna (age 6) hit it off very well. She was so kind to share her Woody doll ("From the movie!") and to read to James. Gray (12) was another welcome guest reader. And Nate (3) and Eli (6) shared lots of fun toys and were especially good playmates on "the flat."

James was a big fan of the beach. Hooray! He would splash and play in the tidal pools, but he much preferred the ocean and playing in the waves. Especially with Daddy (who was more prone to dunking, throwing,...). James went NUTS for the waves-- he would start wiggling with sheer joy. Amazingly fun and cute. He also would just run down the beach. Far away without looking back. Chasing seagulls. Running into the waves.

We'd packed some camping mats to use for James's bed. We inflated them both, then popped them into James's nap sheet from school. Perfect fit. I'd say he fell asleep on our bed as frequently as he did on the mat. And the nights he'd sleep on the mat, he usually climbed up into our bed at some point. On the last night, he slept on the mat, and he'd put Mickey and Frosty each on their own pillow ("mat") next to him. Adorable!

Nana and Pops arrived on Sunday to stay in a hotel on the other side of the island through Wednesday. We were so glad they joined us for dinner each night, and of course we spent time together on the beach as well. On Monday they came to our beach. Tuesday was golf day for Daddy, so James and I went down to the hotel.

We played in the ocean and also made a railway in the sand, complete with crossing signs (that other beach goers obeyed-- hilarious!) for James the child-train to puff along. After lunching in Nana & Pops's room, we headed down the block for some YUMMY Ben & Jerry's.
(My one regret is that it was our only visit to the ice cream stand all week.) Then I whisked James back to the house for a nap before the big lasagna dinner. Delicious!

There was much poker, rummy, and bananagrams (Jen's new fave game). And lots of frozen drinks. And the meal schedule Kim created on Sunday was a big help/stress relief. I loved sitting in the rocking chairs on the porch at any time of day-- early morning, James's afternoon nap, before/after dinner,... just watching the waves roll in.

The weather was really great all week. A few showers here and there, but plenty of sun every day. We did get some major storms on the last day (during which I displayed my fear of lightning when we went to rescue the tent and beach chairs), but they were well-scheduled: early morning, naptime, and after dinner.

Saturday morning came much too soon, and after many hugs and a few tears, we said goodbye to the ocean and climbed back in the car. We made it to Virginia that afternoon, and stopped at a hotel (where we'd stopped on the way home in April) to eat, swim and sleep. James got his own big bed. So exciting!

We rolled back into our driveway at 3:45 Sunday afternoon, and have returned to life as we know it. Dan is back at work. I am back to running on pavement (with hills). And James is, much to his protest, sleeping in his crib. Looks like we'll be setting up the twin bed this weekend...

Carolina In My Mind

2010-08-09T14:32:00.007-04:00

Well, we're back, but I'd much rather be in SC right now. What a great vacation! I'll start with the pre-beach portion:

We left NJ at 2:20 AM on Wednesday, July 28th. James woke up when we took him out to the car; "We're going to South Carolina! It is very, very dark," he said. He was so excited that it took him a while to go back to sleep. We stopped for breakfast at 6, stopped to potty & stretch our legs around 10:30, stopped for a pinic around noon, then James napped like a champ until we were almost to my parents' house. (No potty problems during our travels-- hooray!) Chico greeted us at the door, much to James's delight.

I'm not sure who was more excited about the toys Nana & Pops had brought down from the attic. So fun!

That night, James had zero interest in the Pack and Play. Zero. He ended up falling asleep in our bed where we joined him (for a not so restful sleep) later in the night.

On Thursday, we headed to the zoo with our college pal, Nakia, and his family. So fun! James and Nakia's three-year-old daughter, Eleanor, got along swimmingly. They were very cute and "grown up" as they rode the train (twice!).
James enjoyed feeding a giraffe (!) and climbing on all the zoo statues.
After lunch, there was much hugging, then we headed back to Nana & Pops's. James fell asleep on the ride and then boycotted a real nap (in the "big bed") when we got home. Oh well. He did sleep that night. With us again.

Nana and Pops have some very tasty blueberries, and Daddy & James helped with the harvest on Friday morning. Then we visited Granddaddy, and James quite enjoyed "pushing" Granddaddy on his scooter.
He also liked catching a ride on the back as well as beeping the horn. Very funny. Napping was much more successful that day; I think James slept 3 hours! After naptime we visited Mommy's dear friend Christine and her family. Such a wonderful, wonderful evening. Christine's sons were gracious hosts to James, and he did not want to go home at all. His parting gifts of Thomas, the windmill, and the train puzzles have provided much joy and entertainment. Thanks! James was so exhausted when we got home that he went to sleep in the P&P, and we were able to keep the bed for ourselves. Yea!

We headed back to see Granddaddy again on Saturday morning, then jumped in the car after lunch to head to Isle of Palms! (James caught a great nap for the entire drive.)

A Few Photos Before We Go!

2010-07-27T13:42:00.005-04:00

We're heading off to SC in 12 hours or so... I'm SO EXCITED! We're going to spend a few days in Columbia, then head off to Isle of Palms with Dan's clan for a week. Hooray!

Not sure how much blogging I'll do while we're gone, so here are some photos of James playing "Toy Story" style to entertain you in the meantime:

I especially love how Ginger is peeking in from the side of the frame here!

Baby is riding on Thomas!

"Nap" "Mat"

2010-07-20T14:09:00.003-04:00

Ever since school has gotten out (well, and even on weekends during school), James has wanted to nap on a mat on the floor. Because, you know, that's how he rolls at school. Well, not so much here. I stick him in the crib. There have been a few times we've given it a try, but usually he keeps rolling/playing all around the floor, and winds up in the crib.

Today he really wanted the floor again and even set up a "mat" for himself. It is a down throw blanket from the living room. After the first potty break, I did fold the blanket to make it less lumpy & bumpy and more mat-like.

He's there now. "Napping" on his "mat." And by "napping" I mean, singing and playing. He just finished a lovely rendition of the hello song from music class. Instead of names he was saying body parts, "Hello, eyes, it's good to see you. Hello, hands, it's good to see you too." Cuteness. Now there is some heavy drama going on between Thomas and Scarloey (trains, of course). "Thomas is off the track! Scarloey, come save him!"

OK, I just heard this: "What are you doing? I'm sleeping."

Bottom line-- he's still on his mat. And these antics are par for the course in the crib, so.... I'm not interfering.

Yet.

BIG Adventure

2010-07-19T21:14:00.004-04:00

So, Dan was off from work today, and we wanted to do something fun. It was WAY too hot for the Bronx or Central Park Zoos. Even too hot to go to the beach. Maybe we'd just hang by the wading pool in our backyard all morning...

When the thunderstorm hit during breakfast, Dan came up with a CRAZY plan! Let's go to the movies! Toy Story 3. He billed it to James as "like TV but really, really big." James got excited, so we decided to go for it.

We knew it was risky, but we figured the 9:30 AM show was likely to be pretty empty. It was. We got there early enough for James to explore the theater and go potty. We also decided to splurge on some popcorn, "like the man in the yellow hat" (James kept comparing his experience to that of Curious George from his book).

We got into our seats just before the previews started. I think there were two or three other groups in the theater with us. James sat in his own seat between us and was mesmerized during the previews. He sat there wide-eyed, eating popcorn. So cute!

Toy Story 3, for those of you who haven't yet seen it, begins with a train scene. And Mr. Potato Head was there. "Great!" I thought, "He's going to love this!" Well... not so much. He got really worked up, "What's the train doing?!" He started crying, so I started walking out with him, but he couldn't tear his eyes from the screen. We stood by the side/exit path for a bit, and he then was ready to sit again.

There were a few other emotional outbursts. If things got at all tense on screen, James got upset. He gets upset with crashes (even when it's in a book we're reading). Dan took him for a walk at one point, then they came back and sat near the doorway. They also got up during the scary climax, but they did make it back for the ending. There were also a few times when James wanted whatever was on the screen. (This has happened with television as well; he wants something on the screen and gets upset.)

During the credits we pointed out the window at the back of the theater, and again James felt connected to George (who explored the camera room in his story). So we finished on a good note. Yea!

We came home and James was so exhausted, he fell asleep eating lunch! He then napped three hours. We figured that the experience had exhausted him, but it turned out he woke up with a fever. Uh oh.

Here's hoping he gets a restful sleep (with no movie-induced bad dreams) tonight and feels better tomorrow.

Oh! One more thing-- Toy Story 3 is GREAT!!!! (I cried.)

Who Needs a Fancy New Kitchen?

2010-07-13T14:10:00.003-04:00

This is a beautiful kitchen playset brought to you by our friends at Pottery Barn Kids. While James does have a playmate who has this set, he himself does not.

Does that stop Chef James from cooking up a storm? Absolutely not!

James's Favorites

2010-07-08T14:30:00.004-04:00

James's new favorite game is "And Who's That?" It is played thusly: James sits himself on the floor alongside/atop a laminated poster of the presidents (yes, you discover things like this around the house when your mommy is a teacher). Usually beginning with Mr. George Washington, James points and says, "And who's that?" and goes sequentially through the poster (which, because it's about 9 years old stops at #43). He now knows many himself, and can provide the last name of several more after I say just their first name. He particularly likes James Polk, Rutherford Hayes, Martin van Buren, and Ulysses Grant. In fact, he was saying "Ulysses Grant. Ulysses Grant. Rutherford Hayes," as he was falling asleep this afternoon. So funny. He'll often say, "And he was president, too!" after I provide a name. Or he'll comment on some feature in the portrait, "There's a chair." Each time we get to Andrew Jackson, he says "What is she doing?" Yep, she.

James is still quite enjoying his "music class music." He's learned a lot of the songs this week. Yesterday he was singing "The Bellybutton Song" and "Busy Bees" while we were out and about. It was super cute because he was just singing in this quiet voice, just for himself, but I happened to hear. Love. He had a great time back in class yesterday morning as well. He was getting more comfortable and spent less time observing from the back of the room. Yea!

James has rediscovered What's Wrong Little Pookie by Sandra Boynton. He now calls it, "The Pig Book" and likes to "read" it to himself. Whether I read it or he does, he always says, "Those are James's cookies!" when we get to the part, "Did tiny green elephants with wings oh-so-blue, fly off with the cookies and leave none for you?" and he "eats" (leans over and pretends to chomp and chew) the cookies. Today we were at the library (VERY fun!), and another mom was reading the book to her daughter. She was reading it quietly in a different rhythm than we do here, but James stopped what he was doing, looked over at them then up at me and said, "The Pig Book!"

He still LOOOOOVVVVESSS his Thomas trains. He plays with them every. single. day. Without fail. Now he makes up little stories as he plays. I particularly love it when one of the trains calls out to another, "Percy! Where are you?!"

James likes painting and coloring.

The letter A. James loves it. He finds it everywhere and says, "That's the vowel A," or "There's the vowel A!" (like it was lost and he'd found it).

Hiding under the dining room table is James's coping mechanism. If he's corrected or scolded, he goes there. Or if we want to do something like put sunblock or shoes or clothes on him. Or really if we want to do anything that he doesn't (eat, leave the house, bathe,...) Lately, he's gone to the rocking chair in his room as well.

Toilet paper is a newfound but much adored "favorite" of James. He loves to unroll it, then roll it back up. Delightful. (Oh-- and since I know you want to know-- he's doing GREAT! Pooped on the potty successfully all week! Wakes up dry every morning and nap! Keeps those underpants clean and dry! He even sat on a "big" potty when we were out yesterday!)

Day Three Update

2010-07-04T22:25:00.005-04:00

Well, the third and "final" day of the Three Day Potty Training is complete, and I'd say James is "trained."

James continued to do very well all day. Not so many "dud" visits to the ol' potty. AND NO WET UNDIES ALL DAY LONG!!!!! He stayed dry overnight and at naptime, too.

During bathtime, James stood up and said, "Potty" then got out of the water, sat on his potty, and peed. How do you like that? Not even peeing in the tub!

Our only issue (other than the poop) is that James loves to say, "I need to go potty. I have to use the potty," when he's supposed to be going to sleep for either nap or bedtime. Irritating. We go a few times, then once he stops producing, we start ignoring.

I'm sure everyone is tired of reading about the potty training! Tomorrow we plan to venture out, so at long last we'll have other news to report (although I cannot promise not to mention how James does in other potty environs...).

Happy Independence Day!

2010-07-04T14:49:00.002-04:00

We're celebrating James's independence today.

He woke up dry again this morning (woo! hoo!) and kept those undies completely dry ALL morning! We did have a pooping incident (Daddy was taking care of the dishwasher, and I was out running; from what I hear James went running for the bathroom), but apart from that, James has had nary a drop outside of the potty!

ROCK STAR!!!

Day 2 Wrap Up

2010-07-03T19:45:00.006-04:00

Things have gone pretty well today. Daddy is presently putting James to bed, and hopefully we'll have another dry night!

James did wake from his nap dry this afternoon, and had a great evening. His accident count for yesterday was 9 (and that includes even the tiny little wet spots on the undies), and I think today's is 4 (including the poop that was really Mommy & Daddy's fault for not coming fast enough). Rock on!

Inspired by a crafty friend, we've been painting each day (I hope/plan to try more ambitious projects soon). Today's theme was patriotic in honor of the holiday weekend.

I think James's work is quite nice!

He truly enjoys painting. In fact, while it was my suggestion yesterday, he asked to do it today. He even helped clean up afterwards.

While potty training, we've also been doing all kinds of out of the ordinary things (for us, anyway) like offering James juice boxes (at least this one is a nice fruit & veggie blend),

and letting him double fist popsicles!

We are so proud of and having so much fun with our big boy!

Mid-day update

2010-07-03T14:17:00.002-04:00

Poop.

Ok, well, it was a case of "The Boy Who Cried 'Wolf'." Or rather, "The Boy Who Cried 'Potty'."

It is naptime. Which is going about as well as yesterday's naptime except at least this time Dan is here.

We've given up on the "mat" although James has not.

He keeps crying "Potty!" because he knows it is the surefire way to get out of the crib (OH! By the bye, he woke up DRY this morning!!! Woo Hoo!).

Well, after a few trips with diminishing amounts of production, we started ignoring his pleas.

Then he started to sound a bit more earnest.

Dan went in, but not soon enough.

He'd pooped his pants.

Oh well.

Dan did carry James to the bathroom and emptied the underpants into the lil' potty, and we made a pretty big deal.

But we're disappointed that we missed our golden opportunity for actual pooping on the potty.

Hopefully he'll at least get a little nap in...

News from the Front

2010-07-02T14:57:00.003-04:00

So James threw away his last three diapers this morning (yes, we were literally down to three!), and donned a lovely pair of Percy the train underpants.

He kept them dry for just over an hour.

We had a few small accidents followed by a more substantial miss that ended in the potty.

That little bit that made it into the potty was enough to get him on board. We called Daddy to share the success.

Soon afterwards he yelled out, "Potty! Potty!" and off we ran to the bathroom.

Hooray! Underpants dry! Pee in the potty! A prideful phone call was made to Nana & Pops.

This led to many trips with varying degrees of output. James and I would get so excited with the more substantial pees; he'd proclaim, "I'm proud! I'm so proud!"

He also quite enjoyed dumping the little pot into the toilet. And helping himself to "paper towels" or "wipes" (a.k.a. toilet tissue).

Even when there was no output at all.

It would go something like this:

"Potty!"

We run to the bathroom.

James sits on the potty (usually forgetting to pull down his underpants until I intervene).

James stands up announcing, "Look at that poop in there!" (There is nothing in there.)

James helps himself to lots of t.p.-- "You need a paper towel to wipe."

"You need to dump it."

Flush.

And naptime was rather exhausting for Mommy. James proclaimed that he didn't want to sleep in his crib but rather on the floor (like school). I decided that would be fine as it would be easier to clean a blanket/the floor than to strip his crib in the event of an accident. Well, he wouldn't be still. So after a while that landed him in the crib. He got upset then announced, "Potty, Mommy!" We went to the bathroom where he managed some amount of output. Then the whole sequence would repeat. After an hour or so, I called naptime over.

Apart from the naptime mess, we spent our day indoors having all kinds of fun. There was dancing, painting, and making banana bread. We watched the mailman, caught sight of an ambulance, and spotted a garbage truck out the big window. And, of course, there was much playing with trains and trucks.

All in all, it was a good day. Most accidents were in the morning, and he really seems to be excited about being such a big boy. No poop since the final diaper provided its service, however. We'll have to see how that goes...

And he's just getting in bed for the night now (he's already had one productive trip to the potty during storytime-- hooray!), so hopefully sleeping won't be too traumatic. (Unlike many of our friends, we've decided to carry on with real underpants rather than using "night night undies" a.k.a. Pull-Ups.)

Last Diaper

2010-07-02T07:00:00.003-04:00

So, this is it! The last diaper. After breakfast (which is oatmeal, you know, for the fiber), James will say bye-bye to diapers. Stay tuned....

Happy Vacation!

2010-07-01T14:58:00.008-04:00

So today is the actual first day of real summer for us. James and I are both home! Yippeee!

I did quite enjoy having a few days to run errands (it is SO much easier/faster to shop without a super curious tot in tow) and tidy/organize the house while James finished "school." Here's a photo of James heading out yesterday morning. His teachers were really sweet and gave him lots of hugs when I picked him up yesterday. His head teacher had made a little yearbook for him with pictures from throughout the year. Love it! I think James knew it was his last day until September. He didn't want to leave; I had to read him all of his favorite books in the library!

We started our music class yesterday morning, and James is currently OBSESSED with the CD. He especially LOVES the song "Ants in my Pants" which is really silly. He cracks up and says, "It's so funny!" Now during the actual class, James was hanging out at the back of the room. A bit bashful and taking it all in (quite like his start in yoga in Charleston in April). Whenever Sean, our teacher, would bring out the instruments, however, James was all in! Loved that! He also really liked it when Sean was "silly and funny" at the end of the last song (he sang it in a punk fashion-- quite entertaining). In James's defense, he was running on fumes after not having gotten much sleep the night before. We had the end of year party for his class Tuesday evening, which we left after 8, so he didn't actually fall asleep until 10! I think next week will be completely different now that he knows what's going on (and since he's been listening to "the music class music" NON-STOP!).

Potty training festivities were going to begin today, but have been postponed due to extremely BEAUTIFUL weather outside. We started the day with LOTS of singing and dancing to the aforementioned "Music Class Music" followed by a run (including a stop for bagels, of course). Then it was off to the park
where Daddy met us for a picnic lunch.

James is "napping" right now (a.k.a. playing in his crib, refusing to sleep).

We'll now plan to begin either tomorrow or Saturday. Dan is off Monday & Tuesday, so we're considering delaying the start until Saturday so that we'd both be here to do it for four days together.

I was asked recently if James is ready. Well, we've been talking it up to him a bit recently. Here's our first exchange:

Me: "You know, you're going to be a big boy and start wearing underpants soon."

JML: "No. No underpants. Diapers."

Me: "Big boys wear underpants. Babies wear diapers."

JML: "No, boys wear diapers."

Great. He seems to be coming around now though. Today Dan told him that we were going to have lots of fun this weekend learning to use the potty, and he didn't protest. So we'll see...

Summer Plans

2010-06-29T21:36:00.004-04:00

Tonight was the end of year party for James's class at his day care. It was so fun to see all the children playing together! Tomorrow is his last day. I got out a week ago, but since James is paid up through the end of the month, I've used the time to get a few tasks done (cleaning the office, cleaning the house, running errands...).

We do have some big plans for the summer.

First off is potty training. I know, I know, I blogged about this a year ago! Well, James's classroom this year didn't have a potty in it, so once we found that out, we decided not to move forward with the training last summer. Sure we have the little potty chairs in the house, and James has sat in them from time to time, but he's never actually gone potty on one. We also have a potty seat for the big toilet that we bought a few months ago after James was impressed by a friend's skills on a playdate. "You want to poop on the big potty like Cora." And we have underpants as you may recall from the big boy nap in April.

Our plan is to use the three-day method. It goes something like this-- wake up, get your diaper changed, and have breakfast like usual. Then after breakfast, put on underpants and throw away all the diapers in the house. All of 'em. Even the ones in the car, in the stroller, etc. Because big boys wear underpants; babies wear diapers. Oh, no pants, just underwear. Then tell the tot to keep the underpants dry and be sure to tell you if he has to go potty. As accidents happen, run off to the bathroom and try to at least finish on the potty. From what I understand, the first day is AWFUL and full of accidents. Day two is better. Day three is great. We'll see how it goes-- I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Other plans for the summer include a return to music class, a week at Isle of Palms, the possible/probable move from crib to bed, and hopefully the purchase of a house.

Happy Half Birthday!

2010-06-15T18:33:00.003-04:00

James is two and a half today!!!

(How did that happen?)

To celebrate, I picked up half of an apple pie at the store today.

Cutie Pie

2010-06-13T19:23:00.006-04:00

This week has been rough, but as mentioned before, James has provided happiness and light. Here are some pictures from the last month or so...

A little gardening:

Cooling off on a hot day:

Clapping for the Vets in the Memorial Day parade:

Mr. Potato-- James's new best friend:

James looked particularly Big Boy this week:

James and Daddy made Mommy cookies today (thanks, guys!):

I love my son.

2010-06-08T21:14:00.002-04:00

When things don't seem to be going just how one hopes, it is so wonderful to have this super cute curly-haired child (yes, child; that kid is getting big) look up at you and say, "You need a tiss." (Tiss is James-ese for kiss.) Of course, the "you" meant "I," but he was actually spot-on. Mommy needed a kiss.

A hug from a two-and-a-half-year-old just makes it all better.

Poodles

2010-06-08T19:11:00.002-04:00

So James has an animal puzzle which includes two cats (one orange, one black & white), a turtle, a horse, a bunny, and three dogs (a collie, a black poodle, and a nondescript brown dog).

The first time he played with it, several months ago, I asked him what each animal was as he took it out. Or maybe he said, "And that's a...." and then finished the phrase accordingly. Either way, Mr. Poodle was last to be named. And James's first instinct was "sheep" because come on, those silly curly puffs made that a strong possibility. I told him, "No, that's a poodle."

That then brought the puzzles tallies to: 2 cats, a turtle, a horse, a bunny, two dogs, and a poodle. Because, it seems, a poodle is a different animal than a dog.

And when we'd make sounds for each animal, James had a special high-pitched bark for the poodle. Ha!

Plus, the way he pronounces "poodle" is quite cute.

In related news, we've been enjoying raspberries lately. James likes to pop a berry onto his finger tip and then eat it off. Recently someone (Grandpa maybe?) asked him, "What's that?" pointing at the raspberry finger. "A poodle," James replied, "you got a poodle!"

After that, raspberries became poodles.

Prayers

2010-06-05T21:53:00.004-04:00

Thought you'd enjoy hearing about James's bedtime prayer tonight.

He stood at the side of his crib, folded hands resting on the crib railing, with his head bowed, as I thanked God for everyone in our family:

"Thank you for Grandma and Grandpa, Nana and Pops, Auntie Ali, Uncle Preston, and Auntie Peg."

"And..." James said.

"And Mommy and Daddy and James."

"And..."

"...and all of our friends," I offered.

"And ZimZim" he concluded, smiling.

So, Zim the cat, James is looking out for you!

Jamesisms

2010-06-05T21:01:00.004-04:00

James is quite the loquacious kiddo these days. He chats away. Especially when he's in his comfort zone (with Mommy and/or Daddy, at Grandma & Grandpa's, at school). The tricky thing is that he reverses his pronouns.

For instance, "I need to make the train! I make it! I!" (And those italics are not to identify the pronouns, but rather the words he's stressing.) means that "you" need to make a train for him.

Similarly, "You did it!" is a triumphant declaration of self-achievement.

Dan and I have internalized the translating, but it's trickier for others. Grandpa and James dialogs are particularly entertaining. "I need to do it." "Yes, you do it." "I do it!" "Yes, you can do it." "I do it! I!" "Well, then do it." Good times.

Apart from the pronoun reversals, here are some fun catchphrases and such:

"That sounds like a plan."
"Eggs and jegs" (I have no idea what jegs are; he made this one up.)
"I love you all to pieces."
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, eleventeen, sixteen, . . ."
"I love Target."

Our Bambino Lives Up To His Moniker

2010-05-15T17:16:00.007-04:00

Dan and James spent the evening making a nice homemade Italian pasta dinner:

We did have to keep James from eating the pasta as it came out of "the little machine." In fact, he got in trouble with Daddy for "picking noodles" off the drying rack! James is now quoting, "I said, 'No touch!' That's what I said."

Mothers' Day Music

2010-05-10T21:35:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was a lovely Mothers' Day here. A cold front came in Saturday evening just in time to bring a blast of clean, crisp air through our freshly cleaned house.

Sunday morning, we got up and headed to the diner for breakfast. Then back home to clean up for church. James was great: he came in from Godly Play and sat in the pew relatively nicely. He also drank from the (juice) chalice for the first time during Communion-- very exciting! During coffee hour he had an unfortunate incident in which he banged his nose/face into the corner of the piano bench. He's alright-- a little wound next to his nose, a lot of crying, and an early exit from coffee hour, but nothing terrible.

We came home and got James lunch before Grandma & Grandpa came over. Then Dan sent his mom and I off to get lattes, manis, and pedis (SO Great--THANKS!!) while James took a nap. We had a DELICIOUS dinner of grilled lamb chops, bulgar wheat salad, and asparagus. Yum! During our delicious fruit salad dessert, James sang for us. I finally grabbed the camera for his third go round of "Three Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed."

Please Enjoy!