Airing Things Out

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.

Off to the Fort! (More Vacation Recap)

On Wednesday of last week, Auntie Peg had to go back to work, so we were on our own in Charleston. After another lovely breakfast on the porch we headed out to Fort Sumter. Now, James had been having a runny nose so we let him have a juicebox instead of milk for breakfast. We then handed him the remaining half a juicebox as we walked to the ferry boat terminal. We got there with a bit of time to spare, so Dan and I were checking out the exhibits in the terminal museum while James chilled in his stroller. Then we heard an odd, wet sound...

We looked down to see that James had squeezed his juice box ALL OVER HIMSELF. "It came out the straw," he plainly stated. Dan took him to the men's room to try to dry him off. I took the stroller to the ladies' room. As I was cleaning, I heard someone saying, "Are you Jen? Your husband's hollering for you." Sure enough, at the restroom door stood a slightly stressed looking Dan holding James. James was wearing nothing but a flesh colored diaper, socks, shoes, and a HUGE smile.

Dan had come looking for me because I had the backpack with the extra diapers (James's diaper was also apple juicy) etc. What I did NOT have was an extra set of clothes. So we put James's hoodie on and headed to the ferry boat. James really liked the boat ride, as we'd expected. I used Dan's extra long-sleeved t-shirt as a blanket for James's legs.


When we got to the island, James's clothes had unfortunately not dried yet. We then put Dan's shirt on James; it was a floor length gown whose sleeves we had to really, really roll up. We then put the hoodie back on over it. It was quite a look.

James was happy to run all over the fort pushing his stroller.

We did really enjoy our visit, but will definitely need to go back so that we can listen to the history, etc. without the distraction of drying clothes, etc. It was funny because Dan and I kept making loud comments like, "James, it's too bad you squeezed your drink all over yourself." It was our way of getting the disclaimer out about his funny appearance. So silly.



Like I said, it didn't bother him. When we talked about the day, James would say, "You went on the ferry boat." We'd ask him, "Did you wear pants?" "No," he'd say, "James wore a skirt."


Ha! (Here is a photo of Dan keeping James from diving off the ferry boat.)

His shorts and shirt were dry enough after the ride back to Charleston that he could put them on for lunch.

That night we went to dinner at Jestine's with Auntie Peg. That is where I had a moment of motherhood genius: the deep windowsills in the restaurant were full of all kinds of nick-knacks that James wanted ("needed") to hold. I told him, "You can't hold that, it's stuck." I even "demonstrated" how everything was stuck and could not be picked up. Maggie and Dan were very impressed (and glad).

In Honor of Uncle P

James got some new shoes. I looooved his last pair, but they don't have them in his size anywhere. Not even the world wide web. Boo.

So, we got these.

They are called "Preston." And are pretty cute, no?

Chigger Chatter

In honor of the fact that the eldest son of my dear friend Christine is off to his first week of camp (at Gravatt, where Christine & I met), James dressed up in his Gravatt best today: "Future Gravatt Camper" onesie and Tevas. Granted, the onesie is more like a twosie on him, but it's the thought that counts!




And, yes, it seems that James will be filling the positions of Juggler and Rabbit Wrangler when he works at Camp!

Today's Mission Impossible

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

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

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

Oh well!

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

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

True Fact

Well, as of 10:22 today, our bambino is 61 weeks old.  Yes, my running watch chimes every Saturday at 10:22 AM.  The first 20 or so times, I'd sing to James.  Some weeks now I hardly notice it.  Today Dan & I took a moment to reflect on 61 weeks.  Dan said it seems short when you say it that way.  (Tomorrow is 14 months... does that sound older?)  I am really trying to soak it all up now.  I got teary this week just thinking about how much he's changed even in the past few months.  It goes FAST.  Everyone tells you this, but you just don't get it.  

With that said, let me tell you something amazing.  I haven't really bought the kid any clothes yet!  Seriously!  Apart from the pjs and one pair of cords last fall and his bathing suit last summer (which I believe still fits!), he's been totally outfitted by the wonderful generosity of family and friends.  Being the first grandchild and nephew obviously helps, but many of the items he wears now are things that people bought when he was born.  (This is a marvelous idea; give gifts that are bigger sizes--not everything at the shower needs to be NB or 0-3mo.)  We even have some BabyGap gift cards yet to be used!

I am SO thankful for these gifts.  Of course, there is a part of me that would love to go out and choose all sorts of cute and/or stylish items in which to dress my boy.  However, I am pretty satisfied to open the closet periodically and say, "James, look at this new outfit that Grandma/Nana/Auntie Peg/Auntie Ali & Uncle P/Daddy's boss/Mommy's friend bought you.  Let's try it on!"  

I have the rest of his childhood to dress him.  Thank you all for doing it thus far!  :-)  You have wonderful taste, and he looks adorable.

*On a related topic:  there are SO MANY more clothes in the baby girl area than the baby boy area.  In every store.  Sometimes I'm annoyed/jealous, and sometimes relieved.