First Santa Visit

We were worried when we approached big ole' Santa at Plaza Frontenac that James would cry, but to our surprise he took to him very quickly. In fact, he got so comfortable on Santa's lap that we thought James might take a little nap. I framed this picture in our house and every time James sees it he says, "ho, ho, ho!"

Turning Corners

James and Pa Pa Rich hanging out. Bill and Sandy came down from MI to spend Turkey Day with us. James had so much fun with them and aunt Sarah from L.A. He was really sad when everyone left. He kept walking around the house saying, "Pa Pa?"
Quick messy face pic with mommy.
Feeling good and pigging out! James ate more today than he has in the past week!
Future quarterback???
Touchdown!
Oh, the things you get away with when you're sick.
You'll never get me, copper! Mini mobster!

Poor James has been super cranky, congested, finicky about food and just generally miserable for so long that I couldn't even remember what my happy little baby used to be like. He was diagnosed with an ear infection over 2 weeks ago, and after the first antibiotic did nothing, the doctor prescribed a stronger dose. Twice this week he was sound asleep by 5 p.m. and slept until 7:30 the next day! But then, all of a sudden he woke up happy, healthy and all the sickness was gone! Today I got a call from the babysitter saying that he had yellow puss coming out of his ear. Gross! I took him in and it turns out that his ear drum had burst and the fluids were coming out. The doctor said that the relief of pressure behind the ear drum would explain his sudden mood change. He's like a new person. And tonight for the first time in literally MONTHS he ate dinner. In fact, he ate breakfast, lunch, dinner and several snacks, lots of milk! For the longest time he's been living on practically nothing but milk, an occasional banana and goldfish. He was even starting to look gaunt and his color looked weird. I guess that built up ear infection took a major toll on his well being. But now...he's back! I'm soooooooooooo relieved.

Updates:

• James now has around 20 words and sometimes he puts two words together (uh oh baby!) (he also says: mommy, daddy, kitty, football, ball, woof, moo, shoes, papa, see, car, hoo hoo, owl, key, hi, cracker, mi mi, bye bye)
• He can sign the following (help, more, sleepy, drink, eat)
• He can also blow a kiss, dance and locate his head, nose, feet, hands, belly and hair)
• He weighs 18.8 pounds (hopefully he'll start gaining more now that he's better)
• He sleeps 11-11.5 hours through the night (usually 7:30 p.m. - 7:00 a.m.)
• He takes a 2 - 2.5 hour nap
• He loves books and will sit and listen intently for as long as we feel like reading
• Sometimes he'll sit and "read" his books alone
  
• He absolutely loves football! Anytime we're around a tv with football on he will yell football, and sometimes he begs me to turn it on by pointing at the tv and saying football.
  
• He's getting really good at puzzles.
  
• He can run now and loves to be chased in circles around the house or play peek-a-boo
• He will sit and watch a dvd when mom needs to get ready for work or cook dinner

Zombies and Firefighters

Once again, a huge group of friends and family headed down to the beautiful Sam A. Baker State Park for our annual Halloween getaway. Since this was probably the last year that we won't have issues with James wanting to go trick-or-treating, we were in the clear. It was a beautiful weekend full of hiking, laughing, eating, bonfires, and of course the murder mystery tradition. This year's murder mystery was "zombie" themed. It was hilarious! 18 of us got all done up it pretty scary zombie gear. James was close to bedtime that night, but he got a good glimpse of all of us right before bed. I just found out that 15 months is the usual age that kids can start having nightmares! Oh no! The zombie thing might be what has been waking him up the last few nights in a row yelling for "mommy!!" We were going to stay Sunday night at Sam A. Baker, but I was beat and Brian couldn't stay so we decided to head home as a family for our first Halloween in our new house. We were a little underwhelmed by the small amount of trick-or-treaters. Once again I bought WAY too much candy for the turnout. James was pretty excited to see the kids coming to the door. He wouldn't leave the door for a while in hopes of seeing another one. Finally, James had to go to bed so Brian and I waited up for more kids to come to our door. We finally had a "rush" of them around 8:00 p.m. Brian was impressed by the St. Louis tradition of having to tell a joke or do an actual treat to get candy. Apparently, in Michigan people just give the candy out without forcing young children to perform first. I think it's a nice justification for free candy! James will need to start working on his ghost jokes for next year. Now... on to the holiday season! There's a lot to look forward to!

Fall Funzies

We've had so much fun doing "fallish" things with James lately. Last year at this time James was way to little to enjoy it so we are taking full advantage this year. Poor guy was super sick all last week, but I'm so relieved to say that he has made a full recovery from the upper respiratory infection that took us all out this week. Lots of lost sleep and plenty of tears, but we made it! I hope he doesn't get sick again for a LONG time!!
Playing with the baby goats at Grants Farm. The goats really liked eating Brian's Rams jersey. Maybe that's why they lost today!
Hold on tight! James riding the horsie at Francis Park.
Our little vampire.
James' first hayride!
Corn maze in St. Genevieve, MO with the Menees Family.

The Very Busy Baby

We have had an exciting couple of weeks!
- James got his first big boy hair cut. (see video)
- My cousin, Amy, had a new baby, Zane (see pic above...newborn in middle, baby Sierra on right)
- My other cousin, Nikki, and her 8 month old came for a visit.
- We did the Memory Walk in honor of my grandma Doris and James was able to walk on the field of Busch Stadium.
- James can climb! Scary but true. James can get on top of furniture before knowing how to get down.
-and for the BIG news! James started walking yesterday! He has been taking a few steps here and there, but yesterday he just busted out of his shell and started walking. Even though he can walk perfectly well, he is still crawling the majority of the time...but he CAN do it! I have to get a better video of it. He's already got great balance and agility. He doesn't really have the "drunkard" wobble I was hoping to see. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm SO glad that the crawling days might be behind us. Now we can go for walks outside and he can walk in places where it is totally gross to crawl! My baby is growing up so fast!

13 Months

James' first "real" trip to the St. Louis ZOO


James' Latest Stats:
- 18 pounds 9 ounces (2nd percentile)
- 29.75" long (36th percentile)
- Took 4 STEPS today!
- 1 nap a day (usually 2 - 2.5 hours)
- 12 hours sleep at night
- Finicky eater (drops most food on the floor, spits it out, shoves it into diaper)
- Loves turning lights off and on
- Words he understands (that I know of!) cat, Grizzo, doggy, ducky, froggy, hug, purple cat, drink, book, Elmo, milk, daddy, mommy, grandma, grandpa, up, walk, fish, block, baby, pee-ka-boo, uncle Paulie, Aunt Maureen, night night.
- Claps hands, waves bye-bye, cracks up when mom dances (understandably)
- Loves to dance! Breaks out into dance immediately when he hears music
- Loves books (he will bring one over to us to read to him)
- Loves to give hugs to Elmo and people
- Gets into EVERY thing now. Flushes toilets, digs into trash, opens all cabinets and drawers, pulls out pots and pans, unravels toilet paper daily. I never get a break unless he's strapped in his high chair
- Enjoys watching Sesame Street videos occasionally
- Enjoys car rides now since he can face forward
- Can still only say a few distinguishable words (momma, mommy, dad, daddy, turtle, pa...the rest is babble)

Farewell to Long, Lazy Summer Days

The birthday boy enjoying his first taste of cake!
This cake was delicious and so awesome looking.
James helping Uncle Paulie steer the boat at Houghton Lake.
James and Grammy Sandy enjoying the Hammock at the cottage.
First boat ride!
Looking out onto the beautiful lake.
Hanging with daddy at our pool.

Tomorrow marks the end of summer fun. Teachers return, James heads to baby sitting. It was a busy, BUSY summer. We moved, I finished my masters, we traveled, we had a first birthday for James. I thought I wouldn't be upset about returning to work, but I find myself very sad tonight thinking about all the fun we had as a family home this summer. I'm going to miss our morning walks and long, lazy days hanging out by the pool. James has grown up so much in the past few months. He's a little boy now. He has become very attached to me over the last few months so I'm worried about how he'll do at daycare. He loves his baby sitter and so do I. Luckily, my mom and dad will continue to watch him two days a week so the transition won't be so hard. I'm sad that his cute little tiny self will be so much more grown when we come around to this wonderful time again next summer. I wish we could freeze time right here for a little longer.

U-N-O!!!

James left his infant-hood behind and jumped into toddler town in style this Saturday as we celebrated his one year birthday. Following a fabulous week in Michigan where we got to see tons of family and friends and where James had many firsts including boating, beautiful Michigan in the summer, DVD in the car for the road trip, and of course lake-life at Houghton Lake, we headed back to Missouri with the entire Rich clan in tow to celebrate the big boy's birthday. We threw a "yacht rock" themed pool party. Everyone dressed in character by wearing their finest short-shorts, tropical shirts, big hats, gold jewels and docksiders. Even though it was a raging hot (somewhere in the 100's) we all had a great time. James got to eat his birthday cake in front of 50+ friends and family. He got so many cool new toys and nice gifts. It was a fun celebration. He was a trooper even though he barely got a nap and stayed up late. It's sad to have all the family gone and the festivities over with. The house is so quiet. Here's a link to more pics.

One Crazy Summer!

Wow! Things have been busy around here! I'm a little late getting James' 11 month pics up. He is getting SO big! I can't believe my little guy is going to be 1 in just 3 weeks. Where did the time go? He is so funny. Lately he's all about babbling, laughing, imitating us, dancing, crawling and almost walking! We are all settled in our new house. It was hectic getting moved with a little crawler, but we got it done with lots of help from family and friends. Brian has been home for two weeks enjoying the pool and taking walks with James while I finished up my Masters program. I had to work for 3 weeks full-time as a reading specialist in Clayton School District's summer tutoring program. I'm all finished now and ready to enjoy the summer! We have another 3 weeks of Brian being home. I go back to school in 6 weeks. I can't believe how fast this summer went. Oh well! We're going to maximize the time we have left. We head to MI in just a week from Monday to visit with Grammy and Papa Rich and aunt Sarah. We're going to head to Houghton Lake to hang out at the Rich lake house. We are going to stay there for 8 days and then the Rich family is going to cruise back here for a visit at our new house and to help us celebrate James' first birthday. The weather has been absolutely fab. No humidity. Clear skies. Mild temps. Not typical at all for July in St. Louis...but we'll take it. Here's some James updates:
- 7 teeth
- Eating lots of "real people" food
- Still taking 2 naps
- Crawling everywhere
- Pulls up and "cruises" around on furniture
- Can stand without holding on to anything for a few seconds
- LOVES Elmo and music (he gives his Elmo hugs and kisses)
- Enjoys kicking around in the pool
- Can wave bye-bye
- Babbling a lot but only says "maa" "daa" and "kiii" (cat)
- Likes to mimic loud high pitched noises
- Always has his tongue out
- Very smiley and happy


Getting these pics while holding a sign is getting harder and harder...
I can't believe how big he looks in this chair now!

10 Months

Where is the time going? James is fast approaching one year, and he is a very active little dude. At his most recent doctor appointment he weighed a little over 17 pounds and is 28 inches long. He's a little guy...4th percentile in weight and 41st in height. He has begun to pull up on everything and can cruise around the house pretty well on furniture. He gets himself hurt every now and then. Poor guy has had some falls. Tonight he took a little spill in the bath tub because he insists on standing in there too. Fortunately he wasn't hurt! It scared me though! The true test is going to be successfully packing up our house and moving to the new place. Our closing date is June 8. I wish we could have moved before he was mobile. Luckily, he's very fond of hanging out inside cardboard boxes. He might have to spend some time playing in a few to keep him occupied. School is out this Friday and teachers at my school have to come back next Tuesday, but then we are DONE! Unfortunately, I have to complete a month long internship during the month of June to complete my masters in reading. We are looking forward to July! James' first birthday, a new house, vacation, a new pool, and seeing friends and family. It's going to be busy, but fun.

9 Month Wiggles

Well, everyone told me to enjoy the time when James was immobile and would sit endlessly in one place playing while I emptied the dishwasher, checked my email, did laundry, etc. Those days are officially OVER! he is a man on the move and boy can he move fast! The crawling officially started about 3 weeks ago. It was a little rough at first, but he's definitely mastered the crawl. Now he zooms straight over to the most dangerous item in the room. (What is with babies and being attracted to danger!?!) I need to get this house baby-proofed even better, but I feel it's irrelevant because we are under contract! Yup, we will soon be moving to a new house that we just put a contract on ourselves. The new place is a sprawling ranch with a really open floor plan, lots of big windows, and the icing on the cake--it has an in-ground saltwater pool! We will need to get James some swim lessons soon. Our closing date is June 8. There is so much to be done between now and then...my head is spinning. James is so active now that I'm really wondering how I'll manage to pack up our entire lives and successfully unpack it without him getting into trouble. These days I put one knee on top of him for diaper changes, otherwise he's rolled over and off. Here are some 9 month updates:
- 6 teeth (2 bottom, 4 coming in on top)
- Claps hands and waves bye bye
- Crawls, pivets, sits up, turns
- Can walk with a rolling walker
- Today pulled up into standing position
- Sleeps through night still with one long nap and one short nap
- Had first ear infection (up every 20-30 minutes all night screaming!!)
- Loves books and laughs out loud at pictures
- Weighs 16 pounds
- Says, "da da" "ma ma" "ki ki" (cat) and definitely knows other words just can't say them yet
- Laugh sounds like a really rusty door opening (you just have to hear it!)
- Super thick head full of blonde hair
- Eyes turning hazel

California Baby

The Elite 8 Months

We have had some big firsts here lately for Mr. James. He took his first plane ride with my sis and I to visit Sarah Rich in L.A. Our flight was not too bad even though he never really slept. We couldn't have asked for better weather while we were there. It was 80 degrees and super sunny the whole time. James got in the roof-top pool at Aunt Sarah's downtown loft. We rented bikes and headed out to Marina Del Rey for an afternoon with Kristyn. James loved rolling around the board walk near Santa Monica Pier. He even experienced his first earthquake. That happened at about 4 a.m. and was a 4.4 magnitude. No damage, but definitely shook the bed and the loft a bit. I wouldn't say that it was scary, but I was super nervous that it was the "small" one before the huge earthquake. Luckily that never happened! Brian was on spring break this week, but he left for 5 days for his grandpa's funeral and to spend some time with his family. It's good to have him.

Other updates include:
- 2 top teeth have surfaced
- We finally stopped swaddling at bedtime this week (going well!)
- Eating all sorts of foods (avocado, tofu, peaches, bananas, peas, carrots, etc) he loves it all
- New favorite past time is walking with our help. He cruises around the house this way and screams joyously the whole time
- Can now sort of clap...especially to patty cake
- Says "ki ki" for the cat, "mama mama" "dadada"

Oh, and the title of this blog entry is because MI STATE made it past the Elite 8 once again...and is heading to the Final Four!

The Pied Piper

We had to vacate our house this weekend for showings and the big open house that was today, so we headed out to my parent's place for the weekend. James had a blast playing with this recorder. He actually blew into it and sound came out! What can I say, he's advanced! (ha ha) We had a great open house. There were about 20 different people through and one person visited twice! Hopefully we get an offer soon! Now, the only question is, how did this weekend go by SO fast????

7 Month Itch

Getting James to sit still for his month photos is NOT easy!
Hopeless!
Well, this is the best I could do! So James had his 6th month visit (but he was actually a week away from being 7 months). He's growing up so fast:
- 15 lbs (4th percentile)
- 27 inches (52nd percentile)
- still 2 teeth
- says "ma ma ma"
- eats 2 solid meals a day (one fruit, one veggie)
- can sit all by himself
-just started getting into the hands and knees crawling position and rocks back and forth
-sleeping well (12 hours straight through and usually 2 naps)
-loves the door jumper
-laughs at nothing and screams out all the time
-can drink from a bottle and sippy cup all by himself!

Having Fun

Today we enjoyed our 3rd snow day of the winter. James has been so happy and cute lately. He really is starting to have a little personality. Right now he's totally obsessed with his tongue. He leaves it out most of the day and makes all sorts of funny noises with it. Recently he started saying "ma ma ma ma". I'd like to think he's talking about me, but I kinda doubt it. He can now sit up on his own, which has made play time more fun. Long gone are the days of hanging out laying around. He hates that! When I try to lay him down anywhere he immediately flips to his belly and gets into the upward facing dog yoga position. He's building up a lot of strength, and I think it's only a matter of a couple of weeks before he begins to crawl. Watch out! He's been super drooly lately so I think he might be getting ready for the next few teeth. His bottom ones are totally in now. The great news is that James is back to sleeping through the night! We had about a month and a half stretch where he was waking up once or twice every single night. I was getting very little rest and it finally caught up with me. I was really sick last week with a sinus infection. He's been sleeping really well for the past week or so. Knock on wood that he keeps that up. I think it was the bottom teeth coming in that made him fussy at night.

The other news around here is that Brian and I have decided to put our house on the market! We have been feeling a little restless here recently (probably due to all the long hours spent inside) but the market where we live is thriving and it seems like we can get a good bargain on a house. So for the past 2 weeks we've been cleaning, decluttering and taking care of fixing all problems around here. Our first open house is the week after next so we don't have much time. Hopefully we get a buyer soon...and for the price we are asking!

6 Months Already!

Click this picture to see more!

Getting James to pose with his little sign this time was not easy. He was obsessed with putting into his mouth (like everything else these days). We decided to just let him tear it to shreds...and he did!

Mr. Independant

James is suddenly becoming quite the big boy. He now has the beginning of 2 bottom teeth and he can roll over all by himself. I captured his first roll on camera yesterday and since then he's literally been on a roll. Today he laid cozy on the couch with Aunt Maureen watching Michigan State (woman's) basketball which was pretty cute and fun. One thing that we are struggling with is swaddling. He's getting stronger and can easily break out of the swaddle that he's been sleeping so nicely in since birth. When he breaks out of it he wakes up, but when he's not in it he wakes up every 2-3 hours. I read that you can begin weaning from a swaddle by leaving one arm out. We tried that and he woke up about an hour after going to bed and his poor little hand was freezing! If anyone has any suggestions on how to make this transition, please let me know. I'm feeling pretty clueless at the moment. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that the only way to wean is to just endure some sleepless nights until he gets used to his new sleeping arrangements.

James' First Christmas

Our trip to Michigan this year was much different than years past. This time we had to rent a SUV to haul the massive amount of stuff a 5 month old needs to live a week away from home. The trip up to Michigan was pretty seamless. We left at 10 p.m. Tuesday night before Christmas and Brian drove us straight through the night. We stopped only twice for gas. James slept the entire trip! However, upon our arrival, it was morning for him and bed time for us. Luckily aunt Sarah and grandma Sandy were ready to step in so we could get some much-needed shut-eye. We had so much fun this year playing with James and showing him off to all the family members on Brian's side who had never met him. As always, we relaxed, ate yummy food, played Wii fit and DJ Hero, and stayed up late into the night. The ground was covered in snow the entire time. Christmas was really fun. James' sat on grandma Sandy's lap during gift opening. Spontaneously through our gift exchange, he started laughing and laughing. He had fun and was in a great mood the entire morning. He received so many fun new gifts. He got a Red Ryder wagon from my parents, an excersaucer, clothes, books, toys, and tons more from the Rich Family. Aunt Maureen and Uncle Jeff got him the cute little santa suit that he wore on Christmas day. Brian and I got him a door bouncer that he's probably going to enjoy when he's a little bit bigger. It was sad to leave our winter wonder-land and the entire Rich clan to return to Missouri, but James has proven to be a very easy traveler thus far.

Here are some 5 month updates:
- Eating rice cereal
- 2 lower teeth have popped through the gums
- Can now sit up and stand up with assistance
- Rolling over and spending much more time on belly
- Loves to be read to, sang to, and carried around
- Hugs us tight when around other people and doing a little shy look away thing when approached by strangers
- Noticing the cat and petting him when he comes by for a visit
- Sleeping most nights through the night still (but did not the entire visit in Michigan - probably because of the teething)