'Tis the season to be busy!

A busy few weeks have  passed at our house. Here is a quick re-cap....

James and I spent a few days at home, just playing and being silly. This. Boy. Is. BUSY.

New shenanigans in the block tub.

Up to no good!

"This is how it works, right mom?"

We have really enjoyed our front room this holiday season  now that we have it furnished. This room turned out exactly how we had envisioned the day we looked at our house. Here I got to enjoy a quiet afternoon as James napped, while I leisurely sipped my latte. Bliss!

 

My boys...love this!

 James has really been laying on the kisses thick lately. Don't let this picture fool you. He is quick to offer a slobbery, open mouthed kiss upon demand and it's totally precious. Makes this momma's heart total mush!

James had a f/u doctor's appointment with Dr. D to re-check his cough. He had a good report (although as I type this his cough has returned....sigh.). He was equally pleased to learn that he is finally big enough to enjoy the big toy house in the dr's office waiting room. 

The Master

 

And yet another belated post.... (I'm so far behind!)

John completed his Master's program through K-State on December 14th! What an accomplishment for him! As hard as times have been for our family while he's been working on his degree, we are so proud of him! He has spent many nights studying and working on projects since January of 2011. I cannot even begin to imagine how he got the job done between juggling working full time, being married to such an awesome person ;), and welcoming James into our family (which he had to take 2 classes the semester James was born).

Congrats, babe! We are beyond proud of you and this new accomplishment. Cheers to the many successes that lie ahead! We love you!

Meeting Santa





Yet another belated post!

James got to meet 'Ole St. Nick the first weekend in December. This was his first year meeting the jolly old man in red. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.... :)

November Ends, December Begins

Thanksgiving (and really November in general) came and went in the blink of an eye at our house. It was also much different than we had anticipated. Thanks to some pink eye and bronchiolitis diagnosis for James, Turkey Day was spent in the comfort of our own home. We were (and are) thankful for Grandmommy who brought the entire Thanksgiving feast to our house that we were supposed to have at her house. With James being on breathing treatments about every 4 hours, we just couldn't venture far from home. And poor guy was ready for bed at 5pm Thanksgiving night and didn't even partake in the feast. Luckily, he is MUCH better now and lets hope that he stays healthy for Christmas!




We had also planned to surprise Grammy and Grandad with a visit north over Thanksgiving weekend. John took Friday off and we thought we would have the extra long weekend to make the trip north. But, we decided it would probably be best to stay put with James not feeling 100%. Although we missed seeing family, we did enjoy the long weekend at home, just being kind of lazy and doing our own thing. We decorated for Christmas, cleaned, mommy organized the basement, hung outdoor lights, etc. Definitely a productive weekend!




James is busy and on the move. He LOVES the Christmas tree and seeing all of the lights, often commenting "ooooooh" when he sees the Christmas tree. It will definitely be fun to experience Christmas through his eyes this year.




We are anxiously awaiting the holidays and our schedules are crazy. John has another travel trip for work coming up, he's in the final days of his Master's program, we have several holiday parties to attend, and then the holidays with our families. A busy, but fun time ahead!




Some of the fun highlights via pictures for the last few weeks.

Pre-Thanksgiving bday party fun with the Widmer boys.

Birthday party full of boys!

Sweet boys!

Friendsgiving with the ladies, Penny and Savannah!

Friendsgiving!

Friendsgiving mom style...babies and wine! :)

Darn bronchiolitis!!

5pm bedtime on Thanksgiving.

Playtime with Daddy.

Christmas décor.

Fascinated with the tree.

Fun with daddy!

Definitely the BEST GIFT EVER!

Our first try at outdoor Christmas lights.

Play date with Austin!

Fun in the car seat box.

Snack in the car seat box.

Talkative

Man, is James starting to talk more and more these days! Today I took a minute to really think about all of the different words he is saying and turns out he's got quite the list running at the ripe age of 13 months. Here's what I recall to date.

• "Dah"- Dog
• "Cak"- Cat
• "Buh"- Ball (as he holds up a ball or brings one to you).
• "Blah"- Block (as he holds one up, brings one to you, or builds with them).
• "Mama"
• "Dada"
• "Ooh"- This means Cheerios
• "BeBe"- Baby
• "Roh"- Hello (as he holds my phone to his face).
• "Aah Dun"- All done

He is still barking at anything that looks remotely close to a dog and it's absolutely adorable. The other day I was surprised when we were reading books and he flipped to a page, pointed at the dog ("Dah") and started barking. Smart, little cookie he is!


Oh James, you just continue to become more fun and it truly is a joy to watch you grow and learn each day. We love you to pieces!

1 Year Check-Up (Belated Post)



James had his 1 year check-up back on October 19th. I had planned this after his birthday festivities to avoid any issues with his vaccines. He did pretty good overall at the appointment. His pediatrician is pleased with his growth and development thus far. Poor kid has developed some Dr.'s office anxiety thanks to all of his months of RSV and ear infections. Needless to say Dr. D recommended we invest in a toy doctor kit to practice. Haha! Only the kid of a nurse, right?!

Here are his stats at 1 year:

Weight: 22lbs. 8oz. (50%)- exactly tripled from birth!

Height: 29 inches (40%)

Head Circumference: 18 3/4 inches

We talked a bit about weaning and starting to introduce whole milk (we're working on it!). We got the green light for him to try eggs and peanut butter- both are HUGE hits now and he tolerates them just fine. He had to get his CBC and lead level drawn which indicated a little anemia, so we're adding in an iron supplement and then will get his labs re-drawn at his 15 month appointment.

Keep up the good work on your growth and development, little man!



Waiting for Dr. D.

Happy before his exam and shots.

Taking a good nap post appointment.

Lately.......in pictures

It seems we've been having a busy November so far. And it keeps getting busier! Here are some things we've been up to...via pictures.

We continue to be a ham in the bathtub!

 Wednesdays call for fun at the park with mom! And a little jog along Ward Pkwy.

James has started experimenting with his spoon and yogurt. He LOVES to feed himself and is so proud of himself when he actually gets food into his mouth. :)

 

"Ah, I see it in there."

"Got it!"

"Mmmm....much easier without the spoon!"

"Forget the spoon!"

 Someone has also started showing interest in escaping at the back door. Hopefully this isn't shade of what is to come during his teen years! :/

And we are SO in LOVE with our stuffed puppy! Good thing the neighbors bought a new golden retriever for you to make friends with for the many years to come.

 

 

More escaping at the back door!



Being cute before bed in our new moose jammies! 

Last weekend we took a little day trip to Lawrence for some yummy Freestate, haircuts, and a stroll down Mass St. It was a hit! Minus the terrorizing haircut for James, of course!

 

"Mmm, what's that mom?"

Coloring with my boy.

Daddy's turn to color.

Daddy showing James the ropes of Mass St. Our future Jayhawk!

Post haircut (and crying session) at the barber on Mass St.

We even tested out some bikes at Sunflower Bike Shop.

A quiet building session on a chilly Sunday afternoon.

And then of course we voted! :)