Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from one scary Alligator! :)

2 Year Check-up

James had his 2 year old check-up this week and here is a rundown of how the appointment went.

• He weighed in at just over 26 pounds and 33 1/4 inches tall- 30% in both categories. Dr. D was pleased as he seems to be following his growth curve appropriately, although would like to see him gain some pounds as he has only gained a pound and a half since his 18 month visit. Hopefully we can get some more weight on this boy despite him burning so many calories being so busy!
• He had to get two shots (Hep A and Flu) which he was not a huge fan of. Although, he picked Chik-fil-a as his reward for being so brave.
• We talked a bit about sleep and how he hasn't fully slept through the night since July when he jumped ship from his crib. Dr. D gave us some tips that we hope we can execute on here soon. John and I do feel it's getting better. Bedtime is just a process in our house lately, mostly because James takes a while to wind down. Once he is asleep he stays in bed until about 3:00 am and then it requires either John or I to go in and lay with him until we're all up for the day. Not ideal, but we also need to all be functional for the next day ahead. We'll get there!
• Potty training-we've started a little bit and James does communicate with us when he wants to sit on the potty. He apparently does great at school with other kids but at home is hit or miss. We've been pretty laid back about it so far so will just continue to follow his lead with it all.
• He got a vision test which was all normal- yay!
• Dr. D was impressed with his verbal skills. I think her statement to us was, "He will need to be challenged in Kindergarten, won't he!" He is a bright, smart boy. I can only imagine that he will keep us on our toes. 

It was a great check-up overall! We are now down to only having to go for a check-up on an annual basis. How time flies!

Waiting for Dr. D.

Post appointment dinner at Chik-fil-a, per your request!

Happy 2nd Birthday, James!

 Dear James,

You have officially turned the big number "2"! I think I ask myself every day how that is even possible. I had hoped to post this post on your official birthday, but it seems you keep me a tad busy these days that I am a few days behind. :) Where to even begin....

You are a joy and bring nothing by joy to our lives. You have given me this unexpected love in my heart that I didn't even know was possible. I knew I would love you more than anything in this world, because well, I am your mom and that is what mom's do. But, wow. Being your mom is like no other emotion and love I have ever felt in my life. I know your dad would say the same exact words and feels the same way.

You are- Funny. Energetic. Verbal (oh, so verbal!). Fast. Smart. Sweet. Sassy. Quick. And Loveable all rolled into one awesome, tiny human. Your hugs and sweetness simply melt me, and your toddler tendencies simply make us laugh. I have loved so many things about various phases of your life so far, but I think where you are right now is so fun. You communicate with us and carry on conversations about your day. Your verbal skills are great, yet a little choppy, but I love being one of the only people that understands you and can interpret for you. I miss you being a squishy, still baby, but I love how you keep me on my toes these days.

I pray that you continue to be healthy, flourish in life and in your development, and always seek God to guide you through life. We are so proud of the little man you are becoming and look forward to continuing to watch you grow and develop in life. I admire your zest and energy for life and can only hope and pray that you carry that with you as you get older.

Happy 2nd Birthday, sweet boy! We love you more than you even know!

Love,

Mom and Dad

1 day old, 1 year old, and 2 years old!

Toddler Life

Oh, James. Where do I even begin to go into detail about your current phase of toddler-hood. You are one ball of energy, love,  sass, independence, words and oh so much fun rolled into one. I need to start keeping a notepad with me and writing things down that you do that make me giggle because life with you is just never dull. :)


Some things worth remembering to date.....




Your vocabulary is just booming for someone who is barely two. You know how to count to 20 on y our own, can recite the full alphabet and know many words to several songs. Some of my favorite words are as follows.

• "Tee-Bee" (TV....all "V's" are subbed with a "B" and it's truly adorable)
• "She-been"- Seven
• "Dine-shore"- Dinosaur
• "Rey-len"- Railing
• If you want to declare that you want to "hold the___" something then you always say, "hold it"
• "Scoop"- Scoot...as in "Scoop ovuh mama!"- this one makes me chuckle.
• One night after bath (as I took the picture below) you shouted at me "No, Mama! Go room!" then proceeded to point in the direction of our room. So sassy!!

I wish I could think of more off the top of my head, but that is all that stands out at the moment.


You are slowly but surely getting the hang of this potty training gig. You are apparently a champion potty user at school, but home seems to be a totally different story. We are not into pushing you, but are willing to help you in the drop of a hat if you are interested in that moment. You have also started using the potty as a diversionary tactic at bedtime, often declaring "poop poootttttyyyyyy" as we are about to wrap up the bedtime routine. You are also well known for sitting on the potty for 5 seconds then quickly declaring you are done and want to wash your hands. But rather than running to the sink to wash your hands you run away from mom or dad and find a spot on the hardwoods to do your business. *sigh* Thank goodness for hardwoods!!

Sometimes potty time takes a while. Long enough for mommy to enjoy a glass of vino as you read "Count-a-Clock" to me.

You are loving school still and seem to be adjusting well to your new room. You now talk about all sorts of new friends and are always quick to tell us how much fun your day was and who you played with at school that day. Drop off seems to be going much better now that we take an obligatory fruit bar and applesauce pouch to ease the transition as you seem to enjoy eating breakfast with a few other friends in the room upon arrival.








Mealtimes seem to be hit or miss. Some days you are passionate about anything and other days you just want to stick to your food groups of dairy and carbs. Mommy and Daddy don't really seem to worry so much anymore about what you eat, but rather celebrate the fact that you sit down long enough to actually consume something. :)

We are still working on mealtime manners.

All-in-all, life is just perfect with you and we cherish each moment and day that you bring to our lives. Your life and light sure keeps us on our toes and fills our hearts to the fullest. Here's to your last week as a one year old!

  

Always moving or climbing on something.

 

"Let me call my agent..."

Watching "tee bee" in style.

  

First Day of School- 2A

Clearly behind on the obligatory "First Day of School" photo. So, here we are a few weeks late. James officially started in his new classroom mid- August. So far he loves his class, his new friends, is starting to potty train, and his vocabulary and development continues to take off.


Here's to hoping for another great year! We love you and are so proud of you, sweet boy!

Florida...A Speedy Vacation

Post- Labor Day weekend, we had a trip planned to Marco Island for the week with Boo Boo, Mikey and Jacob. If you had been following the news prior to the week, you would have been informed about Hurricane Irma and her plan to hit Florida that week. Of course, my "mom worry meter" was at it's highest just thinking of getting caught in a hurricane but, as you can imagine, my adventure seeking husband saw no issue.

Fast forward to Tuesday, September 4th....

We landed in Ft. Lauderdale about 8pm that evening. I turned on my phone once we landed only to see "Florida declares state of emergency". Great (insert look of panic here). John listened to me freak out the whole way to the hotel and until we went to bed that night. Because, that's what us mom's do. We worry when this stuff comes up.

We got up Wednesday morning and devised a new game plan while James occupied himself with watching airplanes land nearby. :)

With new flight and vacation plans, we headed for Marco Island. But first, a stop for a seafood lunch!

 

We got into Marco Island mid afternoon. A pit stop at Wal-Mart for some groceries and we were at  our condo in no time. We immediately dropped our stuff to head down to the water. James. Was. In. Heaven.

 

In his element. This kid was born to be a beach babe.

Taking it all in!

Since our time in Marco was limited, Boo Boo graciously watched James so we could have an adult evening out.

The resort really was perfect. The view, the water and the beach could not have been more perfect. I had forgotten how calm the Gulf side is and have to say the calm of the water was perfect for him. He would splash around as he pleased without getting knocked over by a wave. 

 

Morning coffee view. Not pictured here, but one morning there were a few dolphins having breakfast and splashing around close to shore. So neat to watch!

Picking up shells.

Post-nap hangout on the balcony.

In the water with Daddy.

"Shells! Back! Watey!" (Shells back in the water.)

  We also enjoyed chasing sea gulls on the beach!

 

  

After about 48 hours on Marco, we packed up and headed to Orlando Thursday morning. We killed a few hours at Gatorland while we waited to head to the airport. I'll admit, I didn't fully relax until we were at the airport. The stress of just getting out of Florida alone was pressing. But, we made it. And although our time in Florida was cut short, it was still fun.



Watching airplanes take-off and land.

A perk of coming home a little earlier than planned was that we got to spend some quality family time together before we had to head back to work on Monday. We enjoyed a family lunch to Chipotle after some errands on Friday. I can't get over how big J looks in this picture. Definitely starting to look more like a little boy.

After we got James in bed, we finally got to enjoy our anniversary champagne in our wedding flutes.

 

We spent Saturday morning playing soccer our back...in our astronaut jammies, of course!

 

And a weekend wouldn't be complete without some time at the park!

 

Beyond thankful for time with my little family! Despite our vacation being cut short it really was the perfect week together!

 

Labor Day Weekend

Well, here I am again playing "catch-up" with blog posts. Here goes....

We enjoyed a late August play date with the boy cousins. They were in town seeing some friends and made an afternoon pit stop for some play time and dessert. They all had a blast together! And their mama's enjoyed embarrassing them with matching outfits.

The boys trying to help James sit still for a picture.

Bryce is clearly not amused with James' antics.

They enjoyed some outside water play. James and Bryce got a good laugh in going after Jack with the water.





Pre-departure boy cousin hugs!

 

We celebrated our 7th anniversary on September 3rd. How is this even possible?! Here are your old rents on the big day!

 

 

 

Despite being busy with some pre-vacation prep, we took some family time to head out to Grinter Farms to see the sunflower fields. I had wanted to do this last year, but we just never got around to it. The sunflowers always seem to peak around Labor Day weekend when we are usually gone. James was up super early, so we took advantage of the timing and drove to Lawrence. It was fun to see and to see James' reaction (albeit he was tired and crabby as he had just gotten up from a nap).

 

Checking them out!

He really did love the "eee- low" flowers.

On the move!

It was another busy, but fun Labor Day weekend in the books with my boys!