Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Sick!

Not James, but me. I did stay home today to rest. It was the first day that I could remember being all by myself, all day. It was so quiet. All day I felt like something was missing. James! He was safe at daycare, but I kept looking around for him.

The babysite is still down for awhile. I've put some pictures in a video until I can properly add them to the baby albums. Enjoy the diaper pics!





Sunday, April 27, 2008

Short and sweet

I've been feeling sick since yesterday, probably just a cold. We had a quiet day at home, except for grocery shopping.

James had a good day up until he vomited on me. He had just woken up from his nap, I carried him downstairs, and then he started to vomit in my arms. We were both covered with it, so I ran to the kitchen floor so we wouldn't dirty anything else. I stripped James and myself down as he cried and shook. It was unexplainable. He was fine in less than a minute, playing happily in his diaper as I cleaned the carpet, washed our clothing, and cleaned the kitchen floor. It was gross. I think it was the raspberries he had at lunch? It was a somewhat new food for him. I guess we'll give it a try again tomorrow.

Oh, so the babysite people emailed and said the photo albums are under maintenance until at least Wednesday. Patience, I guess.

See our video below- James loves his bat and balls!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Babysite update

If you've noticed, the photos haven't been working. The babysite is undergoing maintenance and it notified me that it would take all day again. I haven't been able to upload any pictures...

Its snowing :( We woke up to a white outside. Our zoo trip was cancelled. We still went out to breakfast and were surprised by Uncle Joe and Aunt Kathy joining us! After breakfast, Jim, James, and I went to Edina to browse the Galleria mall, Southdale Mall, and finally to Babies R Us to get the much needed tv button blockers. (James has been driving us crazy with turning on and off the tv!)

I updated the "My Favorite Links" section. Don't read the blogs I have listed in there unless you want a good cry!

James is currently using his plastic baseball bat and some jingle balls to play his version of golf. He very carefully places a ball on the ground and then takes some wild swings. He has a ball! (Ha.) His other favorite thing to do is lie on the floor and play with his feet. I thought that was a young baby thing to do? Well, whatever makes him happy :)

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Dada Love

James sure does love his Dada. Dada is much preferred over me these days. Its hard not to be jealous and a little sad that James doesn't like to be held by me, but its very sweet that he loves his Dada so much! He will BEG for Jim to pick him up, James loves to sit on the couch next to Jim and he leans and snuggles against him. He is the best behaved with his Dada, when its just the two boys down in the basement. On Tuesdays Jim plays pool and isn't home. Well, that evening James was a little cranky and he went up to the basement door and pounded. Once I did hear him cry/whine "Dada!" I know he was looking for Jim. I was able to distract him with his ball and tickling, but it wasn't easy!

Last night we ate on the deck for the first time! It was pretty nice weather and Jim grilled. We brought James' highchair outside. It was nice to get some fresh air! We heard lots of birds and noises from the pond.

I was reading through a suggested toddler diet and realizing that James does eat a lot. 4 servings of vegetables and/or fruits are recommended, that's 1 Tablespoon per serving. Ummm, James ate a whole diced pear last night, along with everything else for dinner (peas, shaved turkey, milk, yogurt, cheese). That alone was his fruit/veggie allowance for the day. It also said 4 servings of grains, and 1/4 slice of bread would be one serving. Ummm, James eats a whole slice of bread each morning as a "snack" before daycare. I guess we need to work on proteins and giving James some vegetable variety. Peas everyday doesn't sound right.

Weekend plans: Minnesota Zoo, here we come! We are excited to get outside and explore the zoo with James now that he's a bit older and curious. I'm expecting lots of walking around :) Before the zoo, we are having breakfast with Grandma Laura!

Sunday, April 20, 2008

More videos

James is a baby of many names. Today I heard him called "Nugget", "SuperBaby", "Handsome", and "Sweet Baby James". Tia Ana calls him Nugget, Grandma Rosie calls him Handsome, his Dada calls him SuperBaby (I overheard tonight's bath), and I call him Sweet Baby James among other nice things. I guess we all have a little nickname for him but he will always be James. Or James Landon Tauer! when he is in trouble :) I admit I did the full name last week when I was frustrated by the TV being turned on and off, over and over. I finally unplugged it today.

So a full weekend! We drove to Chanhassen for Dick's 80th birthday party, and we saw Grandma Rosie, Grandpa Larry and lots of other people. It was an hour drive, so we didn't expect to stay longer than about 2 hours. And what a busy two hours! James explored, played outside, and ate. Active. I was worried that the long drives would mean James would sleep too much in the car and throw off his night sleeping. BUT he stayed awake and was ready for bed when we got home :)

On Sunday we drove to Minneapolis to meet Tia Ana, Tio Rich, Grandma Rosie, and Grandpa Larry for brunch. James feasted on strawberries, yogurt, and crackers. Refused breakfast goodies like muffins, french toast, etc. James was pretty well behaved and he pulled out his new tricks- brushing his hair, blowing kisses, his sign language (apple, bath, toothbrush, bye-bye). Cute! Again, worried about the car napping but he was still able to take an afternoon nap at home.

Dada and this Mama were BUSY during the nap. Jim put together our deck furniture, cleaned out the garage, and put together James' park bench. He loves the bench but likes to stand on it. He's such a boy! I was busy cleaning and organizing.

Another busy week for us, I've got something on Monday night, and Jim has his normal pool night on Tuesday. We hope for good weather so we can use that deck furniture!

See our videos below!



Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Miguel Muskrat

...is back in the pond! His friends Darcia and Daniel Ducks are also swimming happily. Before James was born, Jim and I named the animal friends- all Spanish sounding names- that James would have one day when he's older and exploring the pond. We hope to make a children's book one day :) (We are geeky. We know this.)

We have a full weekend ahead of us! Grandma Rosie and Grandpa Larry are coming up for the Hullett family party. We are driving down to Chanhassen for the get-together in the afternoon. On Sunday we are meeting Tia Ana, Tio Rich, Grandma Rosie, and Grandpa Larry for brunch. Its a full family fun weekend!

So there aren't any new pictures :( My camera is acting funny and all the most recent pictures are blurry or just not good. I wish I had some good pictures!!

James has been a bit crabby lately, throwing small tantrums here and there. I'm determined to read up on time-outs but I think he's still young for them. We tried to sit him alone once and he just threw himself on his back and kicked his legs, crying. Well, we need to find something to do when he hits.

James blew me a kiss (on his own completely!) as Jim carried him upstairs to take a bath. I was a proud happy Mama :)

Our California trip is shaping up! Jim is online right now trying to find airline tickets, Grandpa Frank and Grandma Julie did a drive-by of the hotel we're thinking about and gave us a good report, and I'm going to start concentrating on putting together a packing list and/or buying what we need. Its hard to know. Do we really need a highchair or booster seat? A stroller? Crib is covered, I called the hotel and they have a crib we can use. All of this stuff can add up!

Good night!

Friday, April 11, 2008

Wet weekend

Too bad it will be a wet, dreary weekend. We could have gone to the zoo! Well, we have a busy weekend planned anyway. Lots to do! Tomorrow morning I'm supposed to volunteer with a group of students at the Coon Rapids recycling center, but I'm not sure if that will happen after all. Too few students, and the weather. So maybe I will get to spend the day with Dada Jim and James!

On Sunday we are busy. Enough said :)

James received a pair of handknit socks from his Tia Ana! They fit! I put a picture in the April album. Its just amazing what his Tia can do with yarn!

Nothing else to really report. James has been a bit miserable lately because of diaper rash :( His poor little bum has been pink/sore despite diaper cream. Well, he's usually a fast healer, so I hope it clears up.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

We have a date with Grandma!

Grandma Rosie is coming to town not this weekend, but the next! We hopefully will go to Great Grandpa (sorta) Dick's 80th birthday party in Chanhassen and see that part of the (sorta) step-fam.

Below is a short video of James and his fork. He loves to spear food and is getting better!

Since his haircut he looks and acts like a little boy! Sandra said she has noticed a difference too. He has been playing well with the other kids, and she said she saw him be "assertive" for the first time when another kid grabbed a toy from him. He took it back! I wish I could have seen that :) Of course I will teach him to play nicely but it would have been interesting to see.

And wow has he been active and talkative! Its still mostly babble but they are words to him. He makes the same sounds over and over, and I feel like a bad mama when I don't understand but I will eventually. And active... he's been all over the place. There is not a door that he doesn't love, there is not an item on the floor or on countertops that he won't try to touch, etc. We say, "James, you don't miss a beat!" He is on top of everything!

His favorite toys lately: his tee ball and bat, his puzzles, legos (dumping them), his piggy bank (actually just the coins). He's shown less interest lately in his cars and books. Its kind of a relief not to read the same book five times in a row, but we'll need to make a concentrated effort to include books back in his day.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

17 months old today!

We had a pretty quiet day at home today. Our new deck furniture was to be delivered this morning so we couldn't go too far. Jim started to assemble the furniture but then the rain started. It ended up being a wet, dreary day. BUT James was happy and very very active. He crawled, ran, climbed, and played hard.

James' vocab:

No

Dada

Ball (pronounced baaaaawl)

Baba (bottle)

Uh oh (anytime he drops something)

Book (prounced boww boww)

Elmo ('Mo!)

Bye Bye

Banana (pronounced Nana)

Good (mostly "Good to go!")

Mama (BUT by accident I've taught him to say it as he pounds his own chest, because as I tried to teach him, I'd point to myself. I think he thinks it means himself and doesn't associate it with ME.)

Now that I've put together that list, I'm realizing he talks more than I think!

I've been buying summer shorts and tshirts for James as I see them on sale. I think I'm just getting excited to be done with school and home with James. :) Also this summer there are two trips planned- one to California in June and Dada Jim will be headed to Vegas in August with his buddies. Lots to look forward to!

Scary moment today: I freaked because I thought James was choking. I cut up a nectarine for part of his dinner, cutting away most of the skin. James was very enthusiastic about eating it and Jim thinks he was stuffing his mouth and not chewing, and it wasn't because of the skin. James got a little red in the face, made a gagging noise, and I yelled for Jim (just one step away, washing dishes). I hurried and removed the highchair tray and waited to see if he took a breath or made any kind of reassuring noise. He cleared his own throat, spit up a little, and then looked for more food. All was well. This just reminded me that I need to review our choking and CPR instructions. Better safe...

James got his haircut on Saturday. We are in disbelief that he all of a sudden looks like a little boy! His eyes look so huge! He's just so cute :) Lately we've been seeing little bits of our family members in James- sometimes we see Uncle Joe (combo of Jim and the brown eyes), we see Grandma Rosie, and sometimes an expression will remind me of Tia Kristina.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Remember when he was this little?

I don't know if you've noticed, but I added back some of the very early baby albums (November 2006 through March 2008). I had to delete a lot of pictures before because my babysite was FULL. So I added back just my favorites :)

Yay its Thursday! Though its a busy work day. We have our talent show at school today, and my students are also having our Cultural/Traditional dress day. They are decked out in their Hmong, African, and Latino clothing. *I* am wearing a Mexican inspired shirt that I found at Macy's :)

Also today I have presentations at Ramsey Elementary. I am nervous because this school is famous for giving us a hard time. Not everyone wants to talk about diversity and culture, I guess.

James! He is learning to eat with a spoon and spork. He uses his spoon to scoop up peas sometimes, and he "helps" with feeding himself yogurt. I'm teaching him to use his spork to spear hot dog pieces. He is really independent and I have a feeling he'll insist on feeding himself like this once he gets the hang of it.

Another new skill: blowing kisses! At my prompt, he blew a kiss as I dropped him off this morning at Sandra's :)

Weekend plans: I don't really think we have any. Jim has a medical check-up (for insurance) on Saturday morning but hopefully it will be nice weather and we can get outside after that!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Videos

Sandra just called us this morning. She slipped and fell while shoveling snow! Oh no! She hurt her shoulder and so will be unable to care for James today. I'll be staying home with him.

James slept beautifully last night :) from 8pm-6am! That's good enough for us!

Two videos below:
20 Questions (and James' favorite word "No")
&
Playing with his Elmo Aquadoodle mat (you use a water filled pen to "draw" on the mat. The water dries and "erases".)