Saturday, April 25, 2009

MOA

I'm a bit behind on posting. I made two posts tonight, so be sure to scroll down to the next entry too!

This is a bit mean of me, but on Friday night James was pretty miserable. We had a few false alarms as he would say, "Poop... stuck!" He would grunt and we would check his diaper but nothing. Finally, there was poop.



Yay! On Saturday morning we headed to the Mall of America. We knew James would recognize the characters in the Park. We didn't know if he would ride the rides.

Dora!



Swiper! (from Dora)



James wanted to try this ride. He grinned, laughed, and Jim said they pointed out Swiper each time they passed the character. It was the only ride James would go on though. Oh well, next time!







We had a great view of the Park at lunch!



The Lego Store.





Okay, and so we have no idea what started this Robot talk. He got a little shy for the camera, but moments before he kept repeating that phrase over and over. Funny kid.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

A little late

From last weekend. We ran errands- baby needed a new pair of shoes! and stuff like that. I looked in the backseat and this is how James was chillin' in the car.



James seemed to enjoy shoe shopping. He would try on shoes and run up and down the aisle with his Dada. Fun!



(Kristina, here he looks like he's throwing up the signs!)



We went to Toys R Us looking for a bike part and while we were browsing James relaxed a bit. Lounging.



Sometimes its hard to leave a store. James wants to keep looking or (rarely) he wants to hold on to an item. (This is when I feel for the parents who buy everything in sight for their kid, just to shut them up. I refuse to do this. I let James hold things but he always puts them back before we leave.) At TRU, James wanted to leave because he saw this Barney ride outside! We didn't have any bills for the ride, but he was content to just sit and hug Barney. Ha. (By the way, we despise Barney.)





That Saturday night, Tia Ana and Tio Rich came over for some babysitting. We got a glowing report when we got back from our night out. Dinner and bowling. Lotsa fun.



On Sunday morning, the first words out of James mouth were, "ChaCha and Donkey?" So we knew he had fun!

Also, that morning, Jim and James brought out the Legos. Thanks Grandma Rosie for the Legos! Please note that James' pajamas are Star Wars Legos. He gets so excited when he wears them! It was a rainy day so he ended up staying in pjs for most of the day. Fine by James!







James still likes to sleep and be near "teddy beh". They watch TV together.



Kiss!





More golf.







James kept trying to say hi and wave to the big boys across the street, but they were too busy to notice him. They are always outside on skateboards, bikes, or playing street hockey.







Seriously, James knows his name is James, but watch the video. Funny!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Awwww!

James is not a stuffed animal kid yet. I mean, he doesn't play with them or seem attached to any at this point. And we have TONS of them. They are just waiting for him... someday. But the other night he was saying goodnight to the few animals he likes (Sesame Street characters- Elmo, Ernie, Oscar, and Cookie) and he wanted the "teddy beh". He wanted MY teddy bear, Brownie! Brownie has been with me since I was three or four years old, given to me by my Uncle Juan. So now James has slept with Brownie for the past two nights. Its very cute. He lays on his stomach next to Brownie and when we put the blankets over him, he makes sure that they are on Brownie too. He's also offered his "Blankie" to Brownie. (That thing is NASTY.)

So I took this picture when I checked on James before MY bedtime. The blankets always fall off by that time so I quietly replace them. This time I made sure to cover Brownie too :)



Tuesday night. There is not a day that goes by without golf! Here is James headed down to the golf net. We were only there for a few minutes before he kept saying "Be right back" and trying to head back up the hill, to the house. I couldn't figure out why he wanted to head back inside so fast. So I kept asking him what he wanted and he kept saying "Butta". I thought he meant the spray butter bottle that he likes to hold sometimes at the dinner table. It was so random and weird! So I was frustrated that we had hauled down all of the golf balls, a club, and a folding chair for me and James wanted to go back inside.



Turned out that he wanted his golf PUTTER! As soon as we got to the garage, he found his golf bag and pointed to the "Butta!" We went back down the hill to the golf net with the butta :)

On Wednesday night we finally tried out our bike trailer! James didn't mind it. But you can see that he insisted on holding his golf club and golf balls. Once or twice he dropped the balls inside the trailer and would strain against his seatbelt to reach them. He would cry and we'd think we would have to pull over, but he would suddenly say, "Got it!"





Thursday morning, headed to the "party". Jim tells James that he is going to a party each day, just to get him to put on his shoes and jacket. James gets very excited. Today he was chatting away, telling me about the presents and balloons. I hope he isn't too disappointed when we pull up to Sandra's!

Monday, April 13, 2009

Wowsa

Lots of pictures below. These first few are from my Culture Day at school/work. My students dressed in their cultural/traditional clothing and they also showcased their clothing in a Culture Parade (like a fashion show) during the school talent show. I was like a proud mama!



One of my new favorite students, a 6th grader named Melany. She wore clothing from Guatemala.











Back on the homefront...

James loves to say his name. In this picture I'm asking him "what's your name?" and he responds "James!" and taps his chest.



We've been to the park many times in the past few days. We've been taking nightly walks and we hit the park each time.









It was cold outside one morning and I couldn't find his usual brown knit hat. I found the penguin hat and was so happy to see it fit well and so cute!







James spied a bird and wanted to "catch it!"



For Easter Jim and I made these "cake pops" that looked like bunny heads. They were a lot of fun to make! I was so impressed that Jim had the patience to sit and help :)




Another trip to "play outside"! Its a constant demand :) We like it because it means less Dora on TV.

I finally got smart and made James carry his own balls. He likes to fill up the pail.









Because of James' obsession with golf, we thought a net would be a good investment. James (and Jim) can hit balls all they want in the backyard!















The real golf clubs came out! James loves them, though they are pretty heavy and harder for James to swing. He tries though!







There's nothing like "chocolate" pudding after a full night of golfing.



I love the picture below :)



The park AGAIN.





Easter at Grandma (Bucka) and Grandpa (Bucko)'s house in Shakopee! James received a basket from Grandma and a great book from Tia ChaCha and Tio Donkey. I love the book because it reminds me of my own childhood books- Richard Scarry!





James and Grandma would sneak off often to play and bounce on the bed.





Its time to hunt for eggs! I was amazed that James was willing to wear the ears again. I LOVE LOVE this picture!





Grandma very generously FILLED her eggs for James. I had sports themed eggs for James but I was a bit stingy with 1-2 M&M's in each egg.











James shared a jelly bean with Grandpa.



Bye Tio Donkey! I'll miss you!!



Grandma and James snuck off AGAIN to play.



Oh no! An owwwwie. Grandma kissed it and it was "all better!"





When we got home we had a visit from Grandma Laura and then another visit from Grandpa Roger and his friend Linda. Linda brought this bunny cake. It was delicious.