Catching up AGAIN

Artwork from iPhone. James loves to play around on our phones, there are a few easy "apps" that he likes- art, a Goldilocks interactive story, the lightsaber noises, and then a matching game. We've limited his use of the apps not because we're worried about his use of technology but because we just don't want him to break our phones!

Jim said that after he "drew" this picture, James wondered why his fingertips weren't brown or blue :)

Daycare rainbow. This replaced the winter wonderland, Christmas tree display. The colors of the rainbow are kids' handprints, in corresponding room colors. James is in the Orange room so his handprint is orange.


James was reaching into his locker to find his gloves, hat, and boots. His t-shirt says, "The world revolves around me." Yup!


We left for breakfast early on Saturday. So early that Jim didn't shower and he was hiding his hair under his Twins cap. James wanted a cap too. We've got an early start on Twins season! (We're looking forward to going to the new stadium! Even me!)


Air hockey


Lightsaber play. James pretended flashlights were lightsabers. He makes swishing noises and swings it like a sword.




I turned off the light and the camera flash to see if the light would reflect better.


Things sometimes get a little rough and tumble before bedtime.




One last golf swing before bedtime!


Oven-fried chicken for dinner. (South Beach friendly)


Key Lime pie with coconut pecan graham crust. NOT diet friendly :)


It was a fast weekend. We didn't do much but get things done around the house and play. Lots of playing. Jim spent a little more time with James than me, because I was cooking and prepping for my Dad's visit. (Grandpa Frank is coming to town!!! We've been hyping it up with James :)

Play: "bathtime" in the blankets, lotsa Legos, golf, sorting and playing with Valentine's day cards, cars, coloring, Leapfrog video games, lightsaber play, air hockey, Dora computer game with Dada, books, dance party (James was introduced to "Walk this Way" on my ipod) and probably more play that I'm forgetting! Oh yes, and nonstop chatter!

Winter already?!

It snowed! Overnight our yard and house was covered by a light blanket of snow. James woke up and joined us in bed. I told him to get down and look out the window to see the snow. He looked out and said, "Where the green?"

We broke out his winter coat today and decided it was a good day to start looking around for snowpants and winter boots. (Found them!) James resisted the coat but I think he was glad to have it when the wind hit him! Mama always knows best.

James is still on his finger painting kick. He asks to paint and then gets all excited for "messy fingers"!


James brought home a Witch's hat on Friday. He surprised me by wearing it but he insisted on wearing it backwards.


The back view-


Before lunch James and I played in the "clubhouse". We read a few books and then James wanted to put together his puzzle. I used the opportunity to review his letters- I was happy that he recognizes a few letters like W, X, and S and how nice to enjoy a quiet moment in the sun :)




I think I'm going to have get used to the little quirky things that boys do. I'm sure girls do this too but James has collected a treasure box of "prizes". Here's a peek inside his box-


Lately, James is very attached to particular TV shows. He can follow along and quote most of the scenes in his favorites- Upside Down Show, the "Farm" episode, the theme song from the Fresh Beat Band, etc. In this video I caught James dancing along to the Farm episode. Its actually the second take, I didn't capture the first time on video so I did rewind the show to get this. The first time he danced he was really, really trying to do the Running Man dance. It was hilarious!

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TMI WARNING
POOP INVOLVED!
The other day Jim and I were busy cleaning the kitchen after dinner and James was quietly playing in the living room. We heard him say, "Poop! Poop!" and point to the ground. Sure enough there was a pile of poop on the carpet. We were so confused! I couldn't figure out how he pooped on the floor with his pants very plainly still on his body! I started to tug at his pants, while Jim had the very gross job of picking up the poop and cleaning the carpet, and I saw that his pull-up diaper had snapped open. The poop wasn't contained inside of it and had slid down his leg. UGH! SO GROSS! I had to lay down James and wipe his legs down and his bum.

Yup! This is so true! Poop happens! (Ana gave me this decorative tile a long, long time ago. How wise she is!)

Yay! We get to see Grandma Rosie tomorrow! We are meeting her for lunch and fun. We thought about going to the Children's Museum but decided not to after all. We might be overly cautious but I couldn't stand the thought of all the germs. Its a very interactive place and James would be touching everything and exploring. I really just want to wait until after his next doctor's appointment and flu shots! So, we'll have other fun and maybe even see Tia ChaCha and Tio Donkey! James was BEGGING to go to their house today, over and over in the car "I wanna go to Donkey and ChaCha's house!" So I hope we get to see them too! James will be thrilled :)

Fun fun boy!

Yup, that's another ice cream cone in his hand. He doesn't get one every night, but probably every 2-3 days. I just love taking these pictures because its a shared love of ice cream! In this picture James is following along with one of his favorite shows, The Upside Down Show, specifically the "Picnic" episode. He knows the dialogue by heart, so in certain parts you can hear him following along with the show.




What a mess! James has always been very neat, never liking to have a mess on his hands or face, but with ice cream cones that all goes out the window! (or however that saying goes)


We had a full, long holiday weekend. On Saturday we did stay around the house a lot. Jim continued to stain our deck and I played with James and did things around the house. (This was repeated today- Monday.) On Sunday we went to Grandpa Roger's house for a BBQ. He and his friend Linda had their "kids" over for a get-together. Linda's kids also have their own kids, so James was able to play with a few little kids. He did very well! We were happy to go over to Roger's, but I had been bracing myself for a hard day spent chasing around James (in a un-child-proofed home) and a crabby James in unfamiliar territory. He surprised us by playing happily with toys, running around outside, and charming the other adults. He was thrilled to see Uncle Joe at Grandpa's house, and to meet Joe's friend Shannon (again) and her daughter Kara (17yo). I didn't take any pictures so that's why I'm explaining all this, probably very wordily.

This morning Jim was recruited by James to play in the "clubhouse". James calls his closet the clubhouse and likes to either read books in there, or lock his guest in the closet. I have sat in that closet, on the monkey chair, waiting for James to let me out. Its all in good fun I suppose!

So I went upstairs to check on my boys and found Jim laying on the ground, covered in Legos and blankets. James thought it was fun to torture his Dada! :)


Later on it was my turn to play with James and so we brought out the Play-doh. Yesterday at Grandpa Roger's I remembered that James liked playing with one of the little girl's tea sets, even though she wasn't good at sharing and was afraid James would break the pieces. (I told her that if James broke it, his Dada was buying it! And she'd get a new, even better set but she was still not sharing well.) So... today we made our own tea party out of Play-doh!

First, James made "sandwiches", ala "Picnic" style. He carefully layered bread, turkey, and then cheese.






And then we made our mini tea cups out of yellow Play-doh.


Brownie the Teddy Bear joined us! James is saying, "What do you want to eat?"


A sweet kiss!








I have exciting news. James really and truly earned a sticker on the potty chart! He ASKED to go to the potty and so I sat him down as usual. I asked him if he wanted some privacy and he said yes. I just turned around the corner to pick up some toys when I heard him say "Oh!" So I went back to see what was going on and I found him standing up. I must have missed seeing the stream of pee by like a second! I bet he was startled sitting on the potty, and stood up. Well, he peed a bit on the toilet seat and then on the sink mat.


I made a big deal out of the potty success, complete with a high-five, flushing the pee and toilet paper down the toilet, lots of "Wow!"'s and "Great job!" James watched me add a sticker to the collection and he looked proud of himself.



Possible TMI details below (you have been warned)-

Sticker #1: Kind of a freebie, like the middle square in Bingo. I put that first sticker on to show James that we are using stickers. He was happy to sit on the potty, so I was happy to give him that first sticker :)

Sticker #2: On Friday James told me he needed to go potty. When I pulled down his pull-up he had just pooped. It was literally hanging from his cute little butt. So it fell in the toilet and I counted it as a success. We were able to see the poop in the toilet and flush it down. "Bye Bye Poop!"

Sticker #3: Today's pee on the toilet seat and bath mat. "A" for effort!

Happy Feet

I guess we're on a dancing theme. That last video just cracks me up.

In this first video I caught James dancing. We were playing outside yesterday and he left my view (I was gardening!) and when I turned around the corner to find him, this is what I saw.

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Because it was a rainy day we needed to play inside. I brought out the chalk mat and James had fun jumping, drawing, and just keeping me busy!









Deep concentration.


After dinner, I made popcorn while Jim got James all "cozy" in the basement for movie night! We chose Happy Feet because we thought James would like the penguins and dancing.


James was all about the popcorn!




Joining in the dancing. This was a tense chase scene between the sea lion and the penguins. I thought James was scared but he laughed and ran around the room as we watched.






Well, movie night was a success. We did get through the whole movie but James did lose interest for a little bit and got up to play pool. He came back to the couch to sit on my lap and we finished watching. And then Jim and James got up to dance with the credits!

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We try to have fun at our house!

Happy Dada's Day!

Last week:
James liked the Rainbow cupcakes too!



James was also very helpful when I cleaned the refrigerator last week. I am glad that I use non-toxic cleaners like vinegar and water so that James can help :)

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Uncle Joe is trouble. He brought over some water guns for James. I've reluctantly filled them a few times and here is the fun.

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James and I played at the Coon Rapids Lion Park. I really like this playground because the playground equipment isn't too scary and high up.











It was pretty hot. We found some shade for water and a snack.











Yup, I'm on the other end of this see-saw. I took care not to throw James up into the air!



Happy Dada's Day! Jim requested this Chocolate Intensity cake for Father's Day.



I told Jim we couldn't cut into it until dinner at my Mom's.



On Saturday Jim went golfing with the guys (Larry, Rich) and James and I went shopping with the girls (Rosie, Ana). James had a great time with Grandma in the middle of Marshall's. They found the drums and had a little concert for everyone.

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At lunch Tia ChaCha entertained James with this cool hamburger toy. James loved cutting the burger into pieces. (They stick together with velcro.)




Wow! A PGA exhibit at the mall! James loved it! Lots of golf pictures to see, a practice putting mat, and he brought his own balls (Grandma Rosie couldn't resist buying the big bucket of balls :)







Tiger Wood's hat, golf club, and picture.



Exhausted and still clutching his bucket of balls.



Happy Dada's Day! The actual day on Sunday. James said "Happy Dada Day, Dada!" probably about 20 times this day :) He also wore a "Dad is my Superhero!" tshirt.



Grandma Laura came over for dinner. We had Jim's favorite dinner of Chicken Scallopine and then we had Cupcake Kebabs for dessert. A very simple idea that I stole from the internet- mini marble cupcakes, chocolate covered marshmallows, and strawberries. Mmmm.





We're off to Santa Barbara on Thursday!