Frozen North

"Mommy, I've never been to the frozen north. It's too cold."

James is referring to the frozen north from one of his shows Oswald. Henry the Penguin is from the frozen north. I guess James doesn't know we truly are in the frozen north!

It was 3 degrees today, with a wind chill of -11. I know this, I looked. A student asked me to look it up because he wanted to make a case to his gym teacher that it was too cold to go outside for snowshoeing. Whoa.

Another funny thing is that we went to Target today after I picked James up from daycare. Target is the home of the "Free Cookie". We were waiting for James' free cookie when he spied the cakes and treats in the bakery case. He got really excited and said, "MOM! It's a red belbet cake!!!" The lady next to us laughed and said, "Wow, that's impressive that he knows that."

He impressed the daycare teachers the other day with his "delectable cupcake" comment. And now he knows what a red velvet cake is! Grandma Laura gave him a Fancy Nancy and the Delectable Cupcakes book. I think he just really likes the book because of the cupcake talk. But it's teaching him some great vocabulary :)

Storyteller

At breakfast on Sunday James spontaneously bust out some stories. He just amazed me with his enthusiastic, talkative charm. If you can make sense out of some of these, well, you're good.

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!

After Christmas

We've had to tell James that Christmas is over. James insists, "Santa is coming later, not today." Well, okay.



This picture came home with James from daycare. I don't know why they took the picture, but its cute!


We sent James to daycare today because it was a special Show and Tell Day and also he had Spanish class scheduled. I've been home for Winter Break and I feel guilty sending James to daycare, but I know he gets a lot out of it. He enjoys the activities, the play time with friends, and he learns a lot. I've been enjoying my days off by meeting up with friends, baking, and reading. Ahhhh.... relaxation.



James showing his Hockey claw. He also calls it his "Hockey Mitten".




I took pictures of pictures so they're a bit fuzzy. I just can't imagine what went down for Show and Tell. What did James say? Was he proud? Talkative? Shy? I'll have to ask.

I also would have liked to see the Dance Party they had today!

He's been extremely talkative lately. My family has noticed a change, even since Thanksgiving, and his daycare teachers have told me lately that he is nonstop chatter. Its not a bad thing! He keeps us on our toes :)

And notice he's getting a "Good job James!" on the potty training area of his daycare sheet. He must be using the potty well there too! He did a great job right before bed tonight. Yay James!

Best Mama moment

James and I were home alone on Tuesday night while Jim was at pool. I was sitting on the couch, watching James play golf. He came up to me suddenly and demanded, "Hug!" So we hugged. As he hugged me he said, "Wub you Mama!"

Now he's told me he loves me before, when we've exchanged "I love you's" at bedtime. I love to hear it then :) BUT this time it was all on his own.

I was truly overwhelmed with love and I'm not embarrassed to say that I shed a few happy tears. My little boy is amazing!

Target

As I mentioned James loves to shop at Target. I know its because of the free kid's cookie, but yesterday I held off giving him the cookie for as long as I could. He hadn't had a snack, so I figured it was okay. He sits really well in the cart nowadays. I took these pictures with my camera phone yesterday.





Later, James wandered around the house in his Dada's shoes and golfed. He is back into golfing! Just in time for spring and trying out those new big boy clubs with his Dada!



On Saturday we took James to the mall. I think I mentioned this before. We tried the play area in the mall, and I thought it was just okay. These hard play structures make me nervous. And a lot of the structures had ramps/slides but no stairs. It made it hard for James to climb without slipping down in his socks.





These are older camera phone pictures. This first one is one of my favorites.





I am home on my spring break! Yesterday we didn't do much but run that errand at Target and hang out at home. I had lots of time at home to make a good dinner so I experimented and made Chipotle Lime Chicken tacos. Jim said they were the best tacos he ever had! We had leftover Chocolate Intensity cake from Grandpa Roger's visit, and that was also the "best" cake Jim ever had. He's already requested it for his birthday :) James really liked the cake too but he called it "pie". He switched between his Dada and me, asking for bites of pie. He had a chocolate face afterwards. Cute!

Funny thing: We were eating that delicious dinner last night when all of a sudden James said, "Oh my god!" and then farted loudly in his highchair. We looked at each other and bust out laughing! I guess someone (me probably) says OMG too much. I've switched to Oh My Goodness but James is still walking around saying OMG.

Other favorite phrases:
Watch this!
Be right back!
Just a second.
Look at this!
I found it!
________ (insert object), where are you? Oh, here you are!
Watch TV.
Hungry! Peanut butter and jelly.

This week's plans: Today we are solo. Jim has work and then pool. James and I are headed to the library this morning and then Bacon and Eggs tonight. Tomorrow we are going to Minneapolis to shop for a birthday present for Esme (Wonderment) and then we are meeting Grandma Rosie for lunch! No plans for the rest of the week yet, though we hope to see Tia Ana and Tio Rich this weekend for a visit!

Night Night I wuf you Mama

James is his cutest at bedtime. I love his new Sock Monkey pajamas from Grandma Rosie. I love that he climbs up on to the step stool in the bathroom, grabs both toothbrushes, and hands me one to "help". Really, we do all the tooth brushing. James will usually just suck on the brush, so it leaves Mama and Dada to do the real brushing.

We head upstairs after saying goodnight to the parent left downstairs, and then we kiss 'Mo, Cook, and Errrrnie. (Elmo, Cookie Monster, Ernie)

And last, I get the hug and "Night Night Mama". I lay him down and say, "I love you".

James says, "I wuf you Mama" or something close to that. It melts my heart.

2 year wellness visit to Dr. K

James is a healthy little boy! He is measuring at 28 lbs 6 ozs (53rd percentile) and 34 inches (36th percentile). So he's a little on the shorter side, but still within average measurements. He did grow 2 inches since the last visit, so all on track.

Our doctor's visit was a bit stressful for James. The doctor was running late so it was a long wait, and James had missed his snack at daycare because he woke up so late from his nap. I was an unprepared Mama and didn't have any food with me. I guess I will learn from that. So he started crying "Eat" until the doctor came in and cheered him up. James liked the doctor's instruments, especially the ear checker with the lighted tip. I was impressed with how she interacted with James!

Dr K was impressed with James' words. The cutest moment was at the end of the appointment when James was his crabbiest self and I told James, "Say 'I sorry' to the Doctor because you are crabby." James was still undressed, only in his diaper, and looked up at her with his big brown eyes and said, "I sowwwwy." The Doctor melted and said "You were great, James. A good boy."

We didn't have any real questions for the Doctor, but we asked for her advice concerning the nightly blankie droppings. She suggested letting him cry it out. We probably will try this this weekend. I will suggest that Jim wear his ear plugs because he is the one most sensitive to James' crying :( Not that I'm heartless but I know its for the best.

We've also been given permission to start chewable vitamins and switch to 2% milk.

James did receive two shots in his chubby thighs. He cries for only a few moments and then is fine. As we were leaving, they said usually with a new flu shot patient they make them wait half an hour, but they realized we were rushed to get him fed so they told us to watch out for hives and breathing problems. Yikes! Luckily James is healthy as can be and had no issues with the shots.

At home, he ate quickly and then got right to coloring.









Mama and James made a Blue's Clues "book".


James can pick out the Black and Yellow crayons. Sometimes Blue and Green too.


We are thankful for a healthy, happy boy!

Celebrating! Obamanos!

And Yes James Can! James can one day be our first Mexican president. It is possible!



Its going to be an exciting day at school/work today. My students are CRAZY with excitement. I just cannot wait to tell the first student that he can be president too. How wonderful that they have Obama to look up to, someone that looks like them. I am weepy with so much happiness and hope today! I'm already printing out last night's speech to read with my Multicultural student group next week.

In James news: our little man got a haircut! He is a different boy.




Another celebration: 100 words!!!!
Well, here's the overwhelming list of words that James knows. I compiled all of them into one big list. I am a proud Mama today just seeing how many words he really does know! I am sure I am forgetting some! He understands so many more, but these are just the words we've actually heard him use.

1. Ahhh choo!
2. All gone!
3. apple
4. Awesome
5. Baby
6. ball
7. balloon
8. banana
9. basketball
10. bat
11. bath
12. beep!
13. black
14. blankie
15. book
16. bus
17. Blues Clues
18. buckle
19. bug
20. butterfly
21. bye bye
22. cake
23. cheese
24. Chips
25. Choo-choo
26. clock
27. Cookie
28. cracker
29. Crayon
30. Cup
31. Dada
32. door
33. down
34. duck
35. eat
36. elmo
37. eyes
38. football
39. fork
40. fries
41. Golf
42. Grandma (pronounced "Buck-a")
43. Grandpa (Bucko)
44. help
45. hey you!
46. Home Run!
47. isabelle
48. Jump
49. Mail
50. mama
51. milk
52. MMM Num Num!
53. Moon
54. moose
55. more
56. Morning
57. mouth
58. Night night
59. nose
60. no
61. obama
62. octagon! ("o-gon", in his shapes book)
63. off
64. oh man
65. on
66. one
67. outside
68. Pablo
69. plane
70. poop
71. pumpkin
72. purple
73. rhea
74. R2 (as in R2D2)
75. Sandra
76. Shapes
77. shoes
78. soap
79. socks
80. Sorry
81. spoon
82. star
83. strawberry (“bud-dee”)
84. Sun
85. three
86. Tia (cha-cha)
87. Tickle tickle
88. Toast
89. toes
90. touchdown
91. Tree
92. Truck
93. TV (tee-eee)
94. Two
95. Uh oh!
96. up
97. walk
98. wow
99. yes
100. Yo Yo (yogurt)

So happy today!!

We love Sundays!

James began his day by taking a drive around the house. He LOVES his new car!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Next, it was time to read the sports page of the Sunday newspaper.





What? I look cute? I know!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Later, James and Dada went "outside" to play football. Outside has become one of James' favorite words.
This one is my favorite picture. It shows James' joy. Its a beautiful thing.







James was on the ground quite a bit. He likes to fumble and tumble.



He threw the ball in the weeds. Dada did not approve.











It was a beautiful day!



New words:
football
plane
truck
fork (sounds like a naughty f-word)
Bucko (Grandpa)
crayon

I'm sure I'm forgetting some!