Monday, March 10, 2008

16 months plus a few days

Baby James is a little man. He amazes us every day! His favorite things to do are "sing", dance/move to music, and read books. (Please see today's video clips and last week's for examples of these things!) He still isn't talking much but I know his words will just explode one day. I'm a little sad that he doesn't say "Mama" much- but he knows Elmo from his doodlemat and books and says 'Mo. I'm sure this is to drive me crazy!

James continues to charm everyone he meets with his beautiful brown eyes and the longest lashes you've ever seen. We are very lucky to have a beautiful, happy baby.

I realized that I haven't sent an update to everyone since his first birthday. Please visit this babysite whenever you'd like, of course. I've slowed down with the journal entries and picture taking but to make Grandma Rosie happy, I try to add new pictures at least every week.

This month's shout-outs: Welcome to the world, Baby Lucy Q.! and Happy Birthday Esme B.! We can't wait to see both of you :)

The videos below:
1. "Read me a book?" in James-speak
2. James "dancing" to the beat of his own drum
3. Baby sign language- "Bath"

In unrelated James news, I have "lost" my cell phone. Actually, it seems as if it was stolen by a student. While I am waiting for my assistant principal to investigate and as I am working out the phone bill with many calls/text messages on my account, I am without my phone. It was a student who stole it because they were silly enough to call a number we could identify. Not too smart! I will email when I can be contacted again :)

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Cuteness!

James and I had a great time tonight. He was very good while I baked cupcakes (student party tomorrow) and ate well for dinner. After dinner I captured the video below. Please ignore my singing. I did this for ya'll cuz James is the cutest when he "sings" along.

Note to self: Please don't name any other future children a name that will be ridiculed or laughed at. I have a student that is starting at my school by the name of Shaquille-Oneal. That is his whole FIRST name. All of the adults in the office chuckled, including me. I hope this kid goes by Shaq or Neal or something. I wonder how much grief he's gotten from others his whole life? How awful for a parent to do that to their child. Jim and I once joked that we would name a child Eiffel, but we were never serious! Eiffel Tauer. That would be mean.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Books and more books

If you look at the picture closely, you will see every book that James owns on the floor. I sat with him before bedtime to read books. He tolerated a couple of the books well but then he would grab the book from my hand and slide it to the floor. I guess he doesn't like some of them! We went through his whole bin of books and he probably listened to about 10 of them. His favorites right now are the Leslie Patricelli books, Hola Jalapeno, the Baby Signs books we have, Mama Mama Papa Papa, and I Love my Daddy Because...

Sunday was a good family day too. If you read Saturday's journal entry, we went to the Science Museum. On Sunday we went shopping for deck furniture. We also went to Bacon & Eggs again to show Dada James' climbing and playing skills. James had a GREAT time! There were tons of kids running around wild, and we were a little afraid that James would get knocked down but he was fine. He did get knocked down once by a little girl that pursued him. James is quite the ladies' man. The little girl followed him around to hug him. She got a few hugs in before James tried to walk/run away. She accidently knocked him down and then she dropped to her knees to hug him. And then she kissed him!!

Speaking of kisses, James does a cute thing now when he wants a kiss. He will lean forward and give you his forehead. Jim and I both know that this means he wants a kiss. We are happy to comply :)

Also, at Bacon & Eggs an older boy tried to get James to "play" with him. He followed James and tried to tickle him (after he saw me tickle James once). The little boy kept reaching and tousling James' hair, saying "Tickle Tickle". James ignored him. James was more interested in watching the big kids and climbing.

After our shopping and play, we stopped by Uncle Joe's house for a quick visit. He was glad to see James and James loved exploring a new place.

We don't have any plans for the week. This weekend we want to go shopping for a bike trailer! Nice weather will hopefully happen soon and we can get outside with James! Oh, and just two weeks to get through and then this Mama has Spring Break!

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Museum

Today we became members of the Science Museum! Yay! We will be returning in June for the Star Wars exhibit. :) We got a special discount because I'm an "educator". Nice.

Jim thought of going to the museum because of the Cartoon Network's exhibit on animation. We were really impressed with the interactive displays and experiments you can do. Please see our video for the videos we took at the Animation exhibit. We had a lot of fun! James was very impatient with the stroller and wanted to walk around wild. We let him and he loved the simplest things- the child sized chairs, the lights, the people. Someday he will love the idea of a science museum :)

It was nice to leave the house this weekend after a confined weekend at home last weekend due to James' fever and ear infection. Yay for a nice winter day :)

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Sick Baby- Day #3

Well, yesterday morning was very sad. Its very sad to hold a sick, miserable baby in your arms and know that you can't do anything more to help him. James was snotty, coughing, red-eyed, and very clingy. Naptime did not go well but at 11am, James fell asleep on my chest. I was very uncomfortable for 15 minutes but it was worth it to have James get a few minutes of sleep.

The Motrin seemed to wear off by noon and I noticed that James was very hot again. We took his temperature and it was 104! Jim called the doctor's office and they said to give Motrin religiously every 6 hours and keep up with the antibiotics. Beyond that, there wouldn't be much else they could do if we went to urgent care. James again fell asleep on top of me, and Jim was able to transfer him to the crib. He slept for about an hour.

Luckily James' temp lowered when we checked again. The rest of the day was highs and lows. James would cheer up momentarily and then break into tears and insist on being held. We put him to bed right at 7pm and he's been silent ever since. Healing is tough work and exhausting, I suppose.

James woke up at 4am. Yikes. I tried to hurry and get his Motrin and bottle ready, figuring he didn't eat much or drink his milk last night and he was hungry. Wow, was I right. He gulped his bottle and then was wide awake. Luckily, I put him down in his crib like we normally do and he fell asleep within a few minutes. He slept until 7am.

It was my turn to sleep in so I woke up at around 9am and James was looking completely normal! He was playing, smiling, and Jim reported that he ate well and took his medicine.

A temp check just now says that he is normal! He is happily playing with a bouncy ball that his Dada bought for him at the grocery store and trying to push buttons the TV. I'd say that's back to normal!

We're so glad to have our happy, wonderful James back.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Sick Baby- Day #2

James cried in his sleep off and on since 4:30am. I would listen and he would stop within a minute. At 6am it seemed like he was really awake so I got up to get him. He was still sleeping. He felt VERY warm so I woke him up to get him changed, give him medicine, and take his temp. It was 102.5, a temp but probably normal considering he's sick and has his ear infection.

Our sick baby spent a lot of time on my lap this morning, watching TV. We've drastically cut back on his TV, but I'm spoiling him and keeping him happy. He had an okay bottle and a small amount of oatmeal, so I'm happy about that. He's been very crabby, hot, snotty, and clingy.

I did get him to smile a few times, so there is a happy boy in there somewhere!

Right now I can hear him stirring. He's had a hard time napping. Off and on crying, sniffling, coughing. I'm going to get him soon to cuddle and just get through the day.

Poor Baby James!

Friday, February 22, 2008

Uh Oh!

James' eye is red and puffy again. No waiting this time, I immediately made a doctor's appointment for this afternoon. We see a different doctor at 4pm.

Another Uh Oh is that Sandra just called me unexpectedly. This scared me! She was just calling to me that one of the little girls went home sick today with a temp of 103, and one other little girl hasn't been to daycare for two days because she is sick too. Let's hope that something is not going around!

She said James is fine- acting normally and no temp (its 100.3 but that's a high normal). She's keeping an eye on his temp though. I think she called too just so I would have all this information for the doctor this afternoon. When I pick up James today I'll probably fly in and out of Sandra's house, so I'm glad she did call.

I do kind of think that James might have a reaction to tomatoes. We had spaghetti yesterday and I kind of was waiting to see if he would have bad diarrhea again. I'm not positive that there is a connection, but its funny that his eye acted up again. Who knows if food allergies work like that anyway.

We had a great family night last night. We were all sitting on the floor while James played with his newest Baby Einstein book (it makes sounds). He kept pressing the music buttons over and over, and each time Jim and I would "dance" to the music. James would imitate us and laugh. We just look at him and think he's the cutest

5pm update: The doctor was very nice, we may need to switch to her! Anyway, James' temp went up to 101.7 or so, his ears needed to be cleared out of earwax, and when that was done she found an ear infection! So we are back on antibiotics. The red, swollen eye is unexplainable. It should clear up soon. Our weekend will probably be at home, away from others. James has been exposed to strep too- we found out that the second little girl went to the doctor and had strep. Well, James will no doubt be healthy by Monday.

Monday, February 18, 2008

President's Day

A day off after a busy weekend with Grandma Rosie and Tia Ana & Tio Rich.

Today we (James and Mama) headed to Northtown Mall to run an errand and then to give James a chance to play at the children's area called "Bacon & Eggs". He LOVED being around the other kids, sitting shyly at times on the side, but then other times running up to people, throwing up his hand, smiling, and then running away. Too cute! He was a busy boy running around and climbing on the waffles, the bacon, and the eggs. He wiped himself out because we played a bit more at home and then he took his normal nap at 2pm until 4pm. I woke him up at 4! He must have been exhausted.

Fun day :) Back to the grind tomorrow.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Mexican Baby

Today's Sesame Street was Mexican themed. Rosita (a character) missed Mexico so her Sesame Street pals recreated a Mexican fiesta for her. James watched the sing-along and here is what happened. Please see the video below and turn up your volume to hear the music :)

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Too cold!

It is too cold for us to go anywhere fun today. We have spent a quiet day at home, except for when Dada went to get groceries. For those not in Minnesota, it is a cold -12 degrees with a wind chill of -35!

We went to Rosedale Mall yesterday to buy James new big boy shoes, and because I had an errand there, and then to have lunch at Big Bowl. Yum. James ended up getting size 6 toddler shoes- they are a cute black, blue, and grey tennis shoe. We shopped at Payless for his shoes, even though Stride Rite was right across. We agreed that for this stage and type of shoe, James could get by with a $20 pair of shoes rather than a $45 pair. I think for the summer we will definitely get Stride Rite sandals, for the most comfortable fit.

Dada went to get the car and we met him at the front entrance. We were nearly blown away by an artic wind and spray of snowdrifts. James was very stunned, and probably cold, but did not cry. Jim said he thought James was going to be blown away! James has done very, very well with cold weather- he actually smiles when I take him outside. We're only ever in the cold for brief periods, like from the car to a house, but he does not mind the cold at all. We make a game of it and blow cold puffs at each other.

Speaking of games, one of James' favorite games right now is to bring books to us. He will follow us around the kitchen or bring a book to us when we are sitting and rock back and forth on his feet until we read it to him. We then need to read the book at least twice before he is happy. His favorite books are still the Leslie Patricelli books, with the baby character. He can't get enough of those! He also really likes his interactive books with sounds. This week I bought a new book at Target with Baby Einstein sounds.

Food has been challenging. We are in a rut. His old favorites aren't favorites anymore. Give James a Ritz cracker and he is perfectly happy!

James is having smaller and smaller milk bottles. He prefers to carry around his water sippy cup, but doesn't take milk from it well. We're continuing with the bottles, especially in the morning and at bedtime, for who knows how long. I wonder if our doctor will yell at us? We didn't end up seeing him last week, our appointment was rescheduled for this upcoming Wednesday.

Well, James is up early from his nap. He is crying :( I think he might have a new tooth coming in.

This week: Doctor's appointment on Wednesday, and Grandma Rosie is coming this weekend! We still need to finalize some plans with Grandma, but we think she's coming. James will be so happy to get some Grandma time!

Monday, February 4, 2008

SuperBowl

James is a football fan. Well, he likes to throw things- does that count?

Jim (Dada) had his friends over for the big game and James was in a great mood. One person even asked, is he always this happy and smiling? Our answer, yes- about 80% of the time :) We are very lucky!

There was one other child at our house and it was interesting to watch James interact with her. She is almost four and was very interested in James' toys. James would watch her play and try to touch the same book or toy, but she paid little attention to him. I wondered if he would get possessive of his toys, or be upset if she didn't play "with" him. But it was all good!

James and I had a day alone on Saturday because Jim had a pool tournament. It was a nice day. We fingerpainted, read lots of books, and practiced with James' puzzles.

Another busy week for this Mama. I have lots of work stuff on my mind (ambitious projects) and then on Thursday James has his 15 month wellness appointment with Dr. Nelson. I hope James is not off the charts for weight because of his big belly!!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

James and Mama

Just the two of us tonight. It was actually a very short night. I had a late afternoon because I had an after school group and by the time I picked up James it was 4:30. We then stopped for some take out dinner and we made it home in time for James' dinner (5:15). He ate very well, but I know its because he didn't really eat anything at Sandra's. He's been off and on with his eating. Luckily, he makes Mama feel accomplished at night because I can usually get him to eat well.

We're working on James saying "Mama"- oh what a day that will be! Tonight we worked on "O-kay" He loves when I say "O", he giggles hysterically. Its a fun game when we're in the car.

Bath time has been a bit more successful too since I've started to add soap bubbles to the water. I make a game of hiding his toys under the bubbles, distracting him while I wash his hair or his bum. One day he actually sat in the water and played for almost two minutes!

I had a nightmare last night that I accidentally left James in the Target bathroom (in a shower?) and he was lost. I cried in my sleep. I think I've been seeing too many stories of (child) loss in the news, or stories of sick kids. It makes me sad.

James had a red eyelid (not the actual eye) for a few days. I called the doctor on Friday because I was concerned it could be an eye infection. From what I told the nurse, it didn't sound like it. She told me to wash the eye with warm water often. On Monday morning it was still slightly red and so I made a doctor's appointment. Of course it cleared up during that day and then this morning it was completely gone. We didn't end up going to the doctor after all. We do have his 15 month wellness appointment next week. I can't wait to see how James is progressing.

James is still walking and climbing all over the place. Tonight he fell off the couch, slipping and falling on his side. It wasn't a hard fall at all, but I hope he learned that he can't walk on the couch safely. I'm sure we'll have many more falls. Tonight all I had to do to distract him from crying was make funny screeching sounds as I ran around the house, bouncing with him in my arms. He LOVES this. (I think Tia Ana started this.)

I heart James.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Half monkey

I had a wonderful day off with James. We stayed home today to say goodbye to Grandpa Frank and Grandma Julie. They came over with Tia Ana for lunch and goodbyes. James, thankfully, was in a good mood and was all smiles and playful.

We hated to say goodbye but we know we will see Grandpa & Grandma in June. We are making a trip to San Diego! woohoo!

Tia Ana referred to James as "Half Monkey" because of his love of bananas. No matter how fussy James can be with food, he will never turn down a banana. I think once he even said "Nana" when I brought out a banana for part of his dinner.

James is also part monkey because of his newfound couch climbing skills. There is no stopping him from climbing all over the couches now. We will definitely need to babyproof the areas behind and around the couch. We are thinking of pushing the couch to the wall on the side and then in the back. I hate to think of James falling off the couch, it is inevitable and I'd like to lessen the dangers!

Its already been a full, fun week and its only Tuesday!

Please see our two videos below and the video on the main page. New pictures too!



Sunday, January 20, 2008

Busy Busy Busy

We've had a very busy week. I'm very sorry for the infrequent updates lately. I've been busier than ever at work and then concentrating on spending time with our family once we're at home after work.

We also had to get ready for Grandpa Frank and Grandma Julie's visit! They arrived on Wednesday and were able to get over to Blaine on Thursday. They stayed at home with James for Thursday and Friday. It was very cute when they arrived at our door. We were waiting because we knew they were arriving that morning. James was his usual happy self and he walked to the front door to meet our company. He walked right up to his Grandpa, squealed, and then ran away. I think Grandpa was in disbelief that James was the same baby he saw last January!

Grandpa Frank and Tio Rich went on their ice fishing trip on Saturday, leaving the ladies at home with James (& Jim). James was not at his best, a little fussy but still very cute. He also stopped eating well. Well, we hope that James is back to normal very soon. I suppose its normal to have these ups and downs.

James' new repeated words: "no-no-no" and "wow". We think he's also signing "more". I have to check with Sandra to see if she is teaching James sign language but it looks like more. Jim and I have both seen James sign "more" when he was looking at his board book of sign language. He doesn't seem to be doing it to mean "more", but he does it randomly. Still, our baby is a genius and using sign language :)

Oh, and another new skill. James is able to climb on to the couch. Yikes. He pulls himself up to the couch (7 out of 10 times successfully) and then grabs every forbidden thing he can (remote controls, anything on the windowsill behind the couch) and we're afraid he's going to fall in between the couch and the wall. James definitely keeps us on our toes!

Can you believe I have not taken ONE picture since my Dad and Julie have arrived? Julie has taken some pictures and she'll email me those later. I hope to take some pictures on Tuesday when we say goodbye to them.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Weekend updates & Upcoming plans

We ended up going to the zoo on Sunday instead. It was a pleasant couple of hours, though James didn't really look at any of the animals. I think because of his new walking skills he was just so excited to be on the loose! It wasn't too hard to keep up with him (yet) but we can just imagine what it will be like when he's off and running! Yikes! So the zoo will probably be one of those places that James will love when he's older- maybe this summer?

Tia Ana and Tio Rich came over on Saturday afternoon and spent the evening with us. James had a great time playing with everyone.

James is eating very well. Just tonight he ate all of this: chicken/potato balls, squash, mac n cheese, mandarin oranges, yogurt. His little big belly grows each day :)

Upcoming: Grandpa Frank and Grandma Julie are coming on Wednesday! We will see them on Thursday, until Grandpa Frank leaves for his ice fishing trip on Saturday. It will be a great time and we can't wait for them to see James.