Happy Half-Birthday, James!

Our baby James turned 6 months old on Christmas Day...pretty cool considering his middle name is Christian. He is doing SO MUCH these days, and it just blows our minds.

- Rolls over both ways
- Army crawls
- Pushes up into a crawling position and rocks back and forth
- Sits up UNassisted (as of Christmas Eve)
- Tries to go from an army crawl position to sitting position...he's close, but not quite there
- Takes 2-3 two-hour naps per day (HUGE improvement since his last wellcheck)
- Still only sleeps 5-6 hours at a time during the night. We're still waiting to get our full night of sleep!
- Eats solids like a champ - he'd rather eat his baby food than drink his bottle
- Is VERY VERY ticklish
- LOVES his Daddy so much that he laughs almost every time Daddy walks into the room
- Wants to play with EVERYTHING, especially his brother's cars
- Is crazy about Drew as long as Drew isn't telling him "no" or taking toys away...that REALLY breaks his little heart :(
- Still has blue eyes!

Now for the stats:

Weight: 17 pounds, 4 ounces (25-50%)
Height: 27.5 inches (83.40%)
Head: 17 inches (32.28%)

The doctor was amazed by James' motor skills. In fact, when he first came in to the exam room, he started telling us everything a 9 month old should be doing. Then, he looked at his chart and couldn't believe he was only 6 months old. It's not how big James is, but how he acts. He also told us we need to watch out for this baby. He said, "He's the poster child for danger." In other words, he believes James is going to be the one in and out of ERs. He also said we should keep him in an electric fence playpen...he was kidding, of course, but that's just how active James is. He is EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING. We love our baby SO much, and even though he is MUCH more mobile than we would like him to be, we wouldn't trade this life for anything.

A BIG Toy

Now that James is mobile, he goes wherever he pleases, and one of those places is underneath his swing. He crawls under there and plays for the longest time with the bottom of the swing!

Tada!!!


So busy.

Mr.Smiley and Mr.Pathetic

This week has not been the best week with Christmas coming up in just 3 days! Saturday night, James decided to wake up crying every 2 hours like a newborn. Then Sunday morning, Drew woke up with croup AGAIN. Drew then proceeded to not sleep AT ALL Sunday night (James did better). I took D to the doctor on Monday and found out that he not only has croup AGAIN, but he also has a severe ear infection in the left ear and a minor infection in the right one. GREAT. So, Monday night we got a little more sleep, but D still woke up at least 3 times crying for me. Mr.Grumpy was present Tuesday morning, but the magic ear drops for pain helped him turn from Mr.Grumpy to Mr.Pathetic. James, on the other hand, has been super happy since Monday. I took pictures of both boys yesterday and it shows exactly how they have been this week.

Mr.Pathetic has been watching TV all week. He usually plays with his cars and tools as much as possible, but not this week. That's how we know he feels really bad.

Mr.Smiley is continuing to army crawl EVERYWHERE. We're definitely going to have to get the Pack 'n' Play back out after Christmas so I can confine him when I need to get things done! That baby could probably win the Army Crawl Olympics! He's so fast!!

Army Crawling

So, James is already army crawling! I didn't expect this AT ALL considering Drew didn't ever do it, and he didn't start crawling until he was almost 8 months old. It looks like James may start crawling a lot sooner than Drew did! He can get up on all fours and rock back and forth, but he drops down to his tummy if he wants to actually get anywhere...

Our Blue-Eyed Heartbreaker

Playing on the Big Bed

When Drew was a baby, he loved to be propped up with the Boppy on our bed and play with his toys. I decided to see what James would do, and he liked it, but he is such a wiggle-worm that I couldn't leave him there for more than 10 seconds. I can already tell that he's going to be MUCH more adventurous than Drew. He is all over the place! I did get a few pictures before he got restless though.

I Need...

SLEEP!

Drew's Funny Face

Every time...

The Choices a 2-Year Old Makes

In regards to his wardrobe...




And, yes, Bryan took him out in public like this!

A Playdate with the Twinsies

Our friends Sonya & Bob had boy/girl twins about 3 weeks before we had James. Belle & Caleb are James' buds. Sonya and the twins came over for a playdate while Bryan was out of town and Bob was at one of the infamous Rangers games. Belle and Caleb were so cute playing on the playmat together. Sometimes Caleb would start grabbing Belle's legs or face like he wanted her to move...it gave us a LITTLE glimpse as to what the future may hold with those two!

My James


Sweet Caleb


Miss Belle

Snuggly James

On the day we discovered that James has to snuggle with something in order to fall asleep, we let him have this little teddy bear lovie. He LOVED it and fell asleep almost immediately.



Since then, we've discovered that he enjoys putting the lovie over his face! Since that's probably not the safest thing, I've started giving him his little musical elephant and Drew's old lovie (it's smaller than the bear).

Our Little...

Well, I know we kept everyone waiting on what James was going as for Halloween. I have to say, I think he had the cutest baby boy costume...I'm a little biased though.

I didn't get any pictures of Drew, but yall already know he went as a cowboy (aka Woody). It was so fun to see both of the boys together in their costumes since they coordinated.

I, of course, forgot my camera, so these were all taken with my NEW iPhone 4. I thought they turned out really good for being taken with a phone!!


James was a horse! (aka Bullseye)

Free!!!

This week, I weened James from the infamous swaddle. He did great at naps, but bedtime was a little tougher. It's getting better every night, and now that he's eating solids, he's sleeping even longer. Since James is now a free baby, he barrel rolls all over his crib until he falls asleep. I decided with as active as he is and as fast as he learns new motor skills, I should probably lower his mattress a level and put his bumper pads in his crib. Until now, his bumper pads have been stored in his closet. They are too cute to keep in hiding, and they will definitely protect his little head from hitting the hard wood when he takes his crash landings at the end of his rolls. He has also been getting his feet stuck in the slats, so I figured the pads will protect him from that as well. Anyway, here is his new sleeping position. I try to roll him back over to his back, but he ends up like this EVERY time.

More Cereal Pics...

Bryan got home from Colorado yesterday and was able to get some action shots of James eating his rice cereal. We increased the amount to 4 tablespoons, the max amount before we can start him on green beans, and he ate it all...as in, I had to scrape the sides of the bowl to make him happy. It looks like we'll be starting either oatmeal or green beans this weekend...I haven't decided yet.

Playing with my toys while waiting for my grub.


Mmmm...first bite down, and I'm ready for more!


That's good, Mommy!


All finished and happy!

Cereal!

James is eating rice cereal now, and LOVES it! He hasn't even spit it out (yet)! He is finishing it all, so tonight we will increase the amount. Who knows, he may even get to start veggies this week! As some of you know, he wakes up every 4 hours during the night to eat. Last night, he only woke up once!! I sure hope with the increase tonight, he will last even longer! The doctor said once he is on rice cereal and a veggie, he should be sleeping through the night. We shall see!!

Ready for his first real meal!


Aftermath...not too bad AT ALL for his first time. And the smile is even better! I wish I had gotten pictures of him in action, but I didn't have anyone (besides Drew) to take pictures. Maybe tonight :)

Our Little Buckaroo

Today Drew had his Fall Party at school. All the little kiddies got to dress up in their non-scary Halloween costumes! Drew is going as "Woody" this year. It's not a Woody costume, but since it's a cowboy costume, he automatically thinks he is Woody! I'll let James' costume be a surprise and reveal it after Sunday. Anyway, I think Drew had a good time today, and I have to say, I think he was the cutest little cowboy at First Kids!!

Posing in our garage...I knew I should have taken this at a different location. It looks so bad even though it really is organized! We were in a hurry, though, so the nasty garage had to do!


He wanted to sit in his Woody chair, but he didn't want to wear his hat, and he HAD to have his little "punkin" with him.



He was so happy to see Mrs.Mindy at school!


Drew with his two WONDERFUL teachers, Mrs.Mindy & Mrs.Monica. I apologize for the tongue...I asked him to make a happy face, and this is what I got. It was the only one where he was looking at the camera.

Our Little Fan

Here's a sneak peek of what we did this past weekend. The details will be in a later post...too much to do tonight.

Look at My Weight Loss Ticker!

Take a look at my weight loss ticker if you haven't in a while. It's to the right of this, but if you're too lazy, here it is...




10 Pounds Lost!!!!!

James is 4 Months!

James Christian turned 4 months yesterday, October 25. He has really been growing and learning new "tricks" this month!

• He can roll from his tummy to his back, as well as from his back to his tummy.
• He squeals in delight at his brother any time he is within his view.
• He squeals and laughs at people on TV and even at strangers across the room.
• He started "inch worming" this weekend. He literally scoots around like an inch worm in order to get to something he wants.
• He is a HUGE HUGE HUGE wiggle worm. Even the doctor and nurses at his well check today were commenting about it. The doctor says he is going to be our active child. Drew was NEVER very active until about 18 months.
• He definitely lets us know when he's hungry or sleepy by screaming. He has the lowest voice for a baby, I think. He definitely sounds like a boy!
• He has started playing with toys...he especially likes his soft book that Brother and Nonnie bought him last week. I was worried at 3 months because he just didn't seem interested in any toys. He would reach for them, but once he got them, he would put them down and start chewing on his hands. He's definitely more interested now!
• He smiles constantly! When we were at the Baylor/K-State game (more on that later), I was carrying him down the stairs, and a lady shouted out, "That is one happy baby!!" Apparently he was smiling at everyone behind our backs (literally).
• He still loves to play with his feet and chew on his hands.
• He doesn't sleep very well at night, but hopefully after starting solids TONIGHT, he will start sleeping better.
• He had his first taste of rice cereal tonight at dinner! He is used to the flavor since he is on the A.R. (added rice starch) formula, but I didn't know how he would handle the consistency. I remembered that Drew HATED his first cereal, and when he made it thicker, he liked it fine. I made James' cereal pretty thick tonight (a little thinner than applesauce), and he did so good! He took about 6 small bites before he started making faces and refusing to open his mouth. I hope tomorrow goes just as good or better!

Now for his stats:

Weight: 14 lbs., 7 oz. (47.61%)

Height: 25.25 inches (63.68%) - I think they got this measurement wrong because when I measured him TWICE last month, he was 25.5 inches long. You never know though...I could have been wrong!

Head circumference: 16.50 inches (40.52%)

Overall, our baby boy is growing just fine and is developing his motor skills like lightening! I can't wait to see what's in store for us in Month 5!

Ready for His First Halloween!

Isn't he so cute in his Halloween pajamas?!?! These were Drew's when he 5 months old. I can't believe James is already able to fit into them! He's so cute though!!!

James is Jumpin' Jumpin' Jumpin'!

Big 12 Conference Opener

Saturday, October 2nd was the Big 12 Conference Opener for our Baylor Bears. We were up against Kansas and were expected to win by only 8. The final score ended up being 55-7...we beat them by 48 points!!! Sic 'Em! I'm so mad I didn't get any pictures of us at the game because the boys looked so cute, and Drew LOVED cheering for the bears. He clapped and yelled during the whole game! I, however, did get some post game shots at our house, so you can see their outfits.

Mr.James and Poppa hangin' out. James was happy about our win!


James showing us some exercise moves...more on this later.


James enjoys sitting on Poppa's belly. I think Poppa likes it too.


The one and only pic I could get of Drew and his Baylor shirt. He just doesn't cooperate anymore!

Pumpkin Patch #1

On the afternoon of October 1, our little family and my mom went to Gnismer Farms in Arlington to pick our own pumpkins! We made our way through the corn maze and then headed toward the pumpkin patch. It was very hot since there was no cloud coverage, but we had a good time anyway. Drew did really well considering he was dealing with the last 12 hours of his stomach bug. In the end, we came home with a pretty good size pumpkin and a smaller one that Drew could carry.

First we went to Atomic Subs & Wings in Arlington. Drew wanted to "drive", so Daddy helped him. Daddy even paid for him to play!!


Keep your eyes on the road, Drew!!


James just relaxed in his car seat. I still don't know where he got those blue eyes!


Our first adventure at Gnismer Farms...the corn maze.


It was hot, and Drew didn't feel well :(


Another pitiful look.


Drew ran out of energy so he caught a ride on Daddy's shoulders.


Nonnie and Drew finding the perfect pumpkin for Mama!


Mama likes! (and I think Drew did too)


Drew's little pumpkin. He refused to face the camera.