james turns one!

Happy birthday, little James!  We just could not celebrate you enough on Sunday - you are so, so loved by all of us.  Your birthday was such a perfect day- from the unexpected February sunshine to watching you explore all your new toys to taking your very fist steps, it was perfect in every way.  I will be happily reliving it in my heart for quite some time.

We had the usual birthday banner, courtesy of the kids. And I made a cheesy garland that I will now never be able to part with, it is too cute.

James took his presents very seriously

 I just love the look on his face here. Present time made him a little pensive, apparently.

His favorite gift was his very own box of kleenex.  He removed all 90 sheets from the box that evening!

So excited!  This picture does not quite convey the magnitude of tense anticipation and excitement that was   pouring out of James.  Every muscle poised and ready - like a cougar preparing for the attack!

Needless to say, James enjoyed his cake very much.

What a perfect day! One of the highlights was when I was turned around from doing dishes at the sink to see James saunter casually into the kitchen.  On his legs!  Walking!  He totally got that his birthday was kind of a big deal.  

Happy birthday, sweet boy! Thanks for making every day a joy for all of us - you are one adored little brother.  Love you!

the winter of my discontent

Bleh. Bleh, bleh, bleh.  I have a serious case of the winter time blehs.  Maybe it's just an Oregon thing. Or do you have it too?  It is just so darn dreary around here!  I can only take so much fog and dankness.  Eve skipped happily home from piano lessons the other day and burst in the door saying, "I love how green the sidewalks are here!"  Yes, because they are covered in moss, Pollyanna.  That is not normal.

So what solves this winter time ennui?  Sunshine, you say?  No!  Wrong answer!  The correct answer is chocolate.  Chocolate solves pretty much everything.  So you should make Fudgy Brownie Cake.  It is quick to prepare and you can eat it soon after baking, something that is very important to me.  None of this "cooling" and "frosting" business.  It is delicious and is everything its name promises it will be.

I know it doesn't look fancy, but it is made in a springform pan, which might up the fanciness a little bit.  So go stick it in the oven now so you can settle down with a lovely piece of chocolate perfection after the kids are in bed.  And wait for spring.                                  

sayonara, kawasaki!

I mentioned this briefly a few posts ago, but James was hospitalized back in October for a little thing called Kawasaki disease.  It is rare and vague - exactly the kind of thing you want your infant diagnosed with. 

Do you find this picture alarming?  You should!  Babies in hospitals all hooked up to stuff is alarming!

Lest you think it was all terrible, we did spend alot of time happily playing. With a giant IV coming out of our head.

Anyway, he received the treatment and all is well, but he has had several follow-up labs and echocardiograms and whatnot.  (Because apparently this rare and vague disease can do serious and permanent damage to your heart.)  But yesterday was his final meeting with the pediatric cardiologist and his final EKG and his final echocardiogram.  And everything looks perfect, so hooray! 

While I have tried not to make a huge deal out of this - because, really, moms can't live in a constant state of panic and worry - I am so, so relieved.  And so grateful that James was able to receive the care and treatment he needed. Nothing like having your baby snatched from the clutches of coronary damage to make you realize your blessings and be grateful for them.

And while I am so glad that James' little heart is sturdy and strong, I am also hugely relieved not to have to do another echo with him.  It is very difficult to get your baby to lay still on his back for an hour while he gets an ultrasound of his chest.  It requires much wrestling and baby talk and feeding of cheerios.

 

 

 

Pardon the pun, James, but it did my heart good to see your little heart beating so strong and steady in the ultrasound yesterday. We love you, Jamie boy!  

sick kids = no fun

Rather, I should say "vomitting babies = no fun."  Vomitting babies, people. Vomitting. Babies.  I don't think I need to say more.

Poor little James has been afflicted with the norovirus.  This is the same stomach virus that is notorious for punishing carefree cruise passengers who overindulge in salmonella-tainted crab legs and shrimp cocktails.  Except for Jamie didn't even get to try the crab legs!  Or see the sun-dappled coasts of Greece...or Jamaica or Alaska or whatever cruise suits your fantasy best.  He just got to see the throw up covered bumpers of his crib. Poor baby!  (And poor me, who had to wash said bumpers.)

So please send any sympathy our way. I will be sure to pass it on the James. Hopefully he'll be back on his sea legs any day now!

This is the guy you should be feeling sorry for. He is too cute to throw up as much as he has.

is this thing on?

Well, that was a long snack break!  I bet you thought I was never coming back.  But in the spirit of New Year's resolutions, here I am.

While Pinterest was much easier to do one-handed than blogging (hence my one million pins), I am spending increasingly more time these days with two hands at my disposal.  Yay for two hands!  Yay for sleeping! Yay for being able to go to the bathroom more than once a day!  So many things to yay about now that James is a little older.

I kind of feel like I've forgotten how to do this, so I think I will just skip to some pictures of last year to bring all you lovely readers up to date.  Since we last talked, we....

...had a summer vacation and did summer stuff.

....we wore big hats to keep the blazing sun off our baldy head.

....we had some birthdays.  Eve turned 10.  That's a tower of cream puffs, yes.

...Sam turned 4.  And that's a storm trooper.

...we started a new school year, in 5th grade, 2nd grade, and preschool.

....we enjoyed a lovely overnight stay at our local hospital when little mister here developed a rare and dangerous heart condition.  Fun!  All is well now, so no worries. (Well, one more echo cardiogram next week, but that's nothing, I tell you!)

....we Halloweened, as a Power Ranger, gypsy, cheetah, and a mysterious mustachioed stranger.

...we took the BEST family vacation (and our first that didn't involve a family reunion) to The Happiest Place on Earth.  We all loved Disneyland so much and wish we were there now.  

...we met Santa for the first time and it was love at first sight.

...we did Christmas! Hooray!

....we sledded.  Well, not these guys so much but I had to show you a picture of James in his sock monkey hat.

...we watched this guy get bigger and bigger. He is now almost 11 months!

That should bring us all up to speed.  I am glad to be back - bring on 2013!

2 months

I am obviously not posting enough if this is the first post since last month's photo!  You'd think I had a new baby or something.  Despite the dead air, it has been a great month.  I spend a lot of time trying to function with both arms full of James - hence the lack of blogging - but is there a better way to spend my time?  I kind of love it.  I let James take a 2 hour nap on my lap yesterday just because.  Ah, last baby syndrome!

This last month included James' baby blessing and visits from both sets of grandparents, plus some cousin/aunt and uncle action, too.  Busy, but so much fun to show him off and spend time with family.  My other kiddos really needed some attention from doting grandmas and grandpas.  Jared's dad spent hours playing legos with Sam and even made him a storm trooper mask.  I can't compete with that kind of awesomeness!


James continues to be a happy guy.  He is getting some delicious rolls on his previously scrawny arms and legs.  And his smiles light up the room.  I love that he has "conversations" with us, talking back to us when we talk to him.  His current hobbies include staring at his fist, enjoying his baths, and sleeping in his carseat.  Dislikes: riding in the car and being left to cry in his room while mom finishes up a blog post.  Got to go!

James prefers to smile without the magnadoodle hogging all the room

one month, two weeks late

I really wanted to copy my friend Lynette's monthly magnadoodle pics of her baby, but I am off to a pitiful start. I promise I took this photo on March 24th! (Please ignore the fact that James is turning 6 weeks tomorrow.)

It has been such a fantastic first month. Being forced to take it easy was really, really good for me. I am not usually very good at slowing down and letting things go, but major abdominal surgery sure does the trick! I will always treasure the memories of this first happy month. Yes, there was crying and lost sleep (for both me and James) but because I wasn't trying to do a hundred other things, I could cope. I love that me and Jared could bust up laughing at 4 am when James would fuss only when Jared climbed back in bed but would stop the minute his feet hit the floor (repeat 5 times!) And that I could laugh when I baked a freezer meal from a friend that turned out to be an ice cream dessert. And that I didn't mind spending my evenings just holding and talking to my sweet baby, even as the laundry piled up around me.

And I will freely admit that this first month was so happy because Jared is so awesome - bringing me hungry Jamie in the middle of the night, getting up the girls and sending them off to school while I slept, always coming home cheerful no matter what. I would have been a wreck without him. Love you, Jared!

And you too, little Jamesie. Here's to another happy month!