Wa-bam!

This past weekend we were visited by some of our oldest and dearest friends. They came as far as New York and California, you guys are the best! James loved all the attention and even skipped his naps on Sunday because he didn't want to miss any of the excitement.



We hung out, grilled, played tennis and watches some very interesting youtube videos. All in all it was a FANTASTIC weekend, and we have the pictures to prove it. Some highlights from this past weekend include:

*Introducing Californians to some good southern food.
*Playing tennis on Sunday afternoon. Negative points if you hit the baby, bonus points if you hit Zion.
*Michael's interesting youtube favorites....three words...bear on trampoline.
*Allison introducing us to our new catch phrase "Wa-bam!"
*Christina insisting that we order hush puppies, they were crazy delicious!
*Travis reading to James. James sat perfectly still to listen to Travis read his favorite book about playful puppies.
*James skipping his nap, and still being the happiest baby. This boy is amazing!
*John grilling really good fajitas for dinner Saturday night. Mmmm!

Up to go down

Disclaimer: Sorry for the double posts this morning...but I just had to share his new trick. Be sure to check out both posts from today!


So apparently James learned more then just how to really bang cabinets yesterday from Eli. He is now tackling the stairs...something he has never had any interest in before. He is really good at swinging his leg up the stairs and then pulls himself up with his arms. I went to get a cup of coffee, and James was already up three stairs. What!?! When did he learn how to do this?

Caught in the act.

One leg up, ready to pull up the second.

Ah, both legs up...time to keep climbing.

This is fun!

Oh James, you sure do keep you Mommy busy!

Little explorers

James and Eli are such busy boys! You just turn your head for a second and they have both gone off to explore something new.

Here they wandered into the kitchen. James quickly discovered which cabinets were not locked.

Checking out the cabinets and slamming doors! Look at those cute little guys, just the same size and both full of energy!

Oops, caught red handed! Those faces are so sweet!

Thanks for playing Eli! Let's go exploring again soon!

New Truck

The past Easter weekend we had a visit from Nana and Papa...look what they brought James! James now has his very own Tonka truck, and he is so excited. All morning he has been honking the horn, which has four rotating sounds. That's right four different honking sounds just to make Mommy go crazy. But he loves it, so a honking we will go!

Thanks Nana and Papa! We had such a great visit!

Love, James

Happy Easter!

Jesus is Risen! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Dish washer

James LOVES to help with the dishes after dinner time. If he hears John or I doing the dishes he makes a mad dash into the kitchen to help. He sorts the spoons and forks, and even makes sure everything is rinsed. Thanks for your help James, I will remember your love of dishes when you get older!

Four Things

I was tagged by Katherine to post "four things". Normally I shy away from these types of things, but because she asked so nicely...Katherine this post is for you.

1. Four jobs that I have had in my life: Coordinator for cardiovascular clinical research (CA), Data management for cancer clinical research (MD), Mommy to the sweetest boy in the world, Nanny to James' best friend

2. Four Movies I would/have watch(ed) over and over: Legally Blond, The Sound of Music, The Princess Bride, Meet me in Saint Louis

3. Four places I have lived (most recently) Palo Alto, Alexandria, Falls Church, Alexandria (different house)

4. Four TV shows that I watch: McLeod's Daughters, Gilmore Girls, House, Grey's Anatomy

5. Four places I have visited: Cancun, Panama City, Charlottesville, Williamsburg

6. Four people who email me regularly: Emily, Christine, Amy, Mom

7. Four of my favorite foods: Pepperoni Pizza, Grilled chicken sandwich, Fajitas, Christine's guacamole

8. Four places I would like to be right now: I like to be home, and that is where I am. Lucky me!

9. Four things I'm looking forward to this year: There are so many, it is hard to list them all! Mainly I look forward to watching James grow up. I also look forward to spending lots of time with family and friends. And now that it is almost spring I plan to eat lots of hot dogs...fire up the grill John!

10. Four people who should post 4 things: Anyone who wants to follow suit, feel free to post four things...or post them in the comments.

And because no post is complete without a picture of James, here is one of my recent favorites:

Cheese please!

I have been experimenting with different finger foods. James can be very picky, so this has been a little difficult. He loves most crackers, waffles, tortillas, or the toddler snack foods. So far any type of fruit is off limits if he has to feed himself. He pokes at it with a finger and then looks really disgusted. I tried cubes of cheese, and that was also only poked at...but today I tried shredding the cheese. It was a big hit! Plus, imagine how long it takes my little man to eat a mountain of shredded cheese one piece at a time. Just long enough to tell you about our great success with cheese today!

Ay ay Captain!

Glamorous

A good friend of mine recently posted her childhood glamour shot on her blog, which got me thinking. I wonder if I have a copy of my old glamour shot. You know, the one where they put a lot of make-up on you and dress you up to look very old and sophisticated. I remember being so excited about going to get my make-up done to look like a movie star.

One day we got a coupon in the mail, and my mother was very sweet and indulged me. I think the coupon got us one 8x10, because really how much glamour can one person take. So -- by "official request" -- below is the final product; the best picture we took home with us.

A perfect 10

Today James Morgan is 10 months old. To celebrate he got to spend some quality time with his best bud Eli, check out the boys in action!

Here they are sharing some of their favorite toys. These boys are easy to please!

Eli: Wow James what did you find?

James: I don't know, something called Folgers. Must be a new brand of cool toys!


This is my absolute favorite picture of the day. It proves that James really is the genius child we suspected he would be.

Happy 10 months baby boy!

A beautiful day at the park

Today we have lovely weather, so James and I took a walk to our neighborhood park. The park was deserted, as it was still a little wet from the rain last night. But we didn't let a little mud stop us!

James will do almost anything for a biscuit. He agreed to go in a swing when I pulled his favorite treat out of my pocket.
Smart mommy!

James sat for a few minutes chomping happily in the swing.

Then the cookie dropped...."Mommy, get me out of here!"

We needed a break after all this excitement. James was fascinated by the tanbark.

It was fine until he started to eat it. Yuck!

What a fun trip to the park on this lovely day!

Weekend with Daddy

James and Daddy had a weekend of fun while I was away this past weekend. Eli and his Daddy came over to join in the festivities. Here are the boys being cute boys.

James and Eli were spoiled this weekend, and even were treated to an evening out for Mexican food. James snacked on tortilla and enjoyed the bright lights, and of course his best bud Eli. Also, please note that both boys are dressed very cute! Way to go dads!

John added to James' repertoire of "bad hair days" with this lovely mohawk below. I don't know how John got James' hair to stand like that, but it was pretty cute nonetheless.