Playdate with baby Leah

Today James and I had our first playdate with the beautiful baby Leah. She really is one of the sweetest babies I have ever met - she takes after her mommy in so many ways! Leah is one very smart and very strong little girl. She is already holding up her head and trying to suck her thumb. I am so impressed by her!

James had a great time exploring her house while Leah took a few short naps. James was especially interested in her while she drank her bottle. I don't know if he wished he had a bottle, or if he liked her sweet noises she makes while she eats. Thanks for letting us play today Leah and Amy!

James was so exhausted after all the excitement of a real baby that he fell asleep on the way home. This gave me the perfect opportunity to grab some taco bell on the way home....it had been too long since my last fix. And for those who monitor my taco bell ordering I thought outside the box (or is it outside the bun) and ordered the nacho supreme and a mexican pizza. Oh I also tried the new caramel apple empanada and it was really yummy.What a great morning! Fun with our newest friend, a well rested James and a well fed mommy!

My last ice cream cone

Here I am this past weekend with my much anticipated two scoop in a sprinkle cone dessert. Oh my goodness was it delicious! But based on some of the comments I have received recently, this may be my last for a while....here are some comments I received on Sunday alone:

Lady #1 at church: Wow, how did THAT happen?
Me: (speechless)

Lady #2 at church: How exciting, are you having twins?
Me: No, just one big boy.
Lady # 2 at church: Are you sure?
Me: (smile and fake laugh)

Random lady at Costco: Wow, you must be due any day now!
Me: He's due in October.
Random lady: Are you sure?
Me: That's what my doctors tell me.
Random lady at Costco: They must be wrong.

Random lady at Costco #2: I have twins too, they are so much fun!
Me: Oh, it's just one baby boy.
Random lady at Costco #2: I wasn't that big until I was in labor.
Me: (fake smile)

Random dude at Costco: Wooah, let me get out of your way. (He stepped to the side of the aisle so I could pass. Note the extremely extra wide aisle at Costco was empty.)
Me: (fake smile)

In more exciting news, we have a new front runner for the name of our second little boy. Right now our favorite is Luke William Turner. We have been waiting to post about it because we have changed our minds so many times, but this one is really a favorite for both of us so I think it is safe to post. Can't wait to meet our newest little guy!

Fun in the sun

We are having such wonderful weather here in Alexandria, and today we really took advantage of it. Bright and early this morning we threw the whole family in the car and went to the Shirlington dog park. Zion had a great time, and afterwards we went to the playground across the street so James could play. He is going up and down curbs without help. James is really getting to be an independent little guy!

Then this evening we went to Kingstowne for ice cream. I have been craving a really good ice cream cone for days, and boy was this ice cream worth it! James had no interest in the ice cream, but wanted to watch all the kids run around the courtyard. The weather was so nice and James was having such a great time, we grabbed some fried chicken and had dinner in the courtyard. James even fed himself some cajun rice. Then we all came home and James collapsed into bed. What a wonderful day!

Work in progress

John and I spent a good portion of this last week getting James' new room ready. It is still a work in progress, but I am really pleased with how things are going so far. Most of the work we did (and by "we" I mean John) was to move furniture all over our three level townhouse. The guest bedroom went from the top level to the basement, and James took over the yellow room. Compared to his old room, his new room is palatial! He has plenty of room for his toys and lots of room to run around and be a boy.

Here is my little man reading a book while I put away his laundry.
Here is James' "new" crib. Thank you to Craig's list for this great find! The furniture is just like new and looks great in the room.

The matching dresser is below. I love this new furniture! Also, you can see my decorating work in progress with the wall stickers scotch taped to the wall. Once I actually adhere these to the wall the white outline will go away. I chose airplanes and I think it is going to be really cute once we are all done!

Once James' room is ready I get to move onto Baby #2's room. It is mostly set up, we just need to get a changing table and unpack the numerous boxes of baby clothes. It's a good thing my nesting instinct is kicking in, because we have lots of fun work to do!

Fun with Daddy

We have been enjoying all our time with Daddy this past week! We are so lucky that he was able to take a week off so we could have some much needed family time.

Zion had some extra energy, so we went to the dog park. Zion and James both loved it. James giggled the whole time we were there watching all the doggies, and Zion loved running around and being his usual silly self.

James is exercising his independence and likes to walk without holding hands. Here is John chasing after him. This kid walks so fast, poor mommy can't always keep up.

Next stop was the playground, where James got to try all the slides with John by his side. He was much more comfortable checking out all the cool playground equipment with daddy!

And we ended the week with jazz in the sculpture garden. The music was fun and the snacks were freely flowing. James either walked around our blanket flirting with the ladies, or was busy eating. I packed his favorite snacks in the hopes they would distract him and we could eat our dinner. It worked most of the time.

To see more pictures click here.

kitty cat

James favorite word by far is "kitty cat". Here is where it all began, his favorite animals puzzle. He knows the kitty cat by name, there is also a dog that he identifies with a "oof off", and the bird he just throws around. Apparently bird equals boring. Lately he has also been pointing out the kitty cat in his books, every chance he gets. I didn't realize how much kitty cats are used in childrens books.


The most ironic part about James' kitty cat obsession is that he wouldn't know a real kitty cat if he ran into one. I try to point them out to him on walks and we even went to the pet store to look at kitty cats. But he seemed uninterested, he likes his kitty cats in books and puzzles. Ironically James will probably be allergic to kitty cats just like his daddy. It runs in both families which is why we are all dog people, no cats anywhere.

He wasn't very happy to get his picture taken this morning, see below. He even threw the puzzle piece when he realized what I was trying to do. What a silly guy!

A few more firsts

James has been very busy exploring new things lately. Here are a few more firsts:


First iced latte. He LOVED it.

First time playing with the big foam puzzle. He just figured out that the pieces come apart, and now they are everywhere.

First nap on the back patio. He has been mimicking Zion a lot. So when he saw Zion lay down outside, he wanted to try too.

First city built on top of the DVD player. He will find a small spot and try to build inside it.

Have a great day!

Five years ago today...

...John and I tied the knot! Let me show you where it all began.

Here we are at the Sadie Hawkins dance our sophomore year in high school. It's like a where's waldo...can you find us? Hint: You were supposed to dress alike, and being very creative kids we chose to both wear navy blue shirts. Since our first date, I have been able to wear much more fashionable dresses (see collage below).

And here are some never before posted pictures of us over the years. Since we have been married we moved 3 times, met lots of new friends here in Virginia and have 1.5 children and one dog. Here is to many more years of fun and excitement, and navy blue shirts. Love you sweetie!

New favorite food

What is James' new favorite food?

BBQ flavored baked potato chips. Apparently it's genetic, James loves chips as much as his mommy and daddy. We also tried juice. That was a no go, he is a solid fan of water or milk.

Updates and the big fat lie

Sorry for the lack of blog postings lately. Seriously people, we had a holiday to celebrate our independence and we had to eat lots of hot dogs.

Here is a picture of James playing outside. His new favorite thing is to have a mini pool in his bucket. He even climbed in it once and was sitting in it, although not very successfully because he is a big boy.

So what has James been doing lately? Let me tell you because I am a proud mama.

*He follows a simple instruction most of the time. For example, if Grandma gives him something and says "Take this to mommy" he will grab it and come running over to me.
*He can identify himself in pictures. In fact this is a new favorite activity.
*He will stick out his tongue or grab his ears when asked where these parts are.
*He knows where we keep spare diapers and will go find them when he wants to be changed.
*He has decided that sometimes food tastes better off the floor. He also likes food better when it comes from Christine or Dan. He ate lime flavored tortilla chips at their house. He would never eat those from me!

Here are some pictures of our growing garden. I love how pretty it is when everything is in bloom. Amy, note our beautiful cone flowers, inspired by your garden.

And now for the big fat lie. You will all be pleased to know that I do not know how to do a keg stand. In fact, my husband is much to smart to even offer to teach me. Really, can anyone really see me doing that? I can't. All other statements were true. I have led a very exciting life, and it just keeps getting better!