Belly Button

As most of you know, James never tires of showing off his best feature. Here are some pictures from the last couple of days where James enthusiastically showed off his belly b. James is also doing a great job helping me pick up his toys when we are done playing. Maybe he feels sorry for Mommy when she attempts to bend over. Also thrown in for good measure is a picture of me and the girls, and a picture of Zion. Poor dogie gets no blog love anymore.

Also today was the first day that James did not cry when I left him at school. He did give me a very sad look when I dropped him off but there were no tears and no crying. There is a very pretty helper in his room, and she is the one that I passed him off to....maybe that was the key to this great success.

And here is a cute video of my twirly wirly guy. His favorite time to twirl is outside when it is windy, but because it was cold this morning we decided to twirl inside.

Some of my favorite things

Two words: Little Burps.

Stacy makes the cutest baby burp clothes and diaper pouches. They are by far my absolute favorite things for babies. The diaper pouch fits a couple of diapers and wipes and makes changes so easy when you are out and about. Also, the burp clothes absorb everything and look so super cute! Plus, with the personalized touch you never have to worry that your baby got some other baby's dirty burp cloth wiped all over their face in the nursery. And best of all I LOVE all things monogrammed or personalized for babies. So really I just go to Little Burps and drool over all the cuteness....someone get me a burp cloth!

James didn't get any special burp clothes, but he does have a diaper pouch. Luke is getting spoiled, he even gets a onsie with an L on it. Thank you so much Emily and Stacy I am so excited!

Air and Space museum

James has been pointing out airplanes in the sky nonstop for a few weeks, so we decided it was time he got to see some BIG airplanes up close. We made a trek into the city on Saturday morning and had a lovely time wandering around the air and space museum and having a picnic lunch on the mall.

Here are 6 things we learned on our trip to DC:
1. I discovered that my pregnant bump is the perfect size for James to sit on. (see picture 3 on top row)
2. James can carry a small cooler, so we plan to make him start working for his lunch.
3. Free admission to museums means you can leave and not feel guilty that you didn't see every exhibit.
4. The prego comments never stop. I might just stop going out in public for the next few weeks.
5. James is scared of statues.
6. The fall weather we are having is FANTASTIC!!!

Shop till you drop

Recently Lisa posted about how much Madalyn loves to shop...well it looks like we may have a shopping enthusiast on our hands as well! Although because James is my child he doesn't like to shop for clothes or shoes or anything like that...he likes to go grocery shopping.

Today we ran by our favorite grocer Trader Joe's to pick up some goodies for this week. Because Daddy came with us James got to walk around the store and "help". When we got to the wall of chips and crackers James walked over like he owned the place and picked out a bag of corn chips. He proceeds to walk them over and carefully throw them into the cart. John and I kinda chuckled until he walked directly over to the deli section and selected a bucket of salsa. And not just any salsa...HOT salsa. Coincidence? I am not sure, but it sounded so good we left them in the cart.

James also tried to pick out some other crackers, but we had him put everything else back on the shelves. Then he decided since we weren't fully appreciating his shopping expertise he decided to help some of the other shoppers. He even snuck an energy bar into one woman's cart. Silly guy!

Stay tuned for a post on our weekend adventure to the Air and Space museum and a post about my favorite baby products!!

Big smiles and running

James got to bring home his art work from class yesterday. I never thought I would be the kind of mom to cherish miscellaneous scribbles, but really I am so excited to have this on my fridge! What a budding artist!

And here is James sitting nicely playing with a toy while I am busy. What a good boy! Too bad he couldn't have done this last time I tried to shower. This morning I had to sneak in while John got dressed so someone couuld keep an eye on him...just in case the lamp decided to attack.

Kids watch EVERYTHING. Look at James trying to file his toe nails. Please note I don't actually need two files to get the job done, he just likes to have something in both hands.

And here is James' new reading chair in his room. We are all big fans of this new chair! Thanks Grandma!!

And here is a picture of my growing belly by popular request. There haven't been any blog worthy comments lately, just the usual twin comments. I swear, only one baby in that belly!


And finally, here is a video of my little runner. He is so cute running all over the house, and loves to move a pile from one room to the other, which I admit can be rather annoying. But he is so happy I don't have the heart to stop him.

ADDENDUM: Just wanted to make this post even longer with some news from this afternoon. James and I went to the local library's story time. It was geared to his age group, and he loved wandering around during the story time and during song time. His favorite was the clapping after a story or song. I really think he thought everyone was clapping just for him. What a confident little guy! My favorite part was the lady in charge made sure to mention to me that I didn't need to jump up and down with everyone else while they danced to a song...perhaps implying that something might happen if I jumped. If it was that easy to get a baby out I would start jumping right now.

Funny happenings

Hello faithful blog readers, never fear we are alive and well! I am sorry it has been so long since I posted, but realistically I will probably be slow at posting for a while given Luke's upcoming arrival. I think I can safely say we are as ready as we will ever be for Luke. The house is prepped, the car is prepped and James is enjoying playing with all his old toys. Now time for some stories....

Movie Night
We were at a friends house for a movie night just last week. John and I were hoping that James would just fall asleep in one of our arms so we could stay and watch the whole movie...and indeed that did happen! Right as the movie was starting he was playing on his favorite green blanket with his toys, not even looking at the TV. The MGM lion came onto the screen and started the usual roar....


...James turned his head and in a booming voice said "Kitty Cat!". It was hysterical and the whole group started laughing. Which made James smile very big, because he loves to be the center of attention.

Dangerous Lamps
So James has just recently learned how to turn John's bedside lamp on and off, and this is his new favorite activity. I really needed a shower and James had happily played all morning so I thought it was a safe assumption that he could play nicely by himself in my bedroom while I showered. Well, you know what happens when you assume things...they go wrong. Picture this: I was in the process of shampooing my hair. Note that I am still using way too much because I haven't gotten used to my short hair, so my hair is fully of sudsy shampoo bubbles. All of a sudden I hear a loud scream and James crying. I wipe the soap from my eyes and the steam from the shower door and peer into my bedroom. He is standing next to John's bedside table with the lamp on top of him. He is so scared that he won't just push the lamp to the side and escape, but rather is standing pinned under the lamp too scared to move.

I slide open the shower door and run over to him leaving a trail of water and soap behind me. I pull the lamp off him, tell him he is ok and run back to the shower. It is then that I realize he is totally going to slip and slide all over that river that is now running through my bedroom. So I jump back out of the shower, grab the towels and lay them over the big puddles. Then I jump back into the shower only to realize now I have no towels in the bathroom. Jump back out of the shower and am being very careful to only step on rugs and towels so I don't leave even more water on the floor and grab a new towel. I jump back into the shower and am rinsing my hair as James wanders into the bathroom distraught by all the action. He continues to wail and pound on the shower doors trying to get my attention. To make my long story even longer, I calm him down by singing the itsy-bitsy-spider over and over as I rinse all the soap from my hair. He stops crying. So the crisis is over and I am half showered. Maybe I'll save my showers for when he is at preschool....

Have a great Monday!

First day of preschool

Today is James' first day of preschool. I think he is handling it better then I am. I almost lost it on the way to my car after dropping him off. Maybe I will be a preschool mom drop out, only time will tell.

He was really excited to get his lunch bag ready with me this morning, even carried it to the front door signaling he was ready to go. It didn't matter that it was too early to leave, he was ready to get out of the house.

And here is my little guy looking cute. This face means, Mommy why do you look so sad.

Now I have 4 hours and all I can do is check the clock to see if it is time to go pick him up. I miss my little guy, but I bet he is having a good time. I never though I would be one to say this, but they really do grow up way to fast.

Addendum: James did very well at preschool. He ate lunch and even took a nap. He also did a craft of hand prints and was very happy during play time. And for extra measure, here is a video of him this afternoon.

Free blog design giveaway!!

Don't you love our new blog design!!! My good friend Lindsey designed this beautiful template and we are absolutely thrilled. Right now she is giving away a free blog design, so hurry over to her new blog Mommy Chronicles and enter to win. She does beautiful work so hurry because this offer ends on Wednesday!



One fun story about Lindsey and I...we used to play country music really loud. And by loud I mean so loud the entire row of townhouses could hear. And then we would line dance for hours. I still remember how exhausted I would be after all the dancing and laughing. Thanks for our beautiful new blog design Linds, here's to all our great memories together and to the many more to come!

Piano Lessons

Just recently James is becoming more and more interested in the piano. He loves to sit and play with the buttons for all the sounds, and we have a cool demo feature that will play songs in each sound. I think he looks so cute sitting at the piano, so I let him jump up whenever he wants. Check out my little musician!

Also, on an unrelated note we have been "nesting" and have some fun new pictures of our updates here.

Are you ready for some football?

This past weekend marked our first opportunity to watch some college football at our good friends house. I have a feeling John and James will be trecking over to Dan and Christine's house most Saturdays to join in the festivities. James was his usual energetic self and really enjoyed all the attention. He loved it when Katherine took some pictures of him. He would pose and wait to see the flash of the camera. She was so sweet to humor him, plus she takes great pictures!

When we would all cheer James would throw his hands in the air to cheer right along with us! He is a sports fan already!