Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Friday, October 24, 2008

Christmas in October!

Grandpa and Grandma Hansen sent James some wonderful new clothes in the mail! They love shopping for cute clothes for their grandchildren. :) And they have good taste, too!

Here are some of James' adorable new outfits:




So fun! Thanks for the early Christmas, Grandma and Grandpa!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Thursday, October 16, 2008

The Pumpkin Patch

Today James and I took a trip with the ward play group to the Sauvie Island Farm Pumpkin Patch! There's something about pumpkins and babies that make for great photo opportunities, so pardon me while I dump some mighty cute pictures at you. ;)

First, we went on a short hayride around the patch.


James really loved the hay. And it actually took him a little while before he tried to eat it!


After the hayride James got to try and drive the tractor himself...ha ha, just kidding.


And then James had his first experience with pumpkins.


Ooh, yummy. (Am I a bad mom for letting him chew on it? Probably.)

It was the funniest thing. Normally, James looks up at the camera automatically when he hears the noise it makes when I turn it on. Not at the pumpkin patch! He wouldn't even look at me! He was just so excited about all the other stuff to look at and touch!


And then James got to have his own little pumpkin to bring home. He thought it was pretty dang cool.



It was a chilly and overcast day, and we were quite covered in mud and dirt by the time we left, but it was tons of fun! I think this will have to be a yearly tradition! Next time we will bring Paul. :)

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

James Claps...well, sort of

Disclaimer: This is probably a video that only the grandparents and aunts and uncles will enjoy. It's way longer than it needed to be. Sorry!

So, whenever James gets excited he squeals and waves his arms and legs frantically. And he gets excited quite often. ;) We've been trying to catch him doing it on video, but he always stops as soon as the camera comes out.

This video is no exception. However, we did capture something else! I've been trying to teach James how to clap lately, and this is as close as he comes to clapping so far:



I love how he looks down at his hands and then decides to clap them together. :) It's amazing to watch him learn new things! You can just see the wheels turning in his head.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

All bundled up!

It's gotten chilly here! In the past couple of days I've not only had to turn on the heater in James' room at night, but also during the day in our living room! And those of you who know me well, know that I enjoy putting off turning on the heater in the fall for as long as I possibly can. Maybe I've turned wimpy, but I was cold!

Paul's last fall softball league is not quite finished, and he had his usual double header last night. I knew it would be cold, but James and I were brave and decided to tough it out. We bundled James up in a long sleeved outfit, socks and shoes, a hat, and his nice Angels coat (thanks again Uncle Jeff!). The Angels coat is 12 month size, so it's still a tad big. But it's SO cute!

See for yourself:



James did better than me in the cold. He had a good time watching his daddy hit a home run and cuddling with his mommy under a big quilt to stay warm. We were the only family of Paul's team that braved the cold to support them. I gotta say, that made me a little bit proud. :)

Thursday, October 9, 2008

I guess we can't use THAT anymore!

So, James has officially outgrown his vibrating rocking chair. Since he's been mobile, we have been using it less and less, but it has always been my go-to for when I need to take a shower. I have now used it as long as I possibly can.

The other day, I put James in the chair to take a shower. After I finished my shower I was walking around the apartment getting a few things done before taking James out of the chair (you know, taking advantage of having him tied down to one spot ;) ). He decided he was fed up with that idea. He didn't want to just sit there! So I came down the hall to find this coming out of our bedroom door:


He was still attached to the chair, but he had flipped it over and was crawling at an incredible pace considering he was toting such a gigantic load.


He wasn't even upset at all. He just came to find me! :)

Anyway, you would think the story would end there, but it doesn't. I assumed the reason he was able to flip the chair over was because the front leg of the chair (that makes it convert to and from a stable chair and a rocking chair) was flipped in, making it a rocking chair. He was able to gain momentum until he flipped it over. SO, I made the (incorrect) assumption that I could still use the chair for my showers as long as the front leg was flipped out, making it a stable chair.

A few days later, I found myself once again in need of a shower with no Paul here to watch James. After securing James in his chair (buckled in and all), I proceeded to take a shower. I heard some struggling and a bit of fussing toward the end of my shower, but I was so close to being finished I just yelled out, "It's ok, James! I'll be right out!" And I started singing to him (he appreciates my singing in the shower ;) ). As soon as I rinsed out my hair, I turned off the water and opened the shower door...and there was James--no chair in sight--crawling his way into the bathroom to find me! I looked out and towards where the chair was, and it was still there, just as I had left it, upright and everything. I still don't know how he managed to climb out while he was buckled in. (Once I dried off and got dressed I went and looked closer at the chair, and the buckles were still securely fastened.) He's a clever kid!

Now I use the Pack 'n Play when it's time for my showers...

On an unrelated note, here's a picture of James' new cute PJs. They were only $6 at Target, and I couldn't pass them up. :)

Monday, October 6, 2008

Big Boy!

A little while ago Paul and I realized James had never worn shoes! In his whole life! We had some size 2 tennis shoes a student had given me as a gift, so I pulled them out. We laced them up and went to put them on...only to find they were already too small! Apparently James has his dad's big feet. ;)

Anyway, we also have some size 4 Nikes from my Aunt Kim, we just didn't think he would be able to wear them so quickly! They were packed away with the 12-18 month clothes. So, we unpacked them and vowed not to miss our chance with these, too. The other day I decided it was a good time to see if they fit:


Aren't they cute?? James thought they were the strangest thing ever. He didn't want to put his weight on them at first.


They're still a tad too big--he got one of them off within ten minutes or so--but I'm excited to let him wear them more in the future! I think it's going to take him a while to get used to the idea of wearing shoes.

James has fully mastered pulling himself up to stand next to things. He just loves it. Also, he loves to crawl up to the washer and dryer and start smacking it over and over again because it makes a loud noise. Here's a picture I took earlier today:


Our little troublemaker sure keeps me busy! I have another great story to post about, but it will have to wait until tomorrow because I have tons to do while James is napping! :)

Wednesday, October 1, 2008