Our Little Cherub

For his seven month portrait, I let the photographer talk me into putting angel wings behind James. I was very skeptical at first. I thought "He's a boy. He'll look silly in angel wings. "
But, one look at these cutie-pie pictures and a cherub sent straight from heaven was born! Yes, I'm a believer in putting angel wings on little boys now! Just look how cute they turned out! Mind you, I am not biased in the least....
Here's his future chippendale dancer application photo! Love the red bowtie!
Back to my sweet, angelic little boy! I love those little piggies!
Please disregard the little red rash around his mouth. I'm not sure why his face keeps breaking out, but it clears up within a day or two. We are weaning him from his pacifier (daytime use only) so hopefully that will help the problem. That's all for now!

Hyde Park Art Show

This weekend was the annual art show in Hyde Park. It got rained out on Saturday, but Sunday showed signs of sunshine, so we decided to head out and support our local, starving artists. Well, there weren't too many "local" artists and by the price tags on most of the art, WE would be the only ones starving if we purchased what we liked, but I digress....

The event was very popular for many families (evidenced by the high volume of traffic and strollers!) James enjoyed viewing all of the artwork and offered up a big grin to many of the art patrons. I can't say "toothless" grin anymore. Yep! His first bottom teeth started coming in on Saturday. I haven't been able to photograph the elusive pearly whites just yet, but man, those things feel sharp!
Afterwards, we enjoyed a nice lunch at Sally O'Neals Gourmet Pizza Kitchen in SoHo. And, James enjoyed his lunchtime bottle!
Darrin and Wana (godparents) enjoyed the afternoon with us. Of course, Auntie Wana had to get in some "James" time.
After both boys were fed, we decided to say our goodbye's and head home. Once at home, the boys enjoyed some play time in the play area, commonly referred to as "the baby pit." As you can see, daddy is tuckered out by the end of long afternoon and James is still ready to go! Once he sees the camera come out, he smiles (as if on cue) and is ready to pose!
Yep, that must be my child!
The outing hopefully fostered some deep sense of art appreciation and developed his sense of visual awareness. Yeah right! But, at least it made for a sleepy child who was ready for bed and went down easily! Whew!

Just in case....

you were wondering if James was really my baby. I was organizing/storing some photographs of our Hawaii trip this weekend and came across these baby pictures of me. Yep! Same wide, toothless grin on both babies! I wasn't the cutest of babies. Now I know why my mom strapped a bonnet to my head in subsequent, future photographs!

1977

1977

2007

2007

We had a very nice, three day weekend at home. James and I joined some playgroup friends at the Aquarium for an outing on Friday. Then, Will and I spent most of Saturday playing around the house with James. Consequently, lots of giggles filled our house, as Will makes it his mission to get as many grins and giggles out of James as possible. No wonder James expects "play time" every time he sees his daddy! Sunday was spent cleaning out and organizing our garage. How do those things get so messy? We wrapped up the long weekend with a nice lunch over at "auntie" Veronica's house. James promptly began to explore her entire house on all fours, which kept us quite busy during our lunch. No more casual visits while the baby lays on the floor in one location. He's on the move! Oh well, I guess I should be thankful that he isn't moving on two legs yet. Needless to say, all that maneuvering around her house wore him out and he quickly fell asleep in the car on the way home.

I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend and made the most of it!

Hawaiian Update

Finally....

Sorry it's taken me so long to post the pictures, but we've had a very busy week since we've been back from Hawaii! Will's mom flew in from Ohio to spend some much needed "grandma" time with James. So, we've been busy having fun with her, but I've finally organized all the pictures from our Hawaiian vacation and created a slideshow (complete with music, so turn up the sound!) for your viewing pleasure!

I can't truly call it our "Hawaiian vacation" since Will had to work the entire time, but we made the most of it. During the day, dear aunty Tessie picked up James and I and drove us all around the island. Dad was our personal tour guide, showing us all the scenic areas that he remembered as a child. Funny, when he was growing up, the lookout spots and beaches weren't popular tourist attractions who charged admission! But, I digress....

Our evenings were spent meeting cousins and aunties and uncles and eating and eating and eating! James and I even stayed a few days after Will left to spend more time with our Hawaiian ohana (family) and share even more special memories. All of the cousins and aunties were welcoming, warm and very memorable. It was so nice to finally put a face to the names I've heard about for so long.

Some of the highlights from the trip:

• Taking James in the water at Waikiki beach and watching him cry because he didn't like the cold water!


• Riding in uncle Lionel's beautiful '57 Chevy! Poor Will was so jealous that he missed out on that classic ride, but he's thankful that James was able to experience/appreciate it!


• Enjoying a 7-course Chinese dinner with uncle Jackie, aunty Gwen and family..... complete with lion dance entertainment!


• Being chauferred around by aunty Tessie and watching her sing/dance on Friday night. That woman has more talent and charm than anyone on American Idol!


• Staying with aunty Patsy and uncle Lionel. I'm so ready to go back to their beautiful home and the beautiful view over the water from their backyard.


• Enjoying a sunday morning service at St. John's s by the Sea church.


• Last but not least, sharing this wonderful trip with my dad. It was so special to meet the family and experience the island of Oahu with him! It was the trip of a lifetime and one that I've waited several years to take. Thanks, dad, for making it so special!

Seven Months Old!!!

Our "little man" is seven months old! As you can see, the sign is strategically placed behind his point of view. He did turn around a see it, so the photo session quickly turned into a paper-destruction session! Oh well, I'll have to come up with some new idea for the sign to last longer for better pictures!
We celebrated his seven months of life by running in the Gasparilla Stroller 5K on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and the views along Bayshore Blvd (by the water) were wonderful.
Here's daddy trucking along while baby James is passed out in the stroller! He even slept through the finish line! Oh well, he woke up once he heard all of the applauding and commotion.
Very proud of our medals! James even got one!
Here's the proud Grandma-ma and his Godmother. Of course, James LOVED all the attention from the ladies!