Benjamin's Birthday!!!

On Saturday, James helped his good friend and playdate buddy (Benjamin) celebrate the ripe ole' age of One Year(s) Old! Ever since James was three months old, these boys have attended weekly (sometimes more!) playdates together, so they go waaayyyyyy back! Yep, you could say that they have known each other for most of their lives!
At previous birthday parties, James has NOT been a fan of the ball pit. But, with a little coaxing from his good friend Benjamin, he wasn't afraid at all.

James: Dude, this is the worst teething toy I've ever had!

Benjamin: No man! You have to throw the balls out, so our mommies can go scrambling for them! It's the best game ever!

James: Oh, I get it now! She can't snap pictures and chase balls at the same time!
James: Let me show you how to make them squeak.

Benjamin: Hey, it's my toy. I think I know how to work it. Watch and learn, kid. Watch and learn.

Yes, it seemed that all of the kids there had a great time playing and getting to try out Benjamin's new birthday gifts. Benjamin was a great host and birthday boy! The moms were trying to figure out just when and how our little babies got so big and "grown up." It's very hard not to get caught up in the sentimentality of it all. Well, for some it is. When I asked Will about it and tried explaining it to him, he looked at me like I was crazy! I guess that's the difference between mommies and daddies.

Memorial Day: Red, White and the Blues.....

Happy Memorial Day Everyone! I hope your plans for food, fun and family/friends turned out better than ours. Let me explain....

For two months now, I've had our Memorial weekend planned. We were going to Club Med in Port. St. Lucie with our friends Jenny and Eric and their girls, Sierra and Tori. We LOVE vacationing with them and were really looking forward to relaxing at the resort, playing with our babies and catching up with our friends. Well, James had other plans. On Friday, he came down with a pretty high fever, his first fever ever, so I was pretty freaked out. At the doctor's office, it was 102.5, even after taking Tylenol. The doctor wasn't too worried, since his ears were fine, chest sounded good, his bloodwork came back normal and he looked good- still smiling, eating, playing, pooping, sleeping,etc. But, since he did have this fever, she cautioned us against traveling with him and putting him around other children. We agreed, and I had to make the difficult call of canceling our much anticipated vacation. This definitely let to my blues for the weekend. Bummer!

Of course, by Saturday, James was feeling a little better. Probably not well enough to be around other babies and enjoy an all-inclusive resort with mommy and daddy, but just fine for around the house. And, by Sunday, he was back to 100%!

So, we loaded up the car and headed to the beach! Instead of driving to St. Pete Beach or Clearwater, we drove, oh, about 5 minutes to the family beach on base. It's a shame we don't go there more often. But, seeing how well James took to the sand and water, I think we need to go there lots and lots!

I put James down in our bedroom while we were loading up the car. I came back inside the house to find him deliriously happy with his new white "toy."

The fun just never stops!

Here's James with his daddy playing in the sand. I don't know who enjoyed the sandbucket and toys more, James or Will. I was too busy snapping away with the camera and making sure that James was properly slathered in sunscreen, that I didn't bother to put any on myself. Hence, the red of the weekend!

We didn't get much lounging time by the water, because James was constantly on the move! I took several more photos of James playing in the sand, walking chest-deep in the water, and crawling all around in the shallows.

Happy Anniversary!!!

On Wednesday, Will and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary. When James and I returned from a late afternoon walk, I was surprised by these beautiful pink roses (my fav), a wonderfully sentimental card and four wine glasses engraved with our initials. I guess "glass" is the third year anniversary present. Will put James to bed early and we enjoyed a nice evening together. He even brought home champagne and our "wedding cake" for dessert. You see, our wedding cake was actually the Banana Cream Pie Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. So, every anniversary, we HAVE to eat a piece (or two) of our wedding cake to commemorate the event. I love it!
Then, on Friday, our good friends (and James' godparents) Tom and Veronica came over to spend the evening watching James so we could enjoy a night away. It was the first time ever that I've spent away from James. Well, let me tell you, it was WONDERFUL! We didn't' go far, just dinner and a hotel close by. But, the "escape" was well worth it. We really enjoyed our free time together and were able to truly relax knowing that James was safe and in good hands. It felt like we were on vacation. And, did I mention that we BOTH got to sleep in? That's a first! Of course, by check out time, I was ready to come home to my darling baby. I love my hubby and all, but I really missed my little boy!
This was me last year on our anniversary and 8 months prego. Man, I was huge! What a difference a year makes!

Proud to be an American

On Tuesday morning, James and I went to the Convention Center to watch my good friend Keri as she was sworn in to becoming an America citizen. Now, she holds dual-citizenship, American and Canadian. Keri is another teacher and we met almost 10 years ago during the summer at those professional development courses that all teachers dread going to during our time off. But, meeting such a great new friend made that class all worth it!
A couple of weeks ago, Keri had a party to celebrate her citizenship. She planned some great party games, including: Are you Smarter than a Canadian? All of the questions were about US history and our government (which she had to study up on to pass the admittance exam.) Sadly, I am NOT smarter than a Canadian when it comes to US history and our government. But, I digress.... James was a big fan of Keri's flag.

James: See Ms. Keri, this is how to properly wave the flag as an American.

Weekend Highs and Lows

What a weekend of events we've had. Some good, some bad, but here's the jist of it. Sorry there weren't more pictures, I was takin' it easy.....

Thursday, I finally found and purchased our new patio furniture for the pool/lanai area (after weeks and weeks of searching for the right set/right price!) It has been so nice to sit out by the pool in the evening, kick back with my feet up and enjoy a glass of wine. High.

Late Friday afternoon, Will goes into the garage to do some laundry (yes, I still make him do his own) and walked into a flood zone. Our water heater had kicked the bucket. So, after a phone call to our plumber and a trip to Home Depot for brand new water heater, plus the cost of having a plumber come out first thing saturday morning, we have 80 gallons of hot water at our disposal. Low.

On Saturday, mom stayed home with James so Will and I could go test drive new trucks for him. Will's old (and I mean OLD) truck has really taken a beating over the years and it was past time to be replaced. But, being the frugal one that he is, Will has been driving my old car to and from work and leaving the truck parked in our driveway. Finally, I'd had enough of three cars in the driveway and Will deserves a newer vehicle, so we went looking. He decided on a beautiful (can you call a truck beautiful?) 2008 Nissan Frontier and after getting the salesguy down to our price point, we drove it home later Saturday evening. High.

Poor Will had to say goodbye to his dear old (and I mean OLD!) truck. I snapped this picture as we were dropping it off at the dealership and he was taking few moments to say goodbye. I wanted to drop it off as quickly as possible, just so Will wouldn't come up with yet another reason to keep his truck! Yes, in his hands he is holding the original sticker sheet that was taped to the window when he bought it waayyyy back in 1993. Low (for Will, that is.) Mother's Day rolled around and it was very special to have my mom here with us. Even though the two of us butt heads at every discussion, I feel so lucky to have her in my life and she made my day very special. High.
We went out for a nice brunch, dropped the cars off at the dealership and spent the rest of the day in the pool. Will treated me to a day "off" from the regular mommy duties. He got up with James in the morning and let me sleep in, he changed all of the diapers, prepared all of the bottles, fed all of the meals, handled all of the naptimes and basically took care of James from sun up to sun down. He even cleaned up the entire kitchen after dinner while I just sat and watched some TV on the couch (that was nice!) High.
But, he forget to get me a Mother's Day card for my very first Mother's Day ever. (although I think I remember receiving cards from Misha, Abby and Bob on year's past, go figure!) Low.

All in all, it was a nice way to spend my very first Mother's Day. I'm so thankful to be James' mommy and I know he appreciates and loves me. That wide grin just says it all!

Ten Months Today!!!

Today, James turned ten months old. I snapped these pictures very quickly before we went out for the afternoon. It's a good thing I got them when I did, because the rest of day has been crazy! As you can see by his huge mouth-open grin, he still has only two bottom teeth, but the others are trying to make their way out.
Poor baby is teething on everything! He can still eat like a champ, though! He hasn't been into drinking his formula lately. I'm lucky if I get 12 -15 ounces in him a day. But he does sip water or juice from a straw.
And, he is quite the mover and a shaker! All he wants to do is get down and move around! As you can see, he doesn't have much use for being held. He just wants to get down and crawl around. He is very brave when standing and is working on the no-handed balancing act. Yep, I'm afraid that we will have a walker in just a few short months!

Here is James with his Grandma Dianne (down for a visit). He is keeping her busy around the house and still won't slow down enough to let her hold him for very long. All Grandma wants to do is hug and cuddle, but that's not what Mr. Busy-body has in mind!

All that shakin' and a movin' wears him out (and me!) Good thing he is still a good sleeper. Still 12 hours through the night with two naps during the day. However, since dear Grandma has been in town, his sleeping schedule has been off and he is much more demanding from the crib because he knows that dear Grandma will come to his rescue from the bad, no-good bedtime! Errrr!

No matter how much work it will cost me after she leaves to correct the bad sleeping habits, we still love Grandma.

Repeat after me: we still love Grandma, we still love Grandma, we still love Grandma......

Just in case you were wondering......

Yes, I do rule! I saw this shirt at the store and of course, I had to buy it!

On Friday, James and I hosted another mommy playdate at our house. This time, the babies were old enough to go in the pool. Everyone enjoyed splashing around in the sparkly water and being out in the sunshine. I couldn't take any video of everyone because my hands were full with my "little fishy!"

We enjoyed more pool time on saturday and shot some footage of James splashing around. Unfortunately, I'm having technical difficulties with loading it onto blogger. Sorry. Hopefully, more video of our "little man" will come soon!