Starting Over

I have not posted here for some time. Over a year?

Things are what they are. James is doing very well. He now loves the Imagination Movers and hot chocolate. Not necessarily together, but that would be nice for him.

I have decided, rather than to post what James is doing, to have him tell everyone.

Here are some conversations:

James: Mom, did you know sound travels in a wave?

Another one,

James: Mom, I can't fly.
Me: No, I am afraid you can't fly yet.
James: Is it because my cape is broken?
Me: Maybe. Should I fix your cape?
James: How do you fix it?
Me: I think I will just sew it.
James: Oh, yes, do that. Then I can fly ZOOOOOOM to the moon. Like Buzz Lightyear and Superman. Superman gets the bad guys.
Me: He certainly does.

I will try to post more often.

May 2007

James, Nick and I walked a 5k on Saturday to benefit Duke's Children's Hospital. After the walk, the babies got to do a "baby run" for those under 2. James wasn't interested in running, but he liked to pick flowers and pick up rocks. He is learning lots of outside words like "squirrel," and "flower." He learned "cone" yesterday, for pine cone. All of the babies who ran got a gold medal, but Nick was especially proud. Here are some pictures.

The month of April

Not having internet at home, I have not been posting as much recently. That doesn't look to change anytime soon, so I will post when I can. James learned how to blow kisses, say SHHHH with a finger to his lips, and he learned how to whisper this month. He is learning something new everyday. He got a new toy, one of those pushy toys that makes the balls inside pop up. He thinks this is a vacuum and he regularly attempts to vacuum the floor with it. He was praised by the daycare lady as being the only child there who puts his toys away when he is done, and mommy is very proud. James naturally likes things clean, we think he takes after his Papa (my dad). Mommy is VERY excited that she gets to take James to Cleveland for Auntie Sarah's high school graduation. We bought the ticket last week. If James gets sick, like he did last time, then mommy will go by herself. James gets to see his great-nana, nana, cousin Tracy and a bunch of other relatives. We are looking forward to visiting my friend, Ami, who has been in the hospital for some time. She is in the nursing facility, and the doctors are amazed at her progress, but she is still not able to come home. Her appetite is getting better, so that is a good sign. We have not met little Lina yet, but we are looking forward to meeting her.

Otherwise, I took James to the Sarah Duke gardens yesterday, and BOY did he LOVE the duck pond! Daddy had to work, so James and I walked around for two hours. He walked most of the time. He took a header into the dirt and now he has a scrape on his forehead, but it didn't slow him down very much. He likes to chase squirrels. A lot of things he does reminds me of a family dog. :P James is NOT a fan of ice cream, we have learned. He does not like the cold. He does love bananas, though. He is also a big fan of noodles. We bought him some new clothes this weekend, and we need to get him some shorts because it is going to be 90 tomorrow.

Easter 2007

James had a very nice Easter this year. I still had not given him any candy, so I let Nick give James his first piece of chocolate. It was a big hit. James woke up in the morning to an Easter basket and six hidden eggs, which James insisted were "balls." Then Nick went to the lab and James and I hung out. After that, we traveled to Aunt Cathy and Uncle Ed's house, where we had dinner with Nick's grandmother, some of Nick's cousins, little Tyler and Aunt Cathy and Uncle Ed. James had a blast. Tyler and James still don't notice each other very much, but they decided to give each other hugs this time. Even though James is bigger and stockier than Tyler, it was clear that Tyler knew he was six weeks older. Tyler's mom was calling Ty a bully. Mostly, they ignored each other. They did a mini egg hunt, and they did a fairly good job. James got the concept of "put the eggs in the basket" while Tyler just opened up the eggs and ate the candy. After the egg hunt, Tyler and James' mommies took them to the park, where James had his first swing ride, which he loved. We will have to go to the park again. We had to leave early because James had a large poo. We went home after that and stopped off at the grocery store. James barely had a nap, so he got cranky. He went home and went straight to bed.

I found out today that my friend, Ami, is back in the hospital in Cleveland. She had a perforated colon. Those of you who know Ami know that she didn't have much of a colon left to begin with. She was in a medicated coma for a few days, and for a minute there they weren't sure if she was going to wake up, or if she did, if she was going to be able to breathe on her own. She is doing both now, and her family and friends are very happy. Please wish Ami a quick and complete recovery.

03/29/2007

This past week has been very busy. We moved to a new apartment and Nick has allergies. Nick is allergic to the pine trees here in North Carolina. He had bad allergies last year, but this year seems worse.

The move went smoothly. Some of our stuff is still at the old place, but we have until Sunday to move out of there. All three of us like the new place better. I start a new job on Monday, which is exciting. I will be working two buildings away from Nick, in a related department. We are excited to get to meet for lunch on a regular basis.

James is happy in his little world. He has taken to stomping his feet whenever I march, which is cute. He likes to run in circles through the new kitchen and living room. The "I'm Gonna Get You" game is still his favorite. He refuses to eat unless he is holding a spoon. He refuses food that is given to him, he wants to do everything by himself.

He had a good time with his Aunt Sarah this weekend, and his Nana, of course. He isn't as keen on the pool as he used to be, but he warmed up to his barely-seen family very quickly. We are hoping to get organized in time to give James a proper Easter, but we also think it is good that he is too little to remember these things. Moving is hard work.

March 10-12 2007

The weekend was full of rest and recovery. I was sick on Saturday, so Nick took James out for most of the afternoon. James' fever finally stayed down and he was feeling ok. Saturday was a gorgeous day. While Nick and James were gone, I cleaned the living room and our bedroom. On Sunday we went out for breakfast and then Nick and James did some laundry while I went home and cleaned the bathroom and the kitchen. I had a splitting headache for most of the day, but things still needed to get done. In the evening, we all went grocery shopping together. We have plans to bring a corned beef over to Jackie's apartment (she just moved in) to share. That should be fun. Ty and James don't really play together yet, unless they are taking a bath together. James moves around faster than Ty does. Ty is content to sit and contemplate and James wants to go and get into trouble. Monday was a typical day, thank goodness. James was back in daycare. They spent most of the day outside, so James was tuckered out. He fell asleep before we were ready for him to, and I had to wake him back up so he could take his antibiotics. Otherwise, he is back to normal, finally.

March 5-9 2007

The week started off fairly typical. Everyone went to the respective daycares and work places on Monday. We had a nice dinner on Monday night. James slept through the night. The next day we went, again, off to our respective places. We got the call from daycare at 3:00pm that James was sick. I happened to be at Duke for an interview, so Nick had to interrupt and get the car keys from me to go and get James. James had a fever of 104. We gave him some Tylenol and Motrin, according to the doctor's instructions. James didn't have a good night. On Wednesday, James still had a fever, and this time it wasn't going down with medicine, so I took him to Urgent Care. He was checked for an ear infection, again, and he had a slight ear infection and a sinus infection. The doctor said that James had the 48 hour bug and should start to feel better on Thursday afternoon or so. I went to the pharmacy to pick up James' prescription. On Thursday, Nick and I split the day taking care of James. His fever is down to 99 without medicine, and he slept well last night. He still does NOT want to be put down or walk on his own, but he was playing with toys this morning. Now, I am sick. Nick was sick last week. I seem to get over these things before Nick does, so hopefully I will be better tomorrow morning. James is still a mister cranky-pants, but he is eating better now and he is sleeping well. All of our weekend plans are on hold until we see how James feels.