About FACE!

Well, James is officially a forward-facing passenger! He rode in his new carseat for the first time today and... wasn't really sure what to think. You can see the look of slight trepidation on his face in the pic below. It's like he was thinking "I don't think I should say anything, but I think they put me in the wrong way...". He was a good sport, though, and just sort of took it all in.
New equipment specs: James is tooling around in the Graco ComfortSport convertible car seat, rated for 5 - 40 pounds, and up to 40 inches in height (and his head is already level with the top of it... nice, eh?). It has fleather trim and a rugged / sporty fabric that does not match either of our vehicles. The locking mechanism is similar to that of his old Graco SnugRide, but seems to require a little more pressure, so daddy's little stinker probably won't figure out how to free himself just yet! The REALLY nice thing about this (would have been great during the winter, so much for timing!) is the adjuster strap beneath his feet. With one hand, you can tighten or slack the straps so that you can accomodate however bulky stuff he's wearing! Oh yeah, and it has a built-in cupholder / snackholder on the side... it's like riding in a big lazy-boy recliner!

Big boy in his new carseat!

It's not a party until something gets broken...

Thanks, Shawn, for another great get-together! Hahaha... truth be told, these were old, weather-exposed, and were going to replace them anyway, but it's still funny. Poor Shawn, "why do you guys always tease ME about breaking stuff?"... if the broken chair fits...

Beer Wed this week brought the Moores, Rowland-Barbers, Woodruffs, and 1 half of the Lamancusas together (the other half was sick). Ribs were grilled, eggplant fried, and beers were drunk (as was wine!). A good time was had by all. Here are some pics

Pull my finger... uh, I mean "chain" 

The Power of the Point

James has learned to point. This is a skill not to be trifled with. Now, instead of knowing that he's simply not getting his point across, he KNOWS that when you don't give him something, it's not because you don't understand, it's because you're being mean. "Mommy!!!", he thinks, "I'm pointing RIGHT TO IT!... give it to me!". He's turned into quite the little pointing tyrant.
He also enjoys using this to try tempting you into his new favoriate game... Turn on the Lighting Fixture. This game is compliments of Daddy. Daddy puts James on his shoulder and holds him up to the ceiling to let him turn on and off the ceiling lights. This is fun for about 2 mins, at which point none of the blood is left in your arms. So now, every time you enter a new room, James immediately points to the lighting fixture. Thanks, da-da.

Just too funny

For a good laugh, click here. I found this one two of the other baby websites I have listed in the links down below... upload your own head for a good chuckle!

Year 1 Pictures Available

Alrighty, James fans... the year 1 proofs are posted! We're probably going to place our order in the next few weeks. The ones that we're going to order are labeled "ORDERING THIS ONE x", so if you want copies, let us know so that we order the appropriate amount. Also, if you see any others that you're really crazy about and simply must have, let us know and we'll try to get some of those, too. Enjoy!

Sick little boy resting and watching cartoons 

Happy St. Patty's Day

Well, the luck of the Irish must be with James, because he's FINALLY overcome this rotten virus he's been lugging around for the past week. Poor little thing has just felt awful since this past weekend, but he's finally turned the corner and is feeling alot better. The washer and dryer are also grateful, as they've gotten a workout this week! Mr. Pooper was going through several outfits a day, and whatever didn't get on him got on Mommy, the sheets, whatever was near. Also, this may be more than you'd like to know, but I will not be eating guacamole for quite some time...

Natal News Archives Now Available!

Check out the links along the left-side of the blog... Natal News archives are now available. Thanks to a cool little product called Hello, I can now send pics straight to the blog instead of having to link to another site.. so I created a blog just for the Natal News. Enjoy!

Can't buy me love (says who?!?!) 

Buying your friends...

At the tender age of 1, James has already learned the power of bribery. Fascinated with the animals (remember, first words are "cat" and "dog".. mama and dada are nada), he has yet to make a real connection with them... until now. Ever observant, he's realized that the dogs are actually interested in him during mealtime, hanging around his chair, sneaking in to try to grab food off of his tray (much to James' delight, I've caught Moose on at least 2 occassions eating right off of James' tray!). This realization has coincided with his recent discovery of gravity. He realizes that if he lets go of things, they drop. The dogs want *what* he drops, thus, to make the dogs happy, he should drop the food... right into their friggin' muzzles!!!
The good news is, it's easy to tell when he's finished eating. When he starts feeding the dogs, it's time to clean him up and move him on to the next activity. Obviously, the dogs now think he is the greatest thing since sliced steak.. thus a beautiful friendship is born.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

The J-Bug celebrated his FIRST BIRTHDAY this Saturday. Family and friends joined us for cake and merriment (and tequila shots...) in celebration of the big day. The day was just great all-around. James SLEPT IN until about 7:30 (mommy and daddy got a birthday gift, too!), woke up in an awesome mood, and ended up taking a 1.5 hr mid-morning nap. Mommy and Daddy were able to get stuff ready for the party ahead of time. Lest you think I'm putting too much emphasis on this, please recall that as parents, we often have to make executive decisions between cleaning the house, showering ourselves, or going somewhere... rarely do these all coincide! Auntie Karey and Uncle Dave came over to help (and did, mind you), but James was soo cooperative that we still had some slack time. What a joy!
So, the festivities kicked off around 3ish, most of the invitees were able to attend, those that weren't were missed! Aunt E and Grams/Gram/Gran did tequila shots (more like sips / samples...shots sounds cooler, tho). Scott extolled the virtues of said tequila vs. other brands. Jim ackwardly held his first baby *ever* (you couldn't tell). Poppa and GrandmaSis brought James' cousin Samantha to play (and they had a blast!). A good time was had by all.
James konked out while everyone was eating (timing could not be better!) and awoke just in time for cake. He totally dug the cake, but the ice cream was not an immediate hit.. perhaps an acquired taste? Who can really remember what they thought about ice cream the first time they had it? Not me. Lots of fun gifts later, and our baby boy-turned toddler spent the evening watching Monsters, Inc. and playing with paper and boxes.
He did get one toy that scared the bejeezus out of him! The Busy Ball Popper (henceforth known as the Crazy Ball Loser... since all balls will eventually end up lost under furniture... the thing PROPELS them skyward at about Mach 2, at which point they come back down and bounce off somewhere completely random!) made him cry the first night... probably coincided with the crash from his sugar high! Daddy and he played with it the next morning, and Daddy showed him that it's not scary. James also determined that the balls are delicious. Check out the pics for all this more!