Being silly.. we're playing beekaboo under the crib. He'll then pop up and look at you OVER the crib, then back under.. you get the idea. 

Getting ready to go to the lake (during a cold front... of course now it's in the 80s again!) 

Coming up for air...

WOW... has it really been almost 3 wks since the last update? Holy cow... just when you think you've adapted to the hectic new lifestyle that parenting brings... WALKING! And walking means constant vigilance!! We had dinner with Scott and Maria, and Scott said, "wow.. he never actually stops moving, does he?". And he's right, he doesn't. So, by end of most days, Sterling and I are e x h a u s t e d. Thus the lack of entries...
So what's new in WoodruffWorld? Well, James has gotten the walking thing downpat, and that boy can CRUISE! Unfortunately, he's not yet mastered walking AND watching where you're going... he's sometimes a little too focused on the floor and doesn't realize THERE'S A TABLETOP COMING AT YA.. *thunk*. So, he's got alot of boo boos. He wants to explore everything! He's really enjoyed going to the lake now that the weather's nice, and is enamoured of the ducks! He'll even feed them crackers (by dropping them off the bridges). Loooves some quacks.
Hm.. also, he says Dada.. frequently. Still no hint of mama yet. OH! And the cutest thing of all.. when he's ready to go to bed, he will actually go to his room and point at his crib, then wave "bye bye".. that means it's bedtime. He TELLS us when he's tired.. MAN! We have the coolest, easiest kid EVAH!
He is also VERY into his little lion (you may remember this guy from our August 2004 posting). Daddy (kudos to you, smarty!) came up with the idea to look for another on eBay. ROCK ON.. we WON it! So now we have a backup for what has quickly, in the course of about two weeks, become a crucial fixture in our son's life. He will not go to bed without it. It was in the dryer about a week ago when James gave us the night-night wave, and we tried to put him down without it, he was lifting up the covers and looking around for it.. too smart for us! We offered him several other stuffed animals, but he knows. So, backup lion is enroute, we have a safety net if we need it!
Also, crazy about the sandbox. This was introduced last weekend, when daddy was working, James wouldn't stop moving, and mommy needed to sit still for TWO MINUTES. We went to Lowe's bought some play sand, and dumped it into a toddler swimming pool that was a hand-me-down from Sammie. He played in that thing for about a hour. Those of you with toddlers know how incredible it is to get one to stay in one place for a whole hour! It was great until a) he face-planted forward and the drool on him resulted in the equivalent of shake 'n' bake, and b) he decided to put this shaken/baken paci into his mouth. AND THEN, he tried to eat sand.. that was about the end of it (plus side: has not tried to eat it since!)
Whew... I think that's it for now.. maybe this will teach me to wait so long in between updates. Enjoy the awesome Memorial Day weekend!

Takes a Lickin'...

... and keeps on tickin'.. and walkin'... and FALLING! While James is enjoying hands-free mobility, mommy and daddy have come very close to full-on heart attacks walking his little noggin come within inches of every hard surface in the house. Note the Boo Boo Map below, for evidence of the bumps in the road to mastering the fine art of Walking. He's also gotten his first bloody nose, compliments of the kitchen floor (who put that there, anyway!?). What a trooper, though, he just gets right on back up and keeps going!
He's also saying "daddeeee, dada" quite a bit. We were walking through the store the other day, and Sterling was walking down another aisle. He popped into view, and James nearly lept out of my arms yelling "dada!! dadeeee", and proceeded to "chase" Sterling around the bins (ok, not exactly an action movie chase, but a toddler's version!). VERY cute, he's all about daddy these days. So mommy's getting a bit of a reprieve, and daddy feels like his genetic contribution to this little person was not in vain!
So our little guy is growing up right in front of us, turning into a cool little person who walks and talks in baby sign (getting more consistent now!), and he's just friggin' awesome!

Boo Boo Map

These shoes were made fer walkin'...

And that's just what they're doing. James is upwardly mobile, and UNSTOPPABLE! His new favorite game is to stand up, and try to make it across a room to you only to lunge at the last step so that he falls onto you. It's actually very funny and cute. He also wants to walk everywhere now. If he's feeling a little wobbly, he'll come up to you and look for your hand to hold so that you'll walk around with him, also very funny and cute. Here's an action shot of him out in the driveway. Thank goodness it's still spring and he can wear jeans to protect those little knees!

Ah'm a travelin' man!

Busy busy busy

Our boy is a busy one. Just keeping up with him is exhausting! So tiring, that I've just enough energy to post some new pics... see the links down on the left.. "Spring 2005". Phew! g'night