holiday travels

During the week between Christmas and New Year's, we split our time between visiting Aaron's sisters up north and visiting canoe guide friends of Aaron near Alexandria. James was a good traveler, and perhaps more importantly, a good sleeper. We were a little unsure how well he would do sleeping in strange places, and in his travel crib instead of a toddler bed. The most difficult parts of the trip were James-wrangling in places that weren't babyproofed and trying to be quiet in the morning while others were still sleeping.

As we had hoped, James spent most of his time in the car asleep.

After we got to the A-frame, it was time for more presents. Auntie Molly got James a train!

The best part was when the train crashed into different items on the track. So exciting!

Making "tunnels" for the train was pretty exciting, too (James loves tunnels)

Auntie Lindsey got James a turtle that lights up and displays the night sky. James doesn't have many light-up toys, so he spent a lot of time with this one, trying to "make moons"
After James went to bed, there was plenty of time for visiting, playing games, and reading by the fire. It was really nice to get out of the cities for a week and spend quality time with family and friends. Perfect holiday break!

Christmas Eve

James has had some awareness about Christmas but it was hard to tell how much he was understanding. He knew about Santa, and he loved looking through all the Christmas cards we received. And he was interested in the animals from our nativity scene, and the ornaments on our tree. But the real excitement came when he got to open his Christmas presents.

Hurry up, it's present time!

A Llama Llama toy for James.

And off come the red pajamas

"More presents? Okay, yes."

And a new book about Curious George (that we have ended up reading just about every night before bed).

It was fun to see how excited he was, both for opening the presents and at his new toys and books. But perhaps the most exciting part of James' Christmas was the bowl of ice cream he got before bed. He's a little young yet for the traditional family grasshoppers but the ice cream suited him just fine.

A trip to the Children's Museum

We spent a few hours this morning at the Children's Museum in St. Paul. With some birthday money that James received, we decided that a family membership would be a good gift and today was our first trip there. As expected, James had a great time. One of our first stops was at a room of all sorts of water tables.

Next, James practiced his driving skills.

Time for some grocery shopping!

Now he's a postman. There were all sorts of rooms with dress-up clothes relating to different professions.

Upstairs, we went to a nature room.

James had to crawl through the "beaver lodge"...

... to find a slide. (Of course he found a slide)

So much to explore!

Two hours was definitely enough, both for parents and for James. But thanks to our membership, we'll be back soon -- especially for the Curious George exhibit in May. James will be pretty excited to see George.

winter fun

Last winter, we took James out a few times in his little sled. Just trips around the house or down the street, but he was just delighted by the snow. This winter, he didn't seem to remember the snow but he was delighted nonetheless.

We dressed him up in new snowpants, boots, and a big winter jacket. It was a long process but worth the effort.
James' favorite part of the outing was rolling around in the snow. He didn't like the sled so much (too windy) but indulged Aaron on a few trips down the hill.


We also showed him how to make snow angels and how to write letters in the snow. Good thing he seems to like winter so much -- looks like it's here to stay!

Happy Birthday, James!

This past Saturday was James' 2nd birthday -- we have a two year old! At his two year check up last week, he weighed in at 25.5 lbs and 34 inches tall. That puts him right in the middle of the 20th-40th percentile, with his weight at the lower end and his height at the higher end. He just got one shot and had a blood draw. He did really well at his appointment and was rewarded with a trip to the zoo with Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma. He loves the zoo, especially the bears, monkeys, and giraffes.

We had a small family birthday for him. Special birthday muffins, pizza, and presents. James got a keyboard from Mommy and Daddy:

He enjoyed his new blocks from Grandma and Grandpa:

And a fun new book from Grandpa:

Not a bad birthday!

Our little two year old is learning so much each day. He is starting to speak in sentences and his vocal abilities have increased so much just these past couple of months. He knows his numbers through 12 and most letters. The letters "Z" and "O" are particular favorites. He's still such an active little boy, but every once in a while, a new toy or book will catch his attention long enough that he will sit down for 15 minutes to play or read.

He's such a fun and funny little boy. I don't think we will ever tire of his hugs, kisses, and snuggles.

summer days

We've had our fair share of lazy summer weekends, most of which start with Saturday morning pancakes. James loves "cakes" and he is a good little helper in the kitchen.

He even volunteers to perform quality control on the batter.

He has gotten much better at feeding himself and not throwing food on the floor. When he can't get something on his spoon, he will announce "help!" A fork has been a bit more tricky but fortunately, most of his favorite foods can be eaten with fingers or a spoon (yogurt, soup, smoothies).

James still loves being silly. He is little shy around people he doesn't see often, like Grandma and Grandpa visiting from Egypt, but it doesn't take him too long to warm up to them.

Reading continues to be another favorite activity. Doesn't his big pile of blankets and pillows look inviting?

James got this bear from Grandma. He loves to give "Teeeee Ceeeeee" (TC bear, the Twins mascot) hugs and kisses.

Aaron and I now have to spell out p-a-r-k because any mention of the word has James running for the front door. He now goes down the slide by himself. Other park favorites include the swings and moving handfuls of sand from one part of the playground to another.

We've had some tasty treats this summer as well. Aaron took a pizza-making class at a local cooking store and produced this delicious item. It's hard to say whom the class benefited more, him or me :)

And it's not summer without a fresh berry pie:

While we're looking forward to fall, we certainly had a fun summer!