25 weeks

James was 25 weeks old yesterday. We have been giving him rice cereal every night now and he is just loving it. He will get a big smile on his face when he sees me coming over with a bowl, and he will wave his arms and legs around. Much less ends up on his clothes now... either he is getting better at eating or we are getting better at feeding him :) Next on the menu will be something orange. If he thinks rice cereal is exciting, just wait until we get to sweet potatoes!

We bought a jogging stroller last weekend and it has been fun to take James along for a run. We've certainly been enjoying this nice April weather. This was the sight that greeted me when I got home today:

Flip! James doesn't roll from back to front as much as he does from front to back, but I've managed to catch him in the act.

He's pretty proud of himself!

The camera is far more interesting than any other toy in reach.

Happy little boy. Although now he's a sleepy little boy, passed out with dad on the couch. Both have had long, exhausting weeks.

tasty car

James loves his little toy car. Mostly, he loves to chew on it.

Those wheels sure are tasty!

All done! What next, mom?

24 weeks

James is 24 weeks old today. These past few nights have been a little rough for him. He has generally been a really good sleeper and gone to sleep without too much trouble. Tuesday night, it took an hour of feeding, rocking, singing, and stories before he finally went to sleep. Last night, there was an hour of screaming and crying. He was clearly tired (rubbing his eyes) but we think that his teeth were bothering him more than normal. He eventually fell asleep after a dose of infant tylenol and more crying. And then he was up twice during the night. Poor boy. No one got a very restful night of sleep. No wonder this is how I discovered him when I arrived home:

(Note the cute new sun hat!)

Tonight, we tried to be more proactive about easing his pain. James had plenty of wiggle time, frozen teethers and washcloths to chew on, some rice cereal for dinner, a dose of tylenol, a bath, stories, and after all that, he was sleeping before 8. Let's hope it stays that way! We all need a good night of sleep. Before I put him to bed, I let him chew on one of his teethers for a bit. But he was more interested in posing for the camera:

fun with rice cereal

James got his first taste of "real" food on Saturday night -- rice cereal. Yum, yum! He seemed interested in it, although it was more of a toy to him than anything to eat. He particularly enjoyed trying to blow spit bubbles with a mouthful of cereal.




There's even some in his nose. As soon as he was done eating, we took him straight upstairs for a bath.
Not too bad for his first attempt, although just as much seemed to end up on him rather than in him. It's not something we're planning to give him every night just yet... maybe only on bath nights :)

23 weeks

James was 23 weeks old this past Thursday. He has been rolling over even more often now and his tooth is slowly making progress. He's seemed a little fussier than normal in the evening but overall, he is still a very happy and smiley little boy. Last night, we decided to take advantage of the nice weather so we spent some time outside on a blanket. Poor Amelie wishes she could join us...

James enjoyed exploring the dirt and grass.

Dad was proud of the resulting dirty hands and fingernails. "That's my boy!"

Later in the evening, we headed over to Lake Nokomis for a walk. While we were waiting for James' friend Lila to show up, we checked out the playground.

The first of many playground visits, I'm sure :)

What a nice way to end a busy week!

Easter weekend

Every spring, Aaron's family taps maple trees and boils down the sap to make delicious maple syrup. With the warm weather we have been having lately, it was time to boil this year's batch -- and conveniently enough, it was Easter weekend and Aaron's spring break as well. We headed up north on Friday night to stay with Lindsey and Rick. James slept for the entire car ride and only went to bed a little later than normal. And before bed, he enjoyed bedtime stories with his aunties:

On Saturday, we headed over to the cabin. While the sap boiled down, we enjoyed a cookout and some outdoor games. James loved being outside in his carrier. He even got a little badminton lesson from dad. It's never to early to start those racquet sports, right? :)



James has been teething these last couple of weeks and loves chewing on just about anything... especially Lindsey's iPhone.
I can feel the tip of a little bottom tooth poking through so before too long, we may be able to see it!

No special Easter treats for James this year, but he did enjoy chewing on a plastic egg.

Happy Easter!