34 weeks

James was 34 weeks old this past Thursday. Tooth #3 has made an appearance and #4 is close behind. Fortunately, these latest teeth haven't been nearly as traumatic as the first two and sleeping at night is mostly back on track.

Last week was humid and sticky but in the interest of keeping James occupied, we took lots of walks. On Sunday, Aaron took James on an outing with his running group:




Today was Aaron's birthday and I think he had a pretty good day. I baked a traditional birthday cheesecake yesterday (surprisingly, there is still some left) and we went out to dinner tonight. And he was able to spend the whole day with James -- they went on fun outings to the bike store and the hardware store :)

bookworm

We have been reading regularly to James ever since we brought him home from the hospital. It's hard to judge how much he is actually taking in or paying attention, but he has always seemed interested in books -- although at times, the interest takes the form of chewing on them rather than reading them :) Even if he is fussy, he will quiet down as soon as we start reading to him.

Yesterday, Aaron called me at work to tell me that James was doing the cutest thing he had ever done: sitting in his high chair, flipping through a book page by page, and crying when he reached the end. He looks so serious as he pages through his book. I sure hope he likes reading as much as we do. He's off to a good start, at least.

on the move!

James has discovered a new way of getting around (besides spinning in circles and rolling) -- crawling! He is eager to practice his new skill just about any time we put him down. His version of crawling involves pushing off with his feet while pulling himself forward with his hands and arms. He moves surprisingly quickly for such a little guy and an even closer eye must be kept on him now.

This morning, we did a family photoshoot at the rose garden near Lake Harriet. James enjoyed exploring the grass, rocks, bark chips, and flowers... and of course he attempted to put all of those things in his mouth :)

(Photo courtesy of Salwa Bullard Photography)

pie!

We needed something to do with the 8 lbs of strawberries we picked last weekend, as well as all the rhubarb we bought at the farmer's market. Since Aaron just happened to have some free time on his hands, he decided to make a strawberry-rhubarb pie. It was delicious and did not last very long :)

33 weeks

James is 33 weeks old today. He continues to be a happy, curious boy who always wants to know what is going on and to keep mom and dad in his sights. We've taken to bringing his high chair into the kitchen so he can bang on things while watching us cook or clean up.

Yesterday, James went to his first bike race, the Nature Valley Grand Prix. There are several stages to this race, throughout Minnesota and Western Wisconsin. We have tried to go to at least one stage each of the last few years. Last night, the stage was in downtown St. Paul. We arrived just in time to see the exciting finish to the women's race and to see the first half of the men's race.

James appears completely disinterested in the bikes zooming by

That's more like it!

It was a beautiful night to watch the race and downtown St. Paul was a great setting. Here, the riders are coming out of a turn with the St. Paul Cathedral in the background.
We're planning to go to the stage tomorrow night as well. Anything we can do to cultivate James' appreciation for carbon fiber :)

32 weeks

James was 32 weeks old yesterday. He has done really well this week going to bed without a struggle and also sleeping (mostly) through the night again. All this despite coming down with a cold. He has had to deal with congestion and a runny nose for most of the week, but he still seems in pretty good spirits.

Today, I found some deals at local garage sales: a high chair/booster seat that attaches to a regular dining room chair ($7) and a cute little Twins outfit ($0.25). He really seems to like his new chair and spent some time in it this evening banging things on the tray.

It will be nice to have something portable, too, so we can bring it up north with us or possibly even out to eat.


Today was Aaron's last day of school and we are all very glad to have him home for the summer. While he won't just be sitting idle for the next few months, he also won't have his evenings occupied with schoolwork. We went out for dinner tonight to celebrate and Aaron also has a nice bottle of 12-year-old Scotch to enjoy.

31 weeks

James was 31 weeks old last Thursday. After a month of less than good sleep and fussier than normal evenings, tooth #2 has finally made an appearance and we are all happier for it. He has seemed much happier and has been sleeping much better this last week.

While he still likes his tummy time, what he really likes is standing. Such a big boy!

He enjoyed another few days with Grandpa and Grandma before they left to head back to Arizona.

Looks like Aaron didn't get the message about matching clothes...

One last story with Grandpa and Grandma.