38 weeks

James was 38 weeks old last Thursday -- almost a week ago now! No longer content to stay confined to his exersaucer or high chair, he is most happy scooting all over the floor, chasing after the cat or his ball. He has been pushing himself up onto his hands and knees but not crawling yet. I'm sure it won't be long now, though.

Since people have asked me what Aaron and James have been doing together this summer, I finally have a good answer: quality father-son bonding time over temporary Norse god tattoos.

Clearly we know who the fun parent is ;)

James chases down a ball. Some day, he will learn that soccer is played with feet and not hands.

Goooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaallllllllllllllllll!

Now on to a new toy.

Time to climb!

Tomorrow will be a big day for James. Not only will he be NINE months old, but he will be going on his first trip to the velodrome to watch track cycling.

Go Daddy, Go!

This morning, we all woke up bright and early at 4 am to head out to Aaron's first triathlon of the season. James had no problem being awake that early, but the other members of the household needed a good amount of coffee.

Aaron had convinced his brother Matt to join him for the race as his first-ever triathlon. And Aaron's mom and stepdad came down to cheer them on, so it was a family affair. Here is Aaron before the race with his number one fan:
Despite not being able to train as much as he would have liked, Aaron had a great race. He finished 17th overall, and 2nd in his age group. Matt did really well for his first race, too -- finishing about 10 minutes after Aaron. They were pretty happy with their respective performances.

Aaron's performance earned him a trophy, which James immediately claimed as something to chew on.

Perhaps in a few years, James will be ready for a triathlon of his own :)

37 weeks

James was 37 weeks old this past Thursday. He is working on 2 new teeth to bring his total up to 6. These more recent teeth haven't affected him to the degree his first few have, and he has been able to sleep pretty well at night.

We put up some baby gates this week since James started getting more interested in what we were doing in the kitchen. He is also getting faster and faster, and has discovered how much fun it is to pull books and CDs off of our shelves.

We bought a used Exersaucer for him today and that amused him for a good two hours. Maybe it's just the fact that it is something new, but he is also able to stand up in it and spin around.

(Yes, he is surrounded by his own toys but playing with an egg separator.)

fun with peas

Tonight, we decided to see how James would do with some well-cooked frozen peas. Would he try to feed himself? He certainly seemed interested in the peas...

He picked them up and examined them closely...

... and, one by one, proceeded to drop peas on the floor.

A certain little boy seems VERY pleased with himself!

36 weeks

James was 36 weeks old this past Thursday. He is just into everything and so curious. He has started to push himself onto his hands and knees and climb into or onto anything within his reach. Here he has discovered our suitcase and is attempting to conquer it:

James vs. suitcase

Success!

Now off to get into something else...

It's pretty clear that we have an active little explorer on our hands!

wedding weekend

This past weekend, we traveled up north for the wedding of James' uncle Matt. Despite a few days of less-than-optimal sleep, James did really well at the wedding and the reception. We sure wore him out, though -- after the reception, he fell asleep just minutes after we put him in his car seat and then slept for 11 hours. Mom and Dad appreciate that!

It was a beautiful day and evening for a wedding and James was a hit.

He was even first in line to dance with the bride:On Sunday, we had a relaxing day at the cabin. James wore his orange in honor of the Dutch soccer team but his support failed to help them pull out a win. Still, he looks pretty happy playing with uncle Matt.

James also met his great-great aunt Carolyn and great-great uncle John for the first time and had fun playing with the fire truck blocks they gave him.It was a good few days of visiting with family from near and far!

James of Arabia

James got a fun present from Egypt -- a James-sized Bedouin tent. It took a few minutes to figure out how to set it up:

We put it outside so he could explore... or just eat the grass:

The front flap also rolls down to keep out dust -- or play peek-a-boo with daddy.

I think we are going to have a lot of fun with this tent!

visitors!

Today was a big day for James -- meeting another set of grandparents! Aaron's mom and stepdad have been living in Egypt since before James was born so they have only ever seen him on Skype or in pictures. James took a long nap in anticipation of the excitement:

We met them at the airport this evening and James even had a sign prepared:

Although he was a little tired and crabby, he did his best to be extra cute for Grandma and Grandpa.

35 weeks/8 months

James was 8 months old last Tuesday and 35 weeks old last Thursday. He is enjoying his newfound mobility and is having fun exploring the house. Aaron has been diligently baby-proofing kitchen cabinets and outlets. Baby gates will be put up soon, too.

He really likes playing with the door stop in our entry way.

Since I have a 4-day weekend, we decided to get out of the cities for the afternoon. We headed over to the Mississippi River bluff country, stopping in Red Wing and also in Frontenac State Park.

We finished off the hot afternoon with much-needed ice cream cones :)