Grandma Terry's Visit

We had a wonderful visit this week from Steven's mom, Terry.  She flew to see us all the way from Long Beach, WA...coast to coast!  We had such a nice time together and James loved getting to know his grandma!  We went to the beach at Hilton Head where Grandma and James searched for shells, built sand castles and retrieved buckets and buckets of water!  We also took a driving tour of downtown Savannah as well as Ft. Stewart where we visited the on post museum.  The museum actually had some really neat exhibits, and James especially loved the tanks and helicopters!  Our most exciting part of her visit was a trip up to Rock Hill, SC where we spent the day with Steven's sister Alicia and her kids.  More on that in the next post....

Grandma Terry, thank you so much for braving the long flight and the Atlanta airport, we know it took some guts!  We truly enjoyed having you here and hope you'll come back again soon!  Love you.

Anna & Scott

My sister and brother in law came down last week for a few days to recouperate from their hectic summer and spend some time with us.  We had a very relaxing week spent at the beach, downtown Savannah, the pool and just enjoying some time together at home.  Anna has a special gift when it comes to children, and James just had oh-so-much fun with his Aunt and Uncle! 

 We took a tour at the Owens-Thomas house downtown which was the first home in the country to have running water...even before the White House!!  It had some amazing architectural details inside and out, as do so many of the homes in Savannah, and beautiful gardens in the courtyard.  James is cheezing it up, as usual...but lately he's really been scrunching his eyes when he says "cheese" for the camera.  hey, at least it's a smile! 

 At the beach we found a live starfish and sand dollar, very cool!  I've never actually held live ones, and was amazed at how the sand dollar digs and buries itself in the sand and the starfish moves fairly quickly with its prickley litte legs. 

Don't Fall Out...

We turned James' crib into a toddler bed this past weekend.  We were a little apprehensive at first, knowing he could get in and out all on his own was a little worrisome.  However, he has done a great job.  He still goes down for his naps and stays in his bed (for the most part) and night time has been wonderful!  He sleeps well and just gets up in the morning when he's ready.  It has been such a blessing on my aching back already, and I think it's helping him learn a little self control...Crying babies go to bed, and when you're happy you can get up! 

Cookie Making...

We made some delicious cookies last Friday afternoon.  Steven has been working crazy hours...leaving the house at 5:30am, not getting home til 9:30pm...it has not been fun.  So we decided to have a tasty little surprise for him to enjoy over the weekend.  James really enjoyed stirring the batter, patting the cookies down on the cookie sheet, shaking on the sprinkles, and of course...licking the frosting!  I was really surprised at how well he was able to help.  I think I'll have a permanent little helper in the kitchen from now on!  yay! 

They were yummy!

James: 19 months

James is just over 19 months now, and the time has flown by!  He is doing so many fun things lately, it feels like something new every day!  This blog has turned into my scrapbook, I print it off every year into an awesome book....so I want to make sure to document all  the things I can remember from this exciting stage.

Weight: 30.5 lbs
Height: 33.5 inches
Size: 2T-3T in shirts, 24mos or 2T in shorts
Shoes: Size 7
Diapers: Size 4

Actual words:
NO!  ya & yes, Da-Da, Mama, yo (yogurt), toast, peas, eggs, cheese, milk, meow (for cat), ruff-ruff (dog), moo, baa, shoes, door, ouch, juice, flag, book, throw, ball.  He has many more that I understand, but they're not really clear if you don't know his little language. 

His Favorite Activities:
opening and closing doors, books, blocks, swimming, bath time, showers, climbing on the dining room chairs, turning on lights...especially when he can climb and reach them himself, music in the car, movies (Cars, Finding Nemo, Veggie Tales), wrestling with his dad, building towers and knocking them down, playing outside, mopping the floors, eating, playing in the waves and sand at the beach, putting on his Crocs by himself, getting out his own cup, slip-n-slide, smiling for the camera and saying "cheese," riding in the stroller, walking up and down the stairs by himself, drinking from a real cup, using straws, eating all his food with utensils, throwing things in the trash for mommy, chasing, watching the helicopters fly over our house...he runs to the window and shouts with amazement every time, throwing anything and everything with a grunt of "throw" during the act,
He is so much fun! 

Struggles: 

• Double naps are becoming a thing of the past.  He used to sleep from 7:30pm to 7:00am and take two 2 hour naps per day.  He still takes a morning nap, but these past few weeks we've been struggling to get him down for his afternoon nap, which then turns into a major meltdown by 6:30pm.  ugh.  We'll figure it out eventually!
• Saying "no" to everything. 
• Frustration with communication.  James understands everything, but still can't tell us what he needs.  Very frustrating for him and us both! 
• Whining or putting on a show when he wants something.
• Staying in Time Out when we put him there.  not his favorite....
• Obeying the first time we ask.  We're having to use the 1..2..3...more than we'd like which he often responds to. If he still ignores us, it's time out or a quick swat on the tush which usually does the trick.

He is such a sweet boy, loves to give us hugs and kisses.  He still uses his binkey and squishy pillow but only in bed.  He is non-stop action all day unless the TV is on, then he's a zombie...we don't keep it on very much!  The hair is actually starting to grow and it's even getting a little scraggly around his ears :)  We can't wait to see what the next stage holds!  Love you, sweet big boy James! 

Watching out the window for Daddy to come home...it's a very exciting part of our day!

 He got into the pantry (he can open and close the door himself, yikes), cleared out the bottom shelf, and proceeded to build a tower.  I love this little progression of pictures and his pouty face when they all fall down!  Lacy was right there supervising and making sure no crackers were left behind! 

Visit from Grandma Sue

My mom flew down last week for a fun, four day visit.  We had a great time and James was spoiled rotten!  We kept the agenda full by going to the beach, the pool, some fun restaurants, a Savannah Trolley Tour, a visit to Forsyth Park downtown, good cooking, lots of play time, reading books, shopping and loving on sweet James.  Thanks, Mom, for spending your week with us, we sure had fun! 

 Fun in the sun at Hilton Head Island

 Informative, fun and hot trolley tour. 

 James showing grandma how his tape measure clips into his pocket.  He is so tall!  :)

 At Forsyth Park, downtown Savannah. 

 The beautiful fountain in the park