The Peanut Gallerie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYm_iBxtbX0

(I know.. our sense of humor is ... unique)

We've been watching BSG now for a few weeks. I still haven't seen the last season, but since Austin hasn't seen any of it, I decided to refresh.

It was still early... not exactly James' bedtime, but he decided that wasn't going to stop him. By the end of the show we found him past out under the recliner. Completely out.

Amazed... and jealous. Wish I could sleep like that.

We missed the opportunity to celebrate Evan's birthday, but we just had to go see all of our friends before they all got even older!

James had a wonderful time seeing Auntie Sarrah and playing with Evan and Ethan. He even met a few new friends.

Speaking of...

James has a new friend at La Petite. His name is Carson and they are best friends :) When one of them shows up, they lock eyes and start to scream and laugh. Their favorite thing to do is jump off the big blocks! Oh, they have such a wonderful day together. I'm so happy James has made him his friend. Carson was having difficulty adjusting to day care life. I guess he had spent a lot of time at home with his mommy. Now, him and James have fun together and learn from one another. In fact, I went to go pick James up the other day and I heard Carson chant "uh, oh, ah!"... James had been saying this for weeks, but we had no idea where it came from... now we know... we just don't know which one started it?

Silly boys.

James was one of the Giants players that they call Panda. We went to Grammie and Grumpie's house in Granite Bay to trick or treat.

The first house was confusing for a little panda. We climb the stairs, knock on the door, say "trick or treat", reach in a bowl, put it in the bag, say "thank you" and go back down the stairs. (I mention the stairs because they were his favorite part of the journey... I'm sure if he'd known there was candy involved, he would had shifted his focus.)

By the fourth house, he got it down. He would go up to the house and get the "stuff" from the bowl and put it in his little bag.

We only made it to about 6 houses. Enough time to see the end of the game. Of course, Austin brought a radio, just in case... plus, every house we went to, let us know the score, lol.

I am so excited about the holidays coming up. It will be the first with my new growing family :)

I can't wait to go and cut down a tree... make a fire.. listen to Christmas music with you. Have you open presents! That papas and I are amped.

We went to the Air Force museum the day after we got in. That place was huge! It was so amazing to see the history. These planes were made of wood and cloth. Scary to think people actually sat in these and flew them, lol.

The other fun stuff we found in Ohio was all of the good food.

Austin ate the "Thurminator" at the Thurman cafe. Big patties, lots of ham, four kinds of cheese. This thing was big. Sarrah and I shared the Italian sub... man was that tasty.

It was just nice to spend all of that time with each other as a family and with our relatives. My grandpa got to show Austin the garden and although, Austin doesn't eat veggies, he acted liked he appreciated my grandpa's talent.

It was nice to see the Elizondos too. That's a lot of family :)

My aunt Rhonda.... how I miss her so much. I wish we had more time. It was so difficult to say goodbye.

Overall, the trip was great. We're looking forward to our next vacation. One of these days... Disneyland :)

The kids at daycare all say "James!" when he enters the room. (He's like Norm without all the alcohol.) The kind of person you just want to know and glad he was able to be a part of your life.

It's got to be that laugh.

There's just something different. Like how he rarely cried when he was a baby. This attitude of living in the moment and loving the day.

From what I hear, most kids first learn how to say "no". That they constantly let know you they understand the word and know how to use it. That, as a parent, you are being told "no" by your toddler with almost every task. Seems silly since the one word you don't want them to abuse, you have to constantly repeat because they need to learn what not to do.

James' word is "Ya!".

(He says it with such excitement too).

"James, do you want more crackers?"

"Ya!"

"James, is that the Tiggerbear?"

"Ya!"

"James, are you touching papa's stuff that you should be touching?"

"Ya!"

It's the most adorable thing. I know he'll eventually learn no and want to tell me that all the time. For now... it's nice this little optimist is following in his mama and papa's footsteps.

"Be the best person you can be... Let God handle the rest."

And this peanut has got it down. He's moving forward on two feet.

It's amazing to see him walk... scary to think of all the new things he can now get into, but really cool to see him grow.

It's going to be a rough month... but I'm going to take a note from my little guy... and take it one step at a time.

The downside. I never have time to write in my blog! But it's a tradeoff and I'll just have to cope.

With that, much more exciting times are definitely coming our way. First and foremost, our trip to Ohio! It will be great to see the family and introduce them to my wonderful man and adorable, talkative, walking little baby boy :)

10. Craisins

9. Tortillas

8. Raspberries

7. Oranges

6. Hamburger

5. Bread

4. Blueberries

3. Cheerios

2. Corn

1. Sweet Peas

Yep, number one spot goes to sweet peas. He can't get enough. Silly man. This week we are going to try a few more things.

Sweet potato, apple, banana, tomato, green beans (again), carrots (again), asparagus (if he's really up for it ;). We'll see what he likes... or doesn't. We've learned that no matter how many times we try, he does not like strawberries.

He does like a bottle before bed.

I don't know how it started. Maybe it was a convenience for a single work at home mother. To calm him, I would give him a bottle before bed. I know. I've read not to do this, sigh. He now has teeth, and really shouldn't be drinking formula right before bed. Plus, he has been soaking the bed (even with nighttime diapers). Last night was the first night of breaking the habit.

He cried, I sobbed.

Not in the room, but after the ordeal was over. It made me so sad, but I knew the best thing to do, was to be a strong parent. I never want to make him sad, but here I was... not giving my child what he wanted. It was my first real attempt at not raising a spoiled kid.

I understand why people take the easy route.

Breaks your heart to hear the little cries. I can't even think straight. Yet, here we are. Next morning. James woke up in a good mood and he's now sitting next to me, eating Cheerios and craisins.

As if nothing happened the night before.

Austin had bought me a gym membership back in March. I have been waiting for the stars to align so that everything would be perfect and I could go, but as weeks passed, I realized.. Oh yeah, I need to make the time... just like everything else.

This morning I woke up at 7am. It seems like late to some of you, but that's early for me... well, early to do it on my own. James usually wakes up at 6:30am. This morning was different. This morning James slept in and the stars aligned.

I only went for a half an hour... but the difference in how I feel today says everything. It's like I finally started my morning off right and now all I want to do is eat good all day long. I had breakfast! To some of you, I'm sure you're thinking.. whoopie. But for those that know me, know I haven't eaten breakfast since 1990 something.

Who knew?

Just 30mins of cardio in the morning and you have a kick in your pants all day. Which led to me feeding James cantaloupe this morning. He loved it! Then Austin went on a run and took the Tiggerbear.

Me.

I did that.

I got my family started on the right foot this morning :) All I had to do was be the example. I feel more energized this morning than I ever have sleeping in all those other days.

It started a few weeks back on my birthday. Austin and I had spent the day driving around to antique shops. He bought me a cast iron muffin tin. Each muffin was shaped as a different fruit or leaf. It's adorable and I can't wait to use it.

We also browsed some rings. We're searching for an antique looking one. Later that day, we dropped James off with his parents and went to dinner. It was our first date in a very long time.

We were giggly.

Like on our first date. We started asking each other questions again. With all of our energy going into James, we forget to spend time on each other. We had so much fun.

I spoke with a friend of mine. She knew exactly what I meant and completely agreed! Her husband and her try to go on date night every week. It's so important, she expressed.

So, we've been setting aside a few hours every Thursday. (Thank God for Austin's family and their help :) One week, we actually got to see a movie. I know, impressive. We've been to pizza places and Sizzler (don't knock it, it's all you can eat) and I got to have sushi!

We reconnect.

We focus on each other, if not, just for those few hours. Believe me... it does wonders to the relationship. We were doing good before. We communicate superbly. We handle finances like pros. There's just something different when we get those few moments... like a bigger spark takes over.

I fall in love all over again.

It started at a birthday party.

James sat in front of the wheels on this little school bus. They were spinning. James just sat there and watched it go round and round, every once in a while, giving it a good tug to make it go again.

Those that know James, know he loves fans. Austin and I will occasionally turn the fan on and off to get it to spin and give James something to look at as he drifts off to sleep. He's a thinker. He likes to figure out how they work (and loves pushing buttons).

Austin got this idea.

We went to Home Depot. I just followed him around not really understanding the vision inside his head, but the faith that he knew what he was doing. He wanted to build something for James, he said.

After work, I walk into James' room to find this.

Austin is thrilled to have made this exciting toy for him and James is just so thrilled to have a fan he can touch :)

I apologize, but this tends to take a backseat to real life... and trust me, real life be crazy. First off, James is growing so fast! I've got playdates for James, birthdays for me, visiting with my family, hanging out with Austin's family.. and I can't forget date night (otherwise, Austin and I would have no time to reconnect).

Luckily, working from home has really paid off. I get to play with baby all day! (Well, not all day. There is some work involved.) The other day, Austin and I made the baby a fort. He wasn't opposed to it... it just seemed to put him in a very calming state. (I'll have to remember that one.) Lol, he just sat there all swaddled.

Oh.. so much fun the baby is :)

One. I don't have my programs and unless I get a really great shot without needing any touch up, I won't post it. (and peanuts move around.. a lot.. so with an old camera, it's very difficult not to get some blurry image across your screen.)

Two. You really have to see James in true form to appreciate him. He runs around everywhere. I know babies get mobile and they crawl a lot, but he is all over the place! His little babbles also add to the cuteness.

This morning was not the case.

He has been a bit of a grumpy gills lately. Throwing fits when he doesn't get his way or we tell him he can't touch something. It's hard to see his little face sad like that, but then again, I don't want to raise a spoiled child. I stay strong. "No, James, you cannot grab the phone cord.. or the electrical outlet... or go in the bathroom and play with the toilet... or grab books off the shelf... or..."

As you may have noticed, we decided to shave off the baby-hawk. It was getting too long and started to curl at the top when we put it up. He has so many looks, lol. I can't get over how much older he looks now... like a little man :)

Meanwhile, Austin is in the reserves and had to shave off his facial hair. It's .... different... and takes some getting use to.

I'll post a picture when I'm ready.

One, that you can't eat Cheerios when there is a binkie still in your mouth. Two, Tigger realized that this new little person that has taken all this attention, likes to share his food.

He's loud, whiney, and complains a lot. Sometimes, I'm in the middle of a job and he comes over wanting to talk. He tells jokes (half of which don't even sound like English). It's as if he doesn't understand that I have work to do?

I've tried talking with the Big Boss, but it seems I somehow got this promotion to supervise, without the extra pay. When did I sign up for that?

While I take delight in your morning shenanigans, it would be greatly appreciated if you kept it down. Your mommy is very tired and trying to sleep. Your cute little babbles and shaking of the crib loose their adorableness at 6am. It is no longer funny despite the smile on my face. You should know better. Furthermore, the added blanket over the head, while a nice touch, only reminds me that you think it's playtime. It is in fact, not playtime, but sleeping in time. You should be well aware of how many times I got up last night to put you back to sleep (once). You should also be aware that I need to wake up at 8:50am and roll out of bed to start work from home. It is a hard life. Many lessons will be learned. One of the more important lessons is, "Do not poke the sleeping bear". I am giving you a warning this time. I feel the need to hand this out only because it seems you are deciding to wake up earlier and earlier each morning. I am afraid that by Sunday, I'll be up at 5am... and since church doesn't start until 10am, it would indeed be disastrous for both of us. If however, you decide you would still like to wake up that early, please keep it down. Your bottle and formula are in your dresser. Papa will be up at that time. You may ask him to get you some warm water. If you need anything else, I will be available at 9am. Thank you.

Your Loving Mother, 

Janette

... than James is all sorts of greatness. Here is the house before I got all set up. As a quick fix, Austin ran the phone line from the living room all the way to the bedroom. Unfortuantely, we didn't factor in the "cord monster".

He was crying, but it was so hoarse, you couldn't tell it was him. He coughed and you can see the pain on his face.

I called the advice nurse, again. (I had spoken with them in the morning and they had informed me to call them back if he got worse.) They told me to take him into the ER. He was weezing, so it was precautionary. 

Austin had just gotten home from work, only to head on back into work (what a trooper). We sat and waited in the lobby. They called us up and brought us back to another waiting room and we sat and waited and waited and waited and waited there. Austin's mom came to hang out with us for a bit, so that was fun :) However, even after we got our own room, we sat and waited there too.

By the time the doctor came in, it was 8pm (and waaay past the peanut bedtime). By this time, James was crawling all over the place. Such a happy baby. The doctor informed us he has an upper respiratory infection.. and basically, there's nothing we can do about it except to let it pass. 

Bummer.

On the bright side, I did want to get out of the house yesterday... just didn't think I'd spend my time sitting in waiting rooms, lol.

Settling into our new place has been easier than any other move the Peanut and I have had. 

Last night, I gave him a bath. I promised to never do naked pictures, but I figured this one was decent enough to post. Plus... look at that face :)

He has always loved baths, but it hasn't been until recently that he started playing (and talking) with his rubber ducky and splashing water all over the place!

I would have let him play longer, but the water was getting cold and he was getting all wrinkly.

Peanut and I moved in with Austin. He now has his own room to frolic... and frolic he does. He's all over the place! He crawls everywhere. He sees something he wants and he bolts. We are in the process of baby proofing the whole house. Goodbye to open outlets, messy wires (he loves those) and easily open drawers. Hello to "frustrating locks that you don't remember have those stupid child proof things on them so you go to open it and it gets stuck, so you remember and then tell yourself not to forget so the next time it wouldn't get you so angry while you're trying to watch the baby and cook dinner at the same time", lol. Ahh, life.

The move actually went quicker than I thought. I didn't have to get a moving truck that I couldn't afford anyways. Austin and his dad helped me move all of my things. Plus, his mom watched James while I supervised Austin and his dad, lol. After getting all of my stuff in the house, my OCD kicked in and I was running around like a mad woman trying to fit my stuff in the bachelor pad. (Both Joey and Austin have been very accommodating.) I try not to put up things too girly and secretly 'handle' the things to manish. Although, I have to constantly keep my eye out for things that get accidentally tossed. 

Last night, I asked Austin where he put the bag of groceries I brought over. He informed me that it was out all day so he threw it in the garbage. Normally, I wouldn't fret over my stuff. Things break, get old, stuff happens... but this... lol... this was something else. You see, my bag of groceries was carrying my BC (that cost a pretty penny and was the last of it before my appointment next month). To make a long story short we ended up dumpster diving, lol. (It was in three separate bags, by the way. I wouldn't have gone in to get it otherwise.) 

Lol, good times. We're just not there yet. 

We know we want more kids together, so we've been discussing his relationship with James. We never want James to feel left out. If our kids call Austin "dad", will James feel like he didn't get that opportunity? Or will he feel like he only has one and awkward for calling him anything but "Austin". He's so young and obviously cannot make this decision on his own. If we start calling him Austin around James, he will too. So, I knew a decision had to be made. (He's a smart kid and his language is picking up. At least in my dream he was making full sentences.)

It was important for me to make that decision too. Realizing that Austin was going to be a part of my life, my partner, it was going to affect all of us.

We decided not to use "dad". We never want anyone to make James feel strange about having two. Austin did some research on alternative names (like in German) but didn't come up with anything cool. We decided on "Papa". 

It's simple and a title he more than deserves.

I read about this.

It said that James was going to begin to understand that when objects are no longer in there sight, they are still there.

Case and point, I hid the camera behind my back so James wouldn't reach for it. He climbed over me to search for it anyways. Smart booger.

This is one of the many games we play. Peek-a-boo. Ah, a classic. Only this time, I'm not the one hiding, it's him. He seemed to get a real good laugh from it.

Too much going on. Way too much.

I'm moving, Sarrah is moving, family members are having surgery, I'm applying to different jobs, among other things... Plus, I have a growing baby who is showing new signs of development every single day.

Way too much.

Yeah, I'm a little overwhelmed with it all... lol... but this is my life we're talking about, so I just deal.

Right now, James is crawling. He is uncontrollable and all over the place. He wants to be somewhere... he goes. He eats with his hands. Tried to grab the spoon and do it a few times. Loves to hold the little puffs and teething biscuits we give him. We tried spaghetti, but he just holds it up in the air. We also tried steamed carrots, but he just shoved them in his highchair. He talks. Says da-ba-ba-da and we encourage him. He enjoys other children. Fascinated by them. He likes to share. That may change, but it's nice for now. He claps his hands, smiles and laughs at funny things. My favorite? When we turn on music, he dances. When we play 'tickle butts', he squirms. When we look in his crib early morning, he looks up at us and smiles.

Oh, he is such a joy. 

We love him so much. It really makes all the other things in our life seem unimportant... stressful and needing to be handled, but none the less, small compared to James and his progress.

We are in the land of teething, colds and growth spurts. James has been sick for a while now (hence the limited posts), but is on his way to recovery.

His snot is clear instead of that thick green yellow stuff... in case you were curious, lol.

He's in a much better mood and is back to sleeping through the night. He can now breathe while he eats (thanks to our trusty booger sucker and nose spray and vaporizer... and baby crack (aka tylenol)... yeah, we went all out) so he's not so mad anymore. 

Austin and I bought the boy some teething biscuits. He loves them. They melt in his mouth... literally. They are good to naw on for his teething. And even though it's not a cookie and really has no taste to it, Austin and I still run around the house screaming "coookieee" like the cookie monster. 

I think he's ready to move onto fruits with the netting thing. I've tried it before, but I think his taste buds weren't ready for it. Strawberries, here we come.

We also tried some apple juice and he seems to like it (no worries, it's the non-sweetner kind).

It's so amazing seeing him grow, trying new things and discovering different talents. Today he learned how to sit back up after he was crawling. 

A-mazing.

I had James all day and he was a very unhappy baby. For the first time ever, James cried and cried and cried all day long. I felt like the worst mother in the world. Nothing I did helped. Nothing I did made the pain my child was experiencing any less.

Bless his little heart. It hurts to see tears in his eyes.

By the end of the night, I was done. Completely exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally. I was out of ideas. I gave James baby Tylenol. The most the doctor said I could give. It seemed to work and James knocked out. (and was a very happy baby the next morning :)

Before the fiasco with James, Austin had planned such a wonderful night.

(I'll be honest. I get moody. I know, such a shock. Normally, a day like that with James and I would have to call it a night. Everything would have been ruined. Normally, in any other relationship, I would have fought with my significant other out of exhaustion and stress. Sounds silly, I know, but it's what I knew. It's how I handled things. I would have went to bed angry. No... not this time.)

As I got James to bed (and my head thinking clearer) I found Austin in the kitchen and gave him a huge hug. We sat down and had a very personal conversation about how we wanted to handle nights like these. It was deep, so I won't get into it. 

After this conversation, it seemed like the air had been cleared. (Not just us pushing things under the rug, but actually talking things out.) We were able to leave the mood behind to move forward and enjoy the rest of our night.

It was real life.

As we sat down to eat the dinner Austin had prepared for us, I couldn't help but smile. (It might have been the three lemondrops.. man, those were amazing... or the movie "The Goods".. have you seen that movie? Seriously, some really funny parts in it.) I smiled out of happiness. That I'm not just in a relationship, I have a partner that wants to put in his 100%.

Ha, the things God brings to the table.

Okay, so before his haircut and when I last had him. I sat James in his crib and stuck this toy in front of him. I just want to thank his auntie Kelli and uncle Philip for getting him this Christmas gift. He seems to really enjoy it... well, you can be the judge.

Oh, and they also got the sippy cup. He is still figuring out how to get it right side up, but he's close, I just know it.

One night, Austin and I drove down to drop off the Peanut. We went back to my house to pick up a few items, but as we tried to start my car again, it decided otherwise. The car wouldn't work. It just died.

We had it towed to Austin's where a neighbor of his told us he could look at it. He did. For days. I'm not sure what he found (I'm such a girl) but I know I paid some money for some part. So, it worked... until the car heated up and it died again.

So, we took it elsewhere. They found something else wrong. Something with the computer? But it was under warranty. So we took it to a dealer. There was a short in the battery? So they had to fix that and then fix the computer problem. I think that's how it went. I just know I paid money and now my car is working. I'm so glad we got that all done.

Now, mind you... when I say "we" I really mean, Austin got off work and handled everything, lol. (Yeah, still dreamy.)

Last night, Austin and I planned to attend the bible study at Skyline. Only when we went to leave my house, we (and by 'we' I mean 'he') discovered I had a flat.

'We' are working on it.

It started with a funeral on Friday.

It wasn't too bad. I think James lightened the mood a little blowing raspberries in a catholic church.

After the funeral, Austin and I took a drive around the delta. I like taking drives with him.

Only I got cranky because I was tired and hungry. Hm. I have to work on that.

Austin took us to Wonderfuls. It was.

Saturday we gave James a mohawk. He got tired of his preppy do, so we shaved his little head. Austin thinks he looks more sophisticated. I think he just looks cool. 

It's hair. It grows back.

Sunday, James and I went to church. As always, pastor Ken had me cracking up, but that wasn't even the highlight. The best part was setting James down on the chair next to me and watching him play with his paper for a bit. He then looked up and put his little arms out to reach for me. It was the most precious thing so I picked him up and hugged him.

That ones going in the vault.

Monday, Austin and I took a walk. I said I wanted to do more walks and he actually listened. He makes things happen. He's dreamy :) We also took a stroll at the bookstore, got some coffee and hung out and played video games. It was a good ending.

Now, I'm just counting the days until I get my baby back.

Two more nights, Janette, you can do this.

I missed him so much.

The five days was hard, but knowing that I don't have to give him up for five more days makes some of it worth it.

I'm just going to try to kiss him as much as I can... if only I could get Austin to stop taking him from me :)

The current one had us running back and forth everyday. I watched James in the morning and at night. The plus side was that, at the time, it worked for us. We both got to see him every day. The downside was how much time it took out of our day to make that happen. For me, it was also becoming a daycare issue. James is getting older and more mobile. He deserves more attention and I wasn't able to give it during the day.

Our new schedule seems like a better opportunity. 

I get to have James Thursday (after 3pm) to Saturday night every week. This leaves me with one day for daycare (Friday) which isn't a huge deal since Fridays are my slowest days. It seems more manageable. Plus, I get to have James every Saturday. We get to go on trips and on outings on our weekends! If I ever want a 'date night' with Austin on that night, I'm sure there are plenty of people who wouldn't mind watching him. The other half of the schedule is that I get him every other Sunday. So, some Sundays James can come with me to Skyline and get involved with the other kids and some Sundays I can go alone and concentrate on the message. That works for me :)

The major downside to this schedule? I am without James for 4 days.

For 4 days, I keep pictures of my little honey to remind me of what I'm missing, how he smiles and how cute his little face really looks.

For 4 days, Austin will bring his hands up to his mouth and laugh like little James. Remind me how he looks in his walker as he's running around trying to get into the cabinets.

For 4 days, I think about holding my baby, making him laugh, and soothing him while he's crying.

For 4 days, I am heartbroken.

...

Today is day 4.

One, visit the Elizondos.

We started off the day with Philip and Kelli at BJ's. We think it's awesome that they drink beer at 12 in the afternoon on a Sunday. Definitely people we would like to party with someday.

Two, go to San Francisco.

Penny Arcade! Let's see. I got to hear a barbershop quartet (love that), play a pinball machine and beat Austin (200/150) at some game I've never played before. How awesome am I? Austin did get to play his helicopter game and baseball game. I'm in such awe at these machines. The time and detail that went into them. I wish they still made some like that. We also got to take photo booth pictures. We've been searching for a photo booth ever since we got together. I think every couple should take some, but nowadays, they are really difficult to find. Especially the old fashion black and white ones. (Now it's all digital and really crappy.)

Three, walk out to the pier and see some sea lions, have a drink at a bar (I had the most amazing lemon drop that kept me buzzed for a while.) and eat at a really great restaurant, Houston's. I love their Oak Grilled Artichoke and French Dip sandwiches made with thinly sliced prime rib. Amazing!

Four, take a carriage bike ride to the cable cars. 

The guy had a bell, but just yelled out "beep, beep" as he came close to running over people. It was fun. The cable car was cold, but luckily I was wearing a tank top, long sleeve shirt, hoodie, scarf, winter coat, beanie and gloves. Yes, that's what it takes to keep me warm. We made our way to the Cheesecake Factory where we ate... cheesecake. It was good.

My favorite part was walking back the pier. Which I didn't discover we were actually doing until halfway through the marathon. (Austin is sneaky like that.) I pouted some of the way to remind Austin of how spoiled I am. He should know.

As we drove back to Sacramento, and Austin went on about his amazing childhood and I reminisced of the fantastic weekend I just had, I realized it's been a long time since I've been this happy. No, I can't remember when I have actually been this content.

Sure, things are still going haywire (like my car breaking down). It is my life after all, but having gone through (what seems like) the worst time in my life and still coming out okay on the other end, plus having someone to share all of it with, makes all the little crazy things seem manageable :0)

Here's how it started. Austin's cousin, Kayla, got married this past weekend.

Yeah!

The wedding was intimate and the bride.. adorable. I've never met her before, but she seemed so sweet and so happy on her big day. 

(The groomsmen seemed a little nervous though, lol.)

Austin and I stepped out to the car for a moment and found someone in his cousin's, Cody, car. Austin thought it was Cody or his girlfriend at first, but as we got closer, he noticed it wasn't someone he recognized.

The guy pulls up next to us and asks us for jumper cables.

Lol.

Honestly, I was dumbfounded. I must have starred at him with my head tilted forever thinking, "Why do you need jumper cables if your car is running?". Austin, being a bit quicker on his feet, asked the guy if he was in that truck. The guy responded "Yeah, it needs a jump". Still, stuck on stupid, I opened my mouth with nothing coming out and continued to question in my head, "but that's Cody's truck?". Lol, luckily, Austin spoke up to question the guy again, "But were you just in that truck?". Noticing Austin pull out his phone to take a picture, the guy took off... rather quickly up the road.

At this point, Austin asked me to watch which way the guy headed. I think that's when it clicked in my head. "Did that just happen?"

While Austin spoke to the cops on the phone, I walked into the reception, as the father was giving his speech, and asked Cody and his girlfriend to come with me. Turns out, the guy made off with their iPods :(

Who breaks into cars at a church? During a wedding? In the middle of the day?

Jerk.

The incident sucked. I was so bummed for them.. and strangely a little excited?

...

I have always been the strong one in my romantic relationships. The quick thinker. I had to be the one responsible in these types of situations. If anything went down, it was up to me. Emergencies were solely my burden.

Now?

Ha. I have a partner in crime :)

It's only when you have crossed that line with me... that point of no return... then we have a problem.

This is James.

This is James playing with his favorite Giants cup.

Yep, that just happened.

He likes to blow raspberries, smile a toothless grin, laugh at the baby in the mirror, grab for toys, sit up, play peek a boo and crinkle paper.  (Which is good entertainment for when I need him to be quiet in church, but bad when you are at the bank and filling out checks while he rips them apart)

He does not like green beans.

He is ready to crawl at any moment and now has the stance down for it. If only his legs would agree that he wants to move forward.

Austin noticed he is beginning to point at things.

Tigger makes him laugh. No, that would be an understatement. The boy cracks up in his presence. Like he cannot contain his laughter and it comes out like coughing because he is so excited. The strange part is that it's just Tigger. I attempted to get James to laugh with other dogs, but there is something about the stuff and fluff that gets that boy going :o)

He has teeth coming in... for realsies this time.

He has more play time, has a set eating schedule and can now go to bed at a decent hour. More pluses... his food now goes (and stays) inside his mouth. He likes sweet potatoes the best. He can also spend hours entertaining himself.

He talks. Not exactly words, but no longer just noises either.

For some reason, he thinks Austin and I are hilarious. I'm pretty sure he is laughing with us, but he has this twinkle in his eye that might say otherwise.

Every time we are apart feels like an eternity. He comes back a little older, a little more stable, but all the more cute. I miss him, but am just excited to, not only, be a part of his life, but guidance as his mother.