First Halloween

Halloween 2012 is the first time Patrick and I have lived in a house where we would have trick or treaters. Cooper has always been grateful for the lack of trick or treaters, but he was out in full force bark mode this year. James also got dressed up. He made the cutest rooster in town. Much to our surprise, he LOVED being in his costume too. We I purchased the costume, I held a couple up just to see if I would get any type of reaction. And I was thrilled when he got the biggest smile when I held the rooster costume up, so OF COURSE that was the one for him.

Earlier in the month in his Halloween PJs

Matthen got to meet James. Came all the way from the Big Apple and brought him an FAO Schwartz gift too!

Enjoying reading his first Halloween card ever received. Allison and DJ are so thoughtful to keep him in mind!

"There must be a few things that a hot bath can't cure, but I don't know many of them."- Sylvia Plath

Bath time is one of James' favorite times of the day. We've been doing it pretty routinely for a while now. It started out to get him in a bedtime routine, but he loved it so much that we just let him play for a while. He hasn't showed much interest in his toys (Cooper on the other hand hovers over my shoulder begging for me to squirt him), but he loves to kick and splash. It's funny because one of us will get the water started and the other will undress James. The second you lift the shirt off his head, he gets THE BIGGEST smile ever plastered to his face. I think he'd sit in there for hours if we let him. This is a sharp contrast to the first couple of baths that broke my heart as he screamed bloody murder through. 

Right after his first (not-so successful) bath

I kinda like this getting sprayed down thing

I have to say that as much as he likes pre bath and the actual splashing around, he loves right when he gets out. Only because I stop and let him look in the mirror. 

Words can't express how cute he is. So it is now our ritual to stop in the mirror every night and he gets the biggest kick out of himself and my heart just melts a thousand times over

"Hair is the first thing, then teeth. A man who's got those two things has got it all"- James Brown

I have a teething machine. Apparently, "normal" eruption for teeth is 4-6 months. James is on the accelerated path for sure. Everyone talks about teething like it is the worst thing that has ever happened to any baby and scare you to pieces about it. James however, cut his first tooth with those pesky no-nos on and hasn't missed a beat since. The only reason I knew anything was coming (since he's been drooling like crazy since 6 weeks) was that I can physically see it. I spent A LOT of time looking at his cute little face. Not much goes by without me noticing. His first tooth came on September 6th (4 days after his 4 month birthday) quickly followed by his other bottom tooth 8 days later. 

Watching some football

 Playing on the couch

This is how my child wakes up from naps; how lucky am I???

Brotherly love

Turns out babies don't really like you messing with their mouths all that much to get a picture. The next "normal" tooth that babies get are the top 4. Then they are "supposed" to get the other bottom 2 (making a total of 8). James decided he was not interested in a top one and to the beat of his own drum, popped out a 3rd bottom tooth on October 1st. About a week later, he got one top tooth, followed by the other front top tooth. So, he's got five at this point. I have friends with babies older than James who have none. It's been nice to hopefully serve as a positive story (and here's to hoping that they all have no issues with teething). Don't worry, I also know that we aren't nearly done yet. Poking 5 teeth out does not mean the next 5 will be a breeze. We have a tough kid on our hands. I'm telling you in his little mind, he must think "cutting teeth, please. I've already had surgery. Teething is nothing compared to where I've been". And he does bite (and most times it's a love nip; I've found myself rubbing my finger a time or two waiting for the pain to subside after he's gotten me good!)

Teething has once again reminded me that while some people think that there are "normal" patterns for babies; they all have a mind of their own and will do things on their own time when they see fit. 

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than be on a crowded velvet cushion" -Henry David Thoreau

Pumpkin Patch

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. We took James to his first pumpkin patch. He was not extremely enthused as you can tell by the pictures, but he lightened up once we got in the car to leave. He can be a funny child sometimes!

Amaizing Acres

Hurricane Sandy passed through Florida as a tropical storm at the end of October, but that didn't stop us from getting out and playing in the corn fields in the middle of nowhere Jacksonville. Actually it was so far out there, we may have been in south Georgia! We met Andrew, Allison, Lila and Drew. It was an overcast, cool and breezy day. But we had a great time in the maze, on James first hay ride and watching Lila and Drew do the bigger kid activities. We were wind blown by the end of the day, but still with tons of smiles. Unfortunately this was the day James' gator good luck ran out...

Lila and Drew LOVE baby James

Especially Drew. First thing he says when he sees James is: "I hold Baby James"

This was about the point where Patrick's entire leg was licked by a cow

This will definitely be so much fun when James is bigger/old enough to participate in all the other fun things to do. They had HUGE pools of dried corn for kids to play in, a cute little barrel train, horse back riding and the list goes on. James had a blast taking all the new things in this year.

Best Birthday Ever

As I sit here and type this, I'm trying to remember my birthday last year. And I'm definitely having trouble. I remember I literally had JUST started to feel better after WEEKS of nausea and morning sickness. I'm sad to say that my normally impeccable memory has a huge 9 month gap in it for the most part. However, it doesn't really matter because this was the best birthday because I already have the best gift. Still, Patrick, James and Coop too bought me an ice cream cake and I happily blew out the candles on my 28th birthday cake (it was delicious too!)

"But the important thing is to lie down and fall asleep. That little nap means you wake up fresh again and can continue." -James Levine

I apologize that some of these are out of order. After James' surgery and initial recovery of almost 4 weeks, he all the sudden decided that napping was worth his time. I went from rocking him to sleep and having him scream in my face for 15 minutes to being able to lay him down awake in his crib, he'd fuss a few minutes, then he'd be out like a light. For 1.5-2 hours TWICE a day and a 30-45 minute cat nap at the end of the day. WHERE DID THIS BABY COME FROM AND WHERE HAD HE BEEN THE FIRST 4 MONTHS OF HIS LIFE?!?!?! I'd love to take credit for my awesome parenting skills, but seriously, I didn't do a thing. He just up and decided it was time for him to get more rest during the day. I am now able to get our house in order, do laundry/cleaning, and have a little bit of down time to decompress. It's amazing.

Plus, I'm happy I finally have the time to share videos like the one above. It was taken the afternoon after he got his dental impressions for his NAM (when he was about a week and a half old). Tough morning for all involved (apparently including Cooper) and we were all caught snoozing!

“If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with.” -The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

 Speaking of back porch swings. Patrick put ours together pretty soon after James was born. Not sure what gave him and/or Anna the thought to get one, but it turned out to be one of the best purchases!

I wouldn't go as far to say that James had colic. He liked to be held and until after his surgery, he was a fussy baby for sure! But for some reason (even when the inside, nice and plush swing wouldn't settle him) the back porch swing would just do him in! Here is a video of him at 3 weeks, nappin' on the back porch.

At least we figured it out and we had at least one go to soother!