Buffalo

This past weekend we went up to Buffalo for a nice long weekend. We left bright and early Thursday morning, making it up there in 8 hours (stopping once for lunch, and once for gas). Jim was wonderful in the car!!! The only time he fussed was when I turned his movie off (I know, bad mommy) -- but I thought he was sleepy and was staying awake because he was enjoying his truck movie. I turned it back on for him, and sure enough 1/2 hour later he was out. Everyone at home was very excited to play with Jim - and Thursday we spent the afternoon doing just that!

Friday morning we got up and enjoyed breakfast at the Pancake House. Ashley and Mom both took the day off of work - so they were able to hang out with us. Allison doesn't have class on Friday, and with Dad being retired - we all got to spend the day together! After breakfast the girls took Jim to do some apple picking. I think he was more interested in the animals that were there (turkeys...goats...) and the tractors, and just having room to run around, than actually picking apples. But that really didn't surprise me much! Once we got home from that, we pretty much just spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out! Chris came over for dinner, which was very yummy, some chicken, potatoes, corn, etc...And then you should have heard how hard he was getting Jim to crack up laughing! It was awesome!

Saturday morning we got up, mom cooked us all breakfast...and then Mom, Dad, Allison, Mark & I took Jim to the Buffalo zoo. Ashley had to 'work', and Rob & Jenna couldn't make it up until later in the afternoon because Jenna 'had something for school...' We tricked Mom & Dad. While we were at the zoo, the three of them were setting up for their surprise 60th Birthday Party!!! We all had a good time at the zoo - Jim was into the animals, pointing to them! And making the sounds of the ones he knew! He got pretty warn out towards the end. We had pretty good timing, leaving the zoo at 1:00 giving us enough time to get home for the surprise at 1:30. They had no idea we were planning a party for them - and were super surprised! It was great getting to see everyone! And we partied the afternoon away!

(When I get home I will have to upload some pictures to go along with this!

17 Months

How can you be one month away from being a year and a half?! That just seems so old. My how you are growing and changing.

- Wearing a combination of size 4 & 5 diapers. 4's still fit him - but I bought a box of 5's, and those fit him as well.

- Is very good at throwing your dirty clothes in the laundry basket!

- Wearing mainly 2T clothes. You even fit into some 3T stuff!

- Goes to bed at 9:00. He had been falling asleep in our bed after reading together - but we've stopped that, and it's still a little struggle, but he's falling asleep in his crib!

- I wish the mosquitoes would go away - you love, love, love playing outside! And are not a fan of having to come in for dinner...

- Love to throw balls all over the place. They asked at daycare if you and Mark go outside and do that, because you're throwing everything there. We're working on just keeping it to balls, and not other toys.

- You love to read! Some of your favorite books are anything with Elmo in it! Your 'I Really Like Trucks' Book; 'Good Boy Fergis' just to name a few!

Can't wait to see what the next month brings us!!!

Syracuse and Castile

This past weekend we made our way to Upstate NY. We left bright and early Thursday morning driving up to Syracuse. We parked at the hotel and then we walked up to M-Street for a bit. Got a couple things from Manny's, and then got a slice of pizza from Varsity. We made our way back to the hotel to meet up with mom & Dad. Got checked in, and then made our way back up to M-Street getting lunch/dinner at Faegan's...Mark & Dad got a beer outside at the Sheraton...and then we hung out on the quad for a bit before Mom & Dad took Jim back to the hotel and we went to the game. Syracuse ended up pulling out the win in overtime, but it got a little ugly in there. I think Mom & Dad had a great time with Jim!!!! And we're very thankful that they came up to watch him so Mark & I could enjoy the game.

Friday morning we got up, stopping for breakfast at a rest area, and then drove to Mark's parents house. Mark & his dad went golfing in the afternoon...and Jim enjoyed playing outside. He and Maddy got along just fine - everytime Jim saw her he would start his barking! He also got to take a couple of tractor rides around the yard. He was a big fan of the tractor!

Saturday we went to Hidden Valley Animal Adventure. We took a ride through the park - getting up close to a bunch of the animals. They would walk right up to the wagon/safari ride thing that we were on...and would eat food right out of the cups that they gave to us. I think Jim enjoyed himself! He would stand up look at the animals and point at them! It was a pretty cool place. There was a little petting area too. Jim walked up there, touch the donkeys (I think that's what they were?!)

All in all we had a great trip up to New York! It was great getting to see everyone!

Beach Weekend!!!

We made our 2nd trip up to Lewes Beach this past weekend. We went last year (only got to spend 2 minutes on the beach...) and it was time to go again this year. We left Saturday morning bright and early once we woke up and got the car packed. We made it up to Kristin's parents house by 9:30 and everyone was still asleep. We hung out there for awhile, and then made our way to the beach. We didn't think we'd last that long with Jim, but I think we ended up staying for two hours. He was indifferent about the sand - he didn't hate it, but he didn't love it either. And at first he didn't want to go anywhere near the water. But we eventually got him to go down a little closer. But didn't want to have anything with going in the water. Saturday night we hung out at Kristin's, grilling for dinner, and playing games. We were up bright and early Sunday morning (thank you Jim!) and hit the road to come home. It was a lot less rushed than our trip last year to the beach. I'll leave you with a couple of pictures from our weekend:

Kelley & Amar's Wedding

We ended up making our way into downtown Rochester Friday afternoon, meeting up with the family for some lunch at Dinosaur BBQ! We then made our way to the hotel, got checked in there and decided to take Jim swimming; which was a total FAIL! He was not a fan of the water at all. I don't know if it was too cold, too much for him, but he did not want to go in the water at all. And when we brought him in the water he cried. We tried the outdoor pool too thinking it was just too cold, but that wasn't a hit either. He was much happier throwing the ball around outside of the pool. Friday night they had a buffet dinner for all the guests in town. Got to try a bunch of different Indian foods - which were all pretty yummy! Jim did discover that he could pick the skin off of the bottom of his feet. I have no idea where he learned that one from.

Saturday morning was an early morning - the first ceremony, the Catholic wedding was at 10:30. Followed by a lunch downstairs, and then the Indian ceremony was after lunch. They were both gorgeous ceremonies - and was very excited to be able to take part in the Indian one. It's always cool to see/hear different traditions. Of course, in between the two we had to go outside and take some family photos! Mark's parents came up for the afternoon to take care of Jim - which was a good thing. He couldn't even sit through the first ceremony - Mark had to take him outside because he was making noises. Will have to keep that in mind for future weddings. After lunch, they took care of him.

The reception was at the R.I.T. Inn and Conference Center - and a good time was had by all!!! Many congratulations to Kelley & Amar!!!

Trip to Ny

We went up to Albany the beginning of August. Our original plan was going to be to spend a couple of days in Albany, and then a couple of days in Buffalo. But those plans were adjusted when we found a house, and knew we were closing the end of July. We ended up taking that weekend to unpack all of our stuff. (We were supposed to be moving that weekend but our closing got pushed up a week.)

Mark & I both went into work on Monday, and then left for Albany bright and early Tuesday morning. We enjoyed hanging out with everyone. On Wednesday we went up to Saratoga and bet on some horses! We all decided we would bet $40 over a course of 5 races. I ended up coming home with $50 - winning money on two races! We had a good time doing that! On Thursday we went into Albany, grabbed some lunch at an Irish Pub and then went on the USS Slater (it was HOT!!) and then we went to the Albany State Museum. It was nice to be able to let Jim run around! Jim got to enjoy some ice cream cake. (I had a picture of the clean-up process but it just disappeared...where's the un-do button here?)

Friday morning we got up and said our good-byes and made our way to Rochester.

16 Months...

It's hard to believe my little baby boy is 16 months already!! How time flies. (I think I say that all the time...)

- Still wearing size 4 diapers.

- Wearing size 7 shoes.

- Had a period where he wasn't a fan of the bath - I think maybe it was the new tub? But we've since remedied that with a couple new bath toys!

- Tooth count - I think it's up to 12 now! I'm almost positive his 4th molar came in, so it's a molar on each side - top/bottom, plus 4 teeth on top, and 4 on the bottom.

- He had his last bottle on Thursday the 28th, and has been drinking out of sippy cups since!!!!!

- His vocabulary is expanding. (I don't know if I've ever updated on this - so here's some of the things he is saying): He says mama and dada, Ashley, Papa, outside, upstairs, shoes, elmo (love the way he says elmo), basketball, ball, hello (says that when he hears the phone ring)...I'm sure there's more, but those are the main ones. He also is repeating after you. I'll tell him to say 'green' and he tries to get that word out!

Big Brother

The word is now out - Jim is going to be a big brother!!!! His baby brother or sister will be coming sometime in March!!!!!! We are all very excited about this upcoming arrival. We found out over the 4th of July weekend. I had a feeling Saturday night that there was a good chance I was pregnant, and said something to Mark Sunday AM. When we went grocery shopping I picked up a pregnancy test, and sure enough it confirmed my thoughts!!!! Monday morning I went shopping to get Jim this shirt, so I could break the news to the family. It worked out great - everyone was at home celebrating Rob's birthday, so we Skyped with them to share the news. We sent the picture above to Mark's parents to break the news!!!! Jim & his sibling will be just under 2 years apart - 23 months! Which is pretty perfect in my book!

Grandma & Papa Visit!!!

Still getting all caught up with our busy summer we've had. We were too busy with our move, that I didn't take any pictures when Rob & Jenna were down. But like I had mentioned earlier, it was great having them here to lend us a hand!!!

The following weekend mom & dad came down. We were supposed to be moving that weekend but our closing date got pushed up a week. They flew into BWI from Vegas on Wednesday night, and made their way down to Alexandria Thursday afternoon. Jim got out of daycare early on Thursday, and they took care of him on Friday & Monday - what a lucky boy he is!! I think the three of them enjoyed their time together!!! Despite all the mosquitoes - they loved playing outside! It's so nice to have all that extra space out there! It was great having them around that weekend as Mark & I were able to finish unpacking all our boxes...and not have to worry about Jim getting in our way. We took them out to dinner Saturday, heading back down to Los Tios in Del Ray. Everyone enjoyed their meals once again!!!

Nanny & Papa Visit...

I have lots of things to get updated on. I took care of our move...

Before the big move, Mark's parents came down for the weekend to visit. Had lots of fun visiting with them! Saturday Mark & I went to the gym, they came along and hung out with Jim at Pentagon Row. We were going to attempt to go to one of the Smithsonian's, but METRO was doing track work and it was going to be a long wait for a train so instead we decided to check out the Masonic Temple in Alexandria. Decided to try out a Mexican Restaurant in Del Ray for dinner - Los Tios - which was very good!!! We all enjoyed our weekend together!!!

Animal Sounds

Here is a video of Jim practicing his animal sounds:

Two Pictures

We have been busy busy with our move! Everything went well!!! I think I mentioned this before, but we closed on the 21st, and then moved that Saturday. Rob & Jenna came down for the weekend, which was a HUGE help!! It would had been a very stressful move if we didn't have those two extra sets of hands. I put Jenna in charge of Jim - which is a full time job! He always wanted to be right there where the action was, and most of the time that meant being in someones way. I think she had a great time playing with him! Rob gave Mark an extra set of hands to help with lifting the bigger things. Again, which was a great help since there was no way I was taking care of stuff like that.

My parents were in town the following weekend, and it was great having them! They loved the new place! And it gave Mark & I a chance to unpack the rest of our boxes. It would have been a much longer drawn out process if one of us were keeping an eye on Jim. Mom taught Jim the sounds that a cow, dog, and a lamb make - which is so cute. He also sings along to Elmo's Song, again adorable.

With that I will leave you with two pictures that we took last weekend from a bench on the side of our house -

15 month stats

Jim finally made it to the doctor for his 15 month check-up. He has a clean bill of health!! And was doing everything he should be doing.

Head: 19" - 80th percentile

Height: 31 3/4" - 71st percentile

Weight: 26lbs 5.5 oz - 75th percentile

One healthy happy little boy!!!!!!

15 month update...

I've been meaning to come on here and give everyone an update now that Jim is 15 months old...But we've been busy - busy moving into our new house! We closed on the 21st (Happy Birthday to me!), and then spent the entire weekend moving and trying to get settled into the new place. The place is great! We are very happy with it, and I think Jim is loving all the extra space that he has.

What Jim is up to @ 15 months:

- He has 8 teeth now - 4 on top, the two middle, and on the bottom left he just got one of his molars as well as another bottom one.

- Still in size 4 diapers.

- His walking has quickly turned into a run - and the boy does not like to sit still!!

- He is quite the dancer!

- Still loves to eat anything and everything.

- Loves being outside!

- We haven't been able to get him to drink his milk from a sippy cup. I am hoping this will change starting this weekend. He'll be gone from daycare for

- I have no stats - his 15 month check-up was supposed to be on the 13, but that got canceled because the office had no power...I rescheduled it for the 21st, but had to cancel that because our closing got pushed back...so now it's scheduled for the 28th.

Happy 4th of July!!!

We all enjoyed our nice long weekend together! We didn't do a whole lot - which was very nice. We did go up to Baltimore on Saturday and met up with Jeff, Dana, and Alex for lunch. And then we went to the B&O Railroad Museum. That will be a good place to go back in a year or two when Jim is a little older and he'll actually enjoy checking out all the trains.

Sunday and Monday we spent relaxing...Packing up a couple of things...And just enjoying the day! We ended up skipping out on fireworks on the 4th. Jim is in bed by 9:00, and we figured we didn't need to disrupt his schedule. Should be fun next year when he'll be into it a little more!

Just a couple pictures...

Jim had a lot of fun playing in his pool on Sunday! It took him awhile to get into it - but once he did he had a blast splashing around! At first he was more fascinated with our broom and his lawn mower.

I took these pictures last night of him. He was pretty sweaty - hence his crazy hair! There was a moving truck across the street - that boy loves trucks! He couldn't take his eyes off of it!

Happy 14 Months!!! + Trip to Pittsburgh

I never did an update for what Jim's been up to at 14 months old! He got to celebrate his 14 months together with his Grandma, Papa, Uncle, and Aunts in Pittsburgh...Which I'll combine that all into this one post.

Everyone had planned to drive down to Pittsburgh that weekend to go to a Pirates game. Our plans were always up in the air because we didn't know where we would be in the house hunting process. Since we ratified our contract on our new place that Thursday the 9th, and home inspection wasn't scheduled until Monday we had nothing to do with house hunting - we made the trip to Pittsburgh as well! Jim did very well the car ride to Pittsburgh - we got in a little after 10:00.

Saturday morning Mom, Dad, myself, and Robbie went down to the Strip District while all the girls stayed back with Jim to spend some quality time with him. We hung out all afternoon, and made our way downtown for dinner and the baseball game. Jim went back home with Grandma and Papa who got to babysit him for the evening!

Jim was wonderful again on the car ride home - practically sleeping the entire time! Much better than him fussing the whole drive.

What Jim is up to at 14 months:

- Still wearing a size 4 diaper.

- Can wear clothes that are 18 months, 24 months, and some 2T's fit him as well.

- Wears a size 6 shoe.

- Since I'm a little behind in posting this - he weighed 25.5 lbs when we were at the DR on the 16th.

- He is full time in the next room at daycare. I think he really enjoys it over there!.

- He knows where his head, belly, feet, and ears are. And he can point out my eyes and nose.

- He did very good when our house was on the market. He must not have known what to think when all his toys were put away. Hopefully he makes the move to the new house just as good!

First trip to the ER

Jim took his first trip to the ER yesterday. He was playing at daycare and got pushed by one of the girls in his room, which caused him to fall into a shelf. I think I made it to him within 10 minutes after I got the call. I wasn't sure what to do with him, so I called up his DR and they said to bring him in, if they couldn't fix it they would send him downstairs. Long story short, we ended up meeting up with Mark and taking Jim to Fairfax hospital since they had a pediatric ER there. He was such a brave little boy!! The only time I saw him cry was when they were trying to get a look at the cut, and when they had to hold him to stitch him up. 2 stitches later and he's as good as new!!!

Jim before the stitches:

At the hospital waiting for stitches -
And a blurry picture with stitches -

Videos

Thought I'd share a couple of videos.

This is of Jim last night - he was cracking up when I would 'Fall Down'. And he was also imitating me spinning in circles. He's a goof!

And I love how he laughs and jumps in this one:

And finally Jim decided to take all my shirts of my dresser drawer, and put it into the laundry basket. How smart is he?!

Paper Towels?!

Jim found our roll of paper towels the other night...Apparently he had a grand old time playing with them!!!! Can you spell Trouble?!?!