James is 2 Months Old!

Here are pictures of my sweet little cuddle bug on his 2 month birthday. We go to the doctor next week for a check-up. I can't wait to see how big he is !

So serious...
Smile!...
I just love that little face!

Baptism Pics

Here is Jim, Sophia, and James before baptism. Don't they look great!!

Zoo

Today we went to the Indianapolis Zoo. It was a great trip. All of the animals were in the best spots and they were all awake and moving around. Of course though, I forgot my camera. Every single time we go to the zoo I forget it. Today would have been the perfect day to take pictures too. I guess I'll try again next time.

We got to the zoo as it opened so there were very few people. We went straight to the koalas and they were so cute! I loved them! They were awake, which I guess is pretty lucky to see, and they were eating their breakfast. Very cool! The giraffes were right by the fence. A kangaroo was sifting through the rocks right by the walkway. The elephants were drinking the water. One rhino was laying in the mud next to the lookout post and the other rhino was walking around. The lemurs were scaring away the ducks. The seals were mating. The lion was eating a chunk of frozen meat - yuk! The tigers were in a great spot and looking right at us - scary! Well that all I can think of about the cook animals. We went to the dolphin show and Sophia sat through the whole thing. I think she really liked it. She was even a big girl and drank from a milk carton at lunch. She was funny - she ate my lunch and I ate hers.

The whole trip was a huge success - even James enjoyed it (I think - he slept the entire day). It was all a success until we were looking at the sharks. Jim set Sophia down and it was like her mind said to go forward but her feet went backward. Anyway, she fell, hitting her mouth/chin on the rail and busting up the inside of her lip. It was bleeding and turned all black and purple. Her lip was really swollen but she is alright. She is still napping anyway.

Well, gotta go - James is awake and hungry.

Glass and Hammers Don't Play Well

Jim finished the door today...it looks GREAT! (For those of you who don't know, Jim bought a plain Mahogany door, stained it, sealed it, drilled all the holes, hung it, and placed the door knobs/locks on it). Well, while he was working on it, I was nursing James and Jim had Sophia by him. She was playing with some toys and everything was fine. Well, little did I know, that Jim was just laying all of his tools around on the floor. Sophia decided she wanted to play with the hammer. Jim apparently was not actually watching her at that moment. She picked up the hammer and started hammering the glass windows by the door. The sound of hammer on glass is not something you will likely forget.

The lesson the of the day for Sophia....Glass and Hammers Don't Play Well.

The lesson of the day for Jim....buy a tool belt.

My little Model - Well, Not Yet

This past week Jim worked during the day so it was just me and the kids. It was a good week though. I tried to fill it with projects around the house and with walks and playground fun. At the playground in our neighborhood this week, we ran in to Santi - one of Sophia's Gymboree friends. We had not seen them in several months. It turns out that they live in the neighborhood so at some point we are going to have a play date together. Fun Fun!! Sophia also got some new clothes so I took pictures of her in them so I won't forget how cute she is. I asked her to pose so the pictures are of her "posing".

Here is Sophia in the Hanna Andersson outfit Grandma Tempel bought her. Too Cute! There are yellow shorts with blue stripes underneath the dress. They peak out from the bottom. Sophia loves these play dresses.

Here is the Hanna Andersson dress I bought for a great deal on Ebay. I LOVE it.

This is Sophia's Fourth of July dress that Jim picked out for her.

James thinks all this is kind of funny.

This week has also been filled with new achievements made by the kids. James has increased his alertness and is tracking very well and smiling up a storm! It is very cute. He is sleeping better at night - only waking us up at around 2 and then at 5. He is eating quicker at night and then going back to sleep. He is also staying awake during the day for about 2 hours at a time.

Sophia on the other hand has made some new synapse connections (brain developments). She is putting together a 9 piece puzzle all by herself and is doing a 10 piece puzzle sorter all by herself as well. She is saying new words (her newest one is emblem) and is putting together two word phrases ("No Mama" and "I want"). She has also figured out how to put together a buckle (like the one on car seat). Sophia also asked to sit on the potty this week. We were not fast enough and she pooped in her diaper. She also asked the next day and ended up peeing on the carpet as we were running (without a diaper on - lesson learned) to the potty. She is my big girl. As a result of those two incidents we went to Babies-R-Us and bought a potty. We also bought a booster seat and stored away the highchair. She is a big girl now!!

Pics

The Family - Here was all are at the Fourth of July parade. Sophia liked it a lot. James slept through the whole thing.

Here is the face of a child who has eaten too many raspberries. She never got sick though.

Here is Sophia with her ball from the parade. She held onto it all the way back to the car.

Sisterly and Brotherly Love

James looking sooooo cute - oh wait he does all the time!!!

The Weekend

Last weekend was a fun time around here. On Friday, Jim put on a new front door. It is mahagony and does not have a finish on it. Jim wanted to finish it himself. The door also came without any holes...none for the hinges or door knob or lock or anything. He did a great job. The door only has a deadbolt on it (no knob yet) and still needs to be stained but it is hanging and looks good! I went shopping while he did all of this and got some non-maternity clothes. Sophia stayed and played with Kara.

Saturday Kara came again in the morning and I packed us for Mom and Dad's while Jim ran a 5K. He got 7th in his age group - good job! He also ran a personal best. We then went to Mom and Dad's and I judged the Clay County Queen Pageant. It was so much fun! I hope to judge more pageants now. Jim, Sophia, and James hung out at Mom and Dad's while I was gone for the day. Carol, Mark, Faith, and Will came over and Sophia and Faith played together. I can tell Sophia enjoyed it because when we got home she saw a picture of Faith and smiled and said "Faith" (as best she could). It was really cute. Jim also took Sophia out on the paddle boat.

Sunday we went to church and then came home. That afternoon we went to the Fisher's Fourth of July parade. No one handed Sophia any candy :( but she did get a big pink ball. She carried it all the way back to the car. It was a full fun weekend.

James' 1 Month Wellness Check

James passed his wellness check at the pediatrician's office today with flying colors. He now weighs 10 lbs. 5 oz (2 1/2 pounds more than at birth) which is the 75% for his age. He is 24 inches long which means he has grown 2 1/2 inches since birth!!! I would think that would hurt to grow that long. He is in the 100% for height. Although it seems as though he should be a big boy, he really isn't. He is long and thin - just like his Daddy. He isn't filling out his clothing but he is busting out of them for his length. I think I might have to cut the footies off of his sleepers.

In other news, Sophia had Gymboree today and Jim told me that Sophia pushed a big ball up a slide. She's a strong little girl.

Scary Moment

Sophia choked tonight on a piece of banana. It was one that was frozen that I had defrosted so it was all slimy. She was tired to begin with so she was whining and crying. Not to mention moments before she had fallen outside and scraped up her knees (again) so she wasn't in a good mood but she insisted on a banana snack before bedtime. We sometimes give her a banana snack before bedtime anyway so the request was not that unheard of. Anyway, she eating it just fine and she popped the last bite into her mouth and followed it was a drink of milk. That is when it happened. I heard a gurgle from the aspiration. Then Sophia looked at me with wide eyes and an open mouth and her face started to turn red. She wasn't making any sounds but she started to look and act frantic. I quickly picked her up, turned her over, and pounded her back. I was so scared that after it was all done I was afraid I had done it too hard because Sophia coughed up the banana and started to cry - HARD! She was so scared. I don't know if she was scared because of not being able to breath or because she thought her mom was hitting her. Anyway, she cried, no screamed, for the next 30 minutes. Jim was at a meeting but it sure would have been nice to have him here. More for moral support than anything. If he was home there was no time to go find him to ask for help. It all happened so quickly. Luckily she is just fine and is currently laying in her bed hugging her Lambie and Blankie. Scary!!!

In Other News

Sophia learned that her finger fits in her nose today. Lovely.