Tiny Tidbits

Here are some interesting tidbits on my lovely children:

* They both eat a banana (or part of one) and drink a glass of milk before bedtime every night....EVERY night.
* Sophia picks her nose and then asks me to take the booger off of her finger.
* They both love french toast and eggs for breakfast. Pancakes are a big hit too...James will eat 2-4 pancakes at one sitting.
* Sophia went a full year of eating only oatmeal in the morning before Daddy introduced her to french toast. Gone are the days of easy oatmeal.
* James like to wear only one shoe (of his Stride Rites...he will wear his Robeez without any problems)
* Sophia procrastinates at bedtime by having you name all of the people in the Bible.
* James drinks about 36 - 48 oz of whole milk every day ... and he is still skinny as a rail!
* They both LOVE playing in their play kitchen.
* Sophia wants earrings so she can look even more like a princess.
* James loves wagon rides.
* Sophia doesn't want to learn how to pedal...."that for boys" is what she says.
* I think James is happier when he is dirty from head to toe.
* Sophia is happier when she is clean.
* Sophia requests that her feet are washed with soap and water when she comes in from playing outside...even if she does have her shoes on.
* James' side of the table is always clean when we are done eating...because all of the food he doesn't want to eat is on the floor.
* Sophia will eat fruit all day long if I let her.
* James will eat ice cream all day long if I let him.
* Sophia gets excited when the neighbor boys come outside to play. She says Taylor is her friend.
* Sophia has put in a request for a new baby sister...and when she says it, she says it like it is all that she has ever dreamed of.
* James is right-handed. It is very obvious already.
* Sophia seems to be right-handed too but she will still use her left hand for things.
* James tries to open the door to his bedroom from his crib. He is getting close to actually opening it.
* James loves to ride on Daddy's shoulders...it's a good view from there.
* Sophia wants to feed all of us with a spoon. Open wide!
* James laughs at people dancing...Hello Ellen!
* Sophia thinks a bandaid fixes everything. Yesterday she had on 8 bandaids and tonight she wanted one on Daddy's lip for "a red spot".
* Sophia says some books are for boys and some books are for girls. Where she gets this we have no idea.
* James will take off the floor register covers and throw his toys down into the duct work. I have no idea how many toys we have lost this way. Today he threw his Stride Rites down there but I was able to get them out.

Mommy confession: I love bath time...I do. The kids play...or scream...and water gets everywhere and James and Sophia crawl all over each other and pour water on each other and laugh a lot oh, it's so much fun. However, there are many days where I would rather wash the dirty bed sheets in the morning than wash the dirty child at night. Sorry, but I have those days.

Birthday Birthday Birthday

So last week was so much fun. First of all, James turned 1! I can't believe it! On his birthday we went to the zoo. Every school in the state of Indiana was there. It was also Zoopolis so there were a lot of activities. The kids got to feed the giraffes (which Jim liked the best) and we saw the penguins being fed (which I think James liked the best). I liked the brown bears and the walrus (always entertaining) and Sophia liked the butterflies...and the ice cream. This time at the zoo, Jim and I packed a picnic lunch and that saved us a lot of money. I think we will do that again. We were going to ride the zoo train but it was closed for painting. Sophia always gets excited when we see the merry-go-round and she says she always wants to ride it...but she never does. She is actually afraid of them...funny girl. We topped off James' birthday with homemade manicotti and birthday cake and ice cream. Beck and the boys came over along with Marc and Leann. It was a nice time.

On Friday of that week we spent the whole day at Gymboree and had a great time. Both James and Sophia had a music class and then they had their regular Gymboree class. In between we ate at Cafe Patachou's. I love eating there. All of the food is organic and most of it comes from Indiana farmers. I had blueberry iced tea for the first time - YUMMO! I recommend sweetening it.

Saturday was my birthday. Jim and the kids surprised me by buying a new bike. There wasn't anything wrong with my old one, I just wanted one that was a cruiser. You know...old fashioned...high handlebars...maybe a bell or basket...big white wall tires...big seat...and mint green! I love it. It has the old fashioned brakes and doesn't even have gears. It's great. It makes bike rides fun again. So, after I received the bike, we went on a bike ride. I loved being able to relax and look around. After the bike ride, we all got ready for the day, ate lunch, took naps, and then it was time for James' Gymboree birthday party. I made a train cake. It turned out pretty neat I think. Everyone said it tasted good too.

Sunday was again a relaxing day of family time and bike rides. Monday Jim went back to work and we went back to the same ol' activities. James did have a doctor's appointment today. He is in the 97% in height (32 inches), 65% in weight (23 pounds 4 ounces) and 90% in head (I forget what size). In other words, he is built like Jim...tall and skinny.

As soon as I get my pictures downloaded I will post them. My laptop is sooooo sloooooow!

First Year Pictures

We went back to Celebrity Kids for James' First Year pictures. I loved how they turned out. I will have to fill you in on our Birthday Week next time (it's midnight and I'm tired) but here are Jamesie's pictures.

Tulip Time

Last week Jim and I took the kids to the Tulip Festival in Holland, MI. It was a great time. Jim and I had been there before but it's been several years. Since Jim is half Dutch, we want to take the kids there to enjoy some of the Dutch heritage. The kids really enjoyed themselves.

We first went to the Tulip Farm and walked through all of the fields of tulips. They have all of the tulips numbered so you can order which ones you like at the very end. The problem was that I liked almost all of them! Sophia liked to "help" the tulips out that had not actual bloomed yet but peeling back the petals. James just walked along and, fearing what he might do to the tulips, we kept him away from them. At the tulip farm you can also watch wooden shoes being made. Of course Sophia made us each try on some shoes. She loves shoes.

Then we went to the hotel, got checked in, and went back out to watch the dancer. Everyday they have people dance in the street with Dutch clothing on and wooden shoes. It is fun to watch. Sophia and James really enjoyed that. Sophia still talks about the parades we saw.

The next day we got up early and went to Windmill Island. They have a windmill that is actually functional and from Holland! We took a tour inside and walked through all of the shops. Then we watched a parade, which was full of people! The neat thing about this parade was that they washed the street. Hundreds of people in Dutch clothing and wooden shoes had brooms and buckets and they cleaned the streets. They used the water in the fire hydrants. It was Wed. afternoon and it seemed like the whole town was there. The parades have themes and that parade was the marching band parade. It was very noisy.

We then decided to go the the Dutch Village. It was fun. They had some animals there and shops and parks, etc. It was a miniature version of a real Dutch village so it was pretty neat. They actually make Edam cheese and it tasted really good. By the time we finished that the kids had had enough and so we went back to the hotel and went to bed.

The last day we checked out of the hotel and went to Tunnel Island. It was nice but chilly. The children did not care though. I was surprised that Sophia didn't mind getting her feel dirty and sandy (she is on a clean feet kick right now). It was a wonderful trip and everyone had a great time!!!

I have tried to load pictures to show the fun but it seems to be taking forever tonight so I will post them later.

First Steps

James took his First Steps today!!! He has been walking holding onto things for quite some time now but today he walked without holding onto anything. He took four steps at most but just give him a little time and he will be moving (running) all around. It was a lot of fun and he was squealing the whole time.

Here is James holding onto his Bear. He sleeps with his Bear and waves good-bye to it when he wakes up in the morning. It is really cute. Jim discovered that holding onto the Bear seemed to give James what he needed to walk on his own. Jim started off holding onto the Bear with James and then would let go.

WATCH OUT!!! James took a lot of falls but he always laughed. Funny Boy.

And here he is taking some steps on his own. What a Big Boy!! He was so excited. Sophia gave him a hug each time he would walk on his own. It was so cute. Of course though, Sophia then wanted to "do it like Brother". Anytime he does something that gets attention, Sophia then has to do it. She pretended today that she didn't know how to walk and needed help learning. Instead of a Bear she held onto a pink blanket.

Then today we also played outside in the "pool". James did not like getting splashed in his face with the cold water but after a while he loved it. He also liked playing with the sand/water table but he ate the sand and learned that it was not good. They had sunhats that I bought them (Sophia matched her swimsuit of course :) ) However, the sunhats did not stay on long. Sophia decided hers was dirty and needed to be cleaned. She cleaned the hat (as well as James, Jim and mine) in the "pool" water.

On Saturday Sophia and I went to some yard sales. She made quite and impression on many people because she found a baby with a car seat and stroller that she had to have as well as a purple feather boa. She had to push the baby around the neighborhood while we looked for good buys. Anything that we bought she had to put under the stroller. It was so cute. Here is a picture of her at home with the boa and baby stroller. James likes to push the stroller too.

Brrrrr Zoo

Today we went to the zoo. It was okay weather when we left but 15 minutes later it was 37 degrees and sleeting! We went through the zoo anyway. We intended to do only the inside animals but the outside animals loved the weather so we stayed outside in the rain/snow and watched them. The Alaskan Brown Bear Cubs were playing with each other and then tumbling with a log in the water right in front of the window. The lions were chasing birds. The polar bear was pacing around. The seals were swimming and talking. It was exciting! We (Jim and I) were soaking wet even though we had an umbrella but the kids were warm and dry inside our limousine stroller. We ended up spending 4 hours at the zoo and when we came home James took his first 2 1/2 hour nap! How nice!

Cinderella

Has anyone ever thought it was weird that the mice in Cinderella wear clothing but no other animals do?

Sounding Off on Bathrooms and Plates

Here's a couple of questions...why are bathrooms SO LOUD?!! Sophia has been sick again this week (we are still waiting for blood work results but so far we know she has a UTI) and as a result she has been very clingy. This is not the problem. The problem comes when it is bath time and I can't give her all of my attention because I also have to take care of James (Jim is working this week). She has been screaming so loudly that I know my hearing has been damaged. It doesn't help that bathrooms have the tendency to echo and enhance sound. I think builders should put in sound proofing in all bathrooms. This could benefit people on so many levels!

My other question is...why hasn't anybody developed a plate for children that will actually stay put on the table. There are many suction-bottom plates on the market. I think I have bought every single one of them. So far I have not found a single one that works. James, my adorable, sweet, handsome, loving, messy, destructive little guy, has turned dinner time (and play time) into ... a very creative activity. What doesn't make it into his mouth gets caught in his bib. However, what he decides to do with the food he doesn't want in his mouth gets put into his hair and also thrown around the room. When he is done throwing the food, he picks up his plate and tosses it on the floor. Interestingly enough, being somewhat OCD, this doesn't bother me too much (of course as a result I don't feed him red jello or any soups). However, it would be nice if we could do away with the plate throwing. None of the plates with the suctions on them work and I think maybe Jim and I should develop one. You would think it wouldn't be that hard to do but it must be because no one has come up with a good one yet.

Happy Easter!

This weekend was a fun one! Especially since Jim has been working too much but had the weekend off. We started off on Friday with ladybug, butterfly, and snail pancakes. I make my pancakes from scratch so they are whole wheat and have flax seed in them. Yummy!!After breakfast we spent the next 3 hours at Gymboree class. Then we went to Mom and Dad's. On Saturday the Easter Bunny came. It was the first Easter Egg hunt for James and he had a fun time. He loved finding the eggs. Both of the kids got around $3.40.

Saturday early evening we went home and had a good night's sleep. On Sunday we went to church (James looks sooooo cute in a tie!) and the Easter Bunny came again. We are so lucky! Then Sophia and I made Easter Egg cookies and the Beeson's came over for dinner. It was a fun day!

First Haircut

For James...definitely not Sophia. Sophia says that she wants hair long like Mommy's and that is just fine with me. James on the other hand HAD to get his haircut. It was getting too long and not the kind of long that is trendy. It was thin and wispy and in his eyes all the time. He had a piece that went from the crown of his head down to the back of his neck. I decided before Easter he could have a nice haircut. He now looks like a little boy!! He was soooo good too. I took him to my hair salon, DL Lowry. He got a little cape and even got his hair washed in the big fancy sinks like Mommy gets done. Then during the haircut he sat very well on my lap. We were there for 45 minutes and the whole time he was a sweet little angel. Of course it helped that the place was full of women...what a flirt!!!

Here is James just before he gets his hair washed. You can't really tell from this picture but his hair is really long. The woman's name is J. She is my hairstylist as well.

He has his hair washed and combed. Now, do we cut it really short or keep some length to it?

Here is in getting his haircut. This is an action photo.

All done! What a handsome little boy!!

Here is again at home having lunch after his hair appointment. I know I am biased but come on...how adorable is that face!!!!!