Steamboat Springs!

Last week-end, we took a family adventure to Steamboat Springs for our friend Rachael's wedding (one of Becky's college friends). We had a great time up in the mountains and had many adventures -- ride the super-fancy ski lift to the top of the mountain for the reception, going to James' first rodeo, eating lots of ice cream, and having fun everywhere we went. James was his cheerful, funny self -- he's recently discovered how to be funny and obviously enjoys getting everyone to laugh. Here are a couple examples.

Before the wedding reception, all of the wedding guests went outside the restaurant for a giant group picture with the bride and groom. After the photograph had arranged everyone and we were waiting for the cue to smile, James yelled, "CHEEEEEESE!!!" Of course, this made everyone laugh, which made James do it several more times. I bet those pictures turned out great with all the genuine laughter.

Our drive home took nearly 7 hours -- about twice as long as it should have -- because of traffic heading back to Denver. For most of this drive, it was just James & I in the car together. At one point he was clearly getting bored (as was I), so he started to drink is bottle up-side down, putting the back end of the bottle in his mouth and pretending to drink. He knew it was funny and got us both laughing.

Our funny boy did have his two-year check-up today and we're very happy to say that he's in tip-top shape. He's 35 inches tall now and nearly 29lbs. Hard to believe that two years ago he was just barely opening his eyes...

Here are some photos of our fun adventures last week-end:

10.08.22 -- Steamboat Springs

Jamie's Second Birthday Bash!

It’s back-to-school time for the whole family, so we’ve been busy busy busy! Jame is doing a great job transitioning into full-time daycare. It seems like a great place and by this week, just his second week, he was totally fine when I’d drop him off in the morning. His teachers have many positive comments about our boy – he loves being outside, he’s great with the little babies, and he doesn’t even use his pacifier or take a bottle!
Earlier this afternoon, James celebrated his second birthday with a Thomas the Tank Engine-themed party, which shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. He rode his new slide and had lots of fun with his friends Benton, Addie, Iris, Jude, and Logan! We posted a few photos here – as you can see, James and Benton are pretty much best buddies:

10.08.15-- Jamie's Birthday Party

Camping!

This past week-end, we went on a family camping trip (well, cabin-camping, if you count that as camping) to State Forest State Park in the lovely Rocky Mountains. We went with our good friends Jon and Amy and their beautiful 3-month old baby girl, Genevieve. James had a blast playing with marshmallow skewers, looking for "real moose," playing a game of bodyslam with "Marbach" (as he calls Jon), and of course being very gentle with baby Evie. James fell in love with everyone, often saying "Marbach back" or "More...more Amy" when one of them would walk away. He was amazing with the baby: being gentle, sharing toys, and giving gentle hugs when she was upset. We took a couple nice hikes, played in the creek, and even saw a family of otters and a real moose! Given the success of this adventure, soon enough we'll try some tent camping!

See some photos here:

Camping in State Forest State Park

Good Morning

James woke up crying around 4:00 last night. I tried to wait him out but he wasn't stopping and since Eric was out camping I decided to bring him into bed with me. He has gotten much less wiggly so all in all this was fine. Around 5:45 I heard James talking and rustling around. As best I could tell he was was talking in his sleep and saying, "Calling Super Truck!" and "Help Me, Super Truck!" - a clear sign we have been reading the book Super Truck too much lately. Next I felt him gently pat my arm and say very quietly, as if not to wake me, "Morning Mommy. Sweet Dreams." I tried my hardest not to laugh or smile too broadly hoping he might fall back to sleep. He didn't but lucky for him his wake up was sweet enough for me to put up with the pre-6:00am wake up.

One Hip Boy

Not only is James a looker, but he is quite the talented musician as well:
James Plays Keyboard And Sings

Many New Adventures!

James & I just arrived last night from a lovely trip to Buffalo, NY to visit his Nana & Papa, along with Great-Grandma Nina, Great Aunty Suzy, Cousins Matt & Jonny, and lots of other friends! We went swimming, watched trains, visited the Czar of the Woods Farm, and had a great time playing with all the toys that Nana has collected for Jamie. See some photos here:

10.06.21 -- Buffalo

Last week Thursday, James and I joined his friend Benton and Benton's daddy at the park...the boys have so much fun together! See some photos here:

10.06.17 -- James & Benton at Park

The Sweetest Boy

The other day James and, probably more truthfully, I, were looking for some new activity to do besides playing with trains or crawling through the tunnel. We came upon his basket of stuffed animals. In there we found baby Elmo dressed only in his diaper. James pointed to Elmo and said, “Elmo diaper.” Next, we got out a teddy bear, this one sans diaper. James pointed at the bear and asked, “Diaper?” After a brief exchange we decided to put a diaper on his teddy bear. I went and got a diaper and came back. James looked at me questioningly, pointed at the bear's butt, and said, “Poo-poo. Wipes?” So off I went again to get the wipes. James then gently held up the leg of his teddy, used the wipe to clean the bear and then, with my assistance, diaper him. As I watched I was overwhelmed by how cute and sweet he was – as well as my own wish that he would be as cooperative as the teddy bear when I changed his diaper.

On another day we visited the Cherry Creek Mall and the fake food play area. Revealing himself to truly be my child, he gravitated toward the bacon. Shortly thereafter several other boys came up with toy trucks and cars and raced them down the bacon ramp. James stared longingly at the cars and trucks and you could just about feel his fingers itching to get a hold of those trucks and race them himself. Suddenly, a truck jumped off the ramp and landed at his feet. He immediately picked it up and I watched to see what he would do. He looked down at the truck, up at the boy, and handed it back to the boy. This happened probably 2-3 more times and each time he kindly handed the toy back. It made me so sad, I just wanted those boys to share their toys with him and wished desperately I had a truck for him to play with, and so proud of how kind and sweet he already is.