Mommy WOW!...

...I'm a big kid now!

big kid shoes :) more posts coming soon. Our little man is one and growing a mile a minute and I'm falling more and more in love every single day:)

Windows and Nana

So there are two things James can't get enough of... Nana and looking out her window. :)

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Greenville Zoo

So James finally got to experience the Greenville Zoo today! It certainly is no Riverbanks, but it was better than expected. The only thing that brought a smile to sweet baby J is the pig... Hahaha
Special shout out to cousin Zan who turns the big 3 today! Happy birthday sweet boy! We love you so much!

Early Easter Bunny

James is a lucky boy... He got some great new stuff compliments of Grammy and Grandpa... His fav is a cell phone! :)

Two Peas in a Pod

So James has his first official high fever. Nothing we can do about it, but wait it out (after an uneventful doc's visit, the first non-well visit for baby J).

James hasn't been able to sleep so we are trying a walk... Fingers crossed! :(

Cuddler

So a treat for both J and myself.... He'll cuddle up with me while we watch cartoons in the AM. My new favorite time of the day!

PS--Fran and David -- can you tell what shirt I'm wearing?? Groovy baby ;-)

My Personal Assistant

So I've been trying to help get Howard Properties tax info prepped so Dad can do the actual return. One thing is fo' sho' -- I made the right decision when I decided to not be an accountant.

But I was having a balancing problem. No worries -- James found my error. See pic :)

(Please disregard the humongenous pile of laundry that I need to fold... That's next on our agenda... Ha!)

Wave cap for white baby boys??

So in high school, a friend explained to me why black guys wear "wave caps" -- it is so their hair lays in the right directions (more or less). I wonder if one exists for little white baby boys?? :)

James' hair is always WIIIILD after a nap, sticking out in all directions..... I guess his hair fits his personality! Ha!

11 Months..... say WHAT?!

Holy moly kind kiddies -- how did we make it here?!
James is the big 11 months... A mere month away from the year mark, and it literally blows my mind. Everyone said (and continues to tell me - ha) that it flies by... Well, it is so very, very true.

James is (as you can tell from the previous two posts) a wild man. Plain and simple. He is not the baby you put on a blanket and give a toy and is content. No - oh - no - oh - no. James is in to everything. Wants everything... especially things he is not supposed to have.

He is everywhere. Although I have gotten pretty handy at building my own make-shift play pens... He can bust out... and not slowly - but QUICKILY... I'm nervous to see what is gonna happen when homeboy is walking!

He loves being outside. I wouldn't call it a mistake but I don't know what else to call it.... I made the -mistake (insert better word here) - of introducing James to our backyard, and ever since - he wants to go to there. All. The. Time. Don't get me wrong - that is GREAT. But it is certainly hard with a little munchkin that just wants to crawl (while dragging his whole body) and who puts every solitary thing he finds in his mouth. The outdoors will be GREAT when little man can run free. But for now - it is hard figuring out what to do. We've tried blanket and bubbles. He got off the blanket. We've tried sitting on the deck, he wants to climb on the table. We've tried walking around - he tries to leap out of my arms towards Sadie. Moms out there - got any suggestions?? Message me! :)

James has two teethers, and I'm pretty sure numero tres is about to pop through. He is a very good independent eater... He seems to prefer to feed himself (and Sadie) rather than being fed. Although it makes a mess, I like it because I can actually get something done while he eats. Something as exciting as... emptying or loading the never ending dishwasher.

He loves being around other babies and kids.

He loves music and will stop in his tracks whenever there is some sort of musical interlude on the TV. (Have you seen the Target commercial? Click here to see it -- it is one of his favs :)

He loves dogs. All dogs. While on a walk there was a HUGE golden and he starting squealing so loud the person looked at me as if something must have been wrong with him. I explained, "He loves your dog." He just looked at me like I'm crazy. I went with it :)

James says, "Da-da," "Mama," "ba-ba," and "ba-ba" (one for bottle one for goodbye :). He knows how to point to the fan when you ask him where is the fan. If you ask him where the doggie is he looks around the room and spots Sadie and starts cackling.

I think that about wraps it up. I'm sure I've forgotten some thing, but oh well. Here are some photos of what we've been up to lately (WARNING: major photo overload):

Although it is still "busy season" Jimmy has been traveling less so we've actually been able to spend some time together on the week days. It has been very nice!

Shortly after turning 10 months he started pulling up. He is so close to crawling - ahh!

He loves looking out windows :)

His BFF right now is Miss Sadie :)

Grammy and Grandpa came for a weekend and let mommy and daddy enjoy a night on the town!

James and Sadie hated the attention - ha! They loved every second!

Our little family :)

James loooves the fan... especially when they are going 'round!

We went to an Irish festival at Fluor Field

James got some cool new shades :)

He loves climbing over everyone and everything

Sadie loves James' bedtime when she gets us all to herself :)

If you take your eyes off him for one second this is how you'll find him... Hopefully Grandmama doesn't find access to a computer... She might not be too thrilled seeing J on her wedding gift to us! Woops! :)

He loves books (and magazines)

We celebrated Jimmy's birthday on the 15th. We surprised Jimbo with some gifts class-ily wrapped in some Christmas paper :) nothing is too good for my jimbo :)

On St. Patty's day we ran in a local 5K and had a little Saint Patrick's Day fun at Fluor Field with friends and fam... You might be impressed to see Dad ran it... but a couple weeks ago he ran a 10K -- even though he had triple bypass surgery in late August. There is no slowing him down!

Jimbo ran with J in the jogging stroller and I got to run without the jogging stroller for once. It was a bit easier to run without pushing that heavy thing! :)

The Costigans ran!

Gracie (and Joy) did a fun little kiddie run. Look closely in the pic... Gracie is in pink pants inbetween the Drive and Ruth Chris' sign and Joy is a little ways behind :) in the yellow hat

We had fun watching G and Joy run!

Adeline was sporting the piggies - too cute!

The festivities wore James out - and he was conked out for the rest of the day while we busted our tails in the yard. It was quite the productive weekend!

That evening we continued Jimbo's bday celebrations with a little St. Patty's fun mixed in.

:) love this pic... my two favorite guys :)

We've been enjoying our wine we won... This bottle was a highly rated, but not too expensive wine. I would recommend it!

BFF 

On Sunday we had a little Howard family fun at Hunter and Joy's as we passed around sweet Baby Elizabeth... Adeline, Gracie and James also kept us all entertained :)

Ellie and I got to spend lots of time together :) she was pure sweetness! look at those lips, so cute!

We had continued yardwork until Sunday so of course I wasn't looking my finest - oh well! Glad I got a pic of me and Baby E

Gracie and Adeline kept James very entertained

Mom, Fran and I with the babies

Wild man on the go, go, go...

I tried getting a still shot. No luck :) We determined that Sunday J was channeling The Little Rascals :) (he is such a little rascal)

James eating some carrots, a new favorite!

In an effort to make our backyard more presentable... We've been working on it...

The plants are more for me - but hey, it makes the view prettier!

We are attempting grass (again) in the front and back. Notice that little trail... That is Sadie's trail. To the gate and back... Fingers crossed for some thick grass so wee man can run free! :)

 And the infamous monthly photo shoot:

Crazy boy = crazy hair & crazy photo shoot :)

Yep... in the mouth - everything... in the mouth

YEAHHH! :) my personal fave

Can not sit still...

Climbing on everything :)

Beautiful eyes that can melt your heart in seconds

His innocent face :)

James, mommy and daddy love you so very, very, very much. Keep growing and developing that fun spirit and personality. We know you are going to keep us on our toes, and help us learn to enjoy life even more than we already do. Love you big boy! :)