Play Play Play

James is walking more and more all by his little self.  He has all of sudden discovered that playing outside is much more fun than being held outside.  Who knew?

And playing with friends outside is even better!

It’s just hard to get to them when you’re carrying a ball that’s as big as you are.

He plays with cousins, and he plays with friends.  Kids are absolutely fascinating to James, and I have literally asked my cousin, Laurie, if I could borrow her kids for an afternoon to entertain him.

After the Strawberry Farm on Monday, we went over to Callie’s house to play outside.

The only thing more fascinating than children are dogs.  James followed “Doc” around saying, “mmfff, mmfff,”  {ruff, ruff}.

And Callie shared her swing set and sand box.  Sharing is something to be proud of for a two year old.

Eating sand has also been a new hobby.

You know you’ve had a good day when you need a bath before your nap at 1:00.

It’s days like this that call for an ice cold beverage.

The Strawberry Farm

This morning we went to The Cottle Strawberry Farm with Erin, Callie, and Chloe to pick fresh strawberries! It’s only in business a few months a year, and I am so excited about doing fun things like this with my little toddler!

It really has just been in the last couple of days that James is getting comfortable walking outside by himself. Even learning to walk in shoes has been a transition! And I don’t blame him for being cautious; the boy falls every 30 seconds.

When we got there, I was thinking James might whine to be held the entire time, but he actually did great! We stuck together in the beginning until he got a feel for things.

The bucket seemed to hold most of the entertainment, though.

(I was standing there talking and looked down to see James had the bucket stuck on his head. Luckily there weren’t strawberries in it yet.)

Meanwhile, Callie went to the Strawberry Farm for one reason, and that was to leave with as many strawberries as possible. This girl was on a mission.

After a while, James no longer needed me. He had his strawberries, his bucket, and his friends.

It was funny to see James try to pick up the bucket of strawberries. It was so hard for him to do, but he was very determined to do it. It’s a reminder of how little these kids actually are.

He finally got it off the ground though, and might be sore for a few days. (I LOVE this picture.)

Erin, Callie, and Chloe, thanks for going to The Strawberry Farm with us. We had a great time and look forward to many more summer outings!

Easter Sunday

We started our Easter morning with a full basket from the Easter Bunny!

It was filled with spring clothes, books, a new kind of sippy cup, movies, eggs filled with goodies, jammies, a phone, and James’ first chocolate Easter bunny! 

All James really cared about were the books.

We read for a bit then, dug in for the goodies.  And then, we got really excited. :)

Before we knew it, it was time to get ready for church!  I’ve kind of given up on getting a church picture of Justin and James, but I did try to snap one of James beforehand.  It sure is hard now that he’s moving! 

This is the best I could get (in the corner, with a paci and a book).

After a beautiful church service, we went over to Nanny Sasa’s for an Easter Egg Hunt and Easter Dinner.

It was naptime, and James wanted nothing to do with anything, but his Nanny.

But once he learned the eggs were filled with goodies, he suddenly got his second wind!

It is so clear when he is in a familiar place.  He was running through the house like he owns it.  I could hardly keep up!

And cousins Harper and James did what all kids do on Easter: They played and ate chocolate and fought over toys.

(What a bully)

I love that they live so close and are growing up together.  Harper jumped up and down when we pulled into the driveway, “Baby James is here!  Baby James is here!”

And here are two of my favorite pictures of this Easter.  This is right before we ate.  I love pictures like these that capture the true moment.  I see a busy kitchen with two tired kids and three generations.  I see Nanny’s homemade macaroni and cheese that didn’t make it to the table.  And I can see why.  I see my pregnant sister with my niece to be.  I see my son growing up in the house my husband grew up in.  I see love and I see care.  And I love it all.

Happy Easter everyone!  I hope you have had a wonderful day!

Mickey, James & the rice

The Helfers went to an early Mexican dinner tonight.  James was extra fussy so, I ordered him rice with his usual quesadilla.  He’s had rice before, but not often and it’s been a while.  As soon as I put the rice down, he put his face to the table to eat it.  So random… I’ll have to get with Grammy and Papa about this one since, James’ last Mexican rendezvous was with them…

I love how he says “hi” when he sees I’m holding a phone.

Sorry about the long milk break… out of my control…

The Last Bottle

After looking through my recent pictures, I realized I have a picture of James taking his last bottle before the official switch to sippy cups. 

Sweet baby.  But what a big boy sitting there in his big boy chair with his last EVER bottle in his hands.  And this is why smooth transitions work best for my son.  He hasn’t even noticed the bottle is gone.  God love their simple little minds.