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. 

He does sit still!

James is all boy and all energy every waking moment of every day. He doesn’t sit. He doesn’t cuddle. Even when he’s sick, he won’t come sleep in our bed, because he wants to play/explore/move. all. the. time. This is the last time he slept in our bed. He was four months old after crying himself to sleep… too young to escape the boppy and the bed…

The next day, I switched his naps to the swing, where the motion soothed him. Best decision I ever made {at the time}.

So, here’s a milestone in our books:

JAMES WALLACE SAT STILL AT 13 MONTHS OLD for 20 minutes. I put his little chair in front of the TV while he watched Baby Einstein (he usually plays while watching). I gave him some lunch in a little cup and a sippy cup of milk (we’re off the bottles!). Occasionally, he’d hold his cup up and say “cracker?” and I’d give him some more. And that was it. He didn’t move for 20 solid minutes!

He can sit still after all!! (And he had a little sidekick.)

Just a boy

Just woke up from my nap.

Just chillin’.

Just makin’ sure Mom is watching me when I try to go up the stairs.

Just helpin’ Dad work on the house. 

Just readin’ some books.

Just posin’ for the ladies.

a perfect day

I don’t plan on doing the “month birthday” blogs now that the star of the show is one year old.  However, it just so happened that we had a great day on James’ 13 month birthday today!

Between being out of town and being busy, it seems like it’s been so long since we’ve had a simple family day.  We spent the morning in, while James toddled around playing with his toys.

After a poor night’s sleep, he fought the fussiness…

It can very frustrating when you can’t figure out how to get the little person in his car! 

But after a little TLC and a three hour nap, James was ready to continue the day!

We had an early dinner at Ruby Tuesdays (very random for us – haven’t been there since I was eight months pregnant and craving it – but that’s where we ended up).  And James loved it!  He shared my salad bar and turkey mini burgers.  He ate coleslaw, edamame and chick peas (dipped in ranch), turkey burger with ketchup, and biscuits.  And milk, of course.

(a happy face covered with ketchup)

And it’s this sweet little face where I so often see my baby brother, Hampton, in James. {My 27 year old baby brother.}

Coincidentally, our next stop was the park.  James’ second visit to the park.  His first time was exactly one month ago on his first birthday.  Taking James back to that very place made me realize just how fast they grow up.

One month ago, James had just started taking steps on his own, but was by no means walking.  Today, we held his hand walking through the pine straw and sticks and up the steps, but by the end he was wiggling his hand out of ours to do it all by himself.

We stuck to the swings again, but I don’t doubt it will be long before James is playing all over the park.

We headed home, played with Lynyrd, learned how to get the little person in his car, and had a great night.  I love my family.  And I cherish days like these.  Every step of the way.

Bye Daddy

The majority of my few faithful readers are probably getting sick of all the videos, but walking and talking are just so cute!  This one is for the grandparents, Aunt Andrea, and anyone else that loves my kid as much as I do.

This is a boy that loves his Daddy.