Week of Fun

Ryan's vacation is always taken in weekly increments so we were thrilled to have him home for the week. It was awesome getting to spend lots of quality time together, have spontaneous lunch dates, and do all sorts of fun activities.  I have to admit it was hard on all three of us when it was back to reality today.

Ryan was so sweet to play outside with JT lots so I could have a break...and I enjoyed every minute! :)

Bedtime stories

James has an obsession with trash cans right now.  Random.

Pretty rainbow

Ryan finally got to drop James off at "school" and meet his teachers

A little grocery shopping

Outing with daddy to Barnes and Noble

Frozen Frog! Twice in one week!!! For 60 cents he can get his own cone with a tiny bit of ice cream and will be content for at least 10 minutes...priceless!

Park adventure

Playing some tunes

I laugh every time I pick him up from church and he is in this little chair. He threw a HUGE fit because he missed the rest of his snack time. Such a little porker!

Love you dada! So glad to have you home for a whole week to play!

Two Great Babysitters!

I begged my mom to come visit us so that we could take our mini-vacation to New Orleans while she watched James.  She not only agreed, but she brought Margy along as well- 2 great babysitters! Margy is my "aunt" by love, not blood.

They flew in and we were able to hang out for a day before we left to get them situated with James and the town.  That night we went to Monjunis for dinner. James went crazy dipping the bread in the sauce.  Finally he ended up just dipping his fingers and licking them!

I thought this video my mom was pretty funny. Someone needs to teach this kid about double dipping!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUhmougtmSA

While we were gone my mom and Margy did all sorts of fun things with James such as:

Playing outside

Swinging at the park

Playing ball

Eating ice cream

Love this sweet face

And this one

Oh and this one too! :)

When we got back from NOLA I had to give James his souvenirs. We got him the book Goodnight NOLA and a hat from Cafe Du Monde.

We were so sad to see them go.  JT even cried the next morning looking for them!  Thanks mom and Margy for taking such good care of James and for being willing to help us out.

Helping Granny Deb with her suitcase. How funny are JT's cow pjs?

NOLA

Going to New Orleans has been our our bucket list since we moved here, but life just kept getting in the way.  We finally got to make the trek down south, and it was also the first time that I had been away from James overnight or that Ryan and I had been away together.  I have to admit it was pretty nice to get to sleep till 8:30 in the morning, (something I haven't done in almost 18 months) but I sure did miss my little man! I was so glad to see him when we got back!!! 

We were fortunate to get the inside scoop from several people about what to do, see, and eat so we packed in as much as we could over the course of our short trip. 

Getting ready to leave

Mom and Margy came to babysit James

 The trip down went really fast.  I think it was because we could jump in and out of the car without worrying about putting anyone in a car seat or having to plan our stops around nap times, etc. Ryan knew all the towns we drove by because he had seen so many patients from south Louisiana. We price-lined a hotel (one of my favorite ways to save $$$)  and ended up at the Westin in the French Quarter which was great because we could walk everywhere. 

Here are just a few of our fun memories from our short trip to NOLA: 

Having a little fun on Burbon street

Trying out the famous beignets at Cafe du Monde

Sunday brunch with live jazz

Taking a little walk past the Mississippi

Carriage tour of the city

The oldest bar in America

Taking a stroll around Jackson Square

We went through the cathedral. (not sure what I'm doing in this pic)

The weather was beautiful! Perfect for walking and exploring

We definitely ate an embarrassing amount of food

I can honestly say New Orleans is one of the most unique cities I have ever been to, and we will definitely be going back.  I already have the next trip all planned out! Thanks again to my mom and Margy for taking such good care of James while we were gone. We didn't have to worry knowing that he was in such great hands. :)

17 Months

Stats: 24 month to 2T clothing, size 6 shoe, not sure exact weight and height but boy he feels heavy to his parents!

Likes: reading books, walking around town while holding onto mom and dad's hands, the moon, balls, going to play-dates at Chick-fil-a, climbing onto things/furniture, sitting in mom and dad's lap, Sunday school

Dislikes: eating green vegetables, getting dressed, being told what to do, having teeth brushed

Some new words: people, choo choo (train), tato (potato), peas, Nana (grandma), and "nana" (banana), Meme (my new name instead of Mama) and my personal favorite: Jesus!  We have a little nativity in James's room that we talked about all through the holiday and now he talks about Jesus whenever he sees it. So sweet to hear!

James, I feel like you have definitely made the switch from baby to toddler.  Your strong-will and stubborn side is beginning to show itself more and more.  You are pretty adamant about how you want things done, and you get very frustrated when we don't understand you.  This past month you have learned how to use a spoon and now you only want to eat things if you can spoon it.  I learned the hard way that maybe some things are better introduced later in life... :) You LOVE to read books while sitting in our laps.  You read your favorites over and over, and I confess that your dad and I have done the unthinkable and hidden certain books on purpose.  You love to do the motions to the song "If Your Happy and You Know It", and you continue to love to dance.  Your teachers at Mother's Day Out always compliment you on how well you behave.  Unfortunately you did get your first school injury- a big bite on the side of your face! I'm sure it won't be the last.  You have gotten 3 more teeth in the past month.  I think you only have your final set of molars left to come in.  We have made the switch to one nap a day. Unfortunately you missed the memo that you are supposed to take one nice long nap.  Instead some days, like today, you sleep for 30 minutes and that is all.  You continue to make your dad and I laugh every day, and its hard to take things too seriously when you are around.  We both love you so much!

Loving on Dada

You love your puppy.  You insisted that he join you for breakfast this morning.

Love bath time!

I did something awful and turned on the Wiggles today after the 30 min nap. I was desperate!!!

Reading a favorite story in the car. :)

Halfway There

I just have to document that we have officially made it past the half-way point. Hurray!!!! 2 1/2 years down and 2 1/2 years to go.  I have to confess that I have been slightly jealous of Ryan's friends who did three year residencies and who now already have a job lined up! 

I don't have any  pictures that pertains to this post so I figured I would just include this one from when we were packing up the Christmas decorations.  I mean is this the cutest little tush ever or what???