A Quick Visit/ Maternity Shoot

One day I got a text from my friend Sara that told me that she was coming for a photography workshop in Dallas and had found a really cheap deal flying into Shreveport of all places (definitely doesn't happen often).  The deal was so good that she could just rent a car to drive to Dallas for the workshop and could visit with me for a long weekend. I was so excited to see her! 

The first day she was here I seriously think I ate more than I ever have in one day.  Whenever Sara comes we always try to pack in as many different local places to eat and we did a good job on this trip with that, lol. We went out to lunch that day and then decided to get dessert using a coupon I had gotten for Aly B's Bakery.  Very yummy!

 That night Ryan graciously watched James so that we could go to dinner just the two of us and actually sit and relax.  

And of course we had to get some dessert after! :) 

Sara was gone all of Saturday but we still had Sunday to hang out and visit.  That day she also did some photos for us.  After church we were at lunch and I could not believe that this child fell asleep in my lap.  Do you know how many times he has slept through a meal? Exactly three times: once as an infant at Trejos, once in the Atlanta airport food court, and now here. Of course this little 15 minute nap meant he refused to take a nap when we got home which made for an interesting photo session later that day. 

I wish I could say he stayed asleep when Ryan put him in the car but no luck

I could never pick which of the pictures that Sara took that were my favorite but here are just a few. I love how she captures our family and the moments that make up our lives! 

snack time 

One day it won't be cool to hold Mommy's hand anymore...

Just waking up from a nap 

 I'm sure many moms can relate to those first few minutes after a nap where your child is still a little sleepy and actually will cuddle with you.  Those moments don't happen often so they are even more precious when you get to experience them.  So often when James snuggles with me I get teary eyed, realizing that my time holding my little man is limited. Before I know it he will be all grown up and these sweet moments will be a thing of the past. So thankful Sara captured the memory for me! 

Every day James asks if he can "watch a train with Dada" a.k.a. see a train video on the computer

Love my sweet friend 

Cuddle time with Pup pup 

 That Sunday afternoon we managed to squeeze in a family/maternity/James at 2 1/2 years photo shoot. 

I love these next three- classic boy moments. Anytime he sees a stick he just has to pick it up! 

Getting baby brother in on the stick action, haha! 

One of the things I love most about Ryan- all the laughter we share together.
Life is better when you can find the humor in it. :) 

Thank you Sara for coming to visit! We love you!

James at 2 1/2 years

I am soooo behind in my blogging. I finally decided I would just have to speed blog to catch up and not worry too much about making it great.  Since this post is late I have to confess that some of these things may have happened in the past two months. I guess we can call this "James between 30-32 months"

James, we haven't been to the doctor since you turned two but we think you around 36-37 inches tall and weight about 34 pounds.  You wear mostly 3T clothing and are in a size 8 shoe.  You have started talking SO much and say some pretty funny things.  One of the biggest changes in the past couple of months is that you moved into a big boy bed.  As your parents we knew it was going to be a painful transition and we were right! But we are surviving and are hoping by the time your baby brother comes in a couple weeks you will not be having problems. You have made some progress due to M&M bribery and the "bunny alarm clock" which has helped keep you in bed for certain hours. Some of your favorite things right now are singing songs, riding your tricycle, helping me in the kitchen, reading books, and playing with your daddy.  Favorite foods include smoothies, any kind of muffins, and of course you still love ice cream.  You are definitely in the stage where you want everything to be the same for days at a time and then you switch and want nothing to do with it.  This is true for what you eat, what you want to read, what we sing, etc.  You are a predictable machine and you sure like your routine.  Your teachers at school always say how sweet and well behaved you are, and we really hope it stays that way. Lately you love to talk about letters and numbers.  You know all of your letters and letter sounds and love to help me figure out what letter words begin with or how to spell things.  You can spell your name, Ryan, Emily, stop, and go and are now working on spelling the other family member names.  You can count to 20 and can identify those numbers.  You are stubborn, hilarious, strong-willed, and one of the greatest joys in our life.  Your daddy and I love you so much!

Here are a few of the funny and sweet things you have said over the past few months.

"I love you Mommy.  I need a kiss and a hug."  - no better feeling in the world that when your kid says this!

"Yes Mommy yes sir" - guess we need to work on the yes mam concept

"I not going to share my trains with baby brother" - oh goodness... a sign of things to come

"No please" - instead of no thank you

Mommy- "James how do we need to act?" James- "Be kind, don't hit, don't bite, share toys" - well that sums it up pretty well

After reading our bible story one night that emphasized sharing I asked James if he would share his food with Jesus. "No Mommy. Jesus eats baby food." - maybe we talked a little too much about baby Jesus at Christmas time!

Mommy- "Would you like an orange?" James- "No please. I like ice cream and chips."

"I need my Nene!!!" - don't we all? :)

"Mommy, I just need one chip out of that bag!"

"Stop eating guys. Come play with me." - we hear this a lot at dinner time

"Dear Jesus,  Please bless Mommy, Daddy, Nene, Pappy, Nana, Pop and all the cars in the parking lot and all the stop signs."

"Turn the rain off Mommy! I want to ride my bike!"

"I've got burps in my mouth" - he had the hiccups

One of my favorite conversations to date was a few weeks before Easter.  I sent my friend an email talking about it and wanted to post it here so it would be in the blog book to remember.

So today in the car when we were pulling into the driveway James started saying, "Mommy, what's that? I see something."

Me- "What do you see James?"

James- "I see Jesus!"  

Long story short some people down the street had put out Easter decorations, bunnies, eggs, and a cross.  We walked down there and when he saw the cross he kept asking where Jesus was. So I tried to have a little theological conversation with my 2 year old but I'm not sure he really got much about it.  He kept saying the cross was empty and I told him yes, the cross where Jesus died and the tomb became empty. We celebrate Easter because Jesus is alive, etc. etc. I reminded him that Jesus lives in our hearts. 

That night when it was time for bed he started talking about the cross and how it was empty.  He was going on and on about it to me and Ryan.  So then Ryan said, "James, where does Jesus live?" and James replied, "In my tummy, in my heart."  

I guess he got a little confused with baby brother living in Mommy's tummy but Jesus living in our hearts, lol.   Love that sweet little boy! 

( I have no idea why I can't figure out how to fix the text on this part of the blog) 

A few pictures from the month: 

Sweet little Sunday school class 

Hanging out in the big boy bed 

Using our free valentine coupons 

Yum!

One morning while Ryan was at work and I was in the shower I came out to discover this... James was adamant that I not put the "grass" (spinach) back in the refrigerator :) 

I didn't do much for the big boy room. Knowing that we are moving in a year just convinced me to keep it simple and not invest a lot of time or money. James's Nana sent him a new bedspread, we bought the cheapest bed possible from Amazon, and only used a bed frame.  I have done a little more to it since I took these pictures but I will have to post those on a different day. These were taken the day that we literally threw the bed together and put him in it. Sorry James! Maybe you will get a picture-perfect room at the next house. 

Helping Mommy 

Loves that Daddy 

Flying his new kite from Nana 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our valentine's day started off the Friday before when our church hosted a mystery date night for couples with young children.  They did a lot to try to make it special for us.  The church provided free childcare, dinner for the kids, a gift card to the restaurant to help pay for our dinner, and so much more.  

After we dropped James off we got a bag with a clue inside that led us to the restaurant. Ryan and I had never eaten there before, so we were excited to try somewhere new. 

My sweetie 

We had a great time at dinner and then after we all headed back to the church where they had dessert waiting for us, roses for the women, and chocolate for the men.  They even had taken our pictures at dinner, printed them, and had them ready for us when we got to dessert.  I'm so thankful for all the church did to give us a special night together! 

When we picked up James we noticed he was acting a little funny but we both thought that he was just really tired.  On our road, not 2 minutes from our house, he suddenly started throwing up.  Let me restate that- he started MASSIVELY throwing up. I didn't know a kid could get that sick.  If you are a parent you know that the absolute worst place for a kid to throw up is in their car seat.  That smell never leaves... anyway long story short he ended up being sick all night long and it ended our date night on a little of a sour note.  

After the crib got destroyed via throw up James ended up sleeping with me on the twin bed. Not exactly how I pictured his first night in a big boy bed! 

 Thankfully James woke up feeling much better and we got to celebrate Valentines the rest of the week as well. 

James' Nana sent us some fun cupcake supplies in a box 

They tasted REALLY yummy 

 On the actual Valentine's Day I got a text from Ryan in the afternoon saying it didn't look too good for him getting home at a decent hour because he was heading into a long surgery.  James and I decided to have a Valentine's date at Chick-fil-a which he was pretty thrilled about. 

My little valentine 

Finally (we like to stretch things out in this family, can you tell?) that Saturday my parents sent us a Valentine gift to go out to dinner so we got to celebrate with a special night together.  I don't know if I have ever seen a kid eat as much steak as James did that night.  The kid can eat!

Thanks Nene and Pappy for our Valentine dinner! 

I have to admit even though Valentine's is somewhat of a commercial holiday I do love getting to celebrate those I love the most.  Happy Valentine's Day!