All in my own time.

First Little Rock Cousins Conference

James, Sean and Darcy took a break from playing to snack at The Wonder Place. Baby Rani sat this one out.

O Christmas Tree

Sushi

We had dinner with Eve and Colin tonight.

James helped himself to the sushi and kept right on eating! Pretty adventurous for him:)

Hanging out on the other side of the table.

Mutual affection:)

Prospect Terrace Park

James had a blast in the swing with Aimee pushing him this afternoon! Much more enjoyable than a haircut it seems:)

Pigtails and Crewcuts!

I was very proud of James at his haircut today. He sat by himself in the airplane (instead of on my lap) and didn't cry the whole time! No smiles, but I consider no tears to be a resounding success!

Spinning the steering wheel.

What is she doing back there?? I don't think I like it...

Gotta love The Wonder Place

Lego wall!

Costume Corner. I think James's expression is funny here. He was pooped out by this point!

Caught on tape!

Stolen pictures

I've been forgetting my camera lately, so don't have many new pics of James. Solution? Steal pictures my friends! Here's a great picture that Lee-Ann took a couple of weeks ago.

Tower

James is into stacking things and he built this tower all by himself! We were pretty impressed. Note the standing on his own too:)

Nose!

Aimee took this picture of Kate pointing at James's nose. I just like it.

Back to The Wonder Place

We returned to The Wonder Place on another cold gray day. Big thanks to Nicole and Abbey for the gift certificate for J's Bday:)

J at the water table.

James used to be afraid of actually going through tunnels, he just liked to look through, but now he bravely crawls right in!

Fancy Nancy

John was a good sport and took James to Abigail's Fancy Nancy Birthday party yesterday! I shamelessly stole these pictures from Lee-Ann's blog since we didn't have any of J smiling.

Here the kiddos are listening to Ariel read the Fancy Nancy book.

James looked awfully cute in his button-down, but Declan showed him up in a sportscoat and tie!!

Tub time

James still loves the water, and now that he's spending so much time on his feet, he likes to stand in the bath too, which is somewhat nerve-wracking!

He also loves turning on the water himself. Luckily, he tends to veer towards the cold, but he keeps mom and dad on their toes! Despite the slowly growing belly, James is still only in the 18th% for weight. He's 69th for height, and of course 95th for head circumference!

Christmas Drawing

The Adams family did a drawing last year to determine Christmas gifts, and it worked so well, we decided to do it again this year. James did the honors of drawing names out of a hat.

Sorry Dev--no gift for you this year!

Despite some hiccups, the task was completed and the results mailed out. Now the shopping can begin!

Long week

James has had a cold and bad cough all week, so we've been staying in a lot. At some points during the day, he's totally fine, but then goes downhill again. We had a brief respite from the moaning/whining this morning at the bookstore.

I realize the exposure on this picture is terrible, but I like it anyway! We were playing 'over/under' at the train table, responsibly spreading our germs far and wide.

Trick or Treat!

We took James trick or treating with Declan tonight. We made it to two houses, one of which actually opened the door! Great excitement. James felt the animal costume and picture-taking were a bit excessive, but endured it with his usual stoicism.

At Declan's neighbors' seasonal display.

Getting ready to trick or treat with Daddy.

What have my parents done to me now?!

Wonderful Eve

Anyone who knows Eve knows she is a kind and wonderful person, but she is also a fantastic gift-giver! Not only is she thoughtful and creative, but she puts so much effort into her gifts. Here is the rocking chair she painted for James's second Birthday.

He loves it! As evidenced by sitting Chris in it immediately.

Rocking Chris.

By the way, this is Eve's gift to James for his first Birthday last year. She painted it herself, and yes, that's the New York skyline for 'N!'

Radio Flyer X 2, Halloween party

Testing out the new trike from Gigi! James is still learning what to do with his feet, but he figured out the little bell right away!

The love affair with the wagon continues.

James and Declan were equally thrilled to be posing for the camera in their costumes.

Trying out a new hairdo.

Just my size!

James and Chris try out their new table and chairs, a bday present from Mom, Dad, Abi and Grandpa Al!

Halloween preview

We attend our first Halloween party of the season tomorrow night and James decided to try on his costume in advance! [It's a monkey in case the banana doesn't give it away].

Park pics

Sorry I've been such a blog delinquent! It's not for lack of activity. James started saying 'mama,' has been signing 'more' and is taking 3-4 steps at a time unassisted (when he feels like it!). Here are some pictures from a trip to the park this afternoon.

Down the slide with Abi supervising.

I'm as tall as Daddy!

In the big swing with Daddy:)

Having a blast with Grandpa Al!

A beanbag built for two

'That is so funny!'

Help me up here, Abbey.

Smooth moves:)

Rock Creek

We went to the indoor playground at Rock Creek Church this afternoon. It's a padded kiddo wonderland!

'Who's going to watch me climb?'

Trying to climb UP the slide--a favorite playground activity.

Beads-another general favorite.

Kissing the fish!

Zoo

John and I took J to the Zoo today with Grandpa Al, Jeff, Karen and Ben. It was only 50 degrees and very overcast, but we all had a good time.

My legs look strangely short in this picture, but I'm having fun!

Come on guys-let's GO!

Whoa, what are those?!

Rain and The Wonder Place

We've had another day of torrential rain here and Lee-Ann had the great idea of going to The Wonder Place-an indoor play place for kids. James had a great time. [Unfortunately, a lot of these pictures turned out very grainy].

Playing in the playhouse with Gigi.

Grocery Shopping.

Checking out at the register.

Testing the laws of gravity.