BELLY BUTTON FUN

For months Jay has been saying that James' belly button looks like an anchor. I agree, but I really think it looks more like my wedding ring. What do you think?

JAMES AND...

James met a LOT of people on his trip to California. Here is a summary of his introductions...

First stop on the trip was Uncle Davey and Auntie Taryn, and cousin Eli. Dave told us that James has the best smile he's ever seen, a grin that lights up his whole face. We can't agree more. Dave also thinks that James is as loud as his daddy. Again, I can't agree more! Here are Dave and I holding our nephews the night we met:

James thought his Auntie Taryn was a lot of fun. She spent a lot of time shaking rattles at him and dancing around, getting him to smile. But she was also a great place for a nap. Here they are together, James looking about as comfy as a boy can get:

We're not sure what Eli thought of James, but he did give him the once-over a few times while they were together. Whereas James tends to glance all around and try to take in everything at once, Eli is much more focused. We're not even sure if James recognized Eli as another human (i.e. someone he can be social with), or if he just thought he was a handsome doll, like that baby he keeps seeing in the mirror... Regardless, they were adorable together. Here is Eli checking out his cousin, while James is busy smiling for the camera (don't mind the blur, babies move fast and their eyes aren't flash-friendly):

James also got to meet his great-grandparents. Here he is playing with his Great Grandma:

And here is James with his Great Grandpa, just chillin' (a rare occurance):

We took a 4 generation photo - James with his Grambot, Mommy, and Great Grandma:

James met his Uncle Jamie (also his Godfather) on his graduation day. The look on Jamie's face was priceless, and the photo is irreplaceable. (side note: I lost my camera at the graduation, and even though Jay, Jamie, and Jean searched for an hour, it was nowhere to be found - turns out that someone from administration had found it shortly after I dropped it running down a hill, and when they looked through the photos, they saw the one that Jay had taken of Jamie's thesis defense announcement, and were able to Google his name and find his phone number, and it was happily returned - amazing, eh?) Jamie thought James was awesome! He loved holding him, feeling his bones and muscles move. He told us that James is very fluid. Here is Jamie in awe of his nephew:

Next up were Michelle and Nicole. James had no problem breaking out the smiles to wow the pretty girls that were holding him, but we didn't capture any on film. He looks content none-the-less though:

And while this wasn't an introduction, I have to share this photo of James with his Grandpa because it captures his voice, which is something my dad hadn't really been introduced to yet. You can almost hear James demanding something, can't you?

James was also introduced to live music on this trip. Here he is listening to his Uncle Davey play the guitar while his Auntie Taryn was singing. They learned a couple of Pearl Jam songs just for James. Well, more for me I suppose, but I fully intend to convince James that Pearl Jam is the greatest band ever. He looks fascinated with the show, don't you think? His Grandpa had a hard time holding onto him because he was straining so much to get a good view:

Maybe I should break out my old flute one of these days...

MASTER LINDSAY

James spent today in the big city. San Francisco, that is, for his Uncle Jamie's graduation from SFSU, with a Master's in Philosophy. James was very proud of his uncle for accomplishing such a feat, even though you can't tell from the photos (he slept through most of the pre-ceremony party, and all of the ceremony). It was awfully cold in the city that day. Here are a few photos from the big day: Willie Mays spoke at the graduation and received an honorary degree: Jamie is on the big screen!

That is one proud mama!

Congratulations Jamie! And good luck in New York!

THE ROCK

Growing up, I lived near the Bay Area for about 20 years. Jay and I have been visiting Jamie in San Fran for about 8 years. And yet, somehow, until this trip, I had neglected to take the time to visit The Rock. Jay had been once before, on the night tour, and we decided to take a break from parenthood for a few hours and go on an adventure together. Not only was it a good idea that we left James with his uncle and grandmas due to the weather (Alcatraz was COLD - the national park service uses the famous quote, usually attributed to Mark Twain: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco", to describe the island), but it was great for Jay and I to have some time alone. It felt like we were dating again, off exploring the hidden wonders of a national park. We lagged behind the tour guide, birdwatching, taking photos, smelling the flowers (San Francisco has AMAZING flowers), and just enjoying each other's company. We skipped the audio tour and just wandered the dark prison, reading the placards and whispering to each other. We loved that everyone else had on headphones for the audio tour though... with probably 300+ visitors in the prison, nobody but us said a single word! The best part (other than the birds, of course) was the old hospital wing. It's only open for a half hour on the night tours, the lights are kept low (lanterns mostly), and many of the rooms are closed because they are falling apart. Such a creepy feeling in that part of the prison, but so cool to experience. After we made the rounds, we ran downhill just in time to catch the earlier ferry back to the city. Like I said, it was COLD. And we missed our boy. Here are a few photos from our adventure at The Rock: Brandt's Cormorants and Agave dominate the eastern end of the island: D Wing, where the worst of the worst were kept. You can see "the hole" cells in the background:

NOT-SO-TWIN COUSINS

For all the similarities James and Eli had at birth, and all the exclamations from family at how alike they look in photos, we were surprised to learn just how different these cousins are. While they're still comparable in size, that is about where the similarities end... Their bodies just feel different in your arms. Eli has a strong spine and better head control (even though he is nearly 4 weeks younger than James). James is very bendy and has really strong legs. James is much more vocal (and we're not just talking about the babbling - if James wants something, he's not afraid to use his voice and let you know ALL about it), whereas Eli can get his way simply by smacking his lips and saying "ah-goo". James can smile so sweetly that he melts your heart. Eli can stare right into your soul and steal your heart (I had been hearing about this phenomenom from the time he came home from the hospital, but always thought Dave was exagerating - he wasn't - the first time I really got some face-time with Eli, the little sweetie had me in tears). Eli poops at least twice a day, whereas we're lucky if James goes twice a week. Eli talks the entire time he's eating, whereas James will often drift off to sleep or forget that he's suppose to be eating because he's found something interesting to look at. James is a Pisces and Eli is an Aries, but they seem to have their roles reversed for the moment... Eli is much more laid-back and easy-going, whereas James tends to be a bit bossy (his Daddy often calls him a dictator). But one thing about these cousins is the same. There is one thing we can all agree on. These boys are the spitting-images of their Daddies, and they really are the cutest babies ever (good thing Taryn and I married handsome guys)! I've been telling my friends that Eli is the cutest baby west of the Mississippi, and that James is obviously the cutest baby to the east. That seems fair, right?

So, enough with the comparisons and on with the photos. There are many. To be honest, I took probably 150 pictures of these boys over the 3 days they were together, so this is really just a small sampling of the best shots. I bet you can easily pick out who is who in each shot, so I'm not even going to tell you.

Here are James and Eli the first time we laid them on the floor together, to get a good look at their similarities/differences, and for them to get a good look at each other:

Here they are with their Daddies, for look-alike comparisons:

Watch the fist Eli!

Here they are being rocked in their Great Grandma and Grambot's arms:

Dave and Taryn are awesome parents. They make a really great team, and I was impressed with my brother in his new role as Daddy (it suits him really well). Here are the boys with Dave and Taryn:

And here they are with me and Jay. This photo was taken after Eli had me in tears:

Here are Taryn and I with the boys. We're both really enjoying being proud mommies and loving aunties, in case you can't tell from the photo.And here are the new little families posing for a group photo:

Here are the cousins in their matching outfits, courtesy of their Grambot. Don't worry, we made her promise that this is a one-time deal. We think it was smart to let her get it out of her system now, before the boys are old enough to fight back! Eli's outfit is size 0-3 and James' is size 3-6 (his torso is too long for 0-3 clothes already). They're both looking pretty pleased with themselves in these photos, don't you think?

Then James got a little wild and stuck his finger in Eli's eye:

So Eli retaliated by pushing him out of the way. And James looks sorry, doesn't he?

They even look different upside down:

Then, of course, we had to get a photo of the boys in their matching outfits with their Grambot, since it was all her idea. Could she possibly have a bigger smile on her face while trying to balance her 2 bundles of joy? We doubt it.

Here are Eli and James with their Grandpa (don't mind James, he was complaining about having to take that 150th photo). And doesn't Eli look a little smug? Everyone kept telling him what a good boy he was being (and he was, and always is, so he deserved the compliments):

And finally, here they are sleeping at the end of a very busy day:

We had a great time in California, meeting our sweet nephew and showing off our son. Thanks to everyone who was able to come by and share in our joy. We hope to see you all again, as well as everyone we missed this time around, next time we're out west. Until then, take care and don't forget to keep an eye on the LINDSAY BLOG for updates and photos as we move forward on this journey called parenthood. And for anyone who wants to see even MORE photos of the cousins together, just hop over to the Bacon's Blog and read their post Hello Cousin James.

TRAVELIN' MAN

James went on his first plane ride over Memorial Day weekend, all the way to California to meet the rest of his west coast family and friends, and to celebrate his Uncle Jamie's graduation from SFSU! He braved 2 stops, a plane change, and the possibility of other travelers having swine flu (don't worry, we kept him pretty much attached to us throughout the travels and didn't let any strangers kiss him). Not to mention MANY long car rides during the trip. Our little travelin' man did great! He slept through almost every take-off and landing, as well as through most of the flights. When he was awake, he was happy and curious (when he wasn't nursing). He especially liked the little reading lights above the seats, and he even seemed to do some people watching. Here is the little guy sleeping during his first take-off, after nursing on the runway: And here he is awake in LA, waiting to get back in the air. We weren't able to get James a Southwest souvenier, since they were all for kiddos 3+ years old, so this is his souvenier photo, with a Southwest Jet in the background:

Here he is kicking around the airport in Houston, waiting for our connection on the return flight. And no, we never changed him out of his pajamas (we started our travels at 3am that morning):

Finally, here's our happy traveler checking out the view (well, maybe not) from 30,000 feet on our final leg back to the Deep South:

Poor kid was just exhausted by the time we got home! But he was still happy, he didn't get sick, and his tired parents were super excited that all went so well. Hopefully James will always enjoy traveling as much as we do!