PAST THE POINT OF NO BJORN

It's no secret that we're babywearers. When James was born, we purchased/received as gifts a mei tei, a Hotsling, and a Baby Bjorn.

I'll admit that I never really liked the mei tei. I thought I would. Babwearer experts everywhere will tell you that it is the best type of carrier both for baby and parent. They "cup" the baby's bum with a wider band of material so that circulation is maintained in the legs, and they provide better spine positioning. Because they tie around the waist AND have shoulder straps, they are easier on the parent's back. There are LOTS of varieties of mei tei-style carriers, but one of their common features is the one I liked least - they have long tie-style straps. No buckles or snaps, just material. Personally, it just wasn't for me. I don't like a lot of material hanging around. And Jay never liked this carrier either (also because of all the dangly material). Unfortunately, we used it so few times we don't even have a picture of James in it...

I used the Hotsling a lot when James was newborn, but stopped using it when he got too big to fit comfortably inside (and safely in the cradle-carry position). It's a pocket sling and the material is non-stretch (and thick), so it doesn't fit Jay at all (his shoulders are much broader than mine) and it was too hot for the summer months anyway. I set it aside, then brought it back out when James was big enough and strong enough to be hip-carried:

In the meantime, we got a Baby Bjorn, even though babywearers tend to give them bad reviews (due to poor positioning and circulation). However, we never planned to keep James in it for extended periods of time anyway, so we decided to try it out. We LOVED it! We bought the mesh/sport version (to combat the Mississippi heat) and we found it to be very comfortable until James was about 9-months-old. We'd carry him around the grocery store, on family outings, and for walks in the neighborhood. He could face us and avoid the touchy-grabby folks, or face out and observe his environment. Only if he'd been in it an hour or more did we ever notice circulation issues (cold toes), at which point we'd just take him out and hold him in our arms for a while. The Bjorn is rated up to 25 lbs, but we quit using it when James was around 20 lbs because it put too much pressure on our shoulders (there is no waist belt on the Bjorn). Here is the little guy at 2-months when we first started using it:

After that, we either just held James (and you really notice every half pound they gain when you're simply carrying them in your arms all the time) or used the umbrella stroller (which we also really love, just not for every outing). We missed wearing James though, so I started doing some research, and talking to my babywearing friends Christina and Mary Beth... Turns out a ring-sling is the way to go, so I ordered one from Sleeping Baby Productions and both James and I love it. Even Jay uses it (though he doesn't love it - I guess slings are just more of a mom thing). The only problem with a sling is that it doesn't truly leave you "hands free", even with a perfect fit (and the ring slings are adjustable, so it's easy for both Mommy and Daddy to get a perfect fit from the same sling). After jumping into the babywearer's group on BabyCenter.com, I learned about a few other options, approved by the babywearing experts themselves. Soft-sided carriers similar to mei teis, but with BUCKLES! They can be worn on the front or back (though please note that these are not for forward-facing babies - they have to face into your body whether on your tummy or back). There are lots of varieties and brands (Beco, Oh Snap, Ergo, Boba) and each have their selling points. I picked the Beco Butterfly II because 1) it is slightly slimmer (giving more breathability on the sides for the Mississippi heat), 2) it is taller/longer (giving more support to the toddler), 3) they had organic (you know my love of all things organic for babies), and 4) the straps are padded, but less bulky (so it feels cooler on the parent, is lighter-weight, and be folded into diaper bags easier). We tried it out last night, backpack-style, for 45 minutes and James loved every second. It fits Jay just as well as it fits me (it's very adjustable) and we both found it to be really comfortable and convenient. I had BOTH hands completely free for making dinner, folding laundry, and opening the mail (and James couldn't reach around to snatch envelopes out of my hand). I think James spent even more time than usual talking while I was wearing him (not sure his mouth ever stopped moving during that 45 minutes), and he especially enjoyed playing with my hair. He'd use both arms to "hug" me, tuck them both in and lay his head down, or tuck one in to suck his thumb while using the other to play with my hair or steal magnets off the fridge when I stood too close to it. It was great. This is definitely a keeper and something we'll use often over the next few years (they're rated to 45 lbs, and although that sounds heavy, that's still lighter than the backpacks we carried on the PCT by 15-20 lbs)! Here are Jay and I modeling the front and back carries tonight (James was waving at his Daddy in my photo):

STEPPIN' OUT

James is up to 4-5 steps at a time:

He did it a few times tonight between the couch and Jay (with the remote control as bait), but this video is extra fun because we weren't expecting him to just turn around from playing with his wooden activity block and head over to Jay with no bait.

In other news, James got his 10th tooth today. That 4th bottom incisor was in full view this morning and seemed to double in length throughout the day. If only the molars were moving as fast... The top 2 are about halfway through now, but the bottom 2 are still barely showing themselves. We bet we have at least another week or two of Motrin cocktails at bedtime...

NEW OVERNIGHT DIAPERS

I'm sure many of you remember my wordy blog post about cloth diapers. Well, we've had a change of heart about our overnight diapers recently. For the past couple of months, actually. Ever since James started wearing 2-piece pajama sets (rather than the sleepers), we've been having a problem with leaking. We thought maybe the diapers just needed to be "stripped" (that is, removed of detergent build-up), but that didn't take care of the problem. We thought maybe the fit wasn't right, but multiple adjustments haven't stopped the leaking either. Then I decided to do some more reading up on diapers (yes, there's always more to learn) and found out that the construction of the diaper itself could be the problem. It seems that 2-piece pajamas tend to fold in (under those big baby bellies), causing the top seam to come into contact with the inside of the diaper. Since our chosen overnight diapers (the Fuzzi Bunz) are fully lined with microfleece (a wonderful wicking fabric), James' pajama bottoms were resting right against it all night, eventually leading to urine leaking out onto the pajamas. Boo. So, I talked with my favorite diaper retailer and got a few suggestions. One was to layer a onesie under the pajama bottoms to prevent the folding in. That did NOT work for us - James just ended up soaked from armpit to ankle (it was terrible, really, so we only gave that one shot). Another idea is to layer a diaper cover OVER the diaper. I was against this (unless the 3rd option didn't work) mainly because I didn't want to add another waterproof (and thus, not very breathable) layer over James' sensitive bum for 11 hours/night. Her 3rd suggestion ended up being the golden ticket though. Something new to try (new to us, anyway). Like the Fuzzi Bunz we've been using for almost 9 months, they're not organic (there actually aren't that many varieties of organic AIO or pocket diapers out there), but they are BumGenius, the brand we love. They're the BumGenius 3.0, to be exact: They come with a specially designed front that prevents the wicking of liquid to clothes. Other than that, they're you're standard pocket diaper, only they come with an extra insert (perfect for overnight use). Although they also work well with the Superdo inserts we were using with the Fuzzi Bunz. Oh, and these are One-Size pocket diapers, so they'll fit James through potty training (whereas the Fuzzi Bunz size mediums he was in may not have lasted that long, since they only go to 30 lbs as opposed to the 35 lbs rating of the BG 3.0). Instead of snaps (which we normally prefer), they have applix/velcro. I thought I wouldn't like them, but it turns out that we are able to get an even better custom fit with them, which probably also helps with the leaking. We bought just one to try out and were extremely impressed, so then we bought a 3-pack. These easily last us between laundry days (we don't have to wash diapers every day, except for the weekends when we use them exclusively). And we managed to snag the last of the Moonbeams (one of our favorite boy colors):

TOYBOX SHENANIGANS

I haven't mentioned it yet, but Jay started work on James' new room last weekend (spackling, sanding and ceiling painting so far). This means that the furniture in there has all been pushed to the center of the room, and the guest bed has been relocated to the computer room (mattress on the floor, box-spring into the closet). James has found the mattress to be the best toy EVER. He climbs up and over and down so many times a day he wears us out just watching him. Problem is, it takes up a LOT of floor space (it's queen-size), so his giant toybox (which also takes up quite a bit of space) tends to get pushed around the room as we need space to do other things. Last night it ended up against the mattress, and James took the opportunity to use the height of the mattress to get himself into (and out of) the toybox. And we let him play (and learn), since the toybox currently houses only stuffed animals and balls (nothing he can hurt himself with):

We did have to teach him not to try and get out on the other side (where the drop to the floor is farther), but other than that this whole adventure was his doing. Cool, eh?

75% COOKED

We're at 30 weeks and 5 days today, and I had my quickest appointment yet:

Weight - good

Blood pressure - excellent

Cora's heartrate - loud and clear in the upper 140s

And no issues to report (i.e. no contractions - well, other than the start of Braxton Hicks)

See ya in 2 weeks for the growth ultrasound...

Gotta love quick doctor visits, especially when you have to go work a full day afterwards. Quick appointments allow for stops at Starbucks for decaf mochas and pastries. What? My weight gain was GOOD, remember? I deserve a little indulgence. Besides, in the past week my appetite has dropped significantly (I guess Miss Cora is already taking over and reducing stomach space), so I eat what I can fit, when I can tolerate it. The past week has also shown a dramatic change from "2nd trimester bliss" to 3rd trimester survival mode. I am now sore every day. Back, legs, hips, feet - you name it. Sciatica is an unending battle. Nothing I do (or don't do) helps, so I just pause and breathe through it, then go about my day. Sleep is uncomfortable, inconsistent, and interrupted by increased bathroom breaks. And thus I'm always tired. I run out of breath carrying James upstairs, so I usually shuffle behind him as he crawls up. In fact, he's getting so heavy that I've resorted to wearing him in the sling around the house, just to give my arms a break. I can't wait for the Beco baby carrier I ordered to arrive (due any day now). Then I can wear James like a backpack and actually have my hands free to make dinner and fold laundry (because as independent as our boy is, his teething and separation anxiety are still making him extra clingy with us, and it's easier to just hold him than to have to stop what I'm doing every 2 minutes to pick him up - which is not helping the sciatica or back pain). Heartburn is my daily nemesis, though Zantac and TUMS do help when I remember to take them. I can no longer keep hold of my toes long enough for self-pedicures, due to the ever-expanding belly (I swear I lasted longer last time around), and Jay has already had to start assisting me with my shoes on days that I don't wear flip-flops (I guess that's ONE bonus of being largely pregnant in the Mississippi summer... flip-flops are perfectly acceptable, even at work and church). And I can no longer lay James down to sleep in his crib at night delicately. And that's rough. It had only been 4 days since I had given the bedtime bottle (yes, he's still drinking 3 bottles/day - the sippy cup transition is not going well), where Jay had released me to relax (i.e. nap) while he did bedtime duty, but upon my return the other night I found that I could no longer reach the bottom of the crib due to my belly. I had James inches from the mattress, sound asleep and cradled in my arms, and I just couldn't lay him down delicately! Rather than call for Jay and risk waking James, I let go of his legs first, sort-of "sat" him down, then used both hands to guide his head down as slowly and gently as I could. I succeeded, but I won't be attempting it again. Good thing James stands up for me in the morning when he's ready to get out of his crib, so I don't have to bend over. And good thing he's moving to a regular bed soon. Of course, then I'll have to figure out how to roll my pregnant belly down off his mattress, 6 inches to the floor, and get myself up to standing without grunting and waking him... Ah, the joys of pregnancy!

ANYWAY, here's the giant belly at 30 weeks (taken last Friday):

And Miss Cora, regardless of my "belly aching", please know that I am still LOVING growing you and feeling your movements and discovering little glimpses into your personality (you shook my belly so hard last night your Daddy did a double-take - seriously, it looked like you were dancing). I'm in no hurry whatsoever for you to make your appearance and would prefer you be fully cooked when you do so. You've got almost 9 more weeks to go to reach that status Baby Girl, so just keep doing your thing and I'll keep doing mine. I love you!

Also, before I end this post, I must show off the beautiful quilt that your Grambot's coworker Becky made for you:

It's handmade items like this that end up being treasured forever. Thank you Becky! Cora also has a cute bib from Amy (which I need to get a photo of), not to mention all those bows. And James has LOTS of nice afghans and blankets and bibs, and even a cool teddy/monkey that I've been meaning to show you all...

2-STEPPER

That's right folks, James took his first 2 steps tonight!

When we picked him up at daycare this afternoon he was pinned in the corner, standing between two cribs, by the little girl in his class. Not sure what they were up to... hmmm... but when he saw us, he plowed his way out and just stood there. I kneeled down in front of him and held my arms out, and he took one unassisted step toward me (and then promptly crashed into me). We were SO excited! Up to this point he's only been taking half-steps. So when we got home, we set the chores aside and went to play in the living room, hoping for a repeat performance. And the little guy performed! He took 2 full unassisted steps between me and Jay. It was great!

Since we have no video documentation, I thought I'd post this cheezer photo from this morning. If you zoom in, you can see lots of teeth, and the fact that his clothes are way too small. We LOVE rompers (this one is from his Grand Aunt Karen) and it's finally warm enough for James to wear them again. Problem is, this one is 12-month size and doesn't fit. We managed to squeeze him in and get the snaps shut though, so at least he got one full day of use out of it!

JAMES' 1-YEAR PORTRAITS AND BABY BOOK

The weekend after James' 1st Birthday, we decided to head out to the military park and take some outdoor portraits of James, as well as some family photos to document this time in our lives. We did our best, but we found out that it is impossible to get a 1-year-old to smile at a camera when nobody is on the other side of it... Here is the best of our efforts at a family photo at the 1-year mark:

The portraits of James turned out better, but he was pretty distracted by the wind coming up from the river and all the cool stuff to explore outside (like dirt and flowers). The wind DID make him look like a bit of a rock star in this first photo though, eh?

Here's our smiley boy:

We had been hoping to get some standing photos of James at the 1-year mark, but since he still wasn't walking (or standing unassisted), this was the closest we could get of our curious little guy:

So that's a wrap. James' 1-year portraits are completed, edited, and placed at the end of the digital baby book I made of his first year. And let me tell you, making that book was hard work! Lots of fun, lots of tears (reminiscing and all - I'm such a sap), and lots of stress narrowing down which photos to include (I'd taken well over 4000 photos of James in 12-months' time, only a small portion of which made it into the over 250 blog posts of his first year, not to mention the 1000 or so portraits Jay had taken throughout the year...) And the book had a limit of only 100 pages! Yikes! (Of course, I do believe that is larger than our wedding album, but that's beside the point) So, please feel free to ask to see his baby book when you visit - you know I'll be wanting to show it off!

And for those of you that won't be visiting anytime soon (Boo!), here are a few "teaser" images of some of the pages from James' baby book:

And don't worry, he'll have a more traditional baby book (that his Grandma bought him) and a scrapbook (to include things such as his footprints, the flyer from his first church service, the ticket stub from his first trolley ride, etc.), as well as a bound book of all his blog posts. I just couldn't bring myself to edit, print, cut, tape, and label a year's worth of photos, especially now that my "copious spare time" has an expiration date of July 2nd.

SERIOUSLY?

Has he really grown so much?

From his first bite at 6-months to his biggest bite at 13-months...

No wonder we can't use the tightest tray setting on his highchair anymore!

A NOTE ON NICKNAMES

James has acquired quite a few nicknames over the past year...

We call him Stinkerdoodle, Buddy, Bub Bubs, Pumpkin Sauce (don't ask - that one's all Jay), Munchkin, Munchkin Man, Mister Man, Little Man, Wild Man, Handsome (that one's just me), Sweet Baby, Sweet Baby James, Baby, Baby Boy, Big Boy, Sweet Boy, Twinkle Toes (because he still stands on his tip-toes a lot of the time), Toe Biter (because not only does he bite/suck on his own toes, but he thinks it's hilarious to bite our toes), Chucklehead (when he's being really goofy, or he's "full of crazy", as we like to say), etc. (yup, the list goes on, but I'll spare you). Sometimes we even call him Cuatro. However, we mostly just call him by name: James, or James Henry. In the beginning we actually had to make quite an effort to do this, but we've done it since he was a newborn because we really wanted him to learn his name without us confusing him. Since he started responding to his name so early on, the nicknames have just grown exponentially, and are used more and more often. And "James Henry" is reserved more and more these days for times when he's getting into trouble...

My mom calls him Punkerdoodle (as you already know), or sometimes Prince James. Jay's mom still calls him Tadpole. And his daycare provider calls him Jamesy. That's a LOT of nicknames for one little boy! And all these nicknames for James got me thinking (as did a recent email from my mom) - what will we call Cora? Mom and I have thrown around a few ideas, but nothing sounds right. We know what we don't want though: I'll state for the record here and now that she will NOT be called "Cori". Just as we asked everyone to never call James "Jimmy" or "Jim", and you have all complied (thank you for that), we hope you will also trust us about "Cori". Now, as for what we WILL want her to be called, I think we'll just have to wait until we meet her. She'll likely be Cora or Cora Mae only around our house for quite a while though, so we can teach her her given name without confusion, just as we did for James. Although, I admit (and you may have noticed from previous blog posts), I do already call her Baby Girl and Miss Cora quite often...

ROAD RAGE

For the past few months (well, ever since he learned to crawl, actually), James has been suffering from an increasingly bad case of Road Rage. It all started when his little yellow safari car would flip over while he was trying to push it. Then his train started acting up. Next thing we knew, he was mad at his books because he couldn't "drive" them around the room. When he upgraded to pushing his larger toys, they would often turn the wrong direction, tip over, or get stuck. And now that he walks behind those larger toys, he gets REALLY mad if they don't do what he wants them to do:

It's OK if you laughed at this. We do (on the inside only, of course - we wouldn't want to hurt the baby's feelings). We used to rush to "fix" the situation, but now we just try to talk him through it: "You can do it", "Flip it over", "Turn it around", "Books don't have wheels", etc. He's learning, but it still takes him longer than he'd like to fix these unfavorable situations. And as our friend Dawn enlightened us, this frustrated/impatient behavior tends to be strongest during teething. Since James is currently getting 5 teeth at once (the top 2 molars are breaking through bit-by-bit, the bottom molars have JUST started to push to the surface, and that other bottom tooth on the right side is coming in too), he's especially annoyed with his toys right now. Poor kid - he's doubling his number of teeth in a matter of a couple of weeks...

ZOO DAY

Today was another beautiful day and we felt we had to take advantage of the spring-like weather (it only lasts for such a short time around here), so we went to the Jackson Zoo for the first time. We expected to spend just a couple hours there, but ended up staying for four because James was in such a good mood - wide awake and interested in everything. It was a great way to spend the day and enjoy our little family of three before it gets too hot and/or my belly gets too large for me to want to do such things.

First stop was the petting zoo. I stayed back with the stroller and took photos, but Jay says James was most wide-eyed at the chickens (which clucked and cock-a-doodle-doo'd in a frenzy around him) and liked "petting" the pigs. From my view, it looked like he was trying to pick out pieces of the pig's hair to show me (like he does to the cats at home):

Then we went to the prairie dog town, where Jay and James pretended to be part of the gang:

Across from the new tiger exhibit, while watching the peacocks perform (there was even an albino who put on quite a show):

Don't mind the finger in James' mouth. We found out yesterday that both of his top molars have started to break through (we can see and feel the corners sticking out), but his bottom gums are bothering him something fierce. And yes, we were sure to wash his hands VERY well after the petting zoo.

Finally, here are James and I at my favorite exhibit: the Diana Guenon monkeys. They were gorgeous, and I've never seen them at any other zoo. They were also the most active of the day (if you don't count the tiny tamarins, which were too hard for James to watch bounding through their tree-filled habitat), so James was fascinated with watching them run and swing and climb the fences, and catch moths through the wire after swatting at the grass just outside their cage:

And by the way, that's my new sling. I bought it more for Cora, but it worked like a charm today at the zoo when James wanted some snuggle time. He rode around in the hip-carry position for quite a while, then climbed up onto my belly to cuddle in the front-carry position. He would have fallen asleep too, had it not been for those awesome guenons!

COOKIES FOR A CAUSE

We went to Riverfest today and our first stop was Michelle's Relay for Life booth, where we purchased 3 of the largest cookies ever. They were the perfect snack (with milk) following our afternoon nap:

Don't worry, we didn't let him eat the whole thing. Just half! Jay and I shared the rest of it, plus our own giant cookies, and a couple of Oreos each (because there is no cookie in this world that goes as well with milk). We gave James the tiniest taste of Oreo, yet he managed to make a giant mess:

Other purchases at the craft fair included a giant hanging pitcher plant and a hat (with bows) for Cora. It was a gorgeous morning and we're glad we went out and enjoyed it!

GETTING CLOSER...

It seems that James is getting closer and closer to walking by the day...

He started spending a lot of his time walking the hallway (supported by the walls) while his Grandma and GG visited:

We often catch him crawling around and pausing in a squatting (or semi-squatting/semi-standing/semi-kneeling) position lately:

He also spends a lot of time in the downward-facing dog position (yeah, I know he's not doing it correctly in this photo, but it was the best one I could capture - sometimes he really surprises us and holds the position with his legs crossed like this):

For the past week or so he's been working on crawling while IN the downward-facing dog position (you know, like a monkey walk). This morning, when placed nearly naked on the COLD kitchen floor as we were getting breakfast and lunches made, he perfected it (to spare his exposed knees, I'm sure). We were cracking up watching our little monkey boy move around the kitchen:

Also, he can now walk behind his dump truck at length, often circling the couch. He pushes that easel toy from his Uncle Davey and Auntie T'in clear across our bedroom floor daily. He lets go of the furniture, walls, and his toys to stand unassisted more and more often, and for longer and longer periods. And we learned today when we picked him up from daycare that he got himself up into a standing position without assistance (not pulling up on anything or anyone) 3 different times. We had hoped to see it for ourselves tonight, but instead we actually got to see a couple of half-steps between the ottoman and Jay's knees (he was tricking James, making him think he was closer than he was, then backing up so that James had to step a bit to reach him - it worked). We're just doing our best to encourage him (we've moved furniture around yet again, in the hopes of enticing him to take steps between pieces, and we're now placing objects on top of them so that he may be more inclined to walk toward them - at their level - rather than crawl) and congratulate him when he tries something new. It's all very exciting!

SNOWMONKEY

It's been FOREVER since I've posted a photo of my adorable nephew on here (because I haven't seen him since Christmas), so since his Nonni shared some fun pictures of his first trip to see snow in Tahoe with me today, I'm taking advantage and showing him off. Here's Eli with a baby-sized snowball (and yes, I also saw video of him THROWING snowballs - how cute is that?):

His parents are pretty cute too (we miss you guys!):

They even made him a snowmonkey:

It's got nothing on the fancy monkey cake they made him for his birthday, but it's still the coolest snowman I've seen in a while! Next time we want to go with...

PINK DIAPERS AND BOWS GALORE

Preparations for Cora continue, at least on the small scale. We ordered her first cloth diapers this week, and they are just so cute and pink:

She'll probably need 8-10 more, but we've got time. She'll be in the tiny gDiapers for the first month, and we may use the gDiapers (in size small) exclusively for another month or so after that, until her BMs stabilize as she adjusts to living in the outside world. Don't get me wrong, we love cloth diapering, but we also recall how messy James' first few months were... We figure we'll just order a few BGs each month until we're ready to start using them, to spread out the cost (see what a good planner I am?) Of course, I did learn today that Bum Genius is discontinuing their "brights", so we may need to order the Zinnia's (the darker pink) now while we still can... So shhhhh, don't spread the word too far - not until I get my pretty pink diapers! I know we've helped convert at least 2 families out there to cloth diapering - and with BGs even! So if you guys are interested in Ribbit, Moonbeam, Clementine, or Zinnia, you better buy them soon.

On a more girly note, I had promised you photos of all the hair bows we've purchased for Cora:

That's right, we're going to be THOSE parents that dress their baby girl in bows and headbands and flowers. And I can't wait! That's part of the fun of having a girl, right? Sure, she'll wear dresses and skirts too, but not often. We're practical. Babies don't need dresses. Especially in the Mississippi heat and humidity. What she needs are cool, cotton onesies. And bows. Since I am not creative or talented in the art of making hair bows (though I bet I can install them just fine - at least I hope...), I relied on the good folks at Etsy.com to create the beautiful ones we chose for our baby girl. Most of the bows were made by none-other than Jay's Aunt Beverly (her shop is called Sweetpea Boutique). I had actually ordered these a while ago when many of my friends were pregnant, two with girls, and a few who didn't yet know the gender. I was going to give them all away, but the more recent births were all boys and Jay took a liking to the bows anyway (especially the character bows: the butterfly, goldfish, and bunny), so we decided to keep them "just in case". Ha! If we'd only known! The rest of the bows and headbands (and yes Mom and Margie, I KNOW they are silk flowers!) came from a couple other Etsy shops that have quickly become my favorites for all things girly (Tiny Tots Bows and Pretty Baby Boutique).

MY FAVORITE NUMBER STRIKES AGAIN

Well, we've been waiting and waiting on James' molars to break through, but it still hasn't happened. Not a single one. The poor kid has ridiculously swollen gums and he's chewing on everything in site, yet there is no telling when he'll get relief. We hear it can take months for the molars to come in. Great. At least that pre-eruption cyst is long gone...

We had a surprise yesterday though... James' 7th tooth broke through, quite unexpectedly. It's on the bottom left, right next to the first tooth he ever got, oh so many months ago (near the end of his 8th month). In fact, this is the first new tooth James has gotten since the end of January. And we never even saw it coming. It actually looked like there was just a huge gap/dip in his gums on both sides of those first 2 bottom teeth, due to the extreme swelling of the molars, so we had no idea the tooth was on it's way. No wonder he was fussy last week. Here's a peek at his newest pearly white:

SLAP HAPPY

James and his GG making some noise:

BOILED

After a very happy reunion with my boys this morning (I caught the earliest flight possible out of Tucson), we scooted over to the infamous Stanley Family Crawfish Boil.

Jay didn't know he'd be peeling crawfish for THREE people, but that's how it ended up. James ate just as much crawfish as me, and he liked it:

James wasn't sure how to take a self portrait with me...And he had lots of fun playing with the Stanley girls' toys. He especially liked their playhouse, and he got lots of practice cruising around, in and out, in and out:

FIFTY, FIFTY, FIFTY-TWO HOURS TO GO...

...until I see my baby.

First work trip for me since James was born (well, without him coming along). First time I've been away from him overnight (let alone 2 nights). And first real, tangible feeling of emptiness in my arms (and heart). Ouch.

Yet, I do not worry. Not about James. He has his Daddy, who runs a tight ship and can fix anything. Nope, I just worry about myself... I had a good cry last night and managed to keep most of my tears under wraps as I said good-bye this morning:

By the way, James said Bye-Bye last night (while waving!) for the first time! I couldn't get him to do it for me this morning, but that's OK. He could probably tell Mommy was sad...