STARS UPON THARS

Another one of our favorite Dr. Seuss books to read to James is "The Sneetches and Other Stories". One day last week while Jay was playing with James in the living room, and I was doing something in the kitchen (barefoot and pregnant - hee hee), he called me in to see something. What I found was my semi-naked baby looking like a Star-bellied Sneetch:

What is that little clear star on James' belly, you might be wondering? Well, all the breastfeeding mamas out there have probably heard of them, if not own a pair of their very own. They are the interestingly functional Lily Padz. Obviously, I haven't used mine in a long time (they really do work, once your milk supply is established anyway, and they cut down on the number of disposable nursing pads you add to landfills), but James discovered them in my bathroom cabinet a while back and has declared them to be one of the best "toys" in the house. He carries them around, chews on them (don't worry, they're washable), and sticks them together. Jay thinks it's hilarious. So, apparently, with the baby's bare belly tempting him, he stuck a Lily Pad on and told James it was his belly star. And as if that isn't funny enough on it's own, it took James literally seconds to realize that he could stick that "star" to his belly all by himself. That's what Jay was calling me into the room to see - my baby applying a Lily Pad to his exposed (and round) belly. Over and over. Yup, hilarious. And the kid just does it randomly now whenever he comes across one of "his" Lily Padz laying around the house...

Oh yeah, and he'll happily show you his belly if you ask. Or maybe lift your shirt to show you your own, if he gets confused. Just watch your belly button though... if you ask him to point that out, he'll do that too, and we're still working on teaching him to be "Gentle James".

I'm quite happy to say

That the Sneetches got really quite smart on that day

The day they decided that Sneetches are Sneetches

And no kind of Sneetch is the best on the beaches

That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars

And whether they had one, or not, upon thars

TEARS OF JOY

Not to be outdone by his baby sister and her breathing movements yesterday afternoon, James had us in tears twice with his cuteness that evening...

First, after the doctor appointment and errands (shopping for even MORE babyproofing items and bedding for James' new room), we hit Mellow Mushroom (one of our favorite pizza joints). James had just dozed off in the car (having missed half his afternoon nap to accompany us to the appointment) and was very sleepy as Jay carried him into the restaurant, so we declined the highchair and grabbed a booth, thinking that we might lay James down for a catnap while we ate. He decided he didn't need to sleep though, so Jay brought in his new booster seat (courtesy of his grandparents) from the car and placed it right next to him on the bench. James thought it was AWESOME! Not only was he sitting RIGHT next to his Daddy, but he was bellied-up to the table and getting to eat like a big boy. About halfway through his pizza, he started to be extra adorable, laying his head against Jay's arm, then rubbing/patting his Daddy's back. When James is sleepy or upset, we always hold him and rub his back, and it was so sweet to see him pick up on this behavior and "comfort" his Daddy (who was understandably and noticeably tired after hauling James around all afternoon between the doctor's office and stores). And as a mama, I can tell you that there is nothing better than watching your husband and child connect and interact in such loving manner - it really pulls at your heart strings (and makes you feel very proud). I should have taken video...

Then, after sleeping the entire drive home from Jackson (about an hour), James was wide awake and needed to burn some energy before bed (which ended up being about an hour later than usual, as we expected, due to the late nap). Jay and I pretty much collapsed on the floor and couch (respectively) while James played with his toys and practiced walking back and forth between us for over an hour. Around 8:30, as we were telling James that it was getting close to bedtime and we needed to start winding down (a bedtime tip I learned from my friend Dawn yesterday), he pulled a book off the shelf, scooted over to Jay, and placed it right into his hand. Then he sat back and waited for Jay to read. Seriously though, how cute is that? Personally, I had been waiting and hoping for that moment for quite a while now (for James to initiate story time). We have been struggling with James to get him to enjoy reading WITH us (he likes to "read" books by himself, or "drive" them around the room, but he rarely has the patience to sit still for 5 minutes while we read to him and point things out on the pages), so this was really a big deal for us. Seems James is "getting it", as Jay put it. What a great kid...

SHE'S A FIESTY ONE!

We had our 32-week growth ultrasound this afternoon and things are looking good. Cora now weighs-in at 4 lbs 7 oz. For the record, that is EXACTLY the weight I'd guessed she would be (Jay and I like to make bets), while Jay had guessed 4 lbs 10 oz, like James was at 32 weeks. Cora is just a little smaller than her big bro. Though she measured in RIGHT on schedule at 32 weeks 5 days. And she's a FIESTY little one! This baby girl has been keeping me on my toes for weeks with her kicking and punching. She often catches me off-guard, giving my belly button a swift kick when I expect her to be sleeping (like when I'm up walking around). She hits me high and low (sometimes very low, if you catch my drift), and is even starting to shift her body from side-to-side (giving my belly that funny lopsided effect). If I've been sitting for a while, I can feel her weight shift down when I stand up, which has the lovely side effect of having me heading for the bathroom every time I get up from my desk at work. My poor bladder can't take that 4.5 lbs resting on it! And sometimes it seems she's flailing all her limbs at once, and my belly honestly looks as though there are multiple babies kick-boxing in there... and that NEVER happened with James! Don't get me wrong, he was strong and made his presence known hourly, but this girl has got him beat! I've accepted the fact that when I lay down in bed for the night, I can expect her to kick and punch me for a good 10-15 minutes before she settles down enough for me to be able to doze off. At least I'm getting some reading done (and by reading, I mean playing games and Facebooking on my iPhone).

So, where does this wild behavior come from? Perhaps it's her name... Cora is a Scottish name that means "seething pool". Yup - fiesty! Hopefully her middle name, Mae (which means "maiden"), will somehow balance her personality. Only time will tell though...

In other appointment news, Cora's heartrate was 147 bpm, her weight puts her in the 45th percentile (and if she goes full-term, she'll likely top-out around 8 lbs, just like James), we were able to watch her practice her breathing movements and do some stretches, she is head-down and in position, she has some hair, and she is still a girl (we have another confirmation photo from the ultrasound, but we won't post that - Miss Cora will likely have a bit more privacy than her brother did during his first year, especially if Jay has any say in it)!

So here I am at 32 weeks, compared with all the other belly shots I've taken so far (sure LOOKS likes she's dropped, eh?):

TREASURE TROVE?

OK blog readers, we're issuing a final plea here... Remember that birthday mission we assigned on James' behalf over 3 months ago? Well, we didn't get many takers! I count a total of 7 letters in his treasure chest: 2 from his Grambot, 2 from his Uncle Davey, 1 from his Auntie T'in, 1 from Amy, and 1 from Mary Beth.

We are so excited for these letters! Thank you all so much!!

Yet, we'd REALLY like some more. And it's certainly not too late (it's not like he'll be reading them anytime soon). So we're calling you out by name now: James' Uncle Jamie, Grand Aunt Margie, Cousin Barry Jr, Great-Grandma & Great-Grandpa, all the "Waddells", Robyn & Stephen, Jenny, Jen, John & Betsy, Kelly B, Giri & Sharmila, Nicole, Michelle, Jenn, Kelly C, Karyn, Michelle & Jerry, Sandy, Al & Christina... Let's hear from you! And if I didn't name you specifically, don't think you're off the hook - my lack of memory and train-of-thought these days is to blame!

MOTHER, THERE IS NO OTHER

BETTER THAN HALLMARK

Just thought I'd share the card and flowers James "made" me at daycare:

DOUBLE HEADER

Daycare called me at work yesterday afternoon to let me know that James was "crying inconsolably and just not himself, but not feverish, so could I please bring some ibuprofen?" (his diaper bag had been without meds all week due to the McNeil products recall last Saturday). Of course, I was ready to run right out to the store to find some generic ibuprofen and drop it off. Then I looked at the time - 2:45pm. Might as well call it a day and just take my sad baby home. He was fine when I picked him up, other than the fact that he LOOKED like a wreck. Like he'd been crying all day. His eyes were red, watery, and weeping. His breathing was labored with that "lack of energy due to sobbing" effort (you know what I'm talking about, where the sighs come out stuttered and pitiful). It was as though he'd just cried himself out by the time I got there. Yet he was happy to see me, talkative, and still not feverish. We stopped by Walgreens to pick up the ibuprofen, and by the time I got him out of his carseat at home he felt like he was on fire. I took his temperature and was not at all surprised to see it reach 101.7. I called Jay (we had driven separately that day), then the advice nurse (our pediatrician's office had just closed). We were instructed to give ibuprofen throughout the night and go see the on-call doc in the morning if he was still feverish. Within an hour his fever was gone. He ate a good dinner, played with us, had fun in the tub, drank all his bedtime bottle, and was in bed no more than an hour after his usual bedtime (mostly due to the late afternoon nap, while he slept through the fever). In fact, he slept all night and we only heard him fuss once, but he put himself right back to sleep. Then as a series of strong thunderstorms came through this morning, the noise woke him up, crying and pitiful. When Jay came into our room with him, he looked worried and asked for the thermometer. Yikes! Fever of 102.9! We knew we'd be going to the clinic as soon as it opened. We gave him some ibuprofen and he promptly fell back asleep in our bed, a little heater we were having trouble cooling off (when James doesn't feel well, he HAS to be held, carried, snuggled, or draped over us one way or another, so giving him space is not an option, even though we try). I couldn't pass up the opportunity to document James sleeping on TOP of his Daddy:

We arrived at the clinic and were able to get right in (even though we didn't have an appointment). James drank a bottle while we waited on the doc, then fussed at the nurse over getting his weight (24 lbs 4 oz dressed) and temperature checked (back to normal). Bad news though - James was diagnosed with his second ear infection (a double middle-ear infection) and first real case of conjunctivitis (in both eyes). The doc sent us on our way with antibiotics and eye drops. While we waited on the Rx to get filled, we grabbed some breakfast at the donut shop (we figured since James was sick that he deserved a treat). He thoroughly enjoyed his first donut-hole (and was only pretending to share with his Daddy):

He's been in a pretty good mood all day, despite his sickness. But again, when James doesn't feel well, he wants to be held, all day, no matter what. Thank goodness for the Beco. Here is James while I was making lunch this afternoon (he had fallen asleep within 5 minutes of me wearing him around the kitchen, and stayed that way until all the dishes were done, the counters were cleaned, and lunch was ready):

We'll see how tonight goes... After lunch he napped for 3.5 hours (unheard of, especially since he'd already napped for 45 minutes on my back), but again he's in bed less than an hour later than usual. Hopefully all this "sleeping it off" will work it's wonders again with this double header sickness!

JAMES HENRY, PI

James has become quite the little investigator...

FULL OF CRAZY

James started doing something a bit strange during the week before his Grandma and GGmama visited. The first day he did it twice while I was home alone with him (the day that daycare was closed due to a ceiling cave-in) and it honestly creeped me out a little... While I was holding him, he'd lean his head way back (nothing odd there, he does that all the time), then swing his head from side-to-side while making crazy eyes. Hmmm... Luckily, he did it that night so Jay could see and Jay assured me that James was just being silly. When the behavior continued off-and-on over the next 2 weeks, we started to realize that it's his HAIR that's making him act so silly. That Mississippi Mudflap is tickling the back of his neck, and he either likes it (hence the reason he keeps doing it) or hates it (hence the crazy eyes). We started telling him he was "full of crazy" every time he did it. Then he started associating the phrase "full of crazy" with that particular behavior, so he'd do it "on command". And THEN, when Jerry and Michelle were visiting, he did it at the dinner table and we had to explain to them why James is "full of crazy". Well, Jerry thought it was hilarious and totally encouraged him... next thing we knew James was smiling huge and imitating Jerry, making the behavior much more exaggerated. So, thanks to Jerry, now all we have to do is say "James, show us crazy" or "Where's our crazy baby?" and we get a good laugh at James being silly. The kid LOVES to perform for his Daddy, so he'll do it over and over. And Jay has exaggerated the behavior further by adding goofy noises...

So, for your amusement, here is a compilation video of James being "full of crazy":

NOTE: No parents were (seriously) harmed in the making of this video

14 MONTHS AND 24 LBS

That's right, James is up to 24 lbs even this month!We had been slightly worried about his weight gain this month, only because the bottle-weaning is not going very well. James LOVES his sippys... as long as they contain water or juice. But put milk in there, whether it's cold or warm, and the boy will turn away with disgust, throw the cup, or take sips and spit/drool it all out down his chin. Lovely, eh? Therefore, he is still getting 3 bottles/day (first thing in the morning, before his noon nap, and at bedtime) so we can be sure he's drinking enough milk. That adds up to about 18 oz per day. Plus MAYBE an ounce from his afternoon sippy of milk. We thought that wasn't nearly enough, since we were under the impression that he needed 24 oz of whole milk at this age, but it turns out that isn't so... Toddler milk needs vary based on their overall diet, i.e. how much solid foods they are eating, and in what variety. And when we learned what a toddler serving size actually is (much smaller than we had thought), we realized that James is doing just fine. In fact, he's a great eater, just as we originally thought (boy-oh-boy is it ever easy for us first-time parents to find things to worry about though)!

Between his milk (we buy the organic variety with DHA and Omega-3 added in), yogurt, and cheese, he's got dairy covered. Fruits & veggies he gets more than he needs. Though he refuses to eat veggies unless they're pureed... Why is that? It's the same stuff! He'll eat any veggie in any combination when we puree and mix, but hand him a tiny chunk of freshly steamed carrot and he spits it out. Such a strange duck... And like most kids, he loves his grains too. Protein is the only area in which he lacks, but it's not for our lack of trying. He just doesn't much care for meat (chicken or beef, any way we cook it, or even lunch meat). He'll eat beans, but honestly, he can't eat beans every day. Especially since he prefers the sugar-infused baked beans. Eggs are not his friend either (though he'll eat a couple bites now and then). He'll eat peanut butter in small quantities because we don't give him much (we worry about it being a choke hazard, since he still tends to shove all the food on his tray into his mouth at once). So, that leaves us with tofu... we haven't tried it yet (it's just not something we usually make for ourselves), but we hear our nephew likes it, so it's in the works. We'll let you know what James thinks...

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...