I tried to get a good photo of Mom and James, but they both kept making goofy faces... 
Dad was going to let James drive home, but he crashed...
We were out past his bedtime (especially if you take into account the time change from Mississippi), so he was exhausted by the time we got home:
We're so glad we went. We all had a good time and ended up with some pretty cute photos. And don't worry Grandma, we're sending one of the "professional" Santa photos your way!
Here's the little cutie hanging out in the basket they set out to store baby toys (and, apparently, babies):
And here he is testing out the bath tub they bought (just practicing, of course):
And last but not least, enjoying the awesome (and entertaining) highchair that now lives in their kitchen (and also enjoying his Cheerios):
While the Gator sweatshirt was a hit, and Jay liked all his gifts, the components for the new computer he is building were certainly the favorites:
See, he's still staring at them. James is paying attention to me though...
And here he is smelling the Bacon Salt, apparently good on EVERYTHING, which was part of his gift from Robyn & Stephen:
Thanks to everyone who shared in the birthday donuts, joined us for lunch, sent cards or gifts, or called or messaged Jay. He had a good day!
Everybody got a chance to hold the baby (I think... though he was monopolized by some... I'm not naming any names...). Here is Whitney with James:
Carter was so sweet, singing to James almost constantly. Even in Romanian!
The next morning we headed over to Aunt Sara and Grandmother's cabin for pancakes. It was so cold that we bundled our little bundle of joy to the max:
Later that day James got to open his first Christmas present/stocking, from his Grandma:
He loved the tissue paper and we had to keep taking it away before it dissolved in his mouth... He was also very excited by everything in the bag. Every time we handed him a new toy he'd squeal with joy. It was so cute. Here he is with his very first puzzle:
Seriously, this kid is so very adorable...
Since it was so cold outside, we decided to take James for a mini nature walk INSIDE at the Callaway Gardens butterfly house. He was asleep when we first got there (another catnap in the car), but woke up as soon as we entered the conservatory and spent the entire hour just looking around at all the plants and people (especially the kids). 
And when we took off James' beanie, his hair was looking particularly awesome:
That night was the big family dinner and gift exchange. James got a pull-along rotary phone and a Little People barn set from his Grand Aunt Sara. Jay and I received handmade gifts from Moldova from Lisa and Jonathon - a set of trivets for Jay and a necklace for me. All the kids loved their gifts, but as per usual, nothing compared to the flying helicopter that Marvin got (he ALWAYS gets the coolest gift in the eyes of his younger 2nd cousins). Here are the little boys doing their best to capture the helicopter. Marvin is SO patient with them...
The "great-grands" were all flocking to Uncle Marvin towards the end of the night. Here he is holding James AND Skylar:
Jamie arrived that night, and James was very excited to see his uncle:
Then ALL the little guys wanted their photo with "Uncle Jamie" (Tanner, Finn, James, Jamie, and Wyatt pictured here):
Like I said, James automatically latched on to whoever the youngest kid was in his presence, hence his grab for Finn. Then some of the other kids wanted in on the photo op (Marvin, Mackenzie, and Julia joined the photo, though Wyatt had had enough):
Our last morning, Jamie had the opportunity to feed James his yogurt. It was a messy ordeal, but he got the job done. Good work Uncle Jamie!
And we managed to get a photo of James alone with his GGmama:
AND a Lindsay family photo (with Jamie cooperating... though not smiling), before we hit the road:
James was worn out by all the excitement of the weekend and slept most of the way home to Mississippi. We figured he was making up for all those missed naps...
(picture courtesy of Jill)
Not even croup!
That's right folks, James is suffering his first real illness this week. It all started Monday night... Within an hour, James went from no fever at all to 102.5 degrees, complete with strong coughing fits. After a call to the after hours number for our pediatrician, we dosed him with Tylenol and waited. The fever eventually lowered before his bedtime (down below 101), and he actually slept really well (except for the wake-up at 1:00 AM for another dose of Tylenol). This morning he still had that low-grade fever though, the cough was worse, and his voice sounded hoarse. Jay decided to stay home with him and call the pediatrician once the office opened. By that time, James had started wheezing and the pediatrician wanted to see him. So, Jay took him in, bundled in his PJs, and the pediatrician told Jay he was excellent at describing baby symptoms. It was just as she suspected from his phone call - our boy has croup. So, he's now on antibiotics, plus the Tylenol to keep the fever away, and some 'Tussin to help with his cough. He doesn't sound much better yet, but the wheezing is gone and he hasn't had a fever since this morning. He'll be home from daycare again tomorrow, but should be much better by Thursday (we hope). He's being quite the trooper in the meantime, as always. Taking all his medicine like a champ (and he didn't even fuss over the antibiotic shot they gave him at the pediatrician's office), eating all his meals, smiling and laughing, and generally just impressing us with his good attitude. He is extra tired (and thus extra snuggly and clingy), but we figure it's best if he just sleeps it off anyway.
Of course, while NOT sleeping today, he perfected his sitting technique (which he does over and over and over now) and learned to REALLY move (forward!) while army crawling. I'd say maybe he'll just stick with army crawling, but it's slow enough that we're sure he'll get frustrated again soon and find a faster, more efficient way to move. And just wait until you see him get into a sitting position... if only we all had his flexibility! The kid can do the splits. Seriously.
Then we watched the Christmas parade from Sandy's balcony (and it was COLD):
We think Uncle Daryl and Aunt Margie should decorate their hogs like this for Christmas:
Who invited the Easter Bunny? Just because he's being escorted by an elf...
This was the best float in the parade: Christmas in Neverland!
On Sunday, James learned how to push up into a sitting position from his tummy:
Then we went over to Al & Christina's baby shower, which was a couples shower and cookout, complete with the "Baby Olympics". Team Girls was ahead by 2 points (having won the beer bottle guzzle, diaper/onesie change relay, and carseat installation) when we got to the final round, but the boys took the title in the "winner takes all" story telling competition. Both teams cheated a little to gain the attention of the 4 kids in attendance (not that James cared about anything but the new toys available to play with), so I'll concede that it was a fair win. All they won was better beer anyway... Here are the Daddy- and Mommy-to-be opening gifts:
And here is some of the gang, laughing it up at something Ned (another Daddy-to-be) must have said:
And finally, to end the party, here is James making his Uncle Davey proud by choosing the guitar over all the other available toys:
We got home in time to give James his bath and put him to bed. Then we had JUST ENOUGH energy to enjoy the fire for a bit before we passed out ourselves at 9pm. These anniversaries just aren't what they used to be...
