Standing up

And he's up!

James has been close to pulling himself up to stand for awhile now. He would stand if you put him there and could hold himself up for awhile, but we've been waiting for him to do it on his own. A few days ago, his daycare provider, Rhonda (who we couldn't love more, she is seriously a saint) said he had gotten himself up on his feet! Well, we have been dying to see it for ourselves. And now we have! This morning, while Adam was getting ready, James was sitting at the bottom of our stairs. Adam walked to the top of the steps and there was James, standing up. He called down to me and I looked up to find my little guy, standing up all on his own. He is becoming such a big kid, I hardly recognize him. A few days ago I said to Adam, "I dropped a baby off at daycare and got a toddler back." That has definitely been the case lately.

So proud of himself this morning

Other fun things James is doing right now include giving high fives, saying "hi" to anyone and anything, feeding himself (a ton!), playing with the cats for as long as they will let him, and head butting the dog. So far, Mac doesn't seem to mind the head butts from his youngest human, but our cats, Albert and Sassy, try to stay clear of him.

Sh*t my baby says

James is "talking" more and more everyday. Around 8 months he started to say dada, but he definitely didn't know that it meant anything. I want to try to keep a running list of his words, so this is what he's saying these days:

hi
uh oh
dad or dada
mom or mama
baba (i think this is bottle or sippy cup, now that he's not on a bottle)
all done (not sure if he's really saying this or if it just sounds like it)

Mom says no...

Now that James is 1, we're starting to correct behaviors. We've been doing this for awhile now, actually. Mainly, we like to "redirect" or give him something else to do when he's "exploring" something that he shouldn't be. You know, electrical cords, the cats tail, mugs of hot coffee, everything a toddler shouldn't have. On occasion, we say "no" and he usually listens very well (unless he's throwing stuff off of his highchair, in which case, he listens to no one!). Surprisingly well, since he's still a little guy. But we are trying very vigilantly to not just say no, but correct the behavior and then give him something else to do. This morning, however, I had a parenting fail.
I was adjusting my insulin pump (on a Monday AM, while trying feverishly to get out the door) and James grabbed onto it. He scared the crap out of me, and I yelled "NO!" I was mainly concerned that he was going to rip the thing out and I'd have to start all over, making us late. I was also worried that I was still in the middle of putting it in (which involves a needle and cathiter) and it was going to hurt like hell if he pulled it out. So I yelled. And he put his lower lip out as far as it could possibly go and cried. And cried. And I was still trying to get the pump in, so I was unable to pick him up right away. So he cried and I finished what I was doing. Then I picked the little man up and gave him a hug. I said I was sorry for yelling and scaring him. James got over it and to daycare we went. But really, I have been feeling bad about it all morning. I know he has a short memory and it won't be the last time I yell at my son, I just have to remember to choose my words and actions carefully.

Eastport a-Rockin'

Today Adam and I took James to Eastport, in Annapolis for their annual music festival. Jackie and Sarah came with us, since Sarah actually lives in Eastport! We had a good time, wandering around, eating yummy food, and listening to some great music. James really loved sitting by the water and swaying to the beat. It was a beautiful day and we all avoided getting sunburned. I was happily surprised by how well James did in the crowd and am excited to take him on more outings in the future.


James getting a better view of the stage

Let's give this one more try!

I started this blog waaaay back in December of 2009, when I was newly pregnant with our first child. In February of 2010, we found out that "it" was a "he" and he quickly became James Adrian. James made his world debut 5 weeks early due to pre-eclampsia complications and had to spend 10 long, long days in the NICU. Luckily, since then we've followed up with several specialists and James is a happy, healthy one year old, for the most part.

So here we are, a couple of weeks after his first birthday, trying to navigate the world with a toddler. I am going to try to post regularly about his milestones, accomplishments, and life in general.


James in our front yard, May 2011