On the verge

James has been standing while holding on and cruising like a champ.  He can stand and hold onto his Cars ride-on toy and walk all over the place.  (This toy drives me crazy because it makes the most annoying sounds and Lightning McQueen says dumb stuff...)  And I just know he is on the verge of standing without holding on and walking.  But he hasn't yet, so we will wait patiently.  I think he may do it any day now.  Yesterday morning, he was standing between my legs, holding onto the chair I was in.  When I handed him his sippy cup, he reached up, grabbed it, and proceeded to down most of it, all while standing on his own.  Then he realized that Momma was watching the whole thing, and he slowly sat down.  The look on his face was something like "The first rule of standing on your own is you don't talk about standing on your own".  Rhonda also mentioned this morning that she's seen him sort of walk from one side of his pack and play to the other.  This is funny, because the only time he's even in there is when he's supposed to be napping.  So, I guess he is my kid.
Some other things that he has starting doing include throwing everything out of his crib when he doesn't want to go to bed (and I think "have at it little man, now there is less in there to distract you"), eating more and more table food (still working on getting him to eat only table foods, since he only has 4 little teeth, but he usually only gets one jar of pureed food a day), and saying "bye-bye" in context.  James is still very cuddly when he's tired, but more and more when he's awake, he's not interested in sitting still long enough to get a hug in. 
Recently, we've been working with James on petting the dog nicely.  He tends to pull at Mac's fur, which the dog takes like a champ.  We're lucky that Mac is so forgiving, I think any other dog would have bitten James by now.  I think it will take more work, but we remind him to be "nice and gentle" with Mac and show him what that means.  The cats will still not hang around long enough for James to get any kind of petting in, nice or otherwise. 

"Doctor, doctor, give me the news...

...I've got a bad case of lovin' you."  Robert Palmer, anyone? 
When you're pregnant, people mention that babies go to the doctor a lot.  Which seems pretty obvious at the time, I mean, of course babies go to the doctor.  A big questions that I got while pregnant was not how much maternity leave I was taking, but also how much sick leave had I saved up for the routine visits.  But really, people were not kidding.  I know that we're lucky, James is a pretty healthy little guy.  Knock on wood, he's only really had 2 ear infections and 1 case of pink eye.  But due to his preemie status, heart issues, our family history of muscular dystrophy, and a few hospital screw ups (I'm looking at you, University of Maryland Medical Center), I feel like we've been to the doctor a lot!  Maybe I just feel that way because I too go to various specialists; this morning alone I scheduled my sleep study, a follow up with the ENT for after the sleep study, and James' yearly eye dilation.  These three appointments are in August.  September brings James' 15 month appointment and my 4 month check up with the endocrinologist.  Coincidentally, during the writing of this blog, Adam called me to let me know he's got 3 more dentist appointments coming up.
Oh, and our dog, Mac, has to go get a shot next week too!

Over the weekend...

BYOS (bring your own sippy)

Over the weekend, we painted our bathroom.  Bright and early Saturday morning, we went out to Home Depot and got the supplies.  Paint rollers, tape, and the paint itself - Glidden Semi Gloss in Frosted Pine.  We also went to Chic-Fil-A and ate what was probably a horribly unhealthy breakfast.  James seemed to enjoy his chicken and biscuits though.  We hung out for awhile after we got back home and around 11, I fed James lunch while Adam started to tape things off.  A mere 10 minutes later, I heard Adam upstairs cursing.  So I stepped in and began to tape (or retape) things.  Adam was cursing the plastic we got to cover the tub, so I came up with an alternative plan.  Eventually both Adam and James came upstairs to help me.  For awhile, James hung out in the bathroom, playing with tape.  I'd take a long piece off the roll, hand it back to him, place my tape, and then ask for the roll back.  He obediently gave the roll back each time for about 30 minutes.  Then James decided he wanted to help more and stood eagerly, holding onto the edge of the bathtub...  while I was standing on those edges, taping the ceiling.  Helping quickly turned into screaming and it became obvious that James was ready for a nap.
So into bed he went and the taping was quickly finished.  I painted the first coat, waited for it to dry, got James up from his nap, and fed him a snack.  Then while Adam and James went to Target, I completed the second coat.
It looks beautiful!  Unfortunately, we took the tape off a bit late and some of the edges needed touching up on Sunday.  Also on Sunday, we put the new towel bar back on the wall, put up new switch plate covers and got the bathroom back in working order.  We are waiting for the new shower curtain and another switch plate cover to be delivered.  I had no idea that home improvement could be quite so tiring!  The last detail - the faucet!  Hopefully that will be in place in a few weeks!
In other news, I am still sore this morning from all the painting.  I am glad that I opted not to go to my kickboxing class on Saturday morning.  I am going to go tonight though, so I hope I make it.

Bye-bye!

James was hilarious this morning.  He woke up around 6 and when I went in, I changed his diaper and put on a clean outfit.  He likes to hold onto whatever piece of clothing you aren't putting on yet, so I handed him a tshirt as I was putting on his shorts.  He grabbed it, tossed it on the floor, and yelled "BYE-BYE!"  So funny!

The sleep study

The day after we took James to the cardiologist, I went to see an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist.  I have huge tonsils.  That's the short version of the story.  I had my adenoids taken out when I was 13 because they never shrank and were causing ear problems.  My tonsils have never gotten smaller either (yea, they're massive).  When talking to the doctor it also came out that I'm a loud snorer (sexy, right?) and that I had a sleep study done about 5 years ago due to family history of sleep apnea and the above mentioned facts.

So the doctor asks me: "How's your sleep been in the last year?"

HA!  Don't even get my started, buddy.

I go for my sleep study on August 8th.

The "oh" face



"oooooohhhhh"



One of James' favorite things to say is "uh oh".  He will throw something and then says it, not knowing that "uh oh" is usually reserved for accidents.  We always tell him "That's not an 'uh oh'", but you know, he's one, so its still cute.  He also likes just "oh" and he makes the roundest little mouth to do so.

Any Office Space fans?  When I say its his "oh face" I always think of that scene in the movie, but I digress.  Happy Friday!

An update on the ol' ticker

We took James yesterday for his one year check up with the pediatric cardiologist, Dr. Brenner.  It was actually a pretty anti climatic kind of visit - we go back in a year.  But I'll back up a little bit.
I drove us down to the Outpatient Center at Johns Hopkins.  They have garage parking, but valet costs the same amount, so we did that.  I know, we're lazy, but its a lot easier to just pull up, get James and his stroller out and walk into the building than it is to walk from the garage.  I make it a point to do whatever is going to cause me the least amount of stress when going to hospitals.  So we went up to the 7th floor and checked in.
In the waiting room James and Adam played with the toys there and we noticed a little boy about James' age.  Actually, as soon as we walked in Adam said to me, "Look at that cute little baby."  So the other kid's mom asked how old James was and I told her.  She said her son was a little younger and then told me that she's getting rid of his bottle soon (he was drinking it when we walked in).  I didn't ask about him having a bottle, but I think she was having a little bit of mommy guilt.  When she put her son down (he was wearing a just a diaper, waiting to go back for an ECHO) I noticed that he had recently had surgery.  His scar was about 8 inches running all the way from his collar bones to the middle of his tummy.  It honestly took my breath away, I really had to check myself to make sure I didn't get emotional.  Because really, I'm sure the last thing this woman needed was for a stranger to get choked up at the sight of her little boy's recent incision.  She told us that he'd had surgery on the 30th and I was amazed.  This kid was up and running around, completely unfazed.  I told her he looked like a tough little guy and she agreed, saying he was far tougher than she was.
We got called then, so we took James back.  He was weighed, measured, had his blood pressure taken, and an EKG done.  Something that really caught my attention, that they didn't do last year because he was a tiny baby, was put a blood pressure cuff on Adam (who was holding him) before they put James' on.  They really wanted to make sure that James wasn't scared and saw that his dad had the same thing on his arm.  Then they did the EKG, which requires putting 10 lead on various areas of your chest and upper body.  Again, they put the stickers on Adam to show James what was going on.  I know a little of that was probably lost on James, since he's still a pretty little boy, but as his mom I really appreciated it.  James was pretty pissed about the EKG and having to hold still, but it was done pretty quickly and the stickers came off.
We went into an exam room and waited for Dr. Brenner, who didn't take long.  He asked us some general questions about James' health and then told me he was going to listen to James' heart.  James was on my lap at this point and he got to stay there.  Adam was in the chair next to me and the doctor looked at him and said,  "I'm going to pretend to listen to you first, don't cry."  That definitely lightened my mood and I had a good laugh.  James didn't like the stethoscope, but he cooperated and Dr. Brenner "listened" to me and Adam's arms and wrists and finally James' chest.  The doctor said he could still hear the murmur, which wasn't a surprise, since all of James' doctors have said as much.  He said that we didn't need to do an ECHO, but since we were there, we might as well.
There was no wait for the ECHO and Renee, the technician, took us right back.  James had to lay on a bed, with me and Renee on either side, with the lights out.  When the lights were turned off, he gave me this funny face, like "What the hell, mom?"  But the Elmo's World DVD kept him distracted for the most part.  There were some tears and fussing when Renee would move the wand, but for the most part, James did well.  Adam helped comfort him and the time went quickly.
After the ECHO, we talked to Dr. Brenner again, to get the full scoop.  James' defect has not gotten larger, but it has also not closed or gotten smaller.  The deformation of the right cusp of his aortic valve does not seem to be worsening, but over the course of a year there wouldn't be much noticeable change anyhow.  Due to the location of the defect, James will be monitored again in a year.  If the hole was in any other location on the ventricular wall, we would be going back in 3 years.  The long term implications of aortic valve leakage due to further deformation are an enlarged left side of the heart.  This could lead to problems of heart functionality, but Dr. Brenner assured us that this is something that would happen over the course of 10 to 20 years, if it happens at all.  There is no immediate need for any corrective action and nothing to look out for in the next year.
So like I said, pretty anti climatic, but very reassuring for us!
One of the nice things about Dr. Brenner is that he has a notepad full of blank drawings of the heart.  I'm a visual learner, so this is great for me!  It also reminds me of my dad and how he can draw a picture to explain anything.  (Sidebar: He can even tell you what picture to draw over the phone to explain things, like when I was in college and he explained the Coriolis effect to me so that I could pass my Physical Geography final...  but I digress).  So here is a copy of our picture from the doctor.


The black dot in the middle is where James' hole is



A quiet weekend

We had a nice, quiet weekend, which was much needed after our crazy last few weeks.  I think its our last quiet weekend until we get back from Deep Creek Lake in mid-August, so we took full advantage. 
On Saturday, I woke up, attempted to go to my kick boxing class (once again cancelled due to lack of attendance, a common occurance on summer Saturdays), and then we headed out for James and Adam to get their haircut.  James has had one haircut before, so he's still not quite used it to.  He wasn't really a happy camper, but I knew he would feel much cooler without a mop on his little head.  So Chou, Adam's wonderful "stylist" (sidebar: can you call her a stylist when she works in a barber shop?  I know she's not a barber, is there a female friendly barber term?  barberista?  Oh, gender specific terms, you make my head hurt...) took the reigns and got James' haircut done quickly.  Chou has 4(!) boys of her own, the youngest being about 6 months old, so James' screaming, crying, and putting his hands on his head really didn't phase her.  She tried to give him a lollipop, which quickly ended up on the floor.  When he was done, I said thank you, grabbed James, and went for a walk with him while Adam got his hair cut.  $21 and a conversation with a guy named Jerry later (I think Jerry frequents the US Barber, he has a developmental disability and is very friendly), we were on our way to a late breakfast at the Double T Diner. 
The diner is one of my favorites and Adam and I have been eating there since we were dating.  James hadn't been there since he was 3 months old or so, but he always does very well in restaurants.  Funny enough, since Maryland banned smoking in restaurants, the Double T tends so seat families in the old smoking section.  As Adam is a former smoker, we felt right at home there, but it was a little funny.  We didn't order James his own meal, as the portions are always huge at the diner, but he had his fill of pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, toast, and potatoes.  He has a huge appetite, which really comes as no surprise since both Adam and I are hardly dainty.

Checking things out at the diner

After lunch we went home and James promptly took his afternoon nap.  We hung out for the rest of the day, Adam cut the lawn, and we grilled steaks for dinner.  We rented Hall Pass to watch after James went to bed and it really fell flat.  I was glad we only spent $1 on it from the Red Box.
On Sunday, we did more of the same, which was nice.  James took an early nap and went to bed early and overall the day was very relaxing.
This week we are back to normal, with the exception of James' doctor visit on Wednesday and my own visit to the ENT on Thursday.  The bathroom contractors done (and on budget!), and it looks amazing!  I can't wait to paint this weekend and finish everything up!

James' Heart

As I mentioned earlier, James was born 5 weeks early.  His mom (that'd be me...) had severe pre-eclampsia.  And diabetes.  And a wonky x-chromosome.  And is practically blind.  But anyway...  where was I?  Oh yes, the pre-eclampsia was the cause of his early delivery.  I was told that I was going to have a stroke sooner rather than later if we left him in there for any longer.  After a brisk (and I mean brisk, I seriously yelled) pelvic exam, my doctor told me the obvious - I wasn't dilated or effaced or at all ready to birth a baby (no kidding, I drove myself to my appointment, my Maryland parents were in Florida on vacation, Adam was in DC, and Jackie was in WV).  So unprepared for the baby that day?  Yes.  Nonetheless, James was having it his way, 8 hours after my scheduled appointment that day we had a baby.  I would say a baby in our arms, but due to being so early, James had Respiratory Distress Syndrome.  The basic explanation for this was that the little balloons in his lungs were having trouble inflating.  Like that first puff into a real balloon that hurts, but after its started you have no problem filling it the rest of the way up.  So into the NICU he went. 

Thank you, nih.gov

There we also discovered that he has a VSD - Ventricular Septal Defect.  Its the most common form of congenital heart defects and may (that's a big may, there's no "real" explanation for why James has it) be because he has a diabetic mom.  It has nothing to do with his preemie status, although it gave us one more thing to be on our toes about.  James was discharged after 10 days in the NICU, and by that time we'd already made our appointment at Johns Hopkins Pediatric Cardiology.

When James was a mere 6 weeks old, we took our first trek there.  It was by far one of the most intense days of my life.  I felt like crap, literally, awful from my 8 days in the hospital.  Coming home was a bit restful, but I was still caring for a newborn.  Everyday when Adam would come home it was like this huge weight was lifted, even though James was probably the easiest baby anyone could ask for.  At Hopkins we met Dr. Brenner, the head of the department.  James had an EKG and a cardioechogram and we discussed his case with the doctor.  James has a very small VSD, the big cause for concern is that its in the upper area of the wall between the ventricles, towards the middle of his heart, near the aortic valve.  If the hole in his heart closes, its good news.  But if it closes and happens to catch the valve, leaving it open, there could be a problem and he'd have to have surgery to correct it.  But overall, we were told that we'd be back in a year and at that time, James would be a happy, healthy, thriving 1 year old.

A better view of the aortic valve and wall between the ventricles

So next week, we go back for his check up.  I'm sure it will be very bit as intense as last year, although we've had some time to gear up for it.  After the appointment I will post an update!

The state of my bathroom

The bathroom project is almost done.  Well, the parts of it that are being done by a "professional" are almost done.  Today, the tile was grouted and the baseboards were put in.  This afternoon the toilet is going back in.  We will be able to shower tomorrow!  Which is good, I'm sure we're mighty smelly.  OK, I'm kidding, we actually have used the "illegal" shower in the basement a couple of times.  And to be perfectly honest, I can't remember the last time James had a bath...  Oh well, he goes in the pool everyday at daycare, so that must wash some of the stink off. 
I know, that probably sounds like totally negligent parenting on my part, but some days a bath for James is just not in the works.  He sleeps in until around 6:30 a.m. (on good days), I get ready for work, and we're to daycare at 7:30 a.m.  I get home at 4:30 p.m., feed the animals, and walk the dog.  I occasionally start dinner or pick up the house and then go get James from daycare around 5:10 p.m.  After dinner, cleaning up, and bedtime routine, James is to bed by 6:30 or 7 p.m. at the latest.  There just isn't much time to squeeze in a bath.  But now that the new tub is installed, with no stupid, pain in the ass shower doors, I will happily bathe my child more often.  I swear!
OK, that was a bit of side tracking on my part.  The final steps of the bathroom project will be completed by us "do-it-yourselfers".  We are painting the walls and vanity, installing a new sink faucet, and installing a few other new fixtures (the hand towel ring and TP holders).  The how-to on the internet made the faucet seem easy, so hopefully that is the case.  New towels, shower curtain, and floor mats will seal the deal.

Lots o' teeth

If you know James, you know he's been quite slow to get his teeth.  He's been teething for what seems like forever - since about 4 months he's been a drooling machine.  Even with all this teething going on, his first tooth finally erupted at 11 months.  His second tooth came shortly thereafter, but we had a long month of June, waiting for teeth.  Now his top two central incisors have come in, but just the very tips of them.  At least they are through the gums and hurting him a little less.  I think his molars are coming next and I'm not looking forward to them, but it will open up a world of food possibilities!

James sleeps like the dead

Yesterday was the first day of our bathroom remodel.  I took before pictures and day one pictures, but I think I'll save them and post them all together.  (Note:  The new tub and tiling will be done this week, but we aren't painting until the 23rd, so you might have to wait awhile.)  Last night, the plumbers came pretty late in the evening (at least if you have a 13 month old) to finish installing the tub.  Their reason for coming out so late was to make sure we at least had a tub to use.  So we appreciated their efforts to accommodate us as we only have one tub/shower.  Despite all this, I was pretty worried that James was going to wake up once they started work.  But I figured we'd just go with it and see what happened.  So James went to sleep at his usual 6:45 and the plumbers actually showed up around 7:30 or so.  And then the noise started.  They were banging and cutting copper pipes and soldering.  James stayed asleep.  They did something (who knows what that something was, if you remember the "Chelsea fixes the toilet" ordeal, then you know I'm not a plumber) that caused the entire house to shake.  Adam felt it in the basement, it was so loud.  And yet, James stayed asleep.  By the time they were done around 9, I was just amazed.  For a split second I thought about going to make sure he was still breathing, he was so quiet.  Even one of the plumbers said "Wow, that kid could sleep through anything."  Yea, I guess so!

Mess maker, mess maker...

"Make me a mess..."

Yes, replace the word "match" with the word "mess" in the Fiddler on the Roof song, and that would describe James.  James is more and more active everyday.  He loves to play, laugh, give high fives, yell "uh oh" as he throws anything he can get his hands on, snuggle, clap his hands, "sing" along with his toys, wave at people, and MAKE A MESS.  I can't really blame him, my room as a child, with the help of my brother, was always a mess.  Travis would have to help me clean my room, the mess, because his room would always be clean.  I can remember him complaining about it, but really, he helped make the mess so he should help clean it up.  My room in high school and college really wasn't much better.  In fact, I think Adam and I didn't really clean a whole lot until we moved into our current house.  The last apartment we had in Elkridge was a little better, but I think it took home ownership to make us care about being tidy.  So I guess his DNA makes him predisposed for messiness.  James loves to clear out his toy drawer and get every last book out in the living room.  After he goes to bed, we pick it back up, but I can't wait until he can help a bit more with that. 

We made it

Well, we all made it through the week.  James got to have lots of adventures with his Aunt Jackie this week.  He went to Towson University, played with his water table, and got to go for a swim in the pool.  Unfortunately, pool time was cut short due to some teething pain and general grumpiness.  This week was definitely a challenge trying to maintain some hint of a schedule and our sanity.  We look forward to going back to Rhonda's on Monday and I'm going to try not to hug her.
Next week we are back to our regular schedule...  sort of.  Our bathroom remodel starts on Monday and is only supposed to take the week.  Fingers crossed for good results!

13 month milestones

I've seen a few different blogs that do a monthly checkup of milestones based on the age of your child. So I thought I'd take a look at the 13 month milestones on Baby Center. When looking at development, we usually take off a month for James to account for the fact that he was 5 weeks early, but as he gets older he is catching up more and more. By the time he's 2 he should be completely even with his age group and his doctor has never been concerned about his development.

13 months
Mastered Skills (most kids can do):
Uses two words skillfully (e.g., "hi" and "bye")
Bends over and picks up an object
James uses a few words like "hi" "mama" "dada" "uh oh" "all done" and "yea". He is definitely becoming more talkative and there are a few words that I think are coming soon like "bottle" and "kitty".
James picks up a lot of objects, mostly his toys or sippy cup from the floor. I think this milestone assumes that he is standing on his own, which he hasn't done yet. But he can reach down and get something if he's holding on to a table or chair.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do):
Enjoys gazing at his reflection
Holds out arm or leg to help you dress him
James has been looking at his reflection for awhile now, he loves mirrors and the glass doors to our TV stand. If I'm holding him in the mirror, I ask "who's that?" and he grins.
James also helps to get dressed. He knows we put the shirt over his head, then do one arm and then the other. If you ask for his arm, he will usually give it to you, although he much prefers to be naked!

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do):
Combines words and gestures to make needs known
Rolls a ball back and forth
James doesn't let us know what he wants through words and gestures, although at times I think he says "baba" and reaches up when he wants his sippy cup.  He is also starting to say "all done" and pushing his food or sippy away when he is done eating.  More often though he likes to throw the sippy or start to feed the dog when he's finished.  We're working on him not doing this, but he gets so happy when he feeds the dog.
Playing with balls is one of James' favorites right now and he can definitely roll one back and forth.

That's all until next month!

How his day with Aunt Jackie is going

Happy boy!

Jackie sent me this picture from her phone...

So I guess they're having an alright time. 

"Working" at home

This is going to be an interesting week for our family.  I say interesting in the way that means "maybe a horrible mess that makes us want to scream and pull our hair out".  James' daycare is closed for the week.  His daycare provider, Rhonda, takes 2 weeks off in the summer (luckily not in a row).  We decided back in January when we found out her vacation dates, that we would also take a vacation during the second week that she is closed in August.  But for this week we had to arrange alternative child care. 
On Monday, we obviously had off for the 4th of July.  Yesterday, Adam worked from home.  By work from home I mean he stayed home and checked his work email and took a walk with Mac and James and went to Toys R Us. They had a fun day, but I think James kicked his daddy's butt yesterday.  James' schedule is pretty much destroyed already, as it tends to be when we don't send him to daycare.  And today, Wednesday, is my work from home day.  I am not sure how much I will get accomplished, but there is always afternoon nap time and all night after he goes to bed. 
We are so lucky and thankful that on Thursday and Friday James' Godmother (and my super awesome best friend), Jackie is able to watch him.  Jackie is a kindergarten teacher and we are taking full advantage!  James loves to hang out with Jackie, so I am sure they will have a fun time.  Jackie may decide against having children in the future, but hopefully James doesn't ruin her (although if that was going to happen, I guess a class of 30-some 5 year olds would do the trick before my cute, little, innocent James). Note the sarcasm in my previous statement... And if things get crazy, at least I only work 5 minutes from home.
So this morning I tried to put James back on schedule and let him take his early morning nap as usual.  Yesterday he was too excited to be hanging out with Dad to take his early morning nap until late morning, which of course pushed his mid afternoon nap to a late afternoon nap.  He went to bed with a bit of a fuss, but was up bright and early this morning!  Although, he's still sleeping now, so I think I will be waking him up soon!

Baby, you're a firework



Mom and James

Well it was a busy July 4th weekend for us. We had family cookouts on both Saturday and Monday. On Saturday we went to Lutherville to see the Gills and on Monday the Bednarczyks came to see us! It was very busy, but we seem to have made it through!
Also, on Monday, we got to meet James' new "Uncle" Snow.

Dad and James giving Mom the side eye

Snow is an 8 week old golden retriever that Adam's parents just got on Sunday! He is the cutest little pup, but James was not so sure about him. Snow was pretty excited to see James though, someone down on his level. We had to be extra careful and make sure that Snow didn't completely run James over. Being a puppy, he played with Mac (our 3 year old Sheltie) and then promptly took a nap. As both James and Snow get older, I'm sure they will have a lot more fun playing together.

Mac and Snow sniff it out

On top of all the July 4th festivities, my cousin Cerise had her first baby, a little girl named Charlotte Hope. They are calling her Charlie and I think that's the cutest nickname! Anyway, Cerise and her family (ok, most of my family too...) live on the West Coast, so hopefully one of these days we can have a reunion and get everyone together.


Better luck next year

My main goal of the weekend was to get a family shot of all of us in our matching Old Navy flag shirts. This goal was not really accomplished as James had a cupcake on Saturday and was too messy for a group shot and on Monday he was not feeling especially photogenic. But there were some very funny attempts at a group shot. As soon as the photos are on the computer I will post them. And I suppose there is always next year for my group flag tee picture.

That didn't take long

I knew after James started pulling up on his own that he would be "cruising" soon. Cruising means walking while holding on to furniture, etc. But I didn't know it would be this soon! Apparently, he spent all day checking out all of Rhonda's living room and play areas from his new, standing point of view. By the time we got home yesterday, I could tell he was already exhausted. Bedtime was a bit of a struggle, as he was overtired and totally cranky, but he slept for 12 solid hours last night. When my second alarm went off (I usually set an alarm for 7AM just in case I doze off, since Adam leaves about an hour before then) I was totally surprised that I had gotten to sleep that long. Anyway, James is becoming more and more active everday and I'm sure he will be walking in no time!