Almost a year

Its been almost a year as a family of 4.  Between two boys, turning 30, work, and everything else life throws our way, this has been the fastest year of my life.  When I really think about it, its been the happiest year of my life.  I know it can only get better, but even through the insanity, I've been so happy with my boys and our little family.
Logan is walking up a storm these days, he took his first steps just before he hit 11 months and hasn't looked back.  He's crawling up the steps a lot.  He startles us every time he does it, the first time he got halfway up the steps, sneaking up on Adam while he was vacuuming them.  A few days ago, I went to wake James up from his nap and while I was helping him in the bathroom, I noticed Logan, hanging out in the upstairs hallway.  He hasn't tried to go down yet, but I know that is coming.
We had an early birthday party for the little guy, right after Thanksgiving.  It was a crazy idea to have his party right after hosting Thanksgiving, but we pulled it off.  Logan enjoyed his cake and both boys were so pleased that Rhonda came.  I am not sure they realized that Rhonda exists outside of her house!
James has had a hard time sharing Logan's birthday presents.  He has never encountered gifts that weren't his and having to share isn't easy for any 3 year old.  But we seem to have moved on, now that some of their newness has worn off.
Pictures from the party:

Pre-party

Delicious vanilla cupcakes

He loves to eat

Surprisingly, he didn't get too messy!

Vacation

After a bit of a hiatus, here I am!  We went on a wonderful vacation to North Topsail Beach, NC last week and it was a fabulous break from work and daily life.  The four of us rented a house right on the beach and had a great time.  James and Logan ended up loving the beach, while Mac and I are still more reserved about it.  While I was a beach bum kind of baby, as an adult, all the sand and sunscreen and salty air kind of annoy me.  But I sucked it up and everyone was happy.
Logan thoroughly enjoyed throwing himself into the sand, particularly after getting a fresh coat of sunscreen.  How else would he get so much sand coverage?  Children's sunscreen is really glue.
James took a day or so to warm up to going in the water, but once he did, he quickly turned into a daredevil.  My mom says that Travis, my older brother, was always more reserved in the water, while I was diving into the bath tub from 6 months on and jumping off the high dive at 2 years old.  I think James is definitely more like Travis and Logan is more like me in that respect.  Now that the boys are taking baths together and Logan isn't so restricted by his baby tub, he's always going head first into the water.  Talk about a major heart attack for his mother.

Family Photos

We had pictures taken of the family on June 30th.  It was hot and James didn't really want to cooperate, but here are a few photos.  Hopefully we will have the CD with all the shots soon!

Okay, I'm here still

Hi, I'm Chelsea and I've gotten over myself.  Really I've just managed to find my motivation again.  For work, going to the gym, and now for writing here.  The last few weeks have been full of some stress for me and the family, but it seems some of it has eased and some of it has resurfaced.  Ebb and flow, I suppose.  But the way we deal with challenges ultimately makes us the people that we are.  And while I can pout and wallow and sleep instead of working out, I really don't want to choose that life.  So here we are!
As I mentioned before, James and Logan had their 3 year and 6 month check ups.  James was 33 lbs and 38 3/4 inches tall.  Logan was almost 18 lbs (2 ounces shy) and 26.5 inches!  They are some big boys, James was in the 80th percentile for height and 60th for weight, since he's constantly moving.  And Logan was in the 75th percentile for both height and weight.  I love their doctor and tolerate his nurse.  Logan also received another round of shots, which had no effect on his whatsoever.  When James used to get shots, he'd be grumpy and sleep a ton and fuss.  Logan has an "ehhh, whatever" kind of attitude.  I'm lucky to have two pretty laid back children.
Part of the stress and worry that I was facing was due to Logan's genetic testing.  I carry a faulty gene that can lead to Becker muscular dystrophy in boys.  My brother and cousin are affected by it.  While its a fairly mild form of MD, I was still worried and felt that because James is not affected that Logan would obviously have it. But he doesn't.  His testing came back totally normal, there is no deletion on his DMD gene.  When Adam and I listened to the voice mail and heard the good news, we both looked at each other and vowed no more children.  Rolling the dice twice was enough and I cannot imagine the stress I would feel, worrying about passing my bad gene onto a third child.
Daycare was closed last week, Rhonda was on vacation and the boys were home for 9 long days.  The days actually weren't that long and Adam took care of them most of the time.  We were lucky that Jackie was able to stay with them on Tuesday and Thursday was a holiday for everyone.  I remember last summer thinking that I couldn't wait for Rhonda to be open again, but this year it wasn't as bad.  We stuck to our schedule and everyone came out alive.
Three is an interesting age.  James is smart enough to know what he wants and remembers enough to call you out if you don't follow through on something.  He knows how to use the potty and clean up afterwards, but won't tell you he needs to go.  He throws a tantrum like a champ and cuddles like a sweetheart just moments later.  His sense of humor is ridiculous and he feels some jealousy over the baby at times.  For instance, last night I was feeding Logan and James walked over and put his head on my leg.  Logan finished up his bottle and James asked to sit with me.  I asked him if it was okay if Logan sat with us too.  James said, "No, put Logan on the floor."  So I set Logan down with some toys and James climbed up and snuggled me tightly.  Then he looked up and said "I lub you."  I told him I loved him too and he smiled and we sat together for a few minutes.  He's pretty cute.

Brotherly Love

James loves his baby brother and its quite obvious that Logan is just as enraptured with James.  While James is pretty hands off with Logan, he does help buckle his car seat, get diapers, and make bottles ("Two scoops, Mom!").  Before bed, James gives baby a hug and kiss and says good night.  He makes sure to be quiet if Logan is falling asleep and likes to whisper, "Good night, Baby Logan".  When he's awake, Logan smiles at James nonstop, reaches for him, and occasionally tries to grab whatever extremity might be available.  James always says that Logan is trying to tickle him.
This morning, I was making my coffee while the boys were in the living room.  Logan was rolling around on the floor when I left, but when I got back James was with him.  They were laying on their tummies, facing each other.  As I walked in the room, I notice that James had grabbed Logan's hand.  He looked up at me and said, "Mom, we're holding hands!"  James was so excited about it and Logan had a huge grin.  I know there will be jealousies, problems with sharing, and fights, but I really love seeing my boys so happy together.  It  also helps that if James is in the room, Logan is probably not screaming for me and I can make my coffee a little bit more quickly!

Two feet

Most work days, I get the boys and myself ready and out of the house by 7:00 am.  Its a crazy, hectic morning, but I think I've gotten pretty good at it in the last 2 months.  I get Logan fed, ready, and in his car seat before I even go into James' room.

This morning, I got my big boy up and we picked out his clothes (cargo shorts and a red M&M's t-shirt from Grandma Dee Dee).  Then I sat on the floor and he came over to sit with me and get his morning snuggles.  These are occasionally the only snuggles I get all day, because let's face it - he's a man on the move.  Then James looked at me very seriously and said "I got two feet!"  Then he looked at me and said, just as seriously, "You got two feet too!  And pink toes!"

I looked at him incredulously and said "No way!  That's so cool!"  He grinned at me and we proceeded to get him dressed.   I really do love mornings with my guys, even if they are a bit hurried!

You know you're a mom when...

Normally a post like this might have some silly answers.  As parents, we do lots of crazy things that we never would have done without our children.  But other times, I really know I'm a mom when there's tragedy happening.
While I hesitate to make tragedies happening to other people about me, there is something about being those boys' mom that makes me feel far more sensitive to the sometimes awful world we live in.  I know that I have to raise them in this crazy world and that is a hard challenge to face when it seems evil is lurking around every corner.
On Monday, I went to the gym after work.  I hadn't seen anything about the bombings in Boston yet and when I got to the gym, my iPod ran out of batteries.  So I plugged my headphones into the gym TV system and every station had news about the bombing on.
I managed to get 15 minutes of working out/listening to the news done before I just knew that I couldn't stay away from the boys for one second longer.  So I went to Rhonda's early, scooped both of them up, and gave them an extra long hug.  My heart was aching watching the awful news, it was stretched as far as it could go when I gave in and left the gym.  They say that having kids is like having your heart outside of your chest and Monday I definitely felt that.
Having kids really has made me a more compassionate and more empathetic person.  Sometimes I wish I could shut that off, but in the end I know its not really a bad thing.

The virus from hell

Its been quite the week for our family.  We've been sick.  Really, really sick.  I am still really, really sick.
James started to feel bad on the Monday after Easter.  I took him to the doctor that day only to discover that he had a virus.  Now that's all well and good, but I'm the kind of mom that likes to throw antibiotics at everything.  Kill the germs!  But with a virus you have no choice but to wait it out.  James did okay the rest of Monday, but still had a fever on Tuesday morning.
After much debate, and maybe some loud verbalization on my part (I swear, I don't really scream that much, but it just seems like it on this here blog...) I took Logan to daycare and stayed home with James.  Tuesday was just a bad day for either Adam or I to stay home.  Adam had training for his Leadership Development Program at work and I had a job interview/tons of work at my real job.  But kids always get sick on days when we need them to be well, Murphy's law?
After a day of rest on Tuesday, James was feeling better.  My interview was rescheduled for Wednesday morning, so it wasn't a total wash.  On a side note, I am definitely not taking the job if its offered.  I would have to commute (I am so spoiled working less than 5 minutes from home), pay for parking, and wouldn't be able to telework.  Its a slight raise, but when I did the math, parking and extra gas would even things out.  But its always good to practice interview skills.
James was very whiny the rest of the week, Rhonda even called me to ask if it was alright to give him Motrin on Wednesday morning.
Then Adam started to cough.  And Logan started to cough little, pathetic baby coughs.  And of course, I started to cough.  Big, hacking coughs that rattle your whole body.  Add in congestion, runny nose, and a fever for me and you have one sick momma.
Saturday night, Logan woke up to eat (thank you 4 month growth spurt, this kid has been eating nonstop for the last 4 days) and I could tell something was off.  But my boy wanted to eat, so he ate.  Then Logan refused to go back to sleep.  He was not having it.  So downstairs we went, where I took my temperature.  It was almost 104.  Well no wonder I was so hot and no wonder the baby didn't want me to hold him.  I was making him hot.  So after two hours of unsuccessfully trying to put him to bed, I called for reinforcements.  When I woke Adam for help, I think I said, "He's been up for two hours and I have a 104 degree fever, please help".  So I told Adam he'd eaten 6 ounces, had a diaper change, and was not happy.  Logan then screamed for awhile and finally went to bed.
Adam let me sleep in until almost 9 AM on Sunday, fairly unheard of around our house.  And I tried to rest as much as possible.  That's pretty much a joke with two youngsters, but I tried.  I woke up this morning and still have a fever, but I am at work.  I am still coughing a lot and pretty much feel like crap, but am hoping to feel better soon.  This truly has been the virus from hell!

Haircuts

Adam has gone to the same barber, Miss Chau (pronounced Chow, she and her husband Kevin are Vietnamese)  since we've lived in this house.  James started to see her when he was 11 months old and got his first haircut.  Adam gets his hair cut faithfully every 3 weeks and James does every 6.  Its about the only consistent thing in our lives, it seems sometimes!

Today, I reached either a new level of efficiency or a new low in my adult life...  I let Chau cut my hair.  She does cut woman's hair on occasion, but usually its guys.  

She actually did a great job and I'm glad to have checked something off my to do list! We took more than six inches off and my head feels much lighter. And at only $15 I may continue to let Chau do my yearly haircut!

I look tired.  Oh wait, I am tired!

The Aquarium

This past Monday, Adam and I took advantage of our day off of work for President's Day and took James to the National Aquarium in Baltimore.  We have been wanting to take him for some time, but the aquarium doesn't allow strollers and we wanted to make sure that he could handle the walking.  Well, he COULD have handled the walking, but was a bit shy with such a crowd.  He walked a good bit, but also asked Adam to carry him a good bit too.  I had Logan in our Ergo baby carrier, so I got out of carrying the big boy!
We had a great time, but also learned a few things to keep in mind for our next trip.  One of those was not to take the Light Rail into the city, as it broke down for 45 minutes.  We also forgot to buy tickets online before we left the house, so we had to wait for our entry time.  Luckily, the ticket guy saw us waiting and let us in early.
The exhibits at the aquarium are great, we saw the Atlantic Coast, Rain Forest, and Jelly Fish, as well as the dolphins.  There is a 4D film that is also being shown right now, but we decided that James probably wouldn't sit through the whole thing.  I was a little disappointed that there is no longer a set time for the dolphin show, just times to watch their training and enrichment.  The dolphins were always my favorite as a kid, but at least we got to see them for a little while.
I was kind of amazed at the people at the aquarium though.  There were more people than I expected (which was silly, we thought going on a holiday would mean less people, but everyone thought that) and I was surprised at how pushy they got.  I suppose I should have expected that, but I always make such an effort to teach James to be polite and not run into people that I thought maybe others did as well? Silly me, having so much faith in the general public!  Another little pet peeve I had was everyone with their cameras/cell phones. There is no flash photography allowed, but everyone was snapping away on their phones with their flashes going off left and right.  Do you really need to facebook a blurry picture of a puffin?  Does Great Aunt Susie care about the tree frogs you saw?  Really?  I love to document things too, but in the end I was glad that I decided not to bring the camera and just enjoy the memories we were making.
Overall, it was a wonderful day and I'm glad we kept James home from daycare to go.  He has adjusted so well to being a big brother and he definitely deserved a fun day.  I can't wait until the weather gets warmer and we can go to the zoo.

What is love?

I tell James that I love him everyday, sometimes multiple times a day.  He either ignores me because he is doing something very important (like shooting pretend Spiderman webs or trying to break his leg jumping down our stairs) or he responds "Lub you too, Mom".  You can guess which one I prefer.  Sometimes he says I love you first, but its a pretty rare occasion.

A few days ago, I asked James what I love you means.  He responded "Means I not scared, Mom."

Be still my Momma heart.

Fussy boy

The last few weeks have been going pretty well at our house.  We're settling into having a baby and getting used to new routines.  Although, I go back to work next week which will change things again.  Adam is taking 4 weeks of paternity leave and will go back on March 18th, once again changing things up, but I'm glad he'll have time to bond with Logan.
Mr. Baby (we are fond of calling him this, as he is a one serious baby) is doing well.  He eats like crazy and is finally figuring out that he should sleep at night.  He sleeps from about 8 PM to 2 AM and then again from 4 AM til 7 AM.  He usually takes his first morning nap after we return from dropping James off at daycare.  So we're all sleeping a bit better.  He is slowly awake less and less during his wake up at 2 AM.  Logan is a good amount fussier than James ever was.  He likes things just so and will let you know if you aren't meeting his standard.  Sometimes he cries to be fed, even when he's not hungry.  He screams if he wants to be entertained, cuddled, or laid on his tummy.  James screamed a good deal during his first three months due to gas issues.  Then, almost the very day he turned 3 months old, it ended.  They call the first 3 months of life the "fourth trimester" because in a perfect world, where humans are mammoths, babies would gestate for a full year.  But due to reasons, mainly size related, we give birth after 9 months.  Anyway, I am hoping that in the next few weeks, Logan's screaming will die down a good bit.
Other than that, his personality is very serious.  He smiles in his sleep, but usually has a silly little smirk on his face.  He still looks almost identical to his older brother as a baby, but appears to have darker hair.  His eyes are still blue, but look like they are changing to brown everyday.
Fussy babies are hard.  When you're home everyday with an angry baby, you really start to feel like you're doing a crap job of being a mother.  Or at least I do.  With toddlers, even when they're mad or grumpy, they still will show affection.  A hug or kiss can go a long way when you're feeling like the worst mom ever, but infants can't give that kind of response.  That's been a hard thing for me to remember, when I feel like my baby must hate me because he's been fussy all day.  But I know all too soon, he won't be a tiny (well, not so tiny, since he's gaining weight like crazy!) baby and I'll want these sleepless nights back.
Overall, we're doing well.  To our credit and experience with James, Adam and I have not had a middle of the night, overly tired screaming match.  We had them almost nightly for awhile with James, for no other reason than tiredness and unclear expectations.  We've had a better plan for how to handle overnight feedings this time and I think the clearer communication has helped us both.  Not that we ever held grudges about these middle of the night squabbles, but its better not to call your spouse horrible names at 3 AM.  Okay, I might have been the main name caller, but we will look the other way.

34 weeks

34 weeks today!  The baby is the size of a butternut squash.  Here are some fun facts about baby at week 34:
He's recognizing and reacting to simple songs, if you're singing them.  (If you're not, start!  He may find them soothing after birth.)
He's also urinating about a pint a day.
Well, at least we're both peeing a ton.  Haha.  I actually feel a lot more comfortable at this point than I did with James.  Something about not being bloated like Jabba the Hut is always nice.  I haven't been sleeping great, but am still managing.  My big problem right now is that I tend to flip onto my back, which is both uncomfortable and causes me to snore.  I've been snoring so loudly that I tend to wake myself up.  Adam deals with my snoring well, as I do it regardless of whether I'm pregnant or not, but I still feel bad.  
This week was supposed to mark the last of my once weekly OB appointments, but just for the fun of it, I decided that I should go in a second time.  Okay, that's not really what happened, but it sounds better than what really happened.  Wednesday, I went into the doctor and had a routine check up, plus a Biophysical Profile.  That is basically an ultrasound where they count movement of the baby and make sure he's practicing his breathing skills.  Babies obviously don't need to breath while inside mom, but they should be practicing the movement a lot.  Well, the little guy took awhile to show off, but eventually he passed his test.  They took my blood pressure and did a urine protein, both of which were normal.

Chelsea the Hut

I left the doctor's office and went to run errands at the pharmacy and grocery store, then went home.  Well about 30 minutes after I was home, I started to feel a bit off.  My vision started to blur while I was reading (The Racketeer by John Grisham, he's my favorite!) and I just wasn't feeling well.  Blurred vision is pretty common when my blood sugar is low, so I tested it.  My sugar was normal, but I ate some crackers, just in case.  I also checked my blood pressure, which had gone up a bit since my appointment.  I wouldn't say that it was high, but it was higher and I had a bit of a headache.  Then, as I was sitting, waiting things out, I was watching Ellen and having this really weird disconnect with the words on the screen.  I could read them in my head, but was having trouble vocalizing things.  But all of these wacky symptoms stopped within about 20 minutes, my sugar and pressure were both normal and the rest of the evening was fine.
But of course, I told Adam about the incident and he had me call the doctor's office yesterday morning.  They had me come in to recheck my protein and my blood pressure.  I got a clean bill of health and was told to make sure I come in if I have any other neurological symptoms (not a problem, Doctor).
Next week will start my Monday and Thursday appointments for non stress testing, biophysical profiles, and routine OB visits.  Its going to be a crazy few weeks, but after that, the little boy will be here!  Also next Wednesday, James starts back to regular daycare at Rhonda's.  I'm so excited to get back to our usual routine and am really hoping that another change isn't too rough on James.  Going to a new daycare has been very scary for him (and his parents) but I think overall it showed that he is a tough guy who can deal with change.  I am hoping to have a few "normal" weeks with Rhonda before we completely change everything with a new sibling!

2 year olds are crazy

So every now and then I like to state the obvious.  Today it is this fact: Two year olds are crazy.  Not even crazy bad all the time, just crazy.  They say silly things, run around like maniacs, and change their minds all the time.  I've had the pleasure of spending the last four days at home with James, the last two of which have been mainly by myself.  We honestly had a great time, we ran errands, saw my mom and step dad, and went to my doctor's appointment.  James is very well behaved and he didn't get a timeout the entire time.  He was warned a few times, but never followed through with the bad behavior to end up in timeout.  The boy is a ball of energy.
I envy his energy, but more than that, I love his heart.  Even when he's running around, being wacky, he still stops every now and then to give his mom a hug.  He saunters over, leans his head on me, and says "Oh, mommy" in this cute voice.  He likes to play, but he also likes to cuddle and give kisses.  I can't imagine how I will feel when one day this ends, when he's embarrassed that his mom could possible want a hug, and he realizes that cuddling is just so not cool.  For now, I'm going to enjoy my snuggly boy and try not to think about it too much.
While Adam was away, James did a really great job of playing independently.  He would pull out a book and flip through it or line up his Matchbox cars and keep himself pretty entertained.  I was proud of myself that I only put him in front of Sesame Street on Sunday evening so that I could cook dinner.  I know that I can take care of the two of us on my own, but I certainly welcomed Adam's return this afternoon.

The last week

James has been sick for about a week now.  Between a high fever (104* at some points) and sore throat, to be closely followed by a very runny nose and cough, my little guy was kind of a mess for awhile.  He seems to be doing better this morning, but his nose and cough are still bothering him a bit.  While I try not to take daycare for granted, being home with a sick toddler is not for the faint at heart.  He is stubborn, head strong, and moody (not unlike his mother, ha!).  Add in some sickness and he's even grumpier, not in the mood to eat, and clingy to boot.
Okay, now I'm done complaining.  I really do feel bad for the little guy, I would take all his ills if I could, but it doesn't work that way.  Hopefully he will continue to feel better, at least for his parents' sake.
Tomorrow is our annual trip to pediatric cardiology, so that should be interesting.  This year I'm not nearly so amped up about it as much as I'm dreading having to hold James still for his echo.  The child barely holds still for a diaper change.  But they usually play a movie, so hopefully his love of "Melmo" will help some.  Wish us luck!

I just want to take a nap

Hi there!  What a crazy few weeks its been ( I realize that I say this a lot).  But between having no power for 4 days and having James home from daycare for a week, it has been crazy.
Today, Adam and I are back at work and James is at daycare.  Things seem to be back to normal, but then I called and made James' annual eye exam appointment and his first real dental exam.  Adam tried to take James to our regular family dentist, but apparently they're big wimps and decided to have him see a pediatric dentist.  Apparently, the dentist handed James a mirror, which he proceeded to whack himself in the head with and giggle.  So the dentist decided not to even try to look in his mouth.  He was in a great mood and laughing a lot, I think the dentist should have at least tried, but that is just me.  Had I been there, I would have said something, but I know Adam did what was best at the time.  Anyway, this lead me to checking our calendar and realizing we have a quite a few appointments between the two of us in the next 6 weeks.  James' annual heart check up, my OB and endocrinologist, my own dentist, and now two more appointments for James, which leads into our anatomy/gender ultrasound in August.  Does it ever end!?
Then today, Adam also mentions that he now has to go to THREE technical conferences for work (that are 2 to 3 days out of town a piece).
I know that it makes sense financially with the new baby on the way and logically needing to save time off for said baby's arrival, not taking a vacation this summer was the way to go, but really...
I JUST WANT TO TAKE A NAP!

Father's Day Weekend

Wow, another weekend has come and gone and this one was particularly busy for our family!
We spent Father's Day weekend with as many fathers as we could get our hands on.  On Saturday, we went hiking with Adam's dad and other various family members and on Sunday we went to see my mom and stepdad.  James had a fairly good time hiking with the family, although he was very tired and grumpy around mid-day.  He took a snooze in the stroller on the way back to the car and was back to his perky self in a few short minutes.  Sunday, James also had a great time, hanging out with Grandma, Poopaw, and Bailey dog.  Poor Bailey, I never know if he loves kids or hates them, but he always comes back for more "love".  For some reason, maybe because my mom's living room is bigger than ours, James always does this funny run and jump game when hanging out with Grandma.  He also knows that Poopaw is never short on snacks and managed to eat several varieties of cookie.  What are Poopaws for, if not handing out sugary snacks?
After bedtime for James, I called my own dad to wish him a Happy Father's Day.  It sounded like his day was full of manual labor, but around his place that is no surprise!  I like to think I would enjoy living in the country as he does, but really, I think I'm much to lazy to keep up such a large piece of property.  I will take my row home in the suburban sprawl for now.
In other news, we are looking for a new light weight/umbrella stroller.  After hiking this weekend, I've determined that ours is too short.  At the mall or for other short trips, this isn't a problem, but hiking with a too short stroller caused a lot of lower back and leg pain the next day.  Unfortunately, I think this is going to mean spending a bit more money, but I will see what I can find.

Mother's Day Weekend

This weekend seemed to fly by!  We celebrated Mother's Day on both Saturday and Sunday and overall it was a great weekend.  

On Saturday, Adam, James, and I took my mom and step dad out for lunch.  We went to one of our favorite places in Catonsville, Matthews 1600 and it was a nice time.  James was well behaved the whole 2 hour lunch and the food was great.  

On Sunday we had planned to take James to get new shoes and check out a few sales at the mall, but in the morning we spontaneously decided to go to the Orioles game instead.  James hadn't been to a baseball game yet and the weather was great, so off we went to Camden Yards.  While James was not a fan of getting on the Light Rail, he loved the stadium.  James can get a little shy in crowds and not want to walk, but he did really well, holding onto both of our hands and walking around like he owned the place.  And since popcorn is one of James' favorite things in the world, he sat happily and watched the game while munching on his snacks.

Although the Orioles didn't pull out the win, we still had a nice family outing to the ballpark and we are excited to take James to another game soon!

He's playing us

Children are crafty, fickle little beings.  They are cute only so their parents feel the need to keep them around.  Well, their cuteness and our inborn, genetic desire to not want to harm something we worked so hard to protect for 9 months.
James can play Adam and I like a fiddle.  He's not even two, yet he knows how to get what he wants.  Not that he does...  at least not all the time.
On Saturday, Adam and I went to an Oriole's game.  We had free tickets, so even though it was raining, we left James with my mom and headed down to Camden Yards.  I was a little worried that James wouldn't go to bed for Grandma, he likes to put up a fight and lay in his bed making noise for awhile before actually falling asleep these days.  Usually, Adam or I give in and go up to check on James during these noisy times.  Adam tells him its time to sleep, not time to play and I usually repeat something like that and sing him a song or two.  Eventually, he falls asleep.  But not for Grandma, nooooo.  James got a story, had some snuggles, and then went to SLEEP.  No fuss, no noise.  NOTHING.  I mean, sure I'm happy he didn't make my mom's night rough.  We came home and were told of our perfect child and really, who can complain about that?
Cut to Sunday night...  we're on our third trip upstairs and he finally stops making noise and goes to sleep.
Either we need Grandma to come over every night or he's playing us.

The birthday list

Today I ordered invitations for James' second birthday party.  We're just having a small get together with family and a few friends, but I love personalizing invitations on snapfish.com.  Then I opened my mailing list file to print labels out for them and there in the middle of the page was a label for Mary Lou Smith, my grandma.  A wave of pain and sadness came over me and there I was at my desk, having a good cry.  I know grief and mourning take time, but I never knew the little ways it would affect me.  Like a mailing list for a birthday party.
I can only take it one day at a time, but today was hard.