Thomas the Train!!

The day finally came when we got to go meet Thomas the Train. I bought that tickets awhile ago and James kept asking us about it :). We had GREAT weather for it and we all had a blast. The train ride was a little long for James' liking but overall he had a blast!! We thought that he might be scared of Sir Top'em Hat, but he just gave him a high five and smiled for the camera. When Thomas pulled into the station James freaked out, he was just smiling from ear to ear and kept saying oh my there is Thomas!!! It feels very good as a parent to see your child that excited and happy. James ended up coming home with a new train "Molly". I am not sure if it was worth the $18 a person but it was sure with any amount of money to see your child have that much fun!!

In the mind of a 2 yr old

Well James is officially 2 years old!! It seems crazy to think that we waited SO long for him to get here!! It is funny, the day that he turned 2 he really started acting like a 2 year old. Bossy, throwing fits, and very stubborn, but we love him regardless!! At James 2 yr check up he weighed 31 lbs which puts him in the 78% for weight and was 36 inches for height which puts him at 86%.  He new favorite thing is puzzles and he is very good at them. Last night he put a 24 piece puzzle together all by himself. He hates it when you try to help him, he wants to figure it out for himself. We are now watching CARS almost every night and James can sight a lot of the lines in the movie word for word on most of the scenes of the movie. It is pretty entertaining :) James can now count 1-10 in English & Spanish, and can sing the ABC's song for you very well. James' other favorite song to sing is Deep & Wide, Old McDonald, Istsy Bisty, The more we get together. James is very good at reminding us to say our prayer at dinner time and always says AMEN for us at the end :)  James is very much in the repeating stage, like the other night Don & I were talking about his birthday coming up and I said geez James, Dad is getting old. James says Dad is OLD!!! It was pretty funny :) Our next big step is going to be moving to a big boy bed. James is outgrowing his crib very fast. He is pretty much the length of the crib and most nights has body parts hanging out of the crib somewhere!!  We love James so much and pray a very long time for him to come & never thought he would!!



From 1 day old to......






2 Year Old!!!!

State Fair Time

James & I headed off for the fair early this morning, trying to beat traffic! One of my friends was showing her cow and we wanted to support her and be there for her. She didn't show the bull till 11:00 which we didn't end up staying that long, but James got to visit Ashley in the barn and see her cow and even pet him!! James thought it was pretty funny that the cows were getting baths and all pretty as he would say for the show. He didn't think too much about the pigs, except Mommy it's stinky in here!! I am pretty sure that James loved all the junk food that he got to eat while there. I introduced him to cotton candy, which he wouldn't stick any in his mouth but loved feeding it to me. I think the texture of it turned him off. We wanted to see the butter cow but the line for it was outside the building. We are going back on Sunday to see Dada when he is working at the booth there. On Sunday the goal is to find the sheep and little animals and do the kid land.

The closest thing to the real butter cow!!

Ashley introducing James to her cow

James got a little scared when the cow decided to stand up

Taking a break and eating our snacks, cheese curds & cookies!!!

James was asleep before we even got out of the parking lot, with his new cow!!!

James' 2nd Birthday Party!!!

We had James' 2nd birthday party yesterday and it was a BLAST!! It was our 1st big get together in the new house too. The theme was Thomas the Train (of course), it was great to catch up with family & friends. We got James a Thomas balloon that sings Happy Birthday which has been playing nonstop since yesterday :). James got lots of new fun toys & books from family & friends. I am enjoying have new toys to play with him! The kids had a blast playing on the swing set & driving James' car around. James hasn't learn to push the pedal down to go forward so he just rode around in it and had his cousins push the pedal. It was nice that my sister and brother in-law came up from Le Mars, we don't get to see them as much as we would like to. One of my friends from Cedar Rapids came to, along with her little girl Kendall. Kendall and James are 6 weeks apart. Molly & I have enjoyed sharing pregnancy together and now the growing of our babies together, she is a GREAT friend and wish we lived closer!! Enjoy the pictures below!!

                                                   Singing HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!!!

                                                  Eating cake with his cousins!!

                                                           Kendall & James playing

                                             From 4 days old (James) & 6 weeks (Kendall)

                                             NOW......2 yrs old!!! Crazy how time flys :)

Carnival at Daycare!!

James' daycare lady had a carnival for her kiddos this weekend. James had a blast and screamed/cry when we had to leave. It was nice for us parents to meet each other too and see what kid belongs to what parent. James got to make his own visor and decorated it. Bean bag toss, ducky pool, fishing & a cookie walk! James came home with lots of goodies!!! It was very nice of Connie to throw this for the kids and we appreciate her so much!!

                                                               James' friend at daycare Porter

Train Table

Since we have James' birthday party next Saturday we decided to give him our gift today, especially since it is a huge train table and we were have troubles hiding it from him! We had half of it built and than Don's parents came up for lunch and help us finish the rest. It was funny when I got him up from his nap he saw the train table box sitting on the floor and already got excited! He freaked when he saw the acual table :) He has been playing on it ever since.....Happy Birthday James we love you!!!!

Joys of Being a Homeowner

I know it has been a while since I have posted something. Just been super busy with the move, getting stuff put away and trying to relax in between! We all seem to be adjusting well. The biggest adjustment is being in a little town with nothing but a gas station. Luckily Altoona is only 3 miles away & Ankeny is 6 miles. But I am learning to be a better meal planner now! My goal this week is to only make 1 trip to HyVee all week, we will see how it goes. We are enjoying having a kitchen table to sit down and eat at together. I am enjoying having a big kitchen to cook in, and cupboards to put everything in. One surprising thing that I am really enjoying that I didn't think to much about was a pantry, that is super nice!!! James is really enjoying the yard to play in, he has been sleeping in more and more, which we LOVE!! We hope to convert him into a twin bed with in the next few months. Enjoy the pictures below :)

                                                  Cooking our First Dinner at the New House