Thanksgiving

Well Don & I cooked our first turkey together this year!! It turned out pretty well :)
Thursday we spent the day with Don's family, his brother from Missouri came up for the day. We had a pretty laid back day on Thursday even had pizza for lunch!! Friday evening we decided to invite over both sets of grandparents for a fest!! We had a turkey, standing rib roast, green beans, corn, potatoes, gravy, bread, cherry salad, & of course cherry & pumkin pie.....YUMMY!!! My stomach still hurts even thinking about all that food again :) James enjoyed having everyone over and got to show off all of his stuff for everyone. My grandmother and Aunt were able to come as well!! Enjoy the pictures below :)

Bye Bye Crib!!

This week we transfer James out of his crib into his big boy bed! I started on Monday with putting him in there for his nap and he did pretty well. James went right to sleep and slept for about 2 hours. Monday night I still put him in the crib. Tuesday night James slept in his big boy bed. Once again he went right to sleep. He woke up at 3AM & than again at 5. He has gotten better every night & last night he slept from 8-6:30!!! So tonight we took the crib apart and got the rest of his room ready. James decided on a Thomas Bed, enjoy the pictures :) Having computer problems with post the picture of James in his new bed soon, well as soon as my lap top lets me :)

Trick or Treat!!!

James had a blast tonight going from one house to the next saying trick or treat!! He very polite and said thank you to everyone and there was even a few happy new years in there too for some reason :) James had a Halloween party at daycare on Friday and refused to wear his costume, so I was VERY VERY happy that he wore his costume the whole night tonight!! We were gone for about a hour and than he had fun handing out candy to all the kiddos. Halloween is SOOOOO much more fun with a kid. You really do see things through their eyes!!

Truck School

I had to go to truck school these past few days in Cedar Rapids and learn how to drive a semi. Which I guess makes sense since I test people I guess I should know how to drive one :) I was super nervous and didn't have much interest in driving the semi out on the road. I was ok with in the parking lot but not out on the road. BUT I decided to drive out on the road. I figure I may not have the chance ever again! Not only did we drive on the road but I got on & off the interstate too. We did some of the same testing that the applicants do when they come into the DOT to get a Commerical Drivers License. I didn't hit any cones, people or poles, I was pretty proud of myself!! I would say the hardest thing was that since I know how to drive a stick shift in a car I thought I could do the truck. The shifting is completely different. What would be 1st gear in a car is reverse, so I didnt want to get that one mixed up!! All & all I had a pretty good time, better than what I thought I was going to. It was very hard to be away from James those 3 days but I was nice to see how excited he was when I went to pick him up at daycare!!

Center Grove Orchard

On Monday we took James to the pumpkin patch that we like near Cambridge IA. We took him there last year and he had a blast. It was a little rainy off and on but we still had fun this year. James really like all the animals there especially the chickens!! He also let me take his picture in all the stand inn's this year, unlike last year. James pick out the perfect little pumpkin that was also the smallest since they charge by the pound :) This place is also a apple orchard so we got lots of yummy apples, apple crisp & apple donuts, which I would die for!! :) Enjoy the photos below!!

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!!!!