Charades... or not.

James wanted to play a game the other day, so I broke out the Memory game we got him for Christmas. He did pretty well- much better than the last time we played (ie. months ago... I'm really not a very fun mom)! Anyway, once we had done a few games of regular ol' Memory, James wanted to change things up. I decided to try our hands (does that work in the plural?) at Charades. James loved it! Here is a lil' video demonstrating his mad-awesome skills.

{Just kidding. It's too big, apparently... lame.}

Hm. Well, there are more videos I've been wanting to share as well. I'll try and toss those puppies up here, too. One is of James playing the uber-cool harmonica. Look out, Hollywood! The other is of Jolie showing that white girls can jump. And the final/third one is of James and his buddy Kona and... well, just watch. :)

Also, I'll throw in an adorable picture of our Jolie-- for Aunt Dena & Co. {Thank you for the sweet dress, you guys! She loves it... or loves eating it, anyway! :) It is such a pretty one and fits her perfectly! Oh, and don't judge us for the wrinkles; I'm pretty sure this is post-nap.}

xo

So far this September...

Here is an update... and a few pictures (though quite frankly, each of these items deserves its own post):

1. James hit a milestone this month... his first day of PRESCHOOL! It's really more like pre-preschool (myself and four other moms are on a teaching rotation, cycling our five kiddos through each week and introducing them to the concept and basics of school), but still. What a big boy! He's loving every minute of it. On his very first day, he fought with me when I came to pick him up (just down the road). He dramatically declared, "I want to live here FOREVER!" Pssh. Thanks for making me feel missed, buddy. Oh, well. At least he had a positive experience. :)

2. Jolie hit a milestone as well. She has now officially conquered SITTING! She started getting the hang of it around 5 1/2 months, but she was still pretty tipsy. She now can sit and play for a good, long time without face-planting it too often. :) She's growing up too fast. My sweet baby girl...

(PS. This picture was taken while she was still in the wobbly stage... hence mommy's legs helping her stabilize.)
3. We got to see DENA & CO!!! Dena (my sister) and her family were up in Idaho for Labor Day, so we drove a couple of hours to visit them. (A couple of hours is no fun, but quite frankly- 18 hours is much, much worse!) It was super wonderful to see them all. They had never met Jolie, and it was sweet to see them loving on her so much. Dena pretty much didn't stop snuggling her the entire day! I loved seeing them... and was super weepy and homesick afterwards. Still, it was worth it. We really love you guys! Let's never let another year and a half (yikes, I know) go by between visits. Okay? Okay. :)
4. I had a birthday! I'm now the big 2-7, and I tell you- I'm feeling it. ;) I'm never going to make it to 100 at this rate! (Maybe it's the cheesecake...) lol. But really, it was a fabulous day. Derek spoiled me like none other. I didn't lift a finger in the kitchen (or altogether) the entire day... and we all ate super well! I was able to relax and nap the day away. I got sung to about SIX times (Derek and James sang a different version of "Happy Birthday" to me at every meal!). I was wished a "Happy Birthday" by about FIFTY different friends and family (seriously- could I feel more loved?), and we topped off the day with some yummy cheesecake with friends. It was a good day. Thirty... bring it!
Hooray for September. Let Autumn commence...

I'm baaaaack! (Warning: LONG post!)

My gosh. Where to start? So much has happened since I last posted. Shoot- so much had happened before that, things I never got around to posting. Sorry about that. I suppose I'll start with one thing at a time and work from there (genius idea; I know).

1. 8/13/10 Jolie got a pretty great present for her 6-month birthday: her two (bottom) front teeth! I was playing with her on my bed, just letting her chew on my knuckle... when I felt something pretty sharp! It got my attention, and I sat up to investigate. Whaddayaknow? Two teeth! She hadn't been fussy or anything (go figure; really, she's such a good baby!) so I didn't suspect. But yep- our girl's got some chompers. (Beware: they're sharp!)

Look at her goofy grin! Mama's funny! :)

2. Later that night, we went to Derek's 10-year-friends-reunion... a casual, up-the-mountain hangout with his buddies that graduated when he did. The official reunion was the next night. It was WAY less fun, albeit tasty. Though it was also cancer-free, and that's always a perk. (Seriously, that nasty smoke was carcinogen filled; I'm sure of it. Ick. My throat is better now, but if I get lung cancer later on, I'll know what to blame.)

3. 8/16/10 James had an appointment with a specialist (pediatric GI) at Primary Children's Hospital... at long last. It was a pretty decent experience, as you can tell from the not-sobbing-but-smiling picture below. Dr. Wu was super great; the whole hospital was! After a pretty thorough examination- which included a bit of bum-probing by Dr. Wu (ick- James says Dr. Wu is naughty cause he got poop on his finger... sorry for the tmi)- and some blood being drawn (which got him a TOY CAR as a post-draw prize... not bad, I say), we discovered that he's just severely constipated (ha- just...). Nothing is wrong with his plumbing, and he doesn't have a disorder or anything. He just needs to get cleaned out- and stay that way. Dr. Wu explained a lot and put us on a good regimen (diet, medication and routine) that has been helping quite a bit so far. Yay!

Jolie was at Micah and Brittney's (thanks, Britt!) while we were at the hospital, which helped a ton. Afterward, we took James to Red Robin for a James-only date. It was fun. We never really do that, and I'm glad we did.

4. Jolie is working hard on becoming even more GORGEOUS. Really, look at her! Just thought I'd share this picture. I really just love it... and her.

5. 8/19/10 I hosted book club at my place in August. It was fun! I love our book club- and all the fabulous women in it!

6. James loves reading, and he loves being outside (mostly because then he might have a chance to escape to Kona's house... sneaky boy). Here is a picture of how I found him the other day... doing both. Seriously, I love this boy!

7. Buzz and Woody (aka: James and Kona). BFFs. Need I say more? ;)

8. 8/23/10 When a computer is not available, the men in our family turn to the Xbox. :) James got to play video games with daddy for the first time... and loved it! Derek would tell James, "Good job!" and James would positively BEAM from the praise! Really. James is totally and completely in awe of Derek and wants more than anything to be like him. He copies his every move and misses him like crazy when he's gone to work or school. I love to see it. And I can't blame the kid; his daddy IS pretty fantastic! I quite love him, too.

9. You're still reading? Wow- good for you!

10. 8/28/10 I cut James' hair for the first time EVER! Though it took quite a while, he did really well with it. (Thank you, neighborhood girls who distracted him. I cut it outside.) I think it turned out pretty well, though you can't tell from the pictures. Ugh. He was NOT in the mood to model for me. Lil' punk. But yes- I was quite proud of myself. He looks even MORE handsome when he's not quite so shaggy! :)

11. Nope. That's all. I'll post again with other stuff...

The End.

12. I lied. Here's a pic of Derek (and James) with our new computer. I don't know if you can see how ecstatic he is about it all, but I promise you- he is! :) I love my handsome geek. But you can't blame his enthusiasm. We all share it. (It's a pretty awesome new toy!)

As James put it in a recent conversation with me...

Me: Don't you just love our new computer?

James: I love BOTH our computers!

Me: Me too.

James: Yeah, they're pretty sweet.

Cute, right?

Okay. I'm done.

Really.