{a year in review}

It has been so much fun watching James grow and seeing all the funny things this kid does so it was very hard to choose only one favorite but i picked out one picture of James for every month of his first year in our family! Enjoy! I know I did!

July '09 - June '10

Man that really was hard to choose favorites!!

{a year}

Happy Birthday Day James!!

I can't believe it's been a year already! It feels like just yesterday that I held him in my arms for the first time! It's amazing how much this little guy has grown! We all love him more and more everyday!

Here are a few things about James:
-he loves food and eats as much as a big kid
-he loves bath time
-he is walking
-trying to talk
-loves books especially turning the pages
-still doesn't sleep...ever!
-no more bottles
-favorite food is Mac N Cheese
-loves otter pops
-hates being alone
-gives his favorite monkey luvies (lays down on him like a pillow)
-he is VERY persistent
-rather stubborn
-he is fascinated with any kind of string; shoelaces, electrical cords, purse straps
-he loves food
-he laughs very hard and very loud
-has the most contagious smile! (we get compliments everywhere we go with him)
-his favorite cartoon is Chuggington with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse playing a close second
-he thinks his big brother is the funniest thing ever
-he LOVES to cuddle with buddy (the dog)
-he has a funny new habit of picking everything up with his teeth (he's been hanging around buddy to much! haha)
-he has been throwing kicking tantrums for about 6 months now (so much for terrible twos)
-he loves "babies" smiles real big when he sees them
-he loves food
-he's been big enough for a front facing big boy car seat for about 3 months now
-he's in 12 months but has a waist of 6 months still (makes shopping hard)
-he says "daedy" which is baby with d's we thought he was saying daddy but no he points to baby pictures and says daedy
-still doesn't say mama :(
-he loves to play with daddy's hat
-he loves to play with mommy's measuring tape
-he loves to play with Wyatt's video game controllers
-he makes a car noise when riding his new beamer (yes my 1 year old got a BMW before me!)
-oh and did i mention that HE LOVES FOOD!! the kid has a metabolism that's insane! He eats like a toddler and he's still thin!

James has a very big and strong personality! I could write for days about all the little things but for now this is the all the fun things off the top of my list!

{July 4th}

This is the best your gonna get with two boys under 18months right after church and before lunch and nap time! It could have been worse?! Sadly this is the only picture I took on the 4th but it is one to remember! I wanted us to be patriotic for church so I made myself a skirt, laid out the best red ties Tyler and Wyatt had and whipped up a little bow tie for James. At 1am when I finally laid my head on my pillow I smiled, certain that my boy was gonna be the cutest on Sunday morning...alas I must admit, there was another just as cute! My friend Tasha had made her youngest boy the same exact bow tie! This is now the second time we've done this with these boys! (see here) Creative minds keep thinking alike!

{patriotic strawberries}

I have lots of kid friendly friends and family so I just had to share this cute idea for a yummy 4th of July snack created by an amazingly creative mom. Whitney & Alish over at a blog called SistersStuff are talented women! Go check them out to find many more ideas just like this one!

Click here for recipe

{Photo Challenge:Splash}

I am loving participating in the weekly photo challenge over at skinned knees! This week challenge is all about summer, water and fun! Splash on over to skinned knees to check out other entries!

{friendship}

There is nothing like the friendship bond that grows between two brothers! It is a bond stronger than duct tape!! I am entering this photo in a friendship week photo challenge over at "Skinned Knees" She is hosting a fun photo challenge. I thought it would be great to participate!

{a special Easter}

(my dear friend Dana and our families - minus two children)

This Easter was a special treat for me. I was able to reconnect with some very very special people. The Miller family means so much to me for so many reason but sadly life's circumstances had caused us to loose touch. I was MORE than thrilled when I began to email some of them and found myself invited to their Easter Sunday celebrations. They played such and important roll in my childhood and I was finally going to be able to share that with my family! So exciting!! They have a large family 11 children most of them with spouses and children of their own so it was to say the least a "bountiful" gathering! Wyatt really enjoyed having so many kids to play with and Tyler loved meeting the friends I have talked to dearly about. All in all...It was a perfect day and I went to bed a with a big smile on my face!