Can you solve this mystery?

Here comes an onslaught of postings....this is the first of quite a few. I could put it all in one post, but I can never get photos in the right order!!

Last week Mark went downstairs to "wrap" my Christmas gifts. No, this isn't the gift he gave me. It's what he found while digging through our major stash of gift bags in the basement. It's a baby gift we never knew we received. I don't know how it slipped by me...or how I didn't notice it when re-folding bags to add to the stash. If you or somebody you know gave us this gift, please let me know! There's a teddy/blankie, a set of three frames (mom, precious one, and dad), and a cute farm board book that has a rattle and chew toy attached.

Has this ever happened to anybody? The only other thing similar to this that we've experienced happened with a wedding gift. Somebody signed their name on a card and to this day, we have not been able to decode it. We passed it around to everybody in the family, looked through the wedding guest list, but never figured it out! If you didn't get a thank you from us then....thank you! (I don't remember what the gift was.)

Three months

James is three months old today! (He's also exactly 13 weeks.) He has been so much fun lately! He's giggled a few times for us in the past week. Mark and I have made total goobers of ourselves trying to get him to laugh over and over. And sometimes he makes this fake 'coughing' noise to get attention. It's pretty cute.

We're pretty sure he went through a major growth spurt last weekend, as he slept hours more than he normally does during the day. Most days he only takes four short naps (35-45 min) but then sleeps from 9pmish to 7smish in the morning, waking up only one in the night. So the long naps really threw things off. Post growth spurt, many of his newborn onesies are now too small!!

This little outfit is pretty cute. It has scooters on it! I think my friend Jenny W. gave it to James.

We're getting pretty excited to see family in less than a week! Our next three weeks are packed with friends and family!

One week away...

Christmas is just around the corner! Can't believe it's only a week away. This is the cute little "Bumbo" chair that Auntie Elizabeth brought us from Chicago. He loves being able to sit up and look around! In less than a week we'll be with my family, celebrating Christmas...and on Christmas day, we'll be with Mark's family! Can't wait!!!

A Post for "Foodies"

"Foodie" is a new term for me lately. I actually came across a game for "foodies" at Barnes and Noble a few weeks ago, with all kinds of trivia questions for people who love and know a lot about food!

Well, although much of my attention is given to James, I have found time to cook and bake a little in the past twelve weeks. I was even able to remember to grab the camera a few times to take pictures! The last two days were 'inclement weather days'...just too cold to take the tiny guy out and about. So I baked. Today Mark took a platter of Christmas goodies to work. I tried a few new recipes; Cookie Dough Truffles and Sugar Cookies!

Here's a picture of the cookie dough truffles before being dipped in chocolate. And that's my make-shift double-boiler. It worked great!

These truffles are SO rich...you really have to love chocolate chip cookie dough to dig these. It's a Paula Deen recipe found here. I tried them this summer at a friend's house and have been waiting for a great excuse to make them....a snow day is a good enough excuse, right?

I hadn't made sugar cookies for a long time. I used this recipe and then discovered I only had circle cookie-cutters. Oops. So I had to get creative and made ornaments and snowmen. The dough really did hold up nicely. I used this recipe for the frosting. It was really creamy.

Here's the turkey we made a week after Thanksgiving. I tried my friend Natasha's turkey rub. It was the best turkey I've ever had. I also 'brined' my turkey. Brining is a new concept for me this year. It all worked pretty well, except for the fact that our turkey was done two hours before our company was to arrive!! Oops again. It turned out to still be delicious. We had it carved and cleaned up before anybody came! :)

These were the easiest Pumpkin spice muffins to make...and so yummy! VERY vew ingredients and three of them are spices. I mad ethem a month ago. Here's the recipe.

A few weeks ago my Uncle Paul and Aunt Mary Ann were in town. I tried making Spanish Paella for the first time, shrimp, chorizo, saffron, and all! It was awesome and not too hard to make!

12 Weeks

Getting bigger by the day...

It might just be his outfit...but I think he looks older today! What do you think? I know, I know, some of you are thinking, "Just wait a few more months! He's only 11 weeks!"

11 Weeks

James is 11 weeks old! The top picture is of him stretching out. He looks like he's frowning, but it's just the face he makes when he stretches! In the past two weeks he's been holding up his head nicely when he's on his tummy, too! Yesterday we noticed him reaching and touching toys with his hands.

Thanksgiving, Part 2

Here are James and I with my grandma. Doesn't she look great? We all hung out at my parents' house Saturday. We ate a lot, as usual!

I love his hat. Doesn't he look ready for winter?

Aunt Elizabeth loves to hold James! He was so cozy with her!

Aunt Elizabeth made his darling hat! It went perfectly with his Christmas onesie!

Here we all are, minus my grandparents....

Thanksgiving = 10 Weeks

Last week was quite busy and this week has been full of fun times with family. On Monday Mark and I took James to the doctor for his two-month shots. He weighed 12lbs 0.5oz and was in the 50th percentile for weight and 70th for height. Not only did he receive multiple vaccines, but we were also both talked into a tetanus and flu shot! A little more than we had bargained for! James was pretty fussy and worn out the following hours, but bounced back to being the happy little guy he is. Recently he has 'found' his right hand and loves chewing and sucking on it whenever his pacifier falls out. He is also getting better at lifting his head while on his tummy. For the past two weeks, he has (with the exception of one night) slept a six to seven and a half hour stretch before waking for his morning feeding. It's been nice!

Today we were up early to shop. (Well, we were up at 5:30 with James...he's our little alarm clock). It was a fun family experience! We also rearranged the living room and decorated for Christmas! We decided to start a new tradition of making spiced cider the day we decorate for Christmas. Cider is Mark's specialty--he loves to make it. The house smelled great. To top it all off, we finally got to listen to Christmas tunes!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! A relative of ours hinted that she'd love daily updates. I'll see if I can post a little more frequently!

Two Months Old

"Yay! I'm two months old today!" He looks huge in this picture.

"Look mom, no helping hands!" I know this doesn't count as really sitting up, but Mark likes to practice! Two months ago, he couldn't have tried at all.

"Why am I wearing all stripes? I look like a jailbird."

This look says it all, doesn't it? I think this hat is adorable. It keeps him warm anyway when we run errands!

Almost Two Months

James is 8 weeks old today! He was up pretty early--about 5:40am. Maybe he knew he was 8 weeks today and really wanted to celebrate as much as he could! It is amazing how much he has learned in just two months. He is holding his head up more and more, sleeping in his crib in his own room, blowing bubbles, 'talking', and smiling. He's also having more frequent 'blow-outs'. The one he had yesterday at my parent's house warranted an immediate bath...what a mess! :) I'm looking forward to going to the doctor this coming week with him. I'll post his stats, as I've had several questions about his weight.

A Weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's

We had such a fun visit home last weekend. Mark, James, and I were visiting Mark's parents, and four of his five sisters happened to make it home that weekend, too! All twelve of James' cousins were around so it felt like Christmas!

Here's James enjoying some snuggle time with his Aunt Gail and cousin Levi!








I have been looking forward to taking this 'four generation' photo. I had one of James, myself, Mom and Grandma taken in the hospital, so it was important to get one of Mark's side, too! We visited Lester Saturday afternoon at the assisted living home, where he resides.















I just think this is such a sweet photo of Great Grandpa Lester and James.











Here's the little guy surrounded by seven ladies....there was a lot of that going on over the weekend.












Right after arriving home, Mark and I went on a drive further into the country to a nearby town to buy some meat at the meat plant where his family got meat from while he was growing up. Apparently, no other ground beef quite measures up. After closing out an old checking account (where the bank teller knew him by name when he walked in, although he hadn't seen her for years--I loved it), we visited the meat plant to stock up on ground beef, and then stopped by one of Mark's family's barns to pick up something. That's where I took this last photo. I like getting to know the Mark that grew up on a farm.

Smiles!

James is six weeks old and has been smiling more and more each day. He tends to be happiest and the most talkative in the mornings, after he's had a good night's sleep. We love to see him smile!





Also check out the photos (in the previous post) our friend took of us when James turned one month old! I'll post photos from last weekend soon!

One Month Slide Show

Our friend Sarah took these photos the day James turned one month old! I think she did an awesome job! You would never know that he was particularly fussy during most of the photo shoot! Enjoy...

http://www.sorellimages.com/james4weeksold/

5 Weeks

There are so many pictures from the past week that I'm including another slide show so they don't take up so much space! Over the weekend was the annual Pumpkin Carving Party. It started four or five years ago and continues to be a fun way to keep up with college friends. It's amazing how the group grows and grows. Andrea mentioned that we should plan to expand and add one child a year...I think it's possible. There were 30 people invited and most came! It was a packed house but so much fun!

James is doing great! Last night was his first night sleeping in his own bedroom. It was hard not to jump up and give him his pacifier every ten minutes, but it's what is best for him. He's still just waking up once in the night, so we can't complain about that!

He has also become more 'talkative' in the past week. He practices cute little vowel sounds when he is really happy and playing. This coming weekend we're really looking forward to being with Mark's family!

A chilly day

Today it is very chilly. I don't think James and I will even leave the house. We've had some sort of outing the past four or five days. That's a lot for an almost-5-week-old baby! Maybe too much. Today he took his first nap in his room. Up til now, he's been napping in the living room, in his bouncy seat or swing. I laid him down in his bassinet in his dark room and he slept great for almost two hours!

Right now we're vegging out, listening to classical music by Strauss and drinking tea. (well, I am anyway.) I'm including this picture because I think his little slippers are too cute! They were a gift from my former co-teachers Sandy and Jenn. They actually stay on his feet, too!

James' First Roadtrip

On Saturday we went on our first roadtrip as a family of three (it was only a 30-minute drive...but it counts as a roadtrip, right?). We went to the Louisburg Cider Mill. It was such a gorgeous day and James did so well!one of the things I love about fall....beautiful color-changing trees!

this picture was actually taken on the way home--James was worn out!

This was also taken before we left (I still can't quite figure out how to get photos uploaded in the right order). While I was getting ready for our outing, Mark bathed and dressed James. He showed up looking more ready for Christmas than a fall roadtrip! I thought it was so cute...so we left the little cap on.

I had planned on carrying James, but when Mark tried the Baby Bjorn on, he decided he really wanted to carry him. James was sooo cozy and slept the whole time! :)

watching apples being washed

there were so many little kids crawling all over the pumpkins...it'll be fun when James can, too!

We ended up not entering the corn maze/pumpkin patch, but took a picture by the sign.

4 weeks (almost)

a family picture--James isn't exactly looking at the camera

1. 

hanging out in his boppy pillow

talking with dad after work

it looks like he's winking! (probably more likely that he's squinting...he's waking up from a nap here)

being loved-on by Grandma before a shopping trip

not so sure why I haven't put clothes on him yet...he was chilly!

just a nice little James face

I'm ridiculous, I know...it was really cold in the house and I was concerned...so I started grabbing whatever was nearby...and it turned into this! Poor little guy. What a ragamuffin. A fraying cap and old-man pants up way above his navel. He looks a little more 'pulled together' when we go out into public. Really.

James is having a pretty good week. Tuesday he was fussy and wanted to eat constantly! Maybe it was a little 3-week growth spurt? Yesterday, though, he was a happy little boy! Tonight we're really looking forward to Mark's parents coming to visit! Yay!!

Three weeks and one day

James turned three weeks yesterday! We had a nice day of visitors to celebrate. Two of my teacher friends came around noon, followed by my aunt and then a friend from high school. It was nice to catch up with them all!

This morning James tried to set a new record for the most dirty laundry made in under an hour! Between 10:00am and 11:00am he went through three onesies, three diapers, three washcloths, two burp cloths, two towels, a changing table mat and cover, one of my shirts, and more wipes than I can count. I'll spare you the details of how it all went down...but it was eventful! :)