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! :)

My hiccuping little peanut...

James' new vibrating seat--he loves it!

a priceless look

going for a walk

all bundled up in an outfit from Auntie Gail

It's sort of late (okay, it just feels late after a day of lots of activity) to be 'blogging', but I'm waiting for my little James to stop hiccuping so I can feed him one last time before bedtime. This is the second time he's gotten hiccups this evening. Poor little guy. His hiccups usually last from 10 up to 20 minutes at a time! They shake his whole body. He doesn't seem to mind the first few minutes but then gets frustrated. Especially when he's hungry!

Yesterday was a big day for James! We went to the doctor's office for his 'two-week' check up, although he's closer to two and a half weeks. While there his umbilical cord stump fell off! I was so proud of him!! I know it's silly to be proud of him for that, but I was. And the scale indeed proved that my little guy is growing...he's already 8 pounds, 6.5 ounces! That's over a pound gained since he left the hospital. He's doing well enough that I'm able to let him sleep as long as he'd like at night, without waking him for a feeding! Last night he went 7 hours between feedings...we're trying not to expect that every night, but we'll take it while it lasts!

Okay, the hiccups are over and James is getting verrrrry impatient! Goodnight!

2 Weeks Already?

I can't believe James is already two weeks old! Everybody warned me time would fly--they weren't kidding! Each time somebody says, 'oh wow, he's changed so much since I saw him last...', I think 'NO!! Don't say that! I want him to stay little!' But at the same time, there are so many things we're looking forward to. I'm excited for him to be more playful and for him to smile back at us--but I'm not rushing anything, trust me. He's just so sweet!

Here are some pictures of things we've done this past week. Mark has been back at work most of the day each day. My mom has helped us out a lot, visiting so I could take a shower and accompanying us on little outings (like the mall and K-Mart).

I still can't figure out how to type captions for each picture...when I upload photos, they just go wherever they want and I have problems moving them around. So these are all in a random order!

This week James played on his farm quilt my mom made and tried out a new vibrating chair we borrowed. His face was just priceless the first time he sat in it. I think he really likes it, though. There's also a picture of him resting on my legs. He likes to be reclined--and I think it's funny that you can see my feet, looking like funny ears on him. He also loves to be held by his daddy. Mark is so good with him and looks forward to seeing him after work! We've gone on walks a few evenings this week...it always makes James fall fast asleep. The photo at the bottom just goes to show that he may not be the most trendy little dresser. I was afraid he was cold yesterday morning, so I just grabbed the closest socks and pants. He looked a tad nerdy...but at least he was warm! :)

ps. does anybody have any photo-uploading tips? I generally choose to have them post 'left' but, as you can see, that doesn't even work for me...help!