The James Family

A smile happens in a flash...but its memory can last a lifetime.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Rainy Day...

My kids are so silly sometimes. Lately Carson has been trying to wear Tatum's dresses and gets so upset when I tell him to take it off. Is this what your life looks like on a rainy afternoon??




ISN'T IT WONDERFUL?!!!


Monday, May 18, 2009

New baby gear and fear...



At first I thought having the little baby pregnancy ticker was a good idea. Whenever I blogged, I would see this floating alien thing on the sidebar that reminded me there was a reason for throwing up, feeling awful and tired. As the days turned into weeks and now months...I am watching the alien turn into a real baby and I'm finding it a little intimidating. Am I really ready for a third child? I know people do it everyday, I just haven't figured out how they do it. Luckily the learning curve for parenting is high and relatively forgiving. But I've gotten a few new things for this baby that will hopefully make my life easier when she arrives. The first thing is a Moby wrap. They are pretty popular here in the Northwest. It's a long wrap that's 18 feet long. You basically can tie it all different ways and put the baby inside so that you have both of your hands free. I've had baby carriers before, but they were so heavy and awkward. A lot of my friends use the Moby and claim it's really easy on your back because of the even weight distribution. Here's hoping. I just hate dragging around the infant seat everywhere I go the first few months. It's annoying and heavy and impersonal. Plus the other advantage is when you have the baby in the wrap no one touches the baby. Friends and family are fine to hold the baby. But when I had Tatum and Carson...complete STRANGERS would come up to me in stores and restaurants and seriously ask to hold the baby. Or they would have to touch them. One time, I was at Wal-Mart and Tatum was 3 months old. She was sleeping in the car seat and this guy comes up to her, wiggles her foot to wake her up and says to me "She was just too cute to stay asleep". I about punched the guy in the face. The next cool things I got was a co-sleeper. As you can see in the picture, it's a portable crib that is on the same level as the adult bad and you can secure it to your bed and have the baby sleeping right next to you but in a safe way. I'm hoping this will help us both sleep better in the beginning. There are A LOT of changes happening in our family in the next few weeks. I can't really blog about them right now but I can update the details for you soon.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Best Mother's Day!

So this story is a little long...but it's a funny one. As you all know, I love to entertain. It's one of my favorite things to do. I had originally planned on making an edible fruit arrangement for Mother's Day dinner. I didn't have enough time to do it on Saturday, so Ned offered to be in charge of dessert. I suggested we just have brownie sundaes. Anyway, took the kids over to a friend's house to babysit her kids while she and her husband went to dinner and a movie. After returning home at 10 pm I went straight to the freezer and noticed there was no ice cream. I asked Ned if he got the ice cream and he just kind of looked at me and said that he'd forgotten and it had been a "hard day". A hard day? Really? Anyway I am a little embarrassed to say that I actually was so annoyed and confused that I slept on the couch Saturday night. When I woke up on Mother's Day, Tatum was so excited to give me her gift...it was an ice cream maker. Ned told me the rest of my present was in the garage fridge. There was whipping cream, ice, rock salt and toppings for ice cream. I was so surprised that he thought of the idea and made sure he got everything to make it. He had to work yesterday morning before church, so it was such a fun thing to do with the kids while we waited for him to get home. What a great Mother's Day sup rise! Looking back, I feel really petty for being so annoyed about ice cream to begin with. But Ned knew that I would be really ticked which I suppose was half the fun of it all. Anyway, thanks Ned, Tatum and Carson for a great day. I love you and am grateful to be a mommy!



A bug hunt

So my Tatum has been pretty interested in all things nature. They have been doing nature hikes at school and Friday she came home with a bug kit and we just had to try it out. We took the kids down to a trail and let them explore. They were so excited!



This is a bug catcher we got for Carson. He saw it and was so excited. "A bug purse!" was what he called it. We try to get him a lot of guy stuff...but having a big sister sometimes shows a little too much.













Hunting for bugs...





















Carson found a roly poly. "There's a bug in my bug purse!"











Ned and Carson tried to catch a butterfly but it didn't work out. It was a great sunny afternoon and the kids had such a good time. We ended up walking about 3 miles on this trail. I think I may have over done it, but a small price to pay for a delightful Saturday with your sweeties!









Sunday, May 3, 2009

A Sunday stroll at the beach

This evening we took the kids down to a beach and got some fresh air. I absolutely love Whidbey Island. We're so spoiled to have probably 30 beach spots to visit within 15 minutes of our house. I just love the water! And I love my kids! A couple of cuties, if you ask me!

My cuties on some driftwood.













The kids and on a little trail by the beach!