11 months old

James Peyton, you are 11 months old today!
So what are you up to these days???

You are 31 inches long and weigh 23 pounds

You wear a size 4 diaper

You wear size 12 month clothing but have a few 18 month pj's & t-shirts

You are sooooooo close to walking! You have push toys that you push around the house but also have fun by pushing your high chair, chairs from the kitchen table, or anything else you can find that moves!

You have four teeth, the two bottom middle and two top front!

You say mama, dada, and repeat sounds that sound like words we say but the funniest is when you see a picture of a cow you say "mmmmmmmmmmmm" for "moooooooooooooo"

Your favorite song is "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and you try to do the motions, mostly by holding your arms above your head for "Down came the rain..."

You love remotes, buttons, light switches, cell phones, or anything that lights up or has buttons you can push.

You go to Mother's Day Out on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Early Childhood Learning Center at Wilshire Baptist Church. Your teacher Miss Pam says you are the happiest, sweetest, boy! Of course I agree.

You started pointing to things that you want or will point to the door if you want to go outside.

You LOVE being outdoors, especially in the backyard.

You also have a favorite dog. You LOVE Coco and we know because you hug and try to kiss her but not Chloe!

You LOVE water, especially the dog's water bowls. I constantly have to let the girls (dogs) drink then put the water bowl up high where you cannot find it.

You mainly eat finger foods now and when Mommy feeds you with a spoon it gets a little messy because you want and try to feed yourself.

You do a great job drinking out of a sippy cup!

You take two naps a day, 1 1/2 hours in the mornings and 1 hour in the afternoons.

You go to bed around 8:30 or 9:00 and usually sleep until 7:30.

You got your second haircut today and look like a little boy! (See picture above) This year has gone by so fast and I have cherished every moment I have spent with you. I can't wait to celebrate your 1st Birthday next month. =)

Love,
Mommy

Birthday Week

I love birthdays, even if I am getting older! I celebrated all week long, which is always fun. I spent my actual birthday with my two favorite people in the whole world, Sean and James! Birthday night was date night at Mi Cocina while Mildred babysat. I don't know how many times I have said it but thank God for Mildred. I really do not know what I would do without her. Thursday night was lunch with the girls at PF Changs while James was at Mother's Day Out and Friday night was dinner at La Duni to celbrate March Birthdays with the moms from James' playgroup. We all met when our babies were in Itsy Bitsy Yoga together (James started class at 7 weeks old!) and all have become great friends.

Sean & Tiff

Mommy & James

The girls at PF Changs

Alli & Tiff at PF's

March Birthdays at La Duni

First Day of Spring???

My Little Leprechan

10 1/2 months

My baby boy is getting so big! He doesn't look like a baby at all anymore, he looks like a little boy! I cannot believe how fast this first year is flying by. I love this picture above so I thought I would post it with a few updates from this past week. James starting saying "ma ma" instead of "na na" which makes me smile and my heart melt every time. The Kindergarten teacher in me came out and we practiced the "m" sound a lot. When he would say "na na" I would say "mmmmmmma ma" back to him. He finally got it! James now has three teeth. His left front tooth came in today and the right front one is not far behind. I can see the white bump about to come through. James loves to push things and walk them around the house. This week he has been pushing his high chair and chairs from the kitchen table around the kitchen and den. He has toys that are made for pushing and helping him walk but lately the chairs have been more fun!

Coco

Sometimes you do not realize how much you love someone or something until he/she/it is gone. That is exactly what happened with Coco today! I had no idea how much I love this dog. Coco really is Sean's dog. She is so sweet but does not leave his side once he gets home from work. Sean took out the trash before he left for work early this morning. Coco went with him but we did not realize it until two hours later when I asked Simon to kennel the dogs. Simon said Coco wasn't in the house. I immediately ran through the house looking for her and since she is normally in one of two places, the couch or her dog bed, I knew she was gone. With three kids and two dogs in the house our week had been a little busy and needless to say I didn't realize she was missing. I packed up the kids and jumped in the car. I called Sean at work and he headed home to help us search. My heart was racing and I had that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Coco is not microchipped and although she had a collar on, her tags had fallen off a week or so ago and had not been replaced yet. I thought for sure she was gone. I was trying not to panic since all three kids were in the car with me. I asked the garbage men and mailman to please keep an eye out and call me if they saw Coco. They were so nice and wrote my cell number down and promised to call if they saw her. I drove up and down the streets of our neighborhood yelling her name out the window. We were one streets behind our house when a neighbor heard me and came outside. She asked if I was looking for my dog. I said yes, our boxer. She said my next door neighbor has her; I have three boxers and she thought she was one of mine. The nicest lady was already making flyers to post in our neighborhood. Her sister actually found Coco at the church on Lovers down the street from our house. I can't believe she did not get hit by a car! The sister took Coco to a vet to see if she had a microchip. The sister knew her sister's neighbor had three boxers and thought Coco was one of her dogs. That is how Coco ended up back in our neighborhood. We were so grateful to our neighbors and happy to have Coco back home!

Rest in Peace precious Layla Grace

My neighbor is friends with this family and told me about precious Layla Grace and her fight against Neuroblastoma about a month ago. I have been touched deeply by their faith and strength as parents. I have been following the blog and praying for this family. I have cried my way through many of Layla's mom's posts. I cannot imagine what this family has gone through. Shanna, Layla's mom, encouraged people to post Layla's picture on Facebook, blogs, or twitter to raise awareness for Neuroblastoma. Layla was 18 months old when she was diagnosed with cancer and sadly passed away today, 10 months later. Layla's mom wrote, "Layla went to play with the angels early this morning. Rest in Peace precious Layla Grace 11/26/2007-3/9/2010" http://www.laylagrace.org/

Happy Birthday Sean!

Birthday Boy at Blue Goose Lunch on the patio Dinner at Nick & Sam's Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband! We celebrated by spending most of the day together. We both worked in the morning then headed to Blue Goose for lunch. Sadly the strip of restaurants and bars burned down next to Blue Goose early the same morning so there were still firetrucks on the scene. You can see them in the background in the first picture. We picked James up from Mother's Day Out and spent the afternoon together at Northpark. Mildred came over to watch James and we ended the day with an amazing dinner at Nick & Sam's then had drinks at The Library in the Warwick Hotel (I still call it The Melrose). It was a perfect date night! Simon, Ellie, & Sean's mom will be here this weekend and we will have a family birthday party on Sunday evening. I will add the pictures at the end of the post.

Sean, Simon, James, & Ellie

Cake