17 months old

Dear James,

You turned 17 months old yesterday and I look at pictures from this time last year and can't believe how much you have changed! You are doing so well at school and seem to be learning a lot. You are saying new words all the time. Your teachers love you so much and most importantly you are happy and smiling when Daddy drops you off in the morning and always happy to see one of us (usually Mommy) when we pick you up! We have a great time in the afternoons playing when we get home. Lately you have been asking to watch Sesame Street because you are now obsessed with Elmo! You don't call it Sesame Street, you point to the T.V. and say "Elmo! Elmo!" then when I turn it on you have the biggest smile on your face. We try to only watch a little each day but you think Elmo is your new friend and we even have to say good night to him before bed and wave at the T.V. In fact, Elmo was your first real word besides Dada and Mama that sounded exactly like it is supposed to!

So James Peyton, what are you up to at 17 months old???

You are 33 1/2 inches tall

You weigh 27 pounds

You wear a size 4 diaper

You wear size 24 month or 2T shirts and 18 month shorts & pants

You wear a size 6 1/2 shoe

You have 12 teeth, which is two more than last month! You have your four top front, four bottom front, two bottom back molars, and two top molars.

You LOVE to brush your teeth

Your favorite fruit is grapes, your favorite veggie is tomatoes, and you LOVE pasta but you are a great eater and will eat or at least try anything.

You are talking a lot more and saying new words daily! This month your first word that sounded exactly like it is supposed to was Elmo! You say it A LOT. Another word that you just started saying is in the morning when you ask for "ornge jus" (orange juice) It is soooooo cute. You repeat a lot of words now but still say mama, dada (sometimes just da), bobo (for Coco), ball, airmay (airplane), boo (for the color blue), yeohh (for the color yellow), tank oooh (thank you), bye bye (but you say it with a cute southern accent and I really do not know where you get that from!), baba (for baby and you pat Mommy's tummy, ousie (outside), buh (book), and apple

You are so smart and know all of the parts of your body! We ask you where is your nose? head? ears? eyes? head? tummy? feet? We then ask where is Mommy's nose? or Daddy's ears? and you can point to all of them.

You also know the names of your clothing and try to get undressed by yourself for bathtime. We say, "Jamesie (yes, that is one of your nicknames) take off your shoes" and you sit down and take off your shoes, then socks after we say to take off your socks. You try to take off your shirt, pants, and diaper but usually need help with those!

You have always loved bath time and still do

You take a nap from 12:00-2:30 at school and usually sleep from 8:30-7:00 each night. Sometimes you wake up a little early so Mommy and Daddy put you in bed with us and we all go back to sleep! It is my favorite time of day because you are the best snuggler.

You still LOVE to dance. When Daddy gets home from work we play outside and turn on music. You dance for us all the time! I have to video it soon because of course we think it is the cutest thing ever.

You are such a little daredevil! Your new favorite thing to do is climb up in the leather chair in the den, ask for Mommy to hold your hand, then climb onto the arm and jump off. I am always so afraid you are going to try to do it by yourself but so far you haven't! You are still quite the little climber but at least you stopped climbing onto the dining room table and taking the crystals off the chandelier. =)

Next month you will be 1 1/2 years old. Where does the time go? I feel like the luckiest mom in the whole world because you are the sweetest, cutest, most loving little boy I know. Daddy and I talk about you all the time and always laugh at different things you do. I never imagined I could love someone as much as I love you!

Love,
Mommy

*The picture above is from later in the month since your nose was healing for a couple of weeks

First Big Boo Boo

James had his first big fall and boo boo today. He was playing outside in our backyard with Ellie, slipped on an acorn, fell on the step, and scraped his nose. He cried a little but then wanted back down to play. Poor baby, his nose is swollen and I can tell already that it will be bruised. Of course we had pictures scheduled for tomorrow! I re-scheduled for the end of Novemeber so we can do 18 month pictures and family pictures with me 32 weeks along.

Allison's Baby Shower

Hostesses
Arlington Hall
Food Table
Alli & Tiff
Tiff, Andrea, Alli, & Kim

Doctor's Appointment

We had our 22 week doctor's appointment today and it is official. We are DEFINITELY having another BOY! We saw the sonogram technician first and as soon as she put the camera on my tummy the first image was of our little one's bottom and between his legs. Without a doubt, we are having a boy! =) I will save him from future embarassment and will not post that picture. I love the picture above, his little hands are above his chest. I think it looks like he is praying. We saw him yawn and stretch his arms above his head. It was so cute. I was right, he is very high up near my ribs and he is also breech but that can always change in the next several weeks as he continues to grow. We saw his two little hands and feet as well as all ten fingers and toes. The sonogram tech. also checked to make sure there are four chambers of the heart, three vessels of the umbilical cord, and that all of the major organs looked normal. She measured our little guy's femer, head, stomach, kidney, and heart. Just like James, everything measured about a week ahead, 23 weeks 2 days, but still well within the normal range. She said everything looked great! We are so grateful for our healthy baby boy. He weighs 1 pound 5 ounces! We saw Dr. Matthews for our regular appointment next. He went over all of the sonogram measurements and said everything looks normal. My next appointment is on October 15th and I will have the Glucose test to check for Gestational Diabetes. Definitely not as fun as an ultrasound!

22 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 22 weeks

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com approximately 11 inches (the size of a spaghetti squash) and 1 pound but my guess is our little guy is a little bigger!

Total Weight Gain: Gained 6.5 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Wearing materninty pants and tops but my regular jeans still fit

Gender: We are hoping to get an official confirmation tomorrow at our doctor's appointment that we are definitely having a boy!

Movement: Our baby boy moves all the time and seems to like hanging out on my left side

Sleep: I usually go to bed early, around 9:30, and sleep well but have been up with James off and on during the night this week because he has a bad cough and keeps waking himself up. It's my fault, he got the cough from mommy, I had it last week!

What I miss: Nothing really

Cravings: This week-Mexican food and fruit

Symptons: I feel great but really feel like my tummy is growing and I still have about 126 days to go!

Best Moment this week: James patting my belly and saying "baba" (baby) then running to Daddy, patting his belly and saying "baba" =)

21 weeks

Here is a picture from this week! Not sure why I am tilting my head back but I think my baby bump looks so different depending on what I wear. I have felt our little guy moving around a lot this week! He is very active and it feels like he is high near my ribs already because he has punched or kicked my left bottom rib a few times already! Below is what babycenter.com says about how our baby boy is developing:

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like he's practicing martial arts as his initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to his activity as you get to know him better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now.

I can't wait for our sonogram next week so we can see our little one moving around!

20 weeks-halfway there!

I can't believe I am already 20 weeks and we are halfway there! I know the next few months will fly by with Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner. I feel great but am adjusting to waking up at 6:00 a.m. everyday. I usually go to bed around 9:30 p.m., which is really early for me! I am still craving sandwiches and fruit and then had to have McDonald's french fries the other day. I have gained 4 pounds so far and my baby bump has definitely popped out this past week! I am looking forward to our next doctor's appointment which is on Friday September 17th. We will have one of our last sonograms and the doctor will look at all the major organs to make sure they are developing properly, measure different parts of the body to make sure everything is on track, and of course confirm that we are having a boy. We were told at 13 1/2 weeks that the doctors were 85%-90% sure we are having a boy and I don't think we will be told differently on the 17th but I do want a confirmation before I start buying everything for the nursery!

16 months old

Dear James,
I cannot believe you are 16 months old! I really think you are the cutest little boy I have ever seen and I love your little personality. You are very funny and you make us laugh a lot. You are also strong willed, determined, and a little bit stubborn. Daddy says you get that from Mommy. There have been big changes this last month with Mommy going back to work teaching and you starting school! I miss you so much during the day it hurts but you are doing great. You now get to spend special time with Daddy in the mornings, have so much fun playing with your friends at school and learning with Ms. Deb, then Mommy picks you up in the late afternoon. We always go home and play outside, read books, and of course eat dinner. I think you have a growth spurt coming because you have been eating a lot!

So James Peyton, what are you up to at 16 months old???

You are 33 inches tall

You weigh 26.5 pounds

You wear a size 4 diaper

You wear size 18 & 24 months shirts and shorts but a few size 12 month shorts still fit

You wear a size 6 shoe

You have 10 teeth which is 4 more than last month! You now have your four top front, four bottom front, two bottom back molars, and two top back molars about to come through.

You LOVE to brush your teeth and would eat your entire tube of toothpaste if I let you. It is Earth's Best All Natural Strawberry Banana for Toddlers

You eat everything but your favorites are still pasta and fruit

You are talking a lot more and saying new words daily! You say mama, dada (sometimes just da), bobo (for Coco), ball, airmay (airplane), boo (for the color blue), yeohh (for the color yellow), tank oooh (thank you), bye bye (but you say it with a cute southern accent and I really do not know where you get that from!), baba (for baby and you pat Mommy's tummy, ousie (outside), book, and apple

You LOVE music and will always stop and dance. You have dance time at school and your teachers have commented how much you love to dance and said you have really good rhythm (I will say you most likely got that from Mommy because I have seen Daddy dance! ha!)

You would rather be playing outside than anywhere else.

You love "playing catch" and throwing balls. You always throw with your right arm.

You still love bathtime and used to always stand up but now you like to sit down, play with cups, and pour water from one to the other.

You LOVE to clean and pretend to wipe our table or your toys with a kleenex or baby wipe.

You also love the broom and the vaccuum. You will bring Mommy the broom and point to the back door because you want me to go outside and sweep the back patio!

You are so sweet and love to give hugs and kisses. You only give kisses when you want to now, never prompted, but that makes them so much more special!

You like to comb your own hair and will even put your hand under running water and run your fingers through it. It is so funny! Mommy has always done that in the mornings because your hair is usually sticking up a little.

I am so lucky to be your Mommy and we cannot wait to see what you do next month!

Love,
Mommy