Climbing onto a BIG Motorcycle

Dada doesn't believe mama that James can climb on his bike all by himself. Mama has proof and here it is. I guess Dada better put his motorbike away in the garage.

Stacking Blocks

Learning how to stack blocks with daddy.

Taking our big pumpkins home.
Squash and Eggplant
Transporting our pumpkin to the truck.
Pumpkin to kid comparison.

Last time in his pool outside this Summer

Sucking the water out of his washcloth.

James decided for a couple days he wanted to wear his bike helmet everywhere. He was extra protected I guess in his carseat.
James in his bike trailer with his co-pilot Mrs. Cow.
Some friends came over and brought thier 19 month old, Harley. James liked her stroller so he climbed in and layed back (we don't have a stroller so this is novelty for him). Complete with her basketball sippy he was coveting. Harley decided she was going to be a big girl and push him around. Oh, and as you can see Shelby has 2 leashes on. His and Hers.

Cousin Rob's Wedding Reception in Chicago

Mama and James ready for the reception
James and his cute outfit!
He learned he could fog up the window and fogged up all of the windows all the way across. So funny!
Cute photo of James looking out the window at the reception hall. I think he was mesmerized by the wind blowing the leaves on the trees.

Garfield Park Conservatory

Pretty Fountain
Giant Sea Grapes
Palms in the Palm House, everything was so huge!

This is a place I found in my Organic Gardening magazine. Chicago was featured in it one month and the conservatory a place to see. They had a palm house, desert house, sweet house (that one was under construction, I really wanted to see cocoa trees!), an aromatic garden(also under construction, boohoo!), a childrens garden, and a couple other areas I can't remember. Very beautiful gardens in the greenhouses and gardens outside surrounding the greenhouses. They even had several different examples of composters which was really neat. Worm composting included. They had it set-up so the kids could dig in and find worms. So neat!

Then we went to a restaurant with Chicago style pizza, recommended by a locals granddaughter. Oh my, it was so good. I've never had pizza so good. Mmmmm.......

More From Garfield Park Conservatory

Pretty Bird of Paradise
Just Beautiful
Koi!

Shedd Aqaurium in Chicago

James loved the fish!
Sea Turtles
Even a duck.

More from Shedd Aquarium

Example of local fish from the Lake Michigan. Carp and such.
Sea Dragon
Mommy don't make me look at the scary Sea Dragon. I will lay on the floor in protest.
Very cool sting rays. They had all kinds of shapes and letters on them. Can you see the S.

Swimming in Chicago with Cousin Donna

Getting in the pool
off and swimming

First Haircut!

That's sure a serious face! I thought one of these contraptions would be a good teething distraction on our trip. He always steals his cousins when we are visiting with him.
That's bright mama!
Hehe! I'm going to get you!
Good pic of his new haircut. Amy should remember those wood bead blocks. We found them at Grandma's house. He thinks its fun to make them his necklace.
James did so well at his first haircut. He sat on mama's lap and didn't move at all. He sat totally still. I'm sad I forgot the camera, but I did save his hair. ;-) He even sat most of the time on mama's lap while I got my hair trimmed.

James and the Giant Pumpkin

I think it's twice the size of James atleast!
This one is a little smaller maybe Auntie Jen might like this one for her porch.

James at the Steck Family Reunion

Hmmm.... How does this thing work?

16 Months

Mmmmm.... Spaghetti
Want some?

James is becoming a big boy in many ways now. He is growing fast and were looking for 2T used clothing at the moment for the little guy. He has been wanting to feed himself with a fork the last few weeks. Stabs the food with the fork all by himself and then eats it all by himself. He doesn't like being in a highchair or sitting in a booster seat anymore either. If he wants to dance in the middle of dinner he can without being hindered by either seat. Which means more messy mealtimes. What can I say the child wants to be independent. We also bought a bike trailer and we go everywhere on our bikes now. Mostly Sunday mornings to breakfast with Daddy. He loves to take rides in the bike trailer and has a stuffed cow as his co-pilot that he holds the whole way.

James has been pretty shy lately. I think it is just one of the those phases, but since we moved and he sees Daddy more these days he loves to watch Daddy come home on his motorcycle. He loves to play with Daddy when he comes home which is a big deal because he used to be glued to Mommy.

We have two playgroups that we meet with 2 days a week so that will help with the shyness. We are also closer to cousin Devin which is nice because they can play and get to know each other more. James has finally stopped grabbing other kids and biting them too. Another phase he was going through I guess. That was a lovely phase.

We do need to get him to the pool more often so we don't lose his swimming skills. He loves the water and has been playing in his kiddie pool a lot outside.

Swimming in Arizona Part I

James waiting at the edge to go for a swim or to play with the bugs. There were bugs everywhere on the pool deck. He would try to catch them, but those darn bugs were too quick. We swam two to three times a day at the hotel we were staying at in Arizona. The pool was right out the living room sliding glass door. Which was great so that we didn't have to pass through a parking lot and James could walk freely without any worry. Oh, and yes he did have a hotel shampoo bottle in his hand. He decided that was a fun toy to bring with us to the pool that day. ;-p
James would walk off the edge of the sitting area in the pool and into my arms.
Mama and James. We would get to the middle of the pool and he would pump his arms and legs and swim back to the edge with mama's help of course. Scroll down to see James swim to the edge.

Swimming in Arizona Part II

He was having so much fun swimming. He'd wear himself out every time and need a nap afterwards.

Back to the edge.

Visiting With Great Grandma

It was so nice to go and visit Grandma in Arizona. She looked great and had fun interacting with her great-grandsons even if James was being a little shy. We were so glad to see her. : )
Awwww.... Great Grandma stealing a kiss.