Merry Christmas

In case anyone was worried - Santa did bring a certain naughty little boy a bike (naughty because he refused to go to bed on Christmas Eve).

He pretty much rode it all morning - ate breakfast on it.

opened his presents on it.

Unless, of course, it was this present.....aunt nicki gets the prize for biggest most obnoxious present (which, by the way, ian absolutely loves, and was even more excited about than if the whole box really had been full of candy like he thought).

he watched all of finding nemo on it.

Other favorite presents included:

a new john deer bunda/truck -

helmet and knee/elbow pads for his bike - and a john deer hat

and a bazillion new books that he made me read one by one as he opened them. he was so excited when he opened each present that we kind of had to force him to keep opening more rather than just play with what he had already opened.

James on the other hand, slept on the couch until after breakfast.

He woke up to ian saying "hi james, you mine friend" then a kiss and then a nose to nose rub.

We spent the afternoon at curt's parents opening more presents, eating and playing games. It is always wonderful to be together with family.

Here is some more James - he is spending a lot more time awake and alert and is always kicking his feet and moving his hands around.

And just to make sure this is the neverending post - we spent Christmas Eve at Amy and Eric's house and had an amazing mexican dinner. The kids entertained us with a darling rendition of the christmas story.

tommy as joseph and karina as an angel (in the background)

katie as mary and baby andrew as jesus

ian as a shepard (kind of)

and jack as one of the three wise men

To Hank

in Iraq - Merry Christmas!

Be safe - we love you.
amy, curt, ian and james

santa train

today we met the penrods at point defiance park to ride the santa train. it was really cold - but worth it for ian to get to sit on santa's lap and tell him he wants a bike for christmas 400 times. james was a dream and slept through the entire thing.

another week with james

friday we had our second newborn visit with a new doctor (we like this one a LOT more) and james is doing well. he weighed in at 7.14 lbs and 21 1/2 inches (somehow he grew 2 inches since his birth - clearly the measuring is somewhat subjective).
hopefully the following pictures will satisfy my family enough that we won't get anymore 7am why haven't you blogged in a week phonecalls.
ps. james is a dream - we love him. and he looks a ton like ian at this age.

(best baby sideburns ever)

ian is super sweet with him, and asks at least once a day to hold him. then he immediately says "heavy, heavy" and pushes him back to me.

he even asked if james could sleep with him one night. anyone who knows ian knows that he is always up for having a sleeping partner - and most nights demands one.

Good Bye Curls (for Grandpa Clay)

Ian needed a haircut. I decided that I would try my hand at trimming his hair. I started and quickly realized I was in over my head. (Same story when I tried to take his portable DVD player apart to "fix it"). In both cases a professional had to fix my work.

Haircut + candycane.

Haircut + mean face.

Baby James

Some pictures of the boy - doing what he does most of the time, sleep.

Life with two

So, it turns out that having two kids is not at all like having one kid. We are slowly adjusting, getting no sleep, thinking maybe two is all we need, - and how is it that I already forgot everything there is to know about newborns? The good thing is - they are both so cute and lovable that we think we will keep them anyway.

My siblings bought us this perfect moses basket that James has been sleeping in. It keeps him safe and I can take him wherever I go.

Last night Grandma and Granpa Leonard came over for some grandkid time. Ian made Grandpa read him Curious George almost the whole time he was here and Grandma hung out with James.


Then ian turned off all the lights so we all could play ghost - yeah - and finally cried when they left.



Here is Ian wearing James hospital hat. He loves James, but sometimes asks that he go back into my belly. He's definitely enjoying all the visitors.

+1

Introducing..

James.

7 pounds. 5 ounces.

19 1/2 inches.

Amy started with irregular contractions yesterday. At about 11:00PM, Amy woke up with strong and consistent contractions. We took our time (mistake), got things ready, and headed out. On the way to the hospital, the contractions picked up and were about 2-3 minutes apart - and we were 40 minutes from the hospital. I made record time, somewhat worried that I might need to pull off the highway. Amy was admitted and in a bed at 1:00 and J was born at 1:30. Welcome to the family, James - I guess that is how we do business.

It all went so quickly. Amy did an incredible job. Both baby and mother are happy and healthy.

Proud (and relieved) father

Big brother is watching

Aunt Ashely has been a great help!!

More later.

Amy, Curt, Ian and James.

Is it possible

that Ian needs another haircut already? I guess it is time for Grandma to come back and visit (ps he isn't grumpy at all when he wakes up from his naps).

The perfect decorating day

Today we woke up to a light dusting of snow on the ground. It took me FOREVER to find Ian's winter stuff - but it was totally worth it.

Later on we went to a tree farm for our Christmas tree. It was really wet and of course Ian wiped out and got soaked. He hates when his hands are dirty.

The best part ever was the guy that cut the tree, and then tied it to our car while we payed and drank hot chocolate. We are for sure going there again next year.





It snowed lightly outside while we decorated the tree and played Christmas music. It was perfect.

Funny things Ian did today:

-He ran up to the Santa at the Home Depot, stopped 5 feet away from him, screamed "bike", and then ran away.

-Curt asked him where is other sock was and he said "my bum", meaning he was sitting on it.

- In the car on the way home from Tommy's baptism he said "mama stay, ashy stay, parkder stay my bed". Slumber party.