Merry Merry Mistletoes

Merry Christmas!

Love, 

James

Oh Christmas Tree

Walking!!!

December 7, 2013

At Thanksgiving, James was taking a few steps at a time if he saw something of enough interest to entice him to let go and walk to. Last week he really started to gain more confidence and strength. He is WALKING!!!! So glad we captured this on video before he's off and running. Our little toddler!

11 Months Old!

November 23, 2013

James is now 11 months old! 

These months keep flying by and this Mama can't seem to keep up! However, each month (well, day, really) gets more exciting as we go! What seems like overnight, James has turned into a little boy! A tiny man. He is FULL of energy, smiles, laughs, sweetness, seriousness, curiosity, courage, persistence and personality. It is amazing watching him learn and grow; he is very observant and is turning into quite the entertainer.

James LOVES:

Teddy bears, peek-a-boo, hide and seek, cruising along furniture, walking/pushing the mini Jeep around, lion walker, story time, rhymes/songs, books, pop-up/flap books, paci (ut oh!), "talking", baby Legos (taking them apart, not together yet), animals, cause and effect, ripping paper, trying to figure out how things work (remotes, phones, coffee, etc), experimenting with a sippy cup, wooden toys and blocks, all music, dancing

James DOESN'T LOVE:

Socks (on his feet; he does love to chew on them, though!)

Did I mention he is WALKING?!

James can do so many things now, so it seems silly to try to make a list. Something new everyday! Because I won't be able to list it all, here are a few things we want to remember that he is doing at this age:

• Dances and shakes his booty and head when you say Dance Baby Dance, or Shake It, Shake It
• Giving hugs (all of a sudden, so sweet!)
• Calling his teddy bears Ted
• Belting out big laughs with a game of peek-a-boo or hide-and-seek. These games, or the laughs they produce, will never get old to us!
• Saying HI and waving, or HI when he finds the phone (puts phone up to ear or face!)
• Waving bye-bye when you say goodbye
• Looking under objects for hidden treasure (couches, tables, cabinets, crib...). 
• Excited by anything cause & effect ("Oh wow!")
• Crawling up the stairs unassisted (but spotted with extreme caution)
• Cruising along everything and gaining confidence by taking a few unassisted steps a few times a day (he is up to 5 steps now before sitting or resuming crawling! Big boy!!) His legs are getting stronger everyday! He is going to be full blown walking in no time... Eek!
• Giving me hugs and rubbing my arm/patting my back when I hold him (too cute!)
• Brushing his hair (well, tries!)
• Touching his toes and nose when you ask where they are
• Although he can't say the words yet, he is pretty smart: He will point to or pick up a familiar object if you ask him about it (i.e. Where is your teddy bear? Elephant? Blanket? Phone? Monkey?...etc)
• Still nursing! (Hope to make it until Spring!)

Funny things he says:

• Ted, Cat, Ut Oh, Wow, HI, Pump (pumpkin), Pup-pup (puppy), Pop, Pop-Pop and Papa (mostly Gramps, but sometimes also Phil?), Mama, Baba, Dada, Dat (as in 'what's that?' pointing to his desired object)
• Singing to himself in the car. When we catch him doing this, we just turn the music low so we can listen in awe - so sweet!
• Tries to mimic the sound of the words you say
 

We cannot believe Christmas is around the corner... little man you are going to be ONE soon?!

Fall Family Pictures!

At the end of October, we took fall family pictures! It was a very chilly evening outside, but we surprisingly got some amazing shots. We love all of the pictures, but here are some of our favorites to share. Enjoy! (Now, if only I can decide which ones to hang up in the living room... !)

Baptism

November 10, 2013

James is baptized! (Finally!!)

The beginning of November was very exciting for our family, and for James. Not only was he baptized, but James got to met his Uncle Chad for the very first time, too. A huge thank you goes out to "Aunt" Lindsay and Uncle Chad for traveling in from out of state just to support James on his special day, and for less than a 48 stay. You both are the perfect Godparents for James, and we couldn't be happier to have you as his role models as he grows. He is one lucky little man.

James was such a good boy during church. He loved it! He impressively listened to an entire hour-long Catholic mass (with no toys for distraction), followed by the second hour for the baptism ceremony. Good thing he loves music and people watching! There were six infants baptized the same day - all others were teeny tiny girls! At 10 months old, James was the only boy and gave the priest a high-five! The priest loved how much hair he had, too. James didn't even complain as his full mane of hair was baptized with water. In fact, I think he wanted to dive right into that warm holy water and take a bath. And, his hair was nicely styled after his big event. You could tell he knew it was a special occasion, and he loved every minute of it (no nap and all!).

After the ceremony we celebrated at our house with a few friends and family. We are so thankful to have wonderful people surrounding James with love and support. He is truly blessed!

First steps!

This little leaf, stuck to the window, inspired James to take his first few steps on his own this morning!

Heading into the kitchen to make some coffee to start our day, James spotted this leaf and immediately wanted to go get a closer look. So, off he crawled to scope it out. Sure enough, he pulled up on the window to standing to get a better view, talked to it a bit, then turned, let go of the windowsill and took a few steps to get to the side table nearby! Phil and I looked at each other, amazed! Did we just see James take his first steps?! We did! So glad Phil was still home so we could witness this first hand together!

Looks like our predictions that he will be walking by Thanksgiving may come true!

Until then... I will follow him with video ready to try and capture it to share!

10 Months Old!

James is TEN months old!

Pumpkin Picking!

October 26, 2013

A few weekends ago, we took James to Red Wagon Farm to pick out his very first pumpkin. Although it was a little too cold for the hay ride around the farm, James had a blast checking out all of the pumpkins in the pumpkin patch. And, we had a blast watching his amazement!

 

One thing is for sure, James LOVES pumpkins! 

Gearing up for Halloween, he couldn't get enough of "visiting" all of the pumpkins around the house. He now whispers "pump" as he points them out! 

He LOVED the little farm! 

Looks like we'll be back next year!

And, though it is James' first Halloween this year, it also marks Phil's FIRST time carving a pumpkin! Yes. EVER.  

I think he did a pretty good job for his first attempt! Good thing he got his practice in now, next year James will be directing him on what to carve into that pumpkin!

The 1st Great Gibbs family pumpkin!