Introduction to James, Elias, and Cora

Merry Christmas from James! James, Bandit, and I are enjoying our Christmas tree and are looking forward to opening up our gifts on Christmas morning. One of the best parts about Christmas this year is that Aunt Teri is back! While I was at work earlier this week James and Aunt Teri made a ginger bread house together. It looks super yummy! To help get us in the Christmas spirit we went to Sea World with our friends. James always has a blast playing with those two kids. Believe it or not, but James is actually the youngest kid in that picture by about 2 months. James really enjoyed Sea World. Here he is with the manatees. When we got back from Orlando we found a package from Grandpa and Grandma Walters in Kansas. There was a special Broncos football hat in there that James was really excited about. One of the best things about Christmas is family time. This afternoon we took advantage of the time off and went to the park to play. You can see how much James enjoyed the park! Fe...

We spent the last few days visiting family in Northern Minnesota. It was a lot of fun for everyone, especially James, who had the opportunity to play in the snow for the first time. Here's James helping to sweep off the front steps! Such a big helper! James also enjoyed exploring the beautiful outdoors. James really enjoyed this little bridge. I think we walked across it about fifty times! After playing outside, James' Great-Aunt Tootsie was waiting inside with cookies and milk! Yummy! Another highlight of the trip was the opportunity to see my dad, Grandpa Mel, in Minnesota. My dad was there for business the first part of the trip and we met up for the last half of the trip. Here's Grandpa Mel introducing James to a Norweigan delight, leftsa. One of the neatest things about this trip was to visit the Walters farmstead. James was the 5th generation Walters on this farm that was settled by my ancestors. Here is James riding his first tractor. He makes a great farmer...

Saturday morning cartoons. Tobias and I were adamant about James not watching TV when he was a baby - we've become much more relaxed as time has gone by. He really enjoys Blues Clues and Wonder Pets. Fun times in the morning. Here is James sporting his favorite hard hat, sun glasses, and football pj's. James loves his football. He also likes to make up his own games like basketball with his football. Slam dunk! Future Heisman trophy winner? We'll see. For our upcoming trip to Northern MN I had James try on his winter clothes. He was a good sport until we put on the mittens and then there were issues. He just kept saying, "Mommy, fingers." Here's our big boy on the way to the zoo this morning. Can you believe how grown up he looks? That's one of the biggest (and safest) car seats on the market too. Oh, what fun it is to ride! Here is James playing on the monkey ropes playground at the zoo. He was the only kid swinging around under age 8, but h...

James turned 2 on November 2nd, making this his Golden Birthday! We celebrated with friends at home with hamburgers, french fries, fruit salad, chocolate cake, ice cream, and lots and lots of great presents. James really enjoyed blowing out the candle, and it was super special because Tobias was able to call and sing with us! Here's some of the presents he received. Lots of great toys and clothes! He received lots of wonderful trucks and cars - his favorite! And puzzles too! James really likes puzzles. Here is James showing off his new alien bath towel! Here is James and Bandit ready to go for a walk. James loves his new Jaguars sweatshirt and Mickie Mouse book. Can you believe he's only 2?! He is such a handsome boy. James also made a pretty cute pilot for Halloween. I put some of Tobias' patches onto an undershirt and James was Maverick from Top Gun! James' school had a Fall Festival, which is how Southerners celebrate Halloween! James had a blast at the sponge tossin...

All of three of us have birthdays within 2 weeks of each other. We started off by celebrating Tobias' 33rd birthday! Tobias celebrated with a picture of his birthday cupcake - lucky guy! Next we celebrated by birthday! It's amazing how once you're a mom your birthday parties revolve around children! We celebrated with some close friends, including our Florida Grandparents, with a play date at the park, sandwiches, and cupcakes! In addition to our birthdays, James' birthday is coming up! It's amazing what a sweet little boy he's growing up to be! And a super cool little boy too! Check out those shades! And did I mention, he's a bit mischievous?! Here's how I found James one morning last week after he'd spread diaper cream all over himself during the night! And yes, he really does sleep with Bear, his toothbrush, and a football. We started the Bear thing, but the decided on the toothbrush and football on his own! More pictures for James' ...

Today we went to a pumpkin patch with a few other Navy wives and their children. It was such a neat experience that I wanted to share it with you. There were chickens and chicks in a cage that James enjoyed watching. There was a hay ride that took you into a pasture with some cows that you could feed. Here's James and his buddy watching the big cows. Moo Moo! And there was a lot of open space to run really fast. James likes to race and he says, "ready, set, go!" They also had pumps to show the kids! The thing I found the neatest was a little cow train they had for the kids. Here's James all ready for his big ride! Of course there were pumpkins too! It was such a fun day!