Introduction to James, Elias, and Cora

Tobias left for deployment about a week and a half ago and we're doing well so far. We hear from him almost every day via email. He'll be gone for about 7 months, but we're already anxiously awaiting his return. The day before Tobias left his squadron had a change of command ceremony, which is why he was all dressed up in chokers in the above picture. He looks pretty impressive with the medal and ribbons. The morning Tobias left we were able to escort him aboard his ship, USS BOONE ( FFG 28). This picture was taken by one of the Sailors. James seems to be more interested in looking at the flight deck than the camera, but Tobias looks great! For a baby who once hated being on his stomach, he's sure grown to love it. This is how I found James when he woke up from a nap last week. He is now able to roll over to from his back to his stomach and his stomach to his back. Pretty exciting! Sweet boy! This past weekend James and I flew up to New Hampshire to visit w...

Today is the season opener for our very own Jacksonville Suns, which is the minor league baseball team here. Tobias really wants to take James to his first baseball game, so we're going. In honor of the occasion I put James in his little baseball outfit - doesn't he look cute?! Yesterday we went to the zoo with our friend Joanne and her 22 month old twins, Naomi and Julius. Aren't they the sweetest looking kids ever?! These kids are destined for greatness - both their parents were varsity athletes at the Naval Academy and very intelligent (Joanne was a math major and Dan was a computer science major). Not only are they smart and intelligent, they're also so nice and very funny. My wonderful roommate, Stephanie, from the mighty warship, USS PRINCETON (CG-59), was in town from San Diego for a conference and came to visit. Stephanie was only here for one night, but watched James for us so Tobias and I could enjoy a date before he leaves on deployment. Look at Steph with ...

Today marks the first ever Walters' Family Day. We will always celebrate today because it the day that James became a legal member of our family. The 3 of us with the judge who signed the adoption papers, recognizing us as James' legal parents. This morning we met with our lawyer and went before a judge to finalize our adoption. The entire hearing took less than 10 minutes, including time for pictures. We were sworn in and asked simple questions like our names, place and date of marriage, and if we were willing to accept responsibility for raising James. Our social worker, Tramona, was able to join us for the hearing and the four us went to lunch afterwards to celebrate James! This afternoon we had our first ever family pictures taken to celebrate Family Day. James is a very smiley baby, but he's also very curious. We had a hard time getting him to smile, he was more interested in looking at the photographer, the fancy lights, and her camera. We're pleased with the res...

Earlier this month James had his 4 month checkup. He's now 27.5 inches long (that's above the 95t h percentile) and 16.8 lbs (75 th percentile). The shots and everything went well for James and developmentally he's doing great. At the appointment we got the go-ahead to start feeding James food. So far we've tried fresh bananas mixed in with rice cereal, pears, peas, and carrots. Any guess what he was eating when we took this picture? Carrots are by far his favorite. Weird , we know, but he loves them. James is also learning to roll over, he did it twice this morning. He doesn't love belly time, but it's important developmentally, so we have him on his belly a lot these days. He loves the little tractor from Grandpa and Grandma Walters and will push it between both hands. It's funny to watch him because it takes a lot of concentration to move that little tractor. James was also lucky enough to have his first trip to the zoo last week. Tobias' good frie...

This morning was James' baby dedication at our church. Everything turned out beautifully - although the time change did make getting up this morning a bit difficult. Tobias and I absolutely love our church and James' dedication is just another reason why our church is so special to us. The next baby dedication wasn't scheduled until Mother's Day (which is after Tobias will be gone on deployment), so I asked if we could do one before Tobias left and they were very happy to do it! This morning the pastor even mentioned how Tobias was leaving for his deployment. Overall it was a beautiful service and very special for the three of us. For the dedication our Preschool Minister read Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. My mom, Jill Mama, came in yesterday afternoon and it was great to have her here for James' dedication. Here she is this af...

First off - congratulations to Crystal (Tobias' totally awesome sister) and Kyle! Kyle popped the question yesterday and Crystal, being the smart woman she is, said yes! I spoke with Crystal this morning and she sounds so excited. The pictures are from Kyle and Crystal's visit down here right after James was born. James is also very excited for Kyle to officially become 'Uncle Kyle!' How you can follow up news of an engagement 10 years in the making? By showing the world how cute your son is! James and I have been doing pretty well since Tobias has been gone. Our friends have been great and have offered me rest and adult company too. One of the guys at Tobias' squadron, Matty, was even nice enough to watch James for a couple hours yesterday evening. Thank goodness for good friends! The pictures are just random ones I've been sending to Tobias while he's been underway. I try to send Tobias a picture every day so he can see how much James has grown. I ...

James was able to get to know another Grandpa this past week. My dad, Mel, was here for a quick 4 day visit. James and his grandpa were fast friends. I wanted to show everyone some pictures of their visit. It had been about a year and a half since I had last seen my dad and it was great to visit with him. Introducing my dad to my son was amazing! My dad is an orthodontist in the Sacramento area, so if anyone reading this is looking for a good orthodontist check him out at waltersortho.com . In other James news, we had another play date yesterday. There were 3 babies there - a 9 month old named Cole, James, and Cole's cousin - Chase, who is 4 days younger than James. Chase and Cole are dressed the same. James is the other cutie in stripes. James is the same height as Cole but little Chase was probably the biggest guy there! It was great fun and here are some pictures - posted with their mom's permission of course.