Introduction to James, Elias, and Cora

Our new year is off to a great start. James is busy learning and playing! In early January James and Tobias planted a little herb garden for me. The plants have sprouted and in just a couple of more weeks I should have some fresh basil! Tobias was off for the first part of January so he and James spent a lot of time playing together. This picture was taken while James was helping Tobias wash Bandit, our dog. Before things started to speed back up with school and work, we squeezed in a couple of play dates . Here is James playing with his best buddy, Clayton! I love this picture! The sun was right behind him, but you can still see his beautiful smile! The past couple of weeks have been so cold for us that we had to break out James' winter coat. Here he is brushing his teeth before I take him off to school. Cold weather also means warm flannel pjs . This was taken on a chilly Saturday morning. Here's a picture of my beautiful mom who visited us last weekend. It was great...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Walters! We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas and I think James enjoyed it too. On Christmas Eve James helped me cook in the kitchen. He's our official taste tester! After we had made our dinner preparations the three of us went to the park to play for a bit. James really enjoys running and I enjoyed chasing him down! When I took James to the park earlier this month we stayed away from the big slide. Tobias was along this time - so the only slide James went down was the big slide - and he loved it! While James enjoyed the slide (and the sunshine), he really enjoyed the water fountain! After the park we cleaned up and headed to church. After church we celebrated with our Sunday School teachers and their families. Christmas morning was so much fun. Here's a picture of James with his presents. Our families and friends were so generous. Only three of those presents are from us! James figured out how to open presents pretty quickly! James real...

Christmas is just around the corner and we're just about ready. Our tree is up, presents are under the tree, and stockings are hung. But before I go into Christmas, I should update on what we've been up to for the first part of December. We traveled to KS. James even got his own seat on the airplane. It was a hard trip - we left Friday morning, flew to Denver, and then drove 200 miles to St. Francis, KS. We came home on Sunday. We wouldn't have done such a trip for anyone except Crystal, Tobias' sister. Crystal was an absolutely beautiful bride. Their wedding and reception were a blast and we were so thankful to be included in her special day. Tobias and James were ushers and I was a bridesmaid. James and Tobias escorted Grandma Edie down the isle and were so darn cute! Tobias, Kyle (the groom), and Josh (Tobias' younger brother) at the reception hall. What a handsome group! This is a really funny picture to me. It's Tobias and his youngest two siblings,...

Tobias and I bought a disposable camera soon after James was born with the idea of taking a picture every month to see how he's changed. For the past year, on the 15 th of every month we've taken a picture of James. We wanted to share them with you! November - so little! December - we finally figured out that we could use the bear for some perspective. January - so skinny! February - He looks like himself now. March - such a little man! What a remarkable change in just a month! April - you can see his personality coming through now! May - I guess I caught him by surprise with this picture. June - you can see it was pretty hard to get him lying down and staying still! July - I gave up trying to get him to lay down. Just look at how grown up he is! August - my goodness such a cute kid! September - look at that morning hair! October - just chillin '! November - Such a big boy now! It's so amazing to see him grow and change.