first birthday!

It is absolutely amazing that an entire year has gone by. Joe and I had the labor countdown starting last night at 9:30, until 2:14 when James was officially born. He has been in a very silly mood today. He really enjoyed his presents and his birthday cake (applesauce spelt--vegan, major allergen free, and quite delicious!). He kept going Mmmmmmmm! Mmmmmmmm! as he was eating it. He has developed quite a sense of humor, and seems to laugh all the time. He has such a joyful spirit! He is learning a great many things, loves to read, can stand for a second or two independently, sings (especially in church), and communicates quite well for a person who doesn't use words yet. We are indescribably proud. This has been one of the best years of our lives. Happy first birthday James Augustine! We are so fortunate to have you in our lives!

gifts and flood

Here are a few pictures of James opening his birthday gifts from his grandparents. He loved the wrapping paper, and really likes the dog puppet. He has been giving it lots of hugs!

The last picture is of Joe and James dripping wet from the downpour we got caught in on a walk yesterday. We were totally soaked! Unfortunately our basement flooded, so we worked the rest of the day on salvaging the stuff we have in storage. Thankfully, the damage was not severe. We are hoping we do not get any more rain until the basement window can be repaired (it is completely broken from water pressure), as it was the water was pouring in like there was a garden hose in the window. At least we don't own the place!

at the farm

We went to a local farm today, and had a great time! James enjoyed visiting with the animals, we looked at some ripening fruit (unfortunatley strawberry and cherry season ended this past week), and played on the playground. James' favorite parts were riding the trolley between the different orchards and tasting dirt samples.

picasso

I forgot to show you all James' first painting. He is apparently going through a blue period with me at work ;o). As you can see, he thinks outside the box, using feet to make sweeping strokes across the canvas. This piece is now hanging over my desk in my office. He does fun things like this with the nanny every day. In fact, he made Joe a picture of worms and bits of dirt today using markers. He is a very talented young artist, though we knew he would be given his food sculptures and poop painting. hee hee.

more

new camera

here is a sampling of what our new camera can do!

children's museum

Yesterday we had quite a busy day! We went vacuum shopping, I think we will be getting a miele
canister, though we are doing a bit of comparison shopping before
getting one. In the afternoon we went to the children's museum with our
friend Monica and her family. We then went over to Julie and Dan's new
house (which is gorgeous!) for our annual 'queso fest'. Here are a few
pictures from the museum. James 'climbing' the rock wall, playing with
a bubble tube, meeting his 'twin', and going down a slide for the first time.