Christmas 2009.01 and 2009.02

James is fortunate enough to have lots of family and friends to celebrate Christmas with this season. The first celebration was with the Montalbano-Schillinger-Moffat clan at Gma Chele's house. Of course, James was the center of attention and very much spoiled by everyone! Below :: James was very excited for the Christmas season to begin! Also included in the slideshow are pictures from James exchanging gifts with our neighbors - we found a cool looking game (possible sister-throw-down motive though) and they got him a really cute toy tool box...perfect for a little boy.

Weekend 12.18.09

Friday we met up with Dom, Jen and Jen's dad and step mom for dinner at the Grand Victoria Casino Buffet -- guess it's not too early for his first trip :-) On Saturday, we went to the city for Amanda's Housewarming/Holiday party. Below :: James shares his germs with Jen B.

James and his buddy, Davin

Hey, I have ears too...yours are just as much fun to pull as mine are :-)

Trouble Montalbano kept climbing up under Aunt Amanda's coffee table to play -- only problem was he kept knocking his noggin on the top part.

Sunday we watched some football and James played his little booty off

James Dancing, Blowing Raspberries & Talking

We keep expecting to wake up and find James with a mouthful of teeth because he's teething on everything and anything -- but no luck so far! Santa, can you hear him (me) asking for them? Please! He's been such a good sleeper for such a long time and he's woken up 4 nights in a row now -- not fun (last night had filled his diaper though, but was still 45 minutes to get him back down after all was said and done).
I love his Peanut Bear jacket

James is dancing to one of his kiddo videos -- "athleticBaby - basketballs" from the Konopacks. He saw all the basketballs on the video and made a bee-line for his tub of toys and picked out his yellow beach ball to throw on the floor -- I'm tellin' ya, this lil' man is too smart for his own good!

James' latest trick. He usually makes this sound along with some "ba ba ba"s or "da da da"s. "Ma" usually gets it own string minus the spitting sounds :-)

James now has the "ba" sound down pat to add to "da" and "ma" and sometimes "ta" -- we've actually both heard a clear "Mom" and I'd like to believe it was said to me, but that's still out to the jury for first word.

Jamie & Jimmy's Wine Tasting Party

Jamie and Jimmy had a wine tasting party at their house a couple weekends ago. I didn't get to drink as my post-pregnancy alcohol-allergy has gotten worse each time I've tried (flushed red beyond the Asian glow face w/ purple neck and tingling lips = should probably give up trying, eh) but all others seemed to enjoy! It was a fun night and it was great to see everyone!

James decided he liked to crawl around as quickly as possibly on the pool table -- playing a game he made up with Amanda and I -- trust me, HE IS QUICK! It was a good thing we were double teaming him on D or he would have found himself on the floor fairly easily :-)

James Edward meet James Edward >:0) Jimmy (Becca's uncle) finally got to meet James!

James was good at using "gentle touches" with Niki's belly -- can't wait to meet our new friend,Connor, who is due to be here in February!

Amanda and Pat (Connor's daddy) always have to get a picture at parties

Dishwasher Days

For his 9 month trick, James showed me how he can climb up INTO the dishwasher! Gonna have to keep a close eye on this mischievous one :-)

I've fallen waaaayyyy behind in my blogging, so here are school reports from James for the past 2 weeks.

Monday, 12.07.09 :: "James has been standing everywhere and is doing well getting down. He also has been showing a lot of interest in the action-reaction toys/ cause-and-effect. His teacher pushed the little car and James quickly went after it :-) "

Tuesday, 12.08.09 :: "James has had a good day today" -- 99.8 temp though later in day :-(

Tuesday, 12.15.09 :: "He had a great day today! He liked to play with his friend Sarah and he liked to stand up by holding something".

Wednesday, 12.16.09 :: "James had a busy day moving around"

Our Reindeer, James

I'm pretty James would let Rudolph play in Reindeer games :-) Gma Chele made James some antlers when she visited the Lincoln Park Zoo and brought them over for James to try on (thus, the HS graduation blackmail pictures). He does make a cute reindeer!
Below :: Gma Chele is a cute reindeer too

James getting a piggy back ride on Easton-deer

Meeting Santa

James went over to his friend Katie's house to meet Santa! It was the first meeting for both of them...they did OK but neither of them were overly smiley that morning (usually that's James' best time of day). We had a great time sharing this experience with Katie's family and meeting her Papa too ;-)

We've Been Elfed

The only way I like Christmas music :-) I had some fun with the JibJab website using photos of Jim, James, Easton and myself. It expires Jan 15, so watch it soon! (Sheryl, I re-posted it because you're probably the only person that found it since I started that back about 15 posts ago, ha) http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/2XuqJH7SO6a4MZcEdplc

James v. Teddy 9.0

We love our Bug! I can't believe James is already 9 months old! I also can't imagine life without him -- he makes us smile every time we see him and brings us joy beyond words -- getting home to him is what we live for these days :-D He's now spent just as much time outside in the real world as he did cookin' inside -- pretty cool to think about his journey!

James had pear pineapple for the first time and also used the baby food masher to have some bananas and strawberries -- Easton has become a big fan of James eating in his high chair and getting more finger foods = more dropped on the floor for him to enjoy :-)
The only way I could get James to sit for his 9 month picture with Teddy was to put him in his Johnny Jump Up -- it was still tough to get him to actually face me for a picture, but we got some great ones!

Pics from Jimmy

Jimmy gave me the pictures he's taken since Thanksgiving and here are some of my favorites (yes, there are a lot)!

Above :: how James spends a lot of his days: with his hands in his mouth

Below :: Smiling nicely at Mommy so Daddy could get a great photo

Upside down baby boy!

Chillin' watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

James' 1st ornament -- it lights up and is a snow globe, too.

Such a handsome doggie all clean from his professional bath the day before :-)

James sitting in my computer chair
Definitely his father's son with the computer! He's always trying to pound on the laptop too :-)

Playing During the Week

We opened up a new toy from Great Grammy -- the Choo-Choo Train was a big hit and James chased it around and around for a good half hour and only stopped because we made him to get ready for bed :-) It has 3 balls that it digests and "poops" out the back and James couldn't decide what to do -- chase the train or go pick up the ball to put it back in!
His first bite of pear raspberries :-) Yummy! I also really liked the skull cap/bib look ;-)

GO ILLINI GO!!!

Christmas Tree

James helped put up his first ornament (on the backside of this picture) and then went down for his nap so we could finish decorating our Christmas tree.

James has finally started to sit up with both hands off the ground to play -- so much easier with two hands versus only one on the toy and one on the floor! It felt kind of backwards to me that he was able to crawl and pull himself up before he could sit with his hands off the floor -- but it all kids are different I suppose!

Why the seat gets put down

So I have some issues with the toilet seat being left up (especially when flushed); however, this takes it to a whole new level. James has a new found interest in pounding on the toilet lid and making music. All I keep thinking about is him lifting the lid and leaning over to play with the water, thus falling in and drowning because his little arm would get stuck and he's not strong enough to push up (crazy? i think not, OK, maybe a little bit)! So, I beg you, please put the lids down (and maybe shut the door behind you too) if any kiddos are around!

Chicago Wolves Hockey Game

Saturday we went to the Chicago Wolves hockey game. It was part of my anniversary gift from Jimmy, so we bundled up James and headed out for a night of fun!

Wayne Messmer singing the National Anthem -- we were just a plate of plexiglass away from him and the guy who got honored that night -- Mike N. I believe -- one of the original owners/coaches etc of the Wolves.

CHELI!!!! Chris Chelios now plays for the Chicago Wolves -- a legend in the hockey world. His sons play(ed) for the Chicago Steel where John works.
James and I got a photo during warm-ups. He didn't stay in the Baby Bjorn for long as he wanted to flirt with all the ladies sitting around us, but it fulfilled its purpose as far as easily transporting him into the arena.
SO FUNNY!!! James showed his true hockey spirit by pounding on the glass to the away team's penalty box -- the kicker was that a player was actually going in to the box -- perfect timing! (Although I believe James was more interested in his own reflection in the glass than the player going in, but still hilarious)!

James LOVED the main score board with all its flashing lights and colors. He didn't care so much for the insanely loud introduction of the Wolves' players, but it was pretty cool to see -- they have a big wolf head w/ creepy green eyes and then flames burst out of fake mountains and they have fireworks go off in the stadium during introductions -- so loud! James took a snooze on me during the 2nd period but was back for more excitement (and more flirting w/ all the ladies around us) during the 3rd. He slept well for us that night, as usual!

An Original Composition by James

James played the organ for the first time on Saturday...I finally got down there and plugged it in and let him pound away on the ivories. He didn't know what to do at first, but was having a blast by the end and he did a great job sitting on the stool the whole time! The video I picked was the best short-duration one I captured, some of the longer ones were a bit better but would take forever to upload on here. Enjoy!

James doing his best Beyonce

Uncle John wanted to know where James' dance moves were compared to this little boy's moves to "Single Ladies" by Beyonce. James is pretty good at the bounce move but I couldn't get it on video -- he's way more interested in smacking the keyboard. He may have a future as a lead singer though -- singing along and doesn't have to do all the dance moves :-)

Week of 11.30.2009

Daddy, how do I get some of those in my mouth? Do you think Santa can bring me some teeth?
Tuesday 12.1.09 :: "James is crawling, standing and even sitting on his own. Today I sat James at the table at snack time with a teether because he kept going to the table. He did so well sitting :-)" James is no longer keeping one hand on the ground for balance -- he's sitting up straight and playing with both hands now!

Friday 12.4.09 :: "First finger painting art work today. James touched the paint and patted it all over his black paper. The metallic paint was spread on his paper very well." His teacher said he even picked his own colors of paint...and, from the pictures I saw, he wasn't wearing too much of it on his face either :-)

Giggle Re-visited

James' tickle spot seems to now be in the middle of his belly :-)

After Thanksgiving Weekend

Post-Thanksgiving found us relaxing. There was lots of football and hockey to watch! James has a new found hobby -- tantalizing Easton at every chance. He bee-lined over to Easton at mach-10 crawling speed to pull up and pet the puppy.

They played nicely. I'm glad we played with Easton's ears and his paws so much when he was a puppy because now he doesn't really care if they get touched.
James has a lot more hair these days, which makes bath time that much more fun for crazy hair do's! We still have him in his infant tub because he's not the best sitter just yet and he goes nuts in there -- kick, kick, KICK -- there's barely any water left in there when he's done playing around :-)

James is obsessed with people's faces -- mostly their noses, but he also insists on trying to put his hands in every one's mouths (gross considering his hands have usually just been in his own goober mouth). We try to make the "HONK" noise whenever he grabs our noses -- probably a bit too encouraging to keep him doing that to everyone, but it's so funny.Naked baby (he had just blown out a diaper - his 3rd of the day - and it was too close to bed time to run that risk again) showing us how he waves "HI" back at you...a new trick that he started on Saturday.

James showing that he's smarter than the average bear...sneaking through the exersaucer to get out of the family room to go play with the ceramic turtle (maybe turtles are his favorite, just like Mommy).Lil' peanut bear

Standing up to look outside in the sun room -- was very interesting I guess as he stood there for a few minutes.