Music, Puzzles and Sledding

James likes to make music -- whether it is the organ or a xylophone or a pot with a plastic spoon.

James also likes to be goofy -- always trying to make people laugh -- he's taken to carrying his toys around like a momma cub -- here it's one of the pieces of his puzzle that his friend Katie got him -- at school, I've seen him carry the plastic hammer like this too :-) Such a silly boy!

Aunt Cassie and Uncle Brian got James this awesome sled for Christmas -- it took us forever to get out there (first it was only in the single digits temperature-wise and he has no snow pants, then it was always dark out by the time we got home and he tends to fall asleep in the car after his busy day at school) and our adventure was only about 10 minutes (due to a little boy way overdue for a nap), but it was lots of fun and he liked to be pulled around :-) I have a feeling James is going to like living on the edge -- so I can only hope to contain his adventures now!

First Steps!!!

On Saturday, 1.16.10, James took his first independent steps :-) He was holding on to the couch and took 1-2 steps towards Jim and I -- it was awesome (and something we're totally not ready for yet, hehe). Below is a video that I caught later in the week when he was up to 2-3 steps. (Side note: by the time I'm actually getting a chance to post this information, James has upped it to 5-6 legitimate steps). He has also become really quite steady at hands-free standing...at school the other day he stood for a solid 25-30 seconds while playing with my sweat shirt's string! The only drawback here is that with his new found talents come new found confidence that results in lots of falling and his poor teachers have to fill out lots of paper work with those accident reports! His pulling up/standing led to his first shiner -- he conked his left eye brow on the rocker at school and gave himself a nice black eye(brow). I had Monday off school for MLK Day and started to tackle my disaster of a desk in the den along with some laundry and about a billion other small tasks (of which I only started many of them because the ADD kept me moving from task to task and not finishing, so annoying). James went to school for the day but I picked him up early to go get his second H1N1 shot...now our little love is protected from both the regular and swine flus. Tuesday 1.19.10 :: "James had a great day today. He smiled and giggled with his friend playing peek-a-book in the cozy corner." What a busy week he's had (so busy he still couldn't work any of those teeth out of there).

A Clapping and Dancing Fool

On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, James' teacher wrote: "James had a very active day. He has been practicing his walking by pushing anything that will go if he pushes it." James and I stayed for a bit after school today as there was a performance for the entire school. They were very inter-active and had all the kids up and dancing and playing along -- James got into it and was dancing while holding on to the buggie -- the teachers weren't surprised that he did so well, he loves listening to music and dancing (he often breaks out in dance while they sing songs). At school, he's the big dancer in class, one of the girls is the "giggler" and one is the "clapper." It's awesome to see how they all learn from each other -- I guess when the music goes on, James starts dancing and gets all the other standing kids to join him :-) James enjoyed the musical show with his friends from the buggie.
I've been waiting for a week to get this picture! James and his friend have been peering through the windows at their older friends that just got moved up to the Toddler's room -- they've been following each other around the room all week. It's so funny -- I had to actually double-take through the window to make sure it was James with her. She, along with two of the other girls, have taught him to clap! Very exciting! Thursday, January 14, 2010 his teacher wrote: "After singing our 'ABC's song, James clapped his hands together twice with a smile on his face :-)"

Friday, January 15, 2010: "James had a busy day today. He explored the toys, his friends and the push toys. James is walking with the push toys across the room. He also is waving to his teachers and clapping after we sing songs. Have a Happy Weekend!! :-)"

James had a great week and is learning and exploring more and more every day!

James v. Teddy 10.0

Month 10 Teddy vs. James was even harder to get caught on camera than last month! We had to get creative and use the car to stage the picture:-)

Lookin' good in that Blackhawks outfit, Bug!

I got this pic of James v. Easton (size-up) in case I couldn't get one with Teddy :-)

Month 9 was very exciting as James got to celebrate his first Christmas and New Years! He got really good at cruising along the furniture and causing all the trouble he could :-)

A Glance at the Week of 1.4.10

It was back to work/school for all of us on Monday :-( Jim and I had a great time spending so much time with James and each other but it was back to the real world. It ended up being quite a looong week at school: started w/ me helping to break up a fight (really, I only made sure everyone else backed up and let the other teacher do the dirty work) between 1st and 2nd period and then the week ended with me having to wake up at 4:30am Thursday and Friday in order to shovel out and clean off Big Al with all the snow we got and then drive to work in the crap-tastic weather (it took me almost 2 hours Thursday morning, was pretty crazy, I need to learn how to just call in on those days and not risk it). Aunt Kristen and Uncle Larry got James a new Colts outfit for Christmas -- perfect for the playoffs!
James loved being back at school! He would be happy to see me at the end of the day but then was upset that I was making him leave to go home and stop playing -- guess that's a good thing, he loves his teachers and his classmates :-) His teachers are doing an awesome job of getting him to try some new table food, too. He is not as good of an eater for me as he is for them (he wants to keep up with the other kids) so I am happy to let them introduce him to many new foods (with the hopes that he doesn't do his "bulimia" act where he pukes up anything he doesn't like the taste or texture of -- so gross). I think breakfast is his favorite mealtime of the day (not a bad choice there, James)! New breakfast foods he tried: waffles, English muffins, tropical fruit and Life cereal, pears and string cheese. At lunch, he usually at least gives it a shot: peaches, peas, bread (ate all of them); chicken nuggets, broccoli, tropical fruit and mashed potatoes (tried a bit of each); tried but didn't like pretzel bread or cheese sauce; not such a big fan of Spanish rice or flour tortilla (later got a crumb and threw it all up as he decided he didn't like it); he liked grilled cheese, green beans, banana (which he refuses to eat for me) and potatoes; tried ravioli, peaches, bread, shredded cheese and broccoli (WOWZERS, that seems like soooo much food)! He also tried new snacks such as Vanilla wafers, animal crackers and goldfish/cheese nips (only tried a little bit). James' teacher wrote on Friday, Jan. 8, 2010: "James had a great week. Everyday he has been talking and social with others. He clearly says "Mom" and "Hi" and is waving "Hi" back to his teachers :-)" What a growing boy!!!

Biter biscuits are very messy -- thanks, Uncle Larry, for introducing me to them, they're yummy!

Christmas 2009.07

Believe it or not, there were more people that wanted to spoil James at Christmas time! Seven Christmas celebrations -- wowzers! New Years day Uncle Dom and Aunt Jen and Uncle Albert all came over to hang out and exchange gifts. James scored with a cool hand-drum set and blow-up pool from Dom and Jen and a book to help teach him Spanish from Albert -- very cool!
Dom actually got James to focus and try opening the presents himself for a bit -- he is starting to get pretty good at it with all this practice :-)
James and Uncle Albert (sweet hat, Bear)!

James with Dominic and Jen (I guess "Pop Goes the Weasel" can get everyone to smile).

James has recently been showing off his flexibility -- I think he is trying to make me jealous of being barely able to touch my toes as he pretty much folds himself in half and touches his forehead to the ground (he would get an "A" on the sit-and-reach for sure)!

Week of 12.28.09 at a Glance

James headed back to school on Tuesday morning to get back in his routine (and so we could get some things done without dragging him in and out of the car a million times). He was so excited to be back that Jim barely got him to the ground before he was off to explore and play. The funniest thing was that when we left, he was crawling around carrying a hammer in his mouth like a momma bear carrying food to her cubs :-) We did our Christmas returns and worked out and before we knew it, it was time to get James again! Before leaving for the holidays, James' teachers did art projects with them all for the holidays -- here is the reindeer tile that James helped make -- the antlers are his hand prints and the body is his foot print -- so cute (and now I have hand and foot prints from 9 months old without the mess at home, woo hoo)!
James was a bit apprehensive at first and didn't want to crawl through the tunnel Gma Chele got him for Christmas, so we just let him check it out -- he crawled in about 6 inches and crawled back out (Laura and I got him to crawl all the way through on New Years morning).

Wednesday Jimmy and I met up with Amanda and Mike for lunch while James was at school. Aunt Amanda got James a Peanut character for her "Peanut" -- James held on tight to Snoopy & Woodstock as we took a wagon ride through the house.

12.30.09 :: "James visited the other infant room. He enjoyed manipulating the science maps and explored puppets. We also read family stories book "My Mom," "My Brother," and "How do I Love You.""

Thursday morning I got James up and dressed and took him to breakfast before school. We met up with Gma Chele and some of her friends -- Mary Jean (blue shirt) and Maureen (green, standing) were elementary teachers of Jimmy's. Dorothy also worked at the school (red) and Katy (grey - a classmate of Jim's) came with her daughter, Jillian, and her mom, Judy.

James goes straight for the eyes these days on all kids his age -- we are working on emphasizing "gentle" with him (he does pretty well and we practice on Easton, too).

Jillian (7.5 months) has James by a couple pounds and probably an inch or so, but they were a good match (it was tough to get a picture because James kept trying to crawl off to go explore the restaurant) :-) Thanks for a great breakfast Ladies, I'm glad James finally got to meet you all!

For New Years Eve, Laura came over and we got pizza and watched movies. We saw (500) Days of Summer (OK) and The Hangover (ha-lar-ious)! James made it til about 9:30pm and then hit the wall -- luckily, he didn't wake up when I went out to bang a pot at midnight (it was weird, the neighborhood was soooo quiet -- good thing I went with the smallest pot and a plastic spoon -- just had to keep up with tradition)!
HAPPY 2010!!! James is excited to enter a new decade already and wishes everyone a Happy, Healthy New Year!

NY Jets at IND Colts

I was lucky enough to go to the Colts game versus the NY Jets with Sharon over break. The Colts were undefeated for the season, so expectations were high for a win -- too bad they pulled the starters early in the 3rd quarter and the back-up players really didn't have a shot, resulting in a loss :-( but I definitely had a great time and loved seeing the new stadium! Sharon has been a season ticket holder since the beginning of the Colts in the 1980s, so the seats were AWESOME -- 6th row, Colts sideline, right by the visitor's locker room entrance. It was so much fun -- even without a Colts victory -- all we need is a Super Bowl victory!!! James got some quality time with GG, Pops, Aunt Cassie and Daddy while we were at the game :: he was all decked out and cheering "TOUCHDOWN, COLTS"!!!
Mommy and her lil Colts fan (he had his onesie on earlier but this was at least his 3rd outfit out of 5 for the day -- those diaper changes were brutal on GG and Daddy this day)

It was snowing, so we were very happy to know the roof was closed on the stadium!

They handed out "Go Colts" signs that rolled up nicely -- good picture prop :-)

Sharon was bummed about them pulling the starters but I think she enjoyed the game nonetheless.

After team introductions, Reggie Wayne ran the field and gives props to the fans in the end zone -- I didn't even have to zoom, we were that close!!!

Peyton Manning running the offense in the huddle after a timeout.

Reggie Wayne (87) and Dallas Clark (44) at the line of scrimmage waiting for the action to start.

We had some yummy lasagna waiting for us when we got home (thank you Pops)! Uncle Larry and James show off their matching hats (Pops bought James a Colts hat for Christmas -- I'm keeping it warm until it fits him).

Christmas 2009.05 and 2009.06

We headed down to Indy for the long holiday weekend. On Wednesday, Uncle Larry, Aunt Kristen and Maddie came over to see James, they just couldn't wait to see our cute Bug! Maddie was so excited to see her cousin and how he's grown and Uncle Larry had to stop and get him some biting biscuits and yummy wagon wheels to enjoy. Christmas Eve led us to Sharon's house (Brian's mom or Cassie's future mother-in-law) for some food and football. James was very thankful for the "touchdown" football pillow that Sharon got him -- so cute and very "boy!"
Christmas day we hung out waiting for everyone to make their way over to GG & Pops' house (one of the few times we couldn't be late somewhere recently since we were staying there, hehe). We ate dinner and made Maddie sweat it until we got to opening presents (she had all the presents sorted by the time we finished eating dinner). Story of the holiday: James was spoiled rotten by GG, Pops, Great Grammy, Uncle Larry, Aunt Kristen, Maddie, Aunt Cassie and Uncle Brian...he loved seeing everyone and all the attention he got (especially from Maddie, he loves her so much). Some fun milestone memories from the week that weren't related to Christmas per se :: James climbing all the way up the stairs for the first time -- all by himself, too -- James finding Charlie's doggie crate and exploring it (he doesn't have access to Easton's usually) -- James' first bath while not being in the toddler tub (quite an interesting experience as GG got in the tub with her bathing suit on to accomplish this major feat -- he's a squirm worm)!

Above :: the Gross Family Christmas picture
Below :: Montalbano's 1st Christmas as a family of three :-)

James with his favorite cousin, Maddie.

A slide show of our time in Indy :-)

Christmas 2009.04

Wednesday morning we had our own first family Christmas celebration at home. Santa brought James some clothes, socks and a couple small toys. Mommy got James some awesome Cubbies gear and Daddy got James some ucky White Sox gear (can you tell who writes these blogs :-) the one outfit is actually really cute though, I'll give him that). James also made out like a bandit with a brand new wagon from Daddy & Mommy! He loves it and keeps going back to it to pull up on it and try to lift the seats up and/or teethe on it :-) I've taken him on a few trips around the house, it keeps him happy for awhile! James got Easton a new bone too, what a happy puppy!

Christmas 2009.03

On Tuesday, we travelled back to Gma Chele's house to celebrate Christmas with her, John and Bailey. We got to bring Easton along so he could meet Duncan and Nanuq (John and Bailey's dogs). It was a very nice night, which, of course, resulted in James being nothing but spoiled by everyone!