Downstairs Bathroom Re-Model

It's been sippy-sailing for me since last week!!! No more bottles for this big boy :-) He's gonna eat us out of house and home if he keeps eating like he has been -- I couldn't believe how much he ate over the weekend -- but it's good to see him eating table food (he refuses to eat fresh fruit -- must be a texture thing -- so I still mash it for him so that he gets some in his diet). The pic below is gross because of the food in his mouth, but you can kind of see his top teeth pushing through the gums -- his top left came through Saturday and I think his top right will be the next tooth he gets.

Sunday early afternoon Jim found the downstairs toilet leaking and that led to quick, impromptu bathroom remodel. So he went to the hardware store to get some new seals for the toilet and we spent the day stripping the wall paper border (it took forever to get that darn stuff down -- I would like to have a good talkin' w/ the person who developed the glue for wall paper). Jim got the paper down and filled in the holes from hangy thingies and I got the glue down on Sunday -- then Monday I spackled and sanded behind the sink and where the toilet tank had been (they used a flat paint last time so there was some water damage) and Jim painted the ceiling. So today we are hoping to get the walls painted and finish this project off -- 3 days with work and a toddler around, I don't think that's too bad for a project!

ABOVE :: pre-painting

Why Teeth Are Bad...

...they result in bloody lips :-( Saturday we kept debating and changing our minds all day as to if James' 2nd tooth had broken through the gums (like I said before, he sticks his tongue out as soon as you try to look) or not. Well, the question was answered when he was waddling towards the front door to walk Laura S. and her friend out to their car and he tumbled and barely hit his mouth on the kitchen chair...and it exploded in blood on the side where the top tooth in question is located! I was lucky that Laura was there to help me hold an ice cube on his fat lip, but our question was definitely answered -- TOOTH #2 officially popped through on Saturday -- that means 2 teeth in 4 days! It was his top left tooth to go with his bottom right that was already there. We can also mark down his first (of many I'm sure) bloody/fat lips. You can tell in the picture he looks pretty torn up about it -- haha -- he's been a good teether so far, I hope it continues as we're thinking tooth #3 is getting ready to make an appearance itself. He got an AM bath because he soaked through his diaper (so frustrating as he's not even in the weight range for the size 4's but we have to put him in them for night and he's leaking out of those, but the new "dry max" seem to be doing the trick) and loved his mohawk -- I keep promising Jim I'll cut James' hair after I get his 1-year pictures (we'll see though, it will be easy to trim up the bangs, no biggie, it will be tough to get rid of those uber-cute curls in the back).

Dancin' Babies Everywhere

Through one of the weekly e-mailers I get, I found an article on babies being predisposed to dancing...James would have loved to be a part of that study, he loves to shake what his mama gave him :-) One of his teachers and I were talking about this a few months ago and decided there had to be some sort of science behind why all babies love Beyonce's "All the Single Ladies."

First Tooth!!!

James finally had a tooth pop through sometime March 24th -- exactly at 12.5 months :-) Jim had checked him in the morning and there wasn't a tooth yet, but then he checked again at night and his bottom right tooth had (finally) cut through the gums!!! Such a big guy! For some reason, this is as zoomed as I can get the pictures from Jim's camera (when he pulled it up on his computer, it was clear as day, that toother -- so I added the arrow to help guide your tooth observations). Also, anytime you pull his lip out to look, he sticks out his tongue, so the only way to get a good view is when he's crying :-( He was definitely ready for bed in this picture! The top two teeth are chillin' right at the edge still and there is a bump/swelling at the bottom left, too now! Lucky for us, the whole teething process doesn't seem to bother him too much (yet) -- although we were convinced he has been teething since September with all his drooling :-)

Exploring, Playing, Growing and Just Plain Being Cute

James has had a lot of fun playing with all his new toys since his Birthday (well, the ones Jim has put together anyway). He's also been working on his creative side at school with a lot of art projects using different mediums. He has painted using swatters with different shapes on the ends, played with Goop (cornstarch and water in a baggie -- it changes from liquid to solid and back again when played with, Ms. S was very excited to show them the Goop), used plastic shapes to play in Cool Whip (Ms. T's big project for the week) and painted with brushes of different shapes/sizes. For some reason, James is always the kid with the most paint/whip on his face -- hopefully he doesn't turn into a glue eater also! Yesterday was Multi-Cultural Day at school -- his classroom did a poster on Poland. They had pictures of all the kids taste testing boiled pierogies and kolaches -- the faces they all made were hilarious! Each child also got to hand paint a section of the flag for the poster -- James had a red section -- of course, it was all over his face in the picture (his one teacher says that means he's getting ready to go to Toddlers because that's what they all do -- eat everything -- good thing they discovered how to make non-toxic paint or James would never get to do art projects)! At school and home, we've gone on walks to enjoy the nice weather and let James explore the outdoors. At school they put all the kids in the 8-person buggie and walk away -- there's a really cute picture of James passed out in his winter coat on the ride (I only have a hard copy of the pic from school, so I can't share on here). When we go to take him out of the car, he points to the back window -- telling us "hey, that stuff stopped moving out there!" (well, at least that's what we think the message is relaying -- it could be "get me outta here" too I guess :-) ). He's also become a master at "Uh-Oh" -- his 1st official phrase that he definitely knows how to use correctly! He will say "uh-oh" and then drop his sippy -- I'm trying to work on the whole concept that intentional dropping is not an "uh-oh," but it's not going too smoothly...he is just too cute saying it though to always correct him :-) Onto the 12-month dr. appointment updates: he weighed in at 19lbs 11 oz (moved up to the 15th %tile) and 29 1/4 inches (moved up to the 40th %tile, woo hoo). We've been weaning him off the formula and onto milk (he's at a 2oz formula to 4oz milk mixture today) and are also trying to phase out the bottle to get him on all sippy cup-action (he does very well on this at school with his friends around him, not as well at home). Everything checked out well -- she's very impressed with his mad walking skillzzzz and he was still nice and congested for her, so she gave us a name of an allergist to take him to see to hopefully get to the bottom of it once and for all. Going along with the sippy cup is to phase out the baby food too, but the Stage 3 foods (a bit more chunky) will do for his really picky days -- he did eat the heck out of a California Turkey Burger and sweet potato with me last night, he ate more than half of the patty and almost 1/2 of the potato -- chunky monkey -- good thing I planned in advance so I got to eat something!
Above :: James loved the book Ms. S made him to remember his Birthday -- he carried around the pictures of his friends all night long (good thing it was laminated)
Below :: cute overalls pic -- he had green on for St. Patrick's Day (that was his first, "2nd" holiday) but the onesie didn't make it long into the day

Working on the sippy cup action (the pic kept flipping, so just tilt your head for the full effect)

His 4-leaf clover painting for St. Patrick's day

James loves getting in and out of his Super Coupe from GG and Pops

Playing with the ball popper from the York's -- he loves to hit the button to start it and then dance as it pops the balls

Taking his pal Scout for a ride

Sleeping in his safari camo -- it was hard to find him this morning :-)

1st Birthday Party

James had some family and friends over for dinner over the weekend to celebrate his 1st Birthday. Daddy did a great job getting the house ready and preparing the food! He has enjoyed playing with his toys (he really made out) and can't wait to play with some of them with Mommy this summer (well, she may be just as excited) -- and he'll hopefully fit in his new clothes this summer (shortie) :-) Thanks to all who helped make his 1st Birthday one to remember!!!

I'm One!!!

James had a great 1st Birthday! He celebrated at school with his friends and teachers -- he brought some Puffs to share and they all wore party hats and sang "Happy Birthday" to him. Then at home we made him some dinner and Uncle John came over to visit the Birthday boy. He enjoyed a mashed potato mound "cake" and we put a candle in it to sing Happy Birthday to him -- no still pictures of singing to him but we got it on video. The slide show ends with pictures of James vs. Teddy 12.0 (they were super tough to get)!

Finishing Up His 1st Year!

James had a very eventful 11th month! (WARNING: LOOOONG RUN-ON SENTENCE) It started with an earthquake waking us up in the middle of the night (although James slept right through it), enjoyed being a "Ladies Man" at daycare for his 1st Valentine's Day, he enjoyed watching the Vancouver Winter Olympics, got to visit with Aunt Kristen and her doggies, started officially walking (!), went on a Nebulizer for a couple weeks to get rid of some wheezing (check) and congestion (unfortunately, still there), stood up from sitting without holding on to anything and then walked, helped celebrate the Liszka's 30th Birthdays, met his Great Uncle Tom, started to say "ma ma" again :-), loves to make silly noises to get Mommy & Daddy to laugh, stayed home with Uncle John & Bailey while Mom & Dad went out to dinner, met Great Aunt Cindy Shaw, enjoyed singing and dancing while playing musical instruments at school, have learned how to blow kisses (MWAH), learned how to wave "bye-bye" and to signal "Homerun" (we're still working on consistency with this trick), helped Daddy fix Gma Chele's computer, went to Pump It Up to celebrate Abby & Bella's birthdays (so much fun), met the newest Grimaudo family addition, Jack, a 3-yr old German Sheperd rescue that Aunt Jen & Uncle Dom adopted, learned how to bang on the back of the bookshelf at school to wake up all the babies sleeping (trouble maker) and painted at school with bubble wrap and fly swatters!!!! (Again, sorry for the run-on, I just wrote everything from his calendar since my last post).
Busy busy busy but oh so much fun!!! We haven't been for his official 1-year doctor appointment just yet, but at a check-up last week from the congestion, he finally hit the 20lb mark (with clothes on)! He's staying right on his growth line for weight (height is too hard to measure by yourself in the dr. office).
We have had such an amazing first year watching James grow and learn and explore the world around him -- we cannot wait to see what Year 2 brings us!!! We love you, Bug!!!

I can really get James going with his laugh sometimes -- he's ticklish all over and will actually start laughing before I even touch him when he wants to play extra goofy.

Updated Walking Video

James' walking had already evolved by the end of his first week of practicing. He kind of waddles -- reminds us of a duck, but is sooo cute! My favorite is when he walks like Frankenstein with his arms out straight and a big smile on his face to come give me a big hug -- all while making some crazy noise while he inhales :-) I like this video because it shows James' updated walk, shows him bending over to pick up a book and carry it as he walks towards me and you can hear some of his funny noises that he makes, too.