Cassie and Brian's Wedding

We had a great weekend in Indy for Aunt Cassie and Uncle Brian's wedding festivities! It was nails and rehearsal dinner Thursday; getting hair and make up done and wedding ceremony and reception on Friday as well as getting to see lots of family and friends; Saturday I helped Kristen get started on a baby registry so we can throw her and Larry a shower (Gma Annie helped too) and then Sunday we had a pretty good drive home and I finished one of my books from Christmas by Jennifer Weiner (love her writing). It was great to see everyone and we had a wonderful time! James was so happy to show off all his new dance moves to everyone (he and Maddie were the first ones on the dance floor). It was a beautiful day! Congratulations and Welcome to this crazy ass family, Brian! We love you both!!!

Father's Day

We busted out the water table on Saturday before the baseball game. James had a blast with it and I'm hoping he'll be more likely to play with the water when at school. He loved when Daddy put water in the blue bucket to make the green wheel spin :-)
All my boys playing outside -- Easton loves to run in the backyard

Happy Father's Day, Jimmy! James painted a cube for Dad at school and then his teachers put in pictures of him and Daddy.

Doing the sign for "duck" (or trying to get the camera) -- just wanted to get his "Dad's Silly Monkey" outfit shown in honor of Father's Day.

James has taken to reading adult books -- favorites include A Healthy Heart (I think he wants us to read it) and Webster's Thesaurus and Dictionary -- I read him a new word and it's definition when he gets them out, maybe I'll expand my limited vocabulary in the process :-)

Kane County Cougars

James got to experience his first Kane County Cougars game on the Saturday before Father's Day. It was a much different experience for me this year with him at a baseball game because he's so mobile and just wants to run, run, run! We were able to put him down between the seats (good thing the people didn't show up that had these seats or I'd not have seen any of the game). Michele and John

John and Bailey

Jamie, Laura, Mary Jo and Ed all took a turn entertaining James (Thanks).

Daddy and James waiting for the fireworks to begin

James did great with the fireworks, he actually really enjoyed them but was just soooo tired he couldn't watch them all.

Family photo op :: this is also the beginning of James' current obsession with fingers up noses (usually his own -- gross)!
Myself, Gma Chele, Jimmy and James

The cousin crew :: Taryn (Bailey's mom), Bailey, John, Jamie, Eddie, Vince, Dani, Jimmy, Laura and James

Future Occupation?

I often wonder what James will be when he "grows up." He is interested in so many things, I can't wait to see where they take him on life's journey :-) Garbage man? Engineer - loves those blocks; Zoologist - loves ducks and dawwwgggs and E-I-E-I-O; Teacher - loves to read; Soccer player - loves to run run run and more running (and you can make fantastic dough playing in Europe) ;-)
Above :: the reason why all the garbage cans are elevated above toddler level :-) (also a funny picture in that it looks like his poopin' face, although I think he was clean, just good timing on the picture snap). James loves to push the can around for awhile and then dump it's belongings out on the floor -- usually he enjoys helping to clean up the mess, as below, but it gets a little old for people who don't enjoy trash quit the way he does (maybe I should stop reading him Oscar the Grouch books)?

Pool Time 2010

Friday I took James to the ENT (hopefully last dr. appt until mid-July re-check at the allergist) to finish up with the last doctor to check out his whole airway/breathing issues. He had been really good for about a month and then picked up a cold and got all runny nose/congestion again but not too horrible (he's also probably teething to compound it all). The doctor didn't see anything going on in his area of expertise -- even did a nasal scope to go look at his larynx and make sure no swelling or redness there -- looked good! So now we have three doctors that all think James may have reflux + not eating much or keeping it down this weekend = James gets to try some Prevacid (just like Mommy again, poor Bug). So we're going to give this a shot and if it that was the issue, he'll start to feel better, start eating more and start to gain some weight....and, eventually, come off the Nebulizer/asthma-preventative meds (woo hoo)! After the ENT, we stopped by Gma Chele's for James to eat and we went in the pool for the first time this season. James loved painting the ground with the water and paint brush (just like Daddy did when he was little and played at this same pool with his Grandma)!

Above :: Baby Picasso

Above :: Enjoying some splash time with Gma Chele

He was a really good kicker, which surprised me, but is a great skill to have for when he learns swimming strokes! (Note he still has the paint brush).

James and Mommy -- he won't keep his sunglasses on (they go on-off-on-off to check and make sure the sun is still there or something) but he's been pretty good and patient with the floppy hat (fits him much better than last year)!

It's always funny for him to stick his fingers in other people's mouths (and we wonder how he picks up every cold and virus).

He loved the water bottle that Gma Chele got to open "magically." What a great smile -- this picture lets me hear his giggle and shrieks of joy and excitement :-D

He didn't really enjoy being on the mat even though the water was warm, so he spent most of his time on the stairs.

Hopefully all this pool time leads to him liking water play more at school! He's a boy, he's gotta get down and dirty (although climbing and driving cars is a very boy thing to do, too).

More Dancing

He was being really silly on this day -- dancing and practicing his newest move :: the football "hike." I was calling out "blue 42 - hut-hut-hike" and he'd lift up his leg like a quarterback (he watched lots of Peyton Manning this year) -- of course, he stopped doing it while I was video taping, but I did catch this interesting move. It's happy feet with a little bit of funky chicken in there, finished off by head butting Mommy and giving her a kiss on the leg :-) MWAH! :-*

Picnic Lunch at School

James' school had a special summer picnic lunch for the parents to join their children on June 17th. We were both able to go and enjoy a mid-day visit with our Bug! He had eaten some of his food in his classroom already and then stole some of my potato chips and my brownie -- above it what happens when you let a toddler have chocolate :-)

It's no wonder this boy is so skinny -- he made it about 5 minutes and then had to go explore the trees (or, "dreeze" as he calls them) with Daddy.

Posing with Mommy and Daddy -- well, more like trying to squirm away w/ Daddy, but we still got a pic :-) It was a really cute idea and the kids were all so excited! He also had his first "water play" day at school that week but him and the two girls in his class, S & P, (there are only 4 of them in there right now) decided it was more fun to climb and drive the cars instead of splashing with Z and Ms. J and Ms. N.

Shedd Aquarium

We were downtown so we decided to go to the Shedd Aquarium for the day. Jim and I have been talking about going for at least 3 years now and he really wanted to use his new camera to get some cool shots. Laura stayed over the night before as MJ and Ed were up celebrating their anniversary, so she joined us, too! James loves her and it gave Jim and I a chance to see some stuff a bit more up-close with a 3rd set of hands to watch our crazy active toddler :-) Hopefully Jim will upload his pics soon and I can add his slide show to this post -- he got some really good ones! James was entranced by the turtles (just like Mommy) and really liked going to the underwater observatory of the dolphins and beluga whale. He also saw his first movie -- a 4D show from Happy Feet (he did his dance and got a pic with some penguins too, so cute) he did fairly well, just kept rotating who he sat with during the show -- it was pretty cute, although my back was sore from the things in the seat poking me (OK, yes, I screamed when it happened the first time, caught me off guard)! James got to see some ducks too, which just made his day :-) We had a great family outing!

15 Months!

OK, so don't judge me, but it's nearly impossible to get this kid to sit still for a picture -- thus, the letting him stand on the chair w/ the sign in the background (and a set of hands close to catch him). He is a monkey of all sorts, trying to climb everything these days. He loves going to school; carrying the den garbage can around, dumping it, then putting all the paper back in (drives Daddy crazy); throwing Easton's toys/balls for him to fetch; reading or "E-I-E-I-O"-ing as he calls all his books that; learning new words and signs :: newest is "duck" which he'll do if he hears the word "duck," sees a duck on the TV/computer or hears quacking (found a "duck song" on youtube that we had to watch 3 times because he loved it) -- very cool to know he can link all 3 senses to one sign that he does -- such a smarty pants! He loves animals -- he even got to pet a rooster at school last week! He got to see the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup!!!! He is goofy and thrives on getting us to laugh -- loves to "draw" on our bellies with the stuffed blue crayon :-) He can drink from a straw, too (although a little messy, so we're stickin' with the sippy when possible.
Prepping for a forward somersault...or a bear walk? Tuck the chin to the chest, James!

His new star for the wall at school...I only had big pictures, so I didn't get as many on for this room as I had in the infant room.

I took James for his 15 month dr. appointment today. He checks out really well with his development -- dr. said no worries of autism (whew); he has more then "a couple" words, so he's good with language development; he was practically running laps around the room (and she's seen him in action at school since her daughter is in the class next door) and he throws balls for Easton, so his gross motor skills are very good, maybe even a little ahead, and his fine motor skills are good (feeding himself, drinking all from sippy, holding a crayon/marker, etc). The only thing he's not super duper at is keeping calories in him to gain weight! Doh! He weighed in at 19lb 4oz today and was 28.5 inches tall with a 46.5cm circumference noggin (at his 12 month he was 19lb 11oz, but got his ear infection about a month ago and dropped weight; I thought the nurse measured him wrong at that appt too for height as it was 29.25in -- this one we did twice and I think we got it closer to right this time - very difficult w/ kicking and screaming and rolling kid)...so he has 'failure to thrive' which sounds horrible, but she said there's probably no underlying issues with him, he's just really really active and burns all his calories off quickly (and he'd rather play than eat, so he gets up from the table at school during lunch and says "all done" and brushes off his plate at dinner time, even though he'd probably still eat more). We're gonna help him get some extra calories and lots of nutrients by giving him Pediasure or Kid Essentials 1x/day and see how that works. Will get him a weight check in 6-8 weeks and hope that he grows some!

First Day of Summer Break

I had James with me on Monday for our first official "day of summer break" together. After it taking him about 45 minutes to eat breakfast we enjoyed a nice long walk -- where we saw 2 ducks! I think it's his favorite animal from "Old MacDonald" (unless Old MacD has a dawwwg, of course) -- I even catching him trying to do the sign for "duck" sometimes, which is a very tough one to do! We then came home and drew Daddy a picture in chalk on the driveway -- Elise: "why is James' mouth all blue and orange?" me: "I guess he's an Illini fan through and through...or he ate some of the chalk :-)" We made some organic Mac 'n Cheese for lunch, which he LOVED (check out the cheesy cheeks ).
Easton even got a little bit courtesy of James

He was good about keeping his oh-so-cute floppy hat on his head today, which kept him from sun-sneezing :-) After nap, we attempted to go over to a near-by park -- well, we got there and were happy but, unfortunately, the climbing equipment wasn't exactly designed for toddlers :-( So then I decided we needed to pack up and go home anyway since it was almost dinner time -- James had other plans! He almost strangled himself as I tried to get him out of the stroller (I have no idea how he got his head into the arm strap, I just know it was extremely difficult to get him back up after he intentionally slid down the stroller) -- then it took longer then 5 minutes to get him strapped into his car seat -- trouble! But he was all happy again when we got home and went out on the back porch to play. Overall :: successful day! And he's back playing with his friends again today at school as I attempt to get all the wallpaper down from the front bedroom (which is much easier to do if I were upstairs and not blogging -- so I'm out)! Peace home slice!

What To Do???

My big summer project is to get the front bedroom re-decorated. It currently has wallpaper on it that is probably older than us -- pretty little flowers all over it and the other 3 walls are the opposite of this one. The biggest problem is this wall though -- the top uses plywood and a 4x2 or something used to hold up the lighting and the bottom storage shelves are all mdf board (which, upon research, may emit urea formaldehyde if not properly coated --awesome -- which I'm doubting wallpaper prevents, so need to Kilz it a few times). Anyway, we are looking for a way to re-do the room, keep it gender neutral (we are thinking it will become James' room when he's ready but it's not set in stone) and leave some room for personalizing when the time comes (stickers? decals?) Open to any suggestions on colors, design ideas, etc! Thanks!
I'm so happy this wallpaper is coming down easily -- I guess it helps that the glue has given way after +30 years of being up!

Can't just rip it down because there is no carpet down behind it and the electric is running in there too to some degree.

Laughing

Evidently, I'm hilarious :-) Love when he laughs!

Saying "dog"

James' 2nd word, after dad, was "dog" -- it comes out more like "dawwwwwggg" (thanks to Pops saying "hot dawwwwggg" all the time) but he definitely knows what he's talking about (it usually accompanies a point to Easton or another dog). He's also taken to pointing out other dogs as their owners walk them in the neighborhood and then waving "hi" and "bye bye" at them both with a smile on -- such a sweet boy!

A Little Month 14 Randomness

Above :: chillin' with Daddy before getting his Nebulizer treatment
Below :: James LOVES to read (yeah! he used to cry when we'd try to read to him, thank you school) -- he constantly requests "E-I-E-I-O," and I even catch him doing the sign for "duck" sometimes (although not up at his mouth); he loves the shiny paper they put in these books from the $1 Spot at Target (gotta love a good deal on board books)!

Jimmy sporting his new camera backpack we got him for his birthday -- Happy 30th Bub!!!

Trying to stay cool (temperature-wise) with Laura

All the blocks got dumped out and James and Daddy were playing with the container -- so silly to be green

Having a temper tantrum that I won't let him have something -- so pulling up as high as he could get himself

All done w/ the temper tantrum -- all it took was getting the camera out and singing "Old MacDonald" -- wish they all ended this easily! He sure can turn on the charm when he wants!

When you sit down criss-cross-apple-sauced, James will waddle up to you, spin around and plop on down -- here I asked him if his favorite baseball team was the Cubbies -- and he sure got a big smile :-) We later went on a walk with Daddy and Easton in the forest preserve -- it was such a beautiful Sunday morning -- and we got back in time for lunch and nap -- nice!

Our Soldier!

James' Uncle Larry is the soldier on the right saluting the flag on Memorial Day. He and U.S. Army Sgt Eric Sprang were on flag detail that day and this picture was featured as the Department of Defense's Picture of the Day (link to picture through Facebook). So very proud of our soldier -- can't wait for him to be home again! Thank you to all the soldiers, past and present, who have helped in defending our freedom!
Much love, The Montalbano Family
The picture description from FB :: DoD In Action - Photo of the Day: U.S. Army Sgt. Eric Sprang and Spc. Larry Motes salute the American flag during a Memorial Day ceremony at Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan, May, 31, 2010. They serve with Task Force Cyclone, 38th Infantry Division, Indiana Army National Guard. (U.S. Navy photo by Master Chief Petty Officer Kevin Elliot, mass communication specialist)

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

We had a pretty relaxing Memorial Day weekend. Friday night we ventured out to Wildfire (not overly impressed but was OK) to celebrate Jim and John's Birthdays with Gma Chele and Bailey...that was interesting as James wanted absolutely nothing to do with sitting in his high chair, but we survived with the help of John walking him around when my arms were so tired and Cheerios :-) Saturday we had some friends over to celebrate Jimmy turning the big 3-0! Just a small crowd but it was good to see everyone and we got to watch the Blackhawks win Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals!!! WOO HOO, GO HAWKS!!!!
Sunday we popped over to the Schillinger's for a bit to see everyone. It was pretty toasty outside that day! I love my boyzzzz!

Eddie kept a close eye on James while he (James, not Eddie) was in timeout on the chair (he loved smacking the new TV screen, which he, nor I, can afford to repair).

Being a flying monkey with Uncle John

Bailey always finds fun stuff to keep James entertained -- today, Solo cups

Eddie and Jimmy were more intrigued by Madagascar than James -- who'd much rather use Vince as a jungle gym :-)