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 :-)

Peek-A-Boo!

The video clip is of James playing Peek-a-Boo with Maddie when we were out to breakfast in Indy. James has lots of new large motor skills these days :: playing peek-a-boo where he hides his own eyes (usually, but he gets the concept), kicking and throwing balls, tapping a stationary ball with a bat, putting his toys away in his toy chest, helping put clothes in the dryer (he's very good at this one and loves to help), giving kisses (regular, butterfly and I just taught him Eskimo kisses which he thinks it's hilarious and will try to give them to me every time I come close -- too funny)! He also figured out how to drink from a straw -- I was floored, I gave him the sippy and thought for sure it would take a couple of days of trying at least to figure it out -- nope! Within 2 minutes of giving it to him, he was slurping the water right up (and then letting it drip back out down his shirt, which was evidently just so much fun at the time)! Such a smart, coordinated (actually, "controlled," but I'll spare you the lecture in motor control) lil' man! We are so proud of him and constantly amazed by how quickly he learns new things!

Bre & Clev's Wedding

GG, James, Cassie and Brian awaiting the ceremony to begin

The ring bearers :: nephew, Aidan, and their son, Oakley
The flower girls :: nieces, Michaela and Sylvia

Dave escorting the beautiful bride down the aisle

Maddie is such a great cousin!

Give me more cake, Dad!!!

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Sherry and GG with their grandsons, Oakley and James. Oakley was so cute, gently petting James like a little baby and showing him some new moves on the dance floor.

Maddie and James on the dance floor -- it was dominated by kids!

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Look at those chubby cheeks! Finally back up over 19lbs at 19lb 4oz and 29 inches long!

Indy & First Full Hair Cut

We headed down to Indy last Friday for a visit -- we had a wedding on Saturday and Cassie and B.Rosie's wedding shower on Sunday -- BUSY!!! Aunt Kiki had threatened the weekend before (she was up in Chi-town for Cassie's Bachelorette) that James' hair needed to be cut or she (the crazy pregnant one) was going to take care of it :-) Here are the last pictures of his curls :-( I miss them but his new hair-do is cute and it still gets curly at his back cowlick, so I still somewhat win :-)
Above :: havin' some fun with Pops -- poor Pops had a bulging disc in his back on our visit but didn't know it so he had trouble bending to pick up/put down the lil' one and just moving (or sitting) in general.
Below :: Madilynn was in town for a very important "what to do now that dad/mom is back from war" class -- we were SO EXCITED to see her!!! She really loves to play with James and is a great baby-entertainer. Her and Kris met us out at The Original House of Pancakes (amazing) for breakfast on Saturday and then we got to see them at Bre and Clev's wedding later that night. She had fun playing peek-a-boo with him :-)

This picture was when he was playing peek-a-boo and covering his eyes (I'll post video in the next post). PS -- notice the place mat Kris found us -- awesome! It sticks to the table and has a catch-all pocket and washes easily -- fantastic!

Here we are at Cookie Cutters, getting a last pic of his curly mess of hair that I loved so much!

See, he wanted to keep his curls, he was willing to comb them himself :-)

First cut -- it was not this easy the entire time -- Jim and I were both holding him in lock-down at one point during it -- the lady did a decent job considering the screaming subject :-)

The finished product -- back view -- looks like a grown up lil' boy now (still oh so cute)

Brian's mom, Sharon, threw Cassie and him a co-ed wedding shower on Sunday. It was fun to see what "month" people got for their gifts and how they coordinated them. Sharon and her friend did an amazing job setting up the yard and getting all the food ready and there were even a bunch of my old HS PE teachers there to catch up with (Sharon was a PE teacher at my HS). She got everyone these shirts to celebrate the upcoming festivities -- this is James in his small shirt -- hit the floor! haha!

Spinning to Big Bang Intro

James loves the Bare Naked Ladies song that is the theme song for "Big Bang Theory." He stops dead in his tracks to dance to it :-)