The Quest for that perfect picture....

Last year, on Christmas Eve, I wanted to take a picture of JT in a Santa hat.  Chris laughed at me and said that it would be way too big for him.  I told him THAT was the point - it would be cute to see his tiny little head in the big Santa hat.  He thought it was silly, but once he saw the picture, he thought it was adorable.  But of course every picture we take, we think JT is adorable.


This year, Chris wanted to get the "exact same picture" with the same hat.  I knew this would be a challenge with an active one year old.  It seemed especially challenging when Chris informed me that JT needed to be laying down - because that is how the first picture was.

The first attempt of course was a disaster. He was not a happy camper that we laid him down AND put the hat on him.... 

So, the next thing we tried was me wearing the hat. I was singing and dancing and showing him how much fun wearing the hat was, hoping to get him to want to wear the hat...

It seemed to work - he reached out for it - but as soon as we tried to lay him down with it on him - he freaked out.  So then, I got a brilliant idea..... 

                              

A sucker!

While it is not the best picture,,,, it will do!



MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I seem to remember people telling me it gets easier.... they lied

No Problem Mon

Yes- I rember that not just one person, but many people told me  that things will get easier as JT gets older.  Liars Liars - pants on fire!  JT will be 7 months old in two days.  Although he is not crawling forward - he crawls backwards and does the "butt bounce" and other creative moves to get to where he wants to be.  Most of the time, where he wants to be is with the kitty.... or where there are electronics.  He keeps me on my toes - that's for sure.  With his increased mobility, I have had to start saying "No, No!"  At first JT just didn't seem to get the "No no", but then I said it very sternly with a "mean old mad mommy face".  The first time I did that, JT looked at me, his little bottom lip started quivering, and then he cried.  It was so pitiful.  I no longer feel that pity I felt for that brief moment, because now, when I put on that mean old mommy face and say very sternly "NO NO!"  He looks up at me and just laughs and laughs.  {{sigh}}

JT and Duchess ~ Duchess is SO patient with him

JT is not the only one that likes the teething bling ~ Duchess does too

He continues to fight sleep - both at nap times and at night.  I have resorted to putting him in the car and taking late night drives to get him to go to sleep. 
We just got back from a trip to South Carolina to visit my cousin Mike and his family.  It was an adventure..... he was pretty good, but yet he was definitely a challenge.  With two road trips under our belt, we will be taking our first plane trip soon.  I can't say I am looking forward to it, but I know it will provide me with a lifetime of memories that I will one day look back and not only cherish, but laugh about.  I must admit, that although he is more work than before, he brings more and more joy each day.  His smile brightens the room and when he giggles - you seem to forget all of your worries.  He is developing an amazing little personality.

7/2/11 ~ JT's first time on the swing at the park

Trying to get to one of his favorite toys ~ needless to say, he needed help getting out!

Playing with Mommy

Constantly climbing....

Loves his Daddy

Sitting on his new chair ~  this is the face he makes when daddy comes home

First Sucker (stolen from mommy)

Trip to South Carolina to visit mommy's cousin Mike

YES! He sleeps!

JT has slept in his crib every night since last Monday!  Woohoo!  I think he finally decided that the swing was getting a little too cramped for his growing body and once he  gave the crib a fair try, he realized he could stretch, toss, turn, roll, and just be more comfortable.  Nap times have gotten better too!  Seems like he can fall asleep anywhere now, provided he has one of his blankie babies to snuggle up with.  He continues to form his own unique personality and is keeping us pretty entertained.  We re-introduced food.  We had stopped feeding him food and went back to formula because he did not seem interested.

That's my boy!  Checking out Facebook!

Napping on the floor!

hanging out in his crib

My cute little sheik

Chris and I went on our first date alone since we brought JT home.  We are extremely grateful for Samantha for watching him so that we could go see the Musical CATS.  Now... let me tell you an awkwardly funny story about our date....  I was all dressed and ready to go out the door when I realized I had a wet spot on my chest.  I thought JT had spit up on me, but I could not seem to get it to dry.  So I rushed in the closet to find another shirt that would go with my pants - and then we were out the door.  We dropped JT off at Samanthas and headed to the VonBraun Center for the show.  I stopped at the ladies room before we went to our seats and while washing my hands, I got a glimpse of my chest in the mirror.  TWO BIG wet spots!  I nearly cried.  WHAT in the world is going on?  I tried to dry it out - but it was dry.  I was so confused.  I came out of the bathroom embarassed as can be and pointed them out to Chris who replied "Um, are you lactating?"  At this point, the show was about to start - what could I do?  I went in to the  theatre with huge wet spots on my boobs.  Luckily, the lights soon went out.  On our way back home, I was racking my brain trying to figure out what I was getting my chest in to that was causing wet looking spots.... well.... can you believe it was my BRA?!  Yep, I bought a few of those really neat gel filled bras a while back.  I have not worn them for a while, but grabbed one that afternoon when I was  getting dressed.  That darn wonderbra leaked the gel stuff ALL OVER me!  And it won't come out!  I ruined two nice shirts and a camisole before I figured it out.  grrrrrrr .  So ladies... avoid the gel filled bras.  See... it is much better when I just go braless....  {{sigh}}  Despite the embarassing moment of walking around looking like I was lactating, we both had an incredible time.  This, by the way, was Chris' Fathers Day gift.  Next year, he will probably just get a tie!  Here are pictures taken of JT while we were on our date:

Sleeping in Riley's Crib

Cam watching JT sleeping

Hanging out with Riley

Aunt Samantha and JT

I think he said "I want a doggie"

Hanging with the boys!  Uncle Jon and Cameron






And one final picture.....

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's day to my two favorite daddies! The one who raised me and helped me become who I am today  Thomas Author Cyrus (9/22/40 - 12/20/00).  Not a day goes by that I don't think about you.  Not a day goes by that my heart does not ache to be with you again.

You were always the life of the party!

You were responsible for my addiction to cruising!

Many memories of jello eating contests and head standing contests!

Time at the condo on the beach...

And the one who, hand in hand with me, raises our son to help him become the man he will be one day.  The man who tolerates my shortcomings and loves me despite them.  Not a day goes by that I don't realize how blessed I am to have him in my life.

December 2010 ~ Brand new daddy!

So sweet sleeping...

The three James Herwigs... James Arthur, James Christopher and James Thomas

♥ Love ♥

Daddy and son in pool

Will he EVER sleep?

Chris has repeatedly told people that JT sleeps through the night.  Everytime he does, I want to stand on a chair or table, stomp my feet and scream at the top of my lungs "NO HE DOES NOT!!!"  Every time JT wakes up at night, the words "JT sleeps through the night now" grates through me like nails on a chalk board.  It takes every bit of self control that I can muster up for me NOT to go throw a bucket of ice on Chris as he sleeps so soundly.  The joke in the house is that Chris' son sleeps through the night, but mine doesn't.  Well, this past weekend, Chris took care of MY child while I took care of HIS child.  In other words, I slept through the night and Chris was up with JT.   It must not be as easy as Chris thought, because he was dragging all weekend and we even missed church because he fell back asleep.  It was a good experience for Chris and an AWESOME experience for me.  I totally enjoyed my rest.  Chris, on the other hand, looked pretty exhausted when he left for work this morning!  As usual, JT did not sleep much last night.  He did sleep for a solid hour IN HIS CRIB!  First time for that! However, the rest of the night, the only sleep he got was in my arms.  Naps continue to  be a struggle too.  I guess for now, and possibly the rest of my life, I will just look forward to the weekends when I can take care of Chris' son while he takes care of mine.

Obsession with his toes (yum yum)

First taste of watermelon ~ can you say "yuk"

Loves his Pillow Pet

"If I hide your ID badge, you can't go to work?"

Futures so bright... I gotta wear shades...

Rock Star in Training

fun with daddy

Pool time loving...

Such a ham...

Twu Wuv

Spring Time with James Thomas!

A lot has happened since my last blog update. JT went on his first trip! We drove up to WV and celebrated Easter with Gran, Auntie Pam, Auntie Beth and Cousin John. We had a party the day before Easter and met lots of family and friends. Saying good bye was hard.

JT with his cousin John

JT's Easter Loot (and that was not all of it!)

Fun with Gran

Auntie Pam giving him a bath in Gran's kitchen sink

Later in April, JT survived his first, second and third tornado. Despite being without power for over a week, JT still demanded his nightly baths. No power meant no Baby Einstein, but he still had plenty of Jumperoo time!  



May was also a big month!  On Mother’s Day, JT rolled over for the first time from Back to belly!  The next weekend, on May 14^th, he rolled from belly to back.  He is still not doing any crawling with the exception of a little belly crawling.  He would much rather be on his feet than on his back or seat.  He went to his very first birthday party. 

Ready to go to his first birthday party ~ hoping to win over the birthday girl!

May was the month that he got in the baby pool for the first time and also the big pool for the first time.He absolutely LOVES the pool and would probably spend all of his waking hours in there if we would let him.

He continues to charm the ladies and gets cuter every day!

A couple of videos:

JT jumping in his Jumparoo....

JT in the pool!