Cousin fun!

Our recent trek to Oklahoma for Layne's first birthday was a such a great trip! Not only did the adults enjoy the family time, but the little ones also had some great cousin time in! They played, laughed, "talked," and played some more...

Can you see them in 10 years? I'm thinking maybe The Winters' Quartet :-)

Riley loves her little cousin...and I think the feeling is mutual!The three girls in their Guatemalan dresses:

Ruby (20 months), Riley (4), and Layne (1)

All four cousinsCan you tell they are cousins, with that blond hair and those blue eyes?! Pardon Jameston's big belly hanging out! It was crazy trying to coordinate all four of them, so there were many outtakes :-)

Oh, the cousin fun is just beginning!

Family fun and birthday celebrations galore!

So, this is the blog post I have been meaning to sit down and write. It will sum up two of our recent out-of-town trips...you have been forewarned: it's a LONG one!

The first weekend in August we loaded up and headed north to Oklahoma for Jameston's cousin, Layne's, 1st birthday weekend. We had a blast!

First, we went to a water park, and the cousins got to soak in some sun!

Jameston putting to use his crawling skills

Chillin' on Daddy's shoulders

That night, Bryn and Jared hosted a wonderful birthday party for little Layne at their house.

Here is big cousin Riley helping Layne and Aunt Bryn open birthday gifts

Yep, Jameston took a liking to Layne's new fire truck! I think we know what to get him for his upcoming b-day!

And the birthday girl LOVED her strawberry (deliciously home-made) cake! Can you tell?!

All cleaned up! The birthday girl all dressed and ready for church

All the other cousins enjoyed playing with Layne's new toys :-)

In the living room AND kitchen!

Ruby played so hard she took a nap right in the middle of it all!

Jameston loving on Granny (and playing with Layne's doll, to Brett's chagrin)!

Riley teaching JW how to play the drums

He got a kick (and bite) out of the maracas!

Our little drummer boy

We had such a great time visiting with family and celebrating Layne's special day!

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Two weekends ago I was lucky enough to spend some quality time with my sweet sisters (after lots of urging from my sweet hubby). For Maggie's graduation present, and for Lynnlee's birthday (and a belated birthday gift for me) week, we three headed to Miami for several days. If anyone deserves a vacation, it would be my sisters!

7 a.m. flight...we are tired but oh-so excited!

It was L's first time flying...she was a little nervous, but you can't tell one bit!

Bienvenidos a Miami (South Beach, that is)!

Lots of toned and tanned people to watch

In front of the fountain in the Lincoln Arts District

Watching some kiddos, missing our kiddos :-(

Sand art

And then for the last day/night, we headed to Fort Lauderdale for a more laid-back scene...

Despite two car accidents within four days (one being of the self-inflicted kind with a fire hydrant in the rental car, and the other involving us being rear-ended by a cab driver near Love Field on our way home in my car), we had a WONDERFUL time together! Many memories were made, and we hope to do a sisters' trip every three (okay, maybe five) years!

Headed home

So happy to see my two boys (and Jameston proudly sported the Floridian shirt I got him :-)

Splish-Splashin'

Okay, so we all know that Jameston LOVES the water, right? I think we have established that fact :-) From the bath tub, to the ocean, to his baby pool, to his newest adventure on the LAKE, his H2O love carries over to most places. So below are some shots of the latest splish-splashin' we've done!

This past weekend we met my Dad, aka Gramps, and crew at Lake Grapevine for some fun in the sun on the pontoon boat! Jameston wasn't gonna let his allergies get in the way of his first experience on the lake (so, please excuse the runny-nosed pics...when he gets in water, it just runs like a faucet!).

For the lake, one must have a checklist:

Gameface? Check!

Flotation device (even if it is a little snug, and even though it said it is for babies up to 30 pounds!)? Check, check!

He looks like SUCH a big boy in that pic!

Swim hat & swim noodle (for the direct sun exposure in the shallow, sandy beach)?

Double check!

Snacks, water, and sunscreen? Oh yeah...

To say that Jameston enjoyed the lake would be an understatement. He LOVED it, and we can't wait to get him out on the boat again (and use that 30-50 pound life vest :-)

So, yeah...he played himself TIRED!

Note the drool puddle on his lip and chest :-)

And Daddy was in need of a nap, too!

A priceless pic of my two boys

He even snoozed during switch over to the seat...fun in the sun takes it out of ya!

Me and my sweet and sunning little boy

I could not include lake pictures without following them up with some photos from our "pool" time one evening last week.

JW is wondering where all of our grass went (we are leveling the ground in our backyard for inquiring minds):

In my opinion, these pictures need no introduction!

That is one HAPPY boy!

We plan on soaking up these last weeks of summer (when it's not blazing hot outside) in the water as much as we can!!

11!

Whoa, can you hear the excitement in my typing voice as I exclaim that our baby boy is 11-months old?!

First, the necessary Mr. Bear picture, so that we can document his growth:

Wait, where did Mr. Bear go?! Pretty futile to try and get a still shot of him these days :-)

Second, a guesstimate on his current stats:

Weight: 24 or so lbs.

Height: 30-ish inches

Moods: All over the place, as seen below!

Teething, separation problems, and GROWING have given our little guy a fit lately, but that deserves a separate post. Here is Jameston talking it over with his stuffed, furry friend after his melt-down...

Phew, now we have regained composure and he is all better!

LOVE that under-bite, toothy smile of his!

More pics from this month:

Our little sombrero (we bought in Abilene) hijo

Marlie-bear helping JW clean up after dinner one night

Cruisin' in his car seat during one of our many recent road-trips

At this age, Jameston loves:

• Reading! He can't get enough, and he often shows us his literary love by us playing 52-book pick up in his nursery :-) His current favorites are Dr. Seuss' Book of Wonderful Noises and The Big Red Barn
• Handles, drawers, cabinets and anything else he can open and close..he could sit in front of his dresser and play all day!
• Those soft rings, although we are going to have to start shopping for "big boy" toys very soon since someone has a 1st birthday coming up!

• Helping Mommy, whether it is fun stuff like turning the light switches on and off, or with boring household chores. Here he assisting with the dishes,

and folding the laundry!

He's a huge help these days (wink, wink :-)

• Shaking anything that makes noise, like his puffs containers, and DANCING to music...any kind of music. We need to buy him some musical instruments/toys stat!
• Shadows: he is fascinated by them!

At 11-months old, Jameston's newest milestones include:

• Pulling up on all things his size

• Standing while supported for long periods of time...although, this boy shows little desire to stand, much more, walk anytime soon!
• He'd much rather crawl, and he has perfected his technique! You'd better watch out: he's fast (and vigorous, too, as seen by the bruises he gets on his poor little knees :-(

• He just recently started pointing, reaching, and waving (TOO cute)!
• He "talks" in his own little way, with longer strings of babbling. Can't wait to be able to understand what he's trying to tell us!
• His said his FIRST word on Saturday: Dada! He's been babbling this (along with many others) but he now knows what it means. We hope to get it on video soon!

• He knows cause and effect...we think he's a genius already (don't most parents think that of their kiddos?), but this development is a blast to observe! Brett and I will glance at each other as we watch him figure things out on his own. And it's only going to get better!
• Jameston is still eating great and sleeping good. He usually goes to bed for the night between 7:30 and 8:30 and sleeps until 6 or so (waking up a time or two during that span but going back to sleep on his own). He has been napping A LOT the past few days, and we think it is due to a growth spurt.
• His fave foods right now are cottage cheese, blueberries, bananas, cheddar, beans, and graham crackers. He tried lots of first this past month: fish, mashed potatoes, rice, kidney beans, kiwi, raspberries, and noodles. Good times!

• I am still nursing almost exclusively, with an occasional formula bottle at night (due to a slowing on my part). And he may wean himself from the bottle on his own. At daycare they moved him up to the toddler classroom yesterday, because of his size and activity level, and when he saw the older kiddos drinking milk from their sippy cups, he did not want his bottle. So, they switched the breastmilk over to his little sippy bottle, and he drank from it like he's been doing so all along! So, we hope he will be ready to wean in 3 weeks or so, when I am thinking I will stop nursing.
• He now has a whopping 8 teeth with the recent addition of his top laterals! Daddy thinks that development is in need of a celebration with JW trying some steak for the first time :-) To alleviate the teething problems, we tried to give him some celery to chomp on (thanks to a rec from a fellow mommy-friend)...

He didn't really know what to make of the celery

So he's found his own ways to soothe the gum pain...ha!

At this age we want to remember these things about JW:

• His CA-UTE little underbite that he reveals often
• Our little boy can flip a switch in no time flat...although we are not enjoying the occasional temper-tantrums when he doesn't get something he wants and he is learning the words "No sir," and, "Not for Jameston," his facial expressions are priceless (and sometimes we have to hide our reactions)!
• His belly laughs! THE BEST!

Jameston Wade, we are blessed by you every day. You make us so proud!

We cannot wait until your 1st birthday, even though you won't be our baby boy anymore (Mommy has to get used to that idea :-(

We love you, JW!