Birthday Photo Extravaganza

James had a great third birthday! He had a lot of fun preparing for his party. He filled his room with balloons and played "bouncing music" on the stereo so he and his friends could jump on the bed. He put together party favor bags with a 'Cars' theme. And best of all, when given the choice between purchasing a cake or making the cake, James was excited to make his own. He chose a marble mix and chocolate frosting.James getting all the dry ingredients ready.

whisking the eggs
one bowl of yellow cake, one of chocolate
pouring and marblizing the mix
licking the bowl!
waiting for the cake to bake
decorating the cake
all done!
play-dough at the party
the kids made their own bagel pizzas
opening presents
Thank you for the new tricycle, Uncle Erik!
James got to go to the dollar store (which he calls the "50 dollar store") with his birthday money from Great Aunt Linda. He chose a two-pack of planes . . .
. . . a Hulk car which he named "Crash Boom" . . .
. . . and a new bottle for his baby-doll.

Thanks, everyone, for helping make James' third birthday super-special!

Pulling Up

Is there any greater joy in life? May says no.

James the Comedian

Lately James is a big fan of joking about how big he is. I walked into the living room yesterday and found him like this. He's demonstrating how he's too big for Baby May's snowsuit.

And here he's playing a trick on Baby May by sitting in her car seat. She was a little confused, but we got the joke and laughed a lot.

Gingerbread House

This year James and I attempted one of the gingerbread house kits one finds in grocery stores this time of year. Construction and decoration took several days. We had gone to a gingerbread house festival earlier in the season and were very inspired. I think it gave James a real sense of satisfaction to watch our little house go from flat and boring to three-dimensional and beautiful. I would have taken a picture of the finished product, but he began eating it immediately.

Oranges, part II

Heard from my Aunt Linda about the oranges. Seems the tradition was passed to my mom from her father. (He's the handsome gentleman on the far left.) Here is the story:
Imagine Hubbell, Michigan in the Upper Peninsula in the early 1920"s. Most supplies came in by ship up there. But ships stopped coming in late November to April. Horses and sleds brought a few things over the winter. And there was a need for vitamin C in the winter months. And so the special treat of an orange in your Christmas stocking.

Thanks, Grandpa - for giving me the smell of oranges in my Christmas memories!

and this is Baby Jesus . . . . ACK!!!!

The best part of decorating for Christmas this year was watching James with his little nativity set. He has plastic figures that he gets to set up, rearrange, and story tell with. On decorating day, (Black Friday), he was showing them to Baby May. Chad and I were looking on, feeling so touched by the scene. "This is Mary. See Baby May? And a donkey, and a cow . . . " Then he found the baby Jesus and excitedly ran over to May to give her a close up look. "Baby May, Baby May! This is Baby Jesus! See? It's Baby Jesus!" and he held it out for her to see. She promptly grabbed it and stuffed it in her mouth.

Oranges

Baby May enjoying her first taste of orange.
James juicing an orange like a pro - helping to make holiday bread.

I don't know what it is about Christmas that makes me crave and appreciate oranges so much more than the rest of the year. Maybe it's the fact that this is the season for cute, easy to peel clementines. Maybe it's that they brighten up this snowy season with their juicy, sunshine infused sweetness. Maybe I just love the smell of pomanders - those clove-speckled orange air fresheners. Or maybe I really was affected by my Mom's stories. She used to tell me about how as a child she knew she would always receive an orange in the toe of her stocking on Christmas morning - a special gift considering it was the 1950s, winter, and Detroit. At any rate, I'm excited to integrate the taste and smell of oranges into my own kids' holiday memories.

Snow Day!

James loves his snow gear.

May does not.
James loves the snow.
May does not.
But they both like a good sled ride!
It works better with May in front.
May does not like falling off of the sled and landing face-first in the snow with her big brother on top of her.
James likes to eat snow.

Back inside and in our cozy sweats.
Back inside and still not amused with our snow gear.
What a sport!

Tushie Time!

Recently, Baby May had an incredibly severe case of diaper rash. We started with ointments, moved to powders, changed our type of diapers, then went to corn starch powdering and 'airing out.' The rash eventually cleared up, after we got plenty of cute tushie-time pictures.

Eye See . . . the bottom of the candy bowl.

Goodbye, Halloween Candy. You had a good run. We're holding onto a couple of suckers (James' favorite candy) but other than that, the rest of the candy was either eaten or has 'gone bad.' James knows bananas, bread, and leftovers go bad, so we figured he'd accept that his mountains of Halloween candy could, too. With Christmas on the horizon, we needed a little candy break.

Looking Through James' Eyes

A couple of weeks ago James and May were hanging out with the babysitter when the camera caught their attention. So James got the chance to photo document his little world for us.

Slippers

The other day the house was a bit chilly, so I dug my slippers out and put them on. James was very interested. He had a lot of questions and was quite envious of my wonderful slippers. He wished aloud for his own slippers. So after naptime, we set out for the store to pick some up. He was drawn to the frog slippers. He then insisted Baby May also needed slippers. I figured there was no harm there, her feet probably get as cold, or colder, than mine. James was very decisive - May's slippers should be pink. He chose the pinkest pink slippers. I think she likes them.

Ouch! Oooooo!

Here are James and May showing off their balloons after getting their flu shots. James chose a clear balloon with webs painted on the outside. Inside is a Spider Man balloon. He chose a little heart-shaped one on a stick for May. The were both champs about the shot. May went first and cried LOUDLY. James, visibly shaken, went next and cried a little. They were both done crying by the time we left the room. On the way to the store to pick up their balloon prizes for being brave, James informed me, "Maybe I can be a doctor when I grow up. I will stick people with a sharp, sharp sticker!"

Pre-Reading

I love finding James quietly looking at books. I wonder what he makes of the books we've never read to him? Here he's looking at a kids' book about the founding fathers. I wonder what kind of story he gathered from examining at the pictures?