Screaming match over a jar of carrots

Ella is very happy. And very vocal. 

Ella nods her head

We took this video about a month ago. Ella had started nodding her head a lot to communicate...what a smart girl :)

Climbed up the Door

Again, another long video that really is for those who need a little James moment for their day. As you can see, James is very helpful when it comes to things like studying. And he likes to make up words to songs. Here he is singing one of his favorite songs, "I climbed up the door...." but he basically just repeats that line over and over and over, putting in his own words. And yes, he calls our stool the "Eiffel Tower."

"Look what I can be!"

This is mostly for family members who miss James! :) This is kind of a long video but I think it's hilarious. What a joy it is to see this boy grow up and learn new things and use his imagination...

Uncle Donald Had a Farm

James has a great-uncle Donald, but he doesn't have a farm.

He does have an uncle who has the middle name Donald - and he's from a cattle ranch.

Close enough.

Also, James loves his "Carnate Word" shirt.

A James-Eye View of Our House!

I have many pictures and updates to share, but in the meantime here is a nice little video, taken by James, of our townhouse here in San Antonio (yes, we are here!). Enjoy the little tour, and please ignore all the boxes and junk and the screaming child at the end....it's been a long (but good) week!

my little sis is gettin' hitched

I took some engagement pictures of my little sister Abby and her fiance Ryan this weekend - and I think they turned out so cute! They are such a cute couple and I am just so happy for them :) Here are a few of the pictures put together in a little video. (I think the song is kind of fitting, because when she was a baby we used to call her "Happy!") See more pictures on my photography blog!

it's coming up!

for the in-laws.

So I pretty much have the best in-laws ever. They are so wonderful and we really miss them so much! It was so great that we got to live with them for four months last year, and now we miss them even more! James is no exception - tonight he was really missing his Nana and Grandy:

(this is a bit long but I know Nana & Grandy will love it!)

us in 55 years:

Now this is the cutest ever. My sister found this video on YouTube, and it was so great that I just had to share it. She said it's how she pictures Jonathan and I when we're old. And I can so totally see that! We even have a duet we play where we switch places. It's not this cute though. I don't think you can be this cute of a couple until you're at least in your 80's.

James sings!

My mom will be the most excited about this post. Lately James has been quite the singer, but won't sing for anyone but mommy and daddy. He knows quite a few songs and we sing every night before bed - some of his favorites are Sweet Baby James, Godspeed (Sweet Dreams) by the Dixie Chicks, I Love to See the Temple and Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam.

I cannot believe he let me record him singing, he usually pushes the camera away and won't perform :) Here we are singing our opening song for our family home evening lesson - which turned into three opening songs since we were on a roll and I wanted to document his adorable singing.

p.s. note his amazing harmonies...what a musical genius....

a cowboy needs a hat

Dear Aunt Abby and Ryan,

Just a note to say thank you - our little cowboy loves his new cowboy hat! Doesn't he look so darn cute? Good thing he has a horse. Yee-haw!




p.s. This calls for a classic Disney cartoon - did anyone else watch this as a kid?

you're making me sleepy...

Sundays are sure long. Especially when you were up late on Saturday, you get no nap, you have church at 1:00 in the afternoon, there are two high council speakers in Sacrament Meeting (which is the last meeting of the block), and your Mama is the choir director so you have to stay after church for an extra hour.

It's days like these when it's great to fall asleep at 6:00 p.m., and sleep through the whole night. Mommies and Daddies don't mind this, either.

great day

What a red-letter day: my child drank two glasses of milk for lunch (I know, miracle of miracles!), and he counted to thirteen (he surprises us every day!).

How cool is this??

missing my sister

Just wanted to share this great video of my cute sister. She's a missionary for the LDS church in Seattle and I'm sure the people there just love her and her fun personality - I mean, how could you not? Her cute companion is from Mongolia. I think my sister is pretty awesome and watching this video made me miss her! Check out her mission blog that my Mom updates for her. Love you, Liz!

Mama Bird

Our buddy loves the Polar Express. It is so cute (except that after watching it so much this week since we've both been sick, now he wants to watch it all. the. time. It gets just a little old). He loves the book, the movie - he's really into trains lately.

As I mentioned before, my Dad made James some Polar Express tickets. Oh how he loves those tickets. His favorite part of the movie is when the boy loses the ticket and it flies out the train and through the air, then lands on the ground where there is a pack of wolves, then flies into the air again and gets caught in a bird's mouth. The bird part is his most favorite. He'll say, "Mama Bird? Mama Bird?" and we watch that part over and over.

Here is James watching the "Mama Bird" part.

This kind of weather...

...makes me want to go hooky-bobbing!

Hooky-bobbing is simple: grab a rope and some sleds/inner tubes, tie them to the back of a truck, hop on, have someone drive the truck around in the snow.

Thinking of this makes me so happy because:

1) SNOW is involved, and who else loved the snow today??!
2) Reminds me of Christmas (less than two months, folks!)
3) I get to hear my grown-up brothers-in-law screaming like girls
4) Seeing Benjamin riding on an inner tube looking like a powdered donut
5) It's always fun when you see sleds flipping upside-down and flying through the air
6) It makes me miss my in-laws, and I can't wait to go home for Thanksgiving! Hope we have snow then!

And, if you just need a visual....here it is :) Hope you enjoy!

First Snow!

James has been standing at the window all morning saying, "Play? Snow?" I keep telling him that we can play in it after we get better (yes, I have the flu, too).

He just keeps on saying it. "Play? Snow? Dada? Bames? Mama?" (Bames means James.)

We can't wait until we are all better and can play in the snow! Of course, by that time, the snow may be gone...

Don't you just love the first snow of the year?? :)

Our Little Sickie, and the Joy of Grandparents

Poor little James started coughing last night and woke up this morning with a fever. After his nap (yes, he did indeed take a nap today!) he wasn't doing any better so I called and got him an appointment to see the doctor. My sweet Mama and sister rushed over to pick up James and I (since Jonathan was at work with the car) to go to the doctor.

It turns out that he has the flu, and I was so grateful we got him in there within 24 hours of getting sick, and also that he is still under two years old, because then the doctor was able to prescribe him some medicine. (Apparently they don't have a ton of this medication, so they are limiting it to certain groups of people, like children under two and high-risk people, etc.)

So, he is a little sickie but has been so sweet and pleasant the whole day. In fact the whole time we were at the doctor and in the car he kept saying, "Giki?? Pegs??" (He has really wanted to go back to Jukie's house and play with a peg-board toy they have.) He was so excited to go to his grandparents' house after the doctor.

I am so grateful for my wonderful parents who are so sweet to my little boy. My Dad loves to play with James, and boy does he make things fun! Tonight they were pulling a train all around the house, marching around to the Polar Express soundtrack, then watching the Polar Express while holding their homemade Polar Express tickets that my Dad made. They even got out a hole puncher and punched the tickets like they do in the movie. (Notice in the picture at the top the ticket in James' hand - the front of it has a picture of a train on it and there are holes punched. James took his ticket - or "Gick" - to bed with him tonight!)

When my Mom drove us home, James was so sleepy, he laid in my Mom's lap while she rocked him and sang to him. It was the sweetest thing, he sang right along with her, and is even getting to the point where he knows a lot of the words. I pretty much have sung I Love to See the Temple to him every single night, so he knows that one the best. This video is so sweet, I hope my Mom won't mind that I posted it.