Jungle Room

The little monkey in his new and improved Jungle Room!

This is on his door to his room. It says God Bless our Little Buck-a-Roo!

His crib and dresser. We have five different colors for sheets all to match the fun colors of his room...red, orange, yellow, green, and blue!

The monkey rug in front of his crib. I couldn't turn it around, but you get the idea.

One angle of the top of his dresser.

These are hung above his dresser.




Another view of his dresser. I love the monkey bank!






James is showing off his dresser.

The constantly used changing table!

Pictures from Fayetteville Trip

So, it has been really hard these past few weeks to update the blog, but I figure a little is better than none. Here are pictures from our Fayetteville trip minus the first one.

James playing the James IV guitar...he is really rocking out!

Me, James IV, and Lolli right before we left to come home. So sweet!

James IV and his Pumper Dunk. Just chillin!

A present for Gigi...surprise it's a precious baby boy!

Uncle B. dragging James IV around the house. James loved it!

They went really fast on the kitchen floor!

James IV slouching in his high chair at Lolli and Poppi's house.

We went to eat at Red Robin and Uncle B. thought James IV needed the balloon. He really loved looking at it though!

Uncle B. and James IV hanging out on the floor, playing with toys.

Uncle B. getting James IV hooked on Guitar Hero already!

Too cute!

I didn't get any pics of my parents, but we have a lot of memories...sorry mom. At least you have pics on your camera!:) Well, the reason I have trouble updating our blog just woke up...so I guess this is all for today! Maybe more another day.

A Few Quick Updates

So, I guess posting once a week is proving to be more difficult than I intended it to be. We have been so busy these past two weeks. First, James had a work trip to Virginia the week school started, and I decided to go home with James IV.

James had a great trip. I drove him and two other people to the Little Rock airport. This was only the second trip James had ever gone on, so he was a bit nervous. But everything went really well. He met a lot of other employees and made some connections. One week was long enough though. We were all ready to see each other by then.

We went to Fayetteville, and we really enjoyed our time. It had been a long time since I had seen my parents. Everyone was so shocked at the size and abilities of James. He is getting way too big. James' parents and brother spent the day with us on Tuesday and we just caught up. James IV was able to show off his skills and everyone loved it! My mom and I went shopping on Thursday, after Baby Bookworms with our friend Brianne and her son Whit. James was well behaved and a joy to take into each store. I also decided while in Fayetteville that for Halloween he will be a "Birthday Boy" since it is his birthday! I bought a birthday boy onesie. He will have a party bag as his trick-or-treat bag with balloons attached to the top, and he will also have a party hat to wear!

We got home late Friday night, and we enjoyed our time at home together. But on Monday, James IV started running a fever. He just wanted to sleep and lay on me. I got worried on Tuesday morning when his temp was almost 102, so I took him in. We had an awful doctor experience, but that is another story for a different time. They drew blood and said he had a virus, which was good so no antibiotics were needed. He thought it was roseola, and showed me a picture of the rash he would break out into after the fever went away. Well, his fever persisted until Thursday morning and then slowly broke throughout the day. He started feeling more and more like himself and was playing again. He sort of got a tiny rash on Saturday afternoon, but it was hardly anything.

Since James IV was feeling better, we decided to see everyone in Texarkana. Our trip was great, we spent quality time with each side of grandparents, but the time was too short! We felt like we were just settling in at one place when we left to see the other side. Despite that, we had a great time - thanks Pawpaw & Nana and Peep & Grandmother - YOU ARE THE BEST!

Now home we are just doing the day to day things. James is working hard and loving his job. I am trying to keep up with the house and James IV. And James IV is finding every possible way to get into things he doesn't need. We are all great, and I will try to post some pictures and/or videos soon. Maybe while James IV naps...or I may nap too. You just never know.

Paci Free!!!

We are pleased to announce that James IV is now paci free!!! I have been reading lots of material on when to give up the paci, and most sources say between 8 and 12 months is best. This is when they start to form strong attachments, and I didn't want to have trouble taking it away later. Plus, research is suggesting that as he gets old his sucking will get stronger. This can cause him to suck so hard he pulls bacteria into his ear from his throat, which can cause ear infections. We thought we would give it a try, and he hasn't looked back since. Nights and naps I thought would be hard, but he is just fine. I know some people might think we are crazy, but who really wants to chance lots of ear infections? We are trying to let him have a silky at night and nap instead, but he really doesn't care about it. So, no attachments for this child, except for his Mama and nursing...:)

A Day at the Lake

August 8th we went to the boss’ lake house for the day. His boss invited all the new Engineers out. He has a boat, a jet ski, water skis, and tubes to go tubing on. The lake is about 95 miles from here, so needless to say it took awhile to get there. We only took two detours the whole time, but part of the fun is getting there, right? We arrived fashionably late – 45 minutes to be exact. James and I thought we were cooking out for lunch, so we did not eat anything on the way and were “starving” by the time we made it. But as our luck was that day, the cookout wasn’t until that night and we only had a few chips and dip. As awful as that sounds, we managed and are still alive so we were not starving to death! We all got into our swimsuits and got on the boat. They actually had a life jacket small enough to fit James! He was so adorable in his life jacket, but it was just about as big as he is. The boat went pretty fast and James had a hard time keeping his eyes open. But when he would open them, he would have a big grin on his face. He seemed to really enjoy himself. We got back to the dock, and other people arrived. James IV and his daddy went out into the water for a quick dip. James let the life jacket do the work and James IV was floating in the water all by himself! He liked it until he got water in his ears. We spent most of the afternoon just talking and hanging out on the huge boat dock. James IV took a nap out there, and we held him and rocked. After James IV woke up from his nap, James and I decided it would be fun to go tubing behind the jet ski. This was my first time to do this and I think I screamed the ENTIRE time! I had a blast though…until his boss slowed the jet ski and James leaned too far forward. Yep…we fell into the lake. People thought I was screaming before, I made sure people new that I did not like the predicament I was in. I kept screaming and saying, “If I move my feet, the fish won’t get me.” The boy on the back of the jet ski said that fish were actually attracted to movement…haha. Not funny. I ended up riding on the back of the jet ski the rest of the way back because my arms hurt so bad from using all my strength to stay on the tube! I did not think I would be able to hold James for days! When we got back, food was getting ready and we finally got to eat. Unlike everyone else, we had to leave just before seven so James could go to sleep. We really had a great time, and of course everyone googled over James IV, but he took to everyone really well. These pics are not in order, but at least they are here!

Napping on the dock

Swimming in the lake with Daddy


Look Mom, I can float on my back!


Uh, why is this water dirty? Is this supposed to be my bath? :)

Floating all by himself...it was so cute!

Smile for the camera!

This boat is fun!

Just lovin' my time with Mama

He really liked the boat!

He was so relaxed, and it was hard to keep his eyes open.

Wow we are going FAST!

Getting ready to go out on the boat. Isn't the life jacket too cute!

An update from this week...

James IV's second tooth came through this morning! Now we have a two teeth child in our house. He is standing up to anything he can grab onto. He also has perfected the use of his sippy and drinks a whole cup of water each day! We are doing well. Tonight we will go out to eat with two couples from church to get to know each other. I am excited to meet other Mamas. I hope this blog keeps all you avid blog readers happy. We are trying to keep up with your demands, but James kind of makes it a little difficult. :)

July 31st

This is the past week in a nutshell...

The Parade

On Wednesday, people at the State Revenue Office told us the Rodeo Parade would be happening at four. Since the route took them right by our house, we decided to watch it. The parade lasted about an hour and was really neat. There were fire trucks, horses, mules, tractors, 4-wheelers, and much more.

Daddy and James are waiting for the parade to start. James IV was a little hot. We definitely are not used to this weather!
Looking at a tree branch while we waited. James IV really thought that tree was neat. He would touch it and when it moved he would draw his hand back and look like what was that! :)

Those fire trucks were super loud, so we had to protect James' ears. He still liked them though.

Men on horses - there were women too, but not in this picture.

This picture is for Brad. A new 2010 Camaro with a girl riding on top!

This is an awesome old tractor someone drove in the parade!

Peek-a-boo...he was under the blankets and behind the quilt rack. He thought this was really funny until he got stuck and we had to help him out!

James and Daddy on July 31st. This is a special day because 1)it is the start to our new chapter to our lives and 2)James is 9 months old today!

James' first day of work started with James IV and me taking him to work at 8:00. He told me that he basically chased paperwork around most of the day and went to a training seminar. He also found out that he will make his first trip to Big Island, Virginia. (James IV and I are so sad about that one!) Overall, he had a wonderful day and can't wait to go again on Monday!

Right before our one mile car ride to the Paper Plant.

Daddy getting out of the car for his first JOB!

Walking away...see the steam in the background?

Almost there! I am totally sad, but excited at this point. Bye Daddy! See you tonight!

Playing in his crib after nap. So sweet.

So, James IV is nine months old and we cannot believe it! Time definitely flies when you have a little one. Here are some of his big milestones:

*He started crawling YESTERDAY!!! :)

*He can feed himself small pieces of food - like cooked peas, banana chunks, and puffs

*His first tooth on the bottom right side is poking through!

*He babbles all the time! He likes to make his presence known.

*And along with crawling he has found all the electrical outlets in the house...so now there are covers installed.

He is a great baby and we couldn't ask for anything more. Each day comes with new surprises and joys, and we love to spend our days making him happy.

Just chillin in his crib, post nap.

We decided to take a walk before lunch to buy cookie mix - for Daddy's first day of work, pay our water bill, and send a letter. In all we probably walked 1-2 miles! It was hot, but fun.

At work, James received two box tickets to the Rodeo. I have never been to the Rodeo, and I was super excited. We got there and found out that our seats were just about five feet away from the arena! We could literally reach out and touch the horses if we wanted to. James IV really enjoyed himself as well. We are already looking forward to going again next year!

Right after we got there - I think James was hot and didn't know what to think about the smell...

The man who talked the whole time through the Rodeo. He was pretty funny.

So happy to be there.

Our Country's flag - beautiful!

The 72 year old clown at the Rodeo. He was hilarious!

Starting to get tired.

We really wore him out. It was really loud and he fell asleep in his Daddy's arms!

As you can see everything is great down here. I am adjusting to not having James around, and James is getting used to the idea of working. We are excited about what else is to come!