30 Months Old

Wow! I have a 2-1/2 year-old. How did THAT happen?! Two and a half years of James. What a huge, huge blessing to have had him in our lives for these last 30 months. I don't think I've ever been a happier person as I have been being a mom to my son. It has always been my dream to be a mom, and I am living the dream people! No, no, it's not all rainbows and roses. Definately not. But I love all of it - the good days and the bad days, and even the days when I want to just curl up and hide in a cave, I still wouldn't trade it for anything. Nothing. I really can't think of one thing I'd rather be doing.

James is a joy. He is truly a character, and keeps us laughing all day long. His latest ambition is singing, with favourites being the "ABC's", "Twinkle Twinkle", "Mr. Golden Sun", "Five Little Monkeys", and the theme song for "The Wonder Pets". Get him started on any of these songs, and you will likely be serenaded for a good hour. Often we can hear him singing for a long time when he's been put down to bed for the night. He generally wakes up happy, and is happy most of the time. He doesn't get cranky unless he's hungry (like his mommy), or if he doesn't get his way (like his daddy?). His favourite thing to play indoors is cars. He can play with his Hot Wheels for long periods of time - making up funny stories, and conversations between them. Outdoors he loves to play with his "Dora car" and his golf clubs. Otherwise, he can be kept busy dancing, running and jumping. The neighbours have a trampoline (thank you Lord), and this wonderful invention usually gets him good and tired out before bed. Today daddy is going to finish making his new (purple) sandbox, and I'm sure he will be thrilled with it! He still continues to stop traffic with his cute comments and looks. Today he told our waitress she was "brown", as she has dark skin. Super funny!

James is a lover. James loves a lot of things. He definately loves his mommy, and tells me that often with big hugs and cuddles! He also loves daddy, his cats, his hamster, his grandparents, his Uncle Matt, his bed, and various other objects. Whenever James "loves" something, he holds it close to his face and scrunches up his lips when he says "I just love my _________ mommy".

James is growing up. I am constantly learning of new things James can do on his own. Some recent accomplishments are: learning to turn on the basement lights by himself, getting himself food out of the pantry and fridge, helping himself to gum out of my purse, washing his hands, adn riding his tricycle (still mastering those pedals though). This week my brother and I were working on a project outside, and I saw James go into the porch. After some time of not coming back out, Matt went to find him. He came out and said, "Oh James is just sitting and having a snack". I didn't know what he meant, where did James get a snack? "Oh, no, he's inside the house in his chair in the basement, watching cartoons and eating a bowl of grapes". What?! He had let himself in (didn't know he could open the door yet), got the bowl of grapes out of the fridge, walked downstairs with them, turned on the TV, and settled in! Oh my goodness! James has no ambition to use the potty or toilet yet, and is still in diapers. I plan to make a few attempts at training this summer, but if it doesn't go smoothly, we're just going to wait until we're stuck inside this winter.

James has lots of friends. James has lots of boys to grow up with, which is so awesome! His oldest friends are Emery and Levi, who are both 4. His buddy Gabriel, whose mommy I met online is born the same week as James. Next is Isaiah, who is just 5 months younger and also Griffin. Rounding out the end is Jaxson, who trails James by a year and two months. All these boys play together pretty well, and I am so thankful that he has these boys to grow up with. Sadly, his favourite person is his cousin Emily, and he doesn't get to see her very much. He also loves his cousins Thomas, Simon and Maggie, and talks about them regularly.

James is learning the hard way. James has a very stubborn streak in him. Yes, this must come from daddy for sure! He absolutely does not know how to listen. Nearly 75% of the time, he will do the complete OPPOSITE of what you've just asked him to do. This is becoming increasingly more frustrating as days go by. One day this week James received 8 punishments for not listening. I realize that he's two and a half, and this is part of the age. However, when he disobeys in situations where he could get hurt, or worse (like running away in a parking lot), I need him to listen. The day after the 8 punishments he actually had noticeably improved, but it seems to be a process. The little devil on his shoulder seems to have a louder voice.

James gets injured a lot. I am beginning to wonder when the child abuse complaints are going to start. James is SO accident prone! I don't know what to do about that one - he can fall and get hurt doing NOTHING unusual! He has several mosquito bites on his face right now, rash on his chin, arm and legs, and various bruises and scratches over his face and body. Anyone who knows us and James will know that these are nothing but self-inflicted. This kid can't run through a door without hitting it. He can't walk through the grass without tripping and scraping himself. He keeps us hopping with lots of kisses, the ice ready, the Polysporin within reach.

James makes us proud. James makes us so proud. He is very polite, and cheerful to most people. Yes, sometimes it would be better if he was a little more shy - but people seem to genuinely appreciate his friendly nature, and I like that. He's super smart, and can memorize things like crazy. His smarts never cease to amaze us. His imagination is great, and his memory is amazing!

James is the best gift God could have given us. I think I can say with a fair bit of honesty that I have not taken too many days with James for granted. I am SO often reminded just by looking at him of what a blessing and miracle he is. Sometimes I have found myself crying in my bed, thanking God for James and begging for his protection. I can't even think about what one day without James would be like... I couldn't handle it. I am excited to see James as a big brother, and though I know this may be a hard adjustment for him, it will be good for him. It never ceases to amaze me how well James just fits into our family. We couldn't have planned or tried to pick out a better kid. He's perfect for us. If only to have James in our lives, I would go through so many more losses. God is good, He is SO good to us!

Sneaking Up to 23 Weeks

(Five month photo with James seen here.)

Helping Daddy

Here James is helping Daddy get his new "hideout" ready in his new bedroom...

Wish I Was Sleeping

Argh. It's 4:30am and I am wide awake. This has been my fate for the last week or so... I'm dealing with some insomnia, restless legs, and just the inability to get comfortable at night. This would not be so bad if my mind wasn't constantly racing with the thought of "Oh boy, how am I going to keep up with James tomorrow, and not lose my patience?!". When I'm tired, the first thing I lose is my ability to keep my patience - it just flies straight out the window. So I'm hoping that if I kill a bit of time tonight, I might at least catch another few hours of sleep before that beautiful little voice wrestles me out of my bed. If anyone has any really good suggestions for this, I'm all ears!

<--- Photo of James wearing some Bomber slippers that we actually received for Baby Banana. They easily fit James, so I think we'll let him wear them in for his sibling.

There certainly are a lot of differences being pregnant with baby number two, versus baby number one! The time is not just flying, it's passing at light speed! I'm so busy with James, that I really forget how far along I am until I see my ticker, or notice my next appointment coming up on the calendar. It's quite amazing actually! I also haven't been gaining weight like I did with my pregnancy with James. When I was pregnant with him, I'm fairly certain I gained 20lbs in the first three months. I'm not too diligent in weighing myself, but I don't think I've gained more than 10lbs with this pregnancy. That feels good... although I'm sure it's going to slowly start sticking more and more. I'm also not noticing as much movement as with James. This might just be the nature of this baby, but I think it's because I'm so busy that I just don't notice. That, and because I'm always on the move, baby is rocked to sleep more often. When I was pregnant with James I did a LOT more sitting and resting, and could take all the time in the world to just lay around and feel him move.

I keep wondering how I should prepare for Baby Banana's arrival. For those of you with two or more kids, what do you wish you had known, purchased ahead of time, or prepared beforehand? I definately plan on making a few frozen casseroles, because sometimes it's hard enough to get supper on with James around - let alone two! Otherwise, I feel like there is a giant adjustment sneaking up on me - but I'm so thrilled to be enjoying this pregnancy, that I just assume it's going to be perfect! Give me a reality check... what should I do to get ready?

Flashback

This video is one of my Top 10 movie moments of all time. When I'm feeling joyful I often find myself thinking of this version of "Joyful Joyful", and singing it. I want to leave you with this fun, and God-filled message of joy for Mother's Day.

I'm So Proud

One of my very closest friends, Robin, just had her FIRST art show this weekend! It was part of a group of artists who held a fundraiser for Breast Cancer in a store called Shop 61 1/2 on Albert Street in Winnipeg. My mom and I went to the fundraiser, partly to commemorate a friend of ours who died from breast cancer last year, but also to support Robin! It looked like she was doing a great job, and her display looked really good. Robin, I'm so proud of you! I can't wait to see you really take off with your art.

P.S. I just noticed that my pregnancy ticker has now passed the 20 week mark! Woohoo! Less than 20 weeks to go before we get to meet Baby Banana! God, You are GOOD!

Bummed

I'm having a bummer of a day. I don't really know why - nothing about my day has been horrible, in fact, I even got some really good news about a friend who is expecting after having lost her first baby. I've tried to look at the bright side, and count my blessings, and all those things. Then I realized something, I hadn't spent any time with God today. Usually that would snap me out of my bad mood, I would pray about it, or put on some music and worship - but today I just feel even more bummed that I forgot to hang out with God. Perhaps I can blame hormones, I'm not sure. I'm just having a rotten day.

I also feel discouraged. Sometimes I feel like I try so hard to be a great person, and it just backfires on me. I try to make everyone around me happy, and though they aren't complaining, they aren't exactly sending me praises either. I'm at my best when I'm on good terms with God, feeling lead by Him to do things for others, and then seeing them happy. I guess I haven't had any of those moments lately. Being discouraged sucks on so many different levels. It makes me want to quit trying, and dampens my mood. I know that this post isn't going to be profound in any way - and that makes me feel even more discouraged. I like it when I can post something that encourages YOU. But I don't have anything like that today. I just feel blue. Perhaps it was because we didn't go outside much today. It was windy, and neither James nor I are big fans of wind. Maybe I just didn't get enough vitamin D. Ya, maybe that's it.

I also don't like friendships "changing", "drifting away", or any of those other terms that people use, like "growing apart". I am a loyal-till-the-end friend. You can hurt me, and I'll stick by your side. You can go through something I'm not, and I'll try to follow along side you. You can move far away, and if you keep in touch, I most definately will. I don't like losing my friends. So, when I find out that I am, I get really, really sad. That's also a part of this I think too. I can sense that I'm losing a friend, I have no control over it, and I hurt.