Too much eggnog?

there is something to be said about a child who can sleep anywhere. James has come a long way in 17 months in this department. We enjoy this sequence very much and hope you do too. Be honest, we all secretly wish we could (still) do this sometimes and get away with it.

A Weekend of SNOW

What a weekend filled with lots of snow! We think there's about a foot or so out there after the 2 storms. We had fun venturing out in the SUV on Friday night to get Chinese food, watching the birds spend all day at the feeders and on Sunday, we took James back out for round 2 of snowplay. Going out in the snow for a toddler is much like going in the ocean: it's a love/hate relationship filled with laughter and tears. Only in the snow, you are wearing ten tons of clothes and cant move to save your life. James learned quickly that the driveway and garage were the only places he could get around in. Unfortunately, the plastic sled mom got wasn't a big hit with the little James (it was with the big James though). Maybe it was the pelting snow coming down that took the fun out of the sledding? We'll keep trying! Hope everyone enjoyed the snowy weekend as much as we did.

The hat distraction

James has a signature sure-fire sign his teeth bother him: his blazing red cheeks. We are only waiting for one more molar on top and it still proves to be a tough process. Here was James' idea of a distraction on this particular day: wearing his construction hat while doing everything (thank you for the hand-me-down from cousin Nick Ferrante).

First Snow

This weekend brought the first snow of the season...and, James' first real experience with the white stuff. Mom and dad had flashbacks of their own childhood while dressing James for the big event. Once he was in his snow suit and we felt certain that there was no possible way he could get up on his own if he fell, (Christmas story anyone?) we all ventured outdoors.

Important lesson: mittens and little hands do not mix well when it comes to functionality. After many frustrating attempts to pick up snow, his shovel and his outdoor truck, James decided that the white stuff was just ok. Good trial run for mom and dad. We all took an afternoon field trip to Target to get better mittens and search for a good toboggen (not just a measely sled, we need something that will go fast for our thrill seeking son). The search is still on, but the season is young.

Happy Thanksgiving

Monday after Thanksgiving weekend is always a hard day: you are extra full from a few days of eating delicious food and spending time enjoying the beginning of the holiday season. James had a blast on Thanksgiving with his cousin William. He was especially fond of all the matchbox cars William brought with him to Grandma and Grandpa's house. There were many exhuberant "Whooah"s and "Coool"s from James when he saw the loot William had. We also were excited when Aunt Kelly shared the news that they will be welcoming a new baby this summer! No more baby James in the Hartigan family soon.
We also got to spend a lot of time with Aunt Alison this past weekend. She taught James what sound a horse makes and put together his new train table when it arrived during naptime on friday. We all enjoyed having her around & Sunday morning James could be found wandering around looking for his Aunt Ali.
James is now learning all about the Christmas season. We're playing lots of Christmas music (he's partial to Jingle Bell Rock) and we'll be putting the lights on the Christmas tree this week. (it sits in the family room now & James enjoys pointing at it saying (oooh treee)
Can't wait to see his reaction to all the fun things that are Christmas!

Gearing up for the holidays

Life is still busy these days so James is catching some sleep where ever he can. James has perfected the sleeping-in-the-highchair routine and even performed it for his Grandma the other day during lunch. The exciting news is he has taken a big leap with his tastebuds and he is are starting to enjoy many new foods.
We're all learning to be extra cautious with our choice of words as James can be heard repeating the last word of your sentences. some of his new favorites are "YES" and "MORE" which are positive communication words that we love hearing! Of course we get our share of the "No" word as well :-)

We've been busy

It's been a very busy couple of weeks for us Hartigans, hence the lack of blogging. Not to mention the fact that James decided we no longer needed a spacebar on our laptop which in turn makes typing a bit of a challenge. Here's a quick recap of the happenings:
Our beautiful niece Emma was baptized and Uncle Jim and Aunt Bridget were honored to be her Godparents. Emma performed well at the ceremony & we feel after partaking in a total of 4 baptisms where we were major players, this was definitely our best showing. Bridget got the directions wrong for cousin William's, we all almost missed cousin Anna's because of a timing issue, and James downright hated his main event. Thank you Emma!
This month Jim embarked on a new business venture which has made for some intense days and nights and we are all thrilled with the outcome. Even though dad has been pretty busy with his great new job, he's been able to witness the incredible vocabulary explosion with James. Now that toddlerhood has settled in, (what do you mean I can't have my way???) we are experiencing a whole new world with James. Each stage is both challenging and rewarding. One of the best things mom has taught James is the word "please" (instead of screaming). It is very hard not to give in to that sweet face when you are greeted with a smile and a "peas" in a delightfully polite voice.
We also got the treat of spending time with cousin Megan, Josh and Will this past weekend. Being that they live in Southern California, we don't get too many opportunities to hang out. http://www.theplateniks.blogspot.com/
What fun we all had seeing how much the little ones have grown. And, Great Grampa enjoyed seeing all of his great grandchildren together. Thanks for the memories!

Great Grandpa with his three granddaughters (Bridget, Megan, and Becki) and 4 great grandkids: James (16 months), Will (15 months), Anna (2 yrs.) and Emma (3 months)

Our T Bird's Halloween night

This year, James was not going to settled for being another meat product (last year he was an unhappy hotdog) so mom was creative and dressed him as a T Bird from Grease. Our festivities began last weekend when our little greaser won first place at a costume party & posed for pictures with his friend Katie who was a 50's girl (perfect couple!) For Halloween, we took James to Main St. to the biggest Halloween party around where he got the chance to see giant spiders, 50 jack-o-lanterns all lit up in a row and hundreds of other creative costumes (we enjoyed the oopma loompas and the average Joe). A big highlight was coming across the Grease-themed house where James fit right in. The Pink Ladies LOVED having a pint-sized Danny Zucco stop by. Though we didn't get a ton of candy, we all had a great time experiencing Halloween through the eyes of a very curious little boy. Happy Halloween!

HALLOWEEN

Is this my early Christmas present??

No, sorry James, this is just in the yard temporarily.
James came outside to play today and much to his delight, this backhoe loader was in the yard (yes, that is the correct name, we are WELL versed in the names of trucks & machines these days). Well James thought this was the best thing ever and enjoyed playing on the big machine that is now parked next to his swingset. Wanna ride on the swings? NO WAY! Not with this amazing contraption sitting here with wheels I can climb IN to. It will be sad when the landscaper comes back for the toy. Let's hope it stays through the weekend!

MUD

Not sure there needs to be any commentary for these pictures...We'll just set the stage: James helped daddy with the gardening this weekend and really got into his work! Good thing it was warm out and James didn't mind daddy spraying him down with the hose after the job was done.

Identity Crisis

We don't know who is more confused - James for falling in love with Brodie's bed and continually kicking him out, or Brodie who will insist on sitting in mom's lap since his bed is now sometimes off limits.