11.5 months

Hi Everyone, James has been keeping us very busy & we apologize for being so delinquent in our postings. This post should hopefully make up for our absence. 11.5 months has brought a lot more personality with our little guy. He has a few of his own words - mama, dada, dog and cat. He is a sucker for anything with a motor (dishwasher, vacuum, box fan) and loves to watch the trucks pass by and most recently has discovered that there are planes in the sky. He points at everything and talks about what he sees. James has been mastering his walking and bending down. He's still a little shaky on the getting up part, but we're working on it. One of his new favorite pasttimes is getting involved in the discipline of Brodie. If Brodie is being scolded, James is right behind us, fists clenched, telling Brodie he is bad. No hard feelings there though, James quickly forgives his furry brother and offers him a hand to lick at every meal and a few cheerios as well.

In general, James is an all around happy little boy who shows us that every day is a gift and every moment is precious.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all our dads out there...James enjoyed celebrating his first Father's Day. After an early breakfast (ok, they are all early these days) mommy gave dad the gifts we got him: we had photos taken of mom and James together and framed them for dad's office. We then took a trip across the river to see Grandma and Grandpa Hartigan. Grandma set up the small pool for the boys to splash around in together. James had a blast in the water and couldn't stop laughing at his big cousin William. When we returned home, we treated ourselves to dinner under the arbor - mom and dad even had lobsters! Another Father's Day treat: the US Open was on late in the day thanks to it being played out in California so dad got to enjoy this Father's Day tradition after James was fast asleep.

James' Favorite tunes

We thought it was time to share the 2 current favorite tunes of the Hartigan household. Sometimes out of nowhere, one of us breaks into the Rhino Song, or makes up a new animal for the Elephant Song. James can't get enough of these songs and is known to stop dead in his tracks when one is playing. They are a favorite for cranky dinner time and fingernail cutting time. Enjoy!

Cousin Anna's Birthday

My cousin Anna turned 2 last week & Nanny and Boppa had a birthday party for Anna - - and an early celebration for me too! Great Grampa was there, Great Aunt Jane and Uncle David and Aunt Donna. We had a nice afternoon playing with all the new toys we got for our birthday. Anna loved her orange silk scarf for pretend play that mommy and daddy and I got her. (here she is wearing her new scarf) I spent the afternoon RUNNING around everywhere. I really enjoy this walking thing. Anna and I got to play on all the new outdoor toys that Nanny and Boppa got - even in the heat.

Everyone sang Happy Birthday to us and - Oh and we got to wear our fun birthday hats too!

I have perfected the "puff stuff". For anyone who hasn't tried a Puff, you are really missing out. My favorite kinds are the sweet potato ones. I can fit about 7 in my mouth without incident. They are great for on the go snacking as well as incentives for opening my mouth to eat my dinner. And oh yes, wondering how I learned to walk? Put the puffs container across the room and watch me go!

Cousin William turns 3

My cousin William turned 3 last week & I got to go to his birthday party on Saturday. What fun we had! William even had a big hotdog truck pull into the driveway and serve everyone tasty dogs (except me of course).

I got to ride in William's little car, and his friend Olivia showed me all sorts of things (see below, she's showing me a basketball and telling me I shouldn't eat it, why not?).

There's no better place to be than on the shoulders of my dad :-)

It's Official: He Walks!

James is walking unassisted!! He had his eureka moment on Thursday and ever since, he's been practicing non stop. This video gives you a good idea of how he's doing, though he's gotten even better since this was taken. He had been cruising around and walking holding on to one parent's hand for a while now, so we were very excited to see this newest accomplishment. James is also very excited about his new skill.

Without jinxing it...he is also sleeping A LOT better since Saturday - only getting up ONCE at 3am.

The walking perhaps? WE HOPE!