Jameson's first Christmas present arrived in the mail yesterday. We let him open it early since Nathan wouldn't want him to open it on the 25th anyway.
I gave him the package to see what he would do with it. He promptly handed it back to me with a "here-you-go". I pulled up the tape on one side, and that was enough to get him interested.
Wow, this is fun! I get to rip things!
I opened up the box, and he grabbed it back again.
For some reason this dog was the only thing in a little baggy. Jameson liked trying to put the other pieces in the bag as well.
It's a duplo farm set, with a farmer, dog, sheep, cow, pig, wheelbarrow, and a few blocks. Jameson really enjoyed me making the animal noises, and was able to imitate a little.
His favorite piece is the dog. He's been carrying it around all yesterday and today. The poor things nose is already scuffed, he has some red crayon markings on his belly, and he got tossed out of the crib when Jameson woke up from his nap this morning. (He fell asleep clutching the little doggy!)
Grandma Warner sent over some pictures from Thanksgiving. They arn't the best quality due to flash issues, but you can tell we had a fun time.
Nathan put Jameson on his shoulders and started running around the yard. Leah and Caleb chased them, and Jameson had a blast. I've never heard him laugh that hard for that long.
This toy was given to us almost as soon as Jameson was born, by Nathan's cousin Denia. It had been her daughters, and she was clearly excited to get it out of the house. We happened to "forget" it at Grandma's house months ago, but she found it and gave it back last night.
The batteries have to go dead eventually, right?
But Jameson was in extra-cute mode this morning, and you get to see him dance, climb, talk, stand, fall, hide, and grab the camera. Enjoy.
I know Jameson isn't ready to be truly potty trained yet, but I want to get him familiar and comfortable with the concept. And so he's been spending a few minutes in the bathroom each morning, doing his best to imitate mommy and daddy.
He normally goes for my hair brush, but this morning he wanted Nathan's toothbrush.
And of course he has to read, just like daddy.
So far he seems to think the entire experience is just a lot of fun, but hopefully he'll figure it out soon.
From a few nights ago: I can't believe his arm didn't go numb and wake him!
I forgot my camera on Thanksgiving, but Jameson's second turkey day was heavily documented by two grandmas and an uncle. Hopefully I'll get a few of those pictures up here soon!
I did take pictures the day before Thanksgiving. It wasn't until I looked at these pictures today that I realized Nathan was on the phone. That just makes the pictures all the weirder.
The photos that were here are now gone. Nothing to see here, officer. Move along.
Jameson is growing incredibly fast. His vocabulary has expanded to include Hi, Bye, Yes, Cheese, Bot (bottle), Cup, Bat (Bath), Cat, Woo-woo (dog or bird), Spi (spider), Down, Up, DaDa, and Mom. I am very happy that he has "yes" before "no", although he has been crying to express his displeasure for a long time.
Still no walking, but that's not keeping him from getting into all sorts of trouble. In the past few days he has:
Pulled everything out of his diaper box and climbed in:
Yes, he room is a mess. I clean it up every once in awhile, but he immediately pulls everything out of the boxes and drawers, so the motivation to keep it picked up is low. He also re-discovered that he can climb onto the second shelf of the baker's rack. Nathan took a picture while I was at class on Sunday, and then I took a picture the next day.
He gets into the bath tub.
Okay, I helped him get in there, but he was trying really hard and I didn't want him to tumble in. He thought it was hilarious to be in the tub without water. He played just like he normally does in the bath, and didn't want to get out.
And just a few minutes ago, he tried to go out the cat door. He has never done this before, and it presents a new challenge. I'm pretty sure he can't get out very easily, but he could easily get hurt trying. Ha also might discover that he can chuck things out the door, and I am not going to enjoy have to go outside to get my keys. If he tries this again, I'll have to get mean.
I had to rescue him since the wine rack made it hard to back up.
I have been reading a book on infant development and moral philosophy, and found it interesting that one of the early signs of complex thought in children is the ability to recognize pictures of things as representations of things in the real world.
Last night while we were reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" Jameson turned the page from the yellow duck to the purple cat. When he saw the cat, he slapped the page and squealed "Ki-Cat!"
I'm not sure if he just figured out that the picture is a cat, or if he just decided to tell me last night, but either way it was very cute. He didn't get the connection with the white dog on the next page, probably because he hears dogs much more often than he sees them. To him a dog is a "Woo-Woo-Woo".
Last year on Halloween Jameson got an accidental costume, and today it occurred to me that I should see how that outfit fit one year later. The clothes have been passed on to the Halls, and I don't have any badge stickers, but we still have Nathan's funeral hat (unfortunately with one more funeral's experience since last year) and the bouncy seat is at Grandma's for a little baby in their church.
So, this is a picture from last year:
And here is Officer Jameson on his second Halloween:
A year ago:
Today:
I knew it was going to be cute to look at the pictures and compare, but wow, I had no idea how much he has changed. From my little round chubby baby to a lean little boy about to walk. We've been working on his walking, and tonight he stood on his own for a few seconds, until he realized he was doing it!
The chair has a nice memory for Jameson, who spent a few minutes exploring it and trying to climb into it.
He did manage to get into it properly, although shortly after this he leaned too far forward and fell out, but landed on his hands and feet.
He liked Aunt Leah playing dress up.
She was going for "bumble bee" but the hat is a nice touch.
Jameson and I were up in Phoenix this weekend, visiting with family. First we went to see Grandma, and went to see the condo she is in the process of buying. We couldn't get inside, but we wandered around the grounds. We saw many cats, and found this adorable Jameson-sized bench in a wash.
Jameson spent the night in Ariadne's crib, but he was too tired to care. In the morning he watched Grandpa make eggs.
As we got ready to head out for the day, Jameson and Ariadne shared a little snack.
Mom, want a goldfish?
Here Ariadne, you need to eat more!
We went to the Phoenix Botanical Gardens, planning to see the gardens and do the pumpkin patch. But the line for the hay ride out to the patch was so long that we skipped the gardens. Jameson was very patient, and it was worth the wait. They had a hay maze to get into the pumpkin patch, and Jameson was very interested in watching Isaiah run around getting lost in it.
Once we got to the pumpkins, Jameson was thrilled. He crawled all over, rolling the big balls as much as he could.
But after a few minutes Jameson took off away from everyone else. I was too busy taking pictures and making sure he didn't get stepped on to see where he was going.
He found a friend. He was really interested in the sheep until I took him inside, and then it was scary. He didn't like the ponies either.
But this little pig and goat were just the right size.
Isaiah really likes tractors, but we got him away from it eventually. Doesn't U-Ann look like a movie star?
Back home, after a nap, the boys played.
And we went to the park. Ariadne loves to swing. Jameson liked it at first, but it got a little scary. In the video at the end you can see him sucking his thumb to calm down.
Isaiah played T-ball in Colorado, so he wanted to play here as well. He only had one out!
Jameson tried.
Chasing the ball is fun too!
Jameson and I went down the slide a few times, but he mainly liked trying to climb back up it. Ariadne tried to be patient with him.
Finally all the cousins took a bath. Isaiah and Jameson played together for quite awhile. Isaiah thought it was funny that Jameson didn't know how to spell with the letters.
Isaiah helped get Jameson clean.
It's a good thing they have a big tub!
Before we left Monday morning, they pulled out all of the kids music toys. Aunt U-Ann put a jingle bell strap on Jameson's leg, but he didn't really like it. He did really like the piano, and made a good amount of noise, but he was also very tired and for some reason kept trying to eat the keys.
Finally a video. Sillyness at home, then fun at the park.
It's a duplo farm set, with a farmer, dog, sheep, cow, pig, wheelbarrow, and a few blocks. Jameson really enjoyed me making the animal noises, and was able to imitate a little.
