Haircut

Before.
(Not a good picture of either of us.)

What does it take to cut Jamesie's hair?

Lots of cookies...

And A LOT of combs!

Pretty tasty.

I was a little sad when I got my first look at my grown-up boy.

Grandma worked really hard to provide entertainment.

Cool Dude!

Cheese!

After.

Aunt Hannah does great work!

Beach Bum

We've been spending a lot of time underwater recently. Our favorite swimming holes include the backyard, Ashby Park, and some park near Dennis and Amy's house. Jamesie doesn't really like to swim as much as he likes to stand and pour water on himself. Whatever floats your boat...

Baptism

Last Sunday was Jamesie's Baptism. I was a little nervous because instead of our usual Sunday routine of 9:15 church, food, nap we were doing 11:00 church, Baptism, lunch with family. My fear was that Little Boy would be a huge grouch, and it turned out I was right to be scared! Jamesie decided that he was not going to sit for church at all. Tom and I spent the entire service walking around and trying to calm crank-boy down. He didn't want snacks, he didn't want to play in the family room, he didn't want to be held, he didn't want us to put him down. I hope our family members enjoyed the sermon because I don't think I heard a word of it! Finally we settled on the old stand-by and took him outside to play. Any other day we would have just left but it was not an option this Sunday. The Baptism Ceremony was pretty much the same...Jamesie sat for about 10 minutes and in that short time he managed to hit the pastor in the foot with his wipes container and throw his binky all the way across the aisle. Luckily, he was one of the first kids to be Baptized because I don't think we would have made it until the end of the service. He looked shocked when Pastor Richard sprinkled water on his head, and Joe suggested that I sprinkle water on his head everytime he misbehaves in church because it did seem to slow him down for a minute. I was sure he was going to reach his hand right into the bowl of water. Thankfully, he didn't and he and I enjoyed the rest of the service from the back of the chapel. Grouchy behavior aside, it was great to have our family at church and we had a very nice lunch afterwards. To paraphrase Pastor Richard-The water is not important, the church is not important, and having a grouchy boy who won't sit still and is throwing a fit is not important. What is important is that God showed up and Jamesie began his relationship with Him.

Sous Chef

Since I have a little extra time on my hands these days, my mom asked me to bake brownies for a retirement party at work. Of course, Jamesie was a great helper.

What should I measure first?

I'll just crack some eggs.

Helping clean the beaters.

Yum!

I love baking.

"Park"ing

Last time James went to the park, he looked like this:

Riding in style, huh?

I have a feeling this summer we'll be spending a lot more time there. Now that he's all grown up, here's what Jamesie thinks about the park:

• It is not safe to walk on something blue that is made of holes. In order to keep from falling through the holes, it is very important to take teeny tiny steps and not pick up your feet EVER.
• Slides are super fun, but why can't you just walk back up them when you're done? It's no fun to go around to the steps. Also, I'm big so my mom doesn't need to go with me, hold onto me, or catch me at the bottom. I can do it myself, thank you!
• Swings are bo-ring!
• The best thing at the park is the drinking fountain. If you press the button the ground around it gets all wet and you can lay down in the water. It's almost like swimming.
• Going to the park can sure make a guy tired!
  

Memorial Day Visit and Sickies

James finally got to meet his Aunt Julie and Uncle Kyle! They were in Muscatine for Memorial Day weekend so Jamesie and I loaded up the car and headed over for a very relaxing, nice weekend. Tom didn't get to come with us because he was in Las Vegas. Too bad for him, he missed out!

Saturday we rolled into town around noon, and spent the day playing, taking the dogs for a walk, sitting on the deck, and just enjoying the perfect weather. Jamesie thought Julie and Kyle were AWESOME! He was thrilled with his two new playmates. The three of them were about as silly as it gets.

Sunday Billie, Andy, and Gillian came over along with the newest addition to their family, Winston the Golden Retriever mix. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay and play for very long. Jamesie woke up from his nap with a fever and was being very clingy. He sat on my lap and watched Gillian play-so not like him! I thought I better take advantage of his fever and Tylenol-induced haze so I threw him in his carseat and we cruised on back to Des Moines. I expected him to be his old self again when we got back, but he still had a fever and just didn't feel good. He wanted to be held all afternoon on Sunday and went to bed early Sunday night.

Monday morning James was as healthy as could be, but I was up at 5:00 with the stomach flu! Cathy, Julie, and Kyle all had the same thing in Muscatine. Little Mister must have passed on some germs to us. I joked that I deserved an extra day for my 3-day weekend since I had to waste one in the bathroom being sick (ewww!). The joke turned into reality on Tuesday morning when babysitter Julie called to say she was sick. Jamesie and I got a bonus day off and we both felt good enough to enjoy it.

I was so glad to see Tom when he got home on Tuesday evening. An out of town visit, sick James, sick me, and sick babysitter is a lot to happen when you're a single parent for the weekend!

Trailer Park James and BFFs

I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves...