How could I forget?

Oh oh oh! Two amazing new things in the chronicle of James!

Today, on our weekly walk, we stopped for a picnic....and Jennifer and I faced James and Naomi (a baby who is a day older than James) towards each other...and James pretty much talked her ear off! It was so funny, because he had a lot to say, and she just sort of looked and looked like she was being a very attentive listener. So so cute!

AND THEN....James learned how to splash in the bathtub tonight! He has been pretty unexcited about his baths until tonight....Not unhappy, but mostly just sits there like, okay, whatever. But then tonight he kicked his leg and splashed me...And then laughed! And then kicked and squirmed and laughed some more! He loved it! I wish we had had a video camera...But then the daddy would say no naked footage.

Okay, we have to get ready for bed now, but we couldn't resist sharing the big news. Good night!

Just a reminder....

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to say, if you leave a comment, please make sure there is some clue as to who you are! We understand if you don't want to use your full name on the internet, but please use another way to identify yourself (initials, instant messenger name, references we would understand, etc.) And if you put your first name and aren't sending us hate messages then there's probably nothing to worry about anyway.

I'm sure we can usually guess who the "anonymous" commenter might be, but it's definitely better to be sure! And a lot of people know about this blog now, so even if we think we know, we could easily be wrong. Of course, if you don't particularly care if we know that it's you who said that, I guess you wouldn't have to leave us a hint, but we would appreciate it anyway. The less confusion in our lives, the better!

Also, we got some crazy blog-spam which also comes as anonymous. So some for of ID will help us cypher through the real and spam posts.

Love to all.

By popular demand....

More pictures!

Here, James is lying on the bed and talking to his daddy...He's doing the "who-who" but we couldn't get a good picture of him actually talking. We took some video but haven't figured out yet how to post that....







And this is one of my all-time favorites, as James shows us how silly he thinks the daddy is.












In other news, we found a Super Wal-Mart today, which made me sad but finally we found some of the stuff we needed. And we went to the Farmer's Market, which is one of the really cool things about living in Raleigh. And we had to drive on a road called "Buffaloe." Seriously, who puts an "e" on the end of the word "buffalo"?!?

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

So James is, as always, AMAZING. Today when he was about ready for his afternoon nap, I went into the bedroom and laid him on the bed, and before I could even get situated to nurse, he simply fell asleep, easy as that.

The other day Ben and I left James with Jerilyn for sort of his first babysitting experience while we played tennis...but it was only "sort of" because she could step out of her apartment door and yell for us. Baby steps!

James is definitely teething now...it may be awhile before he actually cuts a tooth, but they are growing there under the surface, as evidenced by extreme amounts of drool and hand-sucking. See?

Burned!

Today was a pretty eventful day. First, James and I went on a walk again....this time almost THREE hours. It was a beautiful day, sunny but not *too* hot, although I am still not used to the humidity. However....I forgot to wear sunscreen! Don't worry, Jamesy was fully protected and not even in the sun that much anyway, but my arms and forehead are quite pink now. Oh well.

We walked on the greenway outside the art museum, and there was some really beautiful scenery. Also, we saw an antlered deer and a black snake! It was lots of fun and I'm really glad I met the La Leche League ladies that we walk with once a week. It's been really nice so far, although slightly longer than a workout I'd choose for myself....And one of the babies is only a day older than James...so maybe some potential playmates for the future!

In other news, James fell asleep on the bed today without nursing first! He's never actually just drifted off to sleep like that before. Usually he'll either fall asleep in the Mei Tai or nursing and that's it, but today we were lying on the bed and he was just chatting to me (doing the "hoo, hoo" that makes Ben call him our little owl) and just drifted off in the middle of it. It was precious.

Also, sadly, James is having gums trouble. Yep, that's right, teething may not have officially started but there is definite pain for him in the mouth region. Tonight he's been making some sad little cries every once in awhile, and then once he gets something to chew on he's fine. The preferred chewy right now is his fist, but maybe he'll warm up to the chew toys soon.

Okay, we're off to take a little walk outside to try and cool off and maybe get James to sleep for a bit. Love to all!

Airing our dirty laundry

So, sadly, James and I (Susan) have both been suffering from allergies pretty much since we got here. Anybody know any treatments safe for babies? It is so sad when he rubs his little eyes or gets congested.

In other news, today we made a family trip to Target, where 4 out of the approximately 10 people we know here were. Apparently it's the place to be on a Saturday afternoon! Then we went to Chad's for "Separation Saturday" aka football....and the boys were distraught when OU lost unfairly. James didn't much care but instead slept through the whole game, much to my relief!

Also, tomorrow is a friend's bridal shower (an old OU undergrad friend who came here for her master's) so James is going to that with me and I'm sure he will get quite a lot of attention, as I think he'll be the only baby present. Fun times for Susan because the friend's wedding is "Edwardian" so the shower is a tea party complete with random British turn-of-the-century touches. Woo-hoo!

And laundry is proving to be more difficult than originally expected....See, we don't have a washer and dryer in our apartment, which I vowed would never happen after my laundry experiences during the first year of college, but what can you do? Luckily our friend Jerilyn nicely offered to let us use hers, and even gave me a key to her apartment. However, each time we go over there it takes her dryer approximately 3 hours to dry one load....so our laundry is rapidly piling up, as we can only get one load done a day and can't make it over there every day (obviously) and sometimes Jerilyn needs to do her own laundry! Plus, every once in awhile I forget my key and get over there and can't get in and then James gets upset with his carseat and then the whole things gets called off for the day.Whew.

Yes, that's right, James is still not friends with his carseat. He will tolerate it if he's feeling good, and today even fell asleep in it, but generally he starts with the sad faces before I even put him in. This obviously limits the trvael that James and I can do together without Ben. I think he's still traumatized by the cross-country driving trip we took to get here....Not surprising since I know I'M still traumatized. I will never again take that long of a car trip unless someone's life depends on it. May that situation never come to pass.

Okay, I know nothing terribly exciting has happened, but I wish you could all see James and the amazing things he's doing, the fun we have chatting with each other every day and how much he can grow in one day! We miss all our friends and family and can't wait till Thanksgiving, when Grandma and Grandpa D come to visit, and Christmas, when my mom (officially, Grandma S) comes to visit. Now we're gonna go take a bath! Love to all.

Oops

Well, I tried to post on here the other day, and it turned out complicated, and then I ended up losing the text. Drat! So, long story short:

Some of my (Susan's) family came to visit this weekend, for which we are very grateful not only because it made us unpack our house a little more to make room for them, but also because it made us feel less isolated. I have felt somewhat lonely over the past year as people have given us sometimes too much space, but we are very grateful to the friends and family who have been there for us through all these huge changes.

Hence, shoutout to Robert, Linda, Krystle, and Breyanna (the visiting family) for coming to see us. We love you all!

Also, shoutout to my friend Amberguesa for starting her own blog just to keep in touch with me. You're fabulous, Ams! It made me feel so good that you called me the glue in our group of friends.

And finally, James and I took a long (almost 2 hour) walk in the park yesterday and he loved it and I'm sore!

Love to all.

Oh, and p.s., here is a really fun website I just discovered:
www.indexed.blogspot.com
(just in case you have some extra time on your hands).

James and the Giant Moose

So. Why is this site called James and the Giant Moose? Because that phrase sums up our vision for our family. Ever since we found out we were going to have a baby, our desire for a hound dog to round out the family has been greater than ever. And long before we decided on "James" for our son, we had picked out "Moose" for our hound. (In defense of this seemingly backward prioritizing, I would like to say that a) Choosing a person's name is a much graver decision than choosing a dog's and b) We thought we'd have a dog long before we had a baby. But lucky us! We got James first, and we thank God every day for it.)
And now, visuals to help you understand the James/Giant Moose concept:

Here is James:

Here is a possible Moose:




Or maybe this:

You can see where the "giant" comes in from the fact that we'd prefer a coonhound or a bloodhound. Apparently we need to get a farm first. Oh well. Until next time,
Ben, Susan, and James

Welcome to our new home!

After our first year of familyhood was hosted over on xanga, we've decided to move here, a more friendly spot, and continue keeping everyone posted on the daily comings and goings of Susan, Ben, and sweet baby James. We figured everything else in our lives has changed, so our blog needs to change too. Hope you like it!