Every Little Boy's Dream

A couple of weeks ago, we began a large construction project at our house; we are adding onto our existing garage so that we have room to park vehicles and we will be able to drive straight into it, rather than trying to make the sharp 90 degree turn that we have right now.  It is a major undertaking, as it means that the driveway has been ripped up, mud and dirt are everywhere and loud, dangerous power tools are being used every day. 

But is coming along nicely and should be complete in no time.  I'm ready to have things somewhat back to normal around here, but there is a certain little boy that is in absolute heaven over the whole project.  The dirt, the sand, the shovels, the heavy equipment, the tools ... he is in awe.

Sweeping up some dirt, while having no idea that that chunk of cement was going to be ripped up in a matter of moments:

The cement was hauled away and loads of sand were brought in.  It was like one giant sandbox for him.  In fact, it wasn't long before he started bringing out all of the his construction truck toys to play in the sand.

His little shovel received quite the work-out, as he would spend hours digging and moving sand around:

Making castles in the dirt:

He even found a hoe and started using that:

Hot and sweaty and such good workers:

Jack was able to be outside for a lot of this part; the setting of the posts.

And every time a truck came to deliver yet another load of lumber, you can guarantee that he was standing at the window, if not outside in the yard, watching.

Once the posts were set, the guys worked so hard, in the dead heat of summer, to begin framing it in.  I really can't believe how fast they (a buddy of Steve's that has been his friend for years and was a groomsman in our wedding along with a worker of his) worked.

Starting to look like a real garage:

Almost fully framed:

It tied in beautifully with the house:

The roofing has begun:

Soon, the inside will be leveled out and the concrete will be poured:

Add the siding, garage door, exterior doors and windows and we'll have a completed project!

James' Baptism

On August 13th, we celebrated James' baptism at the Saturday 5 pm Mass at our Catholic Church in town.  This is the same church that Sophia and Jack were also baptized at; Samantha was baptized in Lansing before we moved to Laingsburg. 

Posing before we left for the church wearing the cutest satin shorts, vest and tie set:

We chose the 5 pm Mass (as opposed to the Sunday morning one at 9:30 am) because it would easier to have our guests come over afterwards for burgers, fries, some side dishes and dessert -- an easy meal that was mostly prepared in advance and ready to go when we filed in the doors, hungry and ready to feast.

The best family pic that we got before everyone piled in the van to leave for the church:

We asked my sister, Mignon, to be Jimmy's godmother and my brother, Zach, to be his godfather.  It's was such a blessing to have them agree and be with us on this special day.

Jimmy didn't mind the cool water on his head one bit; no screaming or crying.  In fact, he might have let out a little giggle!

And then he grabbed the towel right out of Father's hand and held onto it for most of the ceremony!  His hand-eye coordination is definitely improving every day ...

Receiving his baptismal stole that will go in his memory box:

Holding the candle and capturing everyone's attention:

Over all, it was a wonderful experience and Jimmy was so well-behaved.  I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a wee bit nervous over how Jack would handle the whole ceremony -- being on display in the front pew expected to stay there and exercise a quiet voice for over an hour.  He certainly exceeded my expectations though and gave us another reason to celebrate at home!

Lansing Lugnuts Game

At the end of the school year, Steve and I received a letter in the mail from Samantha.  Her class had been learning about persuasive writing and as one of the assignments, the teacher asked the students to write a persuasive letter to their parents.  They were to ask for something in particular and then give various reasons WHY we, as the parents, should give it to them.  They even walked as a class to the post office to mail them out.

Samantha asked us to take her to a Tigers' game.  She has never been to one and knows that we enjoy going to them in person once in a while and watch them on TV quite regularly.  Steve and I talked about it and decided that we should start a little smaller -- with a local Lansing Lugnuts game and make it a family event. 

All summer, Samantha has been reminding us about this and we finally found the time in our schedule to go.  We chose an afternoon game and loaded up the van with the kids and sunscreen.

I just can't believe how long Samantha's legs are getting.  Clearly, she doesn't take after me!

Our tickets were purchased for seats closer to the dugout and field, but it was pretty sunny (and hot!) down there and the kids' view would have been obstructed by some rather tall individuals in front of them.  So, we found some vacant seats and moved up a bit.

Within about 3 seconds of getting situated, Jimmy was ready to get out of his car seat and the kids were begging for some water and popcorn.  I obliged, of course.

Jimmy, my fair-skinned baby (now, he DOES get that from me!) sat with Steve for a bit before taking a nap in his stroller at the top with me.

By the 5th inning, the kids were getting a tad restless so we moved over to the side with the bleachers.  It gave them a chance to stretch their legs a bit and enjoy some cotton candy.

By the beginning of the 7th inning, everyone was ready to begin packing up and heading home.  It was definitely a fun experience and one that they will talk about for a while ...

James is Six Months Old

In my opinion, six months old always seems to mark a major milestone.  It is usually during this month that I start solids with my babies and they begin sitting up more on their own, rolling and further developing their personalities.  They are also into a pretty consistent groove with their sleeping schedules.

I don't have any stats on my growing boy yet, as we are not scheduled for a check-up for three more weeks (the doctor was going to be out of the office).  It's safe to say that Jimmy has put on more weight -- I am guessing that he is up to 18 lbs. now -- and has also grown in inches simply due to the tightness of his pajamas.  I just moved him up to "9 month" onesies and PJs this week.

Stats: 18.0 lbs (50th percentile) and 28.5" (96th percentile).  Wow -- Jimmy has grown 8 inches since he was born!!!

James is still nursing about six times a day now.  Twice in the morning, after lunch, after his nap, after dinner for a short time and then before bed.  Most of the time, he falls asleep doing so and then I sit there holding him for a bit ... just staring at him.  I know that this will be my last little baby and I want time to slow down more than ever now.

Jimmy has been doing great eating solids.  He will typically have them twice a day; once for lunch and again for dinner.  He eats at the same time as us so that he can make an association with meal time.  In the mornings, he usually only has milk as that fills him up first thing and lasts him until his naptime.

A chaotic mealtime that resulted in me eating my dinner on the floor while feeding James in his bouncy seat:

With the summer, we are home a bit more in the day (not running back and forth to school for pick-ups and drop-offs), so Jimmy has easily slid into a comfortable napping schedule.  He takes a good morning nap (1.5 - 2 hours), an afternoon nap (2-3 hours) and a little catnap after dinner (30 minutes).  He has his bath around 7:45 pm and is in bed around 8:30 pm.  And then he sleeps for about 11 hours. 

Often, he will wake up to babble for a bit in the middle of the night, but he always puts himself back to sleep.  He rarely ever wakes up crying.  And when I go in his room to get him in the morning, he is usually sucking his thumb, which he pulls out to immediately smile at me.  I just love his quiet, reserved and happy personality.

James still enjoys riding in his car seat.  As long as he has his special blanket and a few toys, he is often content no matter where we are -- shopping, the park, the library, etc.  He especially loves his rings to play with, as they help hold all of the toys together and are fun to chew on.

Just this week, Jimmy has begun to roll to his side.  He hates being on his belly and will immediately roll over to his back.  He has no interest in rolling from his back to his belly though.

Tummy time is frustrating:

Immediately rolling over to get off that tummy ... this is one of the few times that you will ever see this good-natured little man angry.

He is happiest on his back playing on his play mat or in his bouncy seat.  (Oh, and the bibs continue to get soaked on a regular basis ... so ... much ... drool ... with ... no ... tooth ... in ... sight ...yet).

He also likes sitting in his jumper seat now that his feet can actually touch the ground.  One time, after listening to him coo and talk, it became very quiet.  I walked in the room to find him sleeping in it.  Playing can be hard work.

I just love how perfectly James fits into our family.  The older kids adore him and want to hold him, pick out his outfits, feed him with a spoon, get his toys for him.  Anything.  The girls even changed his wet diaper the other day to "surprise" me.

This is my whole world here, sweaty from the park, but just happy to be together: