Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Like father, like son...

James got a handsome red tie for his birthday from Lita and Pop-Pop. Here he is all dressed up and ready for church.
Then Daddy got ready for church and wore a red tie, too. Here are my two handsome guys looking very similar! :)

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Couple Fun Videos

James thoroughly enjoying his birthday cupcake.

James loves to play piano. And this is a good video of him walking!

Happy 1st Birthday, James!

I can't believe my baby is 1! This year has flown by! James is such a joy. He's a sweet boy who loves to suck his thumb and twirl my hair while laying on my shoulder. He's always on the go, exploring everything around him. He is a really happy baby, and delights people everywhere we go with his darling little smile.

Here are some highlights from his special day!

James playing with his balloon
Thanks, Aunt Sarah, for the adorable bib!
James thorougly enjoyed his cupcake. Now his thumb tastes extra good.
James loved his new wooden block train from Memaw & Gramps.
We love you buddy-boy and look forward to another fun year!

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Hamlin Happenings

Although you may not be able to tell from this blog, a lot has been happening in the Hamlin household. Even though I have lots of ideas for good blog posts, the kids are keeping me very busy, and I never get around to it. Here's a quick list of what's going on.

What Anna Ruth is up to:

She loves to imitate Mommy. She especially would love to be James' mommy. She keeps an eye on him at all moments to make sure he doesn't do something he shouldn't. Sometimes this is helpful, other times it is very frustrating and annoying. Thankfully she has dolls that she can role-play with. The other day she came up with tying her baby onto herself, since she has seen me put James into The Ultimate Baby Wrap that I have. She found a dress up scarf and showed me how well it worked. Some funny quotes from Anna Ruth:

--We recently heard that Rich's sister Judith is pregnant, and so Rich's mom ("Memaw") has been telling Anna Ruth that Judith is growing a baby inside her tummy. The other day Anna Ruth turned to me with wide eyes and said, "Mommy, did you know that Aunt Judith is growing into a baby?!"
--I sometimes like to watch the Rachael Ray show when I remember to turn it on, and one day I had it on and was feeding James his lunch while I watched. Anna Ruth was watching, too on the couch and I overheard her saying, " Wow, that tastes real good...thanks, Rachael."

What James is up to:

--He has four teeth--two on top and two on bottom.
--He gives open-mouthed kisses (but not always on demand).
--He can clap, and likes to clap to music and whenever he hears anyone else clapping.
--He loves to get into my "plastics" cabinet and take everything out. He even got inside the cabinet the other day.
--He has started trying to build towers with blocks and has been able to build a 2-block tower.
--He likes to drum on everything from tables, to bowls, to the floor.
--He says "Mama", "Dadda", "Anna" (for Anna Ruth), and sometimes will say "baba" (for Bye-bye).
--He has started walking!! It's been pretty gradual, but I think he's really getting the hang of it now. He takes 10 or so steps at a time and seems pretty excited with his accomplishment. He still crawls most of the time, but I don't think it will be long before he's an official walker!
--He likes to rock in his little rocking chair. He will hold on and bob his head back and forth to try and get it moving.

What they're both into:

--One morning while I was trying to get some bills payed on the computer, Anna Ruth was watching Sesame Street and James was happily playing in her room taking things out of her toybox. I was going back and forth from the computer to her room to check on him. Then I got sidetracked and forgot about it for a little while. I suddenly remembered because it had gotten very quiet. I ran to Anna Ruth's room and did not see James. When I went into the living room I saw James seated right next to Anna Ruth on the floor very engrossed in the TV show. I managed to snap a picture before he got distracted.

--They love to take baths together now. Anna Ruth likes to pour water on his back, and James just explores all the toys that float by and then drops them out of the tub onto the floor where I promptly pick them up and put them back in. He thinks it's a great little game! Me? Not so much. Except that I get these cute smiles out of him.

--They have started playing together in Anna Ruth's room. This is very nice for me, since I don't have Anna Ruth constantly wanting me to play with her or James at my ankles wanting to be held. They actually get along really well; Anna Ruth loves it when James crawls on top of her. She just has to watch out because he LOVES hair and always wants to pull her long locks.

I love my little munchkins! They do keep me busy and test my patience and wear me out, but they fill my life with joy and laughter, and I wouldn't trade being at home with them for anything! It is such a blessing to watch them grow and learn and to be loved by them.