Broken Camera

I guess it will be awhile before we are able to post any videos. I was taking a video of James and Dad (it was really cute too!) I turned the camera off and handed it to Doug and it wouldn't turn back on. When I shake it I can hear something rattle, so I think it's broken, but I don't know how. I guess we will take it somewhere to see if we can get it fixed but if not we are going to have to get a new one. Our other camera still works but the screen doesn't so it is kind of like taking pictures with an old film camera. We don't know what the picture will look like until we put it on the computer.

James' favorite place to play is the laundry room. If we open the door he tries to crawl in there so fast. We cannot keep him out of there. He usually goes and plays with the paint stuff (we still have to finish the basement) notice the paint brush in his hand. The other day I couldn't hear him anymore so I went to see him (he also likes to play in the dog's bowls) and he had climbed in Loa's cage. Loa was yelling at him and looking at us to get him out. She gets pretty upset when he plays with her stuff. I guess she thinks that because she can't play with his stuff he shouldn't be allowed to play with hers. Doug tries very hard to teach her that James is dominate over her.

Here is an old video. I wasn't going to put it on here because it is so long, but I wanted to have a video for everyone to watch. James had pulled the broom down and was playing with it. Loa hates the broom (and vacuum) so she was "yelling" at it. This is on the day that James got sick so he didn't really care too much about anything.

Feeling Better

Doug and I went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse on Friday. James got to stay home with a babysitter, but he loved it! I think those were the most expensive steaks we've ever eaten, but it was really good.

James is feeling much better this week. He actually wore the same outfit all day! He has his energy back which is good but it was nice to have a semi-calm baby for a while. I guess I forgot how busy he keeps me. He has been into everything today and back to doing his favorite things.

He loves to crawl in the corner and play with the lamp, or whatever else might be in the corner.

Climbing the stairs and playing with the gate at the top. We have to be very careful to make sure it is closed all the way. Doug and I don't know when he learned it but he can now crawl down the stairs. He was sitting on the stairs with Dad yesterday and went up and suddenly he was back with Doug. Today I watched him crawl down half a flight of stairs so he could come help with the dishes.

He loves playing with his Tonka truck Grammy and Granddad gave him.

And the newest of the things he loves is taking all the books off of the book shelves, and anything else that might be on it.

Disclaimer

Loa did not put the cracker in her mouth. I know it looks like she did but she didn't. I don't really know if it would matter if she did based on how much she licks him anyway.

What a week!

We have had a long week! We finally got new tires on the car Monday. After we sold the truck Doug decided that he was tired of not making it up the hill to work and having to get out a put the chains on. So we did what we always do, we went to the first store we saw and got some new tires. The next day Doug looked out the window at work and both the back tires were flat. The company we bought the tires from agreed to send a tow truck and fix the problem and said that they would have it at their shop by three. I arranged to get a ride to the shop so James and I could then go pick Doug up from work. Well when the tow truck showed up, at 4:00, he looked at the car, said he couldn't tow it because it was the back tires, and left. So Doug found an air compresser and filled up the tires and prayed that he would make it to the store.

While this was all going on I was home with a sick baby. James got the stomach flu on Tuesday. And I spent the day trying to get him to eat (something I would never thought I would have a problem with) and changing his clothes. James was still sick on Wednesday and Doug had Young Mens. I was really hoping for a break. Thursday a friend called to see how James was doing and insisted on taking him to the doctor. I was pretty relieved to be able to get some advice on how to get him to eat. I was pretty excited for Doug to get home on Thursday night and get a break from force feeding and changing diapers and clothes. So when Doug called at 3 and said he was coming home early because he was sick I was pretty frustrated.

James seems to be feeling better this morning. Now I am struggleing to get him to eat slowly so he doesn't throw up. He ate his first bottle (3oz) way too fast and he is getting pretty frustrated with the little "snacks" I keep giving him. Doug is still asleep so I assume that he is not feeling very well yet. Well hopefully everyone is healthy next week and we have a better week.

A Big Boy

We had James' 9 month check up last week. Nothings really changed. He is between 18 and 19 pounds, we don't really know how much exactly because he wouldn't hold still on the scale. He kept kicking his legs. So that is still the 25th percentile for his weight. He is 29 inches tall which is the 75th percentile for his height. He had his flu shot and the nurse gave him a sucker. He loved it!

We finally sold the truck. Someone from Doug's work bought it for $400 which we spent on tires and a tune up for the Honda. We think that he got a pretty good deal on the truck but we don't really want to put out the effort to sell it or fix it so we're just happy that we don't have to worry about it anymore.

James decided that he is a big boy and wants to do everything by himself. Mostly we don't really mind but when it comes to his favorite, oatmeal, it gets a little messy.

James loves playing with Loa. I often find them together doing mostly whatever Loa finds interesting. He gets really mad though when we give him a cracker and Loa takes it from him. So Doug gave him a cracker and had him sit on the couch with him while Loa sat on the floor begging. James kept leaning forward and showing Loa his cracker then putting it in his mouth. We thought it was so funny that James would tease Loa but then Loa won in the end.

Tunnels and Talking

Well James got his tunnel and he loves it. Loa is very jealous of the attention he gets so when James is crawling through his tunnel and we are playing with him she has to show off and run through the tunnel also. It is really funny because when we went to obedience school she would not go through the tunnel and she hates the tunnels at the dog park. I guess she just needs the right reason.

Doug went "camping" last weekend with the Priests. They went to Heber Valley Campground that the church owns and stayed in unheated cabins for a night. He had a lot of fun snowshoeing, snowboarding, and cooking steaks for everyone. James and I were stuck at home. I was really glad when he got home.

James has been so busy lately. He crawls all over and I have fun taking him off the stairs getting him out of the bathroom, and basically keeping him safe, but happy. James' friend came over on Friday and James spent the whole time playing by himself. He could really couldn't care less if anyone else was in the room. We always try to get him to play with us but he really just likes to explore everything and just hopes we don't get in the way too much.

James loves to play under the computer desk. I think it is like a little cave for him. He is always under it. Also he has been "talking" a lot more. I was beginning to wonder if the only thing he would ever say was "mama" but the last few days he has been making a lot more noises. It is nice to hear something besides yelling and crying.

Painting the Basement

Well finally we are going to have a post that is not about James. Well I guess it is not only about James. I don't have any new videos to post but James has been busy. He got his first tooth about a week and a half ago and just kind of stopped. I was hoping that he would get two teeth at once like all the other babies we know, but no he just got one. He is really into climbing and standing on things. He has mastered the stairs and we have to be really careful or he's at the top before we know it. Just after the holidays we started painting our basement. James didn't really care for that but he loved sitting on Dad's chair.

I never see James sit this still on his own. After only a few days of work we finished most of the basement. Doug put up the squares on the wall but just has to finish caulking and touch up painting. We put up a new ceiling fan so there would be more light and we're working on getting some more movie posters, but we are having a hard time deciding which ones.

Well hopefully next time I will have some good videos to put on. James is getting a tunnel to play in so that should be fun. James only likes to crawl under or over things. He never takes the easiest way only the way that looks the most fun.