Moving and shaking

I can walk!!



Sorry, not much video yet – I haven’t fully committed to walking over crawling, and I HATE to perform on demand (just ask Dad, who tried in vain all afternoon Thursday to make me walk for the camera), so we don’t have great evidence yet. But Mom, Dad, James, and Tracie have all seen me do it! Things will undoubtedly get more interesting around here soon…

Even though I didn't get to go, I am tasked with telling you all about James and Mom’s trip to DC. (Which is the only thing we got any good pictures of this week.) Don't worry, I'm not bitter:

It was James’s first plane trip since we moved to FL, and he was pretty excited. Here he is on the first leg of the journey with just Mom,



And here he is watching the planes at the Atlanta airport, just after giving a very animated description of the first flight to Coach and Lil (who met them in Atlanta).



They all made it to DC with no trouble,



And soon after Mom and James were able to meet Sophia!



She is such a sweetheart, and James was wonderful to her.



Next on the list of exciting guests was Laura!!



She was kind enough to come to the hotel and go to dinner with everyone since James and Mom didn’t have any other free time on this trip. It was a late dinner after a long day of traveling and no nap for James, so thank goodness Laura was there to keep him happy!



On Wednesday everyone woke up and got dressed for Uncle Parks’s ceremony.



(Well, Sophia didn’t exactly wake up until the ceremony.)

From what James tells me, the trip to the Pentagon and back was just as exciting as the ceremony – they got to ride a train (Metro)!



As usual, James was very serious and took it all in – while holding on tightly.



The ceremony was very nice – congratulations, Uncle Parks!



(Also pictured is Neel, another surprise guest on this trip. James was very excited to learn that he knows all about the Eiffel Tower since he lives in Paris right now!)

Mom and James had a couple of hours after the ceremony before their flight home, but rather than try to squeeze in any more excitement, they spent some quality time with Lil, Coach, Uncle Parks, Neel, Aunt Lexi, and Sophia at the hotel. James and Lil read lots of books,



And Lil and Coach introduced James to his first pillow fight. (Thanks.)



Then James and Uncle Parks spent some time watching all the planes – and a helicopter! – and whatever else they could see out the 14th floor window.



After a while it was time for Mom and James to head back to Sopchoppy. Other than a rough pass (well, 2 passes) through security at the airport and James’s fright of automatic flush toilets (the only kind at airports these days), things went pretty smoothly and they were very happy when they finally made it home.



Thursday I woke to find Mom and James back home, and James and I got to spend the day with Dad. I rewarded Dad for sticking it out with me at home while Mom and James went gallivanting by walking for him first.

The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet. Mom and Dad are trying to get us packed so that we can move to our new house next week, but we did take a few breaks to go to the park and play outside. Our next post may be a little delayed (not sure we’ll have internet hooked up yet), but the next time you hear from us we’ll be in our new abode!

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Love,
Lilli

More birthdays!

That’s right – November is chock full of birthdays in our family! Not mine, mind you, but that doesn’t stop me from being front and center for the celebrating.



First we celebrated Lilli’s (again) on Tuesday with a family pizza party followed by yummy pumpkin / chocolate muffins. (There’s a definite pumpkin trend around here.)





Lilli is a fan of the muffins!



Then she got to open one more present…



…and since it was a book, naturally I was much more interested in it than she was.

On Wednesday we had a fun play date with Alli and family, sans pictures, and then on Thursday we started a Mom-marathon because Dad went to NC to see Grandma and Grandpa.

We started out the day by pulling out our Halloween costumes and enjoying them again. I started out as a fireman (this is the closest we have to a ladder for me to climb in our house)



And then switched to my turtle from last year.



Lilli put on her crab costume (which is a real fashion statement with the booties)



And then promptly started mowing the carpet.



Mom decided that all this behavior indicated that we really needed to get out of the house, so we headed to Tallahassee to the Art and Science Museum, with the intention of checking out the dinosaur exhibit. Turns out the life-size dinosaurs are pretty darn scary, so it’s a good thing they have other exhibits there too. My favorite was the working crane,



And we both enjoyed playing with all the blocks and tracks and cars.



What else did we do to amuse ourselves with Mom? Well, there was lots of music



And lots of watching Lilli push and/or ride anything she can around the house.




Somehow we made it to Saturday, when we piled in the car to go to the Big House for Coach’s birthday! I started the day with a doughnut (my first, Mom thinks)



And then spent most of the morning playing on the deck in my fireman suit watching the TV guy installed an upgraded satellite. (He had an awesome ladder!)



We celebrated with a long-overdue lunch at the Raw Bar, followed by no nap for either Lilli or me. (That is a trend when we’re with Mom.) Thankfully, we had a party to attend to that kept us busy!

I gave Coach his card,



Blew out the candles on his cake,



And then supervised as he opened a few presents.



Lilli mostly watched and tried to eat the balloons. (Oh, and lots of pumpkin cake!)



Lilli and I both missed Dad a lot, so we enjoyed all of our bonding time with Coach.



We came home at lunch today after a fun morning of yard work (for me) and a long nap (for Lilli – finally). And then Dad came home!! We showed him the tractors that are working right outside our house



And then each took a turn ‘riding’ one of them.




Pretty cool!

We spent the rest of the afternoon filling Dad in on our adventures and enjoying all being together. Tomorrow we get ANOTHER birthday party (Dad’s), and then Mom and I leave for a really big adventure to DC. Tune in next week for details!

Love,
James

I'm (almost) 1!

Never mind that the actual day is not until Tuesday – I’m celebrating already! I started the big week off by taking a few steps the other day. Only James and Mrs. Tracie saw me, and they don’t have any pictures or video to prove it, so Mom and Dad are pretending it didn’t happen until they see it. I’ve had so much going on since then that I haven’t needed to walk!

On Friday night we drove to the Big House for the weekend. Finally! It’s been forever since we were there, and James and I have been itching to get back. We were not disappointed, as it was a beautiful and fun weekend. We started it off with the Apalachicola Seafood Festival Parade Saturday morning.



Being my first parade, you can forgive my lack of excitement before it started. (I was wishing I were home in bed.)



James, on the other hand, was pumped!



It just took one blast of a fire truck siren to wake me up and get me going.



They led off with 5 fire trucks right at the beginning! As far as James was concerned, the parade could have been over after that, but he watched patiently to see what else may come along.



Plenty followed the fire trucks, including some crazy clowns and a pirate ship!



By the end I was famished and had to chill out with Dad and eat a snack.



After a quick lunch, James and I both snoozed a bit so that we could be in good shape for my birthday party. Well, James slept – I mostly cried and fussed until they came to get me up.



Alli and her parents arrived, and we ran out to the bay to get in some good playing time. James and Alli insisted on getting in the water, and James quickly retreated to the deck to warm up.



Alli, however, stayed out a really long time! (You would think that she was the one born in Northern CA where the ocean is so cold!)

Once we all warmed up, it was party time!



I got to try my first cake (pumpkin).




Not bad, but I much prefer to feed myself.




James and I had fun playing ‘dueling’ noise makers



While Alli perfected the art of blowing 2 and 1 time.



Next came the presents! Alli and James are of course much more experienced at this than me, and they quickly dug in to help me open several gifts.



James really liked my pink ukelele



While I enjoyed playing with his Mr. Potato Head.



Dad distracted James and Alli with helping him put together one of my presents,



So I finally got to open up a gift at my own speed (slowly).



I got lots of great loot, but it’s hard to beat my very own stroller and baby to push around,


And there’s nothing like a singing bear to get you dancing.


After all that celebrating, I finally decided to snooze a little bit



And James amused himself with some of Lil’s good books.



This morning we let Mom sleep in a bit while we played at the Big House,



And then we loaded up to go to the beach.



Despite gale force winds, we stuck around long enough to build a few sand castles



Before deciding it was really nicer at home.



We rounded out the day by giving the dogs a bath,



And playing with Coach.



This week I get to celebrate some more with my actual birthday! Stay tuned for those pics next week…

Love,
Lilli

Trick or treat!

I tell you what, I’ve got this Halloween thing down now!

Last year I was a little suspect, but this year I realized that there was candy involved (and I know what candy is now), and I’m a fan! Of course, it’s also fun to dress up, but since I’ve been doing that every day since I got my fireman suit, it was really the candy that won me over.

Lilli and I got all dressed up at our house and then headed over to Alli’s. Here’s Mom helping me with my suspenders,



And Lilli with her crab hat.



(Those eyes were pretty distracting bobbing up over her head like that!)



Don’t we look cute?



Dad was not feeling well, so he stayed home and hid from the trick-or-treaters while we went out on the town. First we played with all Alli’s toys,



And made general mayhem of their house,




And once it was dark we hit the streets!



We started at Alli’s grandparents house so that we could figure things out with a friendly audience.



Lilli hung back with Mom to see how this all works.



Sure enough, all we had to say was ‘trick or treat’ and they gave use candy! We quickly demanded more doors to knock on.



Alli and I were quite the pair cruising the neighborhood (isn’t she a great cave girl?).



We ended the night with a little Halloween portrait.



It was getting late, so we hurried home to fill Dad in on all the excitement. Mom let me open one piece of candy in the car, and I strategically picked a Tootsie Pop (my first!) – those things last forever! Here I am finishing it up while telling Dad all my stories from the night.



This morning I got some more sugar in the form of pancakes, and I perfected the milk mustache.



Lilli modeled her hat that Grandma sent her. (She can now say ‘hat’ and some version of ‘on’ and ‘off’, so we spend a lot of time taking hats on and off around here!)



Ahh, the flash!



After a quiet morning that seemed longer than usual because of the time change, we piled in the car to check out our new house. It’s basically done!



Pretty nice, huh?

After running around the new digs for a while, Mom, Lilli, and I continued on to Tallahassee to meet Lil and do some shopping.



We struck out on the shopping part, but we had a great lunch and a fun visit with Lil.

I was absolutely exhausted by the time we got home, but somehow Lilli was still going strong!



Maybe she sneaked some of my Halloween candy while we weren’t looking.

Hope you all got lots of treats last night too!

Love,
James

PS – Thanks to Laura for the cool colored pencils! I know, they’re really for Lilli, but someone had to show her how to use them. She can’t wait to use her cute art smock!

'V' is for virus

So Mom jumped the gun a little last week when she claimed that we were coming out of our illness – in fact, I think she jinxed us. One trip to the ER (febrile seizure – I’m ok) and many trips to the doctor later, I am still fighting off some awful virus. (I promise, it’s not swine flu – they checked.) Guess it was a good week for us to learn about the letter ‘V’. I won’t forget it any time soon!

In between the doctor visits, naps, infant Ibuprofen, Pedialyte, and saltines, we did manage to have a little fun. For starters, I got my first pair of shoes!



Pretty sporty, huh?

James got a treat too – a ‘pumper’ fire truck from Uncle Parks and Aunt Lexy. It is the perfect complement to his ‘king’ that Aunt Julia gave him, and they both go everywhere with him.



On one of my many trips to the doctor with Mom, James also got to go and pick out a toy with some birthday money from Mr. Frank and Mama Jennie. Check out his new backhoe!



It makes lots of noise, digs, AND moves forwards and backwards. He sure knows how to pick ‘em! He’s been such a good big brother this week, and he insisted to Dad that he use some of his money to buy me a toy too. I don’t think I would have done the same, but I sure do like my new pink cell phone and key ring!

Today we celebrated the fact that I woke up with no fever by going to visit a farm in Monticello.



There were fainting goats (that didn’t faint),



Sheep,



BIG dogs,



Lots of chickens,



And even a hayride!






We ended the outing with a picnic lunch, but the fun was cut short when one of the chickens sneaked up under the picnic table and pecked my hand. I guess it thought I was pretty sweet! The darn thing drew blood and basically ruined my afternoon. Didn’t it know I’ve had a hard week?

After a long nap in the car and an even longer one once we got home, I perked up for dinner and some playtime with all of James’s new toys. I sure hope that this week is better than last!

Love,
Lilli

Pumpkin festival

Well, Fall officially arrived in Sopchoppy yesterday – actually with temperatures in the 50s and a cold wind, it felt more like winter around here! That didn’t stop us from gearing up and heading to the Havana Pumpkin Festival!



We met Alli there and had a good time checking out all the festivities. My costume (is it still a costume if you wear it every day?) was weather-appropriate, but Lilli’s crab costume is a little skimpy, so she had to forego wearing it. Turns out it’s a good thing I wore mine so that the other firemen there could recognize me!



As soon as we walked up to the fire truck at the festival, they announced that it was time to turn on the hoses, and of course they chose me to spray them first.



Those hoses pack a punch! I made those pumpkins roll and roll.



Then I showed Alli around the fire truck,




Compared notes on gear,



And Alli tried on the other fireman’s hat.



Lilli looked on rather impassively.



Though it was tough to top the pumpkin roll and fire truck experience, we also enjoyed riding on the “train” through Havana.





And I got my first experience in a bouncy house!



This one was an obstacle course, and there was a really nice older kid there to help us smaller guys and gals up the ladder



And down!



It was so fun that I had to go a second time.



By now we had really worked up an appetite, and while standing in line for a hot dog, I got to meet Batman!



Pretty cool. We rounded out the day with pumpkin painting, which I took very seriously.



You may wonder why not many pictures of Lilli? She wanted to spend most of the day with Mom, and Mom was taking the pictures. Today we realized why – she woke up with a fever and yucky virus, and it hit me not long after. Needless to say, today was a bit of a haze. We’re starting to come out of it – maybe.

Before we got sick, Lilli and I did get to try our first bath together! I like helping Mom bathe her, though she’s pretty squirmy.



Hope y’all are all warm (and not because of a fever)!

Love,
James

3 is the magic number

James is 3 years old! And (very recently) potty trained to boot! I’m so jealous.

Where to begin? The week started out with exciting news - we have a new cousin! Please welcome Sophia Anne Hughes!



We are so excited she's here and can't wait to meet her.

The rest of the week was kinda slow – lots of Mom time while Dad went to check on Grandpa in NC. James is a big fan of jerseys as a fashion statement these days, and he only owns 2 (which is enough in Mom’s opinion), so he basically alternates them from one day to the next. His favorite is his Redskins jersey, but it does get dirty and Mom doesn’t always wash it fast enough for him to wear it consecutive days, so here he is in his Carolina basketball uniform.



I spent most of the week teaching myself a little tennis,



And taking my first baby steps (with the support of James’s fire truck, of course!). Having Alli over here to play with James gives me a lot of inspiration to be mobile!



On Friday we took a quick but fun trip to Moultrie to go to a Packer game. James is a pro since he went to one last year, so he showed Lil and Julia around



And then gave Coach some pointers.



I hung out with Mom at first



But quickly gravitated to Lil



and played with her most of the night.



We had a great spot right in the end zone,



and the Packers were winning at halftime, which is as late as Mom would let us stay. Well, she did let us stick around long enough to watch Coach get honored for being in the Hall of Fame



And then help him carry his huge award back to the car.



En route James got to check out a police car!



(Aunt Julia has had a close-up encounter with this very one before and decided not to get too close this time.)

On Saturday morning we woke up to what you would think was Christmas morning given all the presents. Even I got a lot! James picked the biggest one to open first



And boy was it a doozy. A real, true fireman suit! He didn’t take it off the rest of the weekend despite the 90 degree heat (as you’ll notice from the pictures).



There was also a funny singing shark from Coach that I absolutely adore! (Good thing there’s something similar in store for me on my birthday in a few weeks.)





After presents, we loaded the car with Mom and Aunt Julia and headed to Sopchoppy to get ready for James’s tractor party. What a blast!



Alli was so enthralled with James’s fireman costume that she demanded to put on some boots, too, so James loaned her his red ones.



(She was smart enough to realize that a coat in that heat was not the best idea.)

There was lots of fun outside in the sand box,



Eating snacks,



And watching Mr. Mark on the tractor,



And of course singing Happy Birthday (check out that dump truck cake!).



Then we headed inside to cool off and open presents. Oh, and watch James slide down the only pole he can find!



James opened lots of cool gifts, and although I started out watching from a distance,



Alli and I both soon joined the fray.



Today was quieter – James and I opened presents from Grandma and Grandpa in the morning



And then played with all the new loot all day.



Oh, and we got a yummy spaghetti dinner compliments of Dad.





(Can you tell I’m now feeding myself?)

Thanks to everyone who made this such a special birthday for James (and not a bad weekend for me)!

Love,
Lilli

PS - Glad you're feeling a little better, Grandpa!