Just James

James is nearing 2 1/2 years. He can be the sweetest boy you have ever seen. Or he can be that terrible toddler that makes you want to pull your hair out! But most of the time, he is just a happy-go-lucky kid with a big heart, and a desire for adventure and fun.

Here are some descriptions of James:

He still LOVES to be playing outdoors.

Here he is having a blast with daddy :)

Still loves his swing

Loves looking at bugs. We have a lot of Stick Bugs and Praying Mantises in our back yard that James gets excited about finding. One day I even caught him putting a black beetle in his mouth! YUCK!

So excited to see airplanes in the sky.

"Look, Look! Big airplane mommy!"

Hugs all the time now!

Wants to be near us, finally!

Likes to wear hats like Papa...

or visors like Daddy! Oops...too big!

Likes to walk around the house wearing "Daddy's shoes".

You should see when he tries to wear mommy's wedges!

Is obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine!

(don't let the elmo slippers fool you. He has only worn them once!)

He is pure B-O-Y. For example, what else do you do with an empty trash can except put it on your head!

Loves trucks! We got him this one for cheap at a consignment sale.

Loves tractors. Here he is with "toach tutto" (Coach Hutto) after a Friday night ECS football game. Coach Hutto let him ride the tractor (at 10 pm) while he cut the field. James was in toddler heaven!

Loves Fire Trucks! One night, a neighbor's truck caught on fire, and 911 was called. A fire truck came and James was in awe. The fireman let James sit in the truck (after the fire was put out!).

Loves doing what baby sister does. I find James constantly in Reese's car seat, bouncer, activity mat, crib, bumbo...etc.

Favorite foods: Pistachios, gold fish, fresh spinach leaves with ranch, hotdogs, chicken, green beans, corn, frozen peas, yogurt, cheese, strawberries, french fries, "cake" which could be actual cake, donut, banana bread, cinnamon roll, cookie...etc.

Recently, James has been in what we call a "destructive mode" where he goes from room to room knocking over whatever he can find. Everything ends up being upside down.

One minute his room is tidy. The next minute, no, the next 30 secs, his room looks like this.

His book shelves are wiped off, toys are dumped out of bins. He even drags stuff out of his closet!

The play room. There is not much playing going on. Just "dumping".

We finally took his basketball goal out of his room, because we kept hearing him do this.

And it continues outside. This is a huge play house dumped upside down. Notice that Reese's bouncer is upside down underneath it.

Toys are just thrown around. James dumps the bin of toys. He even dumps over his dump truck! I feel like I am having to re-teach him how to PLAY.

Still sleeps with his "cut" pacis and now TWO, yes TWO, puppies. He found the "extra" puppy one day, and he has been hooked on sleeping with two ever since. He is sleeping about 10 hours at night (8:30 pm - 6:30 am), and takes about a two hour nap during the day. We make sure to still wake him up by 2:30 pm, and we are still having to lock the door at bedtime.

Despite all the areas of "training", James is a great kid. He is our sweet little boy who will one day love the Lord with all of his big heart. We just can't get enough of him. Our house is usually filled with laughter.

James, you are a joy to our family. We love you!