Big Couple of Days!

We have had a big couple of days in the O'Callaghan household!  James has just exploded with new "skills".  I'll start with yesterday.  When I went to pick up James from school, I walked through the door, James looked up, pointed at me and said "Mama!".  It was two firsts in one!  The first time he pointed, and the first time he said Mama and knew what he was really saying!  He has been saying mama and dada for months, but until yesterday we weren't sure if he knew what he was saying.  Now we know!  So cool.  Then tonight he did the same thing when Sean was feeding him dinner.  He pointed and said "Dada".  Totally awesome.  We are real parents now!  

Backing up to this weekend, James learned that when he drops something, it's really cute to say "uh-oh!"  He now just drops things so he can say "uh-oh".  It is great.

Ok, so tonight, I took over feeding James the last part of his dinner, and he got really excited and started clapping his hands...on his own!  He has been totally obsessed with watching us clap for several months, but hasn't been able to put his own together.  After figuring it out tonight, he wouldn't stop.  He was so pleased with himself.  I was totally freaking out at this point with all of the new stuff.

Other new things are the addition of fish lips, tongue clicking, kissing (just not when you try to give him one- then you still get the open mouth slobber), and trying to say his name.  He is really close to that one.  He clearly knows what his name is and is also responsive when you say "no, thank you".  I swear, ever hour it is something new.  I also noticed that two more top teeth are showing and will cut through sometime in the near future.  This could explain a bit of his crabbiness last night.  His kisses are really cute air kisses.  Maybe I can get him to start blowing kisses soon!  Oh, and he also is moving around like lightening!

I can't believe what a great couple of days we have had with all these new things.  

Good Day

We have been having a great few days.  James woke up in a fantastic mood this morning, and we all had a great morning cuddling in bed together.  He kept saying mama.  I love it.  Later in the morning, I taught him how to say 'uh-oh"!  So cute.  He is really really chatty lately.  He never seems to stop talking.  

He really has been cracking us up.  This photo was today.  All day, he kept scrunching up his face and blowing out his nose.  Hilarious.  Yesterday he was totally obsessed with blowing raspberries.  When he gets really excited, he lets out these little shrieks, with this surprised look on his face.  We are endlessly entertained.

He is really getting around quickly now, and is close to being able to stand up on his own.  As it is now, he really doesn't need to have support, but probably just doesn't know any better.  We are pretty happy that he isn't in full walk yet.  It's hard keeping up with him when he crawls!  His favorite thing is to crawl out of the loving room and into our bedroom and bang on the dog crate in our room.  He looks back at you when he is leaving the room, lets out a huge giggle and then streaks away at baby warp speed.  

Along with all of these great things this week, we also encountered a rough patch with nursing.  I think he was going through a growth spurt, and wasn't latching very well.  Very painful for me.  But I think we are through it now, and we are back to full steam ahead. Thank goodness.

James has several favorite things.  His favorite toys are the soft, plastic Winnie the Pooh bath time book that Grammy got him, and the little barking Christmas dog, also from Grammy.  I'm not sure what it is about those two things that just completely overwhelm him with happiness. I guess grammys know!  He also really loves his little push wagon.  He could walk around all day just pushing the thing around the house.  

He is also getting really good at feeding himself.  He is great now at using his pointer and thumb to pick stuff up.  Tonight he had his first beef.  Mmmm, it's what's for dinner!  He continues to eat almost all homemade food, and loves it.  He loves plain yogurt, cheese, avocado, yams, frozen peas, frozen blueberries and blackberries, beans (we give him pinto, black, kidney, and cannnelli), and dad's homemade applesauce.  He has been having a bit of juice in the past few days.  It's the first time that he has been even remotely interested in drinking anything but milk.  He does like to drink water from time to time directly from a regular cup.  It is a pretty funny sight.  

All is well with us, not much to report.  We are just very busy with everything these days.  Tioga has been pretty sick, with the vertebrae in his upper spine having bulging disks, which are pressing into his spinal cord.  He has slowly been going paralyzed, and has been in quite a bit of pain.  We decided that enough was enough this week, and sent him to the vet for the final last-ditch effort to save him.  He had a three day treatment of steroids, which reduced the inflammation.  It didn't cure him, but he is much better.  Hopefully we will get to keep the old boy around for a while longer.  It sure wasn't the same around here for three days without him.  It really made us realize that he isn't always going to be around, which made us very sad.  He is widely regarded as the best dog ever.  Even now, he is laying down at my feet.  Good boy.

The weather here has been really warm (40's)  and sunny this week.  Not sure what happened to winter, but hopefully it will come back soon.  We are not ready for ski season to be over.  That and no snow, leads to bad fires in the summer, so I would rather be cold than live in smoke! 

Two Front Teeth...

Finally!  James now has his two fron teeth.  Well, kind of.  His top left tooth broke through today. Sure will be cute when they both finally make their way down and all the way in.  

We spent the day in Billings yesterday visiting Wyn and new baby Alex.  He sure is a cute and quiet little guy.  They are such a nice little family now.  

Not much to report these days.  James sure gets around quickly.  I swear, as soon as he figures out that he can stand on his own, we are toast.  He will be off and running.

He is really into sticking out his tounge this week.  He can't seem to get enough of it.  He also really loves it when you stick out your tounge, and he can feel it.  He also loves to stick his fingers in your mouth.  He loves to "explore" our faces with his hands.  Really cute.  

New Tooth!

Finally!  James broke his top, right tooth today.  It sure has been a long time coming!  

We spent the day today in Billings with Bill and Maggie, visiting their new grandson in the hospital.  What an exciting day, and a beautiful little boy.  Today was Bill's birthday also, and it was a great day.  

I also think that James may also be over the hump with his virus and bronchitis.  Finally...

Sick

Hello!  Well, we have had a sick boy this week.  James has Hand, Foot, and Mouth virus, coupled with a double ear infection.  Life has been tough in our house this week!  Poor little nugget is pretty unhappy but was a little better today.  Hopefully he gets a good night's sleep tonight.  I think that lack of sleep has been part of the problem with his mood swings the past two days.  We kept him home from school this week, but I think he's going to go back tomorrow.  He is still cutting those two top teeth, too!

Not much else to report around here.  Sean and I are tired, but what's new!

January 21, 2009

Again, so sorry for the long delay in posting!  We have been pretty busy here in Bozeman for the past few weeks.  James is growing like a weed, and changing daily.  He is now a master of pushing around his little radio flyer, crawls like the wind, and loves to feed himself finger foods.  He is eating all sorts of new foods, including chicken, beans and lentils, egg yolks, toast, cheese, yogurt, cottage and cream cheese, and his ultimate favorite- Cheerios.  Although, I admit to being a total stickler, and don't let him have anything with sugar, so he has a different brand of O's.

He is currently undergoing the painful process of cutting his two front teeth.  I would be surprised if he doesn't wake up with one popped through.  It has been quite a process, and pretty tough on him.  They look like two Popsicle sticks coming down.  Poor thing.  Teething is really the pits.

He has figured out how to click his tongue in the past couple of weeks.  So now, in addition to blowing raspberries, he alternates in the clicking sound.  Really, really cute.  He is also completely enamored with hand clapping.  He loves to watch you put your hands together.  He watches, then reaches out and places his hands on the outside of yours to feel you clapping.  I've caught him on a couple of occasions trying to do it on his own, but he doesn't open up his fists, or will only open one up.  One day soon, he will get it.  Until then, I love having him hold my hands doing it.  I'll really miss that once he figures it out on his own.

James also really loves peek-a-boo. He can be screaming and having a fit, and you duck away, and jump back in front of him, and voila! Laughter!  I love it.

As James gets bigger, it is becoming increasingly difficult to change his diaper.  He now has decided that he hates it, and it is almost a two person job.  He rolls over, stands up, and makes a flying leap to grab onto your neck.  It is crucial to have a game plan, and a distraction.  I wonder if this is a phase attached to teething?  Let's hope so, because we have awhile yet to go before potty training is complete.

January has been a pretty strange month here in Bozeman.  While much of the country has been locked in with freezing temps, we in the Bozone have been enjoying record highs.  Goodbye snow.  It has been in the 40's and 50's for the last two weeks!  Town looks like spring.  Dirty piles of snow, and water in the streets.  So much for ski season! Bah!  Luckily, snow is in the forecast this weekend, and regular freezing temperatures are going to resume.  Thankfully.  It's just not right!  Although, I will say that we have had beautiful sunny days, and it has been nice not to have to wear a hat for a few weeks.  Come summer though, it is crucial that we have the snow now.

We have been all over the place for the past few weeks with work and activities, Grandma coming to visit, and various other activities.  I spent the past three day weekend sick with a stomach virus. No fun.  But things seem to be slowing down a little bit, or perhaps we are just adjusting to life beingthis busy.  Sean has a full plate at work with the project that he has been working on for the past couple of years under final review, and I added co-teaching a graduate course for my program to my plate this semester. Ok, so it isn't slowing down, we are just getting used to it.  Maybe!  Hey, at least there is something new everyday!

I will get better about posting! I promise!

So sorry for the long delay once again in posting.  The holiday time sure got away from me.  We had a great Christmas.  I stayed up late on Christmas Eve, and may have had an encounter with Santa!  Christmas morning was amazing.  The little cart was a total hit.  When we came out into the living room, he hit the floor and made a beeline across the room to it.  All of his other toys were a hit!  What a lucky boy.  He also received the cutest clothes!   I think it was the best christmas ever for Sean and I.  I can't wait for next year.  Oh, and it was great for Sean and I too. We had a great day together as a family.  It was pretty cold, so we just hung around the house and enjoyed the day.  Christmas night a wicked storm blew through and dumped about ten inches of snow in about two hours!  Talk about a white Christmas!

We had dinner at Bill and Maggie's house, and James learned to climb the stairs.  He was a bit tentative at first, but after his first run, he was off.  You would not believe how quickly he could get up and down those babies!  Everyone was pretty shocked.  

We had a great visit with Judy and Pat, who braved the weather, and drove up for a quick trip, leaving the Bay area on Christmas night, and arriving at 10AM on the 27th, which is also Judy's birthday!  It was a pretty good birthday, and we were so glad that we got to spend her birthday with her.  Their visit also corresponded with Sean's 30th birthday!  We actually goto to go on an afternoon date (sushi and Marley and me).  I think it was a good birthday for Sean as well.  We had a small dinner with Judy and Pat, and Bill and Maggie, and Greg and Lindsay.  

Sawyer and James had a great time playing together on Sean's birthday.  They were so excited to see each other.  It totally cracked us up.  

Tomorrow we go back to the regular routine, which I think will be good for us all.  We had two weeks at home together, which was fantastic, but James is starting to get a little clingly.  He only wants to be with mom and dad.  He is obsessed with nursing, and refuses to take a baba.  I guess we will see what tomorrow brings!

His first top tooth is in the process of cutting through, so he has been enduring a bit of pain lately.