Godspeed, my son. Godspeed.

To review: In James' world, you walk down the street and see large animated metal animals, art festivals, and Starbucks. In James' newly expanded world, you can walk just a few more blocks to the Potomac and go aboard a GIANT SHIP. Appropriately named the Jamestown Settlement ship Godspeed to be exact. Complete with costumed guides telling the history of said ship. My mom was here last weekend and we just happened upon this while we were on a walk. Seriously - what IS this place?!

James inches towards a bearded man in costume with a weird accent:

Then decides, "uh, maybe not."
"Oh, okay, whatcha got?"
"Ohh!!!"

See?

I AM a good mom! Want to know how I do it? Here's my secret...

There is a channel on cableTV called Noggin. It's got great kids' shows like Max & Ruby, Wow Wow Wubzy, and Oswald. All kinds of life lessons are taught in these little toddler-size programs like don't lie, brush your teeth, share, etc. The theme for Noggin (played during EVERY commercial) is, "Noggin, it's preschool on TV."

So, see? There you have it. I have enrolled James in preschool, teaching him valuable life lessons all from the comfort of my pajamas (and his for that matter). 

Here is James at preschool. (He likes to do preschool on the "Daddy Bridge.") You can tell by the look on his face that he is engaged and learning - just soaking it all in..... ha!

Definitely a Boy!!

James, that is..... 

What? Who did you think I was talking about?

This weekend was a pivotal moment in James' toddler life... He discovered worms. One worm, in particular, was the recipient of his "love" for over an hour while Brian and I finished a home improvement project. It took him about 2 seconds to decide that he wanted to touch the worm and then he set out to try new "homes" for the worm. On his truck, in the water, on the bricks, in the dark dark claustrophobic cave of the palm of his hand....

 

Home improvement - done. 

Educational worm experience with kid - done.

Exceptional babysitter booked - done.

Mom & Dad had a date night! Here's us at the Hirshhorn Museum of Art (my favorite) in front of a new installation. Yeah, those are hangers.

It's a BOY!

....

or a GIRL! 

ha ha. Yup, that's right - we haven't caved and we still don't know the sex!

Today was the 5-month ultrasound (I am 22 weeks today) and the ultrasound tech, who is not supposed to make any comments, said "everything looks great!" The baby was moving around like he/she is already running out of space so I am preparing myself for an action-packed next 5 months, better make that 18 years.....

Our Latest Triathlon

And by "our", I mean Kevin's latest racing feat that we were content to just WATCH. This was the Nation's Triathlon, the finish line was just blocks from the Capitol. A 1.5K swim, 40K bike ride and a 10K run. Kevin finished in a personal best - 2:49:25. It took us that long just to get ready and get out of the house.

Here's James clapping for EVERY SINGLE RUNNER that passed.

Here's me and the bump. We are both thinking, "it's really hot..."
Kevin (first runner in orange) coming up to the finish. Please note the Capitol....

Kevin with a smile and a wave for favorite nephew James.
Need I remind you that this was Kevin just three months ago? The pic shows Kevin's right leg on top of three pillows, two blankets, and an ottoman because he relocated (dislocated) his right kneecap to somewhere on his upper thigh during a soccer game. He was in a strict metal brace for several weeks and then a modified brace for several more. I think he swam ONE TIME before the triathlon. Did I mention he finished with a personal best? 

Well done Uncle Kevin, well done.

What IS this place?

I can only imagine where James' little 2 year old brain thinks we live. The pic below is a nightly occurrence (during the summer) at the end of our "driveway." It's folks dressed in period costume, giving historical/ghost tours of Old Town. This is the view from our kitchen window.

And the following pics are from the Alexandria Fine Arts Festival, held last weekend, ONE BLOCK from our house. One day, James wakes up and BAM! just down the street are 20 giant metal animated animals and 100 white booths with all kinds of funky art & people. It must be very confusing.

Of course, James- refined toddler that he is, insisted on trying to "ride" the animals

and pull their tails....
More pics about our curious little town to follow....

Never Too Old...

... for swaddling? When James was a newborn, he hated (HATED!) to be swaddled. Nothing made him scream louder. But now at two years old, every now and again after a nap, he likes to "get cozy" in a big chair and be wrapped up in a nice big throw.

It will probably be very awkward when he asks his college roommate to wrap him up in a blanket after a good nap, but for now, I think it's cute. (I'm not even mentioning the fact that it also causes him to actually sit still for more than five minutes). 

OK, there. I mentioned it.

On The Road Again

I think James is one trip away from knowing every rest stop on the southeast corridor. Last weekend Brian went white water rafting with Kevin and so James and I did what we always do... we packed our bags and hit the road. To North Carolina.

An apology to our North Carolina friends..... there are so many of you! I just can't seem to see everyone in one trip so apparently, I am working alphabetically. This weekend: Bruce, Elliott-Adams, Bridges. Vitiello - hang in there... maybe spring? 

Here's James BANGING on a piano at Scotty & Chris' house:

and here's Scotty just letting him do it and pretending it sounds good.....

Most of the weekend was spent with the Bruces and James' future bride: Virginia. On this morning, I was trying to pack and strip the bed and get ready and I convinced them to "get cozy" and watch some cartoons. I hope this is the last time we see a picture like this for a long time.... like when they're 40.

I must admit I am one of those parents who cringes at the thought of Play-doh. Our good friends, the Bridges don't cringe at anything so they set up this little picnic table in their kitchen and let the boys play for hours. Note for the grandparents: please do not send us any play-doh - as far as James knows, the only place that has Play-doh is the Bridges and I'd like to keep it that way for a while.

When they weren't squeezing fluorescent pink clay into tiny holes (including their ears) the boys were racing dump trucks and screaming in a decibel only toddlers can.

This Correction Brought to You By....

Great Grandma Honey.... 

The "Smart MOUTH Gene."

I, apparently, inherited the potty-mouth gene and no one in my family is claiming that.

Excuse me, I have to go wash my mouth out with soap...

A Clarification

One of my besties, Emily has informed me that I neglected to identify the dish I am holding in my "Happy Olympics" post. I will save you some time by showing you again here.

It is not, as she guessed, a bowl of boiled chicken. 

It's fortune cookies. Homemade, painstakingly prepared, fortune cookies. I even created and typed up the fortunes myself. Let me tell ya - a bowl of boiled chicken would have been a LOT easier.

James' Great Inheritance

Trust fund? Nope.

Full head of thick hair? Nope.

Lucky lucky James got what is known in my family as, "The Smart-Ass Gene." 

Well you're welcome, son. I believe this trait can be claimed completely by my family. Ask any of them - they all have it. I think the worst might be my brother, but my grandpa could really give him a run for his money. Grandpa Kington was not a man of many words, but in 20 words a day, 19 of them were funny and sarcastic.

Here's how I know James has it:

Me (trying to get James to invent his own Halloween costume, my eyes are very big and my voice quite high): "I know buddy, what about a kangaroo?!" 

James (also very big eyes and high voice as if he is mocking me): "Ooooh! I know mommy, how about NOT!"

Smart. 

Ass. 

Gene.

I'm A Fire Fighter!

Wouldn't it be fun if fire fighters really did wear giraffe boots?

SeaGirt, NJ and the Three Uncle Kevins....

sounds like a new nursery rhyme.... 

Just got back from a FUN weekend on the Jersey shore in Sea Girt, NJ at Brian's Uncle Kevin's house. Cousins and uncles and friends, good food, lots of late-night gaming and gorgeous weather.

As usual, not much sleep was had by young James (or his parents), but we still kept business as usual with early am trips for coffee and long walks on the beach and boardwalk.

One sticky wicket for the weekend: James is two and wrapping his brain around new people and names is hard enough, but at this particular family gathering, there were THREE Uncle Kevins. Brian's uncle, Brian's brother and Brian's cousin.

So, you are already familiar with this Uncle Kevin:

You MAY remember this Uncle Kevin (Brian's uncle, dad's side):

And new to the blog is THIS Uncle Kevin (and girlfriend Missy):

Really, he goes by "KC" so that one was easy. I think, to James, they are known as "KC and Missy, my new best friends." They played and played and played with James - he loved it. KC played soccer for Stanford and James couldn't get enough of his foot/juggling skills.

Brian's Uncle Kevin is really a Great Uncle Kevin, literally and figuratively, but any uncle who can dig a three foot hole for James to sit in and play for an hour on the beach, does not deserve an aging title such as "great" anything. So, to us and to James, he is sadly known as "The Other Uncle Kevin" until we come up with something better.

This was something like, "what are you doing?"

"Oh, a hole!"
"Thanks Other Uncle Kevin!"

Here is James "helping" daddy get a bucket of water. Please note the direction in which he is running....

This truck was part of a party favor at a birthday party (thanks Linda V) and James loves it so much that we have moved it across four states and just as many beaches. Best money we've never spent.

A special frozen treat almost as big as James...