Beach Trip 2009

Tuesday morning we returned from a great vacation at the beach. We went back to Jeremy's hometown of Englewood, Fl and stayed with some good friends of his from high school. This was John-Mark's first real trip to the beach and both of their first time flying. All in all it was a great trip and the boys had tons of fun!! Our friends have a great pool in their back yard that has this great little area about 4 ft wide that is only about 1 ft deep so they were able to play in that area and not be in floats or held all the time. James had a great time showing us all of his new skills he's learned from swim lessons. He loved jumping off the edge of the pool and going under. John-Mark wanted to get in on the fun so we let him "jump" in and go under as well and he did great - he somehow knew to hold his breath and rarely took in any water. Jeremy and I were both total water babies so we're ecstatic that they both love the water so much and aren't fearful of it.
We went to the beach two days while we were there. John-Mark was not a big fan of the sand (which I totally understand) but once we got out in the ocean and past the big waves he loved being in the water. He loved trying to put his face in the water - silly boy. The last day we were there we met some friends on the beach and Jeremy and James had a good time in the ocean but it must have been too much for James - he ended up getting heat exhaustion :( I was so proud of myself because after having been there for 4 days you would never have even known they had been in the sun because I had them so covered in sunscreen - then the last day James got too much sun. He ended up with a fever all night and on the plane ride home. He didn't look sunburned, just a little pink in the cheeks but it was obvious he was miserable - poor baby. Yesterday we just layed around the house all today praying his fever would break. By this morning he was our happy boy again - singing us awake at 6:45 in the morning! I guess he was well rested by then!
It was so neat to get to experience the beach with our boys and watch them experience so many things for the first time. It was our first trip back to Jeremy's hometown since I was pregnant with James so it was nice to get see everyone again and introduce them to James & John-Mark. Our boys LOVED our hosts, Pam and Eddie and their two dogs, Fin and Tippit. James would wake up in the morning asking for "Peam" and John-Mark and Fin were attached at the hip half the time. Fin would bark at John-Mark to play and he would just crack up - they were too cute!
Here are some pics from the trip:

The morning we left I finally got James to lay down in the tub and get his ears under the water without fighting me - then he loved it and wouldn't stop doing it - unfortunately he still was a little timid about floating once he got in the big pool.The boys checking out the sand James getting ready to jump to daddy - I have no idea where he got these arm movements from - we never did that. He would stand there and we would count - 1, 2, 3 and he would just say "2,2" - I think that is his favorite number right now.

Yay - another succesful jump!
John-Mark enjoying floating in the pool
Loving being able to crawl in the water
Trying to drink the water!
Ok Daddy - I'm ready to jump in too!
James getting ready to go out - ha- copying what he sees his mommy doing - Some friends from home were actually at the same beach so we got to hang out with them - here James and his buddy Fallon are glad to see each other - so sweet!
Us and Dan, Krista, Fallon & Nally at the Tiki Bar for dinner
Our last day we visited Jeremy's Aunt Debby and Uncle Tim. This was the first time both of them had seen the boys. Unfortunately this was when James started to feel icky so they didn't get to really see James full personality but they sure got John-Mark. He was all over thier house getting in to everything! Hopefully they'll come visit us soon so they can see both the boys at 100%!

9 & 21 months

Sorry this post is late - I've had a sinus infection and John-Mark spent the weekend with my mom so I just couldn't get it together!
What a blessing that my mom and Papa Steve had John-Mark for the weekend so they could have some one on one time with him and us with James. I forget what it was like just to have one - it seems so easy! Especially at James' age - he's so easy about going places and minds me so well - we had a wonderful weekend - aside from the fact that I felt like my head was going to explode :) It's nice just to be able to focus on one every once in a while. As you can see from the above pics my babies are getting so big! They were playing with one of Daddy's belts and were playing so well I figured I better snap a couple shots for their monthly pics!
James continues to communicate better everyday and always surprises me with what he remembers/knows. Some of his favorite things are to read his Sesame Street books and show me Elmo, Big Bird, and Cookie (Cookie Monster); he also loves to fill the dog food scoop and feed the dogs and give them thier treats. He understands the "clean up" song and cleans up all his toys when we sing it. This time from 18 - 24 months really is something new everyday! He seems like SUCH a big boy to me right now (snif snif). He's actually gotten lots more cuddly as he has gotten older. He used to be sooo independent but now he likes me rock him in his rocking chair or to just sit with me with his blankie and watch Sesame Street - I love it! Now John-Mark is my Mr. Independent - on the go, on the go. He has started walking around furniture and he'll walk behind push toys or if you hold his hands. You can tell he is soooo ready to take off but not quite sure of his legs yet - he's so quick on his knees I'm scared of what he'll be like when he has full mobility!!!
While it was nice to have just one for the weekend (and one that did not even seem to notice that his little brother was missing!) I told Jeremy that I'm so glad that they have each other. I know this time next year they will be running all over this house and yard together and I love it! Having been an only child I always wished I had a brother or sister to play with and I am so happy for my babies that they do.
Later this week we are headed to Jeremy's hometown in Florida for several days. This is our first real trip back since when I was pregnant with James so we are super excited to get to visit everyone and take the boys to the "motherland" :) This is also our first flight with the boys - I think I'm prepared with the portable dvd player, bottles, snacks, books, and more! Please say a prayer that it will be an uneventful flight to and from!

The boys playing around with the Cozy Coupe

John-Mark is done playing- I'm coming to get ya' momma!

James loves to put our shoes on - chillin' in my crocs!

I heart swimming!!

About 4 weeks ago we started swimming/water safety classes with James. Usually just he and I go on Saturday mornings while John-Mark stays with his Papa but this week Daddy got to come with us so I was able to take lots of pics and video! James really loves the water and has no fear - which kind of scares me a bit but hopefully these classes will help us learn to love and be careful near the water. In the class he has learned to kick on his tummy and back, move his arms to swim towards something; blow bubbles, float on his back, and just in the past two weeks we've started going under water. He has improved so much since the first week when he HATED getting his ears in the water and floating on his back but now he's starting to enjoy it and he does good with going under as well. We're planning a trip to the beach in a couple of weeks and it will be fun to get to be in the water so much and practice all we're learning plus teach some to John-Mark. Here some pics from our most recent class:

Daddy and James getting ready to sing our "get in the water" song

So excited and ready to get started!Floating (with some help from daddy)!!!The action shot - both arms and legs movin'!

Here are some other pics from last week. My mom and Papa Steve came to visit which ofcourse was a great time for the boys. Here John-Mark is pooped (which is obvious by the fact that he is just laying on this pillow while Papa Steve pushes him all over the place). James had to get in on the fun as well so he laid down next to John-Mark to get pushed around too!

John-Mark coming over to help mommy with the dishes :)

James just being his cutie-pa-tootie self. Is there anything cuter than a baby in just a diaper?!? I love it but we can't do it very much with James because he likes to take his diaper off! The other day he took a nap like this and when I went to get him up his diaper was by his side (clean, thank goodness) and his little hiney was just hanging out!