team pink!

well, in case the color didn't tip you off, yes, we're having a girl! corey is still in shock he was so sure it was a boy and we have no idea on names but it's still very exciting! she was moving around a lot during the ultrasound-- they did a scan where you could see her moving in 3d form... pretty cool! and i had them double check that it really is a girl because i've heard they tend to be wrong on girls more than boys but, yep, still looked like a girl!

boy are we in for a ride! :-)

results are in...

looks like 65% of the 20 people who voted think James is going to have a little brother-- hopefully baby will cooperate today during the ultrasounds so we can see for sure! thanks to all who voted-- it was fun to see what everyone's been thinking :-)

Knock knock...

So I definitely felt the baby last night--I was laying on the couch dozing off (what do you expect for a pregnant lady at 7pm?) when I felt 3 or 4 good little thumps in my tummy... guess little one just wanted to say hi!

Polls will be closing soon...

Just one week left to vote -- the "big" ultrasound is set for Monday the 23rd! Hopefully baby is cooperative!

our little man

James is becoming such a boy, not a baby, not a toddler, a little man! He's right on the cusp of that vocabulary explosion every baby development book talks about. He can say his own name ("eems") while pointing to himself, points to each of us saying our names (mama, dada), and can point out any person around him (where's grandma? where's uncle mark?).

He's starting to say his ABC's (i heard him in his room the other day "A, B, C.... A, B, C..."). He wipes his mouth with a napkin (daddy taught him that one!). He stacks huge towers of blocks, toys, over even toilet paper rolls. He loves to climb and is finally showing interest in climbing out of his crib (just when we were debating if we should transfer him to a twin bed since the new baby is coming in a few more months).

He loves football ("buh-ball", "catch!", "touchdown"), basketball, baseball ("homerun!"), and even soccer ("soccer", "kick")-- we played all of them last night in his room and he had a blast. He still shows strong signs of being a lefty (naturally throws with left hand, naturally kicks with left foot) so we've been trying to show him how to do things with both hands since Corey & I are both righties.

He also still loves his books ("read") and will sit in our laps reading through his different stories. He'll even still climb into the armchair in our living room and read books to himself when he wants a little study time.

His favorite obsession right now though is Thomas the Train. We have one DVD that we've watched about 5,436 times by now. As soon as he wakes up in the morning it's "choo-choo!" When he gets home from daycare it's "choo-choo!"... mommy & daddy are a little choo-chooed out by now.

you know you've made it when you're on Sesame Street

seriously, i am astounded every day at the stars they have on Sesame Street (it's the only thing James will watch other than Thomas the Train which is his favorite)-- Meredith Viera, Diane Sawyer, Kim Cattrall (who introduced the word "fabulous"), Ice T, Jamie Foxx, Luther Vandross, Sugaland, Tina Fey, that Doogie Howser guy, Jenny McCarthy... the list goes on I'm sure, expecially since we're relatively new to the street... crazy the people that show rakes in!

quickening

boy or girl, i felt the baby move for the first time last night! i felt james right around 15 or 16 weeks so this is right on schedule... to me it feels like someone lightly running a finger along my skin-- but from the inside (kinda creepy, i know)

Baby boy or girl??

Have some fun and cast your vote in the side bar! ---->

Risky Business

This photo is from about a month ago but it always cracks me up because it reminds me so much of Tom Cruise's iconic underwear scene. James here is pointing to daddy's "baba" or "beebee" (bellybutton).

"Ride!" Take me for a ride Grandpa Les! Despite the rain today, James insisted on several motorcycle rides around the farm.

My two boys in their beanies.

Helping mama draft at her laptop.

James loves putting on shoes (anyone's) because it means we get to go outside. Here he is after a fresh buzz cut.

a day for the history books

whatever your political views are, you have to admit that today is pretty momentous-- someone other than a white man will become our president... granted it will still be a man, but african american males got the right to vote about half a century before women did so i just hope this breaking down of barriers will pave the path for a strong competent woman to hold the post someday... everyone doubted when King Henry VIII's daughter took the throne but Queen Elizabeth I became one of the most powerful and respected monarchs of the country's history.... i hope we find a woman like that to break through this ceiling-- and it ain't hilary!

summer in winter

just some fun things we've been doing so far-- mostly being outside and enjoying our incredible january weather (sorry for those of you freezing your buns off back east!)... James loves going to the farm and riding the moto-4 around the farm-- he'll drag us down to the garage where it's kept and say "ride! ride!" and every time we turn up the driveway to go to the farm he starts kicking his feet in excitement... James' daycare buddy had a birthday party this weekend and he got to ride a mini moto-4 by himself-- he thought it was pretty cool once he figured how to work it... he just loves to be outdoors!

it's officially official

some of you may have noticed we've been curiously quiet on one particular subject lately and that's because we were waiting until the 2nd trimester to announce the pregnancy to my office-- and since news spreads like wildfire we decided to keep it quiet on all fronts

but the silence is finally over! and i'm over the moon about it! we went to my ob check-up today and heard the heartbeat so everything seems to be going pretty well-- i'm 13 weeks today and have made it to the relative safety of the 2nd trimester! woohoo! baby #2 due July 2009!

Happy Holidays from Santa's littlest elf!

Allergy to dog dander confirmed

Corey took James to the park yesterday and there were a couple doggies there. James adores dogs and always wants to play with them and pet them. Usually the dogs just lick his face but today one of them brushed his tail against James' face. About an hour later Corey noticed some hives forming (looked like white welts) on the right side of James face and his eyelid looked puffy. James started fussing and rubbing at his face and his eye began to swell shut. We immediately gave him a dose of his Rx antihistimine and then gave him a bath (which you can see he thouroughly enjoyed).

Two hours later after his nap his eye is still a bit swollen so we gave him another half a dose of meds. Luckily this morning he's completely cleared up again. Bad news is, if you own a dog (a non hypo-allergenic dog, that is) we aren't going to be able to visit you anytime soon :-(

Here he is yesterday morning before "the incident". I was beginning to think all that allergy testing was a bunch of hooey but now I'm not so sure-- seems there is some truth to it. I shudder to think what would happen if he was exposed to peanuts.

Picture stories...

Gangsta James! He put his hat on like this by himself. He loves to ride down the sloped driveway because he goes so fast without having to move his feet (there are no cars in sight of course).
Wouldn't know it from this cute innocent look, but the t-shirt says it all.

James loves going to the CalPoly football games with Daddy (we have season tickets). There's always a bbq beforehand where he runs around picking up trash and disposing of it in the nearest trashcan and then he sits in the stands with Daddy and is mesmorized by the players on the field. Just what the world needed, another Goodwin sports fanatic.

Our little reader... James climbed up on the armchair one day with a book and sat reading it quietly for awhile. Very studious.
Yes, that's a shoe. And he's chewing on it. Right before he started chewing on the other one. Still on his foot.

James the trashman! He now loves to help take the trash out-- he'll drag the bag all the way to the dumpster at the back of our complex. So responsible! Or just fascinated with dirt and trash.

snippets at 16 months

sorry for the long lapse and it's been such a long time blah blah blah... you know the drill

just wanted to offer some quick little update snippets on James-- growing like a weed and becoming such a little man at 16 months... his vocabulary is exploding, Corey and I just can't get over it... yeah, they're garbled and pretty much only mommy and daddy know what they mean, but he is saying things with definite intent! so far he uses the following words on a regular basis and at his own initiative:

trash (still his favorite word), truck, tractor (1st 2-syllable word), choo-choo, more, cookie, chicken, cheers (while banging two cups together), bottle (ba-ba), ni-ni (he'll actually request to go to bed), bye-bye, car, bat, ball, baby, shoes, wash (for washing hands), bath, water, stuck, bee, bird, tree, corn, popcorn, seeds (he eats a lot of pumpkin seeds), diaper (when it's dirty), cold, color (he loves to color with pens and crayons), football (BIG favorite), uh-oh, keys, block, all done (only one he'll use a sign for), and sock... over 35 words so far when you include mama & dada!

he will also say a few others when prompted: chair, dog, jacket, juice, apple, pasta, grandpa (comes out like "papa"), chapstick, walk, and brush... he also said a sentence yesterday (bye-bye car) and Corey swears James kept calling for him saying "where you at?"

now for the snippets:

we came home from work/daycare and James runs into the living room, grabs the remote off the coffee table, points it at the TV, and very clearly exclaims, "football!"

yesterday he followed me into the bathroom (such is the life of a mom) and he wanted to pull his pants down like me and then he grabbed some toilet paper off the roll and handed it to me... such a little helper

every restaurant we go to James will correctly identify items of trash and then they get dutifully marched over to the nearest trash can for proper disposal

when prompted, he can point to his nose (and mama's nose), to his head, to his hand, to his ear, will hold out his foot, and pulls the neck of his shirt open to peer at his belly button

can turn the lights on and off (thanks to those low light switches)

dances to music and claps his hands... constantly tries to jump and loves jumping on the bed like a little monkey

grabs daddy's hat and shoes to go outside... will also climb into the stroller when he wants to go for a walk

can feed himself with a fork (but usually needs help getting the food on the fork)

still shows a strong preference for his left hand while throwing, drawing, and eating (altho uses fork in right hand because he uses his left to put the food on the utensil)

stacks cups and claps when done... also claps when feeling particularly proud of himself like when he draws a line

shakes his head no

and can put a straw into the little hole of the disposable lid on drinks... will thread the straw through the little holes in The Very Hungry Catepillar as well... very detail oriented

internet issues

*ahem* so you may have noticed it's been a wee while since we've last updated (like an entire month, i can hardly believe it) but the last post got interrupted while loading photos so a boatload of new images got dumped (rather disheartening)... i've also been sick for 2 weeks now (never had time to be sick so i developed ear and eye infections), traveled to PA to surprise my sis for her birthday, and am starting a new job tomorrow (darn economy)...

will try to get photos up soon of the past month... and then of course will have to post a few from Mark & Lora's wedding this weekend too :-)

James had his 15 month appt today and i'm proud to say he's finally grown a bit:

height: 32 inches (80th percentile)
weight: 22 lbs 10 oz (25th percentile)
head: 47 cm (50th percentile)

yay for weight gain! (well, for babies anyway)

Planes, Train, and Automobiles

James' vocabulary expands each week with another word-- last week "tuck" (such a boy, loves trucks and dutifully points out every single truck we pass)... this week "choo choo"... living across the street from the train tracks has its advantages apparently-- anytime we hear the sound of the horn in the distance James gets perfectly still as he listens, then his eyes light up and he looks directly at me with arms up and says "choo choo"... we run outside and wait (and wait and wait if it's a freight train) for the train to come by and we wave at it... James loves the train

we also get a lot of planes flying overhead and although he hasn't mastered "plane" yet, he will always look to the sky and point them out... he also knows one semi-verb "stuck" (comes out more like "shtuh")

he's getting a lot better with pointing out body parts (thanks to Donna our day care provider)-- "where's your hand?" (points to left palm), "where's your foot?" (looks down and points at foot), "where's your belly button?" (tries to peer over his rounded belly in attempt to see his belly button)

he's starting to do that cute toddler thing where he leans down and peers between his legs looking at the world upside down (hilarious to see in action!)... he love love loves the outdoors so our backdoor is always open and thanks to our good friends Carrie & Adam we have a cool fort for James to climb on... we also recently went to the farm and went for a ride on the quad (see photos)... anytime he wants to go for a walk he brings me my shoes ("shss") and brings Corey his hat and raises his arms to be picked up... boy he has us trained!

and we might actually be making slow but steady progress on the allergy situation... finding out he's deathly allergic to peanuts still has us reeling and having to remember an epipen wherever we go seems odd... but at least we know... his skin is also looking darn near perfect since we've gotten a lot more difinitive answers on some of his allergies... we're thinking of doing a rotation diet for him for his "lesser allergies" (apples, pears, corn, etc.) since it seems he can tolerate small doses of each one... we'll continue to stay away from dairy, wheat, and citrus, but it looks like we might've gotten the all clear for egg so we're going to test that this week-- how exciting to be told he can eat something... oh, and looks like he's also negative for cat dander too which is good because our daycare lady has a cat and we really didn't want to have to pull James out if we could avoid it

trash talk

most babies' first words after mama and dada are usually cute things like ball, cat, or dog... not our baby... no, his first word is "tash"-- yes, trash... it's the first word he's used consistently on a regular basis and at his own initiative-- the crinkled yogurt lid sitting on the table, the scrunched up napkin, the dirty diaper baggy, all are correctly identified as "tash"... we then take each item and march it to the nearest trash receptacle... and in public places he points out every single trashcan within eyeshot and wants to peer into them... we are such proud parents of our future garbage collector ;-)

learning curve

well, we're certainly getting our money's worth at daycare-- we get all the germs we could possibly ever desire (in the month James has been there he's had an ear infection and then on Tuesday at 3am i had to take him to the ER for a bad case of croup that developed during the night) but it's also paying off big time for James' early developmental education... James is a veritable sponge of learning these days:

he's in love with trashcans (he loves anything that opens and closes)... he kept pointing to the baggy with his dirty diaper in it today and saying "dasth" ("trash") so we took it out to the "dasth da" ("trashcan") to throw it away... on the way back i said "okay mommy needs to wash her hands now"... James then proceeded to push up his sleeves and hold out his hands so we could wash his hands too!

i then poured a glass of chocolate soy milk (trying to wean him)... he toddled over to a straw he'd been playing with earlier but had ditched on the floor, picked it up, and brought it over to my glass and put the straw in... best yet, he actually took a couple sips and didn't spit it out like usual!

he loves exploring the garage so i left the door open as i was getting his lunch together... but then things got quiet... i peeked into the garage and there was James, sitting calmly in his stroller waiting for me to get a clue and take him for a walk!

he's also starting to point out body parts when prompted: when trying to find his belly button, he'll pull the neck of his onesie open and peer down to see it... but my favorite is "nose"... his aim is so good he sticks his finger up his nose everytime!

and this was all in one day, ladies and gentlemen!