Video

My first video post of James - Enjoy!!

Snow in April

We got almost a foot of snow yesterday and this morning and it is still snowing! Here are a few pcitures of our backyard taken last night. And as a bonus to this snowstorm, we were without power for about 5 hours last night.

New Chairs

We purchased two new chairs for our dining room last week after getting rid of the couch that used to be in our dining room. A leg had broken off of the couch and it was overall worn out, however we still found someone who was glad to take it! One man's junk is another man's treasure. Anyway, here are a few pictures of what our dining room looks like now. I am sure most of our blog viewers can guess which chair I picked out and which chair is Doug's.

Easter

We celebrated Easter at our house yesterday with lots of great company - Cory, Jamie, Kaylynn, Tricia, Dan, Preston, Carmen, and Sophie. Here is James in his Easter clothes:

All 3 kids played really well together...even though they all tried to play with the same toy (because that's what kids do!).

We attempted to have them pose for a picture...this is the best one I got.

I tried to get a picture of everyone who was at our house since we were all dressed up for Easter although I missed getting Preston on camera (and myself).

Carmen, James, and Jamie

Cory and Doug

Tricia and Dan

As always, a few pictures of James that I had to post. In the first one he was playing with his baby gym and somehow trapped the ball between his feet.

And the next two are him with his sippy cup. He hasn't figured out how to get the juice out of it yet but he is working on it. In the meantime, he loves to chew on it! (And anything else he can get near his mouth.)

House Projects

We've been hard at work this winter and spring with some projects around the house. I feel as though we will never get everything done that we want to on the house! I guess that is one of the joys (?) of owning a home. But before we get to the pictures of home improvement, here is a shot I took of James this morning. Notice the hair...

Doug built a new railing for our deck which is now sturdy enough to keep James from falling over the sides. He also installed a gate at the top of the stairs so we can keep him penned in this summer.

Doug also built a new fence on one side of our house. This hides his trailer as well as the garbage cans.

And we've also been working on our basement. It was finished when we moved into our house but it needed some "freshening up". Somehow, I convinced my brothers to help me paint it at the beginning of February. Pete even helped me pick out the color - "Classic Taupe". Cory, Pete, and I didn't quite finish the job the night we started so my mom and dad went to work on it when they were here. Then I finally got it arranged and organized so it is usable for all three of us - Doug, James, and I each have our own space down there.

Here is Doug's office:

And my sewing area with Doug's recliner and the spare TV:

The other part of my sewing area:

James' storage cubes for his toys:

This is my latest project - a baby quilt for our nephew who will arrive at the end of April!

And the final picture of is of my new sewing machine (this picture is for you Grandma!)

Spring Break!

James and I spent spring break in Minnesota visiting my good friend Paula and her family. Her son, Elliot, is 2 and her daughter, Whitney, is 3 months. Doug decided to stay home and do some house projects (pictures of those to follow...)

Mostly, Paula and I just spent time with the kids.

Trying to get a good one of all 3 of them was nearly impossible.

And if we thought 3 kids was challenging, try adding a 4th! Paula and Grant had friends over for St. Patrick's Day. So this is all of the kids : James, Elliot, Jack, and Whitney.

We decided to take the kids swimming one evening. James was basically scared the whole time and wanted to be bundled up in a towel rather than in the water. But after sitting on the side of the pool for a half hour, he decided to give it a try. Elliot and Whitney both loved the water, although Whitney got a little cold and had to hang out with James on the side for awhile.

We also had the chance to spend a day with one of my friends from college, Michele, and her newborn daughter, Jaycie. Here are James and Jaycie.

Elliot and James took baths together while we were there.

It was also Elliot's birthday - he turned 2!

One day, the weather was (almost) warm enough to take the kids out for a walk. Elliot decided to push James in one of the strollers while Whitney rode in the other one.

And one final picture of our happy, smiling baby.

Photo Session

We had professional pictures taken of James last week in Minneapolis. Shawna Noel of Shawna Noel Photography did the honors and did a great job! She also took our wedding pictures. Check out her blog for a preview!!