HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY// 12 MO UPDATE + CURIOUS GEORGE PARTY

Howwwww in the world is our baby already ONE? It's not possible. Time flies when you're having fun....especially when "fun" also means sleeping less and slight exhaustion at times.

One whole year of getting to know this little guy - what a joy it has been. I thank Jesus everyday for his little life and can't wait to watch him grow more. One of my favorite things was finding out just how BIG his personality is. Seriously, almost every time we go out he attracts all the girls. And gets all the compliments. He is a lady killer already. 

Loves:

Food (any and all fruit especially)

Hiding behind things

Books!!

Food

Wrestling with Daddy

Being in the kitchen with Mommy

Throwing a ball back and forth

Taking things off the shelf one at a time

Bath time

Giving his Clifford & Curious George stuffed animals hugs

Being outside/Strolling

Food (...haha)

Screaming

His grandparents

Cooking utensils (bowls, spatulas, Tupperware, all of it!)

Hates:

When the food is gone

DIAPER. CHANGES.

Having his face/nose wiped 

When we tell him he can't play in the toilet/garbage can

Words:

Outside (his favorite right now)

Cheese

Choo Choo

Hi

Eggs

Bye-bye

Dada

Mama (only sparingly lol)

Walking:

Yes! He started walking a couple days before his birthday.

He was super timid at first - if we got excited he would NOT do it again.

But here we are a week later and he's doing more walking than crawling now!

First haircut:

Ugh, not yet. This child's hair though. I'm afraid to cut the top 

with the hopes that eventually the extra weight will help it lay down, 

but the back definitely needs to be shaped up.

Wearing:

Size 12-18 mo & 18 mo clothes

Size 4 diapers

Teeth:

Still 6 (Hasn't cut any since about 7-8 months)

Sleep:

The sleep saga is at a better place for now. He started sleeping through the night just before his birthday and now sleeps from 7:30 pm to 6 am (and exactly 6 am everyday) basically 4 out of 5 days, with a random middle of the night wake-up here and there. I'm so proud of him because he struggggled for so long. 

Naps:

Usually 2 one-hour naps a day (morning and afternoon)

On the weekend of his birthday, we drove back home to Louisville, Kentucky to have a big ole birthday party for Charlie. It was a Curious George themed cook out and almost 40 family and friends showed up to celebrate with us. So special and sweet. 

As much as this boy loves to eat, he wasn't really into the cake smash at first. I don't know if he was intimidated by everyone watching or if he just didn't know he was supposed to make a mess. But once he finally took a bite, he started to dig in!

Happy first birthday, Charlie! We love you so. 

FAVORITE BOOKS: 1 YEAR OLD EDITION

I'm going to have a one year old come August 4th. What?! Not possible.

This post is allll about our favorite books throughout Charlie's first year. The books that I basically have memorized now. The books that I know exactly which page he will crack up at. The books that he never pushes away (he can totally communicate which books he does not want to read, let me tell you). The books that have sweet stories and beautiful illustrations.

Charlie loves reading right now. He loves to read before naps and at bedtime. He loves to wander into his room and sit next to his book box, throwing books out, flipping through a couple, and then tossing some back in. He loves to "read" in the rocking chair and in the car. And he can be kinda picky!

But I need to share this picture before we get into the book titles because 1) THAT HAIR. At what point do I know if I'm emotionally ready for his first hair cut or not?? 2) He's reading one of MY favorite books as a child that I distinctly remember my parents reading to me over and over, Go, Dog. Go! And 3) look at those perfect page-flipping thumbs. I was super impressed he mastered this at only 11 months old. Maybe he has books in his genes. After all, his daddy works in books. Books just might be his job one day. ;)

Okay, let's get into it. These are our top 5 favorite books from year one:

1. The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen 

Without a doubt, this is Charlie's number one favorite book! He L O V E S this board book. I think it's a combination of the colorful underwater pictures and the repetition of the words that he just eats up. He never says no to this one and always greets it with a happy sound when we pick it up! There's one page in here where the fish is really big and has a very happy/friendly face (I won't ruin the ending for you haha) and that is his favorite page. This has been one of our go-to before bed books.










2. "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" by Eric Carle 

I found a giant board book copy of this classic at Halfprice Books when Charlie was a few months old and in the last 3 months it's been one of his favorites. We kept this one in the car for him to flip through as we drove for a while and he really enjoyed that. It's GIANT and I think that's one of the biggest reasons he loves this one. Pictured to the left is his favorite page. He forms his little mouth into a perfect circle and says, "oooooh" everytime. I started taking his pointer finger and counting the children and now he gets it ready for me as soon as we arrive at this page! The illustrations and vibrant colors in this book are perfect for little babies. And it's a perfect book to teach your baby some animal names and colors!






3. Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton 

This is a repetitive song-type book that's easy make really fun. Think square-dancing! Bounce them on your knee, or make it into your own little tune, and your kiddo will go crazy for this one. An older woman from church recommended this one at our first baby shower so I knew I had to pick it up when I found it at Halfprice Books (are you sensing a theme in where I have had a lot of luck finding good books?). It never disappoints for a fun read! 











4. Charlie Goes Camping by Carrie Weston

I have a sweet friend from college who, the last 2 or 3 times I've seen her, has given me several "Charlie" books she's found. She's a teacher, so she's always hitting up Goodwill and thrift stores for books and she has found some gems! This is one of them and it is PERFECT because, as some of you may know, I grew up camping with my family. And we actually call him "Charlie Bear" as a nickname! The pictures are gorgeous and bright. The story is sweet and encourages being a helpful friend. It's a keeper.










5. Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Storybook Rhymes

This was one of Charlie's first Christmas presents from Mommy and Daddy and he has so enjoyed it! It sings the rhyme when you flip to the next page and when you press the buttons, they point out letters, shapes, and count items on each of the pages. It's clever, I find myself singing these songs almost daily, and it's a great beginner book for teaching babies the techniques of handling books/flipping pages. Ours has been well loved. 











I would love to know some of your favorite books! What books have your babies and toddlers loved reading over and over? Which ones give you all the feels or make you giggle? I'm always in the market for new children's books. Please share your favorites and suggestions in the comments! :)

OUR FIRST MONTH IN ILLINOIS

If you didn't already know, we moved this month! We've been residents of Wheaton, Illinois for almost 4 weeks now and are down to like...3 boxes unpacked? That's not bad if you ask me. ;)

Moving is H A R D work. This was my first big move ever (let alone to a new state). Two days before the moving truck was scheduled to arrive, my 80 year old Mamaw came over to help with (what I thought was) the final boxings. Heh. Let's just say she was NOT convinced we were going to be ready to move and she kicked out butts into high gear. Don't underestimate her, y'all. We really needed her help that day.

The moving day itself didn't go without a few hiccups, of course. Let's see....first the moving truck showed up a day EARLY. They came back again on the right day and all was well, but then we ended up leaving at a different time than we expected which made things a little hairy for a minute, but we were glad we left when we did.

We pulled out of Louisville, Kentucky around 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 29 with 3 cars caravaning and my in-laws along for the adventure. It's a 5 hour drive without stopping, but 6 hours is more realistic especially with a baby. But the drive that night took 7 hours. It was probably the worst trip we have ever made up here to be honest haha. It was 1) getting dark,  and 2) we drove through a heavy thunderstorm which slowed us down pretty significantly in the middle of the night. My husband had the wonderful idea of getting a hotel for the first night in town so that we wouldn't show up to an empty apartment at 2 a.m. and it was suchhhh a blessing to have showers and comfy beds after the long drive. At 7 a.m. that same morning, Samuel met our landlord and the movers at our apartment and we were officially moving in!

We were so thankful for Samuel's parents who drove with us and helped us get the place livable that first weekend. I don't even want to imagine what it would have been like without them. They even made a quick trip with us over to IKEA (which is only 20 minutes away *cue hallelujah chorus*) to buy our new living room furniture, and THEN helped put it together. Like I said, it was a tremendous help to not do this alone.


Here are some highlights from our first month in pictures:

Our new neighborhood 

Charlie's first parade on the Fourth of July!

Deciding which IKEA couch he liked best.

Checking out once of the many parks in our town.
There are only 23 different playgrounds in the Wheaton Park District. So fun!

Looking into our little backyard. :)

Adams Park, right behind the library

Classic car show on Friday nights in the summer

Backyard playtime!

Don't mind that roughed up coffee table - it's my next big project. :)

90% of why I love this little condo: this big sliding door in the kitchen/dining room. If you knew my last kitchen, you will understand my excitement. 

 Geneva, IL 

Geneva Air Fair

Way to go if you made it to the end of this long post! We miss Louisville, but we are enjoying our new adventure here too. We are even coming back for a visit at the first of August because CHARLIE IS TURNING ONE. We're so looking forward to that!

Thank you all for the help, prayers, and FaceTime calls in the last little bit. We are giving so much thanks to the Lord for His gracious hand in it all. Praise the Lord for his good gifts!

9 MONTHS OLD, VACATION, NEW CAR

How about a little life update from the James fam? As much as I love to keep family/friends that live far away updated on our James life, I have loved writing these too-long-for-Instagram updates just for myself. It'll be even more fun for me to look back at everything I've written as Charlie continues to grow to compare to future babies/remind myself what stages and phases I loved of his. I'm not a writer, I'm just sentimental. 😆 

It's been a while so grab a snack as I fill you in! 

CHARLIE
Our Charlie Bear turned 9 months old on May 4th! I can hardly believe he has spent as much time brightening our lives as we once spent just waiting for him to arrive. The last month or so may have been my favorite so far! Sure there were hard weeks of teething, and maybe a slight 8 month sleep regression making him wake up an extra time at night, but overall this age is such a blast. 

He thinks he's big sorting through his toy box himself ;)

He has done so much growing and learning over the last little bit. For one thing, at 7 months he got 5 teeth in a span of the next 5 weeks. Ouch. (Ouch for Mommy and Daddy too😭 )  He just learned how to pull up onto furniture and to sit on his bottom on his own. The image of the first time he got into a sitting position on his own is forever etched in my brain. It was in the middle of the night. He woke up crying to be fed and there we found Charlie sitting up like Winnie the Pooh sad in his bed! Like, how did I get like this?? haha It was the saddest/funniest thing. 

He is quite the Chatty Cathy and SO social. He says "Hi" and "Hey" allllll day long (and I love it). He loves to laugh at Daddy. He loves to growl. He is finally doggie crawling more and not just army crawling. And he loves to eat. Don't expect to be eating a banana without him wanting a bite for himself. Even the things he doesn't love, like peas and green beans, he still grins and bears it and makes a face at me as if to say, "I'm trying, mom!" He is a very silly and sweet boy. We are so lucky he's ours. 

9 months pregnant / 9 months old. He's a chunker (and was asleep for this photo!).

9 MONTH INFO
Weight: 22 lbs 11 oz
Teeth: 6
Diaper: Size 4
Clothes: 9 months/12 months - 18 months 
Words: Hi, Hey, Gaga (Dada)

Probably the next time I blog an update about this little guy he will be turning ONE. Unbelievable. His first year is quickly passing by, but it has been a sweet, sweet one. 

FAMILY VACATION
We went to Gatlinburg with Samuel's family last week! Cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles - it was a packed cabin, but we loved it. Gatlinburg is one of those places I could go every year and never get tired of it. We ate a lot of brunch, spent a day at Cade's Cove (and saw a Mama Black Bear with her two baby cubs!), walked the downtown strip, played a lot of Ticket to Ride, and a bunch of other things in our 4 days there. It seems like Gatlinburg trips always come in seasons on my life right before big change, so I'm thankful for the mountains which are a constant reminder of how strong and faithful my God is. 

The view from our cabin

Daddy and Charlie at Cade's Cove

He caught a fish while eating a ham sandwich. Talent, yall!

Charlie was more interested in eating the putter than putting.

WE BOUGHT A CAR
It was finally time!! We needed a family car that was safer and bigger for our baby and all of his million accessories. We're in loooveee with our Toyota RAV4! It was used with SUPER low miles and we knew it was our car as soon as we test drove it. We hope to have this car for many years to come!

Thanks for following our little update! I'll be back soon with more exciting news. xx

Emily

CURRENTLY

H a p p y M a r c h! 

It's Friday and I'm dreaming of spring days. About a week ago it was a warm and sunny 80 degrees at the end of February. So come on, March, I need you to perk up.

With spring in the horizon, now is a perfect time to share some of my current favorite things. It always seems like spring fever and spring cleaning make me want to try out new things. Shake off the winter same old, same old. You too? Add these goodies to your gotta-try-it list.

1. Red Sea Road, Ellie Holcomb 
This is Ellie's second gospel-centered solo album. All of the lyrics just sing to my heart. A few of my favorites are "You Love Me Best," "Red Sea Road," "God of All Comfort," and "He Will." Love love love love love. Also, am I the only one who still buys physical copies of albums? Cause CDs ftw. ✊🏻

2. Morphe Eyeshadow Palette 
I'm an eyeshadow novice. I love this palette because it has 35 beautiful color options that I know will work well together on the same look. It's a really affordable and great quality eyeshadow palette. Even for those of you who are better at doing eye make-up looks, you will still love what Morphe has made here. It's not a "beginner" palette that more experienced girls will be bored with, but it does aide beginners (like me) very well. If you have green eyes, this warm toned palette is especially for you!

3. The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines 
This book restored a tiny flame for reading in my heart. It has been a long time (or maybe ever?) that I've read an autobiography and really loved it. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that I love Chip and Joanna. 😬 I devoured the first several chapters about their childhood, how they met and fell in love, and what their first years as a married couple was like. If you're a fan of the show, and a fan of love and/or business stories, you will definitely enjoy this book as much as I did.

4. Ro's Argan Body Conditioner from Lush 
This stuff. I wish I had it back at the beginning of winter. And during my pregnancy when I had really dry skin. This body conditioner from Lush makes my skin feel so smooth! It's great to use in the shower after shaving your legs or if you just need the extra moisture. It's vanilla and rose scented, a.k.a. spa quality smells here, yall. You will thank me.

5. A Selfie Stick! 
Laugh all you want...but I finally got a selfie stick and I've only been wanting one for a year. Ha! Thank you, white elephant gift exchange! I don't really know why I wanted one...I think they look silly when you can tell someone took a picture with one. But a couple Sundays ago, Samuel (jokingly) said that we should take some family pictures in our church clothes with it. It worked GREAT, and I'll pat myself on the back because you cannot even tell I used it to take our picture. Amiright?

6. Burt's Bees Mint Cocoa Lip Balm 
Maybe it is true that I am usually obsessed with anything mint flavored, but THIS CHAPSTICK GUYS. It's so yummy and buttery smooth! It also gives a really pretty sheen to your lips. This was in my stocking at Christmas and I always make sure it's in my pocket or purse wherever I go now. I don't usually like chocolate flavored or scented things (they tend to be a little fakey to me) but the cocoa has a super natural smell. I'm a chapstick connoisseur, so you can take my word for it.

What are you loving or wanting to try this spring? Be sure to share it in the comments!

Emily xo.

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WHAT I LOVED HAVING IN MY HOSPITAL BAG

Baby Charlie arrived 6 months ago, but I can still remember my complete stress over what I needed to pack for the hospital pretty vividly.  I was not one of those girls who was packed and ready as soon as I hit the third trimester. Nope. I read all the blogs, pinned all the Pinterest pins, and still felt like there was going to be something SO IMPORTANT that I would regret not packing for the hospital, so I kept putting it off until 37 or 38 weeks. Basically when I could have gone into labor at any moment. (Joke's on me though because he was 3 days overdue!)

A friend from church who is expecting her first baby asked me last week if I had any tips for the hospital, and immediately my mind went to that dreaded packing list I had stressed over! So, here are the things shared with her, and that I want to share with you. 

Favorite things in my hospital bag:

My own water bottle. You are constantly drinking after the baby comes! The nurses encourage it and ask you regularly if you're drinking. Hormones, nursing, and just plain exhaustion make it necessary. So rather than refilling the tiny styrofoam cup they give you a million times, I was thankful to have my old faithful water bottle (and for the sweet nurses who would go fill it with ice whenever I asked). 

Pillows and blankets. Comfort from home. Plain and simple. The blanket was especially helpful for my husband who slept on the couch in our room. 

A Bath Towel. Hospital towels are basically oversized paper towels. No, thank you! Having my own towel from home really helped my shower feel all the more refreshing. It was soft and familiar. On that same note, the first shower you get to take after delivery is the best shower you will ever take. 

Laptop (for Netflix). We LOVED watching The Office in the hospital during some of our down time without visitors. For us, it was a show we could put on, laugh, and relax. If there's a movie, show, or book like that for you, I would highly recommend bringing it for some relaxing entertainment! It ended up being TOO funny for me though because I literally felt like I was going to undo my stitches from laughing. Maybe don't bring something that hilarious. 

Coins for the vending machine. This one is for all the husbands out there - I got your back! They spend so many hours awake with you and sometimes they just need a can of Coke or candy bar to keep their eyes open and ready to help. You never know what time of day you will be in labor or when your husband might need to hit the vending machine, so don't count on the hospital cafeteria being open.

Snacks. Snacks. Snacks. My post-delivery self was RAVENOUS. I think that's pretty normal too. My sweet Samuel had to go get me a ham sandwich at 11 p.m. one night because I was craving it. So pack up on healthy snacks like apples, trail mix, and granola bars that will keep you going. You won't regret packing snacks, and your husband will thank you also!

Things I thought I would use (but didn't):

Basically all the clothes I packed. I didn't even end up touching half of what I packed for our hospital stay. There are a couple reasons for that. One is that I pretty much lived in the hospital gowns. Call it new-mom-first-time-hospital-patient-itis. Another great thing was that pretty much anything I needed for my own post-delivery comfort the hospital had and would give graciously (even sending me home with extra). So all of the pads, creams, ice packs, and what-nots were taken care of by the nurses way better than anything I could have packed. 

Socks. Almost everyone I talked to mentioned bringing socks because hospitals can be cold. I don't think I even touched mine. I was pretty warm because of all those hormones adjusting in my body so I liked feeling the cold floor. 

Robe. Again, clothes I didn't need! I have never been a robe person so why did I think this would change? 

Post-delivery/Nursing comforts. The hospital has ALL of the pads and creams you could possibly need. And you're already paying for it (Thank you, hospital bills$$) so you might as well take advantage of it. Save what you bought for when you get home and stock up on what they give you at the hospital. I asked for extras of everything I thought was helpful as I was packing up the last day. They're more than happy to give it!

A notebook. I packed a notebook thinking it would be helpful if there were any tips or things I needed to remember and write down. SIKE. I didn't have time for writing a thing! I basically just relied on my husband and my mom to be listening when the nurses were giving me instructions because I knew I wouldn't be able to remember anything they were saying on my five hours of sleep in 48 hours! PLUS, the hospital will send you home with LOADS of wonderful(ly boring) reading material that you will never even get a chance to read, so just plan on relying on Google when you get home. (I think I googled 1,000 things in the first week of having a newborn. Not an exaggeration.)

One last thing! 
Talk to your nurses. Ask for their help when you need it. Almost all of my nurses had had their own babies and were full of other helpful tips about life after baby, my recovery, and learning how to be a new mom. They were such a blessing to me. You know they have heard it ALL, so don't feel shy about asking them what's on your mind either. 

If you are like me, you almost won't want to go home by the time your hospital stay comes to an end. At least for my first baby, it was a nice, reassuring, comfort to know someone knew the answer to my question, can help me however I needed it, and would always be operating on more sleep than I was. But God will give you strength, wisdom, and an amazing motherly instinct. When you get home from the hospital and wonder where the baby instruction manual is that the hospital must have forgotten to give you in all that reading material, just remember that you are that baby's mommy! God chose you specifically for them. And he will be faithful to help you in your great need.