Big boy pj's

Jake and I love our night time routine with James. He is so cuddly and smells SO good after his bath. Tonight was the first night in big boy pj's. He is growing so fast and has pretty much outgrown his old footie sleepers. He is quickly growing into his 12 month old clothes....WOW!

Dinner-time

James is now self-feeding. He has mastered it and it is so cute! He loves his regular jar food as well but he really enjoys sitting with daddy & mommy at the dinner table with his own meal.
We have given him eggs, bananas, carrots, sweet potato, broccoli and papaya. We are hoping to introduce peas soon. I don't think he was too happy with it on his nose....we thought it was pretty funny!

James has also begun to regularly imitate sounds we make around the house. The two latest are "yummy" and "hi".
Tonight at dinner he said both..it's a little quiet so you have to listen close.

Mmmmm spinach

One of the foods we made James was mixed spinach and apples. He LOVED it! Jake fed him tonight and I couldn't resist getting pictures of that green face!

Baby James Update

Our little baby James is growing up as fast as can be. James is now a super fast crawler now..picking up some serious speed! He is pulling himself up to standing position on anything that will hold him.. Today he realized once he is standing he can move his feet. He tried walking along the couch. Jake calls it stumbling then recovering..it is so cute to watch.
James has also been doing great with eating solid foods and has begun self feeding. He loves sweet potato, carrots, eggs, bananas and broccoli. We have cutting these foods into smalls pieces and watch him tackle the notion of feeding himself. I think most of it ends up on the floor but he certainly has fun with it. As for the other food..Jake and I continue to make all of James' food ourselves. We feel it is important that James eats fresh fruits and vegetables just like us. This week we had a baby-food making night and got 3 weeks worth of food prepared....we had a lot of fun doing it!















James has also begun using a sippy-cup. He uses it more to bite the spout and let water dribble down his face but he is getting the hang of it.















Everyday he learns something new..and changes just a little bit more.

We are Engaged!!!

Such wonderful news to share with all of you..well at least for the few of you that don't already know.

Jake proposed to me on Fort Lauderdale beach, Thursday night 4~4~08. It was by far the most romantic night of my life.

We had spent the day with the family in Las Olas enjoying the stores..taking in the sights. We then had dinner reservations for 7:30 at a restaurant on the beach.

~Earlier that day Jake and asked me if I wanted to leave James with the family and go for a walk alone on the beach before dinner. I welcomed the idea since we hadn't had any alone time. It was a perfect evening on the beach...we walked bare foot on the water's edge talking about how much we loved each other and how blessed our lives were. Jake even brought up the subject of engagement. We talked about when we wanted to get engaged and married and even where. We had been walking for quiet awhile when Jake said, "lets head back...it's time to be seated at the restaurant." On the walk back the subject of engagment faded into the background and as always we began to look for shells. *A little preface*

*Jake and I love sand dollars. We have them all over our house. Part of the reason for this is, one day we were visiting Tyby Island,GA and on our usual shell walk, I mentioned how great it would be if we found a sand dollar. Low and behold that next step we took, a sand dollar washed up on the shore in front of us....so great! Ok, back to the engagement.....

~As we looked for shells Jake mentioned how great it would be if we found a sand dollar that night. I said it was pretty unlikely and kept walking. Only a few steps later I walked directly into a sand dollar buried in the sand. I could not believe my eyes..not to mention it had been bleached and not the usual gray color. Anyhow, I told Jake.."Look..look what I found!" I bent over to pick it up..flipped it over and this is what I saw...

I began to cry..I turned to face Jake and there he was on bended knee with the ring in this hand. He asked me to marry him and through the fountain of tears I said yes.....it was perfect.We walked back to the restaurant where we were welcomed with applauds and whistles from everyone in the restaurant as well as hug and kisses from the family!

Jake and I have been together for 2.5 years now and have learned so much about each other over this time. The most wonderful part of this story is that the marriage Jake and I will create and the relationship that will grow will come from absolute love and respect for each other. We didn't rush into getting married when we had James, rather cherished the relationship we had and allowed our love for each other to grow and develop separately from being parents. Now this proposal and engagement comes out of true unconditional and everlasting love for each other. We both have found that moment, where we are ready to take that next step and become husband and wife.....what a blessing.

And now of course...the ring!

It is absolutely stunning...I could not ask for a more beautiful engagement ring.

Spring Break ~ Florida

We are back from our amazing trip to Florida and finally getting settled. It was a wonderful vacation filled with plenty of sun, time with family and relaxation! We spent the first part of our trip in Pompano with the entire Wilson clan (minus Nancy's husband David, who was truly missed). In Pompano we went to Ft. Lauderdale beach, drove down to the Keys to snorkel, swam in the hotel pool and relaxed every moment we could. Jake and I even got to the gym to workout! On Saturday we drove to Ft. Meyers with Jake's parents and brother Daniel. We stayed there for 4 days. We celebrated birthdays, went out to dinner and had a wonderful visit with Auntie Sonia and Uncle Walter in Naples. It was a perfect vacation with perfect weather. James was great the entire trip even for the plane and car rides. He spent time splashing in the ocean and even went under water for the first time in the swimming pool. This little boy is definitely a fish. He loved being at the beach just watching the waves and sand pipers. He had a great visit with all his 2nd cousins as well as the rest of the family. We were definitely sad to see it end, but now that school has started, it is great to be back into the swing of things.