snow day!!

So we didn't realize, but apparently it was supposed to snow on Saturday night with some accumulation, and that it did. We got a few inches. And it was the first snow of the season, unlike last winter where it snowed in November and a lot in December too. But like last year, we had one who loved the snow and one who wasn't so keen. It's not hard to guess which was which...

We did manage to stay out and play a little, including building two snowmen as someone destroyed the first:

big boy in the woods

Yesterday I took Jamie to a local park where we like to walk Remmy. Lately we've been going through the woods to visit the horse fields. Jamie loves seeing the horses. Unfortunately, they were on the far side of the field and didn't come visit, so I just let him down to run around. He loved running up and down this empty creek bed. As I watched him, I was struck by what a little boy he has become--something about they way he was dressed and how he could climb the steep incline. Here is a video I shot of him playing:

And here are some photos of him playing and also some of the horses he likes (taken on a different day):

 Besties:

Jamie is fond of the horses:

This horse is fond of our buggy:

Remmy thinks they are big playmates.



current calming techniques

Jamie has become very tech-savvy. He knows how to turn on iphones/ipads and scroll through photos. He stops and videos he wants to watch. They are an excellent distraction when he is very cranky. Especially on VERY long plane rides to the US. Episodes of Thomas and Friends was also a big hit, even without sound.  Here is one of Jamie's current favorite videos of him and his best friend Remmy:

first train ride!

Our friend Victoria celebrated her 30th birthday by inviting us down to the Bluebell railway, which is a steam train railway. Jamie and Remmy both had their first train ride and enjoyed it thoroughly.

More photos are on Flickr.

jamie's new hang outs

Jamie loves to explore other rooms. He gives me a cheeky look over his shoulder and goes crawling as fast as he can out of the living room. If he goes for the kitchen, he either climbs to stand under his highchair or, more likely he goes to splash out the water in Remmy's bowl. I'm just thankful Remmy eats all of her meals, or I'm sure he'd be helping himself to that too. His other favorite destination is Remmy's crate in the dining room. The first time it happened, Remmy just sat outside and watched. She's getting used to it now. Here are some photos and there are a few more on Flickr:

And here's a cute one just for good measure:

10 months old!

Can you believe it? We can't. It's been an eventful month. Jamie was baptized. He got his first two teeth (finally!). He is crawling on all fours more than he goes commando. He moves around all the furniture and I've even seen him stand unsupported (accidentally and very briefly) when he lets go of something and isn't paying attention. He is babbling away. He can climb up and down (with help) stairs, though we don't let him do it here as our steps are too steep. He waves hello and goodbye when prompted. He loves lift the flap books. He loves playing games and doing things to try to make us (including Remmy) laugh/smile, like instigating peek-a-boo, or handing me his pacifier or something he's eating. He understands more than we think too. On Tuesday, he was sitting by the tv, doing something I didn't want him to do, so I told him to bring me his book which was next to him, and he pushed it over to me while crawling. I was shocked! This busy boy made photos really difficult this month, as I was on my own taking the photos. As soon as he was close enough, he was grabbing for them, or putting them in his mouth. See for yourself:

The best two (of 130+!):

The reality:

Don't you just love his little tiptoe!

So focused, can't get him to turn his head...

This one doesn't help...

As soon as he reached them, he flopped to his belly and flipped every single one over...



besties...

Recently, Jamie has begun playing with Remmy, often laughing when he does. It's so cute. I took this video the other day at the end. It's not the greatest viewpoint, but it gives you the idea:



The video can also be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-XagHhW_x4

Christmas card fun!

So Paul and I took A LOT of photos this month, trying to get something good for our first family Christmas card. Here are some of the runners up/outtakes:

Unfortunately, I can't upload the actual card as we designed it through a website and they didn't send a pdf, but the front said Merry Christmas and had this photo:

And the inside:

Shh...Don't tell Santa I've been naughty!

Wishing you all the best this Christmas and New Year!



The Woodwards



Paul, Stacy, Jamie and Remmy

snow days!

So Jamie and I apparently made it home in the nick of time. It started snowing in Southeast London on Tuesday morning about 4am. Our flight landed at 6:30. Paul picked us up at the airport and as we drove the 60 miles on the motorway the snow became more and more visible on the ground. By the time we got off at our exit, it was really coming down. We were only 8 miles from home, but it took us 2.5 hours from that point to get home. We literally crawled down the road to get to our house. It snowed all day long and then again the next day. We ended up with 12-14 inches of snow. A first for Jamie and for Remmy. Can you guess who enjoyed it more?

What fun!

Hmm... 

 I love it!

I'm bored...

Our backyard after Day 1:



Nana came to visit!

Last week my mom came to visit us and we had a great time. She helped me get a lot of jobs done around the house and brought lots of fun clothes for Jamie. It goes without saying that she got lots of Jamie cuddles too, including some middle of the night rocking sessions with our poor sleeper (I think he's teething...well i hope that's it!). Here are some of the highlights:

Nana-Jamie time:

Fun with food:

Practicing our standing:

Went to a petting farm:

 which I think Remmy enjoyed more than Jamie:

 We met all the Woodwards at a pub for lunch:

more photos on our Flickr site. There are new photos from last week and various other times in these sets: Xmas tree farm, Jamie 7th month, family and Remmy.



half a year already!

Well I'm super behind on blogging, seeing as the last one was Jamie's 5 month birthday. It's amazing how much time a puppy and an active baby take up! Jamie turned six months on Saturday. We had a super busy weekend so took the photos Sunday night. Remmy tried to eat the '6' block so had to run up for a replacement. I also got a taste of trying to photograph two kids when trying to get a nice photo of Remmy and Jamie. It was not easy and the blocks definitely could not make an appearance in those, but we eventually managed with the help of our toy tweety bird. Jamie is quite a character these days. He's sitting up on his only with some supervision. He will fall over when he gets excited or lunges for something. He is back on solids and is not enjoying them as much this time round. He is a fan of bread though and likes to feed himself. He is reaching for absolutely everything and really rolling around and pulling himself about when he wants something. He smiles all the time and loves to blow raspberries. No teeth yet, but he had his first cold, poor guy. Here are his birthday block shots for this month:

I love to pick things up:

and eat them...