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:

jamie loves the bath

Last night I took this video of Jamie in the bath. It all started because he was trying to drink the water from the cup and I told him it was yucky, but it just turned into a game...

oh dear!

Jamie is talking more and more everyday. He hasn't said much that is funny yet as mostly he just says one word at a time, sometimes two. We haven't filmed him much (or at all yet) talking but we captured this tonight which was just too cute. If you can't tell what's going on, the cover to the iPad has come off...

Some photos

Here is a photo of Jamie in 'the' t-shirt. This was taken right before bed tonight and he was very tired, but it ended up being quite a funny shot, which is what we used to announce the pregnancy on Facebook:

We entitled it: We have some news. Some are more happy than others.

Jamie actually doesn't really understand what's going on. He went to the ultrasound and we explained about the baby in mommy's tummy, but who's going to understand that about a black and white moving image. We'll try to explain more as time goes on, particularly after we find out the sex.

Here is a photo of my bump from this morning, which is much bigger at 15 weeks than last time.

a little green thumb

Christine (Paul's mum) came over today to have a massive pruning/tidy of our garden (backyard). We got a substantial amount cut back during Jamie's 2 hour nap--we easily have 2-3 carloads that need to go to the green recycling. When Jamie did wake up, we found we had ourselves quite the little helper. He obviously has his Nanna's green thumb. (Let's hope so!)

Woodward family vacation

Last week we went to the Dorset/Somerset border with the extended Woodward family. We rented a cottage in a small village and did lots of trips out in the surrounding area. Jamie really enjoyed getting to know his grandparents and aunt and uncle better. We took trips to a steam fair, farm, a safari park, and monkey world. The ladies had a morning at a spa/gardens while the men went to the motor museum. There are tons of photos to go through on Flickr if you're interested, and we might add some from the others' cameras in the next couple weeks. Jamie is a great animal lover so really enjoyed all the trips out. A few highlights are below. The rest can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulwoodward/sets/72157627661070806/with/6143830754/

Sam and Jamie exploring the motor museum:

Sian and Jamie at monkey world:

Two other monkeys spotted at monkey world:

 David and Christine at the steam fair:

Family shot a Longleat safari park:

Jamie and the muir cats:

Jamie "drives" a tractor:

Hey, come back her ducks!

Hold on, is that a monkey on our car?!

Mom, there's something strange outside!

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.



What have you done to my room?

We are getting new carpet in Jamie's room this week and have had to strip everything out. Here is his reaction on seeing the empty room the first time.



You can also view this video here: http://youtu.be/NCkX4Nn8diE

summer vacay in the States

The first two weeks in July we spent in the States. The first weekend was at Sugartree where sadly we took no photos. I'll have to rely on my aunts and uncles for some good phtos from there. We had a great time there visiting with my mom's side of the family. Floated down the river, swam with Jamie in the pool, saw some fireworks. On the 4th we went back to St Louis and had a pool party with some of my dad's side of the family. Another great day visiting with them. The next day we flew to Hilton Head for some time at the beach. Jamie learned to LOVE the beach. By the end of the trip he was constantly making a beeline for the beach path so he could go play in the sand and water. He also liked being thrown about in the pool. Paul and I even managed a 24 escape to Savannah-my first night away from Jamie-and we all survived. Jamie had a great time with my parents. At the end of the trip we flew back to St Louis for another pool party with my cousins and some old friends of mine, Shay, Erika and her adorable son Patrick whose a year older than Jamie. Good times all around. All the photos are on Flickr as usual. The can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulwoodward/sets/72157627215213433/

Here are a few of our favorites:

Beach time:

Lounging by the pool:

Fun with family:

J making friends with a goat at a petting farm:

bye-bye for now:

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:

the BIG slide

We've just gotten back from a fantastic vacation in Italy, but Paul's gone down to Eastbourne for the week with all the photos, so you'll have to wait until next week for those. We're trying to keep busy at home and went to the park this morning with some friends. There is a very long slide which I took Jamie down today, and he couldn't get enough. Have a look...(warning, you need sound for full effect).

It can also be seen here: http://youtu.be/LvAkVP7NS5E.

playing the organ with Grandad!

After our Bluebell railway trip (see previous post), we drove down to Eastbourne for a flying visit to see Nanna and Grandad. While we were there Jamie had his first organ lesson, which was quite an acheivement for him.

A while back (January I think), when David was in the hospital, we tried to show Jamie the organ and he was terrified of it once he heard it. He wouldn't go near it and basically tried to crawl up to my shoulders if we put him near it. He also let out the most terrifying cry too when you played a note. It was the saddest thing. This time, we had Grandad here to help him along. He was very tentative at first, but after some encouragement and slow introduction, Jamie was fascinated. He was a big fan on the pedals too, once he realized that he could make noise by crawling on them. Grandad did a great job improvising when Jamie's chosen key, C#, which I'm told is quite a difficult key to improvise with. Way to go, Jamie--giving Grandad a run for his money!

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.

I can stand up!

Even though Jamie has been able to walk for about a month, he hasn't been using it as his main mode of transportation. Crawling is just quicker and also, he hasn't been able to stand up by himself when he falls down. He can very easily pull himself up with even just a tiny amount of assistance, but has shown absolutely no attempt to just stand up on his own...until today that is... I took Jamie and Remmy to the park and let Jamie out of the buggy to have a little walking time and after about 10 steps, he fell in the grass and then just stood himself back up and kept going. I was shocked. I took a video which shows his many attempts to get his balance, but I swear the first time he did it, he just got straight up. Clever little man...

You can also see the video here: http://youtu.be/UVdLz9M3OH4

i can do it myself!

Jamie has decided that it's much better if he feeds himself, despite the fact that it takes twice as long and is twice as messy.

Happy (late) Easter!

Last weekend and this weekend are 4-day weekends in the UK, so Paul is making the most of the time by redoing our staircase, which had some damaged spindles. You can see the results of last weekend on Flickr, it's looking very nice so far. Needless to say, it was a busy weekend for us, I was on baby/dog watch most of the time, but we did manage to celebrate Easter in the madness. We had breakfast together, followed by chocolate Easter eggs for dessert and then church. We then went to our friends' the Shelley's for Mexican lunch. Random, but very fun. Here are some photos:

A Caramel Easter Egg in my own motorcycle egg cup (that Anna gave me last year). (Wasn't it nice of me to donate the egg to mom and dad?!)

Don't worry, they let me have some chocolate:  

The Easter bunny brought me a big yellow duck:

Nana bought me a lovely Easter basket and Betsy (Wheeler) gave me a dancing bunny which I like a lot!

jamie's birthday(s!)

The end of March was a very busy couple of weeks for the birthday boy. It started with the first celebration with Nanna and Grandad.

We spent some time planting in the front garden while Jamie got cuddles from Grandad:

And then we opened and enjoyed presents:

And of course there was cake (it is a Remmy version of Clifford, handmade by me--I don't think I have a future career in cake-making!)

Who doesn't love a photos of a child covered in chocolate cake:

The next big event was a last minute visit from Big Daddy. We had lots of fun with him. We went to the playground , practiced his walking, and played with new presents outside. Unfortunately, our nice camera broke the morning of his birthday, so our photos are limited, but here is a nice one:

While he was here we had a birthday BBQ with some of our friends. He really enjoyed himself and got lots of nice presents, and, of course, another cake:

He was also spoiled by all his aunts and uncles. Lots and lots and lots of fun presents, including a few which we have especially enjoying in the warm sunshine this week. Thanks to everyone who helped make it so special.