christmas and baptism

We had a wonderful and very special Christmas this year. We had ALL the family at our house for Jamie's first Christmas. All my family made it...barely...a 'big' snow shut down Heathrow for 4 days which only ended up affecting Courtney who spent two days drinking Guinness in Dublin. (Not such a bad diversion!). We had all the Woodwards and Hamachers on Christmas Day. Lots of present opening and eating. Jamie was spoiled and he loved all the attention. Here are some of Jamie's highlights:

Boxing Day was even more special because Jamie was baptized that morning. We were joined by even more Woodward family, plus Jamie's godparents and some friends. After church we had everyone (19!) over for lunch, followed more family time and present opening and more eating. Photos from the service:

Jamie was one tired boy:

 

chatting up the ladies

Jamie and his friend Madeleine took a trip to the library today for the first time. We were going for a baby bounce and rhyme session, but unfortunately they only run during the school year, so instead we registered the for their first library cards and checked out some books. Afterwards, we went to Renee's for tea and cake (for the moms) and playtime for the babies. Jamie discovered a new part to his voice today and it just cracked us up (pardon my laughing at the end!):

we're back!

So we have hundreds and hundreds of photos to sort through, so I'll be working on that in the next week or so, but we had a great time with my family in the States. We spent 2.5 weeks in St Louis, a long weekend at Sugartree (parents' place on the Gasconade river) with my mom's side of the family, and 5 days in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Jamie got to meet nearly all my family and spend tons and tons of time with his grandparents and aunts and uncle. They couldn't get enough of them. We will miss them, but I am looking forward to getting back into a routine. With all the new people, places and beds Jamie hasn't been sleeping very well, making me very very tired. I am hoping once we get some regularity back, he'll start sleeping through the night again.

Today Jamie had his overdue 3 month immunisations, hip check (follow up from 6 weeks because he had uneven fat creases in his thighs!), and a weigh in. Shots went fine. He only cried for 10 seconds or so, very brave little man! His fat creases have evened out, so no need for concern And he weighed in at 14lbs 12 oz! What a porker! He's moved from the 35th to 50th percentile in weight for boys at his age. Seems like we all put on a little too much weight while in the States. I don't need to be too worried as long as he doesn't jump up again but the doctor suggested I try giving him some water every once in a while, especially when it's hot here.

After the doc's, we caught up with our antenatal course friends, all who are getting bigger and more interactive like Jamie. It was fun seeing them all, even if it was tiring for poor jet-lagged Jamie and me. Next week we're thinking about driving to the beach for the day if it's not too hot (or cold!), so stayed tuned for that trip.

first play date!

Wednesday Jamie had his first play date with his friend Madeleine.  Renee, her mom, was in my antenatal class and all of us from the class meet up once a week for lunch with our babies. We meet at the local mall and depending on the weather we either go to a restaurant inside or grab some sandwiches and eat outside at the park. The babies are awake at different times and usually feed at different points. They don't have much of a chance to interact besides on our laps.  This week I went back to Renee's afterwards for a cup of tea and we put the babies on the floor together. They were so cute together. They even held hands at one point--not intentionally of course, but it was still cute. Here are some snaps and a video of them together:

They both loved this little noisy bee:

more family comes to visit

The bank holiday was a busy one for us. Auntie Kim came for the weekend--that's right she came all the way from St. Louis for a two day visit with her nephew. We loved having her here too. She was a pro by the end of the weekend.  Jamie even said thank you, by performing one of best tricks...weeing on her through his diaper. Here are some photos:

Lots of cuddles...

...and some also fun time:

We also had a brief visit with Cecily who was in town for the weekend.

Jamie didn't know quite what to think at first, but it turns out she's a natural.

The last visit of the weekend was from Nana and Grandad. They came for the day to see sweet Jamie, and also to help us plant up some yummy veg in our garden. They did a brilliant job planting everything up and mostly avoiding the showers. All while Paul mowed the lawn for the first time and while I fed Jamie. Can't wait for the summer to try out all the fun produce.

Grandad and James having a little bonding time.

Getting a cuddle from Nana.

After all these visitors, I think he was exhausted:

Happy Easter!

Yesterday was Jamie's first Easter and also our first outing. We went to church in the morning. Jamie was a perfect angel and slept through the entire service and the coffee/tea/chatting afterwards. He wasn't as perfect for the rest of the afternoon, but Paul took care of him while mommy had a nap. In the evening, I made him his first Easter cake:

It's a carrot cake with butter cream icing. The fur is coconut and the face is made of marshmallows, raisins and a cranberry.  I got the idea off allrecipes.com.  He didn't get to eat any of course. We saved it for lunch today with our friends Rob and Eilidh. 

He also got his first Easter present on Saturday from our friend, Anna: a little yellow ducky that quacks:

I think he'll enjoy it more when he's a bit older!  Mom and dad like it though! Mary and Anna came to pay us a visit on Saturday. Jamie likes to show off his good behaviour for his guests. All our visitors so far have seen him pretty much just sleep. It would be great if he was like that more for mommy and daddy. It's a good thing he's so darn cute!