A few of my favorite things

Rain drops on Roses and whiskers on kittens...NO THANKS!! 

Here are a few of MY favorite things recently

I love this glass water bottle from target!  I had a plastic one and it started to get an odor...to the trash it went!!  I am quite hesitant with James picking it up and hold my breath each time he brings it to me, but I love that it won't have an odor!

With all this snow (one day was 12'!!) I LOVE my rain Snow boots!!  I hate when the bottom of my pants are wet from the snow!

With a toddler I barely... I don't take off my makeup at night and thus have gotten about 4-5 stys recently...yuck!!!  So I picked up some of these wipes at target.  They are in the baby section and figured if they are gentle enough for a babys skin then they should be okay for my face and if I didn't like them then I could stick them in the diaper bag for James...well... I LOVE THEM!!! 

My Grams surprised me at Christmas and got me a Nook...while it isn't something I would have bought for myself...I'm so happy she got it for me!!  I use it all the time!  Not only can I rent books from the library for FREE with it, but I can get online, pinterst, and facebook!!  It's great and goes everywhere with me!!

My Mama-cave as Matthew calls it!!  I've recently cleaned out my craft supplies and organized them all in the hall closet...let's be real I haven't crafted in a looooong time and probably won't be doing it anytime soon.  But if I need something it's near by.  The Mama-cave is also the guest bedroom so I wanted to make it guest ready just in case...We've only ever had 1 guest as most of our family lives close!  But Georgia fam...WE'RE READY FOR YOU!!!  Don't you want to visit right now when it's -7 ??  lol!  I've also organized the closet in here to house all the baby clothes James and Mary (my baby sister) have outgrown.  Since we aren't planning baby # 2 anytime soon and I can't justify buying it all again we have to find a place for all these clothes and my Mama-cave is the baby # 2's room so it makes sense to put it in that closet!  

My BOYS!!!  Life with these two is a dream come true!!  All I've every wished and prayed for is to be a wife and a Mama!! 

Christmas 2013 & the Polar Vortex of 2014

Whew...what the term for posting 4 blog posts in one day...benge blogging?  lol!

Christmas with James this year was a blast!!   We went to breakfast with Santa at Grandpa's work!  James loved Santa and kept wanting to look at him and see him!  It was really neat that he wasn't afraid! 

Christmas morning started off with just the 3 of us!  We woke up and saw all the presents from Santa (hand-me-downs & ones Mama had stuck away for a few months...no purchases for me!)  #frugalmama  Daddy did buy James 1 present this year...a remote control Jeep and it was his FAVORITE TOY!!!!  Best $13.99 spent!!  Daddy had it tucked back under the tree and when it came out.....well James ooooooooed and pointed!!

He loved his other gifts too...and found new ways to use them!  Grandpa, Mimi, Uncle Josh & Grams all showed up around 10:30 and we had Christmas with them then James went down for a nap after they left.  When he woke up Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Mark were arriving for Christmas!  

We had a great Christmas and loved staying home to enjoy the day rather than being in a car all day.  Thank you to our amazing family for a great day!

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THE POLAR VORTEX OF 2014

This winter has been the coldest I can ever remember!!  As my husband puts it "hurts your face" it's so cold!!  Luckily, my boss is out of town and he didn't mind that I stayed home today!  I am so thankful because I really didn't want to take James out!  To give you an idea...in Indiana today the temp is -7...that's right NEGATIVE 7!!  Add the windchill and it's -35 to -40...That's waaaay too cold to be out if you don't have to!  We're prepared though for a short power outage...but anything more than 30 minutes and we will be packing up and heading to Grandma's!  

James is ready for a vacation to get out of here...this weather isn't even for the birds...they left town already!!!

On one of the warmer days we stepped outside long enough for a picture and then ran inside to get warm.  Mama hates the cold!  I would rather go back to July 2012 when I was 9 months pregnant in the hottest July in Indiana than have winter!

James is in love with his new boots!!  Thanks to his friend, Josiah.  He wears them all the time around the house!  They're still a little big so we've only worn them out once.

 

We are having a BLAST with James every day and are excited to see what he does next...or terrified...I'm not quite sure!  

And to answer the question of a sibling for James?  

We aren't planning anything yet...give me another year and ask again!  

Right now we love our family of 3!!

Some things James is doing...

Our little superhero has really grown in the last few months!!  He is a blast and I love watching him learn new things!!  It's really neat to see him interact with other kids at daycare! 

James LOVES fish!!  Whenever we go to the grocery (Meijer) we have to see the fish...Daddy started this, but I love that James wants to see them!  We have plans this year to visit an aquarium!!

James has a girlfriend!!  Here they are playing "house"...looks like we'll have to have the talk sooner than we thought!!  hehe!!

Jame is learning his body!!  We know Nose, Belly, and Bottom so far...he's in no hurry to learn the others...but he's getting close with feet and ears!

He loves to climb into anything he can...or even can't...baskets, boxes, cabinets, showers,

We have become OBSESSED with the movie Shrek 2 and insist on watching it over and over and over again!!!  We have to take breaks and distract him away from it for Mama's sanity!!

James has learned how to use a straw!!!!  OH HAPPY DAY!!!  He loves it, but can't quite understand that he doesn't have to tip the cup!  We practice with water these days over milk...lesson learned!!

We got James a leash...there's no sugar coating it.  This thing is a leash.  They may have put a monkey on it and made it look like a backpack, but it's a leash and I'm okay with my kid being on a leash.  The alternative is holding him until he screams because he wants down and then chasing him all over the store and run the risk of someone else grabbing him...NO THANK YOU!!! We like the leash and have actually gotten compliments!

James had his first taste of popcorn and like his Nana he LOVES it!!!  He ate almost half the box!!! 

 

Life with a toddler is pretty awesome and he amazes us every day with his new skills!  We are so blessed to be his parents!!

A look back at Fall 2013

I can't believe it's been 4 months since I last blogged...wow how things have changed!  I've stated from the beginning that this blog is for fun and the moment it became an obligation I would stop...well it's still fun and we have a lot of catching up to do!!  This is going to take a few posts to get ya'll updated!! 

One of my amazing patients sent this little guy home for James...this turkey does the chicken dance!  It's fun and moves and James LOVES it!!  Even in January he's still playing with the turkey!!

James had his first picture taken with Yogi!!  I grew up at Yogi Bear Jellystone campground so it warms my heart to see James love it too!  He doesn't look so sure of Yogi here, but he loved him!

We took lots and lots of wagon rides to the park...this was a cold day so we only went down the street!  James loves his new wagon and so does mama!

We got our winter gear!!  Don't you just want to squeeze this little monster?!?!?

We went to Riley Days...all 3 days!!  Since we only live a mile and half from the festival we went every day we could!  The weather this year was much better!!  (last year we had James in a snow suit) !

James loved the water fountain and Mama promised him we would go back in the spring when it warms back up!

James & Daddy grew Mama some tomatoes!!  First garden at the Toole's was a success!!  Next year it's going to be BIGGER!!!  I can't wait!!

Halloween was COLD so we didn't go trick or treating...and Halloween isn't the best holiday when you have a peanut allergy (We go back to the allergist in August to see if he's outgrown it)!  James was a biker this year...although he didn't want to wear his costume!

We cheered on the Colts and wore a lot of shoes that were waaaay too big!!!  James has this funny obsession with shoes!!  He loves to bring Mama all her shoes and he's quite particular about which shoes of his own he wears.

And of course we played, played and then played some more!!!