Big cardboard boxes

Last weekend we bought a small deep freeze and it came in a big cardboard box. We thought - what fun - what kid doesn't enjoy playing in a big box. Well our son apparently. He really wasn't interested in the box at all. That is until yesterday when his dad hid a toy underneath it and James had to locate it under the box. Then the game was on. James got every one of his stuffed animals and hid them one at the time. He would hide it, ask Where Panda Bear go? And then pull it out saying "right here!" Then he moved on to all the balls downstairs. It was very fun and James was quite proud of himself. We managed to catch a little of it on video...

We have had a great weekend. It rained a lot this week so we have been grateful for nice weather finally. Last night we had adventures with the cardboard box. Tonight we went to a birthday party for a co-worker's little girl at this fun park with a great playground. James went down the slide at least 20 times. After a nap (too short), we picked up Chick Fil A for dinner and ate at the little park by our house, where James could slide some more. It was nice to have family time this weekend and not be too busy running around with new baby errands. And tomorrow Aunt Ke-Ke, Spencer and Madeline are coming to visit. Whoohoo - a fun weekend for us!

yummy sand

Tonight James wanted to play in his sandbox. Well, play with the sand in the sandbox. For whatever reason, he didn't actually get in his sandbox but used his shovels to scoop up some sand and put it through the toy thing that spins the sand down. He was very intent on this and did it over and over and over. The photo shows the end of the process. I finally decided I would video this for y'all, but then James did not stick to the script. Those are the best videos!

Madeline Elizabeth Day

And so precious Madeline Elizabeth Day arrived on Friday, May 15, which is her great-grandmother's birthday, Maw-Maw. What a wonderful present for Maw-Maw's 85th birthday! Madeline is just beautiful - you can see for yourself - and weighed in at 9 pounds, 3 ounces. Kelly is recovering nicely and Madeline is eating like a champ so they are well.

And yes, I am now getting worried that I am going to have a big giant baby. Maybe if I don't eat for eight weeks Mary Martin will come in under 8 pounds.

Also, we got to watch Spencer this weekend while Kelly and Michael were in the hospital and I caught the cutest picture of him...

new cousin tomorrow and week at Meme's

Well tomorrow is the big day for Aunt Keke and tomorrow we will welcome our new niece Madeline. All our prayers and thoughts go out to Kel and little Madeline...

In other news, James came home today after a few days with Meme and Poppie. He was very tired after his long car ride but did learn some new words and had fun! He was glad to be back in his own bed though. And for an update there - we have lost orange van for one and put a few other animals away. So tonight we only have panda bear, hippo, Schatzi and a wind up bunny. Definitely progress...

The Wharf 2009

Last weekend we got to visit Meme and Poppie's condo at the Wharf in Orange Beach. Gee and Grandaddy came too as well as Aunt Dianne, Uncle Darrell, Jackson and Linley. The kids swam, went down the slide 100 times, played and then crashed every night HARD. They had a great time! And I think their parents had a fun time too. Dad (Jim) even got flowers for me, his mom, his mother-in-law and his sister - it was a wonderful surprise for mother's day. Let's see what else did we do... Ate donuts that Granddaddy picked up for us (yes, Jackson held up his donut for me to take a picture), rode the Ferris Wheel, wore our cool Hawaiian shirt, and enjoyed many smoothies and slurpies. James and Linely both especially enjoyed the red slurpies - can't you tell?!?!

Night Night line-up

Sorry no pictures tonight...

For the second night in a row James has had eight "friends" in the bed with him for bedtime. It is pretty amusing and I thought y'all might enjoy the list. He has been working on his night night team for a while and it keeps growing. I suppose we'll stop the madness soon, but I didn't object to multiple animals when we moved him to his big boy bed. I thought more animals might make the new bed more comfortable. Now that the big boy bed is the normal routine, I think we can scale it back a bit. Anyway, here is the list:

1. Panda bear - the most important. Goes with us most places and particularly enjoys riding in the cart with James at the Publix. Gets the highest place of honor in James' bed, tucked under his right arm and under the blanket with James.

2. Orange van - a hot wheels orange van. This is a new addition to bed. It is James' favorite car and also seems to go with us most places lately. Tonight it was in his left hand as he fell asleep.

3. Hippo - big stuffed one from Ikea. When we got it I swear it was taller than James, now James has him beat. But he is the biggest friend in the bed.

4. Stuffed dog.

5. Stuffed monkey.

6. Schatzi - stuffed bear that used to be James' favorite until Hippo came home from Ikea and then Panda bear came.

7. Stuffed elephant.

8. And finally a DVD set of Thomas the Train. This past weekend James had a clear obsession for Thomas the Train on TV. We watched a few and James was hooked. For our beach trip next weekend, we thought it might be good to get a Thomas DVD for the ride. We found a 3 DVD set and James loves it! Not watching the DVDs mind you - because he is already over watching it on TV - but he loves playing with the DVD covers, the little papers inside and identifying the engines. And for the past two nights, Thomas - in the form of the DVD set and cover box - are also in the bed with him.

So James' night night line up: six stuffed animals, an orange van, and a DVD set. Makes sense don't you think?

Spencer Spends the Night

Spencer came to spend the night this weekend so Kelly and Michael might have one more night off before my new niece comes. The boys had a ball! We played with blocks, watched SuperWhy, and played with cars, of course. I think bath time was their favorite but you can judge. They screamed and cackled before they even got in the bath. Yes, that is water flying through the air in the photos. Splash time!! And they both went down to sleep without a peep so I was grateful. Can't wait to meet your little sister, Spencer!