Mr. Mister

Ever since James was just a teeny, tiny little zygote, we've made up funny nicknames for him.  Most of them originated from random things he'd make us think of.  We get such a kick out of all the ways James makes us laugh and all the silliness he brings into our lives.  He just cracks us up all the time.  Just for posterity, these are some of the names James is known by:

Bubs, Bubbles, Bubbie, Bubble-Up, Bubblesome
Bubbler, Bumper, Bumber
Lovebug, Mr. Loves
Jammy Jammy St. Jamerson, James St. James
Jimmyrock (sung to the tune of "Lollipop"), JR, LBG (Little Big Jim)
Mr. Mister
Starstuff (Carl Sagan reference)
Little Buddy, Buster Douglas (I don't know why, these are Dad's names for James)
Peanut Butter and Jammy

Anyway, here's some of my 6-month favorite shots.  Sorry this blog has turned a little James-obsessed lately.   We're totally James-obsessed ourselves so that's probably why.  :)

I'm six months old!  I laugh and smile all the time.

James does great push ups and is so strong.  He loves the vantage point from way up high...

I had this little phone when I was a baby, and my mm found one at a garage sale for James.  Mostly he likes the string, but someday I bet he'll like pulling it around behind him like I did.

James LOVES doorknobs, cabinets, pulling on everything... Operation Child Proofing is set to happen this weekend!

These are just some random pictures I happened to like.

James and Grandpa.  A few weeks back they visited during a heat wave and we let James hang out in his diaper because it was so hot.  He'd love to be naked all the time if I let him.

James in his little rocket ship pants laying in bed like a little man.  This was early in the morning when we snuck in to wake Dad up....

Shopping with mama at Nordstroms.  He played in the dressing room and gave some good fashion advice.  

He soon discovered he could crawl over to the lady next door...oops!

James trying one of the only foods he hasn't liked - peas.  He just sat there with this sad look on his face and let the peas just sit on his lips.  I think we will try again, though, because they were baby food peas from a jar, which truly are disgusting.  I'm going to try my hand at making my own with sweet peas which I think are much tastier.

James and Adam swimming at Mt. Scott Community Center.  I came here all the time at the end of my pregnancy to swim laps and used to just dream about the day I could bring James in with me.  Now it's actually happening and it's so much fun!  The kiddie pool has a moving "river canal," water factory feature, and a huge slide.  I know we're going to have a lot of fun times here.

James loved the water, and loved being swished around by his dad.  He was so worn out by all the splashing and "swimming" he did that he took a long nap afterwards so Adam & I took in a nice long lunch at Foster Burger.  Lovely way to end a family outing!

We're going to start our little "Angelfish" swim classes here soon and I can't wait!

My Grandma Johanna from Phoenix came to visit and helped me put together my first real garden as a Mother's Day gift.  I haven't had the opportunity to grow much since we've been living in apartments the last few years and LOVE having some earth to dig my hands into.  I've planted five tomato plants (two heirlooms, two large varities, one cherry) zucchini, sweetmeat squash (an Oregon specialty - I hope it does well because they are so delicious!), carrots, lemon cucumber, basil, parsley, and a few varieties of peppers.  My most favorite thing of all, though, is this little guy:

Tomato baby

Squash blossom baby

On days that I work, I often come home and bring James outside with me to water and weed the garden.  I let his little feet touch the dirt and grass, and talk to him about all the neat things we're growing.  He really enjoys being outside and I love our little evening ritual we have out there together.  Sometimes when he's fussy, I'll just open up the back door and sit on the steps on the deck with him and he'll immediately become calm and contemplative.  

On days that it's too wet to be outside, he will often hang out in his little walker by the back door and gaze out there watching the rain.  

Speaking of homegrown veggies and all, our local Farmer's Market is in full swing every Sunday just down the street.  James and I strolled down there on a particularly hot afternoon the other weekend so I doused him sunscreen and tried out his baby sunglasses.  They eventually ended up his mouth, but were pretty cute while they lasted.   :)