Picture Post

Luke and I spent the day yesterday with Shauna and Lily and then we all went over to Nana and Augie's house.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day:

***Disclaimer: I really feel like I should say that I realize that I am in no way a "real" photographer.  I have a nice camera and I like to take pictures with it and then edit the photos on the computer. ***

Aren't Lily's eyes beautiful?

Luke had a fun Valentine's Day pizza party at school.  I was astonished by the number of homemade Valentines that were in his bag when he came home.  There are some seriously crafty moms out there who apparently manage their time a lot better than I do.  They're probably not obsessed with reading blogs like I am.  Next year, I'll have to pay Shauna to make some cute homemade Valentines for Luke.   I got a new camera and lens with my birthday money (plus I sold my old camera), and I have been practicing taking pictures.  Here are some of my favorites:

All three pictures have something in common.  Can you guess what it is?  He's holding Thomas in the first one, playing at the Thomas table in the second one, and wearing Thomas socks in the third one.

Suz + Shauna=Business Partners :)

 

Shauna and I have joined forces and are creating birth announcements, birthday invitations, holiday cards and various other things together.  We decided to keep the VanillaBean name since there was already a cute logo.  Laura has moved onto her own booming photography business.  See her work here.  She is really talented and you should definitely use her if you live in the Houston area.  Shauna is the creative genius behind us and I am just the one learning all the Photoshop tricks and techniques.  She stole all of the creativity genes from me somehow (even though she was born four years after me).  So, for now, she still needs me on the team.  I have been learning all I can about Photoshop Elements and we've had fun making these designs.  We both could never find cute designs we liked on the affordable websites, and the ones we really liked were way too expensive.  So, we've learned to make our own stuff.  Visit our blog for some free Valentine's cards.

http://www.vanillabean-designs.blogspot.com/

Ready for Spring

Luke got sick AGAIN last Friday and we had about a week of staying home and recovering.  I caught his cold this time, so we are both still dealing with a runny nose and cough.  I feel like we have had about a month sickness and I am very ready for Spring and for cold and flu season to be over!  We have had to cancel plans with friends twice now because of Luke being sick.  I guess that is life with a toddler.  He wasn't sick at all until late December (except for a runny nose here and there) so I guess it could have been worse.  But I am definitely ready for full health to be restored to everyone here at the James household.

I don't really have much to update but I felt like I needed to update.  Luke is still enjoying his Mother's Day Out so much.  Even with all this sickness, he has only missed about half of one day.  Usually his illnesses fall over the weekend or they happened during the Christmas break so he didn't miss any.  He usually brings a different Thomas train every time.  His teachers are really great about getting it from him once he is distracted and putting it in his backpack.  So, we haven't lost any yet.  He is still 100 percent in love with all things Thomas.  We hear, "Mama play Thomas" and "Dada play Thomas" at least 20 times a day.  Now he has branched into wanting us to build houses for his Thomas trains with his Mega Bloks and we use his Play-Doh to make the different Thomas engines as well.  So, all of his toys somehow relate to Thomas.  I am glad he has something he loves so much and hopefully will love for a long time.

We decided to take Luke to Disney World in May.  We are so excited!  We have not ever been on a vacation with him and kids get in free until they are three, so we decided to go ahead and go.  After Shauna, Jeff and Lily had so much fun, we knew we needed to go someday soon.  Mark's parents and David are going to come too--and I think it will be so much fun to all be there together.  I know we will appreciate having help watching Luke too.  I can't wait!

Uncle David has been babysitting for us quite a bit lately and we have been able to go see a few movies.  We always like to see as many Oscar contenders as we can before the show in February.  My two cents---GO SEE Slumdog Millionaire.  It is WONDERFUL and is worth seeing as soon as you possibly can.  I really hope it wins best picture at the Oscars because it is just so good.  We also saw Revolutionary Road.  I didn't like that one.  It was really depressing.   

Here a two recent pictures of Luke playing in his "pirate ship" in the back yard:

Just for fun...

1. Was 2008 good for you?  Yes, it was a great year.  I enjoyed being a mother and I got better at being a mother and at doing all the stuff you're supposed to do as a stay-at-home wife/mom.  (I still have a LOT of room for improvement though!)
2. What was your favorite moment of the year? I think it was when Jim and Sharon surprised Luke with his own Thomas table/Thomas trains.  He was so excited.  It is BY FAR his favorite thing in the whole world.
3. What was your worst moment of the year? Going to the ER for the most intense stomach pain ever and then spending $700 dollars to NOT find out the cause....at least the pain went away.
4. Where were you when 2008 began? Either in my bed asleep or about to go to bed after watching some New Year's stuff on TV with Mark
5. Where will you be when 2008 ends? I was in our living room watching CNN with Mark, and then I went right to bed.
6. Did you keep your new years resolution of 2008?  Sort of.  One resolution was to stop drinking Dr. Pepper.  I made it until June and then fell of the wagon when I went on a trip to Arkansas.  But I limit it to weekends/Holidays now (mostly).  Another resolution was to take more pictures.  I took lots of pictures of Luke and I really enjoy our Nikon D40.  Another resolution--be more organized.  Sometimes I am, sometimes I'm not.  I also wanted to lose weight and I lost 30 pounds in 2008.
7. Do you have a new years resolution for 2009? To continue exercising regularly and to find a church home
8. Did you fall in love in 2008? I stayed in love with Mark.  I fell in love with him in 2002.
9. Did you make any new friends in 2008? Yes, the girls in my Bible study.  I also got closer to a few friends from going to playgroups.
10. What was your favorite month of 2008? June
11. Why this month? Mark and I went on a fun vacation, Mark, David and Mom's birthday dinner, and the Woodson family reunion
12. How many different places did you travel to in 2008? New England (Boston, Maine) Little Rock, Arkansas
13. What was your favorite movie that you saw in 2008? U23D at the IMAX.  It was incredible.  I also really loved Twilight and Sex and the City.
14. What was your favorite song from 2008? Falling Slowly 
15. How many concerts or plays did you see in 2008? One--my all time dream concert--Van Morrison.  Now I just need to see U2 in person.
16. What was your favorite book in 2008? Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.  Yes, I fell in love with the Twilight saga in 2008.
17. Did you do anything you are ashamed of this year?  Nothing I want to talk about on my blog.
18. Did you treat somebody badly in 2008? I always think there are people I take for granted and don't treat as well as I should.  Mark and Mom are the two that come to mind.  Although I don't think I treated either one of them badly.
19. Did somebody treat you badly in 2008? I can't think of anyone.  I wish people had been friendlier (is that a word?) at the church we were visiting. 
20. What was your proudest moment of 2008? Losing 30 pounds was pretty significant. 
21. Where did you work in 2008? At our house.
22. Favorite TV shows(s) of 2008? LOST, 30 Rock, The Office
23. Favorite Band(s) of 2008? These have been my favorites for a long time: Van Morrison, U2, James Taylor
24. Favorite Food in 2008? Salad from Chipotle.  It became our Sunday ritual.
25. Favorite Place in 2008? I loved Maine.  It was beautiful and the weather was great.
26. Favorite person(s) to be with in 2008? Mark and Luke
27. Favorite person(s) to talk to in 2008? Shauna makes me laugh more than anyone else and we can tell each other things we would never tell anyone else.
28. Favorite stores in 2008? Banana Republic Outlet, Target, Old Navy, Sephora
29. Hardest thing you had to go through in 2008? Even though I had a wonderful time on my trips to Arkansas and New England I missed Luke A LOT while we were gone.  It was harder than I thought it would be to be away from him.
30. Most exciting moment(s) in 2008? Having a fun vacation with Mark, taking Luke to "school" (MDO) for the first time, celebrating Luke's 2nd birthday, watching Barack Obama being elected President