Happy First Birthday Jake!

These pictures are from Jake's birthday party this afternoon. Jake turned 1 year old at 4:30 this afternoon, I can't believe it. He had a lot of fun at his party and was so worn out from it all that he decided to got to bed early. I got our neighbor, Molly, to take a picture of everybody at the party. From Left to Right, Front Row: James, Jake, Me, Cheri (James's sister), Angela (John's girlfriend), John (James's brother). From Left to Right, Back Row: Ann and Larry (James's parents), Alison and Mike (my parents).

Above is Cheri, Jake, Angela and John. One of the presents I got Jake for his party was a book called "Who loves Baby?". It is water resistant, chewable and has sleeves for placing pictures in. I made everybody take a picture with Jake for posterity and so I could put them in his book. I put a picture of Carrie in there as well. He really loves looking at the book and will often sit there turning the pages and laughing. I don't know if he is reliving the memories or if he just thinks we all look funny? Maybe this way he can learn everybodies' names. When we 'read' it to him we point to pictures and tell who they are. Below are my parents and Jake.

Above are James's parents with Jake and below is our happy little family of three!

Jake's Daddy and Grandmother help him open his presents.

Jake chews on one of the monkies GG Mac and GG Mac2 got Jake for his Animal Train.

Jake loved bouncing on his Zebra. At first he couldn't get on and off it by himself. In less than 24 hours he had it figured out and now he is so excited about mounting and dismounting all by himself that he is too preoccupied to bounce on it!

His uncle John helps him get on it for the first time and it is off to the races!

Things I am Thankful For:

I am so thankful for Jake and James! I love being a wife and mother (I never thought I would enjoy it but I do!). I am so thankful that I get to spend so much time with Jake and watch him grow. I delight in each new thing he learns. I am glad that I have found a sort of balance for my life. Every morning when I wake up, one of my first thoughts is how thankful I am for James. Maybe because he is the first person I see every morning, or maybe because he is the most important person in my life. I know I would not be who I am not without him. I am glad we found each other when we did. I am thankful for our way of life, the food we eat, the home we live in, the vehicle we drive, etc. I am really content with my life and it is a nice feeling.

I am thankful for my parents. I am glad that they are still happily married and that they are parents I can look to for advice about things. They gave me a wonderful sister, a great childhood, managed my education better than most parents and have made the transition to grandparents seemlessly. I am glad that I live close enough to them where they can share in Jakes life. I just wish the rest of my family were a little closer (geographically speaking).

I was very thankful to get to spend some time with some of my dad's side of the family. This was only the second time we have made the 5 hour (one way) trip to Natchez since Jake's arrival. I am thankful that Kati will be in Starkville after Christmas (even though I do not like MSU). It will be nice to have her only an hour away!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Fun Fact: A Jake is a baby turkey. Well, not my Jake, but it made for a cute photo opportunity.

I am Thankful for many things this year. Tomorrow morning, we are headed to Natchez for Thanksgiving and then rushing back on Friday night so that we can be here for Jake's 1st Birthday on Saturday. Starting right now I am going to make a list of all the things I am thankful for and post it when I get back! I hope everyone has a happy holiday!

James is Back!

This picture was taken at the Cleveland Chop House. It is a brew pub. The person in the picture is the other engineer James was in training with, Michael. James took this picture to show the solid sheet of ice that is part of the bar. It keeps your drink cold. When James tried to take a sip of his water, the straw was frozen to the bottom of his cup.

James and Michael at the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.

James underneath the sign for some random bar/restaurant that they walked past.

James at the Cleveland Cavaliers game. He got to see LeBron James play.

This was the other engineer in the training, Michael, and their instructor, Kijin.

Jake and I are really glad to have James back from his Rule Streaming training in Cleveland, Ohio. It sounds like he had a lot of fun. There was only one other engineer there for training. When they got out of training everday, they would go sightseeing. James went to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, Alice Coopers' Bar and Grill, a Cleveland Cavaliers game, and a brew pub among the most notable places. Here are the pictures from his trip.

Tupelo International Airport

Well, it isn't really an international airport, but who would ever guess? As you can see they are improving it the only way that you can improve the Tupelo Armpit, by knocking it down. The same woman who was so rude to Uncle Robert, was working when Jake and I went to drop Jake off. She was short with us as well (in stature and demeanor). She fussed at James for not arriving a full 60 minutes early for his flight and then whisked him by Jake and I while we were trying to say good bye. Maybe that is the reason Northwest sent her to the all important super busy Tupelo Airport. I also took a picture of their new and improved baggage claim area. Ooooh, I hope I am not comprimising their security practices by posting these on the Internet! More pictures to come soon of James in Cleveland. He has e-mailed some to me already but I don't have time tonight. He left Sunday and will be back on Friday. My dad is also out of town. He recently got back from France (last Thursday) only to be sent to Atlanta until tomorrow night. So Jake and I are staying with my Mom in Fulton. James has the camara, so you will just have to wait on more pictures of Jake's cuteness.

There is no doubt he is James's son!

As some of you may remember, when I was pregnant with Jake I craved all of James's favorite foods, ie ketchup and chocolate milk, anything with chocolate syrup on it etc. Normally I detest ketchup (there are only a few things I will eat it on) and I have never liked chocolate milk. There have been several times when James and I joke that maybe they gave us the wrong baby at the hospital. Many strangers ask James and I where Jake got his hair color from. Jake is such a happy baby, nothing like me as an infant. James and I were both dark complected babies and Jake is so pale and perfect. I often think he is too beautiful to be my baby! I think he looks a lot like my mother and my sister as infants, and a little like James's sister as an infant. I do not see much of myself in him, but I do see a lot of James in him. Even my mom has pointed out things he does that are like his Daddy. He seems to have James's disposition and attitude (as well as his body build, feet, hands, ears, lips, nose). He is very easy going like his Daddy, gets very fussy and depressed when he is hungry or tired and seems to like the same foods. Jake has learned that Daddy's plate has the good food on it and Mama's plate has the healthy food on it, so he will circle James like a little vulture whenever he has food. There are a few exceptions. Jake loves graham crackers (unfortunatetly so do I). He will take a bite of one and then dance around going "Mmmm, Mmmm." As it is getting closer to the holidays we decided to get some egg nog-James LOVES eggnog. I do not like mixing alcohol and milk (I love milk, but I don't like mixing it with anything, even chocolate syrup) so I drink mine plain. I poured some in a cup and was preparing to enjoy it when Jake came along to see what I was doing. He was very forceful about wanting to try it and did a little dance afterwards. He loves eggnog, just like his Daddy. I only recently started liking it (when I was pregnant last year). I thought the pictures were hilarious. You can see how adament he was about drinking it.

Miscellaneous Cuteness

What is Miscellaneous Cuteness? It is cuteness that was captured in snippets instead of photo dialogues. Most of the time these moments do not make it to the blog, but for the moment we are caught up on everything. So I thought I would share, plus it will distract me from the fact that James is packing up to leave. No there isn't another woman, although I am starting to get jealous of the paper shredder--He loves that thing. Every time I turn around he is shredding something. I was in Jake's room earlier and heard it whirring all the way at the other end of the house! James is going to Cleveland for five or six days for his job. I think it is computer related this time, something called rule streaming. Anyway, here we go with Miscellaneous Cuteness...
I'm dreaming of a jelly doughnut, just like the ones GG Mac (Great Gran McLean) likes to eat!

Some people have Italian sports cars. Jake has an Italian Beer box.

He loves this box. He cried when James got too tired to keep pulling him across the floor. I tried to distract him and told James to go dispose of it. James "hid" it in Jake's crib. I distracted Jake again and told James to go put it somewhere Jake wouldn't find it (although one could argue that Jake would never find anything in his crib as he avoids it at all costs). The second time James hid it in Jake's closet. I guess we had a breakdown of communication, because I meant for him to throw it away, not hide it. Maybe I will give it back to Jake for his birthday in a few weeks!

Some after bath time screaming (with glee) and tooth showing smiles. Jake now has five teeth, but the fifth one isn't very obvious yet.

It is a stare down! Jake likes watching fire. Don't we all. Well, unless it is devouring your house or something.

Jake's Accordian Lessons.

Jake's accordian lessons are going well, as you can see from the pictures. Although most of you probably know how musically talented my mom is, many people do not realize that in addition to the guitar, some piano and chanter, she plays the accordian. Jake is fascinated by all things musical. My mom has some tamberines, marrachas, bells and other noisy makers from when she used to do music with children's church. Jake will pull the box out, and play with the various "instruments" or implements of noise making.

The Hamiltons

Above, Jimmy, Miranda and Baby Ally (about 7 weeks in this picure I think). Below, Miranda, Baby Ally, Me and Jake. Miranda and I were friends from highschool. She also lived with me and Meredith (and Kelly, and Carrie, and 500 other people who frequented our house) in Oxford (when we were at Ole Miss). She was also one of my bridesmaids. Jake is 9 months older than Ally. It was nice to get to eat with them and meet Baby Ally.

The Mississippi Agriculture Museum in Jackson

No, we are not in Fulton. James had to sit his exam at the MS Ag Museum (in Sparkman Auditorium). After shopping during the morning test, Jake and I decided to walk around the outside exhibits during the last two hours of the afternoon test. It is strange, because after being sent as a chaperone on that fieldtrip to Parchmen (The State Prison) with our 7th grade trouble male trouble makers in Cleveland, I was struck by the similarities. The Ag Museum is like a small version of "the Farm." They even had prisoners working there. It was very creepy.

My old high school. You can even see some of my old teachers glaring out the windows. I think the one on the bottom looks just like Judith Franks (for all you IAHS alums).

Jake says, "YAWN! So, whats the big deal. I can eat paper and climb things too. My sunglasses are more interesting than this!"

Above, old fashioned air conditioning. Below, the state's first Wal-Mart.

Above, what Mississippians did before cows were invented. Below, isn't it funny how they have to label the vegetables so that Mississippians know what they are. I didn't see any labels on the pigs, or chickens.

Jake was so disinterested. He just chewed on his bib or sunglasses the whole time. I tried to get him to look at the animals, but he could care less. However, he loved Target (he gets that from me). He even wanted to sit in the buggy (normally he will only sit for 5 minutes and then I have to carry him and push the buggy). I think it was because the buggy was red.

Braille signs always crack me up. How do the blind people know where the signs are? This first sign, you could argue, they could find by holding on to the rail on the nature board walk. However, most of the signs were not on the rail. Most of them were like this second example... ...several feet away from the board walk and down in a ravine. A blind person would have to have very long arms to reach the signs, if they could tell where they were in the first place.

I think this was a monument to indoor plumbing, or something to that effect.

Jake was so glad to get out of there!