Toy Alternative

We knew that when we had a baby, our house would fill up with all the necessary gear that comes with them.  And as they grow, the baby gear would turn into toys.  Lots and lots of toys.  Now that James' first Christmas has come and gone, our toy inventory has grown quite large.  From stuffed animals to music tables to ride ons, our house looks like a regular Toys R Us.  Some new favorites include his xylophone (compliments of Aunt Suzy)...

... his music table (thank you, Santa!)...

... his elephant busy ball popper (again, thank you, Santa)...

... and his ride on fire truck (compliments of a recent consignment event).

He is going to kill us when he is 17 for putting these pictures of him with no pants online!  But I digress. We are a fan of these toys as well...especially the fire truck since it is really helping him with the walking. Check our little man out:

But for all the favorite toys and the non-favorite toys and the ones in the corner collecting dust, nothing beats the toys that he finds in the kitchen cabinets:

Who knew that all you need are some bowls and a wooden spoon to occupy a 10 month old while making dinner?!  We will keep that in mind when the next one comes along.  :)

Oh - and we are happy to report that the missing wise man from the Fisher-Price nativity finally showed up.  He may have missed Christmas, but he made it in time for a jam session on the xylophone.

(The best part about this pic are the 2 little tooshies in the background.  I want to pinch them both!)

Who Needs Toys...

Did I really say that?  The girl that has an office FILLED with toys and who works for the Toy Industry Association?  Well, it seems that my son has not quite inherited my love for toys just yet.  I mean, who needs toys when you have the Sunday advertisements from the Washington Post?!

This was the scene last Sunday morning.  James was rolling around on the floor playing with his actual toys.  His favorites as of late are this puzzle that Grandma Q. bought him:

...and his See and Say that I picked up from the consignment sale a few weeks back.

I sat down next to him armed with a delicious cup of coffee and the Sunday newspaper complete with the advertisements.  I like to sit on the floor on him not only to keep an eye on him, but to join in on the fun he always seems to be having.  On this day, the pretty, shiny, colorful advertisements caught his eye.  So much so that no toy could distract him.  This is what unfolded:

He had a ball rolling around in them, crumpling them, shaking them and trying to eat them (Mommy put a stop to this as much as she could!).  He was particular to the Target ad which made me very proud. :)

Now I know that toys will play a very important role in James' life as he grows up, but it's nice to see that in a bind, we can always give him a Sunday ad to keep him occupied.  :)

James' Monthly Photo Project: Five Months Old

Here we are again.  Can you believe that the little guy is 5 months old?!?!??!  We sure can't.  It feels like yesterday that I was in the operating room and they were yanking him out of my belly.  :)  Well, here we are and we have lots to share about what James has been up to.

Milestones:

• One of the biggest, most exciting milestones hit during this month was the introduction of solid foods.  James' menu now includes not only formula, but rice cereal, oatmeal and sweet peas!
• He is on the move when we put him on his belly which means crawling is just around the corner.  He wiggles and shakes all over his play mat and does a psuedo army crawl.
• He experienced his first (and second and third) cold thanks to daycare!  This is not really a milestone to smile about, but it does mean that his immune system is working and developing so here's to a snotty nose!
• James LOVES to play with his toys and Mommy LOVES watching him as he does it.  His favorites include his Jumperoo, his high chair monkey and Sophie continues to be on top.
• Can you say TEETH?!  It's hard to believe, but in these last few days James' front bottom teeth have decided to cut through.  They are not fully emerged, but teething is officially in full force.

HAPPY FIVE MONTH BIRTHDAY JAMES!!!

Evolution of a Smile

James is not really into photos.  When the camera is aimed at him, he usually turns his head or squints or puts his hands up to his face.  He's not into the paparazzi and because of that, we have to take about 57 photos before we get one with a smile on his face.  I'm telling you, this kid smiles.  A lot.  We just have a hard time capturing it on film!  It doesn't help that the shutter speed of our camera is slower than molasses but that is an entirely different issue in itself.  So here, I give you, the evolution of a smile.

Here we are, sitting in our chair, playing with our new toy.  We are inspecting it for it's level of fun/will- this-fit-into-my-mouth ability...

... we find the piece of toy that we like but notice the camera hovering over us...

... so we give a wink which says "Mommy, there ain't no way I'm cracking a smile for you!"...

... so we focus back on the task at hand ~ getting this toy in our mouth...

... we continue to tease Mommy by giving her a kiss face ~ but nope, not ready to crack a smile until....

NOW!!

It's a good thing he is cute. :)

Some Monday Fun

Since James started daycare, he has been introduced to some new toys.  One of them being the always fun, ever popular Exersaucer.

We, sadly, do not have an Exersaucer, but we do have a Jumperoo.  We decided that it was time to pack up the baby swing and put together the big boy Jumperoo so that he could play at home like he does as school.  The Jumperoo is a little bigger than the Exersaucer - his little feet don't quite touch the floor, but with the Bumbo underneath to act as a booster, he does just fine.

They grow up so fast. :)