Lucky to be called "Mommy!"

Yesterday was my 2nd Mother's Day.  I really reflected on the last 20 months as a Mommy and I am so thankful to be called the best thing in the world, "Mommy."  or "Mama." James has brought so much joy to my life that I just couldn't imagine a world without his smile and cuddles.  He is such a sweet boy :) 

 

Since it has been awhile since I've posted anything, I thought I would give a quick summary of what we have been up to lately. (Besides tax season, of course)

 

In February, James went to his first Mardi Gras parade with Nannie, Grandpa, Uncle John, Aunt Amy, and Thomas!  We practiced the week leading up to it so he wouldn't be in shock when beads and moonpies were being thrown at him.  I mean, who wouldn't be?? 

I believe he was in awe throughout the entire thing.  Speechless.

 

 

Once the weather started getting better and temperature outside starting warming up, we had many play dates outside, on playgrounds, and we visited the Botanical Gardens. This boy LOVES being outside!  Or "Ha Ha" like he calls it :)

 

 

Around Easter time, we went to our cousins' house to celebrate Delaney's 5th Birthday.  The kids hunted Easter eggs and had so much fun together!

 

 

These two are so cute and sweet to each other.  James loves doing whatever Sam Nolan does.  I think he feels like a "big kid" when he's with him. So sweet!

 

To keep with the spirit of Easter, we went to another Easter egg hunt in our neighborhood.  James had so much fun getting the eggs and putting them in his basket. So stinkin' cute!

 

 

On Easter, we tried so hard after church to get a good picture of James.  Nothing really worked, but here's the best we got.

 

 

 

Yum Yum!

 





 

 



Christmas at the Wallaces

(Picture courtesy of my very talented cousin, Claire Roberts)

 

Christmas with James was so much fun this year!  At 16 months, he knew what Santa looked like and that he said "Ho! Ho! Ho!".  Other than that, he really didn't get the whole Santa idea.  He loved to point out pictures of Santa and say "Ho, Ho, Ho!" Such a cutie!

 

We are starting new Christmas traditions at the Wallace house.  This year, it involved going to Mass on Christmas Eve (and by going to Mass, I mean watching James roll around on the floor the entire time.  I would say I was embarrassed but he wasn't the only baby at the Children's Mass.  When in Rome?).  After Mass, KoKo came over for dinner and then we put James to bed at his regular time of 8:00 so that we could prepare for Santa's arrival!

 

The next morning, I think I was more excited that anyone for James to see what Santa brought him.  As we walked into the living room, I was really talking Santa up.  I was telling him that Santa came last night and brought so many toys for him to play with.  He seemed excited, until he saw it...

 

He saw the rocking horse that Santa had left near the Christmas tree.  From first sight, James hated it.  Scared. Cried.  Pointed to his room and wanted to go back.  Erol pressed the horses ear and it made a noise.  Made it worse.  James cried harder.  Oh well for that.

 

Once we calmed James down and showed him the other toys that Santa brought, he started warming up to the whole idea of Christmas.  He played and played all day with his toys.  He loved opening his stocking and pulling out new things to play with.  Finally, we had a happy boy!

 

Nannie and Grandpa gave him his own chair.  He loved it right away and sat in it immediately.

 

 

 

Every now and then we would try the rocking horse again.  He would fuss and turn his head.  He will warm up to it one day and love it.  Right?

 

For lunch, KoKo came over and I made Christmas brunch.  We played outside for a while and then played with all the toys more inside. 

The day after Christmas, we packed up the car and headed down south to Nannie and Grandpa's early in the morning.  We were prepared for another day of Christmas celebrations!  That afternoon, Uncle John, Aunt Amy, and Thomas came over for dinner and more present opening!  It was crazy having two one year olds at my parents opening presents. Crazy, but totally fun! 

James had a blast the entire Christmas break.  I was beginning to get concerned that he would expect everyday to be Christmas Day.  Luckily, reality set in quick :)

All in all, I would say that it was a great Christmas.  We are so blessed to have so many people to spend the holidays with.  I enjoyed every minute of it and I look forward to starting more traditions every year!

 

Ho! Ho! Ho!

We Love Fall!

The Wallaces have really been enjoying the beautiful Fall that we've been having here in Birmingham!  

We've picnicked at Railroad Park for the Food Truck Festival.  We ate and drank beer while James danced to the D.J. and ate his first popsicle!

Last weekend, we spent a couple of hours at the Pumpkin Patch.  I will have to say that I was a little skeptical at how much James would a) enjoy it and b) understand what was going on.  

First, we went on a short hay ride to the pumpkin patch.  

After searching for a long two minutes, we found our pumpkin!

Perfect photo opp...

We loaded up on the hay ride again to go back to all the fun and festivities.  Another opportunity for some cute photos came at the barn.  Of course, all James wanted to do was stare at the tractors pulling the hay rides.  Oh well, still a cutie :)

Then, Mommy took James on the "Twactor Twain" that lasted all of a minute but was surprisingly a thriller!

After the bumpy twain ride, we ate corn dogs, grilled cheese, and french fries on picnic tables right in front of a country band.  James loved the food and the music and was showing off all of his moves :)

James had so much fun but I think Mommy had the most fun of everyone!  I took in every moment with my baby boy and Erol.  Time is going by so fast but I'm enjoying every minute of it!  

I think James is too!

James Turns One!

On August 29th, my Baby Boy turned One Year Old!  This year has been the BEST year of our lives!  We have enjoyed watching this little baby turn into such a handsome and sweet boy.  He lights up our lives in a way we never expected.

 

Only a few tears were shed on his birthday :)  We started the day off singing happy birthday to him.  Then, I brought cupcakes to his classroom and we had a "mini" party for him!  When daddy came home from work, we had baked spaghetti (made by Nanny of course) and a smash cake bought by KoKo.  He liked the spaghetti as usual but LOVED the cake!  He definitely has a sweet tooth like his mommy :)

 

 

 

That weekend, we traveled to Nannie and Grandpa's and had a Pool Party to celebrate his turning one!  The theme was whales and sailboats.  When going through these pictures, don't think I'm become this crafty mommy.  I'm still a wanna-be and purchased everything from a store on etsy :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of our friends and family from down South came and we ate hotdogs, shrimp, "seaweed dip", "fish food", and watermelon.

 

 

Don't forget the cake!  Publix made an awesome cupcake cake in the shape of a sailboat with a whale smash cake.  It turned out perfect!

 

 

After Round 1 of swimming, we sang happy birthday and smashed some cake!

 

 

Here are some more pics from the party

 

 

Davis was such a help opening presents

 



 

Uncle John, Aunt Amy, and Thomas gave James a Cozy Coupe.  He LOVED IT!!  He strolled around in it all afternoon and laughed the whole time!

 



Put the boy who love it the most was Thomas!  I've never seen him laugh so much before!  James was such a good sport to let Thomas ride in his Cozy Coupe with him :)

 



 

We had a great time celebrating James' One year old birthday.  It was a day that I will never forget.  We love you so much James  and we look forward to next year and the adventures to come!