Farmhouse in July

There is one thing about the farmhouse in July: it is hot. Little spots of shade look like oasis while out on walks. Cold water filled in jelly cups happily get gulped down. And overtired babies giggle and play longer and later than usual.

I'm getting ahead of myself.

The weekend started like all farmhouse weekend should start. At The Little Acorn. This fast food joint in Spanish Fork Canyon (not far from the windmills) is my favorite. But I don't think we've ever stopped with James. On Sunday I really wanted to stop, because their signature sandwich, The Shadow fighter, along with a huge pile of fries, was calling my name.


The Shadow Fighter in all of its wonderful glory. So so yummy.
Once we were at the farmhouse, and one horrible baby nap later (so so much crying) E, David and I decided to take a little walk. We chose Gordon's Lane, being it was the only place that had large patches of shade.

You would never know he'd been sobbing fifteen minutes earlier.


I wanted to re-create some of the barn photos we got with James when he was only 3.5 months old. He was not happy that I was holding him and wanted down.
Dinner was a glorious affair. E made everyone's favorite: Dutch Oven Hungarian Goulash. Everyone licked their plates clean. Everyone expect James who would not touch it. Also? It is so awesome when everyone in E's family gathers at the farmhouse. So awesome.
And then for dessert? Peach cobbler. Perfect divine amazing peach cobbler. This, not surprisingly, James loved.
One stressful bedtime later the baby was asleep. Finally. I hate stressful sleep days. Just hate them. (Why am I so anxious about this? No idea.) I digress. Once the babe was asleep I took my camera outside to catch the most beautiful light of the day. Stunning.

I found an entire bird shell. Baby bird left two perfect pieces for me to photograph. :)

The plowed fields are magical.
My man.
Amazing news? James slept from 8:00 in the evening until 7:45 the next morning. Amazing. Guess I didn't need to get so worried. First thing we did the next morning was to take another walk before it got hot. This meant James was still in his jammies, which is perfect for a morning walk.

Back down to the barn.
My sweet kid.
Shortly after we packed up and headed home. James fell asleep in the car! This is amazing because it has never happened, even on longer car trips. AND, when we got home, I made a successful car nap/crib nap transfer (any other moms out there know this is nearly an impossible feat). Two miracles in one day? I'll take it!

Black and White Wednesday

It is rare that I get a good shot of James's beautiful eyes. He moves too fast these days and hardly ever looks at the camera. When I do get a shot, and it's not blurry, I'm giddy with excitement. Love this boy with the amazing green blue eyes.

Here is a tighter crop in color. What do you think? Green? Blue?
This photo I got over the weekend at the farmhouse. I have lots more weekend farmhouse photos to share. Yippee!

20 months old with Wolfy!

My boy is 20 months, which is pretty much two already. (How could my baby be almost two?! It is unreal.)

James has had an amazing month. Leaps and bounds both mentally and physically. He runs, fast. He spins like a crazy man. He dances, he sings, and he's learning more and more words and starting to repeat. Just the other day at the super market I told him the workers were "busy busy busy" and he happily repeated back "busybusybusy" as fast as he could. This was awesome and one of the first times it has happened.

He also "gets" jokes. He laughs at just the right times when watching cartoons in the morning. Granted, these jokes are written for toddlers, but it is still cool.

He now can tell you what a cow says, a sheep, an owl, a dog, a cat, a firetruck, a car, a pig and a few more. He laughs at just about anything these days and is such a joy to be with.

Eating is still an issue as he is quite picky, but I try to introduce him to new things all the time and not dwell on this fact.

And, just the other day he learned his colors! Brilliant I tell you. E taught him durning bath time. He has a set of baby keys and happily and quite proudly can show you the green, blue, red, orange or yellow key upon asking. He gets so proud.

I love him more with each passing moment. What a great kid he is.

The bump near his eye? Yea, his crazy pre-bed spinning has reached an entirely new crazy level. He's such a goof. Now he spins (while running in little circles) with his head tipped up and squealing in delight. Last night he fell over. Poor little man.
Oh my gosh this kid melts me.
Big smiles are thanks to Dada who was jumping up and down behind me.
James is still a lover of books. Books far surpass any of his other toys by a long shot. His new fave? If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

And from month 1 until now:

Our Morning {Black & White Wednesday}

We still spend our mornings on my bed. We watch cartoons, have a sippy cup of milk, snuggle lovey (that has a binkie tied onto the corner), and snuggle each other.
His little hand on his favorite thing in the entire world: lovey.
After he expertly slides off the bed on his tummy he's off to hunt for his other favorite items: the books The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Monster At the End of this Book staring Lovable Furry old Grover. E and I read these two books dozens of times a day. James isn't worried that his diaper is wet and he has yet to eat breakfast. He wants to read.