Snapshots: A Week in the Life of James (16)

This week we traveled to AL to spend time with Tyler's parents while he made his campus visits to Auburn, UAB, and Troy. It was James's first trip to Alabama and I think he enjoyed it. I know I did! The weather was beautiful-a bit chillier than Florida so we enjoyed getting bundled to go on walks and staying warm inside.

Day 106: November 18

Can't get enough of the sleeping pictures!

Day 107: November 19

He found his thumb!

Day 108: November 20

Enjoying time with grandmommy and granddaddy

Day 109: November 21

All bundled for a walk outside

Day 110: November 22

Handsome Rosser men

Day 111: November 23

Taking after his daddy

Day 112: November 24

Floor time with grandpa

   

   

For the video this week we captured James's giggles!

Snapshots: A Week in the Life of James (15)

Day 99: November 11

All clean after bath time

Day 100: November 12

Little nap during a walk

Day 101: November 13

Hanging with Gianna

Day 102: November 14

Happy man

Day 103: November 15

Watching football with daddy

Day 104: November 16

Road trip to Alabama

Day 105: November 17

Loving the teething ring

For the video this week here is James rolling onto his side and having some play time.

Hilton Head, SC

Tyler and James with the Sea Cloisters condo in the background

This past weekend we enjoyed a family trip to Hilton Head, SC. We met up with about 40 missionaries in the Southeast region for a regional gathering where we had time for prayer and fellowship. The weekend was very relaxed and we enjoyed seeing beautiful fall colors on the drive from Orlando to SC! We stayed right on the beach and so James got to experience his first time on the beach!

On the way to Hilton Head we stopped in Savannah for lunch and got a chance to go to the Cathedral and walk around downtown by the water.

Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

We loved the old brick buildings downtown and the cobblestone streets. There were so many restaurants that looked amazing so we hope to be able to go back sometime for a weekend stay.

On Saturday we enjoyed a restful day. James and I were up for the sunrise and it was beautiful! 

We took a short walk on the beach because it was a little windy and chilly. And then we watched football (a very hard football day for Auburn and Notre Dame...) and had several of the missionaries over to our room. 

One of my favorite parts of the weekend was seeing my friend Abigail and her two little sweeties! Her youngest is just a few weeks younger than James and we can't wait to see them again soon!

Overall James did very well in the car (it was about a 5 1/2 hour drive with an hour or two added on for stops) but we'll always remember the last hour before we got home on Sunday. He was so tired of being in his car seat and started screaming...and then got overheated and started spitting up...I'm so thankful that Tyler stays calm in those situations because it's hard for me to remember that everything is okay when all I see is James screaming and there's nothing I can do about it! We are praying that our trip to AL this upcoming week goes smoothly!

Snapshots: A Week in the Life of James (14)

Day 92: November 4

Big eyes

Day 93: November 5

Riding in the stroller without the car seat!

Day 94: November 6

Such a mover!

Day 95: November 7 

Having lunch in Savannah

Day 96: November 8

James' first time on the beach

Day 97: November 9

Driving home and spending a lot of time in the car lately

Day 98: November 10

Sleepy man

For the video this week we have James enjoying some tummy time and I'm cheering him on with our little tummy time cheer!

Bell Mobile

I can't believe James is three months old already! It's such a joy to watch him grow and notice little changes every week. We just switched out his mobile for a bell on an elastic string and this is an exciting change because it means he is becoming more interactive with his environment.

The purpose of this mobile is to continue to develop his visual capabilities but also to encourage hand-eye coordination and cause and effect. The sound of the bell helps him learn that his movements cause the sound.

He's at the early stages with this mobile because his movements are not yet controlled. He hits the bell with his fists when he moves his arms but it's not intentional. I'm enjoying this mobile because I'll be in the other room and hear a "ding" and know that he found the bell! In the upcoming weeks we'll be able to see him intentionally hit the bell, reach for it, and grab it and pull it to his mouth (because of the elastic string he'll be able to do this.)

He is still discovering his hands and often looks at them and puts them in his mouth.

Here is a video showing him with his bell mobile.

Weekly Eats {1}

I'm excited to start a new blog theme of sharing new recipes we have been enjoying. Tyler and I love food. Whenever we talk about going on a vacation or our dreams of where we want to travel, the subject of food always makes up the majority of the conversation. But we've been getting tired of making the same meals for dinner week after week and found ourselves deciding what to eat based on simplicity and cost-two things that are important to take into consideration but we didn't always think about nutrition. So we decided to change things up and now we spend time planning meals in advance and the first factor we take into consideration is nutrition. We've found some really tasty meals that are good for us and also happened to be pretty simple. So here's what we've been eating the last two weeks!

Stuffed Porkchop and Zucchini Fries

This was our first go at a new recipe and it was delicious. We especially enjoyed the zucchini fries because they are baked in the oven and were crispy...almost tasted like french fries!



Curried Shrimp and Mango Couscous

 

This dish was really outside my comfort zone but I wanted to try something that I normally wouldn't make.

Southwestern Pizza

We used homemade pizza dough and it was delicious. I really liked the black beans on the pizza.

Chicken Noodle Bowl

 

This was fun because we used bok choy which was a new ingredient for us. It was good but could have used a little more flavor.

Fresh Spinach and Tomato Tortellini Soup

We really liked this soup with fresh spinach! It fed us for a quite a few meals!

Spaghetti Pesto with Squash and Tomatoes

I have always wanted to make pesto and I finally did! It was fun to use zucchini and yellow squash as noodles with the regular spaghetti noodles.

Snapshots: A Week in the Life of James (13)

Day 85: October 28

Such a handsome guy

Day 86: October 29

Smiling at daddy

Day 87: October 30

We love this guy so much!

 Day 88: October 31

Our little pumpkin

Day 89: November 1 

Chris and Tyler with the little ones

Day 90: November 2

Using the armrest as a pillow-look at that strawberry blonde hair!

Day 91: November 3

Sweet dreams little James

For the video this week we have James's new favorite thing to do: suck on his fingers!

Showers of Blessings {6}

It's time for another blog about a few blessings this past week!

-one-

 

We went to Epcot last Friday in the afternoon and enjoyed walking around the world exhibits and trying different foods from the various countries. During the Food and Wine Festival they have dozens of mini restaurants set up in the various countries where you can sample foods and drinks that are special to those places. We love food and the weather was perfect and it wasn't very crowded. It was a really fun family date and James was content in his stroller which was an added bonus! Next year our goal is to "eat our way around the world" where you get a passports and have it stamped at each country after you sample some food. That will be fun!

-two-

It's finally feeling like fall here in Florida! The weather is beautiful, mid-60's to mid-70's and sunny and it actually feels cold in our apartment in the mornings. (I don't think our air has turned on at all in the last 24 hours!) Two weeks ago I was feeling a little down about missing out on the beautiful fall where the leaves change and you need a sweatshirt so Tyler suggested I go get a few decorations that would make it feel more like fall. What a sweet husband he is! So here is what I got and we've been enjoying them!

I saw something similar to this on pinterest and I've never made a table centerpiece so I really enjoyed this craft.

-three-

We moved James into his own room to sleep. This has been a blessing because Tyler and I can read at night and not worry about waking James up BUT it has also been hard because James hasn't slept as well as usual. I've decided I need to be grateful for the past three months of sleep and let go of what the future holds, although overall James is still a good sleeper. We are trying to transition him out of being swaddled which has distrupted his routine so we'll see how it goes for the next few weeks!

-four-

We've been trying a lot of new recipes for dinner! It's been fun to cook different meals than we normally cook and also plan dinners based on healthy food instead of whatever we have around the kitchen or what is easiest. I'll post some of our favorite new meals in another blog!