Santa's Little Helper Part Two

James doesn't mind the fuss we've made of him donning his little Santa suit for the holidays. Auntie Megan - his papparazzi photographer extraordinaire - wanted to capture him in his element and visited us several weekends ago to capture a few shots of him in his holiday get up. The pictures she took are priceless and we think you'd agree he's a handsome fellow. He even managed to say hello to the big guy himself and I think was quite amused - so much so he lost part of his lunch (see picture #2) :)

Visit with Santa and Holidazzle

This past Sunday evening we visited Macy's 8th floor display, met with Santa and watched the Holidazzle Parade with our friends Rob and Liza and their son Elliot.

James and Elliot gave their wish lists to Santa and James took his inaugural light rail train ride as well. It was chilly - in case you couldn't tell, but being the snuggler James is he didn't mind being all bundled up under Daddy's jacket.

Baby's 1st Christmas at Church

Our church celebrates Christmas a little early for families with little ones. Mom and James attended the "Baby's 1st Christmas" event this past Sunday where they met other families, made ornaments and James took his turn laying in the manger. Little did James know that he was practicing for the big day as he is going to be baby Jesus at church on Christmas Eve. It was a fun event to get in the holiday spirit and reflect on the reason for the season. We look forward to the upcoming holiday and establishing our own family traditions this year as the three of us celebrate James' first Christmas.

An Update on my Stats

James had his 4 month baby check up yesterday and he is doing well. He now weighs 13 lbs 4 ozs and is 25 inches long. He's grown five inches since birth! He did well with his shots yesterday too - no crying this time. Guess he's learned to be a tough little guy already! More adventures to share soon - the busy holiday season is just underway. Have a great weekend everyone!

Santa's Little Helper at the Clark Household!!

I think Daddy was more excited about Christmas coming than Mommy was this year. Dad kept giggling and laughing and then he told Mommy that Santa's little helper was on his way:









Here I am!


I put everyone to work and assumed the position as General Manager of this operation!













I picked out the ornaments I liked...










And then slept...













And then helped Mommy put up an ornament next to her figure skates and Daddy's tricycle. I don't know what those mean just yet, but I'm sure I'll learn! Merry Christmas everyone!

Over the River(s) and through the...Thanksgiving Visits

James went on a whirl-wind 90 mile (total miles traveled by car) visit for his first Thanksgiving. He had a lot of ground to cover and lots of people to hug and smooch along the way. Aimee, Grandpa Mark-Mark, and the Kamrath family enjoyed a great meal at Uncle Bryan and Auntie Megan's house in Shoreview.

James was pretty beat that night and took many naps on Friday with Mom and Dad

so that he was able to show off his new skill at Grandma and Grandpa Clark's house in Eagan:

DRUMMING!!! "Animal! Animal! Animal! Drum! Drum! Drum!"

Grandpa Clark rescued all of us from the noise and gave James a break in his set:) We ate Turkey from Gamma Sandi that was cut by Uncle Kyle. We also had some of Jammin Jenna's Apple Pie with Uncle Pat's recipe:)

He then had to rest up for his last visit of the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Bragg in St. Paul where he giggled and laughed and hammed it up some more for the camera! He had some sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie too!

Behold the Wonder of the Keys and Storytime with Mom

James has a new passion for his toy keys the past week or two. He can spend hours being entertained by his colorful ring of plastic keys. Whether punching at them like a boxer or shaking them and throwing them across the room it's quite entertaining - to him - and for us to watch. He's started to grasp for things now and is realizing the noises he can make with the items in his hands ... in addition to his voice which he has experiemented with since day one! :)

We've enjoyed having quiet time and establishing a bedtime routine at home the last few weeks. Storytime is often a part of that and James has taken a liking to mom's animated voice reading the books and checking out all the illustrations. Still not sleeping through the night just quite yet - we hope that day comes soon!

Trick or Treat

James delighted us the past two weekends by being a good sport and donning some cute little 'bug' outfits. He was a ladybug last weekend and a bee for Halloween weekend. He was amongst bug friends at daycare last week - two ladybugs kept him company.

Needless to say he hasn't exactly taken a liking to peanut butter and chocolate yet - but that day will come I'm sure if he's anything like his parents.

He also met his newest friends Lucy and Clara last weekend as well and had fun teaching them his tricks.

Ain't I Cute?

Grandma and Grandpa Bragg paid us a visit this past weekend and gave James the cutest little sweater (knitted by none other than Grandma). We tried it on for size and couldn't get over his cuteness!! Look at that smile! :)

My First Day of School

James started up daycare this past week and has been quite the trooper in adjusting to the new schedule and routine of mom and dad working again and him going to school.

Dad couldn't resist getting a picture of him in front of our condo door with "his backpack" all dressed and ready to head to school. James has slept great this past week - we are curious as to what he does all day that wears him out (besides eating a lot, we know that for sure), but we're not complaining. At daycare we were reunited with our Mom's group friend Madden and his mom Holly this past week and James and him seem to be enjoying each other's company. James is in the 'Safari Snugglers' room - and we agree this room name suits him just fine.

James has taken a liking to his teacher Ms. Kristine and as you can see he doesn't mind being handed off to her in the morning.

More adventures at daycare to come ... we have a Halloween party on Friday and we can't wait to get James into his costume.

My Baptism

Mom and Dad got me all dolled up in a suit last weekend for my baptism day. I was a good boy and didn't mind the water at all - which is no surprise since I like my bath time. We were blessed to spend the day with family and friends.

Check Out My Newest Trick

James impressed us this past week with his new skill - he can now roll from his tummy to his back with a little prodding from us and grandma and grandpa. We thought it might be a fluke - but he has continued to do it if we place him on his stomach. Take a look at him in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch_private?v=5iUxdWjKno4&sharing_token=1RhIr5NOplbFRMLHpPvr4g==

Wait for it ...

So we have finally entered another realm of social media ... video posting via You Tube. We got a great new toy to celebrate James' arrival into the world and have captured him on video doing all sorts of things and we thought we'd share a few moments with our devoted followers on the blog. Here is a candid moment of him in his element... just wait for it. We'll load more soon!



Visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch_private?v=jfDlG1mkA98&sharing_token=SCqnM2jJeU_BWT_mSWIZ_Q==

Comfy at Home and an Update on my Numbers

These days mom and I are still spending a lot of time together at home and with a chill in the air we sure like to cuddle a lot. I love being held in my sling and hanging out with mom and dad in the bed on Sunday mornings.

Dad likes to make me look funny with my spit rag - guess from the looks of it I thought it was funny too! Guess that's what I get for spitting up so much, what can I say, I'm a spitty kid.

I visited the doctor today she says I'm growing just fine. I now weigh 10 lbs 10 ozs and am 23 inches long. I'm a little lean for my height but the doctor says not to worry. I also got my shots today and am a little under the weather - all the more reason to cuddle with mom this afternoon and gear up for the big game. Go Twins!!!

My Fridays With Mom

Mom and I have been attending a Mom and Baby Class for the last six weeks and we had our last class on Friday. I got to say goodbye to all of my buddies in class, but I know I'll see Madden soon (we're going to daycare together in a few weeks!).

I continue to smile and grow - I'm now out of newborn diapers and have begun to outgrow some of my clothes. Mom doesn't seem to mind my late night feedings too much, I think I throw her for a loop though when I want to feed every two hours for a day at a time. But I'm a growing boy so what can I do?





Mom and Dad are keeping busy. Mom keeps telling me something about work which she starts up again in two weeks and Dad has been reading lots of books for school.

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Hammin' it up for the Camera

James loves to ham it up for the camera and show us his smile and personality. Here are some shots from the past week that we had to share!

We hope to post some video of the little guy in action soon - we just have to figure out how to work our new toy!

A Week of Many Firsts

This week was a week of many firsts ...

Sleeping in my crib for the first time all by myself. I'll eventually fill the space more so mom and dad say - right now it's a little big for me and I feel like I'll get lost. Mom had a hard time initially with me in the other room, but I proved to her it was okay.

First night away from mom and dad at Grandma and Grandpa Bragg's house. Mom and Dad attended the first Gopher game at the new stadium and told me all about it. I behaved pretty good - I fed like a champ and already miss my sleeping quarters there.

First stomach bug ... I wasn't keeping my food down much earlier this week so we went to the doctor. I continue to gain weight - I'm now 9 lbs 6.5 ozs - so they weren't too worried, but they think I had a stomach virus which I guess doesn't require a shot, so I won't complain ... but I know those are coming soon.

And the best of all this past week (or so mom and dad think) - I smile! I'm a pretty happy kid if my belly is full and I have a clean diaper so I figured I'd let mom and dad know that too.

Stay tuned for more firsts in the weeks to come!