The James Family

Our Summer, so far...

2011-07-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

It's been too long since I last did this, we have been extremely busy doing a lot of fun things! It started with going to see Thomas the Train at the end of May. Both boys loved Thomas and we figured we'd better go to it before they out grow their love for trains. We all had lots of fun and enjoyed the company of my sister and her family, and my dad!

On the 5th of June Abigail had her baby blessing. It turned out really nice and she was very beautiful!

*Her cute little booties were made by her Grandma James. I love them, so cute!

Here is a 4 generation pic with my Mom and Oma! :)

My Mom and Dad with their 1st and only granddaughter (so far)!

Abigail with her Grandpa James and also their 1st granddaughter (so far)!

Here is Michael giving Abigail her first bottle (June 8th). She did ok with the first couple of bottles that we have given her but she is starting to not like them when given. I guess we just need to keep trying.

On the 24th of June Jesse turned 2! Time really does go by so fast, especially with three little ones! Here are some pics of the party and celebration!

The same day of Jesse's birthday party we later went to a car show in Twin Falls. The boys got to see some pretty famous cars, Ramon and Mater. Then afterwards we went for a walk down by the canyon.

Now for the beginning of July the boys went to the Airplane Museum. Then on the 4th we went to a parade down in Utah then we made it back for a concert in the park and fireworks. The boys enjoyed dancing the the music and neither of them were afraid of the fireworks this year!

A few other fun things we've done are crafts, fun times at Harris' pond (including the boys going down the zip-line), playing in sprinklers, movies in the park, more concerts, and now we can take a break for a few days. Camping is coming up next month and I am excited! We haven't been camping in forever!

And I just had to post a few more of Abigail, she's just too cute!

The Arrival of Abigail!

2011-05-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

**I wrote this but forgot to publish it, hopefully not too many dates are off.**
It's been 12 days since our little girl Abigail was born! The day we went to the hospital, May 9th, we hadn't picked out a name yet. We wanted to see what she would look like, because we had like 5 names on our list. Months before Michael kept saying that his sisters name is Abigail. So when she arrived she did look mostly like an Abigail to me so that's what we named her, Abigail Ellen James. She was born at 7:48am, weighing 7lbs, and being 19 1/2" long. She is perfect!

The boys instantly loved her, even though they didn't get to hold her until the day we went home which was the 11th.

Abigail's going home outfit.

The boys and their "little sister."

Our first family picture!

Her first little dress, she's so cute!

Daddy and his kiddos!

Lot's o'Green Yesterday!

2011-03-18T09:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had lots of fun with the boys! They looked so cute all dressed up, they were even able to fit in the same shirts from last year! For breakfast they had green pancakes, they thought that was pretty cool.

Then to wash there sticky faces they took a bath and you can't tell but the water was green too (from the colored soap I used)!

Then we went to story time at the library where they read books about St. Patrick's Day and they got to go on a hunt for the leprachauns gold. Which they found round golden cookies at the end.

It was such a nice day today too! We loved it, the boys played outside for almost 2 hours total! And yes, Michael is wearing play-work safety goggles, he's silly!

Then with our dinner last night the boys had green mashed potatoes, Michael made a face and was like "why are my potatoes green?" Then when we told him he was like, "I want my chicken green too." We told him that wasn't possible, and thought at the same time that that would be pretty gross! Ha!

At the end of the day Michael got to help eat some rainbow cake that he helped make. Jesse was already in bed, poor kid. Half the day he had a little fever and was hardly eating anything, he's a little warm today but he is a lot happier. He was very cuddly yesterday though, and I miss that! He doesn't stay too long in one place anymore.

Oh, and I had to add this picture I took last week! Jesse is wearing a kimono from Japan that Chris got from his Uncle Elton when he was there for his mission. Chris wore these when he was Jesse's age, I need to get a pic of Chris and put them side by side. :)

Ultrasound #2

2011-03-08T07:46:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I had a second ultrasound done and everything looks good. It's still a GIRL! Yay! And she is growing the way she should be! We took Michael along with us and I think he liked that he could see her and hear her heartbeat.
The ultrasound tech had a hard time getting a good picture of her face and in this pic, if you can tell, the right side of her face has the umbilical cord right next to it. But you can see her eye, nose, and lips. :)

And here is a pic of me at 30 weeks, Michael had to join in the picture.

The Final Show

2011-02-28T07:53:00.000-08:00

Here is Michael's final "Out of the Box" performance! He had so much fun, and I think he loved all the attention!! When we first got there they had a quick little practice and he wasn't showing too much interest in dancing. But when he saw a few performances before him I think that is what got him excited. He went on stage and didn't act shy at all....he get's that from his father! Afterwards on the way to get ice cream I asked him if he had butterflies in his tummy (cause I was, just for him) and he says matter-of-fact like, "no, I didn't eat any butterflies."
Ha, that made us laugh! Here is his famous moves, enjoy! ;)

Yep, I'm actually posting!

2011-02-20T14:35:00.000-08:00

Its been forever since I blogged last so I might just skip ahead to what's going on now. As you already, most likely, know, we are going to have a baby girl in May!

I'm loving being able to buy girly pink things!! The only trouble we're having is deciding on a name so we might just have to wait till she arrives. Michael seems excited to have a little sister and I'm not too sure what Jesse will think. He likes babies but when I'll have to be holding her besides him, I think he'll have trouble with that. It'll be fun though...even though I'm not quite sure I'll know what to do with a girl. Only 11 weeks to go!:)

Me at 27 weeks and 2 days (about 6 months).

So not too much has happened so far this year...

We celebrated Chris' birthday (and yes there should be more candles),

the boys still show brotherly-love,

and Michael has been into a Rockstar phase, which came out of nowhere! When Chris asked him why a Rockstar he said "because I want to scare people!" Ha, silly kid!

Just this weekend Michael had a dance workshop at a high school for the Dance team and he was loving it!!! He mostly just did his own thing, but it was his first time learning a dance so he did pretty good! He gets to perform on Wednesday, I'm excited for him! Here is a video clip of him showing off his moves, enjoy!

Getting into the Thanksgiving Spirit!

2010-11-23T09:07:00.000-08:00

Yesterday for our family home evening we made a turkey and on each of the feathers is something that we are thankful for. Michael enjoyed giving feathers to the turkey and naming things that he is grateful for, a few being: his little brother, his mom and dad, Oma and Opa, Grandma and Grandpa, Aunts and Uncles, Cousins, and of course toys and most of all his trains. It is so much fun watching my boys learn and to grow!

I found a poem that was in a Friend magazine that I liked for there are so many things that I am thankful for:

A Thanksgiving Prayer

by June Swanson

There is so much to say today;

I don’t know where to start.

How can I begin to tell

The thanks that fill my heart?

Should I begin with family,

Or love or joy or sunlight,

Or peace or health or happiness,

Or home or birds or stars at night?

For all these things—and many more—

I thank Thee, Father dear.

But most of all I thank Thee

For always being near.

On Saturday we had our first snow and after breakfast we all went out to play in it. The boys loved the snow, even Jesse! If Jesse fell down he would just eat the snow and have the biggest smile on his face. They are both just too cute! I love them to pieces!! Then daddy got his snowboard out and took the boys for a little ride which they both loved, but too bad it didn't work too well!

Boys in Costumes

2010-11-18T08:46:00.000-08:00

Not too much has been going on since I last posted...but here are some Halloween pics of the boys. They made dragons and lions look cute! :)

Halloween Time!

2010-10-29T13:48:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I last posted something, I am a slacker! Well here are some pictures from when we went to the pumpkin patch down in Oakley. The boys and us had lots of fun with the pony ride, games, and the haystack maze.

We also carved some pumpkins, the boys loved watching and helping their Dad with that! Both Michael and Jesse were also liking the taste of the pumpkin and would lick the cut out pieces. Silly boys! And when the pumpkin was lit, Jesse didn't know what to think about it...until he decided that it scarred him!

Our Family Summer Vacation

2010-08-14T11:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Chris was able to get a week off of work so we went and had some fun. We decided to go to Utah and do a few things around there: the AFB Museum, the Zoo, the Tree House Museum, Lagoon, and Thanksgiving Point to the Dinosaur Museum and Farm Country. It was lots of fun!
When we were at the Zoo the funniest thing was when the boys were looking at a baby crocodile,

it snapped at them and Michael got freaked out by it so he pushed Jesse down (since he was standing up against the glass) and Michael was just saying that we had to stay away. Poor boy, but it was cute cause he was trying to protect us all! :) At the Zoo we also watched the bird show and that was pretty neat. The birds would swoop over the audience, and these were mostly big eagles, it was awesome.

Lagoon was also tons of fun, funner than Chris and I thought it'd be! The boys loved all the fun rides, Chris and I would take tons riding with Michael, and some rides Jesse was able to ride too!

Michael liked basically all the rides,

Jesse loved the boat ride

and the whale ride. When the whale ride was over he fussed a little, he didn't want it to be over.

Both boys loved the carousel,

and the train ride.

Before my mom picked up the boys (so Chris and I could ride a few rides, so nice of her) Michael and I went on the haunted house ride, I told him to make a scarred face to act like we were scared when we were ridding it but I don't think he was pretending!

Chris and I rode a few of the roller coaster rides and walked around and took a picture in about the spot where we met! :)

and the shark too! Say grrr!

Thanksgiving Point was great, Michael and Jesse loved seeing all the dinosaurs.

They also got to ride some ponies and

And at Farm Country the boys got to see some animals. It was cute some little goats came over and were nibbling on the boys' fingers, Jesse just loved it!

they planted, harvested, and sold farm goods!

Our fun summer!

2010-07-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

Just a small post about what we've done so far this summer...

Jesse turned 1 on the 24th of June!

From Collages

We went to Bear Lake for a family reunion, it was so much fun!!

From Collages

And our 4th of July!!

From Collages

5 Years, Really?!?

2010-06-16T13:11:00.000-07:00

Yep, last week my hubby and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary! I can't believe how fast time really does fly! I guess its just one of those things you realize after you are married and start having kids! For our anniversary we were able to go to Logan (thanks to my mom for watching the boys!), we stayed at the Anniversary Inn, went to the Logan Temple since we haven't went back to that one yet since we were married in it, beautiful temple! (But then, they all are!) We also did a little shopping and went to a really nice restaurant called elements, it was pretty fancy and really good! The pictures look just like the food you get!

Then the next day we were planning on going to Lagoon, since we haven't been back since we met there, but thanks to this crazy weather we ended up taking the boys and going with some of my family on the FrontRunner to SLC. We had lunch and walked around the Gateway.

We have had 5 great years and can't wait for the many more we'll share! I love my Hubby!!

Jesse Crawls!!

2010-04-29T06:55:00.000-07:00

At 10 months Jesse finally crawled yesterday! It was last night when Chris got home, Jesse saw a balloon (left over from Michael's birthday) and he started crawling towards it so that's when I hurried and got the camera and tried to tease him again with the balloon so he would crawl again. It was cute! Its exciting that he is crawling now, soon he and Michael will be running around and playing together. Michael will love that!

Start up the Tractor and put it in gear...

2010-04-27T14:43:00.000-07:00

Michael's 3rd birthday is here! This was the theme for Michael's birthday and he had lots of fun on his special day. When he woke up (which he was crying, must've had a bad dream) I asked him if he knew what today was and he was like "oh, got to go down stairs" thinking everyone was going to be here for his party already! We wanted to make his day special so for breakfast, lunch, and dinner time he got to blow out birthday candles and be sang to, I think he liked that a lot!

Most of the day was spent decorating and getting ready for that night when his grandparents, great-grandma Yostie, Aunt Alice, Denim, Nick, Katie and Romairo, Emily, Justin, Stephanie, and Brock all came over. (We'll be seeing my family this weekend for another little b-day party!) When they all starting coming bearing gifts Michael kept asking "I wonder what's inside?" So that's how we got him to eat some food by telling him he had to eat before he could find out what's inside. When he started opening presents he was so excited he got lots of books, a fishing game, a Toby train (which he loves to carry around with him), a John Deere tin filled with goodies, and from Mommy, Daddy and Jesse he got the Little Einsteins Rocket, a leaf blower to help daddy outside with, a John Deere coloring book, and a Word World bugsby book (for now). Then after he unwrapped them all he went outside and saw this...

he is SO SPOILED! But it is fun to spoil him! "Thanks Nick, and Gramma and Grandpa!" says Michael. And thank you for everyone else that came to celebrate Michael's birthday with us! I am so grateful to have him as part of our family, we have our Heavenly Father to thank for that. He has such a sweet spirit and is such a great big brother and a wonderful son! I have such a great family! :)

Links to a few other video clips if you want to see them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKXWwhf9P_8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNkdejtc8WA

Got the Easter decorations up!

2010-04-02T14:12:00.000-07:00

Michael and I had lots of fun doing some Easter crafts and making a Easter bunny cake, and Jesse had fun watching and eating some cake!

Here we made some easter eggs, Michael started putting the stickers on his head, so I helped. He was saying that he was a clown!

and made the cake. Jesse really like the frosting as you can tell!

Can't wait till Eater day, I think Michael will have lots of fun hunting for eggs and it'll be Jesse's 1st Easter! Can't believe how fast they have grown!!

During the month of March...

2010-03-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

Wow! Another blog I am posting this week, I am on a roll! (It helps when both boys take a nap at the same time!) So I was thinking that I should share what we did this month, which was a lot!
First, we went to Party Hardy in Heyburn, and it was so much fun! Its like a lot of bounce houses and slides and then in different rooms they have toys that are appropriate with the age your child it. Its a pretty great, and clean place!

Another highlight this month (well it was actually last month)...CHRIS GOT MICHAEL'S BED DONE!! (just about) It is all put together just the details need to be painted in but Michael loves it! He tells us that Daddy made his bed and ceiling (it is painted with clouds), Opa made his floor (it is a cool road and building floor), and Grandpa made his rocking chair.

Then earlier this month we went to my parents house and Michael and Chris went to a car show with my dad in Salt Lake. They had lots of fun and Michael especially love Doc Hudson from the movie Cars.

And while we were down their we can't forget to mention karaoke night! I don't sing, but Chris, my Dad, and uncle John love to, and it turns out...so does Michael! When he had the mic he kept singing "Old McDonald had a farm," well, more like shouting it. Then he stops, trying to think of what else he might sing then he shouts "I GOT MILK!" (Since he had his sippy cup with milk in it.) Everyone just bursts out laughing and he shouts it a few more times! That silly kid, the things he comes up with sometimes! Ha ha..*sigh*

And a few pics of Jesse, just because he is so dang cute!!

St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

This St. Patrick's day we still had some fun even though the boys were sick with pinkeye and ear infections. For breakfast we had green toast and green milk. And then later that day we did some crafts, which Michael loves to do. He made a shamrock mask, and I read a little shamrock poem. At the bottom of the festivities is a picture of both boys in green attire, they are so cute! And this is Jesse's 1st St. Patrick's Day!

A Child's Prayer

2010-02-28T20:11:00.000-08:00

Tonight as I was putting Michael to bed, instead of helping him with his prayers like we normally do, I thought I wouldn't say anything but ask him to say the prayer. He smiled real big, closed his eyes and folded his arms and started, "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day, thank you for my paper, for crayons, for my coloring book to look at. Thank you for my floor, for my clouds (painted on his ceiling), my cement mixer truck (a decal on his wall), for my car bed, for the cars over there (pointed to a car molding above his coat rack). Thank you that I could go to nursery and color, thank you for my body (that's what there lesson was on today in nursery, that we have body's just like our Heavenly Father). Thank you for my Daddy, my Mommy, my baby Jesse. Thank you for my arm (says it while he lifts his arm up a little). Thank you for my cars up here in my room, and my cars downstairs. Thank you for Oma and Opa, for Grandpa and Grandma. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

In between what he would say there were a lot of "umms" but it was the cutest prayer!! I'm sad that Chris wasn't there to hear it (he was at a meeting) but I know he'll enjoy reading this. :)

Happy Valentines Day!

2010-02-12T07:46:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I helped Michael cut out some hearts and we put a few of the people he loves on them (lots of people were left out because I didn't want to make a lot of hearts)! The first heart I asked Michael "who do you love?" And he said, "Jesus!" I was touched, he is such an example for me! The rest of the hearts say Daddy, Mommy, Jesse, Michael, Oma, Opa, Grandma, and Grandpa. We also love all the Aunts and Uncles out there, and cousins and friends! Happy Valentines everyone!

Michael showing off his work!

I ended up putting the hearts in a different order

The boys showing their brotherly love!

Here is an appropriate song for this holiday, its a video put out by the church!

It's been a while...

2010-01-17T08:21:00.000-08:00

So not too much excitement has happened since Christmas. But we did get Jesse's 6 month pictures done, I can't believe he's already half a year old!! He's a little wiggler and likes to grab at things. He can also sit up already very well now we just need to work on him rolling over, he's almost got it.

And Michael looks so much like a little boy its kida sad, but it is also lots of fun! Watching him learn and grow is very fun and entertaining. Everyday he loves to use his imagination; he likes giving people and finding, baby jaguars. Another time we had Mickey, Minnie and all their friends over for lunch, then another time Blue, Steve, and Magenta were playing with Michael!

When we went to my parents house earlier this month, Michael got to play with his friend Misky. They had lots of fun together, as you can tell from these pictures, jumping on the couch and “singing!”

Our Christmas!

2009-12-29T19:19:00.000-08:00

   This Christmas was lots of fun! Michael is at that age where he was realizing that the presents was more than just the paper wrapped in the gift. He also enjoyed helping others unwrap their presents also. It was also fun because it was Jesse's first Christmas. He liked grabbing at paper the most; he really likes to grab at anything that is in arms reach.
   Christmas morning I walked down the stairs with Michael and I think he was surprised, for he didn't say much, to see all the presents under the tree with his trains going around the tree on the tracks. After unwrapping presents we had breakfast at our home with Chris' family, had to keep the tradition of chocolate gravy with biscuits on Christmas morning. Then later that day we went to Chris' parents house for dinner. When we got back home we decided to hurry and pack to surprise my family that night. We drove to Utah, got there around 9:30 p.m. and Michael was so excited to see everyone, he was asking for about a week to see his Oma and Opa. We had lots of fun down there and my sister let us know that she is expecting another little one! We're so excited for her!

While we were down there, besides spending time with my family, we went to The Aquarium in Sandy. Michael had a blast there seeing all the different kinds of animals that live in the water. He saw "Nemo" and "Dory" and sharks. When we were waiting for the sharks to come by the window of the shark tank, one swam (belly toward us) across the tank eye level to Michael. It scarred him so bad he was pushing himself back towards me and he was saying "I scared the shark."

A Light Unto All

2009-12-10T09:47:00.000-08:00

Such a beautiful video about this time of year I wanted to share it with all of you!

Christmas Story

2009-12-07T15:32:00.001-08:00

This is such a cute video and wanted to share it! I hope we can all remember Christ this Christmas and make him a part of our celebration!
P.S. My choir teacher from high school is in this clip, she sings with the choir! :)

Michael Meets Santa

2009-12-04T16:21:00.000-08:00

Last night we went to the Festival of Trees and Michael was so excited to see Santa! When he got up to Santa's lap though he was acting all shy and bashful, it was cute. When asked what he wanted he said, "a green monster truck!" Michael's been a good boy this year so I think Santa will bring him one.
Then today I showed Michael a snowflake I was getting ready to open and he says, "oh, my!" before I even open it. I love my boys!

This is Michael's tree that is in his room, he is so proud of it and wanted his Oma and Opa to see it! :)

On the First Day of Christmas...

2009-12-01T16:58:00.000-08:00

We put up our Christmas tree and decorations! Michael liked putting the ornaments on the tree especially the ones of santa he would say, "it's Santa!" with a silly chuckle. Jesse even liked to stare at the tree and tried to reach for the lights! It was a very fun and exciting 1st Day of Christmas for us!

Our Thanksgiving Day!

2009-11-28T09:52:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving we went to Chris' Grandma James house. Michael enjoyed spending time with his cousins. Especially when they put a toy ball up there shirts and were bumping into each other. We enjoyed each others company and are glad that Uncle Denver could come up this year. It was a great Thanksgiving feast!

In the Spirit of Thanksgiving

2009-11-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

I saw this video put out by the church and found it very uplifting.

the Spirit of Thanksgiving

I am thankful for my wonderful little family! For my amazing husband who takes care of our family so that I can stay home with our boys, for my two darling boys who makes it fun to be their mother. I am thankful for the love Michael has for his brother Jesse, for all the cute things Michael comes up with. I am thankful for Jesse's cute smiles and laughs. I am thankful for the gospel in my life, for temples, to know that we can be a forever family. I am thankful for the scriptures, for the Book of Mormon, for the answers we can receive from it through prayer. I am also thankful that we can talk to our Heavenly Father through prayer. I am thankful for my parents for the examples they have given me and for all they do. I am thankful for my in-laws example to me as well. I am thankful for all of my siblings, their spouses, my one and only nephew who we adore! I am thankful for the blessings we have been given and knowledge that we can all live together again! I am also thankful for friends, for the beautiful earth we live on, for animals, our pets (even though sometimes I threaten to get rid of them), for good music, for my talents and the talents of those that share them, for flowers, for food that we have to eat. This is only the beginning of all I am thankful for! ~Danielle

Getting ready for Halloween!

2009-10-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

One holiday we each love is Halloween! Finding a costume for
each of the boys is exciting!

Michael is going to be a train conductor because he loves trains.

Jesse is going to be a cute little bat! This costume shows off his
chubby cheeks and chunkiness, I love it!

Family and Jesse's 3 month Pictures!

2009-10-26T21:40:00.000-07:00