Italy

Pictures from our Trip to Italy. We had such a wonderful time, but I must admit, I am so happy to be back home with my little man. The pictures uploaded out of order so below is a journey from end to beginning .

On the rooftop bar in Florence on our last night in Italy.

Watching the Mille Miglia Race on the streets of Florence.

View of the Ponte Vecchio from our Hotel.

Tuscany

G & S in San Gimignano

Z & S in San Gimignano

G enjoying the tour of the Il Borro winery

The fam heading to dinner

Z & S after a LONG hike in Cortona

L'Amorosa

Sinalunga

Sinalunga

The fam at Il Borro

The delicious risotto lunch G & S prepared

Jesus loves me

I put James down for his nap a few minutes ago. After a loud clap of thunder he sat up and started singing the following...

"Jesus loves me.... bible... yes... yes... yes,

Jesus loves me... bible... yes... yes...yes"

Yes James, Jesus loves you!! My cup overflows!!

Bubbles

So many things to update, so little time. We have been living in sickville around here lately. Zack had the flu, James had the stomach bug and strep, and I have been feeling a little sickly myself (no, I'm not pregnant!) So this poor little blog has been neglected :(. I will be updating soon on 15 month stats. James is talking up a storm- the pediatrician actually said she was amazed by his vocabulary and couldn't believe he had such strong language skills at 15 months. We are having to be pretty careful because he is now repeating EVERYTHING we say!! Anywho- thought I'd post a few pictures of James and his cousin Lucas. James loves Lucas and has been calling for him instead of Mommy when he wakes up from his naps.

A little walking & a little dancing

We were getting ready for bed and James decided he wanted to take a break and play with his toys before putting on his PJs. He thought he would get in a little dancing before bed. Usually when he dances he goes to town shaking his little bootie- but tonight he had some new moves. Of course, by the time I got out the video camera he was a little less enthusiastic, but still cute. AND...I thought it would never happen, but my baby is starting to walk. He crawled & pulled up so early I knew he would be walking by 7 months...but it was more like 14 months. He's still a little wobbly, but he's getting the hang of things.

Sweet boy is talking NONSTOP!! He is even saying two words at a time. Here are his favorite talking points:

go bye bye {says this to go outside & stroll or ride in the car}

off light

hey

hello

ride

no no

night night

bye-bye

beep-beep {says this when he sees a car}

dog

tank you

zack

daddy

mommy

dada

mama

daddo

shoe

sock

tickle

ball

book

cheese

ohs- {cheerios}

alright

oh man

uh oh

bobble {bottle}

bath

baby

New Years 2010

We spent New Years 2010 in Destin with my parents. James had his first ear infection- a pretty bad one, and in both ears. Poor little guy!! My parents were so sweet to offer to keep the little man so that Zack and I could go out on the town and celebrate the New Year. We had a wonderful night and it was the perfect way to ring in the new year. Below are a few pictures from the weekend.

Baptism & Birthday Party

On the Sunday after James' actual birthday, James was baptised and after church we celebrated his birthday party at my parent's house. James' baptism was so special. We were so fortunate to have all of our parents there, Zack's dad was in town from New Hampshire, as well as my Papa and Aunt Kathleen, our brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, and some very sweet friends. James did very well during church- we sat up front and he was mesmerized by the pianist. During the baptism an elder always stands with the family, so it was really special that my Dad was able to be standing up there with us. James was a hoot- he loved all the attention, and actually didn't want to come to me or Zack after the baptism- so Pastor Bell just walked him down the aisle. Below are a few pictures of the gorgeous gown we had made. The gown was a gift from my parents- we had the slip monogrammed with his initials and the date of his baptism. Hopefully his grandchildren will have their initials monogrammed on it as well some day.

Here are just a few pictures of us before we left for church.

The baptism.

After the baptism everyone headed to my parents house to celebrate James' 1st birthday. Sweet, sweet Sybil came down the day before and made delicious beef stroganoff that we ate for lunch. It was the perfect celebration of James' birth, baptism, and God's wonderful covenant promise. Below are a few pictures from the party. I didn't take many pictures. But here are a few:

Bonfire

How did I not post more pictures from our Post-Thanksgiving bonfire? After Thanksgiving the Newton (& Barker) clan headed to the Lake. After Zack and the boys gathered wood and piled up the bonfire, we gathered our hangers and hotdogs and headed down to the lake. After some questionable lighting methods (by my father I might add) the bonfire was up and going. Baby James loved it at first exclaiming "light" when it was up and going, but got over it quickly- so, needless to say, he and I didn't spend much time down there. Anyway, here are a few pictures. Enjoy!!