Book Review

Can I just say how much I love my local library? I am totally scoring on awesome books! Of course I have to wait weeks for them to become available, but I've requested so many now that I always have a new one waiting for me. Just last week I checked out The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and it is definitely a book I'd recommend! It takes place in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s and is told through numerous perspectives, including African American maids. The segregation and racism between Blacks and Whites were so prevalent throughout the book, it was hard to believe that the story takes place only 50 years ago! It definitely brought to life a world that, I'm embarrassed to say, I've not thought about too much. I love it when I think about the book throughout my day, even when I'm not reading it. I even caught myself thinking in the dialect of the book! I was sad to have the book end, and actually felt that the book wasn't quite finished for me, but I'm sure I would have felt that way no matter how it ended. All in all, this was a book that brought out a variety of strong emotions, and made me want to sit down and discuss with friends.
*This was a rather clean book too, except for some minimal language and one scene that was almost borderline. It was definitely not necessary nor crucial to the story that I would have rather done without.

Snow dates and Shots!

Last weekend Chris had to work and go to school, so James and I had all Saturday to ourselves. Looking outside at our backyard, it suddenly hit me that James had never really played in the snow! I had always been waiting for him to be more mobile so he would have more fun. Well, not wanting to put it off any further, I found the old snowsuit that used to by my brother-in-laws back about 11 years ago. It was given to us when James was born. After putting it on James, he just kind of sat there, unable to move and unsure if he even wanted to try. It reminded me of that poor kid in "The Christmas Story" movie!

Once outside, he livened right up and enjoyed every second of being in the snow!


Especially sucking on the ice...


On a different note, yesterday we took James to his 12 month appointment. He is actually 13 months, but we had rescheduled it because of the holidays. James is currently 21.5 lbs and 29.5 inches. That's in the 30-40 percentile for both. I have to admit that I was surprised he wasn't heavier! He certainly fills more like 35 pounds when he's attached to my hip! He got 3 shots, one of which was a flu shot, and he handled them so well! Of course there were those terrible screams that would break any mother's heart, but he quieted down right after and has been fine since. Although I'm sure Tylenol is partly the reason. :) One thing we did learn is that James has asymmetry in his eye reflexes, which is why he squints his right eye so much. Chris had the same thing as a child, which turned out to be a lazy eye problem. Our doc told us those things are genetic, so we are taking James to the eye doctor soon to get a diagnosis. Who knows, I may have a helmet wearing, eye-patch sporting toddler soon! Yikes! We'll see!

Chris's Birthday!

On January 5th we celebrated Chris's 28th birthday! Chris had to work on his special day, but we ended it with his favorite birthday dinner (Chicken a la King)...

presents...

and we topped it off with birthday dances! It was close to bedtime for James and I was in the process of putting his jammies on. We decided to let him roam sans clothes for a bit, which made him super hyper! When the music to his favorite toy came on, James and his daddy just had to dance!

Christmas time!

This Christmas we decided to make the drive down to Thousand Oaks, California to spend the holidays with the DeBeikes family. Being cooped up in Utah for months on end without a break was taking its toll, and we needed to get outta Dodge! After waiting (very impatiently) for James's big boy car seat to arrive from Target.com (don't even get me started...), it came just a couple of days before our drive. I was nervous about the 11 hour drive with a 1-year-old, but with tons of snacks, milk, and toys on hand, James was quite the trooper. It was fun having him face forward and made the drive much easier. We made great time!

Of course, right away James got sick with a cold and ear infection, so our Christmas day was spent tracking down an open pharmacy, and then actually waiting for the pharmacist to get back from lunch, to get some antibiotics for the little guy. However, nothing could dampen our Christmas spirit and we all had a FANTASTIC day! The DeBeikes family sure does know how to do Christmas right, I was stunned at the spread! Chris and I both got a bunch of new clothes (I got new boots! Thanks BROOKE!!) and James made out like a bandit with tons of toys and clothes. The rest of the day was spent playing with new gifts, taking naps, and eating an insane amount of delicious food. All in all, a wonderful day spent with great family!


We stayed in CA for about another week, wherein we went shopping (thank you Babies R Us!), went ice skating...

took a hike in a park where James LOVED the swings...





and visited with Grandpa Jim (James's Great-Grandpa), Aunt Gail and Uncle Tom. I even tried teaching James a little piano (ha!) while visiting Oxnard at Grandpa Jim's house!


I actually got to see not one, but TWO movies while there!! I saw True Grit (a little disappointing), and Little Fockers (hysterical!). That should last me through next Christmas. James was obsessed with the Wii remotes and iphones/ipods laying around, and I probably worked off my holiday weight (wishful thinking...) just by running after him to make sure he didn't ruin anything valuable. I'm sure those items can only take so much drool. One thing's for sure, James is so good at walking! He also knows when he has something forbidden, because he takes off with it with a delightful little giggle. I'm so glad he got to spend time with his aunts, uncles, and grandparents! He even got to meet his little cousin Daniel!

With the drives and down time, I was able to do quite a bit of reading, and found 2 new books to add to my list of favorites! The first is a continuation of the story from The Percy Jackson series, called "The Lost Hero" by Rick Riordan. You have to read the other books first, but HOLY COW was this book amazing!! To all you naysayers who might have seen the The Lightning Thief movie (gag!) or who think the books are just for kids, just give in and read the books, they are absolutely enthralling! The other book is called "The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Norton. This book in now one of my all time favorites. I was a little unsure at first, but the way the story unfolds piece by piece and jumps timelines is completely genius! It is more of a feminine story, so this recommendation goes out to my girls. You've got to read it! It's long, but goes by fast.


The only downer on our trip was that James was sick, and therefore very shy around new people. He was glued to my leg until he warmed up, which sometimes took way longer than expected. Sleeping was also an issue. Every night he woke up screaming a few times, so since Chris and I were in the same room as him, we were up a ton too. It got to the point that even when he wasn't crying, I was still wide awake anticipating the next time he'd wake up! On top of that, James never slept in past 6:30 am. The DeBeikes' thought I was an old timer because I couldn't stay up past 10:00 pm. Not even on New Years! Whoops! Besides being a tad sleep deprived, a fantastic trip! On January 2, we made the trip home and were lucky to miss all the snow! I just wish I didn't catch what James had, because now I've got a cold. We are now back, safe and sound, but already hoping for another visit soon! Why must vacations always end?!?