Number 23 & 22

23 - I love how much James loves books. He is always on the go, but give him a book to read and he will sit there for 20 minutes just paging through the book.

22 - I remember the first time we discovered James' first tooth. It was the 16th August and James had refused to sleep in his cot the night before. We had been shopping in Bournemouth Town Center the whole day and had bought the first security gate to go over the kitchen entrance. We were sitting on the bus to go home, and Gareth felt inside James' mouth and said that he thought he felt something, so I felt and there was this little sharp bit that had not been there the day before, I was so excited that I announced the whole bus (which was not very full), "My baby has his first tooth", I must have said it about 10 times. I remember this old lady, about 3 rows back, giving me the smile. You know the smile, the remember this moment smile.......

Number 25 & 24

25 - I love the way James' sleeps with his bum up in the air.

24 - I will never forget the first time that James smiled. He was exactly one month old, and James and I were sitting on the bed, I was talking to him holding him up to my face, so we were face to face. And suddenly there was this big gummy grin.... it was totally differant to the 'gas smiles'.

Number 26

I love James' cheeky grin. The grin he gives me when he is about to do something naughty and knows it, or the grin he gives me when I say No..... he knows how to wrap Mommy around his little finger already.

Number 27

I love how proud James is when he climbs the stairs and then stands there calling us.

Number 28

I love the way he stops whatever he is doing to eat his grapes! James loves grapes!

Number 29.....

I love the way he claps his hands when we sing 'If you happy and you know it', and how he now makes his Tiger or Mini Mouse clap their hands too.

Let the countdown begin....

James is 11 months old today, which means that there are only 30 days left until he turns 1. So, I am going to try and do the countdown each day by mentioning one thing that I love about him, or a special memory from his first year.

Number 30: The way he throws things on the floor and then lifts his hand out open to show me that its all gone.

Good vs Bad News

Good News - The insurance company confirmed that I have the job and the salary is decentish.
Bad News - They only want me to start in January 2009 instead of December 2008, so now we will be broke and Christmas won't be as festive as it could have been. Gareth has reassured me that we can still afford to buy James a birthday and a Christmas present though.... but also mentioned that I can't spend the month buying chocolate.... I agreed, I am even willing to give up food if it means that James can get a present, he told me that we don't have to go that far.... we can afford food....lol.

We are still alive

I have not been posting lately because I have started to worry about internet security, I know its a bit late, but rather late than never right? I am still going to post, but I think that I need to be a bit more careful about what I post.
So what have we been up to?
Gareth - well his books have finally arrived and he is studying every night, thus leaving me at a loose end. He writes his first 2 exams in December. He is studying for his ACCA, oh, how I look forward to been a Chartered Accountants wife (and then being allowed to have another baby). He has to study in the lounge because James is sleeping in our bedroom, and my SIL is in the other room. So we switch the TV off and I try not to make too much noise whilst sitting in the same room as him.
Me - Well, because of his studying, I am reading a lot and bathing a lot. I have also started my application essay for my studies towards being a Breastfeeding Counsellor. I never thought that I would have a lot to say in the essay, but I am only on the second question out of 8 and I already have 3 typed pages.... not sure how long it is going to end up being. I am also suppose to be going back to work in December at the old Insurance Company that I used to temp at. But, I am still waiting for them to confirm this..... hopefully I will know more soon, watch this space.
James - he is still crawling at unbelievably fast speeds, climbs up on everything, climbs over and under everything. He is constantly covered in bumps and bruises thanks to his adventurous and inquisitive personality. He now has 6 teeth, and loves to use them to bite me or daddy. I don't think that he is going to be walking anytime soon, as he is so proficient at crawling, there is no need. He can climb 15 stairs in under 2 minutes and can now climb off the bed or sofa, and not the express way. He sleeps through the night and his appetite has increased a lot. He can now eat an entire Cow and Gate Tray meal and a yoghurt for dinner. He is starting nursery in December and I think that he is ready for it. It is a lovely nursery, very homely and ticks all the boxes. We had our follow up paeditrician appointment today, and she is happy with his weight. He has not picked up a lot of weight, but seems to be following the second centile. She also says that sleeping through the night is an indication that he is getting enough food/nutrients. She was not happy about his foreskin and has referred him to a surgeon. His foreskin is still too tight even after using that steriod cream for 8 weeks, and thinks that James needs to be circumcised. In September I had wanted James to be circumcised, but the more I have thought about it, the less I like the idea. I really don't want my baby to go under anaesthetic, but if it is going to be better for him in the long run, well then. Maybe he is in the 1% of babies that the NHS will circumcise for medical reasons.

And thats an update on us. Gareth is asking for the computer and I have a meeting in the morning, so night night.........