5 months

    I can't believe James is 5 months old now (11/22)! He is changing daily. He is finally rolling over (front to back)...BUT he ONLY does it when we're not looking. I think he knew I wanted him to do it, so he only does it privately. He went through a spell for about a week where he'd roll every night around 3:30/4 a.m. I still have not seen him actually do it. Seth or I will walk away and come back and he's on his back. Sneaky little guy. He's also starting to use his hands! He realized that his arms and hands are his and he can hold things! He always wants to grab my nose or have me "eat" his hands. It's so cute to watch him smile with delight as we play! I know every baby has a cute grin, but James's grin is just the absolute sweetest. He's trying to sit up (early tripod) and always wants to stand with support. The other "fun and new" thing he's doing is motorboat (you know, making the pppbbbtttt sound?). Seth and I do it to him all the time. I know in a few months we'll be telling him, "NO!" when he does it, but for now it's communication! :) James seems to be pretty laid back, although here lately he hasn't wanted other people give him a bottle (sitter, grandparents). Hopefully that will pass! 

    Halloween was great for Adelyn this year. She was a pumpkin fairy and James was a pumpkin. Seth's cousin made Adelyn's outfit and did an incredible job (check out her store- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mallard-Cove-Customs/165288410199609 ). She had her parade at school with a feast in her classroom afterwards. A few days later, we went to Trunk or Treat at our church. We actually didn't do anything on the actual Halloween Day. James, Adelyn, and I went to Highlands to help Seth's mom get ready for the upcoming wedding. Seth's cousin, Blake, got married the following weekend. Adelyn and Emily were flower girls. The rehearsal was Saturday and Adelyn would not do anything without me by her side (side note, she still says "Mama, hold you" and I think it's adorable). We had lots of pep talks on Sunday and we put fruit chews in the girls' basket beneath the petals. On the wedding day, Adelyn walked down the aisle and stood at the front the entire time! The fruit chews were perfect- they stood there quietly and ate their "prizes". Adelyn did turn around to the maid of honor and said "I'm a flower girl!" pretty loudly. Adelyn, Emily, and Thomas spent the ENTIRE reception dancing their tails off. They were hilarious! Adelyn barely ate dinner and I literally had to drag her off the dance floor to use the bathroom. She loved twirling in her flower girl dress! Adelyn has started gymnastics. This is no longer Mom and Tot. Now I sit on the bench and watch. I about cried the first session because she looked so big out there following directions in her leotard without a diaper. She is getting too big too fast.

    Life is good in the Thomas household. We are loving watching our children grow.....just wish they'd slow down a bit!

In Birmingham for Amy's baby sprinkle (Lea V was born November  14)

Adelyn and James with the carved pumpkin

Adelyn holding Mrs. Cindy's hand at her school parade

Class party....Adelyn really enjoyed the Rice Krispie treats!

Adelyn and James at Trunk or Treat 

Cousins

I wish I could eat more than just my right hand!

Ricky and Lynn have AWESOME Halloween decorations....this is Lynn's bubble fog machine. Adelyn used her wand to pop the bubbles

Flower girls and ring bearer (Blake's wedding at The Farmhouse in Highlands, NC)

Dancing Machines tearing up the floor

Adelyn's class dressed as turkeys at the CFUMC Preschool Thanksgiving program

Thanksgiving lunch at school

Love how babies sleep anywhere and any how

James LOVES his thumb! I put socks up to his elbows at night so he won't suck on it!

Dean and James 

4 months old

At James's 4 month check up, he weighed 14 pounds 13.6 ounces (47th percentile), was 25 3/4 inches long (76th percentile), and his head circumference was 16 1/2 inches (39th percentile). He's going to be tall and skinny like his daddy! I know I say this every post, but James is so sweet! He is a BIG talker. He coos and makes all sorts of sounds all the time. At church one Sunday, Garry (our preacher) was praying. James was looking at him the entire prayer and babbling away. When Garry was done, James stopped talking as well. It takes nothing to make him smile and he's generally not very fussy. He's still sleeping great (9:30-6/6:30) and nice long naps during the day. We will introduce cereal in the next couple of months.
Adelyn is really enjoying school and the activities that go with it. The school celebrated Grandparents' Day October 21st. Adelyn was so lucky to have both sets attend and we all went to Dairy Queen afterwards for lunch. Adelyn is doing pretty good with potty training. She wears panties at night too. She's really just had one night accident in a week and a half. Her problem area is #2 in the potty. I met my friend Staci and their daughter Hailey at the Cumming Fair a few weeks ago. Both girls had never been and they had a ball! They got on the rides with no problems. I loved watching her face light up as she went around and around! Seth had Adelyn and James for two days while I went to Birmingham to celebrate my friend Amy's baby (due very soon!) and then I helped host a wedding shower on Sunday. It was great to get away with my girlfriends and Seth did an awesome job! I guess this means I can do this a lot more! :)
We're looking forward to celebrating Halloween and then holy cow....it's November! Where does the time go??

James laughing:
http://youtu.be/0bU8Ecvghzo

My parents with kiddos at Kinsey Pumpkin Farm

Sweet Pumpkin

Dang it! I left his hat at home. I took this picture when we returned. 

They look nothing alike, but here's Adelyn in the same outfit at Kinsey Farms (5 months old)

Trip out West

    So, we got home from the beach Sunday night and left for our next trip Thursday morning! This time we were off to Albuquerque, NM and Essex, MT. We were gone October 6-14. Everyone has been waiting for James to be old enough to travel. Now he's seen the beach and the mountains in less than a month- my favorite places! 

We went with Seth's family and took a Rotary foreign exchange student (Louise from Denmark). We started off in Albuquerque for the Balloon Festival from Thursday to Saturday afternoon. It NEVER rains there, but it rained 2 out of our 3 days. Two events we were supposed to attend were cancelled. They issued us rain checks for next year....maybe we'll be lucky enough to go back (and what we were able to see makes me hopeful this will happen)! Saturday was unbelievable! The sky cleared up and almost all of the balloons were flying! We all felt like kids- so excited and jaws to the ground in awe. 

    We then left for Montana. I have never been in October. It's a pretty time to go because you see all the leaves changing colors. Again, the weather was more on the yucky side (lots of rain and cooler temperatures). We did a lot of sight seeing from the car, but I'll take it. Montana is gorgeous no matter how you view it. Plus, traveling with a five year old, four year old, two year old, and a three month old adds a new dimension! We drove through Glacier National Park and saw buffalo, a bear, and a moose! We always hike from the house down to the river, which takes about an hour. Adelyn hiked the whole thing by herself. This was her first time hiking and she didn't utter one complaint. I'm proud of my hiking girl! James was great throughout the trip. He slept a lot and was really only fussy a few times....such a sweet boy! Emily and Thomas are so good with him. They LOVE to sit in front of him and talk to him. James is a big chatterbox, so they got a kick out of it when he'd coo or smile. I really enjoyed having Louise along with us. I love hearing about other cultures. All in all, it was a great trip! 

Just Plane Cute- you got that right, sweet boy!

Loving his first plane ride

Cousins in the balloon

James snuggled up at the evening balloon event

I don't think Adelyn knew what to think about these guys on stilts!

We saw Native American dancers

It was so cool to see them fire it up!

This was the first balloon released. The whole crowd was going nuts!

Seth's shoulders are still sore. He carried Adelyn around like this a LOT!

Brenda, Seth, and Adelyn

James snoozing away

First morning in Montana- Flathead River

Best buds

Future baby sitter

Hiking down to the river

Go, Adelyn!

The kids could have thrown rocks into the river all day long

Grandma with her grandkids

buffalo

Highline Trail

Adelyn and I at Logan Pass (it was so cold- see the snow on the mountains?)

After lunch at Norm's News in Kalispell, Grandpa bought them all a bag of candy. They were pretty much in heaven. Then Seth introduced them all to Pop Rocks- hilarious!! 

This is the drive to Polebridge. There was a major fire years back. 

Porch of The Mercantile in Polebridge (THE MOST RANDOM place I've ever been, by the way)

And here's what all Polebridge has to offer. I think 10 people live here and there's no electricity. But, fabulous bread and desserts!!! 

Adelyn enjoying her Danish dish prepared by Louise

 Louise with her delicious apple dessert

Louise, Seth, and I hiked to Stanton Lake

Stanton Lake

Stanton Lake