Introducing James David Marriott

James David Marriott was born on April 30, 2009 at about 7:30 pm. His due date was May 1st, so we were pleasantly surprised at slightly early arrival. I had gone into labor with our other two sons in the middle of the night, so it was a bit different to go into labor in the middle of the day. I was so much more alert and awake for the whole experience, imagine that! All in all I believe I was in labor for only 3 hours, and everything went well. He weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. and was 21 inches long. As soon as he was born, Daniel proclaimed that he was a "sweet baby James" and immediately started calling family to announce James' arrival. James had been on our list of names, and it was my first choice, but not Daniel's, so I was happy when he announced that that's what the baby looked like! I have liked that name ever since I read the story of a James Kirkwood who travelled in the Martin Willie handcart company as an 11-year old boy. He was given charge by his mother over his younger 4-year old brother Joseph. I saw a painting of James carrying Joseph on his back in what looks like a blizzard. James dutifully and faithfully carried Joseph the entire way, and arrived at their destination safely. From overexertion and exposure to the elements, James passed away, but Joseph survived. I was really moved by that story and wished my own son could have that courage and love for his family just like James Kirkwood. Our son's middle name, David, is named for Daniel's dad, another wonderful example of someone he will hopefully take after. Our boys both love the new baby--and constantly are smothering him with kisses and really being helpful in keeping him happy! James is a very mellow personality, and has been sleeping very well which did not happen with our first two boys. As a result, I feel more rested and am actually enjoying this phase, whereas before I think I was too sleep deprived to have anything but fuzzy memories of it! :)

My mom came out the next day and stayed with us for a week and we loved every minute of her stay. While she was here she planted our whole garden and several window boxes and pots full of flowers. George and Grant loved having Grandma here who doted on them all day and just loved and played with them.

I am also so grateful to my mother and father-in-law who amazingly showed up so fast to our house when Daniel picked me up to go to the hospital and then proceeded to watch our kids for the next couple of days. That's a lot of hard work! Thank you so much! We just love having James with us. He adds such a peaceful spirit to our home and we are excited for you all to meet him.

Easter Pictures

Our neighbor, Heather Peterson, has done an Easter photo shoot every year and even brings in little chicks for the kids to hold. The pictures are always darling and I wanted to share the ones from this year. When we got the CD of photos back, I couldn't help but laugh at the photos. In almost all the photos, George is hamming it up, while Grant looks like he's mad and refuses to smile. I absolutely love these photos though because it's so telling of the big personalities that are in these little boys of ours, our performer George and our no nonsense Grant. The second photo is my favorite example of their different attitudes towards having their picture taken. We sure love them both! (sorry about the formatting, I have no idea how to get the alignment right, if anyone has any tips, let me know!)

A Reluctant Soccer Player

After an attempt at t-ball last fall, we decided to see if soccer was more of George's thing this spring. Once again, we experienced a bit of stage fright but overall had a good time getting to know the other kids and their parents. We had such a sweet soccer coach who was the mother of one of the boys and her main goal was that the kids learned to love to play, with no pressure on winning. So all in all, it was a positive experience for George who in the end was able to stay on the field and actually kick the ball, after a bit of coaxing :). I wish we had more action shots, but our baby James arrived mid-season, so Daniel often attended alone and had to deal with a rascally Grant as well as getting George to stay on the field. The one experience that I had that I will never forget is his very first game. He began enthusiastically, and ran after the ball and was kicking it. Another child came and took the ball away, and George was devastated and immediately teared up and ran towards where I was sitting on the sidelines and buried his face in my lap. I don't think he realized that that was part of the game and was hurt that someone would just take the ball away from him! These are such tough life lessons that we have to learn! :)

Grant's 2nd Birthday

In my attempt to catch up, I'm covering events chronologically, and hope to catch up to the present! On April 9th we celebrated Grant's 2nd birthday. We really enjoyed his birthday, and I think it was in large part due to a new tradition that Daniel wanted to start in which he takes the birthday child out for lunch. I think Grant felt very special, and George, although a bit jealous is already looking so forward to his lunch with Dad.

Our festivities actually began the Sunday before his birthday, where we congregated at Daniel's parents' home and shared a "dump truck" cake, which I resorted to after giving up on the idea of baking a cake in the shape of a truck! It was actually fun to make and pretty tasty, very chocolatey and rich.

The morning of his birthday we made cinnamon rolls and had another chance to blow out a candle (it should have been two!).

Then it was off to Cowboy Grub where they have free cowboy rides which Grant loved. As you can see from the second photo below, truly it is a hoppin' joint for real cowboys--check out that guy's handlebar mustache!

In the evening we opened a few presents which he loved, some construction vehicle toys from Grandma and Grandpa, a neat play-doh kit from our sweet neighbors the Petersons, a little stretchy lizard from George, and a Lightning McQueen car and Doc Hudson lego car from Mom and Dad. It was such a fun day and I think Grant felt special and that was definitely our goal for the day. We love you Grant and are grateful that you are part of our family!

This One's for Kevin