Our Bedtime Routine

James aficionados may remember that the first song he ever sang along to was "A Pirate's Life for Me (Yo Ho)." Now it is the last thing he hears every night, because he requests I sing it after we say prayers.

Brought to You By the Letter H

Imagine my excitement tonight when James learned his first letter! He was taking his bath, and he has these foam letters and numbers that stick to the tub when they're wet. He picked up the red letter "H" and said, "Look, H!" It just goes to show that Big Bird really knows what he's talking about.

Also, the big news this week is that James is learning to wear "big boy undies." I decided it was time to potty learn when he brought me a dirty diaper he had taken off himself. Just as Big Bird is helping us with our ABC's, Elmo is helping us remember to go to the bathroom. So far, we've had several accidents, but also several successful trips to the loo. Wish us luck!

We Love Visitors!

Some pictures of family and friends who have come to visit in the past couple of months:

Tat, Blair, and a Beefeater at the Tower of London

My mother and I

Mom in front of the Houses of Parliament

Tat, James, Lorianne

Tat, PaPa Larry (my grandpa), Micah

PaPa Larry wearing James' "hat"

Pure Imagination

James sees the world a little differently than the rest of us. As soon as he realized that he was part of a world, and that there were other things besides himself in that world, he imagined that those things were other things.

This may look like a small plastic toy to you or to me. To James, it is a cell phone.

An ordinary brown leather sofa? Not when James straddles the top. From that position, he told me, "Look, Mommy! I'm riding a horse!"

This is the cardboard strip torn off our laundry detergent box.

But in James' hands, it's a balloon, and he is Curious George, being carried away by it.

These are not the pillows on our bed . . .

. . . they form the dashboard of James' car.

On the left is a carrot. On the right is the vegetable peeler. When James "peels carrots," he does so over the trash can.

And the following picture needs no explanation: