Baby James

 This boy is such a precious joyful gift to our family.  He is definitely the center of attention!

Some of the phrases that are frequently said around our house are:

he's just so CUTE, its so overwhelming!
I just want to eat him up!
Look at that little body!
Look at that big belly!

I could just stare at him all day!
I just can't get enough of him! 

all of this along with lots of baby talk.  As soon as Luke gets him out, he starts baby talking "doo ba, doo ba, etc". . . and of course we can't forget Luke's theme song for him "Look at that fat belly walking....."

Some of his nicknames are
Baby James
Bubba (and different variations. . .Bubby, Bubby bear, Bubs, Bubbers)
Buda
Jamie
Jamie pie

Loves piggy back rides!

Such a great smile!

This boy LOVES to give hugs and kisses to everyone

Isaac is already training him to be a Jedi

one piece South African outfit from Jolene

He loves balls!  He is constantly saying "Ball, ball. . ." and he throws really well too!
He says ""thank you" which sounds more like "gook goo"
Water is "lelalela", Kitty cat, dog, tiger, turtle, shoes.  He actually says all these words really well.  He is at the stage where we tell him to say a word, and he will try to repeat it.

However, he is definitely entering the terrible twos  (at 16 months).  One of his favorite things is the toilet and the refrigerator.  I have found him eating bananas or strawberries that were in the fridge.  The funny thing is, when he starts to open the fridge, he always pauses to look at me to see if I am watching.  He knows he isn't supposed to be in there.  One day I actually caught him hiding in Miriam's room with food he found in the fridge!  I've also found him rummaging through the trash and/or compost for scraps of food.  This boy LOVES to eat!!  he is not as good of an eater as Andrew was at that age (Andrew never rejected ANYTHING!), however he might eat just as much as him. 

It's funny how early they understand "I'm sorry, will you forgive me".  When babies are not yet verbalizing themselves, we can easily forget how much they truly understand.  I was in the nursery with James and Liam Kirwan, and James kept hitting him.  I told him to say he was sorry (with sign language), although I had not yet taught this to him.

 I had a hunch that he understood and that he would be able to do the sign, and most likely say the words.

 He wouldn't do it, so I told him he would have to go in the pack and play until he could apologize.

He was angry and cried for a little bit and then stopped, so I took him out and told him to say "I'm sorry, will you forgive me".  He got a stubborn look on his face and said "ni!" (which is "no")  now I was certain that he understood what I wanted him to do (plus he hears his brothers say it plenty of times each day!). I put him back in, he cried, and this cycle continued about 3 or 4 times.  Eventually he realized that he HAD to apologize to Liam in order to get out and play.  He finally did it, with a big smile!  It worked!  I think this is the youngest age I've ever had them apologize and ask for forgiveness.  Now he does it much more easily.  The first time is usually the hardest, but once you break them down, and the younger you start, the easier it is.