James' 3 Year Portraits

Yesterday I took the day off from work to stay home with James in the morning because Stephen had mandatory training at work. So while Madeline was at school I finally took James to the Picture People at the mall to receive his FREE birthday portrait. I love the email coupons I get from the Picture People, everytime I go to them and use them I get a FREE portrait - and there's no sitting fee! Anyhow I think Madeline has way more portraits taken of her than James - she was my easy model baby/toddler. James on the other hand puts up quite the battle when we go have his picture taken. I thought this photo session was going to be another lost battle when it started with him crying and refusing to have his picture taken. But thankfully the photographer was super patient, and after playing with some toys on the photo shoot set he finally warmed up to the camera and gave some great smiles!


This was the FREE 8x10 I picked.

And I bought this portrait (a close up cropped version). My coupon gave me 20% off their normal $18 portrait sheets. The nice thing is they print your portraits for you right after the session! We're going back there soon with the whole Ohana including Penny Lane to have a new family portrait taken.

Thanks!

James was showered with so many nice birthday gifts. Thanks to all for your thoughtfulness. Here is wearing new jammies from the Sokolowski's.

Knappe Jongen is Dutch for...

...handsome/pretty boy. The other day at the grocery store checkout line this cute lil old Hispanic couple behind us in line were admiring James as he sat in the cart. The old man says to me, "we were telling your son how beautiful he is, what a pretty boy!". I thanked the couple for their sweet compliment. Tonight, on the eve of James' 3rd Birth Day, I took photos of him playing in our backyard - and I must say after watching him and looking at the photos, I completely agree with the cute lil old Hispanic couple - he is absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

James has gorgeous skin, sparkling eyes, to-die-for eyelashes, cute dimples, a marvelous smile...he's just one good-looking boy. And I'm not biased or anything. ;)

But most importantly James exhibits a beautiful heart with an eagerness to help and is wonderful and kind.

James and Penny have started a special bond. Without being told to, James will go into the backyard, find Penny's ball and start to play fetch with her. It's really precious.

Can you tell how much this boy loves his dog?

I think in my previous post about James' party I mentioned how much James loves to jump. Here he is on his trampoline...

James has great balance when he's bouncing around!

But he loves to fall down too!

A "then photo" to compare to my "now photos" in this post. Here James is only a few days old. Tomorrow on September 30th at 5:39pm we will celebrate James Edward's 3rd Birth Day!

James turns 3!

Well technically his birthday is not until the 30th, but we celebrated his birthday yesterday at home with a pizza party with some friends. James brings so much joy to our family. He's got a mellow yet silly personality. He loves to jump - he jumps off the furniture, he jumps off the stair steps, he jumps when getting out of the car, and he loves to jump on our trampoline. He knows all of his colors, and excitedly tells you his sissy's school bus is "yewhoa". He loves his morning time with Daddy while sissy is at school and Mommy is at work. He loves to greet Madeline every afternoon with a hug when she gets off the bus - sweet huh, it doesn't last long as Madeline and James have some sibling rivalry. But for the most part James is a good listener and a sweet boy.

I thought I'd share this photo of James at 1 month old to compare how much he's grown! Go Vikings - awesome game yesterday!

Kayla and Madeline eating some pizza.

Our friends kids enjoying the pizza party.

It's pinata time! James whacks the car!

Group photo, from left to right: James, Madeline, Gabriel, Quinten, Kayla and Abraham.

Present time! James received lots of fun gifts!

Playing his new game Hungry Dog (like Hungry Hippo), they were having lots of fun!

James receiving an unwelcome hug from his girlfriend Kayla. Right after I took this photo, he screamed "don't touch me!". LOL To view more photos of the party, click here.