Snowmobiling - the next generation

James got a snowmobile for Christmas. It's a toss-up whether he or Andy was more excited about it! After we finished up a few things on it, James took it for a spin.

Tree Trimming - 2

Setting up some carousel horses I had when I was a little girl.

Finding the perfect spot for the ornament.The finished tree. Not sure why the crazy pose. He's 3. He does weird things.

This is what happens when the short kid is in charge. A lot of ornaments on the bottom foot of the tree :)

Christmas Tree - Part 1

First we had to find the perfect tree.

Had hopes of taking a photo of James next to the tree/height stick. He had other ideas.

The first job - lights.

James helping. (Not really.)

The tree is lit!

How I look?

After bathtime, James combs his own hair.

He doesn't use a mirror.

Can you tell?

Pumpkin Carving Fun

James was looking forward to carving a Jack 'O Lantern. He wanted a "Swiper" 0ne (a character from Dora the Explorer). He saw it on tv - unfortunately he has lazy parents.

Here he is waiting for Andy to open up the pumpkin.

Totally posed shot. He stuck his arm in, gagged, and declared it "Totally gross." So really, Andy carved a pumpkin.

James dictated where the eyes, nose, and teeth went. Then supervised the carving process.

And of course posed with the final result.

All lit up.

Crash 'n Burn

James was outside playing with friends. He came in and had this on his elbow. We asked what happened. His response "I crashed and burned." This is why little boys wear helmets.

Choo Choo!

After potty training for about 300 years, James seems to have finally decided that it's better to go in the potty, rather than his pants. His parents are greatly relieved.

To celebrate, he got a Thomas the Train set. A BIG Thomas the Train set.

It seems to have come with about 10 miles of track. And a remote control. That makes noise. And has no volume control. Thanks Nana.

Sleeping Weirdo

This is what he looked like during quiet time the other day.

We have no idea why he can't sleep like a normal person.

Baby Sister

On August 16th, James became a big brother to Lillian Grace. In his words, she's "so cool."

We suspect that will only last until she's big enough to touch his toys.

July 4th Fun!

We had a fun holiday weekend at the cottage. And were lucky enough to get to spend time with Tom, Sara, Nathan and Ellie.

Starting the day with some cookies from Nana Garn.

Moving on to swimming in the lake. Frog goggles courtesy of Auntie Sara.

The boys, and all the dogs, splashing in the water.

Stopping for a moment to get another cousin shot. Sporting (relatively) matching outfits.

Time for a bath to wash off the cookie crumbs, popsicle stick, and approximately 2 tons of dirt he accumulated on him during the day.

All the fun really takes it out of a little boy!

Who let him drive??

While at the cottage, James got a chance to drive the pontoon. Yes, by himself. He really liked doing "big circles". To answer your other question - the lake was empty.

Garden Pest

This is why I'll never have a strawberry crop.

I'm pretty sure there aren't any sprays to keep 3 year olds out of the garden.

But, he's happy. And that's the most important thing.

It's like riding a bike...

Because, well, it IS riding a bike.

James learned how to pedal on his two wheeler - with training wheels of course. This is from his first day - he's improved even more in just another short day!



Our "little boy" isn't so little anymore.

Butteflies are Blooming

We visited the Butterflies are Blooming exhibit at Frederik Meijer Gardens this past weekend.

Here's our little caterpillar (I love being able to talk him into silly stuff like this!)

James fascinated by something (I actually think it was a bird in the exhibit). He wasn't as excited about the butterflies as we thought he'd be. We narrowly avoided him stomping a butterfly to death in front of a group of kids. I think they would have thrown us out for that! He really is such a little boy sometimes - had to be restrained from carnage.

Peeking into a "tree" in the children's outdoor play area.

A rare photo of James and Mom.

Andy and James playing with boats in the water exhibit outdoors. This was a place that James was reluctant to leave. Very, very reluctant to leave.

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny visited the Garn house today. And left about 2930482 lbs of candy. We think he's in cahoots with the Tooth Fairy!

Checking out some of the presents. Yes, you could actually see his face *if* he took his hat off. But he won't.

The sneaky bunny also left some eggs around the yard.

It's kind of amazing - he can't find his shoe if it's farther than 1 foot away from him, but he can find candy in a tree.

The forsythia is in full bloom!

Happy Birthday!

Our baby is three (!!) today!

Waiting for his cupcake.

Contemplating blowing out the candles.

Success!

And now the reward - cupcake. It was probably his 290348 for the day, but whatever. It's his birthday!

I need a boat.

Running water in our house isn't unusual. James must wash his hands 6 or 7 times a day (he's kind of oddly fussy about it).

When he walked out of the bathroom one morning and said "I need a boat", I decided I should probably check on what he was actually doing in there!

He combed his hair.

And filled the sink to play with his Ernie, Elmo, and boat tub toys.

And pretty much managed to soak himself, the sink, and the floor during the process.

At least he had fun!