Hello?

This picture was taken with my cell phone, so it is a little off colorwise. Someone I know is going to be a little chatterbox when she gets older. Whenever she sees a phone she yells, "ooone" grabs it and runs off gabbing. I remember when James was this age he'd talk on the phone to his "mamas." When he got to be about 2.5 to 3 years old he would do the funniest thing when he was on his pretend "hand phone." He would tailor the conversation based on the mama he was pretending to be talking to. When he was "talking" to Mama Lynn he was answering questions about what he was doing, what he ate for lunch, who he was with, etc. When he'd be "talking" to Mama Diane all he'd be saying was "uh-huh" "oh" and "really?" Wonder how Katie will be...

James had a hard day!

Okay Folks, Jay here. James has had a very busy day. My Gym in the morning, playing with Jessica, hanging out with Nick & Nate, etc. I went to serve him dinner at 5:30 and here's how it went. He hasn't fallen asleep in his food in at least a year. Here he is fighting-the-good-fight to stay awake. Finally, here is Katie seizing a moment of weakness to score noodles. Enjoy! Jay

SHOES!!!!

I have been looking for a pair of shoes to go with a dress for a wedding we are attending soon and ordered a few pairs to find the right ones. Katie saw the shoes and immediately wanted to try them on.

This was Katie's face when I told her she had to had to put the shoes back in the box....

These heels were about 3" and she motored around the second floor so fast that it was hard to take a her picture. Finally we asked her to stop so we could take her picture and then she really hammed it up for the camera!

crutch fun!

So earlier this week I had surgery to fix a torn miniscus in my right knee. We've had a steady stream of help from Papa Bede, Mama Diane and Mama Lynn. Here are some pictures of the week's events.

James and Mama Diane check on the progress of his paper white bulbs.

Mama Diane bought this for him for Christmas and it is a great present.

He even made a little sign for it that says "James' Garden"

Giving mommy hugs to feel better

James went to his first cookie cooking class where he made brownies and monster cookies. Mama Diane took him to the class and picked him up as I couldn't drive and all the way home James was telling us to drive fast because he just couldn't wait to eat his cookies!

Katie LOVES her pancakes!

Tea at the Drake!

I wanted to do something special for my mom for her birthday as she is always thinking of others and not herself, so I arranged a little surprise: tea at The Drake Hotel with her two best friends, me, Audrey and my friend Jen. It was a hit as she was surprised and we had a lovely afternoon. Happy Birthday Mom!

A group shot outside the tea area...

anyone for tea?!?! Happy Birthday dessert presented while the harpist played "Happy Birthday to You."

Champagne toast!

Cheers! Here's to many more great years!

New Years In Michigan!

Okay- so I am catching up on posts today, and learning about this fandangled new thing.. blogging... bear with my errors and hope that my sil can show me some shortcuts soon! Here are some pictures of our time in Michigan at The Lodge! Poor Katie had a bad cold and didn't get to go outside and play in the snow... Jay and James made a great snowman. Jay and Uncle Rob made a great showfort behind the snowman. Caroline and Olivia had a nice time sledding... and Jay and I even got to sneak away for an hour to tour the Felt Mansion.

Anyone for Tea?

Katie LOVES her new tea set! Anyone want to join her for a cup of tea?

New Years Resolution

So my beautiful and talented sister in law has a beautiful blog for her identical twin girls which everybody loves. Everyone keeps telling me to create one for my kids, but how can I live up to hers?! Finally, I am going to put my insecurities aside and dive in to the world of blogging, Harris Style! Here goes:

Plus, it will help with scrapbooking if I can ever find the time to create scrapbooks for my kids...

Christmas

Katie gets her first organ lesson from Great Papa at Mama Diane's House.

Christmas Morning!

We went to mass at St. Giles on Christmas Eve at 3pm and then went to Mama Lynn's and Papa Ned's for dinner and presents with the Harris Family. Then we drove around Riverside and River Forest looking at Christmas lights... AKA driving around hoping that the kids fall asleep. An hour later, efforts in vain, with only 50% of Harris children sleeping, head home to put out milk and cookies for Santa.

The next day, Christmas Day, we went to Mama Diane and Papa Bede's for Christmas Dinner with the Krupa Family. We had a blast with Aunt Audrey and Uncle Rob and our cousins Caroline and Olivia.

My favorite line of the day, uttered by James: more presents? I haven't been this good! Intuative, perceptive, and accurate!

Katie the Cookie Thief!

Is this James' toy? Well, girls can play with cars too! The twinks new chairs and table...

I love you great papa!

Christmas Morning Waffles!