James is 1!!! :o)

James David Farr turned 1 year old on Friday, May 2nd 2008, and we were so excited to celebrate his birthday! Luckily, Dave passed his big instrument checkride at school on Thursday, and had the weekend off, (other than some flying he had to do Friday evening) so he was able to take James swimming on his birthday! Its James' favorite activity! Especially, if Dada can go and play with him! :o)JayBird finally cut his second top tooth a day or two before his birthday and now has a grand total of four teeth! Yay! :o) However, I was frustrated at the timing since it was accompanied by a runny nose which turned into a cold, which equals = cranky boy! :o( But I must say that even though he was dealing with some serious discomfort, he still took it all like a champ and was trying so hard to be his happy self! Medicine definitely helped things, too! :o) All in all, he had a great day! :o)Friday evening we went to a birthday party for James' cousin, Cooper, who turned 5 on April 29th! I hadn't really realized before just how close their birthdays were! And although he was scared to leave mom's arms at first, he eventually warmed up to the chaos and joined in by playing with a paper plate on the kitchen floor for most of the party and eating strawberries and pizza! And it was kind of sad, cause at one point he was attempting to follow his older boy cousins around to join in, but just as he'd get to the room they were in, they would leave to go somewhere else, so he gave up, cause crawling just ain't fast enough! Luckily, he was content playing alone. :o) And he had his cousins, Adrienne & Ashlyn who were eager to entertain him! :o)This is Jay's trick that he does with Dad, where he semi jumps in the pool but into Dada's arms! He always hesitates, but eventually does it! :o) And the picture below is Jay's trick where he can hold onto the side of the pool all by himself! Amazing! :o) Videos of Jay hesitating, and then going for it! :o)

PARTY TIME!!!! :o)These were James' invitations to his birthday party! I had so much fun planning and collecting stuff for his party! And I just LOVED these invitations! I actually got most of what a needed at the dollar store which was awesome! Even an inflatable monkey that looked like Curious George! Ha! :o) We had a CG Banner that said Happy Birthday, and CG Party Hats for the kids and anyone else who wanted to wear one, and CG Bubble Containers as party favors! And everything else was red & yellow! :o)James obviously was one of the first to get in the pool! Ha! And he ate soooo many strawberries! They are his FAV, so we HAD to have them! And the ones we got were the best anyone had ever had - we all agreed! And Jaybone also ate some meat and cheese! But I don't think he stopped eating the entire time! Ha! To eat, we had hotdogs, veggies & dip, a meat/cheese/cracker tray, strawberries & grapes, chips, my sister made a yummy tuna salad, and we of course had birthday cake! :o)My Mom & Stepdad, Joe, were generous enough to host the party for us, and provide swimming to keep us all busy in between eating! The weather actually ended up being absolutely perfect, not just for those who went swimming, but also if you were one of those who hung out on the patio! It worked out perfectly! :o)Dave's sister, Lisa and her boyfriend, Ryan (both sitting behind Dave in this photo) were nice enough to fly in from out of town just for Jay's big weekend! We sure enjoyed meeting Ryan and having them join us for the celebration! James is loved! :o) We are especially grateful, because Ryan actually saved James from drowning after he stepped off the top step and went completely under water! My Poor Baby! :o( I missed it all because I was inside when it happened, but boy am I glad Ryan was standing there and swooped down to save him! Dave and I are eternally grateful! Thank you, Ryan! We Love You! :o) I'd say almost half of James' cousins were able to attend his party! How fun! In this photo is Ashlyn (7), Adrienne (12), Caleb (2), and Colin (4)! Adrienne & Ashlyn made up this totally cute cheer/dance routine special for James and performed it for everyone! It was really sweet! Thank you, Girls! :o)
The rest of the gang (almost)! Left to Right: My oldest sister Carter, My brother-in-law Jody, My StepDad Joe, and on the right is my Mom! And on the ground, the big one is my mom's dog Finnegan, and at the bottom of the photo is of course, Brady! :o) Those who were in attendance, but regrettably are not in any of these photos, is: My sister Carter's husband, Chris, My sister, Courtney, and her son, Cooper, and three of my best friends: Kayla, Chelsea, and Adrienne!

Thank you soooo much to everyone who came (and those who came in spirit!) and most especially to those who helped me set up and take down! And for all the wonderful cards and gifts that James has gotten from his family and friends, I want to thank you all, WE LOVE YOU! :o) I don't think his birthday or his party could have been any better or more fun! He had a great weekend, and so did I. :o)