King James

My Dad often reminds us that we have "William the Conqueror," "King James," and "Alexander the Great." (I guess you could say we have "Richard the Lionhearted" as well!) James is full of personality. I don't even know where to begin. It's been interesting to watch him as William has started school. He loves to play by himself and it's fun to watch him act out scenarios with his super heroes. He will tell you which ones are the bad guys and which are good--"Batman good." "Joker bad." Lately he has been fascinated with Star Wars and will tell you about those characters too--"Too-ba-ba {Chewbacca} good. Da Bay-eh {Darth Vader} bad." Sometimes he likes to be silly and mix things up--"Spiderman bad." This drives William crazy.

James is a great brother. He loves doing whatever his big brother is doing. If William does it chances are great that James will want to do it as well. William and James play together so nicely (most of the time). James is also a wonderful babysitter. I often find him taking care of Alexander and he is always concerned when he hears his baby brother crying. He loves to climb in the crib to help Alex out. Sometimes he'll play with him, give him lots of toys, or just lie down with him and say, "It's okay Alexander." So sweet. (Of course, if I'm going to be honest then I have to add that he takes toys away from Alex now too.)

James is my big helper. He loves having a "job" like his big brother. He helps me get new diapers, throw away dirty ones, empty the silverware, do laundry, and today he even put his shoes away without being asked!

As a middle child he has learned out to get our attention. If he wants something done he grabs your hand and takes you to where he needs you to be. Sometimes he'll even grab my face so that I have to look at him while he's talking. He's also very determined and won't let up until you understand what he is trying to tell you.

James also loves to dress up. It doesn't matter what it is, he wants to wear it!

When James is sad he always asks for his dad. It seems that once a day we have to call Rich on the phone to calm James down. He loves his dad. (It's especially nice at night when he wakes up Rich instead of me!)

James is starting to enjoy doing crafts more (especially if William's doing them). He loves talking on the phone--although I'm sure that whoever is on the other line can't understand a word he's saying. And he's become a big builder... he loves to stack blocks or whatever else he can find.

James makes the silliest faces. I've never seen a kid with so many expressions as James has.... and I swear I've even seen him roll his eyes at something I've said! The best face I've seen him make was on Sunday when he popped a cherry tomato into his mouth--I know exactly how he felt.

We are so glad that this sweet, silly boy is a part of our family. Life wouldn't be the same without him--and certainly less entertaining.