Our little celebration

Since we were headed off to Germany on the 22nd, we wanted to have a special day where we opened presents with Jameson. I had a little plan for Kevin's present, so it had to be done before we left.

Kevin opening his present with Jameson's help

Yup, Jameson got a haircut, and that is what was in Kevin's present, since he had been asking when I was going to cut his hair for months!

He was having SO much fun with those blocks, he didn't want to open any other presents.

Our Christmas plant

I just wanted one picture with my boy, and he wanted to be down crawling, so I got a squishy hug and kiss instead.

This was the best picture I was going to get on Jameson's first Christmas.

We've gone cloth!

It is something I have been mulling over for awhile, and did a lot of research along the way. I finally made the jump, and I am pretty excited, actually, ridiculously so. So far, its been interesting, and it will be made even more interesting since our whole apartment house shares one washer/dryer unit. Is there anyone else who uses cloth diapers who can give me some hints? I found out my boy is a "heavy wetter." Yeah, he can drench a diaper. I suppose that's good, it means he is hydrated, right? I love his fat bottom waddle in the cloth diaper, its so cute.

Playing Catch up

I figured before the year ended I better go ahead and at least try to catch up with our lives the past two weeks. Christmas was awesome in Germany with my cousins, but it was nice to return home to a massive load of laundry! Yippee. Presents from Nana Archer arrived and Jameson was super enthralled with them. He would drag around the pretty red packages, but when it came time to open them, he was more interested in his blocks. Oh well, next year will be different!

Sit still. Look cute!

Those were the instructions I gave Jameson. Ha ha ha. That is essentially what he told me. I got this completely corny Santa sleeper courtesy of H&M (can I say I love this place every time I mention the store?) Since this is Jameo's first Christmas and none of those "Baby's first Christmas" come in the large size my little beast needs, I figured this would do just fine. I wanted a cute picture I could add to the Christmas cards we are sending via snail mail; for Grandpa Bailey, Grandma and Grandpa Archer, Auntie, and a few other lucky ones. I had one idea and Jameson had another. He was very excited about playtime, and very unwilling to sit still. When I managed to have him sitting still he was holding very tight to a hairbrush. Not even a cute little stuffed animal, but a hairbrush. Have I mentioned he loves that hairbrush and carries it everywhere lately? I think we will have to have another photo-op, because these ones while they make me laugh, aren't exactly the look I was aiming to capture on film.

Sitting on our bed, one of his favorite places, with his hairbrush.

Unable to sit still

The little rascal was having such fun crawling away from me and the camera

Scene Change. He takes his job as Santa very seriously as he attempts to move the box of Christmas presents.

"Hey Uncle Jeff! Look at my 'leg pop!' Broadway, here I come!!"

Jameson's Do or Don't?

I don't know if many of you are familiar with Glamour Magazine's "Do or Don't" section, but I put Jameson into a trend today that I am not entirely sure of, however, for practicality's sake feel that it's a DO. I bought Jameson "boy tights." Yes, you heard correctly. I bought him a pair of black/gray striped tights from H&M. This is not the only store you can buy the boy tights at here in Vienna, but they are the cheapest (shh! don't tell him that). Do they even sell "boy tights" in the states? I know there are "baby legs" leg warmers, but I think these are cooler. I found them in the boy section next to the spiderman underwear and the undershirts. They had lots of different colors, all "manly" colors, and along with the striped tights they had argyle ones too.

Here is my reasoning for them being a DO. 1) He has long legs, therefore pants ride up and the socks ride down, and his calves get cold. 2) He has taken to pulling his socks off, its a fun new game. 3) It increases his wardrobe since he can "rock" the onesie with them. 4) As Kevin pointed out, we are in Europe, and gender neutral is how most babies dress. 5) We are outside constantly, and they add a layer under a pair of pants too.

So, you tell me, is it a Do or a Don't? Would you put your son in tights? If not, why? Am I going to scar him for life?

Learning to feed himself

I think the video says it all. Jameson is very interested in learning how to feed himself. I am perfectly happy to encourage this behavior, although it does make for a messier meal time!

Picking the perfect piece takes lots of concentration

Taking the time to really taste the food

"I like it! I really really like it!"

Feeling a bit "saucy"

U-bahn and Old Ladies

Every year there is a student that tells me they were hit by an elderly lady, on purpose, with her purse. I kinda chuckle and ask what they did to receive such treatment. Inevitably, they tell me they were resting their dirty-shod feet on the seat across from them. Well, I can understand the elderly lady's irritation. First off, they grew up in a society that was much more formal, and the rules were clearly stated, but also, in an urban area where everyone walks the streets are incredibly dirty (i.e. dog poo everywhere). It makes sense to want to keep the seats clean where someone will sit down in nice clothes. While I can't recall anytime I have been the recipient on the wrong side of an old lady's purse, this is what I think of when I see them riding the UBahn.

Well, I had a different experience last night. Apparently carrying a baby on my person changes their attitude. Riding the U-bahn I noticed a group of elderly women dressed in their winter coats and hats. Jameson also noticed them and was smiling at them, so they were smiling back. Then one of the women stood up and told me that his pants were scrunched up and his legs exposed to the cold air. Just to let you, dear readers know, the U-bahn cars during the Vienna Winters are kept at a completely UNCOMFORTABLE 90 degrees or around there. She then proceeded to stand up while the train was moving to fix his pant legs. I was fully expecting to have to catch her, because a moving train is not very stable. I thanked her profusely and Jameson continued to smile at them for the rest of our trip. True to her word, his legs managed to stay warm in the chilly night air once we left the U-bahn station. It made me smile, and now, I will think of the old ladies taking care of little babies instead of hitting college kids with their purses for a wrongdoing.

Christkindlmarkts

Tonight Kevin and I got together with a few students for dinner downtown at an awesome restaurant called 1516. It was named for the year the beer purity law was created. Its a fun atmosphere with almost American-like food i.e. Cheeseburgers, salads, pitchers of beers and burritos (granted it was a caprese burrito: Mozarella, tomato and basil wrapped in a tortilla, but still...). Jameson was crazy crazy crazy and just plain old fussy. He didn't want to sit still for long, and he wanted to be crawling around the restaurant (ummm, no). I have no idea why, but I think it has something to do with the teething issue and we have been really busy the past week. I had a burger and it was delish! The "ducklings" all agreed that it was a place they might frequent again before they leave next week. Where in the world did the time go???

After dinner, the old people (Kevin and I) were convinced to go to the Christkindlmarkts. It wasn't difficult to convince us as we had yet to go this year and I really wanted some of that Beeren Punsch. Eric led the way to the best beeren punsch out there. I have to admit it was mighty tasty with strawberries floating on top, it was a warm and toasty drink to keep the cold at bay. I love the Christkindlmarkts because everything about it says "Christmas," and makes me remember my first year in Vienna when my mom and I wandered up and down the aisles looking at all the ornaments and different trinkets drinking hot chocolate or punsch.

Unfortunately, it began to rain and being out of doors in freezing cold rain isn't fun, even with a hot drink in hand. So, Allie, Blaine, Eric, Kellie, Jillian, Larissa, Kevin, Jameson and I made our way back to the U-bahn and our evening was at an end. Jameson was tired and ready for bed, so it was probably for the best anyway. I thanked my ducklings for a great friday night out (my first in who knows how long!)

Drinking our yummy Erdbeer punsch

Jameson just hanging out

Eric, Kellie, Blaine and Allie posing for my camera at the Christkindlmarkt

Larissa enjoying the Christkindlmarkt

Jillian likes her punsch

He barely has a tooth and he already bit his tongue...

...and drew blood! Seriously! Yup, he has a tooth, although 99% of it is still below the surface of the gumline. It cut the gum the other day and popped through so that I could feel the sharp little points yesterday, today I can almost see the whole top of it. Jameo has taken to chewing on his tongue. He seems to like the new sensation of this tooth, and that is how he bit his tongue. He moves all around with his tongue between his gums sticking out of his mouth, clicking it and chewing it.

Here are some pics of him learning how to drink from his sippy cup! I'd say he is getting the hang of it.