The Bun in the Oven

Here's the first official picture of the baby bump. The second time around, it doesn't take nearly as long to pop out. I think I will be the size of a dinosaur by the time this baby arrives!

House Update: Tuesday

The landscaping is being completed. Flowers, shrubs and trees have been planted; sod is being laid. The last bits of trim are being painted. They moved in a spiffy refrigerator and a big ugly red dresser/cabinet thing. Hopefully it blends in with whatever they've got going on! My guess is that they'll be pouring the driveway anytime, since it has to be done tomorrow. There's a lot of work still to be done!

Star Sighting

So, after hanging around watching the progress on the house, we spotted a few of the designers. I think we were the only ones there to watch the house construction and not for Ty. But, today James and I saw Preston (the top picture) and Eduardo (bottom picture). I should clarify that while most people thought that the guy was Preston, one lady insisted that he was a decoy. Who knows!? But the other guy is Eduardo for sure. One lady even had binoculars trying to look everywhere in case Ty might be sneaking around or something.

EXTREME Makeover

On Saturday, Jeff said he had heard they were doing an Extreme Makeover house in our area. We thought it would be fun to check it out, but didn't know where it was. Well, low and behold! It is only a few blocks from Mom and Dad's. So, we packed James in the wagon and set off to see what was going on. Everything is blocked off, rerouted and police-guarded. We were able to walk around and stand directly across the house. It was incredible. They started the demolition/building on Wednesday, and already they were preparing to do the roofing! By Sunday, they had already completed the siding and were inside mud/taping the drywall! Today, Monday, they are working on the landscaping, stonework on the outside, and planting flowers! Here are the pics so far and I will try to update them, too.

ATTN: Grammy and Chappy

Dear Grammy and Chappy,
As you can see, I really like the scooter you gave me for Christmas. I like to stand on the seat like a little daredevil. I think for next Christmas I would really like it if you got me a stunt motorcycle. Don't bother asking my mom and dad. I am SURE that they won't mind. Thanks in advance!

Love, James

Saturday Walk

Here we are enjoying a beautiful day with our friends, the Browns. We had breakfast together and then headed down to the local nature center to enjoy a walk in the nice warm weather.

Only in Philly!

In Philadelphia, we have a guy running for Mayor who is up against Federal Corruption charges. The same week he announced his intentions to run for Mayor, he was arrested for outstanding traffic tickets/fines/etc. He will stand trial for his corruption charges the day after the primaries. Not only does he have major legal baggage, he is also coming in on the tails of his little brother, who is the current Mayor of Philadelphia (who also has been surrounded at times with corruption scandal). At least since he is the brother of the current mayor, he can reuse the "Street for Mayer"campaign signs. I know I don't usually blog about politics or current events, but this one takes the cake. Only in Philly would we even entertain the thought of electing a crook into office, one who will undoubtedly funnel our tax money into his nefarious schemes. And we thought having a Senator named Nighthorse-Campbell was weird.

OK. I am done.

Yet Again...

James has made us scratch our heads in wonder and amazement. He found himself one of those tension-rod things (the cheap way to hang a curtain). Anyway, the thing is about 4 feet long and about 1/2 inch in diameter. He used it to turn on the light switch. We laughed and thought it was a fluke. He then proceeded to turn the light on and off over and over again. It sure makes you wonder what kind of trouble he's going to get himself into and what we are going to have to do to keep him entertained. I think we will go through massive quantities of magnets and duct tape and green army men and Lincoln Logs. It should be quite interesting and fun to watch what little experiments he comes up with soon enough. For now, he can content himself with using the broom handle to scrap the magnets of the fridge so he can get to them......

I'm Over the Moon.............

My heart is fluttering, and I think I have died and gone to heaven. No, Jeff didn't get me a power saw for Valentine's Day. (At least not that I know of :) James gave me his first kiss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhhhh!!! So, I am just speechless. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and he puckered up, leaned over and planted one on my cheek! Talk about sweet! I think I will never wash my face again. I will just leave that little bit of James-drool there forever. I think I will have this dopey grin on my face for at least a month!



Oh, and another thing....we'll see who is reading the blog these days. If you haven't heard, we're havin' another baby! Yet another reason to go around with a big cheesy grin on our faces. This baby is due September 18th, and we are thrilled.



And by the way, Jeff, Grammy and Auntie Rachel.....James gave his first kiss to ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (And not you!)

I Don't Get It!

OK...so its COLD. Very cold in fact. But not THAT cold! Here's the deal. Every day this week, area schools have been either delayed two hours or closed, due to the 'dangerous weather conditions.' No snow, not much ice, just cold. Its been in the teens and 20's, with wind chills. But why delay or cancel school?! We didn't even get to stay home from school when it snowed, unless it was a lot. What do people in the Northern US do all winter? Close school from October through March?! I am scratching my head; I just don't get it.

Sorry for the rant!!!

New Tricks

James never ceases to amaze us with the things he picks up on. When we think he is not paying attention, he is studying our every move. Apparently, he stores his observations away for later use. Here are a few examples: First, he learned to fake ‘cough.’ He watched Jeff hold a napkin up to his mouth and cough, and then afterwards picked up the napkin, held it to his face and did a little fake cough. Now if we hold a napkin up he’ll make a little fake cough. Another thing he has picked up on is magnets. He knows they stick to stuff, so he found a few magnets and kept trying to stick them to the side of the dresser over and over. What a little genius, if I do say so myself! Today, James was playing with Jeff’s cork-gun. He knows how to use the thing, he just doesn’t have enough leverage to get the job done. When the cork pops out, he knows exactly where it goes. Its amazing to watch him catch on to new things each day. Pretty soon he'll be making his own toast!

Jeffro

Really...what can be said about this picture? Nothing, except that if you're wondering, that's one of those stretchy book covers he has on his head. Ahhh, Jeffrey....

Cool Website

Check out this cool website:

http://www.africam.com/#


OK, so maybe I am a nerd, but it seems pretty cool. You can see live video of a watering hole in Africa, as well as various other wildlife cams.

Four Generations

Here we are: four generations of the Cheyney family.
Dad, Grandpa, Meg and James (of course, with my
black eye) It sure was nice to have everyone together,
except Rach and Phil. (We missed you guys!!)

First Words!?

OK, so the whole 'first word' thing is much more complicated that it first appeared. What really counts as a first word, and who has to hear it? And, does it have to be properly enunciated??? At the ripe old age of 8 or 9 months, James started pointing and saying 'oooo' with a certain emphasis. Nate, you roll your eyes, but I SWEAR he was saying 'Look!' For the record, Jeff, Rach and Mom thought so too. But that doesn't count, for whatever reason. Then for a week or two he started calling 'mamamama' and then stopped, cold turkey. Once, he waved and said 'bye-bye' as Jeff was leaving for work. This time, I was the only one to hear it. So again, invalid as a first word. And so it has gone, waiting for James' actual first official word, hoping that it will somehow fulfill the right qualifications. Of course, it came when I was in the kitchen....argh!!! Grammy and Chappy were over, AKA Mom and Dad, and Dad was putting his coat on. As the story goes, James waved and said 'bye' clear-as-a-bell. Darn it! The first smile went to Auntie Rachel and the first official 'qualified' word goes to Chappy!?! Why????????????? OK, so I am done venting about that for now. Since the official utterance of the first word, he has started to say 'Daddy' pretty often, and 'ball' too. What happened to 'mama' is what I want to know???

2007 Already!???!!!

Happy New Year, peoples!!! Can't believe its already 2007. Jeff and I were just reminiscing about Y2K and the pranks we played on certain unsuspecting people. HeHeHe! Someday James will ask when we were born, and we will tell him, and he will think we are ancient, since we were born in the century previous to him. I just hope we don't acquire that funny, musty old person smell. (And don't worry, Gma and Gpa, you don't have that funny old person smell)
Anywho....hope ya'll are enjoying an extra day off and eating as many chocolates as possible before the diets start! haha

Random Pics

Here are a few pics from the last few weeks, in no particular order. Clockwise from top left: Chappy and James having a chat in James' new tent; James showing off his blueberry pancake goatee; James the gangsta; James and Mommy showing off their matching grins and hats. Wondering where Jeff is in all of this? Working! He has had to work late most nights in the recent past, trying to get a BIG project done by January 1st.

My Christmas Shiner

In keeping with the festivity of the season, I have obtained my very first shiner! Yes, a nice big black eye. Each day it has been kind enough to get more and more colorful, to accent my clothing choices. Yesterday, it was sort of bluish, which nicely complemented my blue and purple sweater. Today, it is nice and flaming RED!!! ...to go with the Christmas theme I suppose. Before you're imagination runs wild, I'll tell you how I got it. I wish I could give you some exciting story of how I got in some valliant fight to rescue someone, but alas! I got it from James, sort of. We were playing a game where he 'pushes' me off the bench. He thinks its hillarious! This time, though, I wasn't antipating the edge of the bench as it jumped out at me. Wham! I don't ever rememeber hitting myself that hard, EVER! So, there's the story of my very first shiner, and hopefully the last.

Holtec Party Animals

Finally....here are a few pics from the Holtec party. Blogger has been temperamental so I haven't been able to blog. The pictures above are of the guys in Jeff's division, the Fossil division. The last picture is of Jeff's coworker, Ram, trying to get the party started.

Party Animals

Phew! Our weekend of partying is finally over! Yes, we are getting old and cannot handle too much excitement. Mostly, I can't stand wearing pantyhose...EVER...not to mention three days in a row!!! Argh! OK, I'll explain. Friday night we had Jeff's Holtec Christmas party. The party was at a fancy-schmancy place, so we had to dress in 'evening attire.' We had fun and stuffed our faces with lots of good food. There were tons of appetizers; who knew that a pasta bar fell into the appetizer category?! I got a good chuckle that they served pigs-in-a-blanket right along with bacon wrapped scallops and flaky spinach pastries. For dessert there were about 25 or 30 options to chose from; we probably covered about half of that! ha! You could even get a little crem brulee thingy...flamed right in front of you! Thus began our weekend of partying. Saturday, we had the wedding our friends, Jenni and Danny. Again, a formal event. The wedding was nice and the reception was fun too. We ate lots more food, and Jeff even danced with me for a whole song! I think we had the most fun at our table, and we weren't even drunk! And then, alas, our night of partying was over and we decided we probably should get home to James, who had been babysitting Grammy and Chappy while we were out. In case you were wondering, Sunday we had to read the advent in front of church; thus the THIRD time I had to dress up in that many days. Now its monday and I am back to my comfy jeans and a t-shirt. We had lots of fun, but its sure nice to just stay home and relax too!