Friendly James

James, James, James...

This kid is so outgoing!  I seriously am told daily by strangers how friendly he is.  He LOVES talking to people.  He loves to find WHOEVER will listen to him so he can talk their ears off.  If you have eaten at Panera in Montgomery while James was there, you've likely met him.  We leave places like Panera or the farmer's market and we'll hear people shout out something similar to, "bye James...good luck in Kindergarten, I hope your bobo gets better."  I can give him money to go to the counter and purchase something, and he does it without ANY fear.  That terrified me as a child, especially James' age and Jack is only just now beginning to be okay with it.  If we're at a place with a bar type of setup, James has no problems (and actually enjoys) bellying right up to the bar all by himself to order a glass of ice water...although, the last time he did that, he ordered a Shirley Temple.  James doesn't just like to talk to strangers...he talks at home non-stop too.  Sometimes I yearn for peace in the house because James talks all day long.  Don't get me wrong, I love that he's so vocal.  There was a time in James' life when he was not vocal before he learned how to talk and he was the most frustrated person I knew!  He would bite friends and throw a temper tantrum like nobody's business!  Knowing now how much he likes to talk and express himself, I guess he was just overly frustrated by his inability to talk.

With all that comes out of his mouth, we get some pretty good laughs.  It's even more hilarious as his vocabulary starts to become more grown up.  For instance, yesterday we got the kids in the car.  They didn't know where we were going because Jason and I had not decided where we were going first.  James said, "Dad, where are we going?"  Jason, "we don't know."  James, "What?  Uhhh...this is YOUR situation.  You're driving.  You don't know WHERE we're going?"  Later in the day we were leaving the splash park so we could get home to cook.  James is our SLOWPOKE in the family.  Mostly because he wants to stop and talk to EVERYBODY!  So, I nagged him to speed up a bit as we were walking to our bikes.  He actually did a little jog over to where I was, surprisingly.  So I said, "James, thanks for putting a little fire in your rear."  He looked at me puzzled, and then said, "Mom, THAT'S inappropriate." 

I get such a kick out of his little personality.  He's still our little firecracker and full of spunk!  I have a feeling James will always have tons of friends throughout life.  He's so outgoing without a shy bone in his body.  I admire those traits and wish I had a little bit more of that in myself.

His teachers love him, strangers love him, and we love him.  A lot!