Chuck E. Cheese's ... a great American tradition?!?

Yesterday James and I enjoyed a brand new American experience ... We went to Chuck E Cheese's with Devon and all her boys! [These first 3 photos were taken from the internet to set the scene for our English audience ... the scary Rat/Mouse mascot totally freaked James out ... and can you blame him?!] It's basically a restaurant with lots of arcade type games and sit on rides for little ones. You buy tokens and at the end you can cash in the tickets you won for *star* prizes! (Really it's little people training for Dave and Busters - the grown up version!) We had a fun afternoon although I was exhausted by the time we left!! But it was fun playing with Devon and the boys - thanks for sharing the experience with us!!!

Keagan and Andrew showing James what to do !

"So how does this game work then?"

James seemed a bit overwhelmed to start with but soon his curiousity got the better of him.

This driving game even had the Union Jack on it!! James and I weren't sure which side of the road to drive on ...

James and Andrew sharing strategy tips?

James liked this game the best. He kept going back to it - he loved bashing the hammer thing and watching the balls jump in the air.

The three amigos on the merry-go-round ...

James loved the 'orses but uh-oh ... somebody wasn't happy once the ride got going ... "Stuck! Stuck!"

"How can my Mummy just stand there taking pictures when I am clearly so distressed???"

Bob's nose ... James' nose ...

James got all excited when he realized Bob was there ... (as long as the ride stayed still he was more than happy ...

Unlimited juice and pizza - what more could a little boy need?!

Daddy was so proud ...

James found the Super Mario game in the "big boy" section and clambered up to the drivers' seat. He was watching the boy next to him for ages. (Watch this space for a video coming soon!)

James trying to decide what to get with his 11 tickets ... In the end we splashed out 10 tickets on

a blue plastic ring!! He's sooooooo ready for Dave & Busters ... But Mummy needs a nap!

Playing in the back garden ...

Both Mummy and Mommy needed some fresh air (to wake them up!) and so when we got home we all played in the garden. The boys did really well playing together ... despite the shortage of shovels/spades ...

With all that running around the big boys needed to sit down in the "energy chair" for a few minutes every now and then ... They looked really sweet chillin' out!

Playing "chase me round the shed!" Even Devon couldn't resist playing this one ...

Of course, James had to give the boys a guided tour of his favourite place in the garden ... where the bins are usually kept. Sadly, it was garbage day and so the bins are out ... but he did come up trumps and find a dirty diaper/nappy that Mummy had left by the back door ...

Cutie Pie Keagan ...

He had a grand old time throwing dirt and wood chip on himself!! I love his cheeky little face.

I think James wants to be one of the big boys!

Competitive blogging ...

Devon and I do have some of the same blogging audience and so our photo taking can get pretty competitive ... But I must admit she got the better pictures on this day (http://iforgott.blogspot.com) ... But watch out, Devon - this will only spur me on!!! ;0)

All the colours of the rainbow ...

James found my *secret* stash of coloured paper the other day ...

Playing with Daddy

No caption required ... these pictures speak for themselves!

James was being a pickle when I was trying to get him dressed this morning but given the t-shirt he was wearing he just looked so funny with all the drool and the snotty nose and the bedhead hair and the chubby little legs ... I couldn't resist taking a few photos.

Ladies - isn't this what you dream for in a man?!?!

Dr Dolittle and his animals ...

James knows lots of animals now - bear (obviously), elephant, giraffe, camel, lion, rabbit, elmo ...

(You wouldn't believe how many attempts it took to get this video!!! He normally loves playing this game but he just wouldn't cooperate today. Quite often he will hunt around the room to find the animals but today the only way I could get him to do it was by piling them all in a heap!)

Christmas again!

James' Christmas present from Uncle Mark arrived in the post today ...

It was a cool Thomas The Tank Engine lego set!!!

Cool - it even has a track!

We waited until Daddy came home so that they could build the lego together. This was the first model James has that Daddy needed to follow the instruction book. I think this is a sight I'll be seeing a lot of in the coming years ... lego building is in James' blood!

The track was down for about 1 minute before James went into destruction mode ... Oh well, he might still be a bit young to play with it "properly" but we know he's going to have fun building and destroying lego with Daddy!

Good old Thomas.

Thanks Uncle Mark!!!

Anyone for poker?!

James kept himself amused for ages today with a pack of playing cards. I'm not sure if he was teaching himself poker or learning magic tricks ...

"It's easy really - there are two things to remember when playing cards 1) 'Ace low when picture show' and 2) 'diamonds are forever' (sung in silly voice)!"

James decides to go with the Green Family Card Playing Rules rather than those made-up Peacock Family Card Playing Rules ...

Now it's time to play '52 Card Pick-Up' ...

This is how much I love my son ...

today I let him play with my smurfs! Well, until he started to trample on them ... then it was "bye-bye smurfs"!