Life's Blessings

Better Late Than Never?

2011-09-04T02:59:00.000-06:00

I keep promising myself that I will come back to the blog to journal all the things in our lives for the kids to come back and read some day. I am really terrible about that. I'm hoping to dedicate more time to this than useless internet browsing. :-D

2009 Catchup

2010-02-03T00:19:00.002-06:00

Okay, 2009 is over, and we are settling into the second month of 2010. Where has the time gone? It seems like we are always so crazy busy. Because of Facebook, I was even worse about posting anything to this blog. :-) As a result, I can say that the info on here is years old!

We got to come back to CA December of 2009. The trip went well until we hit Flagstaff, where we ended up driving through horrendous snow. We did make it in time to celebrate Christmas Eve with my parents, and Christmas Day with the in-laws. We are all enjoying being so close to family again.

The kids have all grown so much. I am amazed just looking back at pictures. Sam's reading has taken off, for which I am eternally grateful. David started Kindergarten this past fall and is doing great. Luci wants to join "doing school" with her brothers, so she just started today, and is having fun. She is now 3 and keeping both parents on tiptoes. Peter is ever mischievous and willful. It is hard to not do all the fun things momma keeps trying to stop him from doing! He finally walked at 17months old. (He is 18 months old today.) That caused a little bit of concern, but he has taken off running.

The hardest part of this past year has been the loss of every one of our cats. Reepicheep just never came back one day and has been missing since last February. Yoda was the tragic victim of an auto accident. And Rocco, my very first cat and the one we had had the longest, took off one day in October and never came back either. The two oldest boys got to pick out new kittens at the beginning of fall, and those are the 2 kitties we are left with.

Since life with four little ones does not seem to be slowing down, I will try to balance out time to blog more often. The family I had set this up for is now close by, but I also hope to keep this as a journal for the kids' milestones. At least. :-)

And Some More

2008-09-16T00:02:00.000-06:00

Still More

2008-09-16T00:01:00.000-06:00

Even More Pics

2008-09-16T00:00:00.000-06:00

More Pics

2008-09-15T23:58:00.000-06:00

Double Trouble

Mama and Pete

Celebrating

Beautiful Baby

First Day

2008-09-15T23:50:00.001-06:00

Minutes Old

Peter getting weighed.

Sam was so happy to finally hold his baby brother.

David Loves baby Peter.

Brothers and Sister

2008-09-15T23:27:00.002-06:00

I have some really wonderful pictures I have taken in the past month and a half. I need to share them because my mom is getting rather impatient not seeing new pictures.

Living Too Long In The South

2008-09-10T11:12:00.002-06:00

The other day we were sitting in the living room when I noticed something buzzing around one of the windows. It was a pretty hummingbird, and I pointed it out to the kids. Luci immediately piped up with "BUG!! Momma, kill it!" We have some weird, sci-fi looking bugs out here, so it was totally possible to have a bug that big buzzing the window. So sad when your two-year old toddler knows how yucky the bugs can get out here.

All About Labor

2008-09-06T21:35:00.006-06:00

1. How long were your labors?

I was in labor for four hours with Samuel, five with David, four with Luci, and an hour and twenty minutes with Peter.

2. How did you know you were in labor?
With all of them I have noticed labor when I got up to use the bathroom. With Samuel it was the textbook bloody show and contractions. It was the same with David,but I couldn't feel any contractions. With Luci, I noticed the contractions, but once again couldn't feel them. With Peter I had mildly crampy contractions.

3. Where did you deliver?
Sam was going to be a homebirth, but when we got to the midwives' office to check how far into labor we were, Samuel was already crowning. David was a home/waterbirth. Luci was a homebirth. These first 3 were born in Arizona. Peter was a homebirth in Alabama.

4. Drugs?
NOOO. And not because I was trying to be all macho, but because I was concerned about the effects on the babies.

5. C-section?

NOOOO, thank GOD.

6. Who delivered?

Our wonderful midwife Paula delivered the first 3. For Samuel, she had Melody and Traci attending. Traci was there with David as well. Krista helped with Luci. Ben and my mom were there for Peter.

Birth Story

2008-09-06T21:02:00.005-06:00

Never before have I ever wanted a baby out as badly as I did with Peter. When our due date was given as being in July, I told the midwives I felt it was wrong, and we were probably looking at the beginning of August. Boy, did I wish I was wrong. :-)

At our appointment after our due date had come and gone, we started discussing natural methods of inducing labor. We tried the pressure points (for a full week), with no noticeable effect. A week after the due date, one of my midwives agreed to strip my membranes. She was surprised to find me mostly effaced and a very "stretchy" four. That should have started contractions and labor that day, at the latest by the next morning. When I woke up the next morning, I proceeded onto the castor oil method. It was so stinking gross. And still no baby. My mom was due to leave in a couple of days, and I was really sad that she would not get to meet this little guy she had come such a long way to see. That Friday my mom informed me she was staying for an extra week, and I immediately felt relieved. We decided to drop Ben and the boys off at the theater while we went shopping with Luci. It was a very relaxed, fun evening, and we were all so pleased my mom would be staying extra with us.

I woke up on Saturday morning around 6 needing to use the restroom as usual. I started to feel mildly achy and crampy but decided to ignore it and go back to bed. It got a little worse as I lied there on my bed, so I decided to get in a hot shower to see if it would either a)stop the pain if it wasn't real labor, or b)help labor along if it was real labor. When I couldn't lift my leg to get out of the tub, I figured this was probably finally it. I woke Ben up to let him know, and he told me to call one of the midwives immediately. I did, and told her I thought I was in labor, could I please take some natural remedy to stop making it hurt? This was about 7 and she said she was heading out right away. I went to sit with Ben who completely aggravated me by saying I was almost done. How dare he say such a thing when I still had hours to go? I guess past experience gave him a different perspective and he could tell how close I was. (Sam and Luci both lasted 4 hours and David was 5, so I fully expected to be about that long again.) I told him I was feeling pressure like I maybe needed to push, so he should take a sleeping Luci to my mom. By this point, I was lifting myself off the bed trying to keep from pushing. Ben had just picked Luci up from her crib and was heading towards the door when my water broke. Hearing the commotion, my mom walked in just in time to see Peter's head and then his body slide out. Ben was just coming back into the room at this point, so he immediately jumped into action by placing the baby next to me and wrapping him up in a blanket to keep his warmth. He had called the midwives to let them know my water broke and again to let them know Peter was born. They figured he was born at 7:19am. Once he decided to come into the world, he was in a hurry to get out. :-)

Once we realized (basically I came to terms with how ludicrous it was) that we couldn't drive to AZ to deliver with our wonderful midwife again, I tried to talk Ben into an unassisted labor. The laws here in AL are screwy and we would have had to drive up to TN to deliver if we wanted to have a midwife present. He was of course, completely against the idea. Like I said, Peter had different plans of how his birth was going to work out. I am glad he did things the way he did. :-)

Flying Solo

2008-09-05T12:31:00.006-06:00

Well, we finally have our baby. Our due date was for the 22nd of July, but Peter had different plans. He made his entrance on August 2nd. We ended up deciding on a name the day before. I am convinced that he didn't want to enter this world until he had a name. :-) His brothers and sister absolutely love him and love to kiss on him and talk to him. Whenever he hears their voices near him and he sees them close to him, he gives them a great big smile. Is their anything cuter than a baby's big dimpled smile?

I cannot believe that he is already a month old. Time goes by too quickly. We had my mom here for 3 weeks (she added another week when the baby hadn't arrived yet. She was due to leave on the 2nd). She got to see Peter be born, which is the first baby she has seen be born. How special is that? She was such a big help with everything and once Peter arrived, she babied me as well. :-) My sister then came out for a week. She has always wanted to be at one of the births, but it has never worked out. And this time, mom got the privilege. After changing her name to Donny, David has added a song to go with it. Donny Donny Donny du Don Don, sung to the tune of Larry Boy. lol Donna feels oh so loved and ever so special. After our Donny went back to CA, Ben had his vacation time. His scheduler worked it out with the days of so that Ben ended up with an 11 day vacation. He started work on Wed. again, and we miss him tremendously. Not only is the daddy gone most of the day now, but the day he went back to work the 3 older kids woke up with really nasty colds. The next day Peter and I had it. Peter being sick is what kills me the most. He is such a tine little guy and there isn't anything I can do for him other than increase my C intake. So here I am, tending to everyone all on my own. (Yes, being sick makes me VERY whiny.)

Too Funny Not to Share

2008-06-29T11:25:00.000-06:00

Three Months Away

2008-06-24T22:01:00.006-06:00

I knew I had been gone for a while, just not this long. Three months is a long time for grandparents to go without pictures of their little loves. ;-)

April

We had the joy of visiting with Ben's parents in April. Unfortunately, this means that we won't see them when the baby is born. Considering the humidity though, I am sure they are relieved. Sam's t-ball season had started so they were able to join us for games, which absolutely thrilled Sam. I turned 26, and both boys were awed that I could be such a BIG number. lol

May

The grandparents left the second week of May, and we were all really sad to see them go. It was nice to be able to have family around again. Both David and Luci had birthdays in May as well. David turned four and Luci turned two. Both were excited to have their grandparents here as well to join in their celebrations.

I was laid low for three weeks with a nasty kidney infection. Not being able (or more like unwilling) to take anything chemical, I fought it off with herbal remedies and a small lagoon of liquids. Once I managed to kill that off, the kids caught some nasty bug that of course got passed on to me as well. So I was pretty much incapacitated for five weeks. I am glad to say that I am much better, and am now trying to get as much as possible done before our little one comes along next month.

But probably the most exciting part of this month was that Luci left her diaper days behind and is now using the toilet all the time. This will be the first time I have the one fully out of diapers before the next one is born. I am SO very glad. :-)

June

June has brought on the heat and humidity, which is the real killer. As a result, I tend to stay at home more with the kids and just hibernate until the time when I can go out and breath again. Sam's season ended and we missed the last two games. Not my fault. I didn't know until the DAY of, and we were out running errands. We have been trying to get rid of all unnecessary things, but that is rather difficult to accomplish at times. Things are coming along, and the next big thing should be the arrival of baby.

Happy Belated Easter

2008-03-24T09:26:00.003-06:00

The kids (mostly the boys at this point) have been so very excited about Easter. We were supposed to have our dinner and hunt with Dy and her bunch, but she picked a much more favorable pursuit (the end result anyway). We had our egg-dying and hunting expedition here at home and will hopefully be able to have another hunt for all the kids when we go over later this week.

I have pictures of the hunt that I will post later when I get them on the computer. Hope you had a blessed Easter as well.

Long TIme No See

2008-03-12T07:33:00.006-06:00

What a crazy, busy time this has been. But then again, when is it not, right? We all had a sinus bug right when we got back. We got better. Sam came down with the flu. Luci swallowed two paperclips that she had hooked together, and we spent a perfectly good day in the ER. Sam got better, but not before it seemed as if his insides were going to come inside out. We took Luci in for another set of x-rays only to be told the paperclips had already passed, and somehow I had missed them. David has something wrong with his stomach that doesn't seem like the flu, but it has been wreaking havoc on his little system.

The day we spent in the ER with Luci was the first day of t-ball practice. We, of course, missed it, and the next two practices were canceled due to freezing weather and snow. So, Monday Sam had his first official practice. He was a little overwhelmed at first but seemed to really be enjoying himself before long. His coach is really great. She gave each kid the chance to hit and play a different position each time. I think this will be a much better experience for us than football. Actually, just about anything would be better than football. :-)

Here is Sam making his hit.

Here we see Sam running from first to second.

And here we see what the two littles did for fun while we sat and watched. Is it really bad that I feel like yelling "RUN, Forest, RUN!!" Or that every time a little kid with a too big helmet goes up to bat, I think of Chicken Little? They are really cute, and they seem to be having a good time out there. That is all I ask for.

We're Having a Baby

2008-02-12T19:45:00.001-06:00

We had our ultrasound done today! We are expecting another boy at the end of July. Both boys were overjoyed, until Sam realized there was only one baby in there and not twins like he really wanted. Luci just hid her face in Daddy's shoulder as if to deny that this is her reality: a lifetime with three brothers. :-) Baby is completely healthy, which made us really happy. We have picked the name John Wilhelm after Ben's great-grandfather. He was known as Johnny, so that is what we will be calling this baby until or if he decides to change to John. Now just 5 more months until we meet this little guy.

New Gap

2008-02-08T15:39:00.001-06:00

Sam has been losing teeth for about a year now. Not at any great pace, but he did start at 5, which I was rather surprised at. His two bottom teeth came in no problem, and the top two are finally starting to come in as well (they came out last Sept. and Oct.) Well, since all these teeth are making an appearance, it was time to lose another one.

He was very insistent last night that I pull it out. Once we did (it was so easy I am glad we did so he didn't swallow it in his sleep.), he demanded I put it safely in a baggy so the tooth fairy could leave him his money. Ben couldn't resist. He had to point out to his son that the tooth fairy doesn't exist. Sam is so patient with his father. "Dad, of course the tooth fairy exists. How else do I get my money every time I loose a tooth?" He can go right on believing for as long as he can. (Since I was asked, santa and the easter bunny are not okay because they go against our religious beliefs.) Oh, and since the tooth fairy was aided and abbetted by my mother with the first tooth, these teeth are danged expensive. Thankfully not as expensive as the first one, but still. I am glad they aren't falling out very often. My sister and I had a laugh over this, since he would probably notice if the tooth fairy suddenly cut her rates. And on other progresses, Luci now very clearly calls Sam by name. Mostly this is to demand his help, but he was rather excited any way.

Let Sleeping Babies Lie

2008-02-08T11:48:00.001-06:00

And mommies too, but that's something else altogether. :-) Luci had trouble sleeping the other night. She was restless and couldn't find a comfortable position, no matter how many times she turned or elbowed me in the side and head. Apparantly, this condition extended to David, who showed up in my room sleepwalking. Well, I can't sleep with all of us in my bed. (Believe me, I have woken up with all three kids surrounding me with my back screaming at me from the weird angle they have twisted me in. On the other side is the unyielding form of my husband. Not comfortable sleeping for me.) So I went ahead and put Dave in Luci's crib for the night. Luci thought that was a fabulous idea and wanted to join her brother. Of course, right as I was drifting off into peaceful slumber, finally, Luci started fussing to get back out of the crib. She then chose to lie on the floor between the crib and my bed. I couldn't believe this would really be her choice so I tried to coax her back into bed with me. When that didn't work, I went ahead and folded my quilt for her size and put it down for her. She lied down and went to sleep for the rest of the night and was happy as a clam the following morning. Weird kid. :-)

California

2008-01-28T00:47:00.002-06:00

We came out to visit my mom nearly 2 weeks ago. My maternal grandma (and the only grandparent I had left) got really ill last month and had to be hospitalized. We came out as a distraction for my mom as she had been practically living in the hospital all this time. Unfortunately, my grandma passed away last Sunday. Fortunately, we were able to be here as a support and comfort for my mom. My grandmother lived a full life to the age of 84, and was able to hold grandchildren and great-grandchildren. What more can anyone ask for?

We return home this week. I am looking forward to seeing my hubby and sleeping in my own bed. It's the little things that count. I am also anxious to get home to start planning a trip out to AZ in the middle of this summer in order to have this baby. Why the craziness? Not only are midwives illegal in AL, but Ben and I would feel a whole lot safer and more comfortable if Paula caught this one as well. So, please wish me luck and pray that I am able to get to AZ without a problem.

The Big S-I-X

2008-01-12T13:43:00.001-06:00

Samuel turned six this past week. He has been anxiously awaiting his birthday, because six is "so big." Time flies way to quickly. In so many ways I cannot believe that he is only six. It feels like he has been with us forever, but at the same time, six years doesn't seem that long ago.

He was so jazzed to find me up before him that day. He had asked for a Superman cake, and he got that. Sort of. He also asked to go out to dinner, which we did, and we surprised him with a trip to Cold Stone's afterwards. Good stuff (the celebration and the ice cream!). Most of his gifts were of a piratey nature (Carribean, not those who don't do anything) with a couple of new video games to torment me, uh, entertain him with.

SO, I really do need to put that wax paper under the cake before icing it. And since 4 out of 5 of us will require a gluten-free cake every year, I really should take a cake decorating course. He was vastly relieved that it was not pink like David's Spiderman head last year. (Please don't ask him. I am sure he has had nightmares about his cake.)

It was after this picture of him with his cake that my camera died on me. I have more pictures of him on my new phone, but don't know how to retrieve them. So maybe as an early (way early) b-day gift for mommy, she will get a new camera. Hint, hint, honey.

Back to Sam. He had a wonderful day all about him. He didn't get Mackydonlald's for his special dinner like he asked for, but he did get it for lunch. We went and took daddy with us too during his lunch break. We are truly blessed with Sam in our lives. He is a big help and source of much laughter to Ben and me. His brother and sister love him and enjoy playing and pestering him. The only thing that could have made his birthday better, in his own words was "to have all the family with us." (As in grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins.) We miss you guys.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

2007-12-27T14:54:00.001-06:00

We had a very good Christmas. Up until that day things have been rather busy and hectic. Once again, we took our brood over to Dy's and mingled with her brood. It was loud and fun. The kids enjoy each other's company and energy, and all the adults enjoy each other's company so it all works out really well.

We had really good gifts and surprises, but the best one was for the entire family. We expect to have a new baby/sibling sometime in the end of July. The two boys are absolutely excited and thrilled. Sam is hoping I am having 3. haha David wants to know if I can let him have the baby now. Luci hears "baby" and runs to get her favorite doll for the moment.

Incentives.

2007-12-10T11:01:00.000-06:00

It is amazing what you can get kids (and probably adults, too) to do with the right incentives. I found my DS last night, after weeks of searching for it. When Ben went down to Birmingham, he took it with him. I didn't remember that I had packed it in his bag and so I couldn't find it. Well, Sam was so excited because now we could play against each other. First, he had to finish his math pages correctly if we were going to play. He never gives me trouble about doing his math, but he just zipped through those pages today. So instead of doing dishes or laundry, I have just spent the last hour getting my ego bruised by an almost six year old. All I can say is that after years of sleep deprivation due to many little children, of course my reflexes aren't as good as his! :-) No, mommy isn't a sore loser or anything.

Ok, I am back.

2007-10-31T22:28:00.001-06:00

Things have been so crazy busy and so busy crazy for quite a while now that I haven't taken the time to post anything. However, my one faithful reader complained about this and the lack of new pictures, so here I am.

Ok. We had a wonderful Halloween. We joined up with Dy and her family (that right there would have been enough for my kids without the candy) and walked this wonderful neighborhood. The people were so friendly and nice and appreciative of our beautiful babies! :-) I want to move there. This was Luci's first trick or treating experience, and she performed like a champ. She got to ride in the wagon with Baby Em; and after the first couple of houses, she got the idea that you jump out, run to the door, hold out you bucket, say thank you, and go back to Mommy to open a new candy. My cast of characters were a black spiderman, Capt. Jack Sparrow, and a beautiful bumblebee. (She was tired and done taking pictures.)

All throughout this, Ben was down in Birmingham doing a four week training. He got back just in time for Thanksgiving, which we celebrated with the Edingtons. Last weekend we got back together with them to go to a Christmas parade. The boys got to meet and play with their friends, with the added bonus of picking up candy from the passing floats.

We had a couple of additions to our family in the past couple of months as well. Sam has been asking for quite a while for a pet of his very own. In order to show his readiness for such an event, he was given responsibilities which included: feeding and watering the cat and dog. Well, he did so well, he got his Christmas way early. Towards the end of October he adopted a kitten from our local shelter. He named his sweet little kitty Daisy, as he had requested a girl and that's what we were sold. But the more I looked at Daisy, and the more internet research I did, the more convinced I became that sweet little Daisy was not a girl. Sure enough, little Daisy turned out to be a little boy. The cat formerly know as Daisy is now known as Yoda. Well, I have always wanted a Siamese cat for as long as I can remember. Not one of those nasty slinky ones, but a full-bodied traditional Siamese. So, yes, I am now the proud new momma of a Siamese kitten. We have named him Reepicheep. We got him a few days after Yoda, so they have been growing up together. Why did I ever get puppies before? Kittens are so stinking easy! Sam is fully in charge of the litter box, which is quite a responsibility with three cats. But he does his job well and without complaint, which I really appreciate.

Well, that is it for now. More exciting news to follow soon.

Returned

2007-10-05T13:30:00.000-06:00

Oh, my goodness, it feels SO good to be back home. We flew out at the end of August for what was supposed to be a ten day trip to CA. We did not get back until the END of September. I am so very glad to finally be back home and with my hubby. My dog and cat too. :-o We drove out here with my in-laws, which the kids just thought was so great. They were really missing all that grandparent time and attention. We have come to the conclusion that we just need to move closer to home, whether it's in AZ (which I would REALLY, REALLY love) or closer to my SIL in Washington (which I would REALLY, REALLY love). Either way, if the opportunity ever comes up, it will be great to be close to family again.

Once we got back we went back to the final appointment with the specialist's specialist's specialist on Sam's arm. He said it looked great, and Sam can now go back to playing any sport he wants. hahahahahahahahahaha Mommy is not sharing that info with Sam right now. We had Grandpa and Grandma M with us for two weeks, but they decided they must return home so they started their return journey yesterday. It is really quiet without them and their 170 lb. "puppy." There is a lot of home stuff that I need to catch up on, but once again it is so GOOD to be back home. I will post new pics soon.

Loquacious Lucy

2007-08-16T22:38:00.000-06:00

Lucy has been talking up a storm. She loves to talk and sing, and sometimes she says things in anger that are best left untranslated. She has quite a few phrases and makes her needs know very well. Her favorite word right now is "GO!" said with a frown on her face and in a very stern voice. It is usually hard to keep a straight face around her even when she is being naughty. Her yes starts out with a full circle of her head that turns into a nod. She says a very clear "I love you" that she saves for the cat and dog and her daddy (usually right after I have changed a horrendous diaper).

And so it starts. I have been told they only get more vocal from here on out. :-)

I am here

2007-08-16T13:16:00.000-06:00

It has been a crazy two weeks. Sam's arm did have to be pinned. He fractured his elbow into FOUR pieces, and the doctor operated on his arm exactly two weeks ago today. Panicking at her baby being hurt, my mom flew out the Saturday after that. We had her here until this past Tuesday. It was really heart wrenching to see her go. Sam's pins get removed in a couple of weeks. The doctor said that his elbow is healing really well and there should be no problem with the joint as he is growing up. Ben and I were REALLY relieved to hear that.

Other than that, there has been no more excitement. I can live with no excitement. No excitement is good. We postponed the beginning of our school year until after my mom's visit. If I can get everything ready, we should be starting up next week. Sam was happy to hear that.

Oh, wait. I lied. We did have a little excitement this past Monday. Sam lost his front, top left tooth. The tooth fairy was way more generous than she should have been for a third lost tooth.

Meanwhile, Lucy has figured out that she can make very many facial expressions. She is so funny about it.

She has also discovered the joys of shopping from home. It doesn't matter how you are dressed (or not dressed as the case may be).

Never a Dull Moment

2007-07-31T13:12:00.000-06:00

"Great, now I am one-armed just like Lucky." This is what Sam said today. Lucky is Pappy's dog, and he is missing one leg. Well, Sam, not quite. Sam broke his arm during football practice last night. I explained how his arm will heal, while Lucky will never grow another leg. The ER team last night was great, but they didn't set his arm because they wanted an orthopedic doctor to take a look at it. The orthopedic doctor didn't set his arm today because he thinks it is broken at the elbow. We have to see the pediatric orthopedic specialist tomorrow. He might have to pin the elbow is what I got told today. Great. Just great.

So, we won't be going to football practice anymore. That's kinda out for this season.

David Dreams

2007-07-27T22:06:00.000-06:00

David has been having some crazy dreams lately. How do we know? From his crazy conversations the day after. :-) The other day after he woke up he asked his dad where his dog with the laser beam on his nose was. Thinking it was a toy, Ben asked him where he last left it. "No, Daddy, it was walking around with Fiona and Mac, and it has a laser beam for a nose. I want you to kill it because it is mean and scary." oookkayy. I swear, we haven't let the kids watch Austin Powers. But he swears he had a dog with a laser beam nose.

Yesterday, he asked me if he could have some of the apple juice I bought him at MackyDonalds the night before. Now, it has been months since we last had McD's due to all the wheat cross contamination. So, no, we had not bought apple juice at McD's. Poor guy. He was convinced I just didn't want to share. Or maybe it was all a ploy to get apple juice. Or MackyD's. Hmmm. He did get his apple juice, it just wasn't McD's kind.

So, we are thoroughly enjoying hearing his dreams from the night before. They quite entertain us. He is such a funny little guy.

He and Lucy get along famously most of the time. They usually get in trouble together. Does this change as they grow up? Or does it only get worse? I don't know what they were plotting here, but they thought they had a good plan. See the smiles on their faces? Those smiles always tell me to expect trouble.

No. 23

2007-07-27T00:01:00.000-06:00

Ok. I have attained insanity. Yeah, I'm sure most of my friends and family thought I was already there ages ago. lol Sam has been signed up for football. We started practice last Thursday. He loved it. Last Friday he went to get fitted with a practice uniform. His coach asked what number he wanted to be. After careful consideration he replied, "I want to be number 23." I asked why 23, and he said "I think it is such an awesome number." Ok. Number 23 it is.

So, if I can get into the habit of this whole scheduling, we are doing football through October. David says he wants to play baseball next spring. Sam says he wants to play basketball, baseball, and football. This would pretty much keep us in sports year round. Sheeyah. We'll just see if I can make it through football first.

Ok, Grammy M. Here are the pics I promised you a while ago. ENJOY!!

Isn't he just precious? He had just finished practice and so was rather sweaty. He thought it would be great to share these with you, so there was no resistance to having his picture taken.

If I ever feel rested enough, I will update on games and such and keep you filled in on how it is all going. I've been told it gets better eventually. Right? That should be true right? One upside: Sam sleeps in so much later now. hehe He also is taking naps in the middle of the day. hehehe

Bill, Mr. Bubbles, and Melvin

2007-07-03T01:19:00.000-06:00

Ever since we moved back here, Sam has been wanting fish. I kept promising that as soon as we could get the aquarium set up we would get some. Well, with my sister's visit, that has happened rather sooner than later. The boys got to pick out their very own fish and were ever so happy for the experience. Sam picked out a tiger barb that decided to try to eat the other two fish in the tank. He is now living the sad life of solitary confinement. Everybody else is doing really well without him now. Sam named his fish Melvin. When I wondered as to why he would choose that name, Ben told me Sam had asked a guy's name at work. Ben told him the guy's name was Melvin. He was struck by that name. He thought that was really a very neat name. SO he came home and informed us that his fish's name was Melvin.

David picked out a dwarf gourami. This is the fish that was mostly getting eaten by Sam's. He has very beautiful, vivid orange and blue stripes. He has just flourished after the removal of Melvin. I believe Dave chose the name Mr. Bubbles because of a Nemo character. They haven't seen it in a while so I am not completely sure.

I got to pick out Lucy's fish, and I chose an algea eater. Sam got to pick out the name for him and named him Bill. lol This fish is much smaller than a plecostomus, as it will only grow to be about 1.5" long.

The boys have now decided that they would like to add a shark and a catfish to the tank. Donna has been mentioning these lovely "tatooed" fish she saw. Needless to say, I have been keeping them all away from the fish department. lol

SHE DID IT!!!

2007-07-01T10:16:00.000-06:00

Lucy has officially taken her first steps!!! Friday we went with Donna to check out UAH. Coming back from the admin office, Lucy was just too heavy to carry, so I set her down and held her hands and walked her back to the car. There was such absolute joy and pride on her face when we got back to the car. She finally figured out how it was that her brothers were mobile! Daddy was in the car proudly watching his baby make her way to him, and she beamed from ear to ear at him. Yesterday, she tried to take a couple of steps on her own but kept falling down. TODAY, she has managed to take steps without tumbling. You should see how proud of herself she is. She knows she is doing well. And she is managing to do this through the boys' cries of "MOM, MOM, Lucy is DOING IT AGAIN!!" and me standing a few feet away from her bouncing up and down telling her how great she is doing. lol It doesn't matter that she is the third and I've been through this with the boys. It is still so thrilling watching this baby get the hang of it. Aye. I guess this means another one to chase. :-)

Happy Days, Daddy!!

2007-06-17T11:29:00.000-06:00

The boys were so excited about Father's Day. "Is it like a birthday?" Sam asked. Yes, it is a celebration. "With cake and all sorts of good stuff to eat?" Yes, exactly like that. lol So, they were more than happy to help plan the menu. The most important part of the meal? You got it, the cake. :-) We had a vanilla cake with chocolate fudge icing (yes, I REALLY love Daddy) and all sort of sprinkle decorations. Sam had a big, long list of why he's happy his dad is his dad, and David said "because he is."

Happy Father's Day! Or, like Dave said, "Happy Days, Daddy!"

Surprise!!

2007-06-12T15:38:00.000-06:00

My sister is coming for a visit!! The boys don't yet know what their surprise is but are anxiously awaiting it. Can't wait to see you sister!

Am I Back?

2007-06-10T15:37:00.000-06:00

Well, I have been gone for quite a long time. Much has happened in that time as well. I have decided to go ahead and continue with the blog to keep our friends and relatives updated. Some of you I speak with frequently and are updated often. Others, as much as we would love the contact, are just too busy with hectic schedules.

I hope to keep you posted regularly. At least with the very important parts of our lives. :-) Hopefully. So, come by and visit often. :-)

Conversation at 3a.m.

2006-02-19T13:06:00.000-06:00

Night before last we had to take Sam in to the doctor. He had woken up twice writhing in pain and saying the side of his face/ear hurt. The second time he did this we decided to take him in in case it was something serious. Well, by the time we got there (1:30a.m.) he just wanted to go back to sleep. The doctor came in and diagnosed an ear infection. Without. Checking. His. Ear. So, we came back home after losing sleep and money and put our Samster to bed. He slept the rest of the night away.

David (whom we had left with my parents) woke up as I was getting some water to take in to Sam. He was most upset and unhappy that I couldn't take him right away. As he's throwing a fit, his daddy is trying to get his attention. "David, David. Would you like some sado?" David stops mid-mommy and says "What?!" Needless to say, he was distracted with the offer of Daddy sado (what he calls Daddy's favorite brand).

Sam is doing great. We came home and have been doctoring him up with GSE and all other kinds of wonderful voodoo stuff. Looks like this weekend might get "interesting."

Monthly Post

2006-02-04T23:39:00.000-06:00

Life has been so incredibly hectic for the last month. We decided and acted upon coming back out to CA in order for Ben to finish the last three classes he needs to fulfill his degree requirements. Not exactly what we wanted to do, but it needs to be done. We met with the midwife that was recommended to us; and when Ben asked how I felt about her, my exact words were, "I wouldn't want to be in her care if I was senile. OMG! That means I don't want her being my midwife." He heaved a big sigh of relief as he had not been at all comfortable with her. SO, we called our darling midwife who delivered both boys to see if she had any recommendations. However, during our conversation, we agreed that we would rather have her catch this next baby as well. Very exciting. Only thing that's a little worrisome is that she is in AZ. About an 8 hour drive away. *sigh* We meet with her in a couple of weeks and will brainstorm the best way to do this.

Meanwhile, we did an ultrasound (with the doctor crazy midwife recommended) and think this new baby is a girl. Sam turns to me and says "See, I told you it was a gril." Yes, he switches letters around so it always comes out grils. He is ever so excited to be having a baby sister. It is really sweet to see. I explained to him that she can hear him, so he has been talking and singing to my belly. He is such a doll. Another one of his funny comments was "I am going to keep eating and eating until my belly grows like Mommy's." LOL Uh, that's not due to an eating problem, Sam.

David is growing and talking and not staying still and driving us all insane. He is so mischievous! No amount of scolding will dampen his spirit. Usually, he comes up to me, says "Ove u, mama!" and go right back to his delight. He enjoys mom's new built in pillow (my tummy) and talks about the baby. In fact, he talks about everything. He is so supremely happy to be around his grandfathers again. Grandmas are nice to, but not quite up to Granpa standards.

I came down with a really nasty cold a couple of days ago. Today, I was thinking how comforting it was for me as a child to snuggle in with my parents when I wasn't feeling well. Tonight, both boys came and snuggled one on either side of me, and it offered such immense comfort to have both those warm little bodies keeping me company. I think it's time for me to go back and join them.

Happy Birthday, Sam!

2006-01-08T16:06:00.000-06:00

Our Sam turned four years old yesterday. He was sooooo excited to be having a birthday. We took him to CEC's in the morning and baked and decorated his cake when we got back home. He was thrilled that he, his brother, and his father would be able to eat his birthday cake without having any problems. He checked to make sure a couple of times the I was making a wheat-free cake. LOL It amazes me how much my baby has grown in this past year. He talks so much and is so inquisitive. I hope that this year I can take full advantage of that for his benefit. :-) Happy Birthday, my Sam. We love you so much!

2005 Recap

2005-12-23T22:53:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe that another Christmas is upon us. This past year has gone so quickly, it now seems, when only a few months ago things were not moving fast enough for me. :-)

This January started with my baby turning 3. It seems like I have been his mommy forever, and then 3 years is not that long a span at all.

February saw my DH's older brother married to a wonderful lady.

March was pretty uneventful, which is always good for us. lol

April added another year to me.

Our little David turned 1 this May! Yeah!

June had us almost moved into an apartment until cruel honesty made us accept that we couldn't afford even the lowest rent in not the best parts of town in CA. This led to us seriously thinking about moving out of state. Hmm.

July was my sister's birthday.

August. Ah, August saw us making a 2000 mile trip in 2.5 days to see the South. We liked what we saw, checked out houses, found one that was doable and decided to move.

In September we were busily getting rid of things that we did not need or did not even remember we had. It was on Labor Day weekend that we also found out that we were expecting our 3rd one. Rather appropriate. ;-)

October left us wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. We closed on our house mid-month. Our first moving truck reservation got cancelled by the company (ever so nicely) and it was a mad scramble to find one. It took us a week. Only to find out that not all of our belongings could come with us. Fun.

We finally made it to AL the first week of November. It was a little bit crazy trying to set up a household after not having one of our own for a year and a half. It has been ENTIRELY worth it.

Finally, December finds us close to another year's celebration of our Savior's birth. We have been in our new home for nearly two months, and we are so incredibly glad for the choice that we have made. The boys love it here. David has grown and is becoming a full fledged little boy who talks and runs and loves and fights. Sam is getting so much older and aware of what is expected of him. My boys are a joy and such a blessing to have around.

A very merry and blessed Christmas and New Year to all.

Better Than Roses

2005-09-28T09:26:00.000-06:00

I am forever thankful for the two sons that I have been given, and some events sometimes just help reinforce some more. We were sitting outside watching Daddy take apart a desk to throw in the trash can when Sam came up with his fire truck. This truck is about three feet long and the body of it is hollow for storing hotwheels. He came up to me and said, "Mommy, I picked flowers for you. Do you want to see them?" Do I want to see them?! But of course! He opens up the little back end, and I could see that the little truck was full of leaves. lol Then Sam says, "Mommy, aren't they just so pretty." Well, that is the best bouquet I have ever received.

Catch Up

2005-09-15T16:12:00.000-06:00

Life has been more than just a little hectic and crazy around here lately. But, since that is the norm, we wouldn't know how to function any other way. We have decided that we are going to move our family to Alabama. The four of us just absolutely loved it out there, and we all wish we could be there now! Every day, Sam wakes up and asks me if today we are going to James' and John's. He will probably burst a blood vessel in his excitement when the day comes that I finally answer "Yes." LOL

As we were leaving the store today, there were 3 children playing on the bars that corral the carts. Sam says to them, "Hey, I want to tell you something. " Of course the little darlings scattered off. Sam then turns to me and says, "I just wanted to tell them that they are going to get hurt that way!" What a sweet boy! They truly were going to get hurt that way, but the parents were nowhere in sight.

Dave is walking and running and talking Davish. He is sweet and funny and just adores his older brother. Overall, things have been going very well. We are just awaiting (impatiently) the next step in our move.

Mad Turtle Escapades

2005-09-12T11:57:00.000-06:00

Now, are the turtle or the escapades mad? Well, because our turtles are mad, their escapades are invariably mad. We decided it was time to start with fresh water in their tank. In the time it took for us to finish putting in clean water and getting them back in, one of our adventurers disappeared. After the ordeal we went through to get these beasts, I really was not happy at the prospect of having an only turtle. We had to finally give up our search at dinnertime. As we were sitting at the table, lo and behold there was a scratching, clunking sound coming from the living room. Sure enough, there was the wanderer. Now he and his pal are happily reunited.

Happy Birthday, David!!

2005-05-26T15:29:00.000-06:00

David turned 1 a couple of weeks ago. He had so much fun at his party!! He also took his first steps then, but has refused to try again since then. He is also talking so very much. His list of words is: agua, mama, papa, dog, woof-woof, nowww (what a cat says), NO, straw, gramma. There are more that are not coming to mind right now. It is so crazy to remember when I was 25 months pregnant and feeling like he was never going to be born. That little guy is such a joy. He will come up to me and give me a great big hug. He will come over and share whatever he is eating or drinking. He absolutley loves his big brother!!

That same Sunday, we had David baptized. He was so good during the entire process. He checked out our pastor's mike and tried to eat it. He was calm for the pouring of the water over his head, and he was just thrilled beyond belief to be held up for all to see. My baby is growing up!!

Interview

2005-05-26T15:10:00.000-06:00

Dyan had posted this interview in her site a long time ago. Finally, I am getting to it.

1) What have you learned in raising the boys so far that you didn't expect?
1. The human body does not need as much sleep as the textbooks say.
2. God has an awesome sense of humor.

2) What would be your ideal weekend vacation? (Think four-day, here.)
This took much thought. Ideal right now just means relaxed. It could be anywhere as long as it was just Ben and the boys and me.

3) What is your happiest childhood memory?
I think it was soon after Donna left the hospital. I would be so excited to come home and help feed the baby.

4) What US destination would you most like to visit and why?
I am torn between Alaska and Hawaii. Both are so beautiful (from what I can tell from pictures). But I would really like to see most of the U.S.

5) Why are you drawn to homeschooling for the boys?
I would like to homeschool them just for the quality education they can get. OK. That sounds like I am full of myself, but I think I could do a better job than the schools available. Also, I would not like to have them indoctrinated with other people's beliefs.

Baby Computer Time

2005-03-08T23:02:00.001-06:00

David is getting ready to use the computer. NOT!!

2005-03-08T23:02:00.000-06:00

Sam loves getting his picture taken.

Spaghetti!

2005-03-08T23:01:00.000-06:00

David, thoroughly happy after having had spaghetti for the first time.

2005-03-08T23:00:00.000-06:00

Some new favorite pictures.

Happy Children

2005-03-08T22:52:00.000-06:00

The boys have been so happy lately! They have been chattering together in the car. Today, when we were coming home from an errand, they were giggling the entire way home. Just warms my heart. Sam will share what he is eating, drinking, or playing with with David. As a result, David has now started trying to feed everybody. LOL To the point of taking a bite out of his mouth! It is really very funny but sweet.

In Today's Report...

2005-03-08T11:45:00.000-06:00

I could say things have been rather crazy around here, but with two children in the house that's a given. ;-) We have gotten new pets and lost some of those new pets. :-( We added a cichlid to our tank who is an absolute killer. He has not allowed any other fish in the tank with him. We added another cichlid in there with him, but he is still being just as mean. We (or I should say my mother) promised Sam a turtle. I finally managed to find a baby turtle (an ordeal I would rather never have to repeat) only to have it die 36 hours after we got it. So, I took Bob back (Sam decided since Jessie had Larry turtle we would have a Bob turtle) and got my money back. Well, we now have not 1 but 2 baby Red-eared sliders named Boris and Natasha. I didn't even have to go to the back to ask for Juan or Miguel this time!! LOL

It is our belief Sam will be a musician. He LOVES music and he loves to sing! Maybe he will be the yodeling veterinarian since he also really likes animals. LOL He is doing so well with his numbers and letters! He is now looking at things and being able to tell me how many are there. This makes some things easier.

David is getting so quick! He is also trying to stand by pulling himself up on what might seem sturdy enough (his choices aren't always the best-LOL). We went to my cousin's birthday last week. I was holding Baby Erik and David at the same time on my lap. David did not think this was okay and started pushing Erik away. This is funny because he will let Sam share my lap or be around us. The jealous bug bit him, I guess.

I am off to explore and experiment with my two guides in life.

Baby Bugs

2005-02-25T14:00:00.000-06:00

Ever since Sam was born, he was either my baby bug or my Sam-bug. That has stuck, so I now have a Sam-bug and a Dayed-bug. Both bugs woke up in such a good mood today. They were giggling and playful, and we read some books we checked out yesterday. They are now bathed and fed and the little one is down for a nap.

We made it to storytime yesterday, but Sam had a complete meltdown afterwards when I wouldn't let him play in the library. A lot of the other mothers allow their children to run wild. I am trying to impress upon the boys that the library is a quiet place were we go to read books. It is NOT a jungle gym. We went to see Daddy, and he gave Sam a bag of Skittles before we left. We then discovered that David loves Skittles. How did we discover this? Sam kept throwing them into David's seat. Why was he throwing them? Because he couldn't reach David's outstretched hand, so the logical solution is to throw them. LOL It was rather cute once I stopped freaking out. Sam helped clean up the monsters yesterday. He would take one of those Swiffer handles and slide it across the floor and inform me that the monsters were gone. LOL He is ever so excited about learning his letters and numbers. He is doing very well with that. We are currently turtlesitting for his cousin. He let me know the other day that he thought we should get a turtle of our own. Hmm. Not quite yet. We can start our zoo when we are living in our own place. :-p He is quite a help with our fish. He is feeding them (under our supervision, of course), and making sure they are all there (one of our crabs made an escape attempt that ended fatally for him).

David is getting quicker about throwing things away from him when he sees one of us coming to investigate the object going into his mouth. Yes, usually it is things we would rather didn't go into his mouth. He then tries to crawl quickly to said object to do it again! LOL He is such a funny guy. He is chasing all over the house after his brother. He helps me cook by making sure that I am putting in everything correctly (he insists on being held when I am the only parent in the house).

Over all, we are having a great time with the boys. They are such a joy. There is always something new and definitely interesting every day! I am off to see what new things they will teach me today.

Hello, again!

2005-02-22T01:09:00.000-06:00

The in-laws are in AZ for a week. This is great because it means alone time for our family. We are looking forward to spending this time alone with each other and our sons. Since we put the boys down, Ben and I have started a deep clean on the house. We are enjoying it! David and I have been attending a little church near home. It is a small, family-oriented church. The pastor's sermons thus far have been great. There is so much going on right now, but it seems that every time that I sit down to the computer I forget what I was going to put down.

Sam is doing very well. We went down to visit my parents this weekend and he got to spend an extra couple of days with them. He really enjoys his time down there with him, but I do miss him like crazy.

David is exploring and testing his navigational abilities. He is everywhere! He and Sam play so well together! Well most of the time. As long as David doesn't take a particular toy that Sam is playing with at the moment. Other than that, they get along great.

I owe many thanks to my sister. I ditched the boys with my folks last weekend and stole her. She helped my pick up and organize my room! We did a great job.

As soon as I can remember my thoughts (basically after I log off) I will come back to post them.

Busy, Busy

2005-02-11T00:34:00.000-06:00

The past few days have been so busy!! My MIL and I put together her older son's wedding favors. I don't ever want to smell Hershey Kisses again or hear any bells! LOL They are done, and this was even accomplished the night before they have to leave! LOL

There has been so much going on with the boys and us lately. We are, like I said, keeping busy. This past weekend the boys and I made it down to my parent's. I was able to finally catch up on my laundry. YEAH!! We went to my see my cousin's new house, and as a result were there for the blessing. The house is so beautiful! I am so very happy for them.

Sam and I have been working on the alphabet. We are now working on the letter E. He is doing so well with them! He strives to learn them even more with the lure of a pez (his treat for getting them right). LOL He is doing great with his numbers as well. It's his colors we are having trouble with at the moment. All of them look green to him. Hmm. He has another cold. This is just driving me nuts. My rant: his cousin gave it to him. When I asked my SIL if her daughter was sick, she said "yeah, but since your kids have gotten my kid sick so many times, I figured I could return the favor." Okay. Talk about getting my blood boiling. I know my memory is not completely gone, and if it serves me correctly, every last time they have come over and her child has an "allergy" my boys end up with the exact same "allergy." Funny. I didn't think allergies were contagious. I know kids get sick. But I don't expect sick people to intentionally come over to get mine sick!

We took both boys to see the Incredibles yesterday. Both boys behaved so well!! Ben and I were impressed and grateful. Now this makes it sound like we can't peep out the door without the boys being monsters, but that is not the case. They are usually pretty well behaved; but yesterday, they were extraordinarily well-behaved. Today we took them to a feline rescue and breeding place that's a little ways from here. Both boys enjoyed it, but Sam wanted to see more of the tiger. It always creeps me out how these big cats focus on the little ones. Makes me very grateful for the cage between them and us. LOL We were able to get out and do this stuff with the boys because Ben had an extra day off this week. That was a bonus; but like the saying goes, everything comes with a price. He is going to have to work his next set of days off. :-( It will be another couple of weeks before we see him. *sigh*

David is dancing! Well, after tonight he might not be any more. He apparently has his mother's rhythm. He stood up on his little musical toy we got him for Christmas and started grooving. He misstepped and over he went! LOL He was not a happy little man. I know it's mean of me to laugh. ;-) The kid just loves his veggies! Thus far we have been lucky with the feedings. We have stayed away from the rice, and he is doing much better. I was afraid he would want to quit nursing if we started him on foods, but he is still very happy coming to momma for his nursings. :-) It all ends too soon.

The boys are still getting up at an (to me anyway) ungodly hour. Hopefully, tomorrow we are off to storytime at the library closest to us. Good night to all and a have a blessed weekend.

Today

2005-02-03T19:10:00.000-06:00

I gave myself a manicure last night! Woohoo! I have been wanting to do this for a very long time, and finally accomplished it last night. I believe the last time I did my nails was last July. Sad. But anyway, my nails are a nice hot pink with a light glitter over it. The first time I wore this color, I was told to grow up by my MIL. I will probably be the only granny on the playground with hot pink nails. LOL

We made it to story time, but I rather wish we had skipped it today. The librarian was not suited to be reading to a group of children. When we are going to something like this, it takes Sam a while to warm up to the group. So he didn't want to sit with the other children when we first got there. She was on her second book by the time he decided he was ready to join them. I was sitting at the end of the row, and he quietly went around to sit on the mat. She immediately stopped reading and declared "I don't have a cohesive group here, so I need you all to pay attention to me! All eyes on me now!" I should have probably left at that point but I didn't. She skipped over Sam every time for the children's participation and that just broke his heart. We went and got some books for the week and left. What a disaster!

I had Jessica (my SIl's daughter) with us, so I experienced having three children. Granted, as she is nine, that was cheating a bit. LOL Sam had fun being out with Jessie, so that made up for the psycho at the library.

Now it's off to preparing dinner and visiting some more with our family.

Children's Logic

2005-02-03T01:09:00.000-06:00

Like I have said before, children never fail to amaze and amuse me. We had to go to Sam's Club today. When we parked, Sam got so excited and said "Oh, look. We are at my name Club!" That was too funny and precious! A couple of days ago, he went to Grandma M and asked her to please open a bag of chips for him. She asked him if I had okayed this to which he said yes. Not fully believing him, she sent him to verify with me. He comes up to me and says "I ask if I can open this and you say yes." Straight and to the point. LOL It just made perfect sense to him.

Both boys have been rather good these past couple of days. Makes things so much easier! LOL David is still trying his limits (i.e. pushing his boundaries). He doesn't want to believe "No" is NO.

We have a full day planned for tomorrow. The library for storytime, maybe the mall, and I believe the boys' cousin is visiting. So, if I am going to keep up with them, off to bed I go.

Going Home

2005-02-02T00:14:00.000-06:00

Ever since Sunday Sam has been adamant that he wants to go home. I asked what home and he said "Mommy's home." *sigh* What I wouldn't give to be able to "go home." It is coming up on nine months (eight months and eight days, but who's counting?) since we moved in with Grandma & Grandpa M. We appreciate all they have done for us, but I believe it has been hard ALL around. So now everytime we have gone out, Sam wants to know if we are going to look for a new house. Soon, baby, soon.

It always amazes me how quickly kids develop. Sam's vocabulary has expanded so much! He is talking so very much. There are some things that leave us rather puzzles sometimes though. The funniest was when he wanted to wear his "Stupidman" pajamas. Your what? Finally, it got through he meant his Spiderman pj's. ROFL When he was born, I couldn't imagine loving this child any more than I did at that moment. Boy, was I wrong.

David is just as hilarious as his brother minus the speaking. He makes the funniest expressions, especially at feeding time. He will scrunch up his little nose and start breathing fast when I am not shoveling fast enough. It is too cute. He has started pulling himself up to stand now. Aaackk! Before I know it, he will be walking and running!! He is looking forward to this, as he would like to be chasing his brother.

Well, I have somehow managed to get both boys down and out before midnight. LOL (David is the problem. Sam goes out easy for me.) I will take advantage and go to bed "early" myself. 'Night.

Ramblings

2005-01-28T01:55:00.000-06:00

This past week has been so incredibly busy! Ben's last set of days off we did replace the two wheels I managed to kill on our car. Today, we took it in to the dealership (since we bought an extended warranty on it) because there has been a "clunk" by the front right tire since we bought it. We had taken it twice to the dealership where we bought it, but they "never" found anything. Finally, we took it to the one nearest to home. Ta-da! Somebody looked, paid attention to what I was saying, and then FIXED it!

We actually made it to storytime last week. Both boys were very well behaved the entire time. Sam actually decided to participate for one of the stories! He was the horse! We checked out some books, which Sam has absolutely loved. On Friday, I ended up with a nut so fun case of mastitis. With GSE, garlic, and zinc, it was under control in a couple of days. Not fun. Anyway, this week we missed storytime because even though Ben woke me up, I was not woken up to take him in. However, I got amazing news today. Ben's boss is letting him use one of the trucks as his commuter vehicle! Hurrah! That means the boys and I have a car and can get out and do stuff.

A few days ago, I woke up to the most precious moment ever. Sam woke up and smiled and gave me his "Good morning, Momma." I had already felt David stirring at my back and knew that he was awake. As soon as he heard Sam speak, he squealed and popped his head over my shoulder to smile and jabber at his brother. Those moments reinforce my decision to stay at home to raise our children.

Well, if the boys and I are going to get out to do something tomorrow, off to bed I go.

Life's Blessings

2005-01-20T01:47:00.000-06:00

I was blog-reading tonight, and it hit me what a blessing I have in my family. I have a wonderful husband who loves me and our boys. I have two wonderful boys that have been given to us when we least knew that we needed them. I am thankful and humbled that God has entrusted me with such a precious gift.

Let Them Eat Cake!

2005-01-19T01:54:00.000-06:00

Sam got cake on his face right after blowing out his candle.

2005-01-19T01:53:00.000-06:00

Both of my darling, precious boys.

After!

2005-01-19T01:52:00.000-06:00

After his haircut. It looks a little weird because we discovered it doesn't lie very well after the haircut. I still think my baby is cute. :-)

Before...

2005-01-19T01:51:00.000-06:00

David is getting his very first haircut by my cousin Samira.

On Birthday Parties, Crawling, Etc.

2005-01-19T01:11:00.000-06:00

I have wanted to bloc about Sam's birthday party ever since it was over. I have not had the chance this past week and a half to do so thanks to my two little ones. David does not want to be held, touched, or looked at by anyone other than me. This poses a problem when Sam decides that David's idea is good and follows suit. *sigh* It seems to be passing, which is a good thing since not much has been accomplished during this time.

Sam's birthday party was a blast! We got a cotton candy machine and a snow cone machine that were a big hit. Sam had so much fun running around with all the cousins and having his fair share of all the sweets. For the first time, it was raining here in southern CA for his birthday. Usually the weather is pretty mild and the days are sunny. This time it poured buckets! This is also the first year that we weren't rushing to and from AZ to celebrate with our families. Even the year he was born, we only made it back to AZ ten hours before his birth! I thank the good Lord we made it home in time. lol

David turned 8 months last week. The day after that he got up on his knees and started crawling like mad. No more little soldier crawl. He is also pulling himself up on things and standing up! He is getting more mobile quickly! He has about 6 teeth that I can count trying to come through. Which explains why he has been so incredibly miserable. I will give many thanks once all his teeth are through. He is now clapping when we say "yeah" to him. He is also giving kisses whenever he gets scolded for something. *groan* He also talks back, and it is a good thing it's unintelligible or I'm sure it would be unprintable! LOL He has recognized his name for a while now. I get so excited to see all these different developments and growths in my children. I remember when Sam started recognizing his name I was so excited I rather drove my friends nuts gushing about it. Our neighbors had 2 kids, so I am sure they understood my excitement (especially since they had seen Sam growing since birth and we were lucky to have them share those moments with us!), and the other friend is soon to be married and will have his own children someday! David has also gotten his very first haircut! When we can get a comb near his head, it looks really nice and grown up.

Fiona is growing and integrating herself into the family. She and Sam are such buds. I am glad we made the decision to get this dog. We still have to go through all the puppy stuff, but once that is over she will be a great dog! She now has a new turquoise rhinestone collar. Very girly!

My three men are asleep. I had better get to bed soon if I plan on sleeping any before they wake up. Good night to all.

Happy Birthday, Sam!

2005-01-07T11:38:00.000-06:00

Wow, my little guy is now three! It seems like I have had him for forever and like I just had him yesterday. He has changed my life in so many countless ways. He is such a joy and blessing in our lives. I love the way he will come up to me and put his arms around me and tell me he loves me. Or when he goes up to his brother and gives him a hug just because he's there. I love the way he lights up when Daddy gets home from a long day at work.

Everything is ready for his party tomorrow. This is the first year that we will have winter weather for his party. :-) Typical to southern CA weather, it has always been mild and sunny. This weekend we have a few storms headed in.

Happy Birthday, my Sam! I love you so very much.

Bathtime

2005-01-06T01:34:00.000-06:00

The boys were enjoying a bath together. I was finally able to take a good picture of bath time.

Ringing in the New Year

2005-01-06T01:32:00.000-06:00

We were awaiting the new year. This is my sister, Donna, holding her nephews.

Hi!

2005-01-06T01:13:00.000-06:00

The boys and I have spent the entire day sleeping. We caught a stomach bug yesterday that left us feeling so miserable. The highlight of the day was when David started waving hi to us. He is so incredibly cute. When I had him do this for his grandparents, he had his thumb in his mouth, but he waved at them that way too. :-) We have most of what we'll need for Sam's party this weekend. I have a couple of more things to buy, which I will hopefully finish tomorrow. Soon, I will have more pictures to share.

Happy New Year!!

2005-01-01T17:38:00.000-06:00

We start another year. We spent last night at my parents' place to celebrate the beginning of this year. We all managed to stay up except for Ben. (Even the baby made it! :-) ) I spent today calling our family to invite them to Sam's birth next weekend. We weren't sure what we wanted to do, but have finally decided on having a get-together at my mom's. Should be fun.

Sam decided to stay another day with my folks, so we won't be seeing him until tomorrow. He was ever so excited because he got a ring from my parents. Ben grew up not wearing jewelry, so it bothers him. I grew up seeing my dad and uncles all wearing jewelry, so it doesn't faze me. (I am not talking about earrings or piercings, which I am NOT okay with and none of them did until the new generation of cousins. Yuk.) Sam has a necklace that is always tucked into his shirt and a bracelet that my mom had made for him on his first birthday. Sam has been wanting a ring for the longest time. I don't know why, but he just did. Well, these past days that he was with the gp's he got one. I thought it was really nice. Ben only wants him to wear it on special occasions. *sigh* I think we have come to a truce. *big sigh* Sam is truly so thrilled about it and I don't want to kill that.

My parents also had a gift for David. He got a new little bracelet that he thinks is so cool. He can look at it and play with it. :-) I'm sure part of the motivation is trying to chew on it too. LOL We have started him on foods. I might have mentioned that before, I don't know. We tried him on the baby rice cereal and he had a horrible allergic reaction to it. We laid off foods for a couple of weeks after that and have been able to determine that he IS allergic to rice. Go figure. Hubby allergic to wheat and corn; Sam is allergic to wheat and oranges; David is allergic to rice. Great. I know there are lots of grains to choose from, but the most common ones are getting nixed pretty fast. Anyway, he loves oatmeal, peas, and bananas. That's all we have tried him on so far. Sam was nursed exclusively for 10 months that I feel rather guilty for starting David on foods so early. I consulted my midwives and they said if he has teeth (6 of them) it was kinda time to slowly start him on it. He LOVES to eat. Especially when it's a mealtime and he gets to join everybody else. He is so funny. Speaking of eating and meals, it has been so quiet at dinnertime without Sam and his chatter.

I love my boys. I truly enjoy them and love being with them. I am off to enjoy the one in my possession right now. Happy New Year!

Christmas Aftermath

2004-12-30T15:31:00.000-06:00

Wow. Another year gone by. We had a very wonderful Christmas. Since Ben and I have been together, it has been our tradition to do Christmas Eve with my parents and Christmas Day with his parents. Since we've had kids, this gets a bit crazy. I was so proud of Sam. He is almost three, and he behaved so well with the gift opening. He wasn't going crazy having to have only gifts for himself. He had so much joy passing gifts out to others and being excited over what they received. When he did happen to get a gift for himself, he was so excited and appreciative for his gifts. I usually don't enjoy Christmas very much because it has become such a materialistic, commercialized holiday. I want my boys to grow up knowing the true meaning about this day and not concerned over what they get or how much. Like I said, Sam was so good it did my heart good. As is typical, David was enthralled with the papers and the bows and the boxes of his new toys. :-) With all the cute new outfits they got, my poor camera is going to be overloaded! Sam's birthday is a week away, and we still have to decide what to do for him. Fun, fun. :-) I look forward to these times, especially since he is so much more aware of what is going on. Well, Sam is down with my parents for a couple of days. Having only one child makes chores a whole lot easier to accomplish. ;-) I am going to go take advantage of that. Have a happy, healthy New Year.

So Big!

2004-12-10T18:34:00.000-06:00

Sam's solemn expression is somewhat marred by the chocolate on his face. So grown up!

Gimme!

2004-12-10T18:32:00.000-06:00

David is busy trying to talk me out of something. He is such a darling.

Mama's Zoo

2004-12-10T18:31:00.000-06:00

Here is my little zoo. Both boys were ready to go ask for treats.

Random Thoughts

2004-12-10T01:28:00.000-06:00

My Christmas pile has grown bigger. Mostly for Ben and the boys. Like I have said, I very much enjoy buying for them. This is probably why the good Lord has seen fit to keep me on a limited income. ;-)

My poor Samster is sick AGAIN. I have attacked this cold a little more aggressively than I normally do, but he is just so miserable I want it gone. To help him feel better, Grandma M bought him a 3-pack set of find-this-character-in-the-crazy-picture books. He loves them. He is so good at finding the pictures!! Unfortunately, he has become so antisocial! He was never overly friendly with those he didn't know, but it is worse now. He doesn't want people looking at him, much less trying to talk to him. And heaven help those who try talking to his brother!! It really is kinda cute how he tries to protect his brother, but it is embarrassing how rude he can get. I am hoping an end to this. He is so crazy over Fiona. She is very good with him, as they are both crazy little puppies. :-) He was rather funny today. He, Ben and I made a quick trek to Walmart for some medicine. We left David as he had just fallen asleep on Grandpa. About halfway to the store, Sam pipes up with "Hey! Where's David?!" We left him with Grandma and Grandpa. "NO!! GO get David!" That was rather sweet.

David is breaking through yet another tooth! This poor baby has been so miserable. And as the saying goes, "If David isn't happy, aint nobody gonna be happy either." His left front top tooth and the tooth on the right next to were his top canine will be are through. I think tomorrow or the day after the right front top one will be through as well. He has also been rubbing the back of his gums quite a bit lately. Poor little baby. David is not quite sure what to think about Fiona. He's amused by her, but doesn't want to get too close to her.

I can't believe another year has gone by. Two weeks after Christmas and Sam turns THREE!! Where did the time go?

Awaiting Christmas

2004-12-01T23:19:00.000-06:00

I can't believe we are already in December. Another year that seems to have just blown by. I am done with my Christmas shopping. I think. ;-) I have so much fun picking stuff out for my guys and my sister. I already got my present from Ben and the boys. She is a darling .75Rottie/.25German Shephard cross, she looks just like a Rottie(my favorite breed) but with a tail. Her name is Fiona, and Sam claims she is his doggy. She is so smart!!

I have so many things to share about the boys, and every time I sit down to write them, I forget.

Sam has been getting to spend some time with my parents and sister. He loves being down ther with them, and they enjoy having him. Because of this, I have been able to get my shopping done early. I love to see his imagination and creativity growing daily.

David has cut two new top teeth. He has been absolutely miserable and cranky. He wants to teeth on everything in sight. *sigh* He tends to be such a calm baby most of the time.

I think from now on I need to write stuff down so that I don't forget. When I find my camera I will post some new pictures. Hopefully.

Catch up

2004-11-22T11:47:00.000-06:00

It is such a chilly day today. I love it!! I love winter. It is the only time when you can accomodate the temperature to your liking. I cannot believe that it is already time for Thanksgiving, and Christmas is only around the corner. I am almost done with my Christmas shopping. My one complaint is that I wish I had more money to buy the boys stuff. I have so much fun picking stuff out for them.

Sam stayed Saturday night with my parents. We had gone down in the morning after dropping Daddy off at work, and he didn't want to come back with me. I missed him so much on the drive back. Even though he normally falls asleep before we've even reached the freeway, I know that he is sitting back there. I think this is the first time Sam has stayed over since we've had David. David spent the rest of the evening looking for his brother. When Sam got dropped off yesterday, he was quite heartbroken. He wanted to go back with Donna. He didn't want to be here. My heart broke for the poor little guy. I can always trust that he will be okay when I leave him at my parents'. They love on him, there are no psychotic dogs trying to bite him. I just know he will be taken care of and don't need to be constantly worried about him. I don't think I can explain how special my Sam's relationship with my parents and sister is. I love to see that and wish I had had grandparents like them growing up.

David is ever trying to increase his mobility. I came in to the room last night only to find him standin on Sam's bed by holding on to my bed. (Sam's bed is butted up against ours.) I don't know how he managed to do that, but he was quite proud of himself. He is quite a character. He has been having a hard time teething. His upper gum is so inflamed, and it appears that one tooth has slightly broken through. Poor, poor David. It makes my Mom laugh when I ask him if he wants to nurse. He knows exactly what I am saying. Last night he was doing this new thing that just had me laughing. He was sitting on my lap facing forward. He slightly twisted his body around and threw his head back and nuzzled my breast. Then he gave me this look that seemed to say, "Well, what are you waiting for? I couldn't make my needs any clearer." My boys are so precious. I can't imagine my life without them.

I had better take advantage that the boys don't need me right now and fold some laundry. :-( Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

Vegas

2004-11-18T01:35:00.000-06:00

We just got back from a short trip to Vegas. It was Ben's parents' gift to him. We had fun, but the boys did not enjoy that at all. Who can blame them? On the way back today, we tried to stop at the ghost town Calico, but since it closed down in an hour or so, we have decided to make that trip another time soon. There are so many neat things to see and explore in CA. All we need is the time and the money. :-) I'm tired and don't remember all that I wanted to write. Think maybe it's time for bed.

God's Gatorade

2004-11-11T15:09:00.000-06:00

So much has been going on in life, sometimes I just want to curl up and go to sleep for a long while. My Aunt finally passed away last Tuesday. This was a blessing for her since she had been suffering from gastric cancer for the past year and a half(although the doctors were only able to diagnose her this past January). Since she died on Ben's birthday, we didn't do much for him. We stayed at my parents for the past week. The boys both had a doctor's appointment this Tuesday. They are seeing my old pediatrician, which pleases me. He thought both boys were doing really well and didn't need to do any bloodwork, which I was dreading immensley. The Dr. didn't give me any grief about David not being on foods yet. My cousin asked me once the benefits to breastfeeding and breastmilk. Ben summed it up best when he explained it was God's Gatorade for babies. I am convinced that David is calling me "mama." Well, I don't have much time for an update since both boys have a cold, again.

Mama or mmmm?

2004-10-28T12:02:00.000-06:00

We have just got back from a nice extended stay at my parents. I think Sam gained a few pounds, and I somehow lost a few. Don' t know how this happened as I thoroughly enjoyed my mom's cooking. Oh, well. Won't complain.

Sam had so much fun. I love visiting with my family. The boys get a lot of attention and are so happy. They are allowed to be little boys and explore and have fun. My cousins come around and love on the boys which they just love (both the cousins and the boys). Sam follows poor Donna (my sister and his godmother) around all the time and demands her attention. It surprises people how good Donna is with the boys, but she just loves them to pieces.

David is a little flirt! He just basks in all the attention and plays it up for all the ladies. He has a new tooth that is broken through, and my poor little guy is just suffering. Now, I knew all children are different, but it still amazes me. I know we were extremely blessed with our first baby because we never went through all the normal complaints like spitting up, painful teething, and everything else. Poor David is constantly spitting up and keeps me up most nights now that those teeth are trying to come through. Despite all this, I know we still have a very good baby. I am glad that I nurse (despite David trying to convince me otherwise with that new tooth this past week) because I shudder to think what he would be like if he were on formula. I believe David has started saying "mama" but everyone else insists it's "mmmmm." Hmm. I think he's calling me.

We celebrated my Dad's birthday this week. Had it been anywhere else, Sam's behavior would have been embarrassing. Of course, anywhere else he's not allowed to behave that way. He helped Papa (which is what he calls my dad) blow out the candle (we teased my Dad that we couldn't put that many number of candles on his cake) and cut the cake. However, he got a little impatient for his slice, so he just took a bite out one of the pieces. Like I said, we were able to laugh at it. He is NOT allowed to behave like this at parties we attend.

We had a fun time. I have some wonderful pictures to share as soon as I can.

Winter!

2004-10-18T14:35:00.000-06:00

It's fall and that means winter is coming! The temperature has dropped and there are wonderful smells in the air. Someone even had their fireplace going yesterday. I love to see the change in seasons.

We got back early from our trip and so were able to enjoy a couple of free days with Daddy. Sam did well despite the lack of sleep, but David is a bad traveler. We had to stop frequently for him.

David and I have had some issues with his new tooth. He keeps trying to use it while he's nursing. hmmm Despite some lengthy discussions, I just can't fully convince him that this is neither the time nor the place to use it. :-) After I woke up screaming a couple of nights ago, my husband says "Aren't you glad he doesn't have the corresponding top tooth." Thanks. So, I now check his gums every night before going to sleep so that I don't wake up to any surprises. LOL David is at such a pleasing size. He just has the perfect feel in my arms right now, and it's just great when he falls asleep and cuddles in.

Sam is growing and getting bigger by the second it seems. He is so precious. We got him an Apu stuffed animal, and it goes with him everywhere. He had a hat with him last night as I was putting him to sleep. I took the hat to get it out of the way, when I realized there was something in it. It was Apu! This hat has like an extra flap(?) that goes around to protect (partially)the neck and ears. Well, he laid the monkey in it and used the flaps like a blanket. I thought that was just so cute! David has been coveting this monkey which just sends Sam into a panic. He's constantly finding another stuffed animal to distract David with. LOL However, David is very tenacious. :-)

Well, Nezzer is done and lunch is gone so I need to put Sam down for a nap. Hopefully, David will remain asleep for a while so that I can get stuff accomplished. Wishful thinking, I know. :-)

Terrible Two's (?)

2004-10-11T03:20:00.000-06:00

What a day today! Sam was just nutso. Despite having had a nap today(or maybe because of it), he was just wild. They don't call them the terrible two's for nothing I guess. He is a good kid and pretty well-behaved most of the time, and I keep that it mind (or certainly try). Still, days like today just wear me out.

David is teething like crazy. That tooth is definitely out. I have felt it a lot during nursing! The one next to it is coming through as well. This is just so weird. The kid is not even five months old yet. Sam didn't get his first tooth until he was seven months old. David is definitely trying to crawl! He pushes up on his arms and tippy-toes. Then he lunges forward and manages to scoot a little ways. He looks like an adorable little baby seal. :-) I got up to use the bathroom early this morning while Ben was getting ready for work, and he somehow managed to roll off the bed. I didn't hear him since Ben had the shower running, but Grandma got him and consoled him.

Well, we are off to see Ben's brother in AZ tomorrow. I made the mistake of telling Sam of our plans, so all we have been hearing all day is that he wants to go see Uncle Josh NOW! We are looking forward to meeting his future wife (Josh's not Sam's) this week. Hope the boys can stay pretty well-behaved for this. If she survives them she's a keeper, right? ;-) I hope to maybe hit the Phoenix zoo on the days when Josh has to work. Funny, we never made it when we were living in AZ. Funny odd, not funny hah-hah. We'll see what the week brings.

No Title

2004-10-09T12:42:00.000-06:00

I am glad to be able to raise the boys the way we want. We homebirth, nurse, and eventually will homeschool(although I believe that every day is or can be and educational one with a curious two year old). When David cries or is upset, Sam instantly pipes up with, "Nurse David, Mama. He is crying." I love that he associates his brother's comfort with my nursing him. I wouldn't trade my boys for anything.

Teeth!

2004-10-08T21:52:00.000-06:00

At dinnertime, I was holding David and I noticed that one of the bottom teeth is almost all the way through! It is really red, and you can see the little white ridges of the tooth. *sigh* He is also trying to crawl. He pushes up on his arms and legs and holds his little body up like that for a while. He is growing up so fast! He is also going around in circles while he lies on his tummy. I feel so bad for the poor little guy. He's been so quiet and subdued today.

Sam on the other hand has been climbing the walls. This afternoon his cousin Jessie came over and they have been playing outside. Hopefully he burned off enough energy to go to bed peacefully. I need to drink a couple of cups of tension tamer tonight. :-) I love my boys, but boy can they have their days!

2004-10-08T12:49:00.000-06:00

The boys were enjoying watching Sumo of the Opera together.

My Favorite Picture

2004-10-07T16:52:00.000-06:00

Sam finally got to hold David a few hours after the birth. He was a great help to our midwives and was so excited to see his baby brother born! Some of our family was a little concerned that it would be bad to have Sam attend the birth, but I think it was the best for all of us. He just couldn't believe it was a baby that had popped into the water! His expression was priceless. I think he still believes to this day that babies come from inflatable pools. LOL

2004-10-07T15:19:00.000-06:00

Here's Sam with his two favorite things.

Good Times

2004-10-07T12:57:00.000-06:00

We were able to enjoy two wonderful days with Daddy. It has been a while since both of his days off have been completely available. The boys have just been ecstatic. David does that whole body tense and quivering with excitement every time he sees him, and Sam has been tackling and attacking his Daddy at every available opportunity. :-) All in all, a very good time.

A couple of nights ago, Sam and I were able to eat dinner just by ourselves. It was so much fun! We talked and we laughed. At one point, he gets really still and whispers to me, "Can you hear that?" Well, no I couldn't since my head was so congested, but it was so cute to have him say that.

I gave the boys a bath together last night. I have done this a couple of times before, and they just love it. Sam will pour water on David, and David thinks this is just hilarious. We let David float on his back for a while (with me holding him under his arms, of course) and play with Sam. It warms my heart to see them having so much fun together.

David is so much more mobile now. He tries to scootch to get things, but he only manages to go backwards right now. He is rolling around a lot, to the point that he rolled off the bed yesterday. Well, he's fallen off before, only every other time has been onto Sam's bed. Yesterday it was onto the floor. He was not very happy about that.

We have a day of just being lazy ahead of us. I'm gonna go enjoy it. ;-)

We're Back...Again

2004-10-06T22:09:00.000-06:00

My computer is up and running, and I am just so very excited! It has been such a crazy couple of weeks. The boys and I have been sick as a dog (dogs?) since last week. I tried to convince myself on the first day that it was only an allergy. haha Anyway, David didn't get it as bad and is doing much better. Sam is still fighting it though.

Last week Ben and I dragged everything out of the shed and sorted through for things we wanted/needed. We finally have the baby swing in, and David LOVES it! I was a little hesitant to put it to use again since Sam hadn't liked it so much, but both boys are having a blast with it now. :-) It feels so very good to be able to have some our things back.

Sam needs a Scooby-dooby bubble bath, but we will be back. Goodnight!

I'm Back!

2004-09-24T02:54:00.000-06:00

This has been a busy, crazy week. Fortunately, things are calming down a bit.

I am so grateful to be able to watch my boys grow up. Sam is now starting to phrase sentences, and that just thrills me. He has been very congested lately, and I need to start pumping the vitamins again. It is an easy task with him because he likes them! He is a funny little guy. Thanks to Dy for reminding me that he will be eating things I would rather he didn't. :-( The perils of having a curious toddler. Or just any child, I guess.

David has discovered his toes! It is just too cute. He grabs them and has so much fun rolling from side to side that way! He is still trying to talk everyone out of food, and even managed a drink of water today. I was bathing him and using a cup to pour the water over his head when I turned to talk to Grandma M really quick. I turn back around to see him lapping up the water overflowing from the cup. Sneaky!

Tomorrow (today?) we are going to the library. That will please Sam tremendously.

On Tonight's Menu

2004-09-12T23:10:00.000-06:00

Today David is four months old. At times, I can't believe we have had him for such a short time, and at others, it seems as if we have had him longer. We went to Applebee's for dinner(we shall never again repeat that error) and Ben's burger came with one of those fancy toothpicks. Sam pulled it out and was playing with it. No problem. That is, until he decided to eat the little cellophane flag on the end of it. I was slightly horrified that he had done that; but ultimately, couldn't help laughing at the situation.

The night before David decided to join Sam in his bed! He apparantly rolled of my bed onto Sam's bed. He was were he wanted to be because he was jabbering away as happy as can be. :-) It was so cute! If I can ever get pictures uploaded, I have some really cute shots of the boys.

I Like Him

2004-09-11T22:32:00.000-06:00

Sam really made my day today. We had David on his tummy on his playmat looking at a pillow book. Sam looked down at him and informed me "I really like him, Mama." Aaawww. Just made me melt. A little bit later, David decided to roll over onto his back (he's decided he can do this for an audience now). Sam's jaw almost hit the floor, and when he got it back up he said "WOW!!" He was so in awe that his little brother can move on his own now! My boys are just wonderful. Can't imagine my life without them.

We went to Sam's Club with grandma today, and she picked up The Sumo of the Opera for Sam. It is so cute! We watched it before bedtime and had some really good laughs. Never thought the day would come that I would say this, but I really prefer our Sam's Club to Costco.

For tomorrow all we have planned is church. Let see what tomorrow brings.

Miscellaneous

2004-09-11T00:58:00.000-06:00

So many things happening lately, that I haven't written down all that I wanted. We went to the fair last week on Thursday and Sunday. We all had so much fun. The first time we went, Sam insisted going on the Ferris wheel and Daddy obliged. I was not allowed on because I had David in our sling. As a matter of fact, I wasn't allowed on any of the rides because of that. Actually, we were allowed on the carousel but only because I had to sit on one of the benches. Ben had fun trying to shoot out the paper star in order to win a bicycle. He missed one teensy, tiny corner of the star. On Sunday, we got to watch the rodeo. That was a lot of fun and Sam was ever so excited to see the horses.

We went to our city library (the county library is much closer, and we have been going to it quite a bit, but it has a very limited selection) for the first time today. It is such a beautiful library with all its wrought iron. Sam was in seventh heaven to be at a new library, but this branch only carries all the adult material. The youth library is a couple of blocks north from it. Going to the library or the happy face store(aka Wal-mart) is equivalent of a theme park to him. Sam is such a riot! He said something rather funny in the car today(can't remember what, just that it was funny to us and not to him) and when his grandmother and I laughed he very seriously said "It is not funny!" Poor Sam, that just made us laugh harder.

David refuses to roll over any more. Oh, well. He'll get there. He is trying to convince anybody he can that mommy is starving him. One look at his thighs and anybody can see it isn't so! Don't know why he's in such a rush to leave the breast for food.

Thank you, Dy, for your link to W Ketchup. I am going to buy a case of it and give it with Christmas gifts this year.

Don't have much planned for this weekend, just hope to relax and enjoy the boys. We'll see how it goes.

Roly Poly Baby

2004-09-07T16:50:00.000-06:00

David rolled over for the first time today! He was on the bed checking stuff out on the headboard when, poof, he's on his back! Good grief, but they grow up fast!

Daddy and his babies

2004-09-07T15:20:00.000-06:00

I got such a warm, fuzzy feeling yesterday. David was awake when Ben got home from work, and that child was so excited to see his Daddy! He had such a wonderful smile for Daddy. I had trouble holding on to him he was so excited Daddy was home. Sam did much the same thing when he was David's age. Now, every time the front door opens (no matter what time of day it is) he runs out yelling for Daddy. He is sorely dissapointed when it is not Ben but is all the more excited when he is finally home. So sweet to see.

Reason to Blog

2004-09-06T11:16:00.000-06:00

The main reason for this blog is to journal my boys' lives as they grow. I have not done a good job of writing in their actual journals so far, but I hope to do better at this.

Samuel will be 3 this January. I don't know where the time has gone as it seems just yesterday that he was trying to figure out how to crawl forward. He is a sweet, loving little boy. He is so loving and good with his little brother.

David is a happy, fat 4 month old baby. Most of the time he is very easy-going, but he does have a temper and a will to match his parents'. :-) The first person he ever smiled at was Sam. He gets ever so excited to talk and play with him.

Ok. I will be back later to tell of their latest adventures.