Make New Friends

Today we had a playdate with Chrissy, one of my friends from high school, and her two little cuties. It was great catching up, and the kids played well together.

Samuel and Ian were good playmates, sharing toys and baby babble. Ian is about 5 weeks younger than Samuel.


Jackson liked playing in Addison's room. Addison is 3 weeks older than Jackson. I didn't get a picture of Addison, but she is adorable. She is so sweet, and I was really impressed with how well (and clearly) she spoke.


When we left, we weren't in the car but 3 minutes before Jackson was OUT! I guess he just had too much fun!


Loved seeing you guys and can't wait to do it again!

Seeing Double

Samuel at almost 32 weeks old...Jackson at 39 weeks old...same outfit...same cuteness.

Love.

A Bushel And A Peck

The instant love between these two brothers never ceases to amaze me.

Right before this picture was taken, Jackson said "I love Samuel lots".

*Sigh*

Just Keep Swimming

What a great day we had today! We spent the morning over at my sister's apartment swimming.

We started out by going to get donuts from Krispy Kream.


As soon as we were done, we went and hopped in the pool. Jackson, the little fish that he is, jumped right in (with floaties, of course) and swam excitedly.




Samuel got in the pool, too. At first he didn't know what to think, but as the morning wore on, he started getting into it. He enjoyed sitting on the step trying to pick up the pool tiles. (Hey...at least it kept him busy...)


It wasn't a half hour later when Jackson swam over to me looking a little...unwell. As I was asking him if he was okay, he vomited. I mean buckets...mostly pool water, but some lovely donut in there, too. You know what they say about not swimming for an hour after you eat? We will be abiding by that rule from now on. Poor little guy! Holly and I quickly scooped out what we could. Jackson went back to playing. Only this time we taught him how to keep his mouth closed while swimming. And we discovered that in the shallow end, he could touch! So he pretty much stayed in calmer waters for the rest of the time avoiding the ingestion of pool water.



After a while, Samuel started rubbing his eyes and whining. So I picked him up, patted his back, and before I knew it, he was asleep. In the pool. And stayed that way for a good 45 minutes.



By lunch, the boys were worn out, so we stopped by Chic-fil-a and headed home for lunch and a nap. What a great morning! Thanks, Holly and Myles, for having us!

Fiddler On The Roof

A budding violinist, methinks?

Jump Jump

Jackson's big jump.

Ready...


Go!


Well, we still need a little practice!

Puppy Love

Guess what?! I'm an Aunt...

To an adorable little puppy called Zoe!





She is just the cutest little thing. And EVERYBODY loves her.

Welcome to the family, little Zo-Zo!

Here is the happy family's first photo:

Practice Makes Perfect

The goal is up, the cones are out, and we are kicking that ball around.



Go, Jackson, go!

Life By The Drop

My sweet baby boy is 7 months old!



I couldn't help pulling out Jackson's 7 month picture to compare. When I look at the boys, I don't see the similarity. But when you put them side by side...

same nose...same cheeks...same comb over...

Samuel has "officially" began to do several things...

Sitting up (July 5)



Eat baby food (started June 16). So far he has tried rice cereal, sweet potato, oatmeal, applesauce, pears, prunes, barley, and pumpkin. I think his favorite is pumpkin, but he gulps those pears and prunes down eagerly, too!

He still nurses 5 times a day, too. 7:30a, 10a, 1p, 6p, and 8p. Plus night wakings...usually one full feed divided between two wakings.

Babbling consonants (July 8).

*Sorry for the picture...I was driving and wanted to record the sound...




I swear he said "Mama" twice today. The first time I was working. I heard "Mama" and when I turned to look at Samuel, he was just sitting there smiling at me. Then he said it again at dinner and did the same thing. I am "officially" calling this Samuel's first word. Hear ye, hear ye...the baby speaketh "mama" on July 15th! Way to go, little buddy!

Samuel also "officially" got his very own bed. He has been sleeping in the Pack N Play since he was born, and I decided it was finally time to get him something a bit more comfortable (plus, I took the Pack N Play into my office).

Secretly, I was hoping the new bed would encourage him to sleep through the night. Yes...Samuel STILL isn't sleeping through the night. He usually wakes up twice to eat (one side per waking). Last week, however, he started waking up LOTS. It was mainly because he would roll over onto his stomach and pretend like he couldn't get back over. I say pretend because I know he can roll tummy to back, too. I think he is just too "tired" to do it at night. In any case, it got to be a problem...every 30 minutes kind of a problem...and I started work, so we are practicing a modified version of the Crying It Out sleep training. I didn't let Jackson Cry It Out until he was 11 months. The first night Samuel cried for 5 minutes. I went in and gave him a hug and kiss, and he cried for maybe 8 more minutes before falling asleep. He never cries long. It still doesn't stop him from waking twice a night. Hmmm...he'll outgrow that eventually... I'm assuming :-/

In any case, he is a wonderful baby. He is generally always happy and has a smile for anyone. He thinks his brother is the silliest.


I love that he is finally into playing with toys. His favorite is a set off teething keys. He loves to chew on them and bang them. Of course, he also loves Jackson's cars. Depending on what mood Jackson is in, Jackson may or may not love that Samuel love his cars...

Samuel loves playing games...especially with the baby in the mirror.

I love his beautiful blue eyes, his contagious laugh, and the way he reaches up and touches my cheeks.

I love you, little Sammy!

Picture

Hey y'all! Would you mind taking a second and voting for my two cuties in the Gerber Generation Photo Search Competition? Just click on the picture or the link and it will take you to the appropriate page.

That would be totally awesome :)

http://apps.facebook.com/gerberphotosearch/entry/52400/samuel.aspx

http://apps.facebook.com/gerberphotosearch/entry/52412/jackson.aspx

Remind Me

On crazy days like today where I am reminding myself over and over again that I am the parent...I am in charge, I am also reminded how much I love my boys. And I do...

I. Love. My. Children.







That is all.

Work Hard, Play Harder

I am halfway through my first week in my new position at the EPO, and am really loving it! The first-day-learning-curve-overwhelming feeling is disappearing, and I am feeling every day more like I am working the job instead of the job working me.

The flexibility is nice as well as the family friendly atmosphere. I pretty much get to make my own schedule. Being a structured person who likes routine, I opted to set my schedule as such: in office Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday; take Thursday off; use Friday as an "in field" day (ie work from home, visit schools, go out on location...). Of course as the work load fluctuates, so will my schedule. AND I get 10 weeks off a year. Sweet.

Samuel is hanging out with me in the office until he starts daycare in September. My office is large...good thing as it now houses a Pack N Play, playmat, Bumbo, a box of toys, and accommodates the diaper bag and stroller I drag in with me every day. Not to mention the 50 or so small instruments that live in office to be used for the Petting Zoos.

The staff are super nice and like seeing Samuel in the office. Most of them have kids themselves.

AND I get to be around some great music and musicians. All the time. I am so happy things have worked out the way they have.

It has taken a bit of time to get used to the new routine at home. Once I leave work and get Jackson from daycare, I change clothes and spend the next 45 minutes or so just playing with the boys. Then I fix dinner. Then bath. Then some sort of quiet activity. Then Samuel goes to bed. After Samuel goes to bed, Jackson and I snuggle and watch an episode of his-choice on Netflix. Lately he has been picking IronMan. Then Jackson goes to bed, and I stay up for another hour or so getting things done before I head to bed myself. Rinse and repeat.

It is nice to have Thursdays off. I keep the boys home with me and the plan is to do some kind of fun activity together. Today we went to Craft Time at the library, had lunch at the park, and fed the ducks.

Here is a little tour of my office:









At midday, Samuel and I will either go meet my sister (who works right across the street) for lunch, or we will walk to Central Library. Samuel likes to chill in his stroller (I love the way he crosses his feet - Jackson does that, too).

This was the cutest appointment I had all week.


See ya at the Symphony!

The Secret Language Of Birds

...or brothers...




I love seeing them develop their relationship. I love that they will have secrets and inside jokes that I don't understand. I am glad that they will have each other through life.

Every Party Has A Pooper...

This is one of those blog posts that in 15 years Samuel will hate me for posting, but I have just got to do it. I mean, it was so new and note-worthy in my parental experience...

So Samuel woke up this morning around 5:00 SCREAMING. I could tell it was an "ouch, I'm in pain" scream. He would not nurse and could not get comfortable. AND he had not pooped in 6 days. Don't get me wrong...I caught him trying on several occasions, but all he could manage to squeeze out was a little ball with the consistency of clay. The poor guy was constipated. I knew this two nights ago...when I started giving him prunes in hopes that would help move things along.


But it didn't help. So off the boys and I went to Walgreens to buy...duh duh duh...Pedia-Lax, a glycerin SUPPOSITORY. I felt so sorry for Samuel. But within 3 minutes, he was able to poop. And by poop I mean explode. And he has pooped every day since. Pedia-Lax. Good stuff. Works quickly. Hope I NEVER have to use it again. I'm pretty sure Samuel feels the same way.

Here he is waiting for the glycerin to kick in...

And after it was all over, he took a nice long two hour nap.