Happy Birthday....To Me!!

It's true...Wednesday was my big day and it was a good one. Danny, my 21-year old brother, left a message on my cell phone that pretty much summed it all up, " Hope you have a great day and try not to feel too old!". Ah, the wisdom of our youth, or the sarcasim, hmmmm. I turned 27, a number that seemed to baffle Sam and he responded, "Wow, that's a lot!" (Sigh...) What can you say to that?

No, but really, I had and awesome day! My wonderful husband surprised me by taking the whole day off work. We started off the day with breakfast in bed, which is sometimes lonely, but I got to watch the Today show without Sam chattering my ear off. I'm such a nerd, but I love that show!

Joe had me open my gifts one at a time throughout the day, which made it fun. This was right after breakfast. That's a kickstand in Sam's hand, and no he's not about to hit me with it, even though that's kind of what it looks like!

This was after my shower, it was new running headphones for my Ipod. The boys loved helping open my presents! I was trying to show Andrew how it's done because his birthday is getting pretty close!
And a little later...


My birthday present from my in-laws was money so that I could go shopping for some new clothes, so Joe stayed home with the boys and sent me off shopping soon after breakfast. So fun, I've forgotten how easy it is to go places without the boys. Joe arranged for my mom to come over at lunchtime to babysit for the afternoon, which Sam was thrilled about. I was thrilled because I got to got go to lunch and spend the whole afternoon with just my hubby. What a treat! Thanks Mom!

This is one of the outfits that I got on my shopping trip. I don't love this picture of me, but I love the new outfit! Thanks to the Lodge folks!


For dinner we had a BBQ with my family and some friends from our old ward at our house. My parents gave me patio chairs (since I always have to borrow theirs when we have people over) and some Tupperware that I'd been hoping for (again, I'm a nerd but I was very happy)! Instead of cake, we had a cheesecake (from Costco, my favorite!) with fresh strawberries on it. Perfect!

Breanna, Bernie and Danny after dinner.


Jon and Andrew. Andrew seems to enjoy showing off just how big he can open his mouth!

Thanks again to everyone who helped make this a wonderful day, I truly felt loved and spoiled!

Warm weather... Finally!

We are so glad that it is actually starting to feel like summer outside...it's about time! This morning we went to the park with a group of mom's from our ward and my sister-in-law and whole group of little girls. Poor Sam, none of the friends that I'm making in our new ward have boys! Hmmm, I might have to work on that, but in the meantime, he doesn't seem to mind too much. We went to a great little park that has a wading pool and spray area which is perfect for the little kids. First we started with a picnic lunch and then we turned the kids loose. Sam went straight for the wading pool, of course, and hardly left it until it was time to go. He loves water so much and now he wants to go to a "real water pool". The water was pretty shallow, but really cold. But that didn't seem to stop Sam from jumping right in.

Andrew really wanted to be in the water, but he was shocked by the temperature. Eventually he got used to it enough to stand at the edge and splash. Every time he sat down, though, he wailed because of the icy shock. But he definately didn't want out!

Sam and Colette playing together.

We weren't sure if Ela would want to get in the water, but with Sam there holding her hand she had a great time. They are such cute cousins and great friends!

And did I mention that the water was cold? Well, Bre decided to give Bernie a chance to experience it and I think we can see what he thought about it! He is so adorable!

The moms: Bre, Chari, Amy, Sharla, and Melissa. This was just before we left before all of the kids had their "naptime meltdown". It's always amazing to me to watch how they can be playing nicely and then it's like they hit a wall and just can't be human anymore. That was followed by a mad rush to get all of the stuff gathered, wet clothes off, garbage disposed of, and goodbyes said and we raced home for naps. It was a fun little outing and I'm pretty sure all of the kids (and moms) were ready for those naps!

Cousins Pictures

We took the four cousins to JCPenney to have their pictures taken and it went amazingly well. We only got the one pose, but there were no tears, screaming or running away (from the parents or the kids). Plus they all took great individual pictures too, what can I say, they're just cute kids! These are Sam's 3-year pictures, Ela's 2-year (a little late), Andrew's 9 month and Bernie's newborn (I think that he was not quite a month).

Oh, and here's a few more, because they are just so darn cute!

Happy Birthday Sam!

Sam had a great birthday and got to do lots of fun things throughout the day. We had a little party in the morning with some of his friends (most of them were related to him). We decorated the living room and dining room with balloons and streamers after he went to bed the night before so it was ready for him when he got up at 5:50 the next morning. He came and got me out of bed and took me to the living room and said, "Wow, it's party!!" He was so excited!

I made him his favorite, chocolate chip pancakes, for breakfast. We ate under a chandelier of balloon which added to the festive mood...but made it a little hard for conversation!

The thing Sam talked about the most in the days leading up to his birthday was the cake. He wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. He helped me by sampling the frosting and putting on the candy decorations. We made three small cakes with three of his favorite chocolate treats. The boy is a choco-holic! (I have no idea who he could've gotten that from...)

Sam and Dylan (second cousins) waiting anxiously for the cake and candles to be delivered.

Joe has been busy building a sandbox as a surprise for Sam and he loves it! Here it is filled with some of the toys he got for it. Thanks everyone!

Joe's parents bought the boys (combo gift for both of their birthdays) this bike trailer. We don't have a bike for me yet, but Joe took them for a spin around the block a couple of times to try it out and it was hit. The only problem was that Sam wasn't thrilled with Andrew invading his space, Andrew, on the other hand was thrilled to be sitting so close to his big brother! It will make for lots of fun family trips this summer, I'm sure!

Remembering

Yesterday we celebrated Sam's third birthday. It was a fun and action-packed day and we were all exhausted by bedtime. His birthday is always marked by a wide array of emotions for me. The normal, "my baby is getting so big" and "I can't believe how fast he's growing up" stuff along with remembering what a miracle it is that he is so healthy and leading such a "normal" life. And then there's the part where I miss Benjamin and wonder how different things would be if he were still here with us. I know it's okay, and things are the way they are supposed to be and that we will see him again. But I can't help but wonder. And I like to take an opportunity to remember him, honor his short life and look forward to seeing ahim again. So this is my minute. Okay, sorry to get all deep, but sometimes I have to spit out my thoughts and I figure this is a good place to do it. For those who don't know or don't remember, I posted some old pictures of Sam, to show how far he has come.

The dollar bill pictures. The nurses suggested to put him next to the dollar to give perspective on just how small 1 lb 10 oz is. It's hard to believe!

May 29, 2005. The day we said goodbye to Benjamin. This series of pictures are the only ones we have of the boys together and I cherish them. BTW, that's a preemie sized diaper that Sam is wearing, and they were huge on him!

He's Got a Point...

So, Sam is loving the warmer weather. We spend as much time outside as possible outside and he is drawn to the dirt. A couple of days ago, I was outside clearing weeds out of what will someday be my flower bed in the front of the house. I dug a little trench to separate the grass from where I was clearing. To keep Sam busy, I gave him the hose and just turned it on a little bit and asked him to water the grass. I got distracted with the weeds and didn't pay attention to what he was doing. A few minutes later I looked up to check on him. He had filled the trench with water, well mud, he was standing in the mud shin-deep and was totally covered in it. I made some exasperated cry and said, "Sam, you're a mess!!" (Or something to that effect, maybe slightly more stern...) He didn't move an inch and just kinda looked at me with a slightly confused look and said very matter-of-factly , "It's okay Mom, it's just mud." And he was right!

One other funny thing that happened this week... We were at my parents house and Sam, Ela and Andrew were playing in the backyard. I was looking at my mom's garden boxes and we were talking about planting gardens and stuff. The kids eventually wandered over by us, but we weren't paying much attention to them. Next thing I knew, Sam was saying that he was stuck. I looked at him and just busted up laughing. He had taken one of the wire tomato cages and climbed inside it, the wider part at the bottom, the skinnier part was right at his shoulders and his arms were pinned to his sides. It's moments like those that I wish I carried my camera with me!

Family Home Evenings

We've been trying really hard to have regular Family Home Evenings, some weeks it's easier than others. It usually consists of a story from the Friend or we tell a scripture story using the Gospel Art Kit, with a couple songs and prayers, and then a treat. Some weeks we do a game. Some of Sam's favorites are Ring Around the Rosie, Duck Duck Goose, and Red Light Green Light. If you can picture that with just the three of us, it's pretty amusing! Especially Duck Duck Goose. Sam doesn't get the concept of someone else being the goose, so whenever we say goose he just gets up and starts running in a circle around where we used to be sitting, we usually end up in a dogpile. Last week we made chocolate chip cookies for treats and this is a picture of the boys when they were done eating them. That's what I'd call some pretty happy boys!

So if anyone has some great ideas about what to do for FHE with preschoolers, I'm always looking to switch things up and try something new, let me know what you're doing!