Sam’s out-y

I’m sure you’ve noticed Sam’s belly.  He’s had an umbilical hernia since birth, and our plan has always been to ‘watch it’.  Thankfully, it doesn’t bother him a bit.  Funny, sweet story-we had a new babysitter, and she texted me to make sure he was supposed to have the bump on his belly!  LOVE that she was concerned enough about our boy to reach out to me!!Well, we met with the pediatric surgeon the other day, and he said that all is well for now.  They don’t recommend children under two going under general anesthesia (increased risks of certain learning issues, etc.), so while it’s something that will need surgical correction, right now it’s considered elective, and we’re electing to wait.  We’ll revisit the issue if we notice any changes or after he turns two.  For now, we’ll just keep saying that he’s so cute, he just can’t contain it all! :)

From my phone

We had a really great April!  Hope you did, too!

Ok!

Sam’s so agreeable.  His favorite word right now is ‘ok’.  And his favorite thing to do-sit in daddy’s Jeep and ride up and down the driveway!

More adventures of Buzz and Woody

M: Jack, can I take a picture of you with your new friends, please?
J:  Ok, mom.  Buzz, Woody, this is a picture.  (Also heard him say:  This is my car. and This is my bedroom.)Jack’s still pretty protective of his friends, but Sam snuck in a snuggle before bed last night.And tonight, Jack brought Buzz to supper at church to introduce him to everyone.  He’s got quite a grip on him here, but he did let Lowndes fly him around-she must be quite the charmer!More to come with these fun friends!  I’m not really a fan of commercial characters-what is it with these two that I love?!

Our New Friends

So, since Jack and I went to Toy Story on Ice and since we’ve been watching Toy Story, Jack’s been pretending he’s Buzz Lightyear-and every now and then, Woody.  The other night, Mark decided to invite those two friends over, and two days later, Mr. Craig dropped them off!  Jack saw the box on the steps and was SO EXCITED!! He started flying him around the house and checking out every button with complete excitement and gratitude.  It was so fun to watch!  I grabbed my big camera and started snapping the first moments of this little friendship! He also met Woody, and loved him!  He gave him a hug, a ride on his shoulders and introduced him to Buzz.  Love this imagination!This Buzz power cuff is pretty neat, too!  Laser light and sounds, night vision, and night lights to boot!  Definitely makes him feel like the real Buzz! This one?  He was checking out the new friends, but Jack was not interested in sharing just yet, and Sam was quite happy with his utensils! Crazy baby! 

We’re sure having fun with these new friends!  He’s acting just like Andy does in the movie, flying them around the house, shoulder rides, having conversations with them, and it’s so fun to watch!  These guys are real to him (even though he’ll stop sometimes and say things like, “Mom, Buzz can’t close his eyes to sleep because he’s just pretend.”) and it reminds me of when I played with my baby dolls.  I’m not a huge fan of a lot of plastic or character toys, but Buzz and Woody are welcomed to stay!

Ethan’s Baptism Day!

Our sweet nephew Ethan was baptized today, and he was such a good boy!  His parents made a promise to raise him as a child of God-what a blessing for him!  He wore our family baptismal gown, just like his big sister, and was the perfect newest Christian!  That boy, I could eat him up! We had a yummy lunch at the Grant’s after the service, and enjoyed all the family time!  Unfortunately the weather wasn’t so great, so my pictures of this wonderful day are seriously lacking.  I did get these two goofy boys, though!  (And here’s some good parenting in action-Sam eating a carrot on the steps while being choked hugged by his brother!  Nice!) Ethan, you’re a blessing to our family, and you will continue to be in our prayers!  We love you!And just for fun, me and the boys in the gown on our baptism days!

Videos of the boys-different and alike!

I don’t want to forget how they each said ‘please’ in the beginning.  So different.

And I don’t want to forget how their daddy can make them laugh-even with a scary roar!  We’re all alike in that we think Mark is the best!

These few second clips of the boys growing up are priceless to me!  If you’re not using your phone’s video capability, I REALLY encourage you to start!

Cottle Strawberry Farms

The boys and I headed to pick strawberries with Clark, Katherine, and Patrick on Tuesday, and boy was it fun!  It totally makes me feel like a 1950s housewife when we’re there, and I love it!  Jack mostly loved running up and down the rows of berries just like last year, but Sam-he was TOTALLY in to it! Jack loves Buzz Lightyear right now, so we heard, “To infinity and BEYOND!” several times as up and down the rows he went! Sam, though, got busy!  He saw me pick one berry and then knew exactly what to do.  He picked one, squished it, picked another, ate it, grabbed more, and continued to have a ball!  He was a MESS!!, but I just let him go.  He was having a blast! He dumped the bucket a few times, but that was no problem!  He just took a seat and played with those for a bit! Katherine’s a pro, so she was kind enough to help Sam along the way! Focused!  Focused, I tell ya! Jack found something he wanted to climb on when we were leaving-a REAL John Deere! Thanks for the super fun play date, Lees!  We used all our berries to make jam, so we need to go back!!  And thanks, Clark, for helping me basically bathe Sam!  That boy was covered in strawberries!