Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Sparkly Teeth

At Sam's last dental appointment I was so proud of him for letting the dental hygienist clean his teeth that I took him shopping to buy a special treat afterwards.  I really wanted to go to Dairy Queen for a Blizzard, but I figured I shouldn't be encouraging ice cream after his teeth just got cleaned.  Anyway, he picked out this stuffed toy.  He said, "Mommy, look it's sparkly, just like my teeth!"  He was so proud of his sparkly white teeth :)
 

Sunday afternoons

After church on Sundays, you can almost always find us at our favorite bagel shop.  
Here are my two big boys enjoying lunch together!




Smile!

I asked Sam to smile for the camera...this is what I got.


 Ok, Sam you can smile better than that!  Let's try it again...this is what I got the second time.


 Third time...


I give up.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Random thoughts of a three year old

I just wanted to write down this funny conversation that Sam and I had today --before I forget it.

We are driving down the road and Sam sees a bird on the side of the road.

Sam:  Mommy, that bird needs to find his mommy! (He's thinking of the book Are you my Mother?)

Me:  Yes, who is his mommy?  What does she look like?

Sam:  She's not a dog.  She's not a cow.  It's mommy is an elephant. (He says some silly things these days...)

Me:  An elephant!?!  Really? No, his mommy is a bird!

Sam:  An elephant eats grass and leaves with its trunk. 

Me:  Really?  Do you eat with a trunk?

Sam:  No, Mommy!  I put food in my mouth with my hands!  Only elephants have trunks.  I don't have a trunk.

Me:  Oh.  Ok.  

(I'm thinking the conversation is over, then he says...)

Sam:  Mommy, Spider man doesn't have a trunk either.

Random!

Friday, July 20, 2012

Look Who's Crawling!


Click here to see the video!

He is also jumping and growling...here's a clip of those awesome skills.

Click here to see the Jumping Dino-Baby Video

Sam taught his little brother how to make these sounds.  Sometimes, I'll be driving down the road and all I can hear are the boys in the back seat growling and roaring like dinosaurs.  I think this is how they prefer to communicate with each other!  They really do have fun together.  Sam likes to entertain Patrick.  If he can't get Patrick to laugh, he thinks something is wrong.  With disappointment in his voice, Sam will say, "Mommy, Patrick not laughing." The good news is that Sam usually does get a good giggle out of Patrick.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Sam's Splish-Splash Birthday Party

We decided to throw a "low-key" birthday party for Sam this year.  It's funny how we thought we would make everything low-key, but somehow it was still a three day celebration for Sam!

Thursday, the night before his birthday, we had our family over for pizza, cake, and ice cream.  This was the gift-fest.  Sam was showered with presents from his aunts, uncles, and grandparents.    He got a Buzz Lightyear toy, a talking Woody doll, a lawn mower that blows bubbles, pool toys, a new seek and find book, a Cars sleeping bag, and a Braves baseball cap.  He also got some fun cards that play music and talk.  He's already worn those little batteries out!

Then...we did cupcakes at school on his birthday.  I was proud of the baseball cupcakes this year...they look a little more like baseballs than the ones I did last year!  The class sang happy birthday and enjoyed the cupcakes with each other.



Then...came the party with his friends.  We invited a few of his little buddies over for some backyard splish splash fun.  We had a mini- jump house that his friend Carter let us borrow and two baby pools for this kids to play in.  I think the kids had a fun time.  Patrick slept through the whole party!  After the party was over, Sam actually said to me, "Mommy, I need a nap".  I don't think he's ever asked for nap time!  Here are a few pictures from the party.




Happy Birthday, Sam!  We love you!

Friday, July 13, 2012

Three Years Ago Today...

It's hard to believe that it was three years ago today we were getting up early and driving to the hospital to have our baby boy.  I remember being afraid...of lots of things-


the hospital

the pain

the spinal

the surgery

the recovery

and most of all of becoming a mom

I was afraid that I wouldn't be a good mom.  That I wouldn't be able to love my child enough or the right way.  I'm not that great with words, but I can say becoming a mom has been one of the greatest blessings that God has ever given me.  I love being a mom.  I may not be the best mom in the world, but I can honestly say that I love my children more than I ever thought was possible.  It's a special kind of love that I wish every woman could experience.  We thank God every day for blessing our lives with Sam and Patrick. 

Happy Birthday, Sweet Sam!  
We love you more than you'll ever know.  

Friday, July 6, 2012

Happy 4th of July!




We woke up early this 4th of July to get ready for our first 5K together...me and both boys.  Alan made plans to swim and bike the Half Iron Man course in Augusta with his friends and so I decided that I'd take Sam and Patrick to the Bare Bones 5K at the Canal while Daddy was away.  

We didn't win any medals, that's for sure.  Pushing the boys in the double jogger is quite a workout for me...even when I'm not running in a race. This is a picture from a couple of months ago, not from race day.  It the only picture I have of the double jogger right now :)



Anyway, I had a great workout, Patrick had a great nap, and Sam kept our conversation going the whole time.  I thought I'd be able to listen to my iPod during the run, but I kept turning it off to answer Sam's questions so I just gave up and turned it off after 2 songs.  Sam got out and tried to run part of the race, but he got a little bashful and ended up getting back in the stroller after about 5 minutes.  

After the race, we went to the park and that's where the boys really had fun :)


 This was the first time I put Patrick in the swings at the park.  Love that smile...






After our hard morning workouts and the park, all four of us crashed for nap time.  It was such a blessing that both the boys fell asleep at the same time (it doesn't always work out that way).  Alan and I probably needed nap time more than they did :)

After naps, we headed to my parents for dinner and then to Dairy Queen for dessert...yummy.  We watched the Washington, D.C. fireworks from the Capitol on TV when we got home.  We were satisfied with the televised version this year :)
It was a great Independence Day!

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Best Invention Ever

These carts make shopping with a toddler fun.  Sam actually asks to go to the grocery store with me...as long as I let him drive the car :)  I dropped Patrick off at Mom's and took Sam to the store today.    It was a nice little date with my big boy.  The man at the deli asked if I had the next Dale Earnhardt in my buggy.  I hope not.


PA likes it!

Sleeping and eating have been two challenges we've faced with Patrick that we didn't experience with Sam.  He doesn't like much food.  For a while he enjoyed yogurt and apples, but lately he won't even touch those.  As soon as I think we are making progress with his eating, something happens to cause a set-back.  Either an ear infection, stomach bug, or something else like that can cause him to not eat.  Now it's the stomach bug that he's had for a few days.  Started as a fever last Tuesday, then a rash on his legs came Thursday, and then the diarrhea started on Saturday. Other than the obvious problems that come with baby blow outs...Patrick is his normal happy self--except at meal time.

Although, he did enjoy this popsicle yesterday.  I find myself remembering that Life cereal commercial anytime Patrick enjoys eating something.  "Mikey likes it!"






Sam had a rough day yesterday.  He stayed home from school because of the stomach bug.  Poor baby.


Sunday, July 1, 2012

Jumping off the Diving Board

Here is a short video off Sam jumping off the diving board.  He has done so well with his swimmies this summer.  We didn't choose to do swimming lessons this year, but I think he is doing pretty well considering how little we've been to the pool.  This week, his favorite thing to do at the pool is jumping off the diving board.  I apologize for the poor video quality...I took the video with my phone in one hand and Patrick on the other hip.  Multitasking...



Introducing Samuel Grady Rogers