Happy 2nd Birthday! (posted 3/26)

Boy, did this guy have fun at his party!

He got lots of great presents and had a ball being the center of attention! The highlights of the party - - big turtle, little turtle and "Aunt Bail" (Aunt Bell). He's mentioned her name almost every day since. Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated our little boy's birthday, and a special thanks to Gram who saved all of my Sesame Street toys all these years. It made decorating for this party very easy - and very retro!!

              Waiting, waiting, waiting for Granny...                         Finally!  They're here!!

Pinch, pinch, pinch!

Enjoying birthday snacks with Gram

                               Great-Grandma                                  Having a blast being the center of attention!

Cowboy Sam made an appearance, much to the delight of the Grannies and Grandpas

He liked his cake this year!

               Helping Mommy put the finishing touches on the birthday cupcakes before our guests arrived!

                                             Our Sesame Street friends helped us celebrate!

Happy Birthday Sam!

Straight A's (posted 3/20)

95%. 90%. 90%. 

As in percentile for head, height and weight.  Sam got these "straight As" at his two-year-old check up.  Doc G. wrote on our take-home sheet "Big Boy".  He said we can go from whole milk to 2% milk.  Ya think?

He asked me if Sam was talking and I said he was.  He tried to get him to talk but Sam would only glare at him and bury his head in my shoulder.  Dr. G. continued his exam and later tried to get Sam to talk again - asked him his name and how old he was.  Sam wasn't having any of it and gave him the cold-shoulder again.  Doc asked me - "Are you SURE he's talking?" - not in a joking way, but with genuine concern.  HA!! 

Not to worry

Dr. G.  This kid talks.  Clearly.  In sentences.  ALL DAY LONG.  He just doesn't want to talk to the guy who jabs shots in his thigh, shines lights in his eyes and cleans out his ears with a long metal spoon!  Can you blame him? :)

Not only will Sam not talk to the doctor, he starts crying the minute they call us back to our exam room.  He screams when the nurse puts the measuring tape around his head and when I set him on the scale to be weighed.  It's major drama - so unnecessary, and so loud.  I know they're always glad to see us go.  Despite the screaming I felt Sam deserved a treat after we left the doctor's office so we stopped by the mall playground on our way home.  I took this picture before we left the doctor, knowing I'd taken one the year before, after his one-year-old check up.  Same carseat, too - look how much taller he is now.  Notice his red, tear-stained face, too.  Poor guy.

Happy Straight A's Sam!

Snow Days (posted 3/20)

It started about 3:30 in the morning...t

he tap-tap-tap of sleet against the window. Then the wind started blowing harder and harder. One thick sheet of ice later, we were trapped inside for what felt like FOREVER.

We made the best of it, huddling on the couch to keep warm.  The power went out for a short time, so we quickly took showers before the hot water ran out.  We weren't out of power more than a few hours, and once it was back on we kept busy by making cookies, watching cartoons and playing games.  We also built a fort, "Sam's Fort" we called it, and it was a great place to have lunch, snacks and read books.

While it was a fun adventure for the first few hours, it got old fast.  And by the fourth day of being inside with an almost-two-year-old I was climbing the walls.  We were all climbing the walls.  No one had really anticipated the storm would be quite that bad and for that long, so we were short on food, activities to keep us busy and patience!  There were no winter walks or making snowmen this time - it was all ice and very very cold outside.  And inside, the house was a

disaster

.  It's a good thing this kind of weather is unusual for Texas - I don't think I could handle being cooped up like that more than once in a great while...

Books on Mommy's Bed

It started out as a great way to end the day.

Each night, twenty minutes or so before bedtime, Sam and I, (and sometimes Daddy, too) would gather up binkie, all three blankies and a basket of library books and cuddle up in my bed and read.  We even call it "Books On Mommy's Bed".  Much more comfortable than reading in the rocking chair in Sam's room!  Unlike many activities we attempt throughout the day, Sam never needs convincing to go read with me and in fact, often asks for it on his own. 

Lately though, Books on Mommy's Bed has turned into

Roll Around and Be Wild on Mommy's Bed

, all the while totally ignoring the story I'm trying to read.  Not cool, Samuel.  Not. Cool.