Busy ride home

No one can say that Sam does not find creative ways to entertain himself. On our trip home from Bible study he insisted on playing with his "telephone" that he made out of styrofoam cups. Since this seemed like such a harmless request it was granted. Along the way he was quiet and I could here him scratching at the cup. I looked back in the mirror only to see that he had made a solid beard out of stickers. I thought that that was all he was doing until I pulled into the garage to see this: Stickers in the hair, on his chest, on his legs and even his back. Pretty cute, that is until I had to remove them from his hair OUCH!!!!

I'm "DEW"

It was exactly 2 years ago today that our world changed and we were blessed with a precious blessing that we named Samuel. Everyone says how fast time flies and that these kiddos change and grow in the blink of an eye. I have to admit... "everyone" was right. I can't believe our baby is already 2!! Happy birthday sweet boy!

birthday
1 year old

2nd birthday

Just ask him how old are you and he will proudly say "DEW" with a huge smile on his face!

finger painting

What do you do on a beautiful sunny afternoon?

make a huge mess with FINGERPAINTS!!

Sam had a good time, but was a little unsure as to why it was "ok" to make a such big mess with these paints verses anything else he attempts to do. ~ mommy was even encouraging him to make a mess. so confusing ha ha

Penny saved is a penny earned

Samuel just got a new piggy bank. This one is cool because it is a see~through green plastic. We decided to put all of his pennies in the see through bank and keep all the silver coins and cash in his original piggy bank. Sam had a grand old time putting the pennies in the slot. Now every time he sees the bank he expects to put something in it... too bad we don't always have change on hand ha ha.
this is serious business!hmmm, this could be a problem. Is Samuel is actually kissing the piggy bank? "for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" I Tim 6:10

Good times with good friends

Can it really be possible? 2 years since I have seen Danna and her family? 2 years? Way too long that is for sure. Danna and I met back in college and were pretty much inseparable until 2 years ago. Having husbands, kids, jobs and living 5 hours away makes a huge difference. It is just far enough to be too far! Danna and I have pretty much always been on the same paths. Katie was born just 3 months before Samuel and believe it or not we are both due to have our 2nd children on the same day! Katie and Sam "chatting it up"It was a quick visit, but so good to see my friend and her family. Here are just a few pics of the weekend. true to form, I wait until the last minute to bring out the camera which is when the kiddos aren't in the right frame of mind ha. Notice Katie in her gown?! Apparently she refused to get dressed so she got to head home in her pj's.Samuel and Katie

Danna and KellyThe bellies.
(For those of you who are wondering... no, I am not a giant, and no Danna is not a shrimp. I am taller than she is, but I had on my heeled boots which add a couple of inches.)

Kenneth, Katie and Danna

more snow

well ladies and gentlemen, weatherman Pete was right... our 90% chance of snow turned into 100% around 12:30 this afternoon. We got a nice accumulation of 2-3 inches this afternoon. Samuel really enjoyed playing in it and trying to make "baaa's" (balls) out of it!

Spring? Winter? what season is this?

Wow! Crazy... that is about all I can say about this weeks weather. About 1 week ago it was 88 degrees. It cooled down some but this weekend was in the mid to upper 70's. Sunday the cool weather literally blew in with the wind gusts of 40-50 mph. I was very excited to see our pear tree in full blossom on Monday afternoon. Then, Monday evening it started to SNOW!!! It was beautiful, no pictures though since it was night time. We awoke to about 2 1/2 inches of snow on Tues. morning and most of the snow was melted before noon.

This picture was taken at about 10am on Tues. Notice the sun shining, the pear in full bloom and the melting snow on the ground!

Tuesday and today were absolutely gorgeous out (upper 60's)! As I am watching the news right now they say a cold front is coming with a 90% chance of snow accumulation again tomorrow!! CRAZY!!!

The playboy

This week we got to have a fun house guest over. Mei Ling came to stay with us while my folks went on vacation. Samuel LOVES it when Mei Ling comes to visit, though he also LOVES to pester her. For some reason he just can't keep his sweet little hands off of her. He has to be touching her or laying beside her or attempting to lay on her at all times. She is a GREAT sport. She is so sweet and will put up with all of his antics. Don't get me wrong, he does have some moments when he is sweet to her, like when he laid on the bottom step and "chatted" with her.
After snapping this picture, he decide he need to 'pose' for the camera. He was quite comical as he continued to give me different positions on the staircase. This is the photo session I had: What a HAM!! Where he came up with this is beyond me, but it sure made me chuckle! He would go from pose to p;ose as I snapped away! there are a few more pics, but I won't bore you all ha ha

Lil' Stitches

Hello everyone out there. 2 of Kirk's cousins are launching a new store for children's clothing. They just put their website out there in cyberspace and I thought I'd help them out by sharing it with you. To see the website go HERE. Thanks for checking it out! They really have some adorable clothes (fine quality!!)

poll outcome

Not sure if you were all aware or not...
The outcome of the poll for our sweet miracle's name was not surprising. Samantha was the clear winner. I am a little disappointed that Pru or Ritama didn't win, but for now it is Sam for all. I have to admit it will be easier to sign cards and things this way (Kirk, Kelly and Sam2) Matt, thanks for the suggestion of "Mattie~ gotta admit, we hadn't even thought of that one! ha Only 3 1/2 more months to go and the official name will be revealed, who knows Sam might be it! Thanks to all who voted

the bucket head

Question: What happens when you put everything you see on your head?

answer: it gets stuck!

It was stuck and obviously did not feel very good, but I had to grab the camera before I would remove it. This were 2 reasons for this. #1 it was funny and I needed to keep the memory #2 maybe, just maybe it would teach him to stop putting things over his head and face (like plastic bags for instance.) He was none too happy with me for prolonging his predicament that is for sure! Not sure if it has really taught a lesson yet or not, but this bucket has not gone on the head since!

friendly RAK

Hi all of you "lurkers" out there!! Here is something fun to do... a friend of mine is having a RAK on her blog (Random Act of Kindness) all you have to do is send her a note and a picture of what brings you "JOY" click here to see her blog site and the official 'rules' for her RAK. Only a couple of days left to do it though ~ she is drawing a winner on the 21st.

grand central station prank

Check out this video This was an experiment in Grand Central Station on Feb 1st.
Over 200 New Yorkers froze in place for 5 minutes at this busy train staion. I can only imagine what I would think if I was to see this event.
Watch the video then click on the backstory which gives a lot of info on the prank. Very clever!

Poll

Here is your chance to allow your voice to be heard. We are working on names for this new little miracle. Check out the poll to the left and be sure to vote. Your opinion counts (well, maybe hee hee)

I am also taking suggestions should you have any... feel free to leave a suggestion under the comments section of this posting... (not sure how to have you leave a suggestion under the poll)

The last of OHIO

Why is it that you go all the way across the country to see family and friends that you only see every few years, have your camera and video camera with you at all times to capture many memories, but by the time you get home you realize that you haven't gotten any good pictures (and very few at that) of the people that you went to see? Then when you finally do remember to get a picture the baby wants nothing to do with getting his picture taken!!! (Or, am I the only one out there that this happens to?) I was sad to see that I did not get any more pictures than I did, but will share the ones that I did get with you...

Great grandpa Walter, Great grandma Betty, Grandpa "PA" and of course Samuel (this picture was taken just about a minute after samuel fell flat on his back and conked his head on the floor.)

Samuel with great grandma OpalSamuel with Tracy- a long time friend of mine (since 7th grade!!)

OHIO part 2

Samuel meets snow!!



Samuel got to play in the snow outside of his great grandma's house on Wed. He wasn't quite sure what to think of it at first but did like it (and even tasted it) He then spotted the snow shovel in the background and proceeded to "shovel" the snow on the neighbor's sidewalk. He was a pretty hard worker (until his shoe came off and his foot felt the cold wetness!)

Yes, for those of you who are very observant... yes, we lost a mitten so a navy sock was used as a substitute. If was pretty funny looking and we called it his "stump" but it did the trick and kept those little fingers nice and toasty!

While we were there it did snow overnight and there was more snow on the ground by Thurs. but seeing as though this was the afternoon that we were heading home, I decided not to allow him to play in it. I did not want to have to worry about wet clothes or changing him since we were already packed up and ready for the airport.

OHIO

Last week Sam and I made a quick last minute trip to Ohio to visit with family. My parents were already going and decided to see if Samuel could go. Apparently they did not think that they could handle him with all of the traveling etc and so asked if his "nanny" could come along as well. As it turned out I was available and able to change a couple of my appts. so off we went. It was really good to see the relatives, though it was a tiring trip. Sam was a trooper (as always )and just seemed to go with the flow. His entire schedule was turned upside down and naps were missed, but he remained in a pleasant mood.

Though I always have the camera with me, I tend to forget to take it out and capture those precious memories. No pics of the airport or the plane ride, though I must say Samuel enjoyed both! He was very interested in the man sitting beside us on the plane even though the man wanted nothing to do with Sam. Samuel would try everything he could think of to get this man's attention, but to no avail. When the man was resting his eyes, Sam would just stare at him and then wave at him. When the man took a drink from his water bottle, Samuel would take a drink from his sippy cup. He would put his water bottle in the pouch in front of him and then the sippy cup made it tto the pouch in front of us. It was pretty cute, and it kept Samuel entertained for a little bit. He thought sitting on mommy's lap got old pretty fast, but did enjoy the perks that came with it. (lots of candy treats, sips of mommy's drink from the actual cup, and lots of singing and talking.) He also thought it was pretty cool to be able to go to the row in front of him and find Pa and Ma (with more treats and actual coke from the cup!)

We arrived in Ohio to brrrr cold weather. It must have been cold to Samuel as well, as he never fought once when I put the hat upon his head! Mom and dad bought him a coat just before we left (thankfully) knowing how cold it was suppose to be.

After landing and checking into the hotel we headed over to the activities building at the church that my mom was raised in as well as Rod and myself. (Grandpa continues to go there) Samuel was greeted with quite the welcoming committee! DeAnna, Jeffery and AliAnna were very excited to see him. Samuel is not used to that kind of reception and at first was a little taken back, but I think he really started to like all of the attention!

AliAnna and Jeffery greet Sam

Here is Jeffery carrying Samuel

DeAnna and Samuel "chatting it up"

DeAnna, Samuel, and Jeffery

Everyone enjoyed playing with the balls
Samuel and my cousin Jeff
Samuel loved DeAnna... she would go wherever he wanted to go

Busy weekend

Saturday was haircut day. Sam has been looking quite "scruffy" lately so it was time yet again for another haircut. This is his 4th haircut, though his first 2 were given by me (that is when he lost his cute curls) I wasn't able to get pictures of his first "real" haircut as I had to hold him on my lap. I thought I was going to have to hold him again this time because as soon as he sat in the chair he started to cry and cling onto me. He then saw daddy sitting in the chair next to him as he was preparing for his haircut. Sam then decided he was a "big boy" and sat there as though he did it all of the time! He is pretty good and was even better once he was able to hold a comb in each hand.

After his haircut and a good nap, Sam was able to go to Joshua's 1 year birthday party. As you can see he decided he needed to be right in the middle of things when there were presents being opened. (he had a hard time at home keeping his hands off of the present we brought ha ha)

Josh was so excited about his new cell phone that he did not even notice Sam and Matthew eyeing (and later opening) the big present behind him!!

Hope you had a super birthday Josh. Thanks for letting Sam help you with your presents!

New Cell Phone

Check out the new cell phone that I am going to get once my current contract is up...

click on: CELL PHONE

Sonogram

Today was the much anticipated sonogram. It is a bittersweet time for me, I can't wait to see the baby, but I worry about what all could be wrong with the development of him. God is so good, according to the sono everything seems to be forming perfectly. Of course Kirk and I wanted to find out the gender of our precious little one. I was so convinced that he was a boy, but when the sonographer showed the area with the legs wide open for perfect viewing, I realized that "he" was a "SHE!" I looked over to Kirk and said "it's a GIRL!" then I turned to the sonographer and said right?! Yes, she confirmed it (then proceeded to tell me not to go to Vegas) The perinatologist confirmed it twice as well (I told him I needed the confirmation, otherwise this was going to be one of the pinkest/frilliest little boys around ha ha) She was quite active throughout the sono, it seems her whole body moves when she moves an arm or leg. I have a feeling we have another "high energy" child brewing! We are so excited to be a part of this exciting adventure and can't wait to see what the future holds!

न्यू Year

This year has been pretty good so far.

~I get to hang out with this sweet face every day

~The weather has been great! It has been in the mid to upper 70's since Sat! I know it won't last long, but it is nice to have some warmer days in the midst of winter. I did appreciate the cooler weather last week though, we had a fire in the fireplace several nights in a row! I love to watch the fire and hear the crack and pop of the wood.

~'Christmas' is officially gone from my house (though it is always a little sad to put it away)

~I have been able to feel little "flutters" in my belly. I am looking forward to being able to really feel the baby move. (and curious as to whether this one will flip and roll as much as Samuel did.) If only we would have known then what we know now. Samuel never really kicked much, he would, however, flip and flop all around. This was apparently a precursor to his extremely energetic self (as yes, he still flips and flops all the time ha)

~My car will be able to be fixed this week. We will take it to the shop in the am.

~Kirk has really enjoyed his Wii

~my dear friend from college (the one who is due on the same day as we are) has already been able to see her miracle (baby) on sono and knows what she is having (though she won't share until we have ours!!-no fair!)

~Only 4 more days until we get to see our sweet miracle on sono. (and take a peek at the gender)

~The unfortunate thing is that I saw gas cross the barrier- it was $3.01 today. It is mid winter... what will it cost this summer?

Happy 2008!

Hope you all had a happy new year and have been able to start 2008 right. One good thing about being pregnant... I don't have to come up with which crazy diet I have to start this week... but believe me, I will have more than enough weight to worry about come June. Then I will be the one looking at the best fad diets while all the rest of my friends will be enjoying their new swimsuit bods!! UGH

click here to see a funny ad that Kirk sent me. It just cracks me up!