Does Life Get Any Better?

After a long and pretty "exciting" winter, we are thrilled to be outside playing at the park, going on walks, and doing yard work. I am thrilled we have daffodils growing in our yard--a bright spot of yellow does the heart some good after looking at a whole lot of white for 3 months. But even better than the excitement a daffodil brings is the thrill to watch Abby loving life and Sam smiling at me. Whenever either kid smiles, you can't help but love them even more. Ahhh, I love life!

These Days

We are really enjoying the sunshine we have gotten the last few days. On Thursday we went to the park in the morning, after naptime, and then, while I was fixing dinner, Abby convinced Roy to go on a walk around our house. And then, because those many hours outside weren't enough, we spent the hour after dinner out on the front porch with Roy playing guitar, Sam in the baby swing, and Abby playing with her water table and dictating the next song that Roy was to play. It was so much fun!

Sam really does not enjoy his tummy time these days, but we're not so surprised because Abby really didn't love it at all. Since Abby can't handle the extreme screaming that takes place (and yes, Sam has quite the set of lungs), she has resorted to spending tummy time with him. It's really sweet. And when Sam gets really upset, no matter where he is, Abby goes running over to sing to him. Abby is a wonderful big sister. And, as my Mor Mor says, it's a mutual admiration society--Sam loves her right back.

Abby was thrilled last week that "both kids have blue striped doggy jammies" so the kids wore them the same night and we had to take a picture. And since Sam was attached to the pacifier at that particular moment, Abby shoved one of hers in her mouth too.

For all those moments of insanity, feeling overwhelmed, and being outnumbered, our kids make us incredibly happy and bring more laughter than I could expect from any two people.

Sam's Stats

It may seem silly, but parents get proud about silly things. We had Sam's doctor appointment yesterday and found out that our now 5-week-old boy is 12 lbs 14 oz and 22". That means he's grown an inch and gained 4 pounds in 5 weeks. And all that growth makes us proud!

One Month

My mom requested some more pictures of Sam on our blog. I'm sure Grandma Z feels the same way. Here's Sam in his baseball outfit on his one month birthday and him in his cute church outfit. He has made a perfect transition into our lives. We love our boy!

Halloween Party

One afternoon this week, Abby decided it was time to have a Halloween party. She got all of us to dress up. We danced, ate a snack, and just had a good time. It's nice to have a child with unique brain.

Abby was just on my lap looking at these pictures and announced that we would have another Halloween party today. Lucky us!

Kids Will Be Kids

There must be some things that are ingrained in children that would happen no matter the environment, the parents, and the influence of other kids. This week, I witnessed Abby partaking in two of those activities and I'm a little embarrassed to say that instead of having some clever way of dealing with them so neither will ever happen again, I laughed. So I may be in for a long journey to break two specific kid activities.

A week ago, Abby was sitting next to me on the couch reading a book when I noticed that she was picking her nose. Immediately, I reminded her that the things in her nose are yuckies and that she should use a tissue and not her finger. This is not a new idea in our house. It's the end of February and it's been a bitterly cold winter. Abby responded to my very logical suggestion, "It's okay, Mom. I'll just eat it." and proceeded to do just that. I was too shocked and taken aback to be able to stop her in time, but you better believe she didn't trick me the second time her finger traveled back to her nostril and we raced to the bathroom, nursing baby in tow, with the offending finger clutched in my hands.

Yesterday, Abby and I were on the same couch watching a show on the computer when she stood up, bent over so her rear was in my face, and farted. She laughed once before sitting down and then said, "'Scuse me, Mama." I promise she has never, ever seen this done at our house and, I would hope, anywhere I have taken here.

In the nature vs. nurture argument, nature just scored twice.

Two Weeks of Catch-Up

Our last two weeks have had moments filled with busy-ness and moments of blessed calm. Luckily, Sam is incredibly patient with his ultra-loving, loud, busy big sister and she loves him. We really have been so blessed to have Abby accepting of our new pace of life. She is excited to tell people that she is the big sister. Here are a few of our highlights and funny moments from our recent days:

• Happy birthday to Roy! It was very fun to celebrate with his parents the weekend before his birthday and to be our boring, tired little family on the actual day of his birthday. We did a family nap in the afternoon and had leftover cake and ice cream before going to bed again. Luckily, Roy never complains when the invitation comes to sleep. He's a huge fan.

• While changing Sam's diaper one night, he was screaming bloody murder. Abby came up to me and said in her big sister voice, "Mom, Sam cries all day long."
• I gave Abby her first haircut. I really just trimmed 1/2" off and it was just in an effort to make her hair extra curly. Mission accomplished!

• Abby has had two #2 successes on the potty in the last couple days. We are so proud of her! Along the big kid vein, Abby has also had two sleeps in her big girl bed. This has been a several month struggle so we are thrilled. Even if we did have to use the incentive of a Tinkerbell movie for 10 sleeps. (Did you notice I used the word incentive and not bribe? Sometimes I wonder if there is a difference...)
• Over the last four or five nights, Sam has had at least one bout of 4 hours of sleep each night. I LOVE it!
• I took the kids to church on Sunday. On my own, by the way. They both did fantastic and it was good to be back among our friends there.

Can you tell how much she loves him?