Fun Pictures

Here are some of my favorite pictures and family happenings from the last two weeks.

We had a really fun week with lots of time outside. It got up to a blessedly beautiful 70 degrees and we were all really happy to enjoy being outside. We hit up parks, went on walks (or dinosaur-seeking adventures depending on who was in charge), jumped on the trampoline, and tried to soak up as much sun time as possible.

We sent Roy off to New York for 36 hours so he could take notes for a work meeting. He was happy to wake up his birthday morning at the Waldorf Hotel--that will probably be the fanciest place he'll ever spend his birthday. He got home just in time to celebrate with chicken tostados, cherry chocolate birthday cake, and presents. Abby gave him a bright green lunch bag. I'm not sure if that was upgrading his current panda bear lunch bag, but Roy graciously said thanks. Abby picked out the lunch bag weeks ago and was anxiously counting down the days until his birthday. We wrapped the present a couple weeks ago and she kept showing Roy the gift and it's hiding place.

Sam has recently gotten really into dressing up. The poor kid doesn't have many cool boy options of dress-up clothes. He loves to wear Abby's tiara, necklaces, and her fancy red church shoes. He loves to have things on his head. He's not a fan of hats, of course. Just headbands and girly stuff.

Abby attended her first big kid birthday party (meaning parents didn't have to stay). It was Fancy Nancy-themed and she came home decked out in a crown, feather boa, necklace, and rings. This is her pre-party picture. Can you see the excitement? She was so tired when she got home that she crashed on the couch.

Roy has the Bar this week. We'd appreciate any extra prayers for him on Tuesday and Wednesday. We are proud of him for sticking with it a second time around and quite excited to be done with all the studying. I have a to-do list waiting for him!

Chocolate Mud

We went to storytime at Barnes and Noble yesterday and met another 3-year-old girl. Abby and the other girl enjoyed talking about what they had in common. You know, the important things like blue front doors at their houses, My Little Pony toys, and the fact that they were both princesses. Then the other girl came to me and said, "I have brown eyes." I responded, "Yes you do. They are brown like chocolate." With a pleased smile, she asked, "What color are Abby's eyes?" "Abby's eyes are blue like the sky." The conversation quickly changed to other important things like going potty on the toilet and fancy hair-dos.

Five minutes later as we were getting into the car, Abby said, "Mom, her eyes weren't brown like chocolate. They were brown like mud."

Thank you for not saying that out loud in front of her, Abby. (But you have provided many laughs for me in the last 36 hours.)

Sam's Birthday Weekend

We celebrated Sam's first birthday from the time we woke up Friday morning until we went to bed Saturday night. It was so fun! We did a party with just the four of us on Friday and then had a party with Roy's side of the family on Saturday. Sam handled all the attention and excitement really well. He was so happy and loved spending time with the Zwahlen grandparents and three Zwahlen cousins. And of course, Abby being there was the icing on the cake. Sam adores his sister. For those of you who missed the festivities (which, really, is everyone who isn't a Virginia Zwahlen), what follows is the picture presentation of Sam's birthday weekend. We took tons of video too, but since it's 10+ minutes of video, we'll just share those with grandparents.

Friday Festivities:

All the presents from Freebairn relatives and our little family.

We were so excited to give Sam this ball popper. This picture demonstrates quite well Sam's initial reaction. Abby was thrilled and could barely sit still. Sam, on the other hand, wasn't even sure he wanted to be left sitting on the floor next to it. Now he's

warmed up to it and loves to chase the balls.

We ate cupcakes (with blue frosting, can you tell?). Sam dug right in.

Saturday Celebration:

We played "Pin the Wheel on the Car" with the four big cousins. Even Sam participated!

The results of the game. The two wheels closest to the right place were done by the two boys assisted by a parent and not wearing a blindfold. The other two were done by the biggest kids in attendance. Not bad!

We had spaghetti and meatballs for lunch, Sam's favorite meal (this week).

Sam's car cake.

Happy 1st Birthday, Sam!

Birthday Boy

Happy 1st Birthday to my Sam! Sam is so full of life, love, enthusiasm, energy, happiness, and joy that it is wonderful. His constant hugs and kisses make my life better every day. Sam truly exudes love. We all love you, little buddy!!!

Snow!

We got hit with a lot of snow this week and, for better or for worse (worse for Roy after he slipped...holding Sam), we ventured out in it a few times. In the middle of the storm, Abby insisted we get all suited up to make snow angels. She's been waiting for the snow to come so she could make a snow angel and once the snow completely covered the grass, we were out laying in it and waving our arms. Of course, ten minutes later you couldn't even see the indents we made, but we checked off that important item on the checklist.

Roy working from home on his snow day.

To his credit, he really did do work and took breaks playing with the kids.

Abby was also willing to help shovel the sidewalk and clean off the car. Roy very gladly took the help. The passenger side was immaculate!

We also enjoyed sledding with friends Clara, Sarah, and Gavin.

The girls warming up to the idea of sledding.

Round one down the big hill with Dad.

After scouting it out with Abby, Roy decided the big hill was okay for Sam too.

Sam has gotten really brave with trying new things, even if they might be a little dangerous. His new favorite toy is Abby's scooter. Or the dishwasher. It's a pretty close call which he enjoys more.

We're excited to celebrate your first birthday this week, Buddy! It's hard to imagine our lives without your mischievous smile, slobbery loving kisses, and quick laugh. We love you, Sam!

Three

Abby turned 3 a few weeks ago and it's like the floodgates of 3 opened up on us. We have entered the stage of "Why?". That is probably the most-said word that comes up in our house these days. And not just by Abby. :) In an effort to maintain a good mother-daughter relationship where Abby feels like she can ask me questions, I dutifully answered each WHY. The conversations began to spiral out of control. Now I limit myself to only answering a few WHYs for each subject and then try to turn it back on her by saying, "Why do you think..." Sometimes that works better than others.

"Can I use this?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because you asked."

"Why?"

"Because you wanted to use it."

"Oh. Why?"

"I have no idea. You tell me."

"No, you tell me why. I asked you."

"Who gave this to me?"

(Insert appropriate name)

"Why?"

"Because they love you so much."

"Why do they say I love you?"

"Because you're so nice, and cute, and great."

"Why?"

"Because you're my daughter."

"Oh. Why did you say because you're my daughter?"

"Because you are."

"Okay." (pause) "Why?"

Now Abby wants to be incredibly independent with going to the bathroom. Unfortunately, Sam wants to accompany her too and they both end up in tears because Sam's plans of playing in the toilet bowl were foiled and Abby is blocking him from both the toilet paper AND the flusher and Abby is so distracted she hasn't even gone potty yet and she wants Sam out but she doesn't want me to come in to get him. I have been assigned hallway duty and "don't come in, Mom!" rings out after each "Samuel David! Stop it!" On the plus side of this bathroom independence is the fact that Abby has decided she will no longer wear a diaper to bed. So in the last two weeks, she's done great and has only had a few accidents at night which overall is pretty impressive.

We have also entered the world of having opinions about clothing and hairstyle. Dresses and skirts are the optimal choice of clothing and hair choice changes each day. I don't know where she got the idea of being fancy since I'm in jeans and a sweater with a ponytail every day, but Abby "needs" a skirt/dress and a specific hairstyle. She cracks me up. We need to go shopping for this new wardrobe because we are quickly running out of skirts and warm tights!

Welcome to 3, Abby and family. It's a whole different world from 2.

Hilarious!

For our Family Home Evening activity, we played golf down our hallway. Sam was laughing so hard while he was hitting the ball with Roy that we started recording it. And of course Abby wanted her turn to record it. The next 4 seconds are what you would see from Abby's perspective behind the camera.