Weeks in Review ~ 10/19 & 10/26

 I've been son inspired by Blue Eyed Bride's series this month on creating white space.  It has come at just the right time, as my October has been filled to the brim.  I will say that while usually extremely full nights and weekends aren't great for me, I've mostly been left feeling so thankful for our family and friends and the things we're able to do together.  Here at the end of the month, I am starting to wear out though!  Here's a quick catch-up of what we've done over the last 2 weeks.

We've been to church and have been thankful that our shoes covered our only clean socks.

We've seen glorious sunrises on the mid-point mark of our drive (yes, Sam and I leave in the dark).

We've been fascinated by The Polar Express.
 

We've celebrated Camden's birthday at Chick-Fil-A and Sweet Frog with our sweet friends.

We've practiced our smiles for family pictures and gotten some great ones that don't even show the sweat or tension I was experiencing.

We've attended a Fall Festival at Avery's school, where Avery discovered that fun in the corn leaves a dust on your hands.

We've developed a love for babies.

We've prayed, but not before sampling a piece of cheese.

We've watched "Kevin."

We've attended a fall festival at our neighbor church.

We've also had meetings, after-school school commitments, dance, Bible Zone, a pancake supper at church, Barker's first birthday party, and fun on the farm.  Ned was hit with the stomach bug yesterday, and I think Sam and I have had mild versions as well.  That turned some family outings this weekend into mother-daughter outings and postponed the Premier Jewelry party I had scheduled yesterday.  He is on the mend now and we're praying everyone else stays well, because this week is full of fall fun as well.

Friday Farm Fun

Our Friday was filled with tons of farm fun.  Avery's class and the 3yo class traveled to Pineview Greenhouse to enjoy some fall festivities there.  Luckily, they did not have the scorching heat that our family had there a few weeks ago.  They fed the animals, ran through the maze, picked a pumpkin, and planted a pansy.  Avery chose to have Ned meet her there so that she could ride the bus.

Sam had his very first field trip that afternoon to Turtle Creek with his Jen-Jen buddies.  Jen-Jen invited her past babies who have siblings with her now to come, so Avery and Ned met Sam and I there.  The kids had a great time playing on the hay, feeding and petting the animals, and bumping along on the hayride.  The tractor even stopped us at the pumpkin patch so that the kids could pick their pumpkin right off the vine.  The owners, Blair and Jenny, are longtime family friends and go above and beyond to make the trip special for each child.  If you want to pet an animal, sit on the cow, or slide down the hay one more time, they make sure it happens.  Avery enjoyed her visits in 2011 and 2012, and before I know it I'll be looking back at all of Sam's trips thinking how much he's grown.

We skipped out on the maze since my children are little alarms for meal times.  Turtle Creek is just a few minutes away from Yaya and Poppa's, so we picked up dinner from Maryz Cafe and had a good meal with them.  We are not only thankful for fun fall outings but for the people who love and care for our children each day and the friendships they have in those places.

Week in Review ~ 10/12

The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play.  Basically we sat around this week waiting for the Cat in the Hat to roll in.  I don't think I've ever seen so much drizzle, mist, rain, and pure dreariness in my life.

We had our regular Sunday morning at church on Sunday.  Avery and I played Candy Land for about 3 minutes before she took a rest.  She would much rather take the princesses and the cards and make up her own game.  That night we my brother-in-law and his girlfriend came to town and we went out to celebrate his birthday with Ned's parents.

Monday night Avery and I set out for Bible Zone, and shortly after that Avery and I both returned home.  She didn't want me to leave and cried two different times, so I just brought her home.  She was asleep before 7:30 so I hope she was just tired.  I could stay and wait for her but then I lose an hour with Sam on Mondays.

On Wednesday, Avery's class and the three-year-old class traveled to the fire station.  Ned met them there and got a few pictures.  Avery is very proud that her daddy is a fireman and had been counting down the days until they went for a visit.

I think I traveled a zillion miles on Thursday.  After school I picked up Sam and took him to Conway Photo for his 18-month pictures {a tad late}.  He was very slow to warm up, but thanks to the patience of Carol and Lynn, and some fun toys, they turned out great.  Sam and I then drove the 45 minutes home and met Ned and Avery in the parking lot of Bojangles.  I talked to Avery for a minute or two while Ned got Sam in the truck, then left Avery crying for me to get in the front seat and eat dinner with them.  They went home and I went to a wake for my principal's husband.  Avery was just falling asleep when I got home, but I woke her up and cuddled with her for a few minutes.

We celebrated the end of the week with Mexican Friday night.

Avery and I had a girls' day Saturday with some shopping in Richmond.  It was not a beautiful day for an open-air mall, and the train wasn't running, but we had fun.  I had serious shopping to do for jeans and shoes for me, and Avery hung right with me without having to ride in the stroller.  We shopped, had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, and then shopped some more, walking in yucky mist the whole time.  We made stops at Barnes and Noble and Target on the way home.

I was happy to get home and snuggle with this guy.  He had a good week too.

19 Months

Dear Sam,

You are 19 months old today!  It is so hard to believe that this is the last of your teen months.  You are growing so quickly, and each day I see more and more little boy and a little less baby.

We have no new growth stats, but surely you are growing, because people can't stop saying how you're as big as Avery.  They are correct.  Your belly is hanging out of your 18 month short-sleeve shirts that we can't put away because of the heat.  For fall I bought 24 month clothes and they have a little room to grow.  I've also bought some 2T which is still a little long.  You wear a size 6.5 shoe and a size 4 diaper.

Eating a variety of foods is still not your strength, but since you continue to grow I try not to worry too much.  You still don't try too many unfamiliar things, and if you do, they don't stay in your mouth.  You're even eating less of some previously well-eaten foods.  We can still count on fruit, applesauce, fruit and veggie pouches, yogurt, and cheese.  You get a plate with what we're eating plus some of your favorites to keep everyone happy.  You have 2 cups of milk a day and drink lots of water in between.

You are still on your same sleeping schedule, waking between 6-6:30 a.m., napping at 1 p.m. for about 2 hours, and going to bed at 7 p.m.  Since we started getting up early for school, you've had some very early (5:15-5:30) mornings where we take you a pacifier so you're quiet until it's time to wake up.  You and your sister both wake early if you go to bed late, but I'm wondering if a slightly later bedtime might work out.  You still sleep in your sleep sacks Duckie and your sound, and a nap time you use a pacifier.  We rock before nap and bed, and at bed time you feel you need to talk and try all of your words.  Quiet rocking is not going to happen if the cat comes in, because you call him and say "see you."  And, you know if you start laughing then I will laugh with you, so sometimes rocking is not as soothing as it should be.  You will lay quietly if we sing or hum.

You are quite the chatter box, trying and using many new words.  You call Deda (Daddy), Mema (Mommy) and A-bee (Avery) all the time.  I may get tired of that sound one day but not yet.  This month you have started saying Jen-Jen and some of the names of your buddies there.  We have noticed they are all girl names!  You also call and use correctly Yaya, Poppa, and Mimi.  I know there are many other words that you've learned and are using and some that we haven't caught on to yet.

We turned your car seat around this month and you seem to like that new view.  We also switched sides in the car so that you can see Mommy as we drive each day.  You love picking Avery up from school in the afternoons and work really hard to get down and explore school.

You still enjoy your normal play things and are happy to move from one thing to another.  Balls are still a favorite, and you will play with the ball popper at Yaya and Poppa's for a long time.  You are also sitting longer at toys with different pieces like the zoo, farm, pirate ship, and Thomas set.  You love the train table at church, so it's good that Avery has had that on her Christmas list for quite some time.  You love playing outside but aren't too interested in strolling anymore unless it's somewhere in public.  Around home you would much rather be walking with everyone else.  You love to climb, jump, and move.

You continue to be pretty mild-mannered, and any tough times are easily remedied with Duckie and a pi-pi.  In between your moments of busyness, you like to sit with us and rock, which is one of my favorite things to do.  You are showing Avery your preferences concerning her ideas of love  more and more.  You do just fine when we leave you at Jen-Jen's or with Mimi, but you cry each time at church.  You seem to get happy quickly with some love and a snack.

Sam, you are such as precious gift to our family, and we are so thankful for you.  Each day is an adventure, and it is a blessing to be able to spend our days with you.  I could be sad that the baby is fading away, and I am a little, but I'm thankful for and excited about all the things to come.  Your sister has shown us that it just gets better, so we rest easy knowing all of the wonderful things in store.  We love you to bits and pieces.

Mommy and Daddy