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

Weeks of Fall Family Fun

Time for some catching up!  Fall has arrived, and while it hasn't not brought continuous cooler temperatures, it has brought lots of fun that deserves blogging but also steals blogging time.  Our weekdays are usually pretty similar, so I should probably just change to weekend posts, but then I have the anxiety of missing something.  However, it's been two weeks since I've blogged, and I ONLY remember the weekends.  So while I sort it all out, here's what we've been up too.

Ned finished the lean-to off his shed.  Amazingly, or scarily, he did most of the work by himself.  We now have boat parking that's hidden from the rest of the world, which is how I prefer it.

Sam was so cute smiling, and peeing, after I bathed both kids.  That job is usually Ned's, and when he's not home the temptation is great to let them stay dirty.

Last weekend (the last in September) we had our Peanut Festival.  We enjoyed the parade Saturday morning and rides, walking around the park, and fried Oreos that afternoon.  We opted not to try to eat in the park with Sam, so we picked up a pizza on our way home.  Both kids loved the parade, and Avery rode the carousel 3 times.

After church and naps on Sunday, we met the Millers and headed to do it all again.  Most of the things in the park were gone, but the girls rode several rides, and there were fried Oreos again.  Avery was much braver with a riding buddy.

Then, it was back to the week with work work work.

Nothing speeds the weekdays by faster than dreaming of Saturday morning jammie dates, complete with Chester the Raccoon.  We started Chester's weekend with us with dinner at Cracker Barrel Friday night.  We left the house before 10 am Saturday morning but had plenty of time to be lazy.

The fall fun continued with open house at Pineview.  Our beautiful fall temperatures had vanished during the week, and we were left with inappropriate heat for the pumpkin patch.  We crammed a lot of fun into a short amount of time so that we wouldn't melt.  We also crammed a lot of pumpkins and mums onto our wagon to decorate our porches.

We changed the kids into cooler shirts and enjoyed the AC in Walmart while we all got groceries.  We hurried our items home so that we could have lunch at The Palm Tree per Avery's request.  Ned hunted that evening, and the kids and I braved dinner at Yaya and Poppa's without Ned.  Poppa cooked his delicious breakfast which we had missed this summer since they didn't stay at the beach with us.  Avery was just sure Ned would come riding up on the 4-wheeler before dinner as he usually does.  She was quite sad that she could not spot him out of the window, and she spent our whole 35 minute conversation discussing "Daddy in the woods."  She was very concerned that Poppa's woods were so far from home and that she had no money to get Daddy out of the tree.  I tried to tell her big bucks get Daddy out of the tree.

We got home late and I quickly got everyone to bed and had Avery talk to Ned on the phone (out of the tree).