22 Months

Dear Sam,

You are 22 months old today!  Due to extremely cold temperatures, I got to stay home with you today and celebrate...pajamas, Toy Story, and chocolate chip cookies rounded out our day.

We have no new growth stats this month.  You are always looking bigger and feeling heavier, though.  Clothing is still 24 months or 2T.  You wear a size 5 diaper.  Shoe size remains a 6.5, which I feel like I've been saying forever, but they still fit.  Hopefully that means we got them a little big, or your foot hit the last growth spurt before your body did.

You are back on track with your sleep after the holidays.  You are going to bed at 7 p.m. and not rolling around as long, and over Christmas break you were quiet most mornings until almost 7 a.m.  Naps remain 1.5-2 hours and were sometimes longer while we were home.  There was one crazy day where you wanted to rock most of the morning then didn't fall asleep for your nap until almost 3 p.m.

Eating habits are still the same.  For breakfast you like bars, waffles, pancakes, oatmeal, or cereal.  Some mornings you will gobble those items up, and some mornings you turn your nose up at the first thing I give you.  This morning you had a bowl of oatmeal and a bar!  For lunch you like grilled cheese, nuggets, or hot dogs.  You are finally eating PB&J now.  Dinner is still hit or miss, and a lot of times miss.  You get what we have but also get yogurt, cheese, fruit, applesauce, pouches, etc.  Every now and then you'll try something new, but usually it comes right back out.  You're growing though, and when the age of reasoning arrives, you'll have to eat some of what we have, which will make your sister very happy.  You still get 2 cups of milk a day with plenty of water in between.

You, Sam, are full of yourself!  While there were many ways that you were easier in the baby days than your sister was, you are much more determined at this age.  She was busy too, but you take it to a whole other level.  You are fun, joyful, and adventurous.  You have no fear of a challenge.  Avery didn't drive the Gator until she was 3; you are driving her around already.  You are a climber.  You bang, throw, and investigate everything around you.  The throwing just recently started and is mostly with your big Woody or little figures like Little People.  It's kind of driving me crazy.  You are just full of life!

You love Toy Story (all 3) and all the characters, little figures like Little People, pirates, etc., holding as many of those figures as you can, playing in the running water from my tub faucet, playing outside, rocking, lift-the-flap books, running, emptying cabinets and drawers, throwing, playing in the tent with Avery, and last but certainly not least...Duckie and your pie pie.

You do not like when the TV is not on something acceptable, Avery in your space, Avery taking your things, having your face wiped, having your pie pie taken, being picked up when you'd rather walk or run, or waiting patiently in restaurants.

Sam, it's so hard to believe that my tiny boy is no longer tiny at all.  So many fun milestones are coming up...a trip to Disney, your first haircut, and your 2nd birthday just to name a few.  Sometimes I think that I am not equipped to parent you, but I am always, always so grateful for this chance. As busy as you are, you still find plenty of time to rock-rock with Mommy, and I hope that never changes.  We love you so much and are so thankful for the joy and sunshine you bring to our lives.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Week in Review ~ 1/4

We have had an extremely lazy week with not much going on.  Much of our time was spent at home in our pajamas.  We got dressed if we needed to leave the house, or if the pizza delivery man was coming.  It was a great way to finish up vacation.

 We had a low-key New Year's, taking the kids out to dinner.  We loved the restaurant in the past but found it slightly different this time.  I got Sam out of his high chair while we waited for the bill, and he decided to run to every corner of the restaurant.  Each time I would catch him, he worked on his "Mommy takes my hand, I fall out on the floor" routine.  Several rounds of that resulted in Sam being carted off to the car.  The rest of the night looked like this, with no one seeing the new year arrive.

Avery went back to school Thursday and Friday, and Sam went to Jennifer's Thursday.  I used my free day to attempt getting caught up printing pictures and storing pictures on an external hard drive.  I also enjoyed lunch with Anna and made a trip to the grocery store for a few things.

Saturday afternoon Ned and I headed to Richmond to have dinner and do some shopping.  It was the Christmas of boots for me, receiving Hunters, Uggs, and a gift card for some dressy boots, and I knew it was go now to shop or wait until February.  I ended up having to order the correct size from the store, so hopefully they will work out.  Ned and I had decided to have dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and thought we were doing good getting there a little after 5 p.m.  We still had a 30 minute wait but had a good meal and delicious s'mores cheesecake.  It was much too cold to continue shopping at an open-air mall, so we left to run some errands.  We hit Target for diapers and somehow spent $80.  After that it was  trip to Best Buy, then home.  We were back a little after 9, which is a great date night for me.  The kids did good for Mimi and were sleeping soundly when we got home.

Week in Review ~ 12/28

I covered most of our week {especially the parts of the week that involved getting dressed} in the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day posts, but there are still a few things to remember from Christmas week.

Ned took the kids to church Sunday morning and I stayed home.  My cold had gone into my sinuses and I just wasn't feeling good, especially in the mornings when I was all stopped up.  I did have to get out that afternoon to go to the store for some things Ned wasn't able to get the night before.  Avery and I did her gingerbread house that night and had a fun time.  This was my first, and surprisingly it stayed together with no real work.  I do think we might spring for a Candy Cottage though.

The kids and I were home Monday and it was rainy.  I did a little baking and cooking to get started on Christmas.  That night Ned's brother Rob and his girlfriend Megan came to town to celebrate Christmas since Megan was working the next two days.  We exchanged gifts and Mimi and Vincent's and then went to Cracker Barrel.  We were a little late eating and I was worried, but Sam did pretty well.

Tuesday was Christmas Eve.

Wednesday was Christmas Day.

The kids and I spent Thursday and Friday at home, and things pretty much looked like the picture above.  We were in comfy clothes, and for every one toy I picked up, 3 more blew out from somewhere.  Ned was off on Thursday and did some hunting, and he went back to work on Friday.  The Millers came for pizza Friday night and we had a fun time as usual.  Avery and Camden played together wonderfully and Sam tried to include himself.  Caleb helped Ned take the train table to the playroom before they left, and poor Sam cried and cried, thinking they were taking it away.  Ned went to bed before I did since he was getting up early for a hunting trip the next day.  I stayed up too late watching TV then couldn't go to sleep when I got in bed.  I'm either fast asleep on the couch at 9 p.m. or wide away at midnight.

Ned got up at 1:30 a.m. Saturday morning to go to Surry, VA for a duck hunt he won.  He took two guys and a dog with him, and I was not happy with the time of day that they were hunting.  The kids and I laid around for awhile that morning then made our way to Walmart for groceries.  Ned got home while they were resting and took a nap himself.  Once he got up, we went to the Mexican restaurant for dinner, wished Ned's dad a happy birthday on the way home, and looked at a few Christmas lights.

Christmas Day

Christmas morning arrived (early) and the excitement level was high for everyone.  We left the kids in bed until almost 7 a.m., knowing that Avery wouldn't come out of her room for fear of running into Santa.  I snapped a few pictures of Santa's deliveries before the madness began.

Once we came downstairs, the fun began.

In addition to what Santa brought, the kids also got Toy Story shirts from us.  Sam got a Toy Story DVD and Avery got a LeapPad game.  Sam and Avery gave each other Woody dolls.  They were our first duplicate toys, but we knew that would prevent a lot of tears and yelling.

We got no pictures of Ned and I opening presents.  He surprised me with Hunter rain boots and other items I had on my list.  I finally pulled off a surprise for Ned with an iPad mini that he had been mentioning he wanted.  I made sure I continued to tell him throughout the season that he didn't need it so that he would have no clue.

After breakfast and more playing, Ned's parents came over to see what Santa brought and open presents.  Sam and Avery each got Buzz dolls from them, so we have quite the gang with the Woody dolls and the Jessie and Bullseye that Rob and Megan had given them earlier in the week.  Avery also got the Madame Alexander Dorothy doll.

My parents came after Mimi and Vincent left and had some breakfast and looked at all the toys.  They left and we had lunch and naps then got ready for both sets of grandparents to come for dinner.  Dinner was easy and delicious with pork loins, broccoli casserole from my mom, dressing from Mimi, sweet potato casserole, congealed salad, and deviled eggs.  Coca Cola cake served as dessert and birthday cake for Jesus.  We had a nice low-key evening and everyone went home pretty early.  We got our final gift that night when Rob texted pictures of him proposing to Megan.  Since she said yes, Ned and I gained a sister and the kids gained an aunt.  We missed them since Megan was working but they were obviously having a great Christmas as well.

It was a wonderful, wonderful holiday season, much more calm and relaxed than last year.  We made some changes to our traditions, and while that's usually hard for me, it worked out so well for us to be home all day Christmas Day.  My only complaint is that it all went by much too quickly.

Christmas Eve

We had a wonderful Christmas, starting with Christmas Eve.  There was lots of cooking going on that morning and lots of Toy Story to keep the kids occupied.  After naps we got ready to go to my hometown church for Christmas Eve Service.

We got to church early to get a seat, so after 40 minutes Sam was much too busy for church, but we were only 10 minutes into the service.  He was peeking over and under pews, laying on the floor, and hopping over the cord to the Chrismon tree.  To preserve my sanity and the experience of those around us, I had Ned take him out.  The service was kind of long and went past 6 p.m.  Then you talk to people you haven't seen in forever, so it was late when we scooted out of there to get dinner ready at my parents'.  They were even later getting out because so many people wanted to speak to my mom.  We occupied ourselves with some pictures while we waited.

After dinner it was time for presents.  Avery was excited to receive new clothes and accessories for Bitty, and both were thrilled with the Little People Buzz and Woody sets that Sam got.

It was after bedtimes before we even left and almost 8:30 by the time we got everyone into bed.  Ned and I sat for a little bit watching It's a Wondeful Life to make sure Avery was asleep.  Then we got busy.  He had assembled the train table earlier, but we still had pieces to assemble and had to get everything on the table.  Ned zipped right through while I used a picture from a friend who had already done it.  Santa finally got everything done by 10:45 but we continued to watch the end of the movie and then some of The Family Stone before heading to bed.