Good Night Little Jack

Establishing a routine with the kids is not my strong suit, however we have managed to stick to a fairly consistent night time routine.  This routine is typically bath, jammies, Sami brushes her teeth, I send Sami off to pick a bedtime story and crawl into bed, meanwhile help Jack get his teeth brushed (he fights with vigor so I have to practically tie him down and force the brushing), Jack and I join Sami in her room for story time, say prayer with Sami and then sleepy time....or not.  Well, sleepy time for Samantha, but not Jack.  Oh no!  The last few weeks he has been leading me through his own post nighttime routine routine.  I know...why don't I just be boss mom and toss him into his crib and call it good rather than draw things out??  Well, I'm a sucker and enjoy being humored by my son's custom crafted plan.  It is just sooo darn cute.  Now Jack's little routine also involves story time plus block building.  He has two sets of different blocks in his room and he takes me by the hand and leads me to the closet where the blocks are stored and we build towers until every block is used.  Then we tear the tower down, putting the blocks back into the appropriate container and then we build another tower.  We do this several times and it is very important that I participate.  It is unacceptable to just sit and watch him.  If I do, he will put a block in my hand and direct me to where to put it.  What I love about this routine, is that it seems to be his way of getting some quality alone time with mom.  The look of glee on his face when I get down on his level to play is priceless.  And while it may also be a means of him avoiding dreaded beadtime, I wouldn't trade these precious moments for anything. 

Shaken, not stirred.

At about 4am this morning I was awakened by Samantha, who was sick with a fever, asking for some milk.  She informed me, with suprising clarity for girl who was so sick, that she needed "cold milk with ice and you have to shake it."  Talk about a girl who knows what she wants!!

The other day the kids and I were on our way to Costco when Samantha said, "Mommy, I have boogers in my tummy!"

The Public Restroom Incident

I'm sure every mom in the world has a similar story and I would venture to say not just one, but dozens.  The setting is Fred Meyer on a Sunday afternoon.  Andrew was off browsing in the home and garden section so I was on my own with Sami (3) and Jack (18 months).  It all started with Samantha making her dramatic "I gotta go" announcement with the usual, "oh pee, oh pee, oh pee!!, and off I ran with Sami at my side and Jack bouncing on my hip.  Upon arrival to the restroom we see that the one larger stall was occupied so the three of us squished into a standard itsy bitsy stall.  I managed to help Sami properly situate her pants and underpants with one hand while holding on to squirmy Jack with the other.  Now when it comes to tiny female people and the typical public restroom toilette seat, getting the pee stream going in the right direction can be a bit tricky.  Proper technique involves getting the little bum as far back on the seat as possible and bending their little body in half prior to the start of peeing.  Sadly, I was not able to get Sami into position fast enough and the consequense was a very soaked pair of undies and streams of pee pee down to her ankles.  My one free hand sprung into action, slapping at the toilette paper roll to get a big enough wad to dab up the streams down her legs.  Fortunately, I had my mommy supply bag with me containing a fresh pair of undies. Oh the joy of being prepared! The challenge was getting them out of the bag and on to Sami while continuing to manage squirmy Jack who at this point in time was crawling up me and was practically standing on my head.  Retreive fresh undies - check; remove shoes and pants and wet undies - check, wrap up wet clothes in toilette paper - check.  Then on went the fresh undies and pants and shoes...phew!  Ok, next to the sink to get cleaned up and that's a whole other story involving Jack smearing soap all over the counter!

As I was eating my cereal Samamtha informed me that I needed to take smaller bites.  Hee hee.  I wonder where she got that?!!

Where did the pee pee go?

Last night Andrew was  getting Samantha ready for bed and when he put her on the potty to go one last time, she sat for a moment, but didn't have to go.  She looked down and asked, "Where did the pee pee go?"

Gotta have a sleeve!

Jack (16 months) was trotting around the condo with milk bottle in hand when he happened upon a Starbucks coffee cup sleeve.  Funny thing...he knew exactly what to do with it.

"Funny Sam"

This morning Samantha made numerous trips to the potty (she's been eating a lot of fruit here in Kauai).  After doing some business I asked her if she was finished.  She said, "no thank you mommy".  I responded, "You need to sit here for a while, huh."  She said "yeah" and then bowed her head and started snorring over and over.  She looked up at me with a coy little grin as I was cracking up and then said, "funny Sam".  :)  What a sense of humor!

Sami Quote

We are currently vacationing in Kauai and the other day I took Sami to McDonald's for an ice cream cone.  We were sitting down eating when Sami, looking at her cone said, "Ice cream, I missed you!"

What warms a mothers heart

Dear Sami and Jack,
One of the things I love to watch is the two of you playing together, laughing at one another, and loving each other.  It warms my heart to see you two interacting.  You are both still so small (3 and 1), yet it is obvious that you love each other very much.  Sami, you get excited when your little brother wakes up in the morning and from his nap.  You say, "baby boy's awake" and you run upstairs and go into his room and climb into his crib to be with him. Jack, you just have to be wherever your sister is. She generates a lot of excitement for you and you just don't want to miss out on anything. When you were about 13 months old you learned how to give kisses and when asked you would give your big sister several kisses in a row.
Tonight at bedtime, instead of rushing the two of you into your separate rooms, I allowed Jack to join Sami in her bed for a few minutes.  You wanted to be as close to Sami as you could and the two of you sat and sucked on your milk bottles together and enjoyed the display of stars and the moon on Sami's ceiling. What a delight to see the two of you enjoying one another's company.  I pray that the two of you develop a bond of love for each other that lasts your lifetimes.

In hindsight, I really should have gathered my emotions and taken 30 seconds to grab the camera for this memorable Sami episode  It had been a busy morning and I had just put both kids down for a nap, added the finishing touches to my roast beef sandwich and had plans to do a little relaxing during this rare time of peace and quite.  What's that I hear? Sounds like Sami hollaring upstairs...it sounds like she means business.  Probably just another dirty diaper (this had been the routine for the past five days in a row just after settling in for naptime).  I enter her room prepared for the knock-me-down, make-my-eyes-water, wave of stench.  But oh no, not this time. Something very different...there she was standing in her bed covered in diaper rash ointment from head to toe, looking like a little wild banshee.  She had emptied the entire container of thick white cream and had smeared it everywhere...on the sheets, pillow, blanket, window blinds...get the picture? And she just looked at me with wonder, like she had no idea why I had such a look of horror on my face. 

I think I'll laugh about this in a few days. Right now I just want to remain a tad bit bitter that my big plans of alone time were derailed and instead, I have a pile of additional laundry to deal with.  And not only that, but while I was dealing with the chaos upstairs, my husband ate my roast beef sandwich :(.

Samantha Leads the Way

I love this picture because it is a perfect example of how Samantha, when she wants to take you somewhere, is all business.  She grabs you by the finger and leans her body forward in order to get the maximum leverage so that there is no question as to where you are supposed to go.

Today Sami inturrupted grandpa from his yard work and immediately hijacked him.  Taking him by the finger she led him down the street. I stayed behind to continue with some yard work where my dad had left off.  I kept looking down the street, expecting to see them returing home any minute.  To my surprise, they were gone for quite a while (about 45 minutes) so I figured the two social bugs either stopped to talk to some neighbors or they went a park down the street. Well, it turned out that they went to the park. Dad was curious where she would take him and allowed her to lead the entire way (about a quarter mile). She knew exactly where she was going and when to cross the street for the left turn to get to the park. I thought that was pretty amazing for a 19 monther.  I guess she really pays attention when she is in the stroller on our long walks. 

Baby Jack Update

On Tuesday, June 29th I had another ultrasound after my regular OB appointment.  Little Jack is doing very well and growing quickly.  He is already 3 1/2 pounds which puts him about a week ahead of schedule for weight. This did not surprise me since the ultrasounds from the very beginning (this was the 4th one) have been indicating that we are about a week ahead of the official due date which is September 13th.  So I am really hoping and praying that our little man will be born early, maybe even on Labor Day - who knows!  Otherwise, by the official due date, I would be giving birth to an 8 1/2 pounder!!  I know....I'm a total wuss. :)

Sami and the DVD

So today, little Sam comes across one of her Veggie Tales DVD cases. She opens it up and pulls out the DVD.  She then marches across the room, up the stairs to the TV room and stops just short of the DVD player.  After a brief examination of the DVD, she puts it up to her mouth, exhales a couple of times and then wipes it off on her pants.  What a little smartie pants, LOL!  The scarry thing is that it probably won't be long until she figures out how to use the remote controls!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

We celebrated Andrew's, dare I reveal, 39th birthday by treating ourselves to an evening out at one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Lombardi's.  It was a beautiful evening, allowing for a nice stroll along the marina.  Sami loved saying "hi!" to everyone we passed by along the way.

The Little Apprentice

My dad often recalls precious memories of the days that I, as a little girl, would trot off to work with him at the job site.  He tells me how he would set me up with an empty box and I would cover it with taping mud.  Well, now it is Sami's turn to learn a thing or two from Grandpa...and boy does she love getting right in the middle of a project to help.

First order of business is to tackle the installation of the outside light. 

Pretty nice view from the first step, but I think I want to go higher.

That's better.  Ok grandpa, is it the yellow wire or the black?

I'm not so sure about all this...

I think I need to be the one in charge!

A job well done!

Got my tools and ready to help install the new doorbell!

On to cleaning window screens!

Check out those baby biceps!!

Oooh...a label I can pick off.  My favorite!

The Spray Pad is On!

We weren't exactly prepared to get wet, but that didn't stop little Sami from jumping right in.  Unfortunately, just as soon as she joined in on the spray pad action, some older kids who were playing with the water guns just blasted her by accident and she was soaked with cold water.  The shock of it all brought a quick end to the water fun, but then it was on to the swings...

At the Park

Our little Sam had been sick with fever and croup...it had been a rough week for us all.  But finally the day came where it was time to get some fresh air and a little excercise.  And to make everything even better, we were blessed with clear skies and warm sun!

The swing always comes first!

On to tackle the big toy!

Made it to the top!

Tunnel Time!

Here I come!

Wahoo!

Who's brave enough to challenge my wicked curve ball?

Rounding third base...going the wrong way, but that's ok.

Getting Wet!

It was a rare occasion, by Seattle weather standards at least, with temperatures warm enough for shorts, tanks, and garden hoses.  Samantha loves getting splashed with cold water and every time we play in the back yeard, even when it is cold, if there is water running, she wants to get right in and get wet. 

Oh goodie!  Mom is turning on the water!

Cold water...I love this!

This one is my favorite!  Pure joy!