christmas day

we decided to let the boys open their stockings at home on christmas eve before we left for the festivities at gg's house. you know, so they would actually be excited about animal crackers, "big boy" undies, and toothpaste (though they did feature their friends dora, thomas, bob, and larry).

eggnog. he liked it.

baby jesus. he liked him too.

and finally,

the big day.

the vanity family shot. vanity, because the one where we are looking at the camera gives too much away. too much being that i rolled out of bed earrrrrly and had yet to have a shower....

the newly engaged couple and their baby.

uncle jamie and aunt courtney.

they give really cool gifts like dual-screen dvd players for your car.

hope y'all like your shirts guys!

uncle jamie likes to make sure each toy reaches their maximum fun potential.

and finally, a walk to test drive my new ride. a fancy schmancy double jog stroller. that i don't have a picture of.

but i do have a picture of the little guy who decided to walk instead.

it was an incredibly fun day! we were so happy to be with our family this year. and i think they were pretty happy to have us back too.

an early christmas gift, for me

this morning i was surprised to find

two little boxes

just for me.

in them contained

two bed-head brothers

playing happily.

it really has been a gift that recently they've been playing so well together. it's definitely not the case all the time, but it happens enough to give me a breather during the day - a smile for the moment.

last night sam was playing with his little xylophone when i heard charlie say, "wow. good job sam"! my heart leaped. but just as i was walking away from stirring my marinara to say the same to charlie, he grabs it away from sam and exclaims "MINE"! i rolled my eyes. sighed. and then sam says, "mi!". and then i laughed. so this is what i have to look forward to in 2010....

christmas at grandmama's

happy birthday

jesus

christmas cookies

roll...

sprinkle...

snack break.

admire your creation...

snack break.

share with daddy and brother.

one year

it's really hard to believe that it was only a year ago that we were walking the streets of NYC, trying to catch a glimpse of the rockefellar christmas tree, when i got the first 'hunch' that we were going to get to meet you that very weekend. i remember driving through the snow to greenwhich CT ~ shaking from shock, excitement, and nerves ~ you weren't due until january! though i was peaceful that you were going to be fine. months of heartfelt prayers were being answered so graciously. how could i not trust that the lord was smiling with us, bringing you into this world in perfect time? a month early, and you were still 2 oz. bigger than your bigger brother!

remember that. maybe you could use it for leverage in the future.

it's been a tough year. horrible reflux, living in an apartment above a restaurant in the dead of winter in NY, no family near...... not to mention that you woke at night every 1-3 hours for the first 5 months, not much better for the next 3, every 3 to 4 hours by 8 months (on good nights), and finally only woke once in the night at 10 months. for 2 weeks.

finally, at one year, we are seeing glimpses of a sleeper. though we are still crossing our fingers and holding our breath each night.

but there is no question that i would do it all again. to say you are a joy to our family is an understatement. sleeping may not be your strong suit, but smiling is.

you love to talk. you've made me laugh several times as i've tried to teach you sign language for a word and you look at me like i'm crazy and proceed to say the word instead. "all done" for instance. i was saying it over and over, throwing my hands in the air and acting a fool when you looked at me with your classic sam smirk and said "ah-da".

you think it is hilarious to stand on your own, but you've yet to take a step.

you're a mama's boy.

just between us, let's always keep it that way. k?

sam, i hope not a day goes by that you don't know how much you are loved ~ by me, by your dad and brother, but mostly by the One who brought you into our world!

happy birthday, my sweet baby sam. i hope you will forgive your sappy, sentimental mom over the years. she just can't help herself.

happy birthday, baby

thank. full.

for enjoying a traditional thanksgiving meal rather than italian take-out ......for my baby sis's recent engagement........for having a family that i not only love, but really like.....

for friends that let me just be me ~ and love me whether i'm the better me, or the sleep-deprivedgrumpywoeismewanttobabysitwhileinap? me.....

for no longer being homeless due to home repairs......for new floors and a new roof.......for simply having a roof over my head ...

for two little boys that make my heart swell and my belly laugh........ for a husband that loves me even when i'm not laughing.....

for incomprehensible grace that has been lavished on me this year....

so. very. thankful.

about that hole...

i don't read long, narrative blogs, so i really don't expect anyone to want to read this. but before i lose you, let me just ask you ~ does your smoke detector work? are you sure?

last week, just after returning from a family reunion in GA for the day, i smelled something burning. after convincing bryan that it really wasn't plastic melting in the dishwasher i ran to the front window to confirm what i thought i saw - flames. big ones. pouring out from underneath our home.

almost robotically i told bryan that i was getting the boys, and for him to call 911 and get out too. just then we look down to see smoke coming from the heat vent. i've never seen bryan move so fast! i pulled the boys from their beds and ran to our neighbors house. i'm sure seeing me, barely hanging on to my pj-clad boys at 10 pm was the last thing they expected. or hearing the words "our house is on fire!". tyler was out in no time with his extinguisher, and he and bryan tackled the fire until the firemen arrived. stacey so graciously played with my boys while i just sat, wide-eyed and faint. (thank you, thank you!).

the fire was finally put out after the firemen busted a 2 ft hole in the brick of the exterior of the house, as well as the interior wall and (sniff) hardwood floor. it seems the motor of the ventilation fan in our crawlspace malfunctioned. it is pretty funny to think that the whole week we had been discussing how to control moisture under our house. i had the fleeting thought somewhere in the midst of it all "well, it's on fire now!". it became even "funnier" when i saw the firemen blasting their hose under it. heh..... heh.

but i am nothing but grateful. thank you lord for not letting this happen while we were sleeping! did i mention that our smoke detector wasn't working?

it is now. all three of them!

trick and treats

i guess you could say this passed week was filled with both trick and treat?

this lil' fireman may be inspecting a lil' hole......

but it's a $16,000+ hole!

thank you usaa insurance. we love you, and wish everyone could use you.

the story on the hole to come. until then, the treat of the week~

not so terrible

pictures taken in july.

i laughed at his doctor's appointment the other day while looking at his 2 year milestones chart.

"showing signs of independence and defiance"

check.

but it could have also said "tender heart", "contagious smile", and "keeps parents in stitches by the funny things he says and does". check, check, check.

the other day he had to be disciplined for hurting his brother.

when bryan took him to his room down the hall, sam followed.

bryan yelled for me,

"hey babe, can you come get sam please?".

i then hear charlie....

"hey babe, come get char-ie peas?"

ten

the calendar is trying to tell me that he's ten months old.

i don't like calendars.

but him...

good grief.

him........

i like him.

a lot.

all seventeen pounds four ounces of him.

so much so that though he his still killing us at night, waking one to three times, i'm over it. i've decided that he's just not going to be this little baby that likes to snuggle with his mama much longer. with that perspective, and the fact that we've tried all the sleep strategies multiple times only to get less sleep than before ~ i've decided to just take it as it comes rather than battle it.

at least that's how i feel today. bryan may tell you it's because he let me sleep in this morning.

but could you argue with a face like this?

i think he's telling me in that picture, "ya know you want to eat me with a spoon, mom". i can already hear him saying that in his eighteen-year-old voice too.

he likes to say all kinds of other things too, like "ma ma", "da da", "ba ba" (bye-bye), as well as any other noise we or his brother come up with. he and charlie can get us laughing 'til we cry by copying each other until they themselves are laughing.

he loves his brother, and gets so excited when we say "charlie?".

and his brother loves him, often asking me, "pay sam peas mom?" (can i play with sam please mom?). of course i'd love if it wasn't true that sam often takes a beating. though i guess it comes with the territory of having boys 19 months apart.

he scoots at lightning speed, cruises furniture, and takes steps with our hands.

he has 4 teeth (cut at 8 months - at the same time!).

he is always on the move. changing his diaper is like a game of twister, only potentially messier. the same can be said for feeding him. except the potentially part.

he loves to snuggle and be held though, if only for brief moments.

he is a mama's boy, and i'm ok with that (at least until he's thirty, right?). ok, i'm more than ok with it. i love it.

most people feel that he and charlie look nothing alike.

i disagree.

but even if he wasn't so dern cute, he'd still have me wrapped around his chubby little finger.

labor day

good friends.......tasty food (in case you ever wonder how long it takes to cook a 5.5 lb. boston butt, at 225 degrees, in the oven - 9 hours!).....fun times.

he sleeps!

happyhappyjoyjoypraisethelordhallelujah........

this little guy slept all through the night for the first time (aside from a few random nights when he was an infant) last night.

happy happy joy joy.......

there is so much more to say about him ~ like popping 4 new teeth and copying all kinds of fun mouth noises and "da da da da da..." and scooting near the speed of light and pulling up on everything and being the most smiley, happy, endearing baby i know......

but all i can think about right now is he sleeps!!


maybe now i will do a better job of recording the next 9 months of his life.

rain

we love our backyard.
so do mosquitoes.
but today they were hiding.
so we took advantage.