Baby, It's COLD Outside!

Sam has been itching for a good snowfall.  Unfortunately, we haven't had one.  This weekend, we cut our visit with family short so we could get home ahead of the blizzard-like storm that was supposed to hit.  We made it home with a few hours to spare.  Unfortunately, we only got bitter-cold temperatures...very little snow.

 

Sam, however, didn't really care.  Snow is snow.  As soon as he saw the dusting of white on the ground, he started begging to go "play snowman."  So Shawn volunteered to stay inside and take care of Sydney while Sam and I played outside. 

 

We bundled up from head to toe.  And I told Shawn to yell at me after 15 minutes so we wouldn't stay too long.

 

We lasted 10.

 

I'm not sure at what temperature it becomes too cold to build a snowman, but it is apparently warmer than the 1 degree that it was today.  Sam did not get his snowman.  We had to settle for snow angels.

 

 

 

We came inside and I told Sam to go stand in front of the fire to warm up.  I wish he were this eager to follow my instructions all of the time.

We Went To See The Fishies (And Had A Birthday Party)

We try to do something a little bit special with the kids on their birthdays.  It doesn't have to be anything big.  In my perfect world, it would just be something fun that we don't necessarily get a chance to do every day.  I see it as a break from the ordinary to remind my kids that I'm glad they were born.  For Sam, we have gone to the park, had a special trip to the movies, and gone to the Lexington Children's Museum.  In talking about what we wanted to do for Sydney's birthday, I suggested something inside, since I anticipated sweltering July temperatures.  We settled on the Newport Aquarium.  On the way up there, Shawn commented that he felt a little bad going to the aquarium on Sydney's birthday, since Sam would probably appreciate it more than she would.

He underestimated our girl.  I think she really had a great time!  Here are a few of my favorite shots from that day.

I'm pretty sure this was the one and only picture that I got of the kids together that day.  I'm really going to have to get better about that...

Having never been to the aquarium, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect.  I was super excited to learn they had a rain forest room where you could actually feed the birds.  Sam was thrilled when one of the birds landed on my hand and started drinking the bird crack nectar from the cup I was holding.  Then our friend started gradually walking up my arm and perched atop my head, and Sam was totally over the whole bird feeding experience.  

This is one of my favorite shots of the day.  We spent quite a while standing in this long tunnel thing where the animals swam all around you.  Sam was totally amazed by the sharks' teeth.

Sydney, on the other hand, preferred the giant sting rays.  There was one in particular that kept swimming over us.  Every time he would get overhead, she would squeal with excitement.  

I love places that allow kids, even the little guys, to be hands on.  Maybe it's partly because it gives me a good excuse to be hands on.  I have no shame in admitting that.  Touch a sea urchin?  Sure!

Several people have told me lately that Sydney is starting to look more like me.  I don't really see it--I still think she is a carbon copy of her brother.  So many of their little mannerisms and expressions are the same.  But she's awfully pretty, so I'll take the compliment any time!

Even more than the giant water tunnel, Sydney LOVED the jellyfish room.  I must admit, it was pretty cool.  They have a giant room filled with tanks of jellyfish and black lights so they're all illuminated.  There was something very peaceful about sitting in a dark room, listening to soothing music, with all of those jellyfish floating all around you.  Incidentally, I'm pretty sure EVERYONE in the entire aquarium knew that this was Sydney's favorite room, as she loudly protested when we walked out.  My girl's got spunk!

I think it's safe to say that both kids really loved the aquarium.  Sam has asked almost every day since then when we are going to see the fishies again.  Shawn told him a couple of days ago that we would go see the fishies again when he can use the potty like a big boy.  He gave it some pretty serious thought.  We may be onto something...

We had a joint birthday party for Abby and Sydney since their birthdays are just two days apart.  These girls are going to have so much fun growing up together.  I totally flaked out and couldn't find my camera for the party.  Thanks, Lena, for sending me some of your pictures!

Abby and her mom.

I'm not the most artistic person in the world, so I decided against trying to decorate a cake.  But did you know they have spray paint for food?  I love spray paint.  It's kind of a running joke at work that I will only attempt craft projects that involve spray paint or a hot glue gun.  And if it doesn't, I will somehow find a way to adapt the project so I can use those items.  So of course, we figured out a way to incorporate it into our party decorations. 

When I realized I couldn't find my camera, I handed my phone off to Makayla and asked her to take a few pictures.  When I was looking through them later, I saw a lot like this.  Stinkers...

The only real reason I included this picture is because it makes me realize how grown up Will is starting to look. He's almost as tall as me now. I'm pretty sure by the end of this school year he will have passed me up. (Possibly sooner if the size of his feet are any indication. Yeesh!)  All of my nieces and nephews are crazy cool in their own way. Will is responsible and grown up beyond his years.  He really looks out for his younger siblings.

I like this picture of the two red-heads in the family.  I think it's cool how their hair looks exactly the same shade.

 

 

When it was all said and done, what did Sydney want to play with?  Her new book.  Look familiar to anyone on my side of the family???

All About Sydney

Oh, this crazy girl!

Sydney has figured out how to scoot on her bottom.  I keep thinking any day now she is going to crawl, but she hasn't put it all together yet.  But don't be fooled---that girl is MOBILE!  Crawling is just a technicality.  She scoots on her bottom or rolls to get around.  One night I was cooking supper and I had put her on the yellow square with some toys around her.  Apparently they weren't the right toys, though.  Translation:  they weren't HER BROTHER'S toys...  She scooted over to the shelf, pulled one of the bins out and started rifling through it.

 Uh oh...BUSTED!

One day, we had been playing outside, and the kids were both hot when we came in.  I fixed Sam a drink and started working on lunch.  From the kitchen, I heard, "Nene, say aaaaaaaaaaahhhh..."  That kinda strikes fear in my heart, so I peeked around the corner to see what was going on.  Sam was giving Sydney some of his juice.  And because it was Sam's, she was happily trying to drink it.

 Poor girl just tuckered herself out in her little jumper.

I'm about to decide that Sydney is just going to skip crawling all together and go straight to walking.  Now that she's good at it, she loves standing up.  Seriously, she makes her wishes well known, and her wishes are to either be on Mom's hip or to be standing up somewhere.  Do not even think about asking her to sit down.  Ever.  But with a smile like that, how can I say no?

Oh my...how I love this girl!

Eskimo Kisses

Sam loves to give Eskimo kisses.  I love to receive Eskimo kisses.  It's a good arrangement.

Embrace The Camera

I'm embracing the camera today.  I haven't done this in a while, but I was going through some iPhone pictures and found these.  Then I read this article, and I decided that they needed to go up on the ol' blog.  Man, I have pretty kids.

 

 

I can't decide who Sam looks like in this picture, but he's wearing this expression more and more often these days.  That sly, sneaky smile.  It makes you just wonder what mischief he's planning.

 

 

I love Sydney's cheeks.  And her chins.  And the little fat rolls on her elbows.  And also the ones on her wrists.  When I sent this picture to Shawn, he recognized (and poked fun of me a little for wearing) my Magnum, P.I. t-shirt.  Yes, it is awesome.

Lately...

...Marty the Mouse has been evicted.  No...not by us.  He's way smarter than we are.  The cat finally caught him and took him back outside.  Wasn't that considerate?  She chose not to dismember him in our home; she took him outside to eat him and let him go. 

...Sam has really started to push his boundaries.  His most recent trick is to launch his cup across the room while we are eating dinner.  We have tried everything we can think of.  I have tried leaving it on the floor--it leaks and makes a mess.  We've tried picking it up and calmly putting it back on the table like it's perfectly normal--he takes that as a challenge to throw it even farther the next time.  We have tried making him get down to pick it up--he thinks that means dinnertime is over and it's time to play.  So usually I just look at him and firmly say, "Sam, NO!"  The he immediately looks back at me with a very stern look and tells me, "NO!"  And then I don't know if I should spank him or cover his face with kisses.  Shawn usually just buries his face while his shoulders shake with silent laughter.  If this is a glance at what two looks like, we are in big trouble.

...we are getting ready to enter our Christmas traveling.  Shawn and I are both, admittedly, a little intimidated.  When I was pregnant with Sam, I prayed for a good eater and a good sleeper.  God answered both of those prayers with a big old yes.  At bedtime, we go through our little rituals, then I put Sam in his crib, give him one last kiss and walk out.  That's it.  He sits in his crib and entertains himself until he goes to sleep.  But when he's not in his crib...nobody sleeps.  And I like to sleep.  We're a little worried about how it's going to go with our traveling, so I will be accepting all tips for getting a child to sleep somewhere other than his bed. 

...Sam has discovered the iPad.  The little turkey knows how to unlock it and everything.  We have a couple of little games loaded that he can play, and he totally knows how to open them without any help.  One night this week, I was finishing supper so I was letting him play with it to keep himself occupied, and suddenly I heard Shawn's mom's voice.  Sam had pulled up Facetime and successfully called her, all while I took a casserole out of the oven.  He's also figured out how to take pictures.  These are just 2 of the approximately 40 that Shawn discovered on it this week.

...books are becoming even MORE important at our house.  Sam has long had an appreciation for books, but he mostly just liked the touchy-feely ones.  Now he's starting to enjoy actually having a story read to him.  He's even starting to recognize pictures and say things about that page when we come to it.  I love how he "asks" me to read to him.  I can be sitting in the floor, and he'll go get a book, give it to me, then position himself right in front of me and slowly, deliberately back his little caboose into my lap.  Of course, Molly has to be right in the middle of everything. 

And I'm using this picture to Embrace the Camera over at The Anderson Crew.

...one night this week, I was resting on the couch, and Sam was quick to inform me that I could still read while relaxing.  So that's just what we did.  Notice his foot propped up on the couch.  Funny kid...

Embracing the Camera

So...I'm embracing the camera today. 

This picture is a few months old.  We went to the park for Sam's birthday, and we just had a great time.  It was one of the first really pretty spring days.  We played on the swings and slide, then afterwards we went and got ice cream. 

Here is why I love this picture:

1)  It's of Sam and me.  Duh.  But really, I don't have many pictures of my mom and me.  One reason is that she was always taking the pictures, but mainly because she didn't really like being photographed.  She always wanted to lose 20 pounds, or her hair wasn't fixed right, or her shirt didn't look good with those pants.  And to be honest, I really couldn't care less about the weight, her hair or the shirt. 

2)  This is not one of those everybody-smile-and-say-cheese pictures.  We're laughing.  You can tell we're having a great time.  Shawn captured us in the middle of a moment.  This picture has a memory attached to it. 

3)  Sam's nose is wrinkled.  It's cute.  I don't specifically remember, but he probably snorted either right before or right after this picture was taken. 

What about you?  Wanna embrace the camera?  Head over to The Anderson Crew and give it your best shot.