Easter 2013 and an Easter basket for an 18 month old

 Better late than never! Easter 2013

A little disclaimer before I move onto Sammy's Easter basket: Easter is a very special holiday for us.  While the Easter egg hunts, bunnies, and new toys are fun,  we celebrate because Easter gives Christianity it's redemptive Grace.  Sitting down for a nice dinner with family and rejoicing in salvation is truly something very special.

This Easter was extra special because we had just found out our baby's gender and were excited to share the news with our family.  I had planned a fun gender reveal with gender specific candy in Easter Eggs and some gender specific frosted carrot cake cupcakes and then whomp whomp, Paul went and told the whole world who of course let it slip to our parents.  High five to the face Paul, thanks. 

Here's the little basket I had put together.  It's a GIRL!!

We made Sammy a simple Easter basket and filled it with a lot of fun toddler friendly items.

• A new book and ball from the target dollar spot
• New sippy cup (target sells these seasonal munckin cups with straws for $3, they are the best)
• Eggs filled with
• Goldfish
• Yogurt drops
• Animal crackers
• Socks

A few new outfits for summer

His big gift was a water table purchased at Costco.  This has been SO awesome to have on the deck.  It keeps him busy while I cook and he loves it.  I see many years of fun ahead with it.

 

Hello Again!

Stopping my mad procrastinating skills and brushing off the cobwebs on the good ole blog.

It's been a seriously long time and a lot has changed since my last post.  If I still have any readers (I added a few other follow buttons since google reader sadly is gone), you are about to experience the world's fastest blog pregnancy.  I'm due next week!  Most bloggers slow down for their first tri to get a wrap on things, I apparently take off my whole pregnancy.

 

Mr Serious.  Couldn't get him to crack a smile, he wanted to play with the blocks!

We found out I was pregnant a few days after our Christmas Party in mid December.  Slightly crazy since I decided to drink up a storm as I hadn't been able to drink at our last Christmas party in 2010 and then having to cancel our 2011 party due to newborn Sammy, that I would be enjoying a plethora of my infamous mimitini's.  Oooops.   So needless to say, God gave us a little early surprise Christmas Present.  By Christmas I was feeling more like this was Paul's present and by March I was feeling it even more so.  The couch totally swallowed me up for weeks on end as I succumbed to the "first trimester" baby incubating period.

After having tried for so long to get pregnant with Sammy in 2010, it was certainly different to experience finding out I was pregnant without trying.  Unlike with Sammy's pregnancy which I had prayed ceaselessly for, here I was with a gift I knew I would treasure but wasn't quite sure I was ready for.  With Sammy, I knew exactly when we had conceived, the joy was as immediate as the second pink line.  So many answered prayers, and yet with this pregnancy that second pink line brought a lot of fear.  Looking back though, I know the surprise was just a continuation of those prayers from 3 years before.  I was so incredibly thankful to not have to experience an early miscarriage again or the ups and downs of trying to conceive.  It took me much longer this pregnancy to feel better (almost 20 weeks) which was pretty hard with a young toddler needing me to be active.  A lot of that may have been the crazy cold weather we had in DC (snow in March!!!) Once the weather finally broke and I started feeling a lot of movements a lot of the joy of being pregnant was there just like it was with Sammy.

I showed pretty much immediately this time.  By 12 weeks, I looked like I did when I was 20 weeks with Sammy.  Here are the few bump pics I've taken.

I was about 14 weeks here in March at a little gym party for our friend's first birthday party

 About 26 weeks here in early May at the Pet Fiesta with Sammy

 And about 30 weeks here in OBX in late May

 I know you are jealous of my awesome six pack ;)

At my sprinkle at 37 weeks

Today at 38.6 weeks

Fortunately my weight gain stopped in late May.  I've miracuously stayed the same weight for my whole third trimester.  I'm so incredibly thankful.  I had already started the pregnancy 10 lbs heavier than I was with Sammy and for me breastfeeding does nothing to take off lbs.  It may even keep them on.

A week out from my due date and I can't wait to meet this little one.  Sammy is going to be a great big brother and I think he's a great age for the transition.  I'll report back on how it goes ;)

Anyways, I'll be posting a catch up on Sammy's monthly posts, a trip review from our first family trip to the Outer banks, a new nursery reveal and a few other fun posts I have drafted and never published.  Hope you enjoy!

Catching up with Sammy (17-22 months!)

I really wish I had kept up with these monthly posts.  Semi hard to believe that the last time I posted was March.  It snowed in March and now I'm sweating from every pore imaginable.  So much has changed in our family in such a short amount of time and I have to sometimes just sit back and think about how it's possible for time to seemingly fly and crawl at the same time.

I mean seriously: March 2013

June 2013

I've heard this said so many times, but if ever there was an age to bottle up these first few months in toddlerhood would be it.  What a little man you have become Sammy.  You are just a ball of love oozing with an exuberance to explore and enjoy life in a way I have never witnessed before.  We haven't really hit the tantrum phase or intentional bad behavior which makes all of the sweet innocence and seeing the world with eyes wide open just that much more magical as a parent to witness.  Seeing the mental transformation over the last few months is truly magic.  So many connections being made.  It makes me wonder how much of this knowledge was there just brewing and waiting to show itself.  Also, how frustrated you must have been wanting to do so much but being limited by your physical and mental strength

We should all love life like a toddler experiencing it for the first time:
Bubbles

Fairfax Corner fountain for the first time

 

This may have been when you finally stopped playing in the dirt.  Praise God!

 

You love walking in mommy and Daddy's shoes

 OBX for the first time: Late May 2013

I love you stop to smell the flowers Sammy!!  Never stop taking the time to love the simple things!

 At the Reston Zoo.  I think you liked the birds so much you wanted to eat them!

Your first popsicle

 

Your first baseball game!

 A lot of what has transpired over the last 6 months (eeeek, I suck at blogging!) should really be split over two posts since the first half of the last six months did have the last tinge of baby and now in it's place is a full blown toddler.  In the last month especially your verbal skills have exploded.  I'd say the final shift from baby to toddler really happened at the beach in late may.  Maybe it was the new environment and just the abundance of new experiences, but I also think it had a lot to do with having both Mom and Dad with you full time for almost two weeks.

Speaking of independence, there have been some bad smelling roses in this whole change of scenery from baby to toddler.  Unfortunately two of my favorite past times shopping and eating out are better enjoyed Sammy free.  Gone are our pleasant family of three dinners out.  You are fine for 20 minutes or so, but then you are over it and want to get down and find something better to do (my suggestion, chill out and enjoy the conversation little dude).  Suffice to say, most of our dinners are now cooked at home or carry out.  You also are becoming slightly picky.  I'm not talking about chicken nuggets  and waffles type of picky, I'm talking about gourmet type of picky which leaves me having to prepare you a hot fresh (non leftovers) meal.  A Totally frustrating 180 to watch your eager eater become picky when I'm the type of mom who hates to cook.  Good thing we have Daddy to the rescue.

But hey, what kind of Mom ends on a sour note:  I saved the cute Sammy tales for the end.

Here are some of the fantastically cute things you've done that I want to bottle up like fireflies on a summer night.

• You still nurse and boy nursing a toddler is cute.  You make sure everything you like is in it's place.  For example, you like to make sure I'm rubbing your hair just so.  If not, you take my hand and start moving it in a circular direction while you nurse. 

• You also have found another comfort object: your nose.  This started with you rubbing the top, then moved to rubbing the sides, and has now moved to you full blown sticking your finger in your nose for comfort.  If you are really tired, then both forefingers go into each side of the nose.  It is rather gross, but at least it doesn't cost me a fortune in braces or lead to any embarrassing middle school yearbook pictures for you.

• For a while, even though the pediatrician said you were right on track, I was really concerned with your vocabulary. The cute toddler girls in our lives are way more verbal, but around 20-21 months you just went through this amazing explosion in your vocabulary.  I had a feeling this was happening because you have this cue of broken sleep whenever some major milestone is about to happen.  The way you say the words are so adorable.  Some of the funniest are 
• Nana= nang nang
• Up=Airplanes.  You LOVE pointing these out.
• Choo Choo, your lips crack me up when you do this.  Full out like you are about to give a big kiss.
• If I happen to say one, you always say two, no matter what. 

• You also have impeccable teething timing.  We rarely go on vacation, but both times you have decided it a great time to start acutely cutting 5 teeth at the same time.  Glad that's over!  We only have one more set of molars to go!

• One thing that has really amazed me is how quickly you remember things and how many a time what you remember hasn't been said or done in quite some time.  For example, you watched me putting on lotion and then the next day you found the lotion bottle, sat down next to me, pulled up your pant leg and had me lotion you.  This has made getting sunblock on you a breeze!  You love your lotion time!

• Some other things you love to do is clean and cook!  Let's hope this trend continues.  Whenever you reach for the swiffer, you know I've attached a cleaning pad to the bottom.  Not going to waste an opportunity for some free child labor ;) 

Hope you enjoyed catching up with Sammy!