Getting Closer!

Max wants to be on the go.  He's definitely at that stage now where he knows everyone else can move around but he just can't figure out how it's done.  He's been rolling and squirming his way around his blanket but is becoming SO frustrated wanting to do more.  Any day now though . . . check out how high he gets his tiny hiney up in the air!

And he's been holding his head up high for a while now:

So just as soon as he figures out how to both at the same time, well, we're all in trouble. 

In the meantime, he'll just have to settle for watching his big brother from afar (and admiring his toys) . . . 

and snuggling with Rosie (who *kinda* doesn't mind sharing her toys with him) . . . 

 

Taking bets now as to when the crawling will start?!

And now for your much-needed giggle, here is Sam doing push-ups with Daddy (Sam joins in with him just about every evening and I nearly pee my pants every time!):

(Hope that worked?)  Just wait until we are able to capture the hubs, Sam AND Rosie doing push-ups.  Ridiculous.

Random Winter Goodness

Three, count 'em, THREE snow days here filled with lots of silly and fun-loving moments.  I hoped and wished for snow days as a teacher and I must admit that as a stay-at-home mom I get just as giddy with excitement when I see that announcement on the news!! 

The snow started on Wednesday afternoon.  Sam kept sneaking peeks of it and I could tell he was just dying to get outside in the snow.  Finally, after we'd eaten and put the baby down for the night, he asked the hubs if he could go shovel.  Of course he obliged!  So after lots of layers were added, boots velcroed and mittens pulled on, the boys set out to shovel our steps and sidewalks.  There's something so perfect about being outside at night when it's snowing.  Everything is still and quiet.  Except that during this particular storm, there was also lightning and the snow was so heavy that we could hear branches all around us creaking and cracking and sometimes crashing down.  Amazing.  

I wish I knew enough about our good camera to show you pictures of how lovely it looked at night or how much fun Sam and Rosie were having . . . one of these days I'll learn!  For now, a few lousy ones:

~ hard at work outside ~

~ Sam's building a snowman . . . Rosie's knocking it down ~

The best part of shoveling/playing in snow is the hot chocolate afterward, even if it is way past bedtime!  As soon as we finished and started thinking about bath time, the power went out.  Of course.  We're one of the lucky families though . . . we were powered up again by ten the next morning.  Many families in our county are STILL without power two days later.  I don't know how I'd make it . . . one night is hard enough for me.  But the boys did wonderfully.  With lots of layers and blankets everyone slept peacefully AND (big announcement) Max slept through the night!  Of course I didn't though; I kept getting up to check on him all night thinking that his silence was because he was a frozen baby!  Totally scared and paranoid, but mostly because the monitors weren't working either without power!  

The next morning, just as I was trying to figure out how to get through the day without PBS Kids, the lights came back on.  Sam's friends Ryan and Eric came over and the three boys played so nicely together for hours!  Not one argument or fight.  Good friends.  Ryan and Eric had a lot of toys to inspect and try out since they haven't been in the basement since before Christmas!  Sam had a great time playing with his friends and I was so proud to see what a good share-er he's become.

~ I grabbed him on his way downstairs to show everyone his spy-ware ~

And then he crashed.  And I crashed.  And we took big fat naps in our cozy warm beds in our cozy warm homes.  Lucky to have both.

~ passed out on his book with G-raf ~

Today was quieter, calmer.  The snow is melting and falling again.  The baby slept through the night again.  The hubs made bacon and eggs and worked from home again.  And Sam?  Sam has a good time no matter what, it seems.  Sam, Max and I bundled up and went for a walk this afternoon to fill our lungs with some fresh air.  In our two-block travels we passed two downed power lines (have I mentioned how lucky we are to have our heat back on??!!), lots of huge fallen branches (which made "sweet" walking sticks for the boy), kids building a huge snow fort, and two snowmen (I think one *may* have been a snow-lady, but I didn't feel like arguing with that sexist son of mine!).  What a relaxing workout for us, especially for the one who insisted on trudging through the snow and not the sidewalk the whole way. 

 ~ convincing me he still fits in Max's bumpo seat ~

 ~ as the bad robot seeking my leader ~

~ and snuggling ~

What a great few days it's been here.  And the weekend is still ahead of us!

I'm sure the hubs will be skipping to work on Monday.  :)

Why I Oughta...

Look at my Sam:

Self-portrait by the way.

Isn't he cute?  Yeah, he's lucky he is because otherwise I'd have to give him away.  Why?  Because for the first time the other day I experienced an I-want-to-melt-into-the-floor-and-disappear moment of complete and utter embarrassment.  Let me share the horror with you...

We went to visit Daddy at his office and took the elevator downstairs to the parking garage.  Only when we got off I realized we'd gone all the way down to the bottom floor instead of the middle floor.  While we're waiting for the elevator to come all the way back to get us a lady came in to wait also.  A very NICE lady who commented on how cute the boys were; a conversation that went something like this:

Nice Lady:  Oh, they're so sweet!  How old?

Me:  Three years and six months...

Sam:  That's a FAT lady!!

Me (inside voice):  Holy frick, did he really just say that?  Holy frick, did she hear???

Me (outside voice):  Oh my goodness I AM SO SORRY!!  

And the apologies continued until the elevator FINALLY decided to show up and while we ALL rode it together!  EEEyowwww that still makes me shudder.  Like I said, lucky to still be living with us and not dropped off on someone else's stoop.

In other news, the new favorite boy, Mr. Maxy recently celebrated his six month birthday.  Hard to believe he's half-way to one already.  

The doctor was happy to see such a happy baby.  For those of you keeping score, he's 16 pounds, 12 ounces (30th percentile) and 27" long (70th percentile) . . . long and lean!  Now if only we could get that tongue straightened out!!

Yup, he's totally the favorite for the moment . . . at least until I can stop cringing!

Beware the Lader!

My big boy *loves* him some Star Wars.  Honestly, I never knew a 3-year-old could be so into a sci-fi story with such goofy characters!  But then his daddy's a huge Jedi-wannabe and I was into the Muppets in a huge way so I guess it shouldn't have been too much of a surprise, hm?  He loves Star Wars so much that *I* love it . . . just 'cause he does.  Loving things because he does is one of the tons of reasons I love being a mom.  I watch the excitement and anticipation grow on his face as Princess Leia tries to quietly rescue Han without waking Jaba and I giggle.  He's totally infatuated.  And therefore, no matter how dorky I thought it was when I was little, I am too.

I feed his intense and enormous imagination for everything he's interested in every chance I get.  Star Wars according to Sam always leads to entertaining moments for the hubs and I, in particular his impersonation of Darth Vader, or, as translated in his toddler-speak, "Dar Lader."  Last month, he put on his sports-themed rain boots and then dumped all of his matchbox cars out of his green sand bucket in order to wear it as a helmet on his head.  As he stomped around the living room, Episode VI playing in the background, I suggested he wear a cape just like his hero.  I grabbed his navy blue blanket and clipped it around his shoulders with a clip I stole from the refrigerator door.  He was thrilled!  And completely serious.  He "koo...kee...koo...kee'd" around the house, stomping his boots and peeking very solemnly under the bucket to keep himself from falling or running in to walls. 

Priceless.

I hope his imagination continues to grow and I hope he always has fun pretending.  I kinda can't wait to see him teach his little brother how to pretend.  Hopefully, for the sake of his sanity, Max turns out to be a huge Star Wars fan too!