Candace's Bridal Shower

A couple weeks ago, Amy and I had the honor of throwing a bridal shower for our sister, Candace. It was a wonderful day of celebrating with all the women from our Mom's side of the family. The big wedding day, February 6th, is coming up fast, and we can't wait to share the day with Candy and Jeremy!

Amy, Candace, Grandma Betty, Me, and Mom

Our New Niece

Congratulations to Robin and Jack! We are very excited to announce the arrival of our new little niece, Juliet Noel, born December 17th at 6:46 pm. We can't wait to meet her on Friday!

Happy Birthday, Peter!

Sam and I want to wish Peter (Daddy) a very, very happy 31st birthday! We love you and wish you could be home enjoying our snow day with us!

I have repeatedly asked Sam in the past few weeks what he wants to get Daddy for his birthday. His answer every time - a soccer ball. Here is Peter after opening his present chosen by Sam. Sam now calls this "his" soccer ball. I guess he is still learning the concept of a gift!

A Bad Habit

I discovered this week that I better clean up a bad habit or two because Sam soaks in everything I do. Case in point - Peter doesn't understand why I feel the need to hang my coat on the chair in the kitchen every time I come home INSTEAD of hanging it in the closet, which I must actually walk past to get into the kitchen. I don't really have a good reason for this - it's just something I do. Anyway, after daycare this week, I told Sam to take off his shoes and coat while I unloaded groceries from the car. When I came in the house, he said, smiling, "Mommy, look! I hung up my coat on my chair!"

Sorry, Peter...I'll start putting my coat where it belongs:-)

Decorating the Christmas Tree

We had a box of candy canes sitting in our house for a week. Sam asked on a daily basis when we could put them on the tree. On Sunday, he got his wish and put them on the tree all by himself!

Update on the Kids

Baby L - I'm clear for gestational diabetes! I also survived the three hour glucose test without passing out like I did when pregnant with Sam. We got to see Baby L in another ultrasound, and we got to watch the baby's face for awhile. Baby was sticking his/her tongue in and out, and we could actually see the lenses of the eyes moving around as baby was looking around in utero. It was pretty cool to see! Since I was also in for the glucose test and just finished drinking the sugary glucose drink, the baby was VERY active in there, with a heartbeat of 167! We were also surprised to learn that the estimated weight is already 4 1/2 pounds, though these estimated weights in utero can be up to a pound off. Only nine weeks to go, until the due date!

Sam - Today our little guy is officially two and a half! We really can't believe how fast he is growing up. Here are a couple video clips for your enjoyment!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Saturday

Peter had to work today, so Sam and I spent the morning running all sorts of errands. Everything was going smoothly until, after spending 45 minutes at Target, we were checking out, and I realized that Sam had not only taken his shoes off but had dropped them somewhere in the store. They are the ONLY pair of shoes he has right now. Ugh.

I brought our purchases out to the car, and trucked back in into the store to retrace our steps. I was NOT happy to say the least, and Sam could tell. He said over and over again, "I hope we find my shoes so you are happy at me". I should have listened to him because I, of course, asked him where in the store he dropped them. He told me they were by the mommy shirts. Looking at the maternity shirts was the last thing we did there, so as I retraced my steps, it was the last place we looked (at this point I had accepted the fact that we were going to buy a new pair of shoes from Target). Of course, as soon as we got to the "mommy shirts," there they were, his two little shoes, laying on the floor right next to the sweater I had told him to stop pulling on just 20 minutes earlier. Whew! Sam then asked if I was "happy at him". I explained that while I was happy we found his shoes, he was to never take his shoes off in the store again. We'll see how that works out.

This afternoon, Sam insisted he take his nap on the floor instead of in his crib (because he says he is a big boy - a concept he is obsessed with these days). I told him we could try that, but if I came in just one time to tell him to go to sleep, then into the crib he would go. He was out cold in less than a minute. Maybe the transition to a big boy bed won't be too bad after all!

The Sisters

Last weekend we celebrated Candy's exit from single life with a night at a friend's cabin in Wisconsin. It was a fun weekend, with lots of good food and sparkling juice for me!

30 weeks

We hit the 30 week mark on Wednesday, which has thrown me into "oh, my, we better start thinking about getting ready for this baby" mode. There is certainly less to do this time around, but there are still a few things to buy, a few things to pull out of storage, and some rearranging to do. Yes, I realize we still have almost 10 weeks to get this done - but we also have Thanksgiving, Christmas, the New Year, AND Candy's wedding is ten days after our due date....so, there's a lot going on! It's all pretty exciting, and I think it became a little more real this past week when Peter and I attended our birth refresher course at the hospital. Sam still thinks that "little brother/sister" is inside HIS tummy at times, though he also occasionally says the baby is in daddy's tummy. Since my stomach is the only one growing, he must think that I just eat a lot.

We have another ultrasound on Tuesday because at my appointment this week, it seemed the baby was measuring smaller than 30 weeks. I'm not concerned about this because the same thing happened at my 30 week appointment with Sam, and everything was just fine. I'm actually just excited to get another chance to see the baby (and no, we are STILL not finding out the gender, Mom!). I also have to do the 3-hour glucose test for gestational diabetes on Tuesday, which I am NOT looking forward to (I had to do this with Sam also). For those that don't know what this is, you have to fast for eight hours, and then go in, have your blood drawn, drink a sugary drink, and then have your blood drawn again after an hour, then again another hour later, and then once again another hour after that. Let's just say that I once passed out at the doctor when getting my finger pricked to test my blood for iron - so four blood draws in a three hour period isn't exactly how I'd like to spend my day. I guess I shouldn't complain though - it's all for the health of the baby!

Other than that, the baby's heartrate was at 145 this week, he/she has started doing acrobats in my belly, and Sam has decided that the baby should be named "Arthur" regardless of the gender.

Gotta love chocolate

Sam "helped" me make brownies by licking the spoon...

The Stuff Kids Say

I'm always entertained by "Samtalk", but my students at school can also be pretty funny. Here was my conversation with two kindergarteners today:

Me: What are you going to do this weekend?
J: Umm. I think I'm going to celebrate my birthday.
Me: Oh, is it your birthday today!
J: No, but it's almost my birthday. It's in July.
A: My birthday is almost here too!
Me: Really! When is your birthday?
A: It's on April 36th.

(smile)

Since it's pretty obvious now that I'm expecting, I was also entertained by a first grader this week when I picked him up from class. He looked at my stomach and then up at me and said "Are you gettin' a baby or somethin'?"

Conversation at Dinner

After Sam mumbled something at dinner....

Peter: What did you say?
Sam: I was talking to my fork.
Peter: What did you say to your fork?
Sam: I really love you fork.
Peter: What did the fork say back to you?
Sam: ROAR!!!

Wow - the imagination of a two-year-old!

Halloween

Sam LOVES Halloween. It's his new favorite day of the year. After insisting on being a "scary monster" we were able to track down a monster costume to his liking. The night before Halloween, Sam was able to celebrate with his friend, Jackson, and carve pumpkins. On Halloween, we wondered around the mall (with Sam in costume), and then headed to Grandpa Roy and Grandma Kim's house, where Sam practiced ringing the doorbell and saying "trick or treat". He's kind of a shy guy, so I didn't think he'd really do this Halloween night when we went around the neighborhood, but he learned fast - saying "trick or treat" meant one thing - CANDY! After each house he'd just say, "can we go to another house!" He got a couple monster toys from Grandma Kim and Auntie Candy, so he's been playing with those all week, as well as enjoying his "trick or treats" (if he eats all his dinner)!

Happy Halloween!

Our little monster with his friend, Spiderman (Jackson)!

Our Backyard View

The other morning while we were eating breakfast, we looked outside our kitchen window to see this:

We see deer quite often, but they don't usually just sit in our yard like this, so we enjoyed watching them as they watched us. Eventually, I opened our back door to try to get a better picture of them, but of course, this scared them off. Maybe next time!

On an unrelated note, Sam and I went Halloween costume shopping today, and we finally found something! I now know not to wait until two weeks before Halloween because things are incredibly picked over (though what we got WAS 40% off!). You'll have to wait until Halloween for pictures, but Sam is very excited because he picked it out and even tried it on at home tonight to show Daddy!

Also, if you haven't voted yet, feel free to vote in our poll at the right to predict if Sam will have a little brother or little sister! Peter thinks it's a girl, I think it's a boy, and Sam might be a little confused because we always refer to baby as little brother/sister, so he might think there are two babies coming (I assure you, there is only one!).

A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa

Last weekend we enjoyed having Peter's parents in town for a quick visit before they headed down to Florida for the next month. Sam got lots of playtime in with both of them, and they were nice enough to babysit so Peter and I also got to enjoy a date night (thanks!). We also headed to Gertens and took a few cute fall pictures of our little guy.

Sam is pretending he is a "scary monster".

Will's 4th Birthday Party

A few weeks ago we celebrated our nephew Will's fourth birthday. Sam doesn't get to see his cousins very often and always enjoys visiting them. Robin and Jack hosted a terrific party with some delicious brunch and homemade cupcakes! We are glad they are all back in Minnesota for good now:-)

Will - The Birthday Boy

Will and Sam - Best Buds

Cousin Wyatt enjoying a cupcake

Our little sweet tooth

So, Sam loves anything he can get that is sweet. He thinks that he should have some sort of dessert after any meal he finishes, even breakfast. He doesn't understand why cookies do not follow finishing a bowl of Cheerios. When he plays with his toys, he offers them sweet treats. For instance, this morning, he was pushing around a pick up truck and a toy car, and had the truck say to the car, "car, do you want some ice cream?" Car said "yes."

And this is the conversation that just took place between Sam and me:

Sam: (carrying a book with a toy basketball on top) Mom, it's your happy birthday. Blow out the candle.
Me: Ok. (blew out the fake candle i.e. basketball)
Sam: What do you want on your cake? Do you want chocolate on it?
Me: Sure
Sam: How about M&Ms?
Me: Yummy, sounds good.
Sam: Do you want ice cream?
Me: Yep.
Sam: What else? Do you want sugar on your ice cream? And caramel?
Me: Ok.
Sam: Ok, good. Have a good morning!

Our little Vikings fan

Peter got the chance to go to the Vikes game today with Jason. Sam and I watched from home, and as soon as it started he immediately grabbed his football and asked to get his jersey from upstairs. Whaddya think - do you think he's a football fan?

Ultrasound Pics!

We had an ultrasound on Friday, and of course, it was amazing to see our little one! Baby L was moving around like crazy, and we got to watch this for close to 20 minutes. We did not find out the gender. We were asked to close our eyes when they went to that part of the ultrasound, and it was certainly hard not to peek, but we are glad that we are waiting for a delivery day surprise:-) Baby weighed in at 1 lb. 4 oz. with a heartbeat of 146. We don't have a scanner, so I took pictures of the pictures, so these aren't the best quality, but ultrasound pictures are usually a little strange looking anyway!

Here is a picture of Baby L's face - do you see it? I couldn't see it right away! The baby is laying with his/her head on the right side and looking straight at you. You can see the eyes, nose, mouth, chin. Pretty cool (and a little creepy looking!).
Here's a little profile view. Baby's mouth was opening and closing at this point like he/she was talking to us - here the mouth is open.

Pizza Night

This week we had "Build Your Own Pizza" night at our house. Sam just LOVED doing this. Since I've started working, I obviously spend less time with the little guy, so I've been trying to think of ways we can have some special family time. It turns out, Sam really loves helping in the kitchen, so he has become my little assistant chef for some meals. Since he loves pizza AND helping in the kitchen, I thought this would be a good fit - and it was lots of fun for Peter and me too!

Spreading the pizza sauce

Adding pepperoni

He got to choose his toppings and added pineapple, olives, green peppers, and mushrooms (though he picked the latter two off before actually eating the pizza).

All ready for the oven!

Mom says it's hot, so we have to wait a minute...

Doesn't it look delicious!? He was so proud of his creation!

On being pregnant

So, it's easy to tell now that I'm expecting. Not only do I have a visual reminder of this each day, but the physical reminders are starting to appear.

1) A few days ago, while eating, I dropped a piece of food. Instead of it falling to the floor, it was caught by my protruding belly. Score...the food was saved!

2) Last night while cooking, I was unaware of my extra girth, and as I leaned to stir something on the back burner, I managed to burn my stomach through my shirt, on the pan on the front burner...sigh.

3) Sam is noticing it too - last night he giggled as he rubbed my belly and said it was funny. Thanks, Sam, thanks!

The Unofficial End of Summer

We took Sam out for a little DQ ice cream treat to celebrate the unofficial end of summer. Let's just say he enjoyed it - and then needed a bath:-) We hope you all had a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Snippets

The above video pretty much sums up what Sam wants to play with most of the time, and he never names just one type of ball but always goes through his whole list of ball options.

As Sam and I were out for a walk the other day, we passed by a tree and he said "Mom. Can I hang like a monkey from there?" Of course, I had to get him out of the stroller so he could pretend to be a monkey.

When I picked him up from daycare the other day, Lisa (the daycare provider) and her daughter were laughing because Sam had just passed gas and said "I just coughed out of my butt!" A pretty accurate description, I say!

Sam's First Day of School 2009

Sam started back at daycare today. He quickly slid right back in with his old friends and was already talking about going back there tomorrow. At daycare, kids are not allowed to bring any toys from home, but they can bring their own blanket for naptime. So, as a special surprise this morning, we presented Sam with a new blanket! He was SO excited to see "Mater" and "Lightning McQueen" (I think he is McQueen's biggest fan) on his new daycare blanket. Peter and Sam left before I did, and I got a little choked up saying goodbye, but Sam just hugged me and said "it's okay, Mommy." Before today, Sam and I had a ritual in the morning of doing a family hug with Daddy before he left for work and then waving in the front window as Daddy drove off. This morning, I was the only one in the window, and Sam and Peter both waved from the car. I knew he would be okay though as he smiled his great big Sam smile and clutched his new blanket...

Back to Work

I officially started my new job this week! So far it has just been a lot of meetings and trainings, and I'm excited for next week because the rest of the teaching staff will be returning from their summer break, and I'll really get the chance to get settled into my new position. It's been fun to learn more about my school and District 196. A big thank you goes out to my sister, Amy, who has been watching Sam for us all week long. Next week, Sam officially goes back to school too - daycare with his daycare provider, Lisa. We were at the park by Lisa's house recently, and she came over with the daycare kids. She was excited to see him and how much he has grown this summer. Olivia (age 4) and Bella (age 3) also came over to say hello. I kid you not, Sam started BLUSHING and got a huge smile on his face when these two cute little blonds started talking to him. We think he had a crush on Bella last spring because he would mention her name all the time, so I'm sure he'll be excited to play with his daycare friends again!

Baby L

We are now 18 weeks along. That means only two more weeks until we are to the halfway point. This pregnancy is going by incredibly fast, and I'm sure it will start to go faster with school starting and then the holidays coming up. After that, it's time for baby to arrive! Everything seems to be going smoothly, and the baby's growth is right on track. At our most recent appointment, the heartbeat was 159 beats per minute. We have an ultrasound in a couple weeks, but once again, we are going to have a delivery day surprise instead of finding out the gender ahead of time (sorry Mom...and Candy...and Amy...and Ashley!). For the last couple of weeks, I thought I could maybe feel a few movements from this new little one, but it wasn't anything strong enough to be sure. Then, last Saturday while Peter and I were at a movie, I definitely felt the first real kicks! They have continuted every day since then, which is exciting because it makes everything seem more real, and feeling the baby move was one of my favorite things about my pregnancy with Sam. We try to tell him that his little brother or sister is kicking, and he says "No, no. No kicking." I think he thinks his little brother or sister should get a timeout for kicking Mommy. When we ask Sam what we should name the baby, his answer is always the same, "Uncle Duke", which is how he says "Uncle Luke". I guess Uncle Luke has had quite the impact on him!

Summer Fun

It's hard to believe that summer is almost over and football preseason games have begun! I haven't been that great at keeping up with the blog this summer (or even taking pictures), but we've been very busy doing lots of fun summer time activities. We've had many trips to Cascade Bay with Katy, Jackson, and Henry, and we've also made it to the Minnesota Zoo many times. Though we've heard of both of them before, this summer we finally went to the South Saint Paul splash pool and the Children's Museum. Sam loves playdates with his ECFE buddies - Owen, Gabe, and Wyatt - and it was fun to try out these great places with them.

Sam knows that whenever we go to Grandma Kim's house he can score some sort of treat, so lately when we have arrived he immediately asks for a cookie. Today, he was lucky enough to get a fudgsicle from Grandma. Needless to say, we had to hose him down afterwards.

Sam's First Twins Game

We brought Sam to his first Twins game a few weeks back. We took the light rail down to the metrodome, and I think the "choo choo train" ride was just as exciting to the little guy as the baseball game! My family joined us for the game, and Sam managed to sample everyone's food - he got a taste of hot dog, chips, nachos, soft pretzel with cheese, ice cream, cotton candy, and probably more I can't even think of. Not exactly a day of healthful eating, but hey, you only go to your first ball game once! Thanks to Sam's friend, Jackson, who lent Sam his Twins jersey for the big event!

Here he is on the train ride home, after a busy, busy day...