Fun with Sam!

Sam is so much fun and becoming such a good big brother!

I'm back!

We are all happily adjusting to life with another little boy. This week I have even managed to clean the house several times, make dinner twice, and snuggle with all three of my boys...separately. Last week was my first week taking care of Sam and Levi all by myself. I was a little nervous, (mainly about lifting Sam) but everything went as smoothly as possible. Sam had quite a few time outs and tantrums at first. He is doing much better now and seems to be loving his brother. Yesterday, I caught him standing at the swing rubbing Levi's arms. Sam loves to let me know that Levi is crying and needs me. He drops everything he is doing and screams "UH OH! BABY!"

We're ready whenever you are.....

Diapers- check
Clothing unpacked and washed and hanging in closet- check
Swing, bassinette, bouncy seat, pack-n-play, infant carseat- check
Blankets, burp clothes, bibs- check
Hospital bag packed- check
Well-rested family- check
3 weeks of false labor- check

Hmmmm.......I think we are just waiting on you, Levi.

Poor Fishy

I am pretty sure that Sam's little beta fish is on his last legs. He isn't swimming around much and I don't think he has eaten in a while. We moved him into the dining room thinking maybe the change would perk him up a little and some extra light would be good for him. His bowl has been in the middle of our dining room table where I thought Sam wouldn't be able to get to it. Haha. Yesterday, I was slicing some apples and all of the sudden it got very quiet. I turned around and there was Sam, on his knees in the middle of the dining room table with his hand as far in the fish bowl as he could get it. Fifi the fish has now been moved to a shelf on the baker's rack. I think he is safe there.
A few hours later, I left Sam sitting in the recliner with a blanket so I could get a snack for myself. I heard a huge thud and then crying and ran back into the living room to see that he had tried to climb from the recliner into the pack-n-play and knocked everything over including himself. Some days I feel like I can't leave him alone for even a minute! And of course, yesterday turned out to be a nap-free day as well.

A case of the Mondays

Dear Sam,

Didn't you get the memo? It's naptime. Please go to sleep. Thank you!

Love,
Mommy

Oh, it is SO one of those days! Sam never transitions well from the weekends. There is almost never a nap on Monday. And he asks for daddy ALL DAY LONG! This morning there were two mini-meltdowns. Then I spent some extra time snuggling him and playing with him and following him all around the house and he has been fine ever since. He spent about 10 minutes laying with his head on my belly talking to the baby and listening to him move. Then we had a "conversation" about how Levi would be coming to stay with us very soon.

We finally broke down and bought a new camera. It was 30% off at Meijer, plus we got an extra 10% off because it was the display so I feel pretty good about the purchase and it is a pretty nice camera BUT it doesn't do well with moving shots. Even with the image stabilization mode on. I am kind of stumped by that. Our old camera could capture Sam mid-walk or dance with absolutely no blur. Not this one. Otherwise, the pictures are crystal clear so I'm not sure we want to return it.

Random Friday Thoughts

What a beautiful week this has been. I have gotten outside to walk 3 or 4 days. This morning, Sam played in the backyard again while I raked out my flower bed.
This afternoon Pedro and I decided to join www.savingsangel.com. We figured it was worth a shot to save even more money on groceries. I usually make a monthly trip to Aldi's to stock up on staples and then I use coupons and check the sale ads for our local stores, but this service does all of that for you and even creates a shopping list. I think it will save me a lot of time once Levi is here so it should be worth the monthly membership fee.
I have discovered my new favorite snack/dessert: 1 cup frozen blueberries topped with 1/2 cup plain yogurt mixed with 1 tbsp orange marmalade. The coldness gives Levi hiccups.
I'm trying to make a mental list of some last minute baby preparations. I think I still need to bring up my pump and clean and sterilize everything. We also need to bring up the swing, activity mat, and bouncy seat and let it air out. We need to put a carseat base in both cars for the infant carrier. I should also pack an overnight bag for Sam. (I have only ever spent one night away from him.) I should unpack and wash some summer clothing for Sam. He has some 2T things from last summer that will still fit. AND, I think this weekend we'll be giving the house a thorough scrub down. Actually, I should say Pedro will be cleaning the house. Lately, I can barely make it through cleaning the kitchen and vacuuming before I am wiped out. I am so thankful that my husband doesn't mind cleaning bathrooms and dusting. I love watching Sam follow him around with his own little dustcloth. It cracks me up that we keep his toy vacuum in the closet next to our vacuum and steam cleaner. He loves to vacuum and sweep the floor.

Hello Spring

I LOVE spring. I love the freshness in the air and I love watching all of my tulips and other flowers begin to poke up from the ground. I also love seeing Sam's chubby baby arms in a t-shirt.
Sam and I spent yesterday morning on an hour long walk. We had to say "Hi" and "Bye" to every squirrel, bird and tree that he saw. When we got home we played in the backyard for another hour. He used our big utility broom from the garage and went around brushing leaves and pine needles off of things while I swept the patio. Every time a leaf got on his shoe he would say "EEEEEEEWWWW, EEEEEEWWW." Pretty funny. I had to drag him inside for lunch and he let me know how upset he was to have to come inside by hitting me on the head 3 times. Nice. He took a two and a half hour nap so I'm pretty sure he was wiped out.
He got to play with his friends this morning while I was at a doctors appointment so we will play outside this afternoon after naptime.

Baby Levi is doing well. I am fingertip dilated (TMI?) My doctor is pretty good at estimating weight and doesn't think this baby will be much more than a few ounces bigger than Sam. We are all getting excited. (Although when I tried to bring the infant car seat up from the basement this week Sam started screaming "NOOOO, NO Baby, NO Baby!) He is due a month from today!