I try my darndest to do fun things with the boys besides just letting them play on their own all day.  Try is most certainly the operative word there.  I get frustrated, though, because more often than not my attempts end in a big unappreciated mess.  Some things do work, though.  Playdoh is always a success.  So is building a fort.  But in an act of desperation (which often comes at about 3:00 when I feel like there is no way I will ever survive 3 more hours until Erik comes home), I pulled out some vinegar, food coloring, baking soda, old Tylenol droppers, and the cutest little containers I grabbed at the dollar store for no reason other than I figured somewhere down the road I might find a use for them.  Which I never ever do.  I hate stuff.  And trinkets.  But for some reason I couldn't resist these little containers.  They've since proved themselves very useful, and are earning their keep quite nicely. 

So after a little discussion about primary and secondary colors, the boys went to town.  They both were surprised to see the baking soda fizz up when they dropped the colored vinegar.  They sat at the table for a solid 15 minutes, maybe even more, experimenting.  Emmett watched happily from the sidelines.  I got the kitchen cleaned up.  That, my friends, we would call a success.   

They think they're so funny.

I can't believe how old Sam looks in recent pictures.  He is really growing up and turning into a big kid. 

My Bedstefar is here visiting from Denmark.  He brought some things to make a kite with Sam because he knew what fond memories I have of making kites on our visits when I was a kid.  Sam thought it was dang cool, and brought it for his show-and-tell that day.  Since then, he asks almost every day when it will be windy enough to fly it.

Sam has been very into the Halloween season.  They've been doing lots of fun things at school with it.  On ghost day, he brought this home.  It's a picture of a ghost, who ate 5 other ghosts (a mommy ghost, a daddy ghost, an Owen ghost, an Emmett ghost, and a Jacob ghost).  And once I looked closer, I saw he had written "Boo" on it.  I was impressed, and asked Sam if he did that all by himself.  "Sure!  B-O-O spells Boo!"

We've also done a few things here at home, too.  The other day we went to happy hour at Sonic with some friends, and one of the car hops brought out balloons for all of the kids.  When we got home, Samuel wanted to draw a scary face on his.  "Here are the big spooky eyes, and a round nose, and scary sharp teeth, grrrrrr." 

And while I'm here, I ought to do some back blogging.  (I thought I had caught up on that, until I realized I never blogged about Sam learning to ride his bike or soccer.)  So way back in May, Samuel popped his bike tires.  We could not find new 10" tubes anywhere, so Erik just bought a new bike for $5 at the D.I. with the intention of taking the tires off of it and putting them on Sam's bike.  Samuel saw that bike and ended up being very taken by "his new silver bike."  So Erik took him to the church parking lot and we were totally impressed with Samuel's balance, but he still struggled a bit.  He could do a straight line, but couldn't turn or start himself without a running push from Erik.  That's where we left it for the time being. 

A couple days later, Sam brought that bike with him to the park even though he wasn't riding it.  His buddy Gabe, who is a maniac and has zero fear, and is also an expert on his balance bike, gave Sam's bike a shot.  In 10 minutes flat, Gabe was a pro.  We decided to switch bikes for the day, so that Gabe could show his dad.  The next day Gabe rode over to our house on his new bike (also $5 from DI).  That was all it took for Sam.  He hopped onto his own bike and took off without help.  I was blown away.  That evening, Sam took Erik out to show him his new skills.  Clearly, he was still working on stopping and accurately stearing, but that didn't stop us from being impressed.  By the next day he was a pro, and pretty much didn't get off his bike for the rest of the summer.

Samuel started his soccer season in August.  His first practice was the Saturday after Emmett was born.  So the first couple weeks were a bit crazy, but I am so glad we had something for him to do in the evenings when the world pretty much stopped for a few weeks there with Baby 3!  There were a few practices, then 4 on 4 games twice a week.  Samuel was on the same team as two of his neighborhood buddies and a boy he goes to school with.  Sam had a lot of fun, although sometimes at the cost of his father's complete and total frustration.  Erik was diligent taking videos with his phone, but I didn't once bring the camera to take pictures.  I realized that, and planned to most definitely have it with me at the last game.  Except that Sam came down with a fever of 104 that afternoon and was in mood for a soccer game, even if it was the last.  He was disappointed, but cheered up when Nathan brought over his medal. 

So, while I'm here documeting the Amazing Mr. Sammers, I do believe it's time for a new edition of Samuel Says.  It's been so long.  I could write a book.  But instead, I'll just highlight some recent favorites.

• He loves to ask about animals if they have teeth and if they lay eggs.  One day he knew he was being silly when he asked me if monster trucks lay eggs.  I told him of course they don't, to which he replied, "Sure monster trucks lay eggs, that's where Hummers come from."   
• Em started fussing while Sam was holding him.  He rubbed his head and said softly, "It's ok, don't worry, Samuel is here."
• Another time I was holding Em on my shoulder.  Sam said, "Aw, he looks so cute like that, like a tiny . . . . TIRE!"
• Owen totally sneezed on Sam, who was not happy about it.  He yelled at him, "Owen, that's disgusting, I'm not a tissue!!"    
• Sam stopped his playing one day to randomly tell me, "Mom, I wish we had a balcony and fancy stairs."  Me, a little confused, "A balcony??"  "Yeah, so me and Owen could play on them."
• For Pet Day at school, Samuel wanted to bring his stuffed moneky, and polar bear and seal.  The other two boys and I came to meet the other animals, and watch Sam share his.  The moms all went up front with their kids who had real pets.  So when it was Sam's turn (he was the first without a real pet to share) I thought it was really sweet that he still wanted me to come up front with him.  Then he proceeded to show his "pets."  I didn't give him any prompting, because he knew just what he wanted to say.  "This is my monkey.  He lives in the jungle and likes to eat bananas and bugs.   This is my polar bear and seal.  They are artic animals.  The polar bear is a land animal and the seal is a water animal, but the polar bear can swim in the water and the seal comes onto land.  The polar bear is the predator with very sharp teeth and he swims after the seal and eats him."  At this point, Samuel started acting out a very dramatic predator vs. prey with his animals, complete with sound effects.  Then he stopped.  "Ok, that's it.  I'm done now.  Any questions?"  It was great.
• He was playing an iPad game with Erik and asked, "This game is going to be more technical?"  We laughed, "Uh, what do you mean by that?"  "I mean, like it's gonna be more difficult?" 
• Preparing the boys for conference, Sam was not having it.  "Conference makes me siiiiiick.  I need to go lie down in my bed with the light off and rest.  Mom, you can bring me breakfast up there."  But he did take it upon himself to make sure Erik was up and ready for conference.  "Mooooom, I told Dad to get dressed and come down for conference but he didn't hear me.  Now I'm going to go back up and tell him in my loudest voice.  My loudest voice EVER!"  So he took off, and I heard him yelling, "DAD!!!  IT'S CONFERENCE!  YOU NEED TO COME LISTEN TO THE PROPHET SPEAK TO US NOOOOOOW!"
• He was burping at the dinner table, and I asked him to stop.  "I'm not burping.  Those are bird calls.  *burp*  See, that was an Amercan parrot from Asia.  *burp*  That was a North American bird from India."  Then he gargled, so I rolled my eyes and asked what that one was.  "That was just a human gargling."
• Seriously, this kid does. not. turn. off.  He wakes up talking and doesn't stop until he is asleep at night.  Perfect example:  I heard his door open one morning.  I'm still in bed and hear him lift up the toilet lid.  I heard the pee begin.  Then I heard Samuel, "Mom, are predators nocturnal?"  What do you think Sam? "Lions are predators, and they're nocturnal."  Flush. "But cheetahs aren't nocturnal, they have black lines on their face to protect from the sun, so they must be diurnal."  Walking downstairs. "And cheetahs are predators, so that means all predators aren't nocturnal, I guess.  Owen turn off the light upstairs, you don't want to waste electricity!" Downstairs now. "Oh, I forgot my new micro machine upstairs.  I lost it but then I found . . . " voice fades as he goes upstairs, but here he comes again  " . . . my army truck and they go in the big helicopter."  He takes a breath.  "MOM!" and this is where he goes into a monologue about lung fish and how they breath and Jeremy Wade on River Monsters. Then, finally, "I'm ready for breakfast, can I have some waccles?"  Right.  He knows the difference between nocturnal and diurnal, but still can't say the word waffles.

Anyway, so that's our not so little Samuel.  Who is almost 5.   

I am alive.  My kids are alive, too.  All three of them.  I'd call that success for week one.  Nevermind that my mom was here the whole time, and Erik has only been back to work for 2 days, and we've had dinner brought in two nights in a row.  I'm still counting it as score ONE for Al-dawg.

I can't decide who Emmett looks like.  When he was first born, all I saw was Owen.  But then I'll look at him and see nothing but Sam.  So I guess for now we'll just say he's a good little mix. 

Emmett is a sleeeeepy baby.  I have to wake him up regularly to feed him.  I have to poke, tickle, and pinch him to keep him awake while he eats. He will sleep in the swing, in his carseat, or in his bed.  He has had a few very awake periods, usually once or twice during the day.  Then he has a fussy period at night, anywhere between 10 and 2.  He pretty much wakes up every 3 hours at night to eat.  But really, right now there is no schedule and it's pretty much unpredictable.  But a sleepy baby is an easy baby, and makes the transition to being a mom of three kids fairly painless.  So far, anyway.

Life IS still very different around here, especially now that Erik is back to work and we are in between Grandma visits.  Samuel and Owen are used to doing something every day.  Sam has asked me so many times, "So what's today?  A pool day?  A park day?  A friend day?  A field trip day?"  Uhhh . . . how about a stay at home and watch TV and then a movie and then more TV day?  I have been so thankful for friends willing to borrow Sam for a bit, and also for a big backyard to toss the boys into when they need something new to do.  But I do feel pretty guilty about how boring our life has become.  My poor neglected bored unstimulated kids. Oh, and let's not forget over-tired.  Very very over-tired.  Their naps and night times have gone all wonky, too.  Sigh.  I'm sure we'll figure it out eventually.  There's always week two . . . or three . . . or . . . you know.

No one would have made it out alive this past week without Mormor.  She did way more than just hold my cute baby.  That just happens to be one of the perks of being a grandma.

Sleepy sleepy.

I love how interested both of the boys are in Emmett.

Owen has gotten a lot more Daddy time than he's maybe used to, but when Mom isn't an option, Dad isn't so bad.

"Om nom nom."

First bath at home.  No pics of the actual bath.  It was very fast.  He pooped.

"Yeah, I'm the easy one."

Doctor couldn’t find the heartbeat right away, so he plugged in the old school ultrasound machine.  As he gelled up my tummy he assured me the past 5 weeks of constant nauseau and 6 pukes a day were a really good sign.  Sure enough, there was our tiny little kumquat bopping around.  The heart beat was still tricky to see, but we did catch a quick flicker and Doc said, “It looks good, we have confirmed Life.” 

Guess that makes it pretty official.

September 4, 2010

Erik got some tickets to a Real Salt Lake MLS Soccer game for the second time.  The first time, just the two of us went with another couple.  We got to sit in a box, have unlimited hot dogs, popcorn, soda, and dessert, and enjoy the good company and a view.  This time, with “regular” tickets, we figured it would be fun to bring Samuel.  He was very excited about the idea of a night out with just Mom and Dad while Owen stayed home with the babysitter.  We did make Samuel take a nap before we left since we knew it would be a late night.  When we woke him up to leave, Sam was grumpy and whined he didn’t want to go to a soccer game.  He got over that fast.  So we drove up to Sandy, waited for the bus, and then rode over to the stadium.  It was a really fun night with hot dogs, nachos, snow cones, and even a special ball just for Sam.  Samuel enjoyed turning around and watching the big screen.  He also thought it was cool to see the lion mascot do handspring flips and throw the ball.  Of course, Sam was a little nervous about the noise and covered his ears half the time, but he still really got into the cheering and waving and clapping. 

On the drive home, Samuel clutched his new soccer ball on his lap and talked the whole way back.  I think it was a good night.

Owen started small a while ago, (this is from the end of June) but has since moved on to the slides at the park and completely mastered those, so this must be getting old . . .

Which must be why he decided to try something new . . .

Samuel was having fun with a pile of papers, some markers, and lots of stickers while I got some work done and Owen napped.  After a few different art pieces, Sam told me he needed to write a secret message to Erik.  I asked him what the message was, and he told me, “I’m not telling.  It’s a secret.”  Der, Mom.  When he was done, I asked again.  I know how good Sam is at secrets.  “It’s a secret message for Daddy.”  “Cool.  Can you tell me what it says?”  “It says ‘R’ ‘D’ and ‘O’ for octopus.”  I took a look at the secret message.  I was so pleased I giggled and then gave Sam a high-five.  He’s never written letters before.  I guess he’s never had a secret message he needed to get to Agent Dad.  I only wish he hadn’t written in invisible ink [Color Wonder marker on regular paper] so we non-spies could read it better.  Clever kid.  Love him.

Before a week of April snow, we had a really warm day with hail, thunder, and rain.  The boys and I sat on the front porch watching the storm.  When it slowed down, I asked Sam if he wanted to go play in the puddles.  He looked at me with the biggest grin and huge wide eyes, “YEEES!!” 

After running and splashing in the puddles, Samuel rolled around in the puddles.

The Puddle Jumping Champ!

Love my almond painted walls.  Love my new thick carpet.  And I can think of two more things I love.

I’ve got a pickle!

I’ve got a pickle!

I’ve got a pickle!  Hey hey hey hey!

The new trick.  {Please don’t make fun of Owen’s poor little head of hair.  He is very sensitive about it.}

 And again, you can tell me my boys look alike {like everyone else and their mom}.  But I won’t believe you.