Look-a-Like Contest

Who do you think they look like?


Sam at 3 months and Paul at 3 months

Me at 3 months and Jer at 3 months

Me 2 years old, Paul 2 years old, and Jer 5 years old
(we couldn't track down a pic of Jer at 2, but you get the idea)

Memorial Day 2007

We had a great time at the park with a bunch of Optometry friends, eating
dinner, playing frisbee and hanging out.

Summer Buzz

Jer gave Paul a summer buzz cut. Sadly, I miss all his beautiful red hair, but it was getting little wild and he doesn't sit still long enough for me to do much with it. Good job with the haircut, Daddy!

Morning Cartoons

Sam is getting good at trying to sit up. Here he is in his boppy pillow one morning--he balanced for quite a while. He's so strong!

Sam Rolls Over

Sam started rolling last week from his belly to his back and I finally got it on video. He's really getting into a fun stage. All day long he's been talking to himself (oh no! if I get two talkers!). He's beginning to grab things, play with toys and discover his hands. He likes to watch his brother and he gets distracted by Paul when he's eating.

We Miss Daddy!

At about 7:15 this morning Paul's eyelids fluttered open and he said, "Where's Daddy?" I said that he was at clinic for the day. He said, "Oh-uh," disappointedly. He tossed and turned a little, trying to wake up and then looked at me and said, "oh-uh" again.

Jer started his rotations today and he'll have some long days with lots of commuting. Paul is a big Daddy's boy and asks about Daddy many times during the day. As he declared when I tried to explain how Daddy goes to clinic to take care of us and Mommy stays home to have fun with him, "I want Mommy and Daddy, though." So, we miss Daddy!

Spring Cleaning

So, I got on this kick to clean out the house. The last two days we went through almost every room throwing away a lot and re-organizing. It's been pretty fun for me since I'm a weirdo like that. I came across a lot of things from college: old journal entries, papers I wrote, past assignments, etc. I had some fun reminiscing and was surprised by how many things I'd forgotten. It's odd to think how much has changed--I almost don't seem like the same person anymore. I had interesting ideas and relationships. I was always thinking and writing and working with people and discovering new things. I analyzed and laughed more. It was a wonderful time of life. I told Jeremy it was weird that the three most important people to me now, didn't even exist in my life then. It's hard not to miss life before poopy diapers, endless household chores, monotonous days and toddler-talk. But, honestly, I wouldn't trade it. I love being a mom, even though it's not exciting or as easy as I thought. I'm trying to focus on being my best self and making my life what I want it to be (so I can ward off those baby blues.) And I realized my life really has taken a back seat to the lives of my boys, but that's rewarding in other ways too. So, here's to motherhood... and gratitude for journals so I could escape into my past life for a few hours today!

Just a funny note: Paul was following us around, making his own piles of things. I asked him if he wanted to be a writer when he grew up and he said, "No, I'm going on a mission like Uncle Neil." So I think it's worth giving up myself for a little while to raise a missionary (or two) :)

Sweet Sam

Sam will be 3 months old on Wednesday. He likes to try to sit up and he does sit-ups in his bed when he's ready to get up. He likes to watch his big brother play and he loves mirrors. He loves watching Baby Einstein and he talks to the puppets when they come on.
Sam is an angel-baby. He eats well and sleeps pretty well and he doesn't fuss very often. He's a very easy-going baby. He has a calm and sweet personality.
I've been trying to get him on a schedule. I was very rigid from the start with Paul's schedule and I've been taking it easy with Sam (except when he had his days and nights mixed up the first couple weeks). Now he prefers to cat-nap all day--not being awake much more than an hour and not sleeping more than an hour either. He's adjusting to learning how to be awake longer and nap longer though. And I'm trying to figure out the best combo for it all.
But Sam is wonderful and I love having a newborn again. Sometimes when I'm holding him I'm overwhelmed that he's actually mine. He's so perfect. I know that he's a very special little person and I'm grateful to be his mother.

Ode to Jer

Today is Jeremy's birthday--29! So I thought I'd write what I love about Jer.
1. Jeremy is a fabulous Dad--he's very involved with caring for the boys.
2. He is a wonderful husband.
3. Jeremy is my best friend.
4. He is really funny--I love that he makes me laugh.
5. He is super smart--he takes his education very seriously.
6. He loves asking lots of questions about everything.
7. He reads boring books--like biographies and finance books.
8. Jer has lots of hobbies and loves to learn new things.
9. He is a sports enthusiast. (Go Cubs!)
10. Jer seriously wishes he could have stayed 10 years old his whole life.
11. Jeremy loves to make up new games to play.
12. He also loves to play boring games--Boggle, Scrabble, Jeopardy.
13. Jer is VERY loyal.
14. He values honesty and sincerity.
15. Jer loves to be different and go against the crowd.
16. Jeremy loves to eat and is especially fond of my cooking, even possessive of it. :)
17. Jer doesn't care what other people think.
18. He is very sentimental.
19. Jer is not into fashion. (Ok, so maybe I don't love this one.)
20. He is a great provider for his family.
21. Jer is highly respected by his peers.
22. He is helpful.
23. Jer likes to figure out how to fix things.
24. He is family-oriented.
25. He hates the hiccups, the Yankees, and chocolate.
26. He is modest and doesn't like if I brag about him.
27. Jer likes to sit in the bathroom for long periods of time.
28. Jer hates baby-talk, which is probably why Paul has such a great vocabulary.
29. He loves me!