And we're off... SUMMERTIME!

We're just about to kick off summer! We have a lot planned for the next couple months, swimming lessons, kitchen re-do, Harry Potter weekend, probable trips to Iowa and the lakehouse, and an extended week long party with friends from out of town. Here are some fun pictures of the last week around here. Noah got an owwie on his ear and requested a bandaid. Now you other moms know the magical healing power of the bandaid, so I slap em on at the smallest request because it seems to help us get over our tears quickly. Noah turns to me and says, "Mom, look, it's a walkie talkie phone!" He realized it looked just like a blue tooth.

Sammy is finally army crawling! It ain't pretty, but it gets him from point A to point B. It's a cross between pathetic and hilarious to watch. He looks like some crippled animal trying to drag his body behind him. But we're mobile after a lot of hard work. Way to go Sam!
Noah is starting to play computer games and can independently move the mouse around and click on things and follow directions. It's nice to have another activity for him to do when we are busy with something else or just need him to be occupied for a few minutes. Mike lets him wear his headphones. Our future gamer!
And Sam turned 10 months old this week! He is SUCH a happy/funny baby now, it's fun to watch him giggle at his brother or the dog or just about anything. Too cute!

Remembering

As most of you know, Mike's mom passed away late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning. We have been through the wringer of emotions this week, but we have had the fortune of being surrounded by wonderful family and friends to support us during this difficult time. Mike and I both feel the responsibility of helping the boys know her, even though she isn't here. So as part of that, I want to write down Noah's responses to everything to help him remember all the wonderful things he has said and done this week in regard to his Abba Abba (grandma).

5/18/11: As we were explaining to Noah what had happened to Mike's mom, he asked if she would come home to her house again. We said no that now she’s in heaven with God. He said, “Oh, that’s where she belongs now.” Then he told us that he would take care of us because we were sad and hugged us both.

5/19/11: We were talking over breakfast about what we remembered about Abba Abba and Noah said, “she was a little bit crazy.”

5/20/11: At the wake we were having a family moment at the casket, Mike and I were teary eyed and explaining to Noah what the casket was and how we should pray for Abba Abba. It was a very sad moment and then Noah turned to Mike and asked, “Is Abba Abba going to heaven in this box!” incredulously as if we were sending her via UPS.

5/21/11: At the end of the funeral for Abba Abba, Noah was very concerned about who was going in which car. He noted that Daddy was going in the big black car (the limo) and he was going in the car with Mommy, and that Bamma and Bampa were going in their car, etc. Then he asked, “Is Abba Abba walking to heaven?” Indeed she is Noah, or knowing her she's doing the electric slide all the way there with margarita in hand.

Again, a big THANKS to everyone for all their support. To those who emailed, facebooked, texted, called, came to some or all of the services, and helped out with the boys. We thank you each and everyone, it means the world to all of us.

Stats Update for Sammy

Whew, we just got home from the morning of appointments. Sam went to see the pediatrician where he weighed in at 18 lbs 13 oz and 27.5 inches. Both around 30th percentile, which is surprising considering his apparent chubbiness. She offered some helpful suggestions to get him crawling, but was not concerned that he isn't moving around yet. So that went well. Then we were down the hall to the dentist for Noah. It was his first trip to see Dr. Diane and he was amazing. He sat in the chair, opened his mouth, allowed for some scraping to remove plaque, used the suction on his own, and got polished up. I was amazed how well he did! So woohoo for well behaved, healthy boys!

In other news, Ms. Evie now has her own blog, so feel free to slide on over there to check her out. Just click on "The Princess" link on my list of friends' blogs. And yes, we call her the princess because she is our princess. Even if you ask Noah, "who is the princess?" he'll respond with "baby evie" every time :) Enjoy and have a great weekend! Sorry for the lack of pictures (mom!).

Teeth....finally!

Our resident "chunker" as we like to call him finally has some chompers! We've been waiting for what seems like MONTHS for this sleepy fellow to finally pop some teeth.

He actually sprouted BOTH his top two front teeth over the last week. At the rate this kid downs solid foods, these things are going to come in handy!
I know, you can't really see the teeth here, but isn't he just so stinkin' cute!
It's hard to capture little tooth buds on camera, but I wanted to make sure I marked the occasion for myself so that when I go to do his baby book (you know, after he turns one because I'm a slacker) I can actually know when he got his first tooth.
And what has #1 been up to lately? Well he's been really "sad" going to bed at night, so recently daddy promised him a surprise if he went to bed like a good boy. Can you see what it was?
The boy's first twinkie!
It was finger lickin' good!
Reminiscent of some donut devouring of days past, isn't it?