Mowing With Daddy

One of Sam's favorite things to do is mow with Derrick. Lainey has always been terrified of the lawn mower, until she saw how much Sam likes it. So, they have to take turns. Today after Lainey had ridden a little while she came back in asking for sunglasses. We couldn't find hers so she wore mine.

Sam comes out of the toy room minutes later wearing these. It was so funny. He left them on pretty much all afternoon.

Here is a picture of Cy.  He had a checkup last week and weighed 17 pounds. It won't be long till he will be caught up with skinny Sam or until they are splitting time on the mower three ways. Time goes by too quickly.

 

 

T-ball & A Black Eye

Lainey is playing T-ball this year for the first time. She is not interested in sports in the least bit, so I am not sure why she wanted to play. Derrick, being a sports nut, is so excited. He took her to pick out a bat and glove. They came back with a Barbie bat and a pink glove.

Sam, on the other hand, LOVES ball and wants to be right in the middle of Lainey's practice at home and with her team. a few weeks ago he walked right in front of the tee and she nailed him right around his eye with her bat. He screamed and I carried him in the house. The moment I stepped inside his cry changed from an "I am hurting" cry to a "I want to go back outside" cry....boys! Anyway, a knot popped up and it looked awful until just a few days ago. (I thought I had a good picture of it, but maybe not.)

Crazy Day

Yesterday was wild. First, I oversplept which threw my whole day off. Both boys, who were in our bed, were still sleeping so I slept right along with them. When we did wake up, Sam was extremely fussy and clingy. He was like that old Sharpie commercial where the baby cried every time his mom tried to put him down. That along with Cy who was doing his share of crying too made for a lot of fun. When I got ready to start cooking lunch, Sam was still standing, crying at my legs, so I put him up on the counter where he proceeded to pour out the whole can of black pepper. I was afraid he might get it in his eyes so I moved him to another part of the counter where I had a bowl of sour cream and my phone. Yep, you guessed it. My phone met the sour cream. Derrick was over at the church office so I tried to call him just to make sure my phone would still work, and to ask him to please come home for lunch right then. My phone would not work. It acted like it was making a call but I couldn't hear anything. At this point I am crying right along with the two boys. A little back story, I have managed to lose or break 4 phones since last July, and I did not want to tell my husband that this 2 week old phone was torn up. Thankfully a q-tip fixed the phone, and I didn't have to beg for forgiveness. Moving on....after lunch Sam was covered in food so I put him in the bathtub. He was playing good, so I went to help Lainey get started on her school work. I go back to check on Sam and the bathtub is full of poop. All of that made for one exhausted mama. I am glad this is a new day!

Sweet Curls

These were taken right after a bath so the curls still have that perfectly curly curliness. I may never ever, ever, ever cut his hair....I mean his name is Samuel, so it would just be unbiblical, right??

Update for my critic: I know the difference between Samson and Samuel ;)

And she vowed a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head."
1 Samuel 1:11 ESV

God Provides

I have been knowing for a while that I was going to have to buy new (or used) summer clothes for all three of my kids. Lainey can only wear a few things that she wore last summer, Sam can't wear anything he wore last summer, and Cy can't wear any of Sam's 3-6 month stuff because it is all winter stuff. Well, Monday a friend asked if Sam was wearing 18 month clothes because she had some she was planning on selling. I ended up buying them all for ridiculously cheap...like better than consignment and better than thrift store cheap for enough clothes to last him all summer. And it is all name brand stuff that looks like it has hardly been worn. Then, yesterday I received an email from a lady from church telling me to stop by her office when I was in town and pick up a bag of clothes that her granddaughter had outgrown. This time I didn't pay a dime, and it was all name brand, very cute stuff. And, then today, Derrick was making a few visits, and another church member gave him a box of clothes that her grandson could no longer wear (again Sam's size) and 2 pair of New Balance shoes that looked like they might have been worn once. Being a stay-at-home mom is not without financial challenges, and it never ceases to amaze me at the little ways that God makes it possible. I pray that I never forget just how faithful He is.

Our Life Lately....

...and another attempt to start blogging better. I know I am a horrible blogger, and one day I am going to regret that I didn't write down more things that my kids did or said. So, once again, I attempt to blog this crazy life. I will start with Derrick. This is what he does ALL THE TIME...



He is reading a book if you can't tell. If he isn't preparing to preach, he is studying for his seminary classes. He will graduate May 14th with his Masters of Divinity. We are both counting down the days. I am really proud of him, but more than that I am just ready to have my husband back full time.

Lainey is getting to be a big girl, and it seems like it has just happened overnight. She is a huge help with the two boys. I was the oldest child and I can remember getting so mad at my parents about how much more responsibility I had than my younger siblings. I understand my mom so much better now. I have a brother who is 18 months younger than I am, a sister who is 6 years younger, and a brother who is 8 years younger. I can remember changing my brothers diapers when I was in the 3rd grade. I now understand that my parents, Mom especially, needed all the help she could get in the same way that I need Lainey's help. And I really feel like I am better off for it. However, since I do know how it is to be the oldest I am trying my best to not make her too grown too soon because she already thinks she is a teenager.

A few people have asked about her imaginary friends. They are still around, but not as much as they used to be. Tonight out of the blue she informed me that Saylee just turned 9 and she had a big birthday party. A few months ago she told us that Barba died, but then later she told us that she was still alive, she had just moved to Florida and got a new phone number. Jonathon is her boy imaginary friend. Sometimes he is her husband, sometimes her boyfriend, sometimes her son...I guess she has more trouble coming up with boy names?

Sam is almost 18 months and beginning to be more verbal. He can say Mama, Daddy, Lainey, and Cy, but he can not say his own name. He can say candy, ball, hat, Mimi, Pops, G.G., maybe a few others but I can't think of them right now. He is ALL boy and into everything. He loves ball. Maybe he will have his daddy's love of sports. He is a very loving child. He still has to be rocked to sleep, but Derrick is a lot better at rocking him to sleep than I am. He still does not sleep through the night. We have the WORST sleeping situation right now. Before Cy was born I would just go get Sam out of his bed and put him in our bed when he woke up in the middle of the night. Well nothing has changed since Cy has been in the world, and it is just easier right now for Cy to sleep with us for middle of the night feedings. Long story shorter....the four of us end up in our queen size bed every night, while 2 baby beds are empty. It is pretty miserable. We have considered purchasing bunk beds with a full size on bottom already. I think it is way too early to move him out of a crib but at least that way when he wakes up either Derrick or I can go lay down with him until he goes back to sleep. Oh and the pacifier...we may never get rid of that thing, and I am ok with that right now.
Cy is 3 months. He is growing and smiling and laughing. Other than that there isn't a whole lot to tell. I am guessing that he weighs about 15 lbs. He weighed 13lbs and some oz. at his 2 month checkup. Occasionally he will sleep through the night. He will not take a bottle and we found that the hard way. Derrick and I went out for our anniversary (6 years) a few weeks ago, and my parents came to keep the kids. I don't think he took but about an ounce of that bottle. Needless to say, he was starving when we got home. I am not sure if my parents will ever keep all 3 of them again.


*Please ignore all grammatical errors and run on sentences. I am choosing to not proofread this for the time being.*

The Past 5 Months

This is what we have been up to since the last time I blogged...This could be a really long post. Here it goes:
I will start with the biggest news. In April/May we found out we are expecting a 3rd baby due on Christmas Day. This was a big surprise especially since we had so much trouble getting pregnant with Sam. God is so good.

Lainey started taking dance classes in January. She absolutely loves it. In May, her class had two performances, one at Market Street and then a recital. I was so proud of how well she did.

(Just realized the dates on the pics are totally off. Maybe I will get it together one day!)

Also in May, I got 5 new cousins. My aunt and uncle adopted them from Russia. They felt that the Lord was leading them to adopt. They didn't plan on 5, but God had different plans for them. They already have 2 children, Ashley is 15 and Clay is 13. The new children are ages 2, 3, 4, 5, and 10. I wish I had pictures to share. They are all so precious.


In June the Southern Baptist Convention was held in Orlando, FL. Well, you don't travel all the way to Orlando and not go to Disney World! My mom went with us to help out with the kids while Derrick was at the convention. It was a lot of fun, but I won't do it again if I am pregnant or have an infant!

Here is a picture of my sweet Sam. He weighs 22 lbs now. He is such a happy, active baby. I would post more of these pictures but it took me about an hour to rotate this one. I am now reminded of why I don't blog more often!