Forgotten 2nd child

Poor Sammy. He does not get the intense media coverage his sister enjoyed from Day One. His 3-month "birthday" came and went without a mention at all. We love him, but somehow those baby milestones pale in comparison to Annie's constant stream of new and exciting phrases. He is definitely loved, and we aren't too worried about his emotional development; both of his parents are 2nd children. Here's a little update on Sammers:

-He's 3 months and 8 days old now. That went fast!

-We marvel at his blue eyes. Recessive genes in action! Dad: hazel eyes, Mom: green eyes, Anne: brown eyes. Go figure.

-He has rolled over from his tummy to his back 3 times, but I'm not sure I'd record it in the baby book just yet. Kind of flukey, in my opinion.

-He babbles a lot, smiles a lot, and laughs if you tickle his neck/shoulders

-He likes to sleep on his side and suck his left thumb

-I'm not sure his feet have grown one centimeter since birth. They seemed so big, and now they look kind of petite

-He can stare at a toy or his hands for a LONG time. I guess that comes from being slightly neglected while we attend to Anne/dog/house matters :(

-He startles easily. Loud laughter or a loud sneeze will make him cry pretty hard, though only for a short while.

-We call him the "handsome devil" because he is just so good looking and quite charming.

Here he is giving his thumb some love. Just like his big sister, he wanted that thumb from his first day home, but is just now figuring out how to get it. Now he needs his own little blankies and we'll be in business!

Video Update

Annie has been singing quite a bit lately. She has always really liked songs, and I know she is doing a lot more singing at Oma's house these days. Tonight in the car she sang her version of "Old McDonald" It went like this (according to Sam, the only eyewitness):

Ol Dick Donald farm
E-I-E-I-O
On the farm had a cow
E-I-E-I-O
Moo moo
Moo moo
Moo moo
Moo moo
All through the town
Amen!

She also sings the whole alphabet, though her pronunciation of some letters is a little slurred...

Here she is doing a pretty good job of singing the days of the week:

More interesting speech...

As Annie gets closer to using the potty, she is more aware of what's going on in her diaper. Here she is at daycare announcing to the world "I tootie in my diaper!" Then she keeps saying it because it is making Lucy laugh. That's my girl!

From the mouths of babes

Annie had me cracking up today. A sampling of her thoughts:

Annie: That's the sleepyhead. (from a book we have)
Me: Are you a sleepyhead?
A: Nope.
M: What are you?
A: A girl
M: Is mommy a girl?
A: Nope. Mommy's a mommy


Annie: I want some juice
Me: No, that's mommy's juice
A: Only one.....or two......how about six?



Annie: Love you
Me: Oh, I love you, too!
Annie: I love you, TV.

Stop: Pajama Time

Attempted another sibling photo shoot last night. Results were mixed--nothing suitable for the Christmas card, which is what we were trying for. Oh well. Here's the best shot of the two of them:

And Annie attempting her first piledriver. I thought I had to have 2 boys before there was any wrestling in my house...
Sammy, the good second child, looks resigned to his impending beating.

Not quite Christmas

I know it is a little early, but I stumbled on to this video on YouTube and had to share it.

Christmas has a lot more significance after you become a parent (at least it does for me), and this song was just so beautiful. Watch it only if you have 5 minutes to spare and are in a place where you're not embarrassed to get a little weepy!

InstaBlog

Sometimes you've got to blog it as soon as it happens.

Annie was just asking for some raisins as I was unloading the dishwasher. She came and stood by me and started shifting her weight from one foot to another. She was half talking, half singing and it went something like this:

I love raisins
(shift to other foot)
And sugar
(shift)
And pepper
(shift)
And sauce

It was too funny!

And Opa, right now she's asking for "G-O Dog in my heart" Getting her videos mashed together!

Samuel

Here are some gorgeous pictures of Sam, taken by my friend, Ginger. This was early September, and he's already changed so much! It was nice to look back at his early babyhood.




Thanks, Ginger...you're the best :)

Um, yeah, that's awkward

In the category "things I never thought I'd experience" comes today's story of how my son gave me a hickey.

That's right, folks. A not-so-small purple bruise that makes it look like I've been making-out pretty intensely.

Sammy wants to suck his thumb so badly. In his attempts, he usually ends up sucking/chewing on his fists in a slurpy manner. Last night he was sleeping with us (I know, I know, bad habit) and I was trying to keep his pacifier in his mouth. He was getting grumpy so I shifted positions and put him up over my shoulder, thinking he might have a burp lingering in his tummy. He didn't, but he found himself a bit of contentment in sucking on the bottom of my neck/top of my shoulder. I knew he was doing it, but I thought "It's 3 am and I don't care!" Lo and behold, this morning I had a huge hickey on my neck! I had to dab some makeup on it and give thanks that my ID lanyard would cover it up. It's too hot in the library for a turtleneck :)

So there you have it. The most bizarre and uncomfortable parenting story you will hear this year. I shared with some friends at work today and they found it quite amusing.

A blurry picture of the damage done.

Sweater Vest

Because Auntie Erin thinks they are so cute!

Related much?

Jigga what!?!

There are no words. Just watch this. Annie finds it hilarious. (She says "Watch joy joy in my heart, Mommy.)

2 Month Check-Up, and Annie speaks (even more!)

Sammy went to the doctor on Monday for his 2-month visit. It was originally scheduled for last Monday, but our doctor was out sick. I let go of some Mom Guilt/Obligation and had Sam take the baby to the doctor alone. I went to work. It was harder than I thought to let it go--I know Sam is capable of handling a doctor's appointment, but I felt a little bad missing it. Seemed senseless, though, to waste at least 2 hours of sick time and write a sub plan just to be at a routine visit.

Side note: There should be special parenting books written for teachers. I would estimate that half of the "working mom" advice out there does not apply to people who work in schools. You can't have a flex-time schedule, you can't visit your baby on lunch, you can't be gone unless you write 3 pages of detailed plans for the person who will be here in your place, no coming in early so you can leave early. You do get to be home all summer, though... :)

Anyway, here are Sammy's stats:

Weight: 12 lbs, 7 oz
Length: 23.5 inches

He is exactly average in all areas, including head size. Apparently he is the perfect model of a 2-month old boy.



In Annie news, she says "Oh" and "Too" now. As in, "I need some chocolate, too."

Last night I was in the living room and Sam was in the office. I yelled to him "What are you doing?" and he replied "I was going to let Annie watch her puppy videos, but she left." And Annie perked right up and said "Oh, my G-O Dog!" and walked right in there. Sam and I about died laughing. Later she walked by her blankie on the couch and said "Oh, there's my deedee."

Anne received some new Play-Doh the other day. She kept asking me to open it so she could play with it. I was busy with other stuff, but she kept persisting. She kept saying "You cut it." meaning "You cut open the package". I finally decided to open it for her, and then I couldn't find it. We looked on the table, on the couch, all around. Finally I looked at Annie and said "Where did you put it?" and she pointed to the counter near the kitchen shears and said "Right there." There was the Play-Doh, just waiting for me! How nice to have such a verbal child!

Halloween!

Here they are, in all their costumed glory.

My penguin was crabby all day long, and this was no exception. He probably felt bad for being dressed as a penguin when the Wild were in Pittsburgh playing Sid the Kid.
My "canny corn" receives her special treats from Oma.

She really didn't like her costume very much, but she humored me for a little while.
We had a whole plan to visit lots of friends and trick-or-treat a little bit, but Daddy got held up at work and we got a late start, so we just went to Oma's and to Karl and Christine's to visit baby Madelyn. Her grandma Cindy was there, and she held Sammy and he calmed right down! Just laid on her, looking around, and then fell asleep. Stinker.

In response to Saturday's lack of baby sleep, this mama has given up the coffee. I was a grumpy sourpuss all day yesterday, but then Sammy slept from 9:00 pm to 5:30am, which made it a bit easier to handle. But I'll miss you, coffee! I'll miss you, Diet Coke! See you again in 4 months or so...