July Photo Update: Sammy

And now, the boy:

Covered in frosting after lunging across the table and stealing a handful of Anne's cookie. This kid is a food monster. Watch your plate.
His favorite game is "knock down all the puzzles" and then crawl around, sending the pieces flying under the furniture (and giving his Mommy a panic attack)

"Vintage" Carter's pajamas. They are the old-school style with the snaps at the waist. You really can't wear out Carter's clothes--they last forever!

Pulling up to stand (anywhere and everywhere)

Showing off his big baby blues.

July Photo Update: Anne

A few quick pics of our girl over the last few weeks:

Sporting her favorite jammies..."They say 'I love Daddy'"
I took her picture while she was sleeping. Not in a creepy way, just appreciating how peaceful she looked. My photo doesn't do it justice (since I have little talent in that area), but when I was looking at her it was like a strange look into the future...kind of a peek at her adult face...a weird moment that I tried to capture on film.

Humid days make for tight curls!

This one hung in her face all day; just a perfect corkscrew.

Making her favorite "funny face" She learned it from watching "Yo Gabba Gabba" Darn that TV! (Just kidding, TV, we love you. You keep Sam employed and food on our table)

An oldie, but a goodie

My Sams on Memorial Day. They are both very hug-y people. Good thing they have each other!

Sammy speaks? Anne sure does.

I'm not sure it is official yet, but The Boy is making progress towards speech. He has a few consistent sounds that he makes when we say certain words to him. For example:

Buh=Bear
Assat=what's that?
Dadadadada=Daddy

He has also made noises that sound like "Sam" (Sah!) and "Mom" (Mum!).

He is crawling like a pro and pulls up to stand on EVERYTHING. Crib, coffee table, Anne's bed, changing table, etc. So fun to watch, since it is our first time with a kid who follows the traditional motor progression.

Anne's here, too, and I'm not forgetting about her. She's just not doing quite as many new things as Sammy right at the moment. She did have a couple of verbal gems tonight:

"Can you put me down so I can get my DeeDee?" Not very interesting, but that's a lot of words for someone who is not yet 3.

She likes to watch videos on YouTube from the musical "Annie", and tonight she looked at me and said "I have Daddy Warbucks. I call him Sam Warbucks." I about died laughing. She thinks the girl in the video IS her...she will look at her shoes and tell me "these are not my tap shoes" or "that is my curly hair!" There is some slight confusion regarding two people having the same name.

We were having a rough evening here at home and apparently I had a distressed look because Anne stopped eating and said "Don't cry, Mama." So intuitive sometimes!

She also talks to her babies (and to Sammy) just the same way I talk to her. It is hard to convey in text form, but it is funny to hear your own words and inflections coming out of someone else's mouth. And she has made it clear that I say "Have a good day" every time I leave her at Oma's, because that is what she says to her babies when she leaves them "at daycare"

Tonight her baby need a timeout because "she hit my friend Mr. 'Tato Head"

We were out walking and Anne said that "no" is not a nice word. I asked her to list some nice words. Here they are:

Please
Be quiet
I love Daddy
I'm sorry

A pretty good list, I must say!

All in all, we have a very chatty house right now. Someone is always talking. Good thing for naptime--this librarian needs some quiet.

Small Rant

I do not like articles on the Web or in magazines that claim you can "get the look on a budget" because their idea of "budget" is my idea of "splurge" Seriously, a $59 shirt is NOT a deal! Here are my personal guidelines for shopping:

Shirts: $5 or less
Pants/Shorts/Skirts/Sweaters: $10 or less
Shoes: $15 or less
Dress: $25 or less
Make-up/Beauty product: $3 or less

You're either thinking "Wow, that's cheap" or "Wow, that's why she always looks so crappy!"

Today I'm wearing a $4 shirt, $5 pants, and $10 sandals (which I felt guilty about buying). My belt I've owned since roughly 2003, so it's paid for itself.

Talking with a co-worker one day I received a compliment on my outfit. I said, "Oh, thanks." and proceeded to explain that my shirt was a Christmas gift, my skirt was a thrift score, my tights were 75% off ($2.50 instead of $10), and my knee-high boots were a super-deal at $10. She was very impressed. So don't comment on my clothes unless you want the story of where they came from!

I can't remember the last time I paid full price for any article of clothing (well, I pay full price at the thrift store, but that's different). But really, the prices above reflect what I think things are actually worth. A cotton t-shirt should not cost more than $5 because it isn't worth any more than that! I think someone should contact me about doing some "budget shopping" articles.