Party Time

We had a little party for Sam on his birthday.  It was very low-key; we only invited family and our friends Joey and Jennifer.  It was Cars theme.  Every time you ask Sam what kind of birthday he is going to have he says, "Vroom" - his word for car!  

Tyler and Erica

Mimi, Sam, and Papa

We watched the Razorback game before the party- and I was so glad the Hogs pulled off the win :)

 Sam had a lot of help with the presents!

Sam and Woody (or as Sam says Woowy)

Mama and Sam

Erica and Sam

 Haven and Ava (my little fashionista picked out her clothes for the party)

We all had a great time - especially the birthday boy! 

Sam is 2!

My baby turned two on Saturday! 

2 years ago

Today

Sam is so full of life!  He is such a Mommy's boy still.  He is a little apprehensive around people he doesn't know, and likes to stay close to Mommy :)  He loves his sister and wherever she wants to go he will follow.  And every day I ask him, "Are you my buddy?"  and hes says, "No Daddy!"  Daddy can do no wrong as far as Sam is concerned.  He is an eater.  He will eat just about anything that I put on his plate, and he is still eating when the rest of us have been done for a while.  He is not taking a lot, but is definitely starting to say a lot more lately.  He loves to play with balls, cars and trucks, stuffed animals, and destroy anything that Ava is playing with!  He sleeps with three bears, his pacifier, two pillows, and his blanket (and you have to find it all before he goes to bed)!  He is pretty stingy with his hugs and kisses, so I really treasure it when I get one!  Sam - you make our life so full and have completed our family.  We love you!

Back to School

The kids started back to Mother's Day Out last week.  As much as I love summer, I was so ready to get back into a routine.  We are definitely busy (busier than I ever thought I would be staying at home). 

Our schedule:

Monday - MOPS and I have a night class
Tuesday - MDO
Wednesday- Dance
Thursday- MDO
Friday - Playgroup


I surprised them with new backpacks on the first morning.  As you can tell they were a big hit!!

Sam was done with pictures at this point :)

Dance Dance Dance

Where do I even begin?  We have had so much going on lately!  And I am mad at myself for not blogging more about the kids this summer because this has been such a fun time to watch them grow.  Like the fact that Ava is obsessed with clothes - seriously.  She calls her clothes her "wardrobe," and she has to look at, count, organize, sleep with, her wardrobe every day.  And we have a battle EVERY morning and EVERY night about what she is going to wear?  Is this normal?  Am I raising a diva?  Too many Fancy Nancy books?  I don't know!

And Sam is such a boy!  He is not happy if he is not eating, making a mess, or playing with cars or balls! He is talking a lot more now - some new words this week  - Buzz (Lightyear), yes (before he just grunted), and watch me!

Anyway Ava started dance a couple weeks ago, and she loves it!  It is so funny because she really has a tendency to be shy in a new situation, but she has not been like that at all in dance.  She is making new friends and having so much fun which is exactly what I wanted. 

Showing off her new dance bag!

Alaina, Ava, and Ellen - dance buddies!

I told her to do a ballet pose and this is what I got - ha!

I hope everyone is having a great week - more posts to come :)

Viva Mexico

James and I had the opportunity to spend a week in Punta Mita, Mexico.  It was absolutely wonderful and a much needed break for this tired Mommy!! 

The welcome reception our first night -gorgeous view and  the best Mexican food ever! 

A little boat brought in fish every day, and the guests could pick a fish and the chef would cook it for you- how cool is that?

The building where we stayed was surrounded by this lazy river. 

The amazing pool

This vacation was exactly what every vacation should be.  I spent every morning here - at the spa!!

Catching Up

I have a lot of catching up to do.  This has been such a busy summer.  I just feel like I can't catch up with anything. We had such a fun 4th of July that I wanted to post some pictures - better late than never right??!!

We had lots of family visit our lake house in Hot Springs. We all had so much fun and hope to do it again next year :)

Grandpa and Ava are ready for a boat ride

We didn't pull anyone on this, but the kids loved to sit on it when we stopped to swim.

Group picture (Aunt Linda was taking the picture).  Love how James and his dad are in the background!

Sam jumping to Aunt Susan

Love this picture (and this boy) as you can tell!!

I tried so hard again to get a good 4th of July picture, but this is the best we could manage - ha!!

We let Ava stay up and watch fireworks .  Words cannot express how much she loved it.  She screamed and giggled for two days after.

Brayden, Sam, and Ava.  Love the look of pure concentration on Sam's face :)  And does Sam not look like he is Ava's age here?  He is just three months older than Brayden.  Why is my baby growing so fast (sniff)?

Uncle Alan, Ava, and Russell

Water Babies

We have been swimming like crazy lately in this heat.  I will admit that I fought James tooth and nail over putting in a pool (and it still scares me a lot).  On the other hand, it is nice to have it at home.  There are a lot of things to pack and get ready to go to the pool - it is very nice to have all of that in the backyard.  It has really saved me this summer.

Sam completely scared me the first day he got in the water.  I wanted him to love it (and he does), but he has no fear.  I have since taught him how to climb into the pool using the stairs instead of just falling into the pool anywhere. He still wants to jump in though and will jump off the diving board.  He is wearing a little puddle jumper which has been great for him.

Ava just picked right up where she left off from last year.  She is still wearing Floaties (which is fine with me) and is really comfortable swimming all around the pool.  Right now we are working on putting her head under and floating on her back.  Swim lesson will probably wait until next year!