Nate 10/15/07  Had cell phone up to his ear (closed) babbling into it

Sam’s speech (funny words):

ch(sh)ows = cows

bebber = better

doobaid = doobaid

crown (as in "i broke my") = frown

Sam pooped in his pullup at nap time. Then he tried to empty it into his little potty himself.  He got poop all over his carpet.  When i walked in his room and saw it- he looked at me with a serious look and said "You tan’t be mad at me, Mommy." I, of course, laughed despite myself.

Sam is really quite the guy.  He is talking in sentences. Today we played "knockdown" while I made our bed. He says, "knock me down adain".  I knock him down and he pops right back up and says it again!  He is fast.  After they had a bath and Sam "helped" me put Nate to bed tonight, he helped me go outside and take out the trash AND the recyclables.  Then he ran like madman around the wet yard  and fell in the dirt.  When we came in we had to give just his feet and hands another bath. 

Upstairs in his room after a story he kept saying, "Doe sleep, I wake you up."  He has a ball with that game.   

The boys are also starting to play together more.  They like to play screaming games and Nate simply LOVES to watch his big brother do just about anything!  Once that boy gets moving there will be no stopping him!

Lastly,  Sammy really melts my heart when I say "Goodnight, I love you" and he follows with "love you, too!"  Boy, did I long to hear that for a lot of years, and now here it is!  I hope it lasts forever - with BOTH of them!

The boys were tired today too.  I wonder if we are all coming down with something.

I feel like I spend a lot of time telling Sam what to do or what he did wrong. it takes a great deal of energy and patience not to get angry and lose my cool with him.  I was not very good at it- but last night I made it "not ok" to strike him in anger.  Today I tried lowering my voice, and then plopping him in a chair when that didn’t work. 

I often feel, though, like I am talking to a wall when I say the same thing over and over and over. I find myself starting to get tougher on him and even plopping him in a chair simply for not listening and following directions.  Is he too young for this?

One improvement I could make on this technique is to make sure I catch his eye whenever I am giving inctructions to make sure he understood me. That’s another thing.  I think maybe I don’t look him in the eye enough because he often won’t look me in the eye during discipline or to hear instruction.

On a different note, Nate is growing so fast.  I took pictures of him sitting on the living room floor all by himself today.  i also (at Mom’s suggestion) bathed him in the big bathtub with his brother tonight.  He really seemed to like it.  Sam did too and evven tried to help me hold him up.

The nighttime routine will really get easier when I can bathe them together consistently.

Ok, got chores to do and dessert to eat.

I am writing this to you, Sam, and I hope one day you will read it and know what a wonderful little boy you were, and just how much your Mommy loves you. I just left my favorite one of your bears on your pillow right next to your head and kissed your cheek, as you slept.

At two years and 4 months old you are quite the little character.  Your Daddy and I are totally enamored by you.  You are a little man in the making.

Ok - I am finally getting back to this and now you are almost 2 and a half.  You are still quite the little man. You are totally oin love with frogs.  You currently have twenty two of them in all shapes and sizes.  You have singing frogs, frogs that say "bibbit", a magnet frog, a tin of frog cards, a frog greeting card, A great big huge frog and little frogs too.  We throw them down the staairs when you get up in the morning and throw them back up at naptime and big sleep time.  We rarely leave the house without at least one frog in tow.

You talk all the time and are developing quite an understanding of the world around you. Unfortunately, you have learned the words "No", "I don’t want to". "mine", and "right now" very well! Today, when I asked you to pick something up you said "ohhkaaayy" like a sighing teenager would.

The other day when we pulled into Stewart’s to get gas- you said "I want ice cream." I had no idea you knew we could get ice cream there. Of course, I got you ice cream!

I look at you every single day in awe and amazement at how much you have grown, how much you have learned, and what a wonderful little person you are becoming. Tonight you were trying hard to fit frogs on the shelf under the television. You could not fit a particular one and you said "Mommy, this frog too big".  I gave you a suggestion on how to rearrange them so they would fit.  You looked totally befuddled for a bit - then you figured out something different than what I said, but it worked. 

You are a good little helper too.  You put your dishes in the sink after we eat. You often put the rest of Nate’s bottle in the refrigerator or wash Nate’s feet when I am bathing him.  If I ask you to put your clothes in the laundry you push them through the cat hole in the basement door!

Lately, when I say "I love you so much.",  You follow with "I love you so much, too."

I could tell you so much more about what a wonderful little guy you are, but once again , I am ending my day exhausted. I will add to this letter or write more to you soon. I love you Sam.

Nater Tater is not quite five months old and he had his first Easter today. He played with Didda, Amma, Robin and Amanda.  He also played with all his new toys. He learned last night how to give raspberries.  Robin and Amanda taought him. When I was trying to put him to bed tonight, he looked me right in the eye and gave me raspberries.  It was so hard to put him down after that!

For Easter he wore his cute little suit that used to be Sam’s. He got to eat some Jello jiggler too.  He seemed to like it.

I could write about it for hours but I’m too exhausted.  The day started out quiet but I guess it was the calm before the storm.  I will bullet the days challenges, disasters, idiosyncracies, whatever one would call them.

• baby takes long nap when we are planning to go to the store
• mommy wakes baby to feed before going to the store
• toddler poops and pees on potty while baby feeds
• once fed, burped changed and dressed, baby screams in car seat while mommy chases toddler around with his clothes
• Where did the poop from the potty go? - It is nowhere to be found - OH GOD, THE DOG ATE IT!
• at last minute mommy tries to pee and toddler says "i pee too"
• off comes the coat, pants, and pull-up, only to have toddler try to jump from one potty to the other with no real interest in peeing or "pupping"
• mommy redresses kicking screaming toddler against his wishes and carries him to the car and fights to buckle him in
• runs back for baby, purse, keys and such
• toddler loses mommy’s brand new gloves at the store
• baby screaming upon arrival home
• leave groceries in car - feed baby while toddler waits
• toddler tries to pull dogs privates with pliers - upon reprimand moves to tail, then ears
• baby screaming while mommy removes toddler from dog
• mommy and toddler have late lunch - toddler doesn’t eat
• nap time - toddler screams cause mommy only reads one book
• mommy runs around like mad woman trying to repair the damage done by the tornado that ripped through the house this am!
• mommy brings in the groceries and puts away perishables only
• feed baby again
• mommy and baby doze
• bathe baby
• nap for baby - mommy cleans more
• baby eats again - toodler wakes up fussy -
• baby sleeping on breast so mommy puts him down in his crib upstairs - gets fussy toddler up
• toddler throughs screaming fit over who knows what?
• baby crying upstairs too - meal wasn’t really finished
• settle toddler with "Bob the Builder" (thanks dad for recording that)
• get baby - finish that feeding -
• it’s now 30 minutes late for dinner - get toddler soup and fudgsicle for supper
• toddler bath
• toddler pees in three consecutive potties
• cries and wriggles like a snake when mommy brushes his teeth
• hides his bare naked, clean body under the table twice before mommy can finally get his diaper on and rush him up the stairs
• one quick book, kiss, hug, toddler screams cause only one book
• mommy blogs
• baby waking
• does it end?????????????????????????????

That’s right I have practically cooked a whole baby since I wrote last. The baby’s due date is November 16th, and it is another boy. We are actually ecstactic.  I think we both really wanted another boy.

I talk to Sam about his "baby brother" a lot - but I am sure that he doesn’t really get it. He will walk up to my bare belly often and rub it saying "dady" and "nice".  He even rubs lotion into his baby now and then and gives him a kiss saying "mmmmma". 

I am sure that his little world is about to get turned upside down - but for now he’s a really good boy and takes everything in stride as well as any not quite two year old can.