Lego Store Trip

So many choices!

Making his own set. Thanks Grandma!

Making his own store at home

Merchandise available from zero to "a million bucks"

This winter Matthew is into Legos in a big way so we took a trip to the Lego store last week. He was so inspired by his visit that asked me to help him make a Lego shop in our toy room. Working in the shop when not playing with Legos has provided him with hours upon hours of entertainment.

The Big Bath

Sammy has graduated from the baby bath tub to the big bath tub. While waiting for his turn in the tub Matthew kept them entertained with a pirate show.

Ice Skating

We took Matthew ice skating with Grampa this weekend.

To say he loved it would be an understatement as he committed to eight weeks of skating lessons before the afternoon was over.

“Stay there!” Matthew told Grandpa and me as we trailed behind him at a subtle distance. After a hour or so of being led around by the adults he wanted a chance to skate on his own, using the sides for balance.
 

Homemade Teething Biscuits

Teething biscuits are easy to make and there are many recipes for them online. I made fish and duck shaped ones for Sammy yesterday using all ingredients that I already had on hand. She loved them and chatted happily while chewing on one.

Monday Mattisms

I’m getting something from the healthy fridge. Do you know why I call it the healthy fridge? Because it has healthy food inside of it. 

Old MacDonald had a farm. E I E I O. And on that farm he had a light saber .. 

If the Patriots lose the cup, will you cry?

She woke up all by herself like a little person.

Put that on my work desk. That is the desk in my room okay?

The Giants cheated, I saw them!

Not so Long! (Instead of saying, not so fast) 

Everyone looks so sad today because the Patriots lost

I am not your baby. I am your sweetheart!

Matt: Good morning Mom!

Me: Good morning!

Matt: Do you want to hug me?

Me: Always.

Matt: Okay, after my breakfast

You just get into position and then move your bones (Teaching Sammy to crawl)

He is the man of awesome! (One toy talking to another)

One day can we go to every city in the world? You can show me where everyone lives? But we won’t go inside their houses because they are strangers. 

Zen Sand

One of best holiday gifts that I received was a Zen Garden for my desk. I felt this way until I took it out of its well organized box. When one of us (usually Matthew) raked it some sand would enviably fall out and onto the dark wood of my desk.  I hated the gritty feeling of sand under my desk papers. Once Sammy was sitting on my lap and reached to grab a handful of the sand. It quickly seemed that my Zen Garden and small children could not co-exist in a peaceful way. Instead of hiding it on a high shelf, I decided to repurpose the sand by adding a little water and food coloring. Matthew filled a glass vase of sand art for me which he modestly proclaimed to be the most beautiful thing in our house. Best of it does not need to be raked. 

Here is my favorite Zen Parable, which is ironic given this project:
For me, this glass is already broken. I enjoy it; I drink out of it. But when I put this glass on a shelf and my elbow brushes it and it falls to the ground and shatters, I say, 'Of course.' When I understand that this glass is already broken, every moment with it is precious"

Seven Months!

 Sammy is seven months now. She is getting ready to crawl and loves to laugh. Her favorite food is bananas. Her favorite person in the world is Matthew who makes her laugh quite like no one else can. I asked him if there is anything he wanted to say about her in this blog post and he replied, "I love you so much Sammy."

Scaredy Squirrel

Scaredy Squirrel came home from school to visit us over the weekend.  It was our turn to host the anxious stuffed picture book character. He came with a bag of acorns to eat, two of his books, and a travel log to record and add pictures of his weekend adventures in. Everywhere we went Scaredy Squirrel came with us. Then on Monday his teacher read the updated travel log to the class during circle time.

Sweets & Treats Party

“You are wrapping crayons in twine, clearly you have gone crazy,” Bob said to me as we were setting up for a Valentine’s Day party with Matthew and Sammy’s friends. We invited friends over to make cupcakes, play, and do crafts.

The Medicine Man

The love is always there but Bob is not a baby person. He finds feeding them to be boring women’s work. This is the same man who is not afraid to admit his love of all things malls, to roll up his sleeves to give the bathroom a good scrubbing, or do grocery shopping but hand him a baby with an untidy diaper and he transforms into a sitcom dad from the 50’s.

Last week Sammy went to the doctor three times for bronchitis. She had to have nebulizer treatments every three hours (including the night) and antibiotics to treat an ear infection. It surprised me that Bob took on the responsibility of giving her the majority of the nebulizer treatments and was all too often the one to get a mouthful of pink goo spit down his shirt sleeve. Whenever I took a turn giving her a nebulizer treatment he hovered. 

With Matthew he had been the expert at swaddling but Sammy hated to be swaddled. When I went back to work after having Matthew I worked until ten at night so they had their own nighttime routine together. With Sammy I get home from work afternoon and usually nurse Sammy before bed each night. 

Even though we hated to see Sammy sick, her nebulizer treatments ultimately bonded her and Bob closer together. It gave him a reason to soothe her back to sleep in his arms with sweet whispers of encouragement the way I had during the first months she was home with us. 

Recently Sammy was sitting in the middle of the living room and chewing a wooden block.   

“Doesn’t she look beautiful?” he said this to me as though we were seeing her for the first time. 

This newfound adoration of his? That is a thing of beauty!