Baby Will

I was changing the boys into their jammies in the kitchen yesterday. It was a long, hard day, so we got in jammies at 5:00. Sam was changed, so he got a package of Ritz crackers and started sharing them with Will while I was trying to change him. I got his clothes off, but then they were being cute, so I let him go naked for a while. This picture makes me smile.

Will's new favorite activity is to take the vent cover off and stuff random objects down the hole. Look how happy it makes him.


Here's a few more that I like. I went crazy with the camera.



Yet he still army crawls. I don't get it. At least we know he's Sam's brother.

The scratch on Sam's cheek is from Will. They were playing on the floor and Sam got too close. His nails weren't especially long or anything, but apparently they were long enough. It was sad.

Having Fun

Sam went skiing for his first time on Tuesday! Mike went up in the morning and skied with a friend, and then I took Sam up. He loved it! He kept telling Mike he wanted to go faster...definitely his father's son!
Mike was a ski instructor for 4 years up at Brighton, and they used edgie wedgies to help kids learn to point their skis in a V. Since he couldn't find any, he came home and made these from stuff he found around the house. He's very handy with a sewing machine!

My fun boys up at Solitude. Kids under 6 ski free with a season pass holder. 3 more years of free fun! Well, except for the rentals.
That snow on the roof has got to be taller than Sam, and it's April! Today the high was in the low 50's. We don't have tulips or tree blossoms yet, it's too cold. It's supposed to snow and be stormy until Thursday. Yikes.

Carter and Sam helped me make cookies. We needed a quiet activity while Will was napping. Unfortunately, Carter had to leave before the cookies came out of the oven. I was going to take some to his family, but then I ate them all. They were yummy.
Sam loves to help me "do the dishes." He fills up the cups and dump the water in the other side of the sink. Sometimes the peace is worth the wasted water.


Mike's war wounds from the Moab trip. He had so much fun, even if he did get beat up.

Funny Boy Sam

I wish I could remember everything Sam says, but here is a sampling from this last week.

• In an effort to stay up later at bedtime, Sam said to Mike, "Look, what a beautiful day! The sun is welcoming the morning."
• At dinner on Wednesday, Sam took his grilled cheese off the table and said, "I want to save my snawich for Thursday." Snawich has always been one of my favorite words, which I guess is why I never correct him and he still says it.
• Mike was putting Sam to bed and Sam told him, "You're a good dad, I think."
• Osie (who loves anything remotely related to princesses or girly stuff) was playing at our house the other day. It was story time, so I told them to each choose a book from Sam's room. They were walking down the hall when Sam stopped, turned around, and looking very concerned asked, "Mom, do we have any princess books?" I said no, so he turned to Osie and said, "We don't have any princess books."
• A few mornings ago I was in bed when I heard Sam stirring in his bed. I was afraid he was waking up and getting out of bed (I wasn't ready to get up yet). Then I heard, "Dear Heavenly Father (yawn)...thankful for this day...bless us to be safe (yawn)..." and then he was asleep again. It made me smile. It's the little things that make all the hard times (like yesterday) worth it.
• Just now--Sam: What day is it? Mike: It's Sunday. Sam: No, it's Friday. Mom, what day is it? Mom: It's Sunday. Sam: (Looking puzzled) Sunday? No, actually, it's Friday.

Yay for Dad

Mike grabbed the camera after church when he saw what Will was doing.

Pesky pants, who needs 'em?

Yes, I'm cute and clever.

I'm outta here!

Any of these ring true?

Poor Mike. Now when Sam says something funny or Will does something cute it's, "Mike, remember that so I can blog it." I should just get this shirt.

Huh?

Mom: Sam, do you want to go on a walk?
Sam: No, maybe later...if you're nice.

Easter Fun!

Usually holidays mean 1) an unexplained compulsion to buy candy and presents that have little or nothing to do with the actual holiday, 2) any children will automatically behave very badly because of said candy, much excitement, and no nap. Even though this is the norm, we broke from it and had a really nice Easter. I bought minimal candy (which I got on sale with a coupon), we went to one little Easter Egg Hunt (pictures below), and we had a nice family dinner with the Claytons.
We'll be so sad when Eric and Renee move out. Probably at the end of the summer. It's been great having them here.
Our fun neighbor Sue had a little Easter Egg Hunt in her yard.
Sam wasn't terribly interested in finding eggs (he started out with three that I put in), mostly because of...
the slide. It was so fun. It was really hard to get him off when it was time to go home.

We finally got to meet baby Ksenia! She was very tired, but we caught her with her eyes open. I miss having a newborn. Correction...I miss having Will as a newborn. He's been such a joy to our family. If the next one is like him, then I want one now! (For the record, Sam was also a very good baby, and a textbook perfect sleeper)

Even eating a tortilla, he's just the cutest baby!
Remember Puss in Boots from Shrek? Will has the big, shiny, innocent eyes.

I was on my food blog today getting a recipe for dinner, and Sam saw the homemade oreo cookies. He asked if we could make them, so that was our activity this afternoon during Will's nap. They're so evil and addictive. There are only two left. Sam grabbed the dough hook as I was getting the mixer out, and for the next hour and a half Mr. Pirate was my new friend. His first question to me, "Is this Captain Hook's hook?" He held the hook and used it instead of his hand to open drawers and such. His pirate voice was hilarious, and when I would do a pirate voice too, he would tell me, "No, you're the pirate's mom, you don't talk like that!"

Eric's friend Chris came over to study, so he had dinner with us like he usually does when he comes. He's always very grateful for the meal, helps clean up, and even schmoozes a bit too. One time he told Mike he was a lucky man. Today he told me he hopes his (future) wife is like me. Ha! Who doesn't like to be schmoozed? He's welcome for dinner any time!

Mike is leaving in the morning for a Moab mountain biking trip with our new neighbor Doug. Sounds like it's going to be an intense trip, so I'm sure he'll have a great time. We have lots of great neighbors, but Doug and his wife are our same ages, so it's fun to have cool neighbors that are in the same place in life.

We had our monthly girls night out a couple of days ago, and we went to a "fine dining" restaurant. Even knowing it would be crazy amounts of money, I still had sticker shock looking at the menu. Entrees started (started!) at $30, and went up to about $40. I ended up ordering a salad and appetizer as my meal, and it still took 20 bucks to get out of there. I just can't enjoy a meal knowing I could buy a week's worth of groceries for the same price. I had a $25 discount that came in the mail, but we divided it so I only got $3.50 off my bill. It was fun though, and I got to have a few bites of Katie's Creme Brulee. Yum. Wish that were a health food.