A proud mama!!!!!

The Kindergarten teacher in me is ALWAYS trying to get Cooper and Samantha excited about games, reading, writing, etc. Cooper does it all on his own schedule and usually is more interested in other things....which is ok. He has known how to spell his name and recognize the letters for a long time but was never too interested in trying to write it. I have been working with him and today while Samantha was asleep he asked is we could work on "his letters" some. I was so excited. You should have seen me. I got out the crayons, pencils, markers, two kinds of paper, etc. LOL. I was just short of calling the newspaper b/c I was so excited to get to work.

About 10 minutes later Cooper told me "I can do it mama." I went to stir the mac and cheese on the stove and came back and he had written his name. I cried. I picked him up and swung him around the room. Then I called "daddy". It shows that you can talk, and talk, and talk and it IS sinking in. Oh I am soooooooooo proud of my baby boy. What a big boy he is becoming. It is sad to see your babies grow but so exciting to look into their future and see the wonderful people they will become.

One month from today!

WOW, it is April 25th. In one month my baby, Samantha, will be 2. I am not handling this very well. It has been an amazing 2 years!

33 months ago I got a positive line on a pregnancy test.

29 months ago I heard an ultrasound tech say "It's a girl!". I cried.

28 months ago we started our new life in Jacksonville, Fl.

25 months ago I gave birth to my beautiful daughter, Samantha Hart.

23 months ago I saw her first smile.

20 months ago I heard her sweet voice.

19 months ago I heard her laugh.

12 months ago I saw her first steps.

13 months ago we sang Happy Birthday for the first time to our princess in pink!

5 months ago she said "I love you" for the first time.

3 months ago I thought I almost lost her (febrile seizure).

10 minutes ago I kissed her sweet face as she laid down in her big girl bed for a nap.

Every minute for the last 2 years, I loved my baby girl. Happy almost birthday sweetie.

What am I thinking?????????

So my neighbor, Michelle, signed up for this race called the Muddy Buddy. I have a friend in TX, Tammy, who completed the race a few years ago with her husband. I am adventurous (ha, I hear a few of you laughing) and thought "why not". Well.....now I am thinking I should have thought this through more.

On May 10th I will be in Orlando with friends participating in the Muddy Buddy. The Muddy Buddy is a 6-7 mile race where you run, bike and complete obstacles. You alternate with your partner (one is running while the other is biking) and switch at each obstacle. I hear the obstacles are like monkey bars (I could not even do these in elementary school so no clue how I think I will do them on may 10th!), climbing a 20 foot rope wall and sliding down the other side, etc. You know, things you do every day! HA! Then at the very end of the race you crawl ON YOUR STOMACH through a large pit of mud. OMG, I do NOT like being dirty so this will go over really well, I am sure of it.

I have come to realize that this is good for me. I feel challenged, determined and a bit scared. I have been running and biking to train and SHOULD look for some monkey bars this weekend. On May 10th, even though I will be muddy and tired, I will feel so good about myself. I will have stepped WAY out of my comfort zone and tried something challenging and fun. Who knows, maybe I will do it again in 2009!!!!

Stay tuned for pictures.

What a week!

Phew, I am tired!!!!!!

Saturday: We took Samantha (our princess) and 3 other families to see Disney Princesses on Ice to celebrate Samantha's 2nd birthday.....way early! It was amazing and Samantha was in heaven. The girls dressed up in frilly princess gear and the boys sported capes and swords like Prince Charming. Lots of $10 cotton candy and nachos later everyone napped well.

Sunday: Poor Samantha is hit with the flu. All she wanted to do was sit on me which made for a mess!!!! A million load of laundry later and finally we got her to bed at 3am.

Monday: I got the flu in the middle of the night. It was TERRIBLE and I felt sooooooooo badly for Samantha since I knew how horrible I felt.

Tuesday: Cooper got the flu, I still had the flu and Phil had to stay home from work and do a million loads of sheets/towels/shirts/etc.

Wednesday: Recovery Day/Cleaning Day. Phil is feeling very lucky at this point.

Thursday: Phil is struck with "the death". We all stayed home as no one was feeling perfect yet!

Friday: CLEANING!!!!!!!!!

Saturday: A perfectly wonderful family day at the beach where everyone got a bit too much sun.

We are ALL happy this week is over, the germs are gone and the sun is out.

My new nephew!

On Friday, I was given another nephew. What a true blessing!!!! His name is Blake and he is perfect. Just look at that face, who could not LOVE this boy? The only sad part of this situation is that I have to wait 2 FULL months to see him, hold him and love him in person. Welcome baby Blake. We love you soooooooooo much!

Twins?

People stop me DAILY and ask me if these two are twins! I think when God made Cooper he looked down and said "That baby is PERFECT!" and 8 months later he said "I think I did so well with Cooper, I will make another one JUST like him....except female to make his mom happy."

Transitions!

We decided it was time to make Samantha a "big girl" room. So.....we set up the bed and packed up the crib. I spent time sewing, painting, organizing, etc. to make her new room just perfect for my little princess. I even gave in and bought Samantha a Disney princess pillow!!!!! (Which by the way she LOVES!) After we took several pictures of Sammy in her new bed, we decided to try naptime. She was very tired and fell asleep easily. 2 hours later Phil got her out of bed when he heard her calling for us over the monitor. Easy! We had been successful with trasistioning yet another toddler into their big bed. Phil and I rock at this parenting thing!

Then 7:00 came around and Samantha asked to go to bed. Yes, my daughter collects all her things and heads down the hallway at bedtime saying "Night Night Mommy". So we tuck her in, give her milk in a princess cup (it HAS to be a princess cup or she will not drink it!) and turn out the light. As Phil and I walk down the hallway we gave each other a high five....of course because we know we are SO GOOD at parenting!

Cooper was hanging out on the bed watching CARS, Phil was folding clothes and I was grading papers on my computer in our room. We heard a little voice and here comes Samantha prancing into our room shouting "Oh yeah, McQueen!". It was all we could do to keep from laughing. I took her back to her room and that is when the crying began. We spent the next hour wrestling Samantha back into bed and trying to convince her that she was a "big girl" in her "big bed". Finally I laid in her bed with her until I heard her snoring. It was 8:15!

So, maybe we are not perfect at parenting but I would like to think that everyone has trouble now and then. I admitted to Phil that maybe Samantha is just not as laid back as Cooper when it comes to transitions. Hmmmm, sounds like someone else I know....ME!

However, I am HAPPY to report that today we have had two successful naps in her bed. She did not come out at all from her morning nap. This afternoon she came out 5 times but after throwing about 17 books in bed with her, she has been asleep for an hour. Wish us luck!

Sick baby!

No one ever said it was easy being a mother. They never say this because it is NOT easy. Not only is it not easy, it is VERY emotional. Last night my baby woke me up at 1am saying he did not feel well and would feel better if he "slept by mommy and daddy". So of course, Phil and I made a spot for him between us and we fell asleep. At 5 am we woke up to Cooper moaning, crying, wiggling, etc. He said his ear hurt. We tried EVERYTHING and nothing would make the pain go away. At 8:30 I took both kids to the doctor and Cooper's pediatrican said that the pain he was experiencing from an inner ear infection was so severe it would send a grown man to the ER! We filled the prescription and came on home. Then the vomitting began. Cooper could not keep anything down....not even his meds. After a call to the doctor, they said it could be the pain, a bug or the infection causing the sickness.

Seeing your baby sick is so sad! As a mother it is my job to make my children feel good, feel happy and feel loved. Right now my sweet boy is curled up on the couch in his "couch bed" that we made and sawing logs. He needs this rest. All we can do is be there for him so he knows he does not have to feel sick alone. It does not matter is the house is a mess, you have not showered in two days or towels need to be washed.....everything stops when your baby is ill.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. I just want the pain to go away so I can have my baby back!