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Remember this?

Ahhh, bed rest…the good ‘ol days. 🙂  It was on this day, one year ago, that we headed to the hospital because I was in pre-term labor with Samuel.  Not fun.  And the next 10 weeks that incurred were humbling to say the least.  And yet, positive in so many ways.  I look at cute, sweet Samuel who this morning was giving me big, open-mouthed kisses, and I know it was WELL WORTH IT.  But difficult nonetheless.  And it will probably be the last of my child-bearing experiences, sadly. 

Today, I’m getting bids on landscaping.  We’re hoping to spoof up the front yard a bit with rock borders and expanded beds.  There’s a yard-of-the-month program in our neighborhood now.  Derek thinks we’ll never get it…we’ll just see about that… 🙂

Samuel is not ONLY crawling, but gets up on his legs and is trying to stand and climb.  Scary!

And speaking of scary.  Have I mentioned what Derek bought for Jacob?  It’s something he promised the boys they could have as soon as they’re 8. 

And for all of the grandmothers who read this:

1. It is a BB gun.

2. Yes, it is hidden in an out-of-reach place when stored.

3. Yes, they do use protective eye gear.

4. They are only allowed to use it with adult, male supervision.

5. No, I’m not OK with it, but what choice do I have (I live in a fraternity house!).

6. Yes, I would recommend calling before you come over unannounced. 🙂

And with that in mind, you’ll know why I got a kick out of this article that Steve sent this morning.

THE TROUBLE WITH MEN

And just to counter-balance all of the testosterone in my home, I’m working on this.

A quilt…just for me…with lots of pink in it.

Samuel is CRAWLING!  Life as we knew it is now OVER.

It’s so fun to watch him…he’s like a fawn trying to get his legs under him…a little shaky at first, and then more and more confident.  It’s so cute.  But he’s all over the place now AND trying to pull himself up to stand on everything he can.  Yikes!

I have pics, but no time to share them with 3 boys home today for Fall Break.  More later…

If you haven’t seen this, it is worth the 3 minutes.  Especially if you are a mom, had a mom, or are married to a mom.  Wish I knew how to import it, but click the link instead.

Mom’s Overture

Samuel is 9 months old today!  Unbelievable!  This is the amount of time it took for him to get here…which seemed like an eternity.  And now 9 months of his life has flown by!  How does that happen?

Last night, we let Jacob invite 3 boys to come fishing with him for a low-key post-birthday party.  Sadly, only one fish was caught…and it got away.  Thankfully it was Jacob that caught it, but the tears that ensued as the fish jumped off his line told a sad story.  But as one boy said, "it was fun anyway"! 

While Jacob loves the fishing itself, Caleb loves the worms, the rocks, the water, the bugs, etc, etc, etc.

Isn’t that a beautiful caterpillar?

Even I got in on the action…anything to help those poor kids catch a fish!  And I told you…Caleb LOVES the worms.

Poor Samuel always has to watch from the sidelines (notice the street abrasion)…and Caleb watching the sun go down.

I’ve only seen The Office once or twice before, and thought it was so funny.  So I’m currently watching it via DVR and it makes me laugh out loud.  I think Steve Carell is the funniest man around.  And this show is so quirky and dry.  I just love it.  And after the day I’ve had, that’s saying something. 🙂  Just thought I’d share!

Today I had one of those moments that will probably haunt me for a long time.

I strapped Samuel in to the jogging stroller, ready to take Jacob to school.  Jacob and Caleb always ride their bikes.  And Jacob inevitably beats me to the school and is ready to run in.  So I turned to give him a kiss and hug and hear my neighbor across the street yelling "The Baby!!".  I turn to see the jogging stroller rolling down the driveway, into the grass, and towards the street.  And I take off after it.  Before I could catch it, it rolls off the deepest part of the curb, and flips onto the street, with Samuel upside down. 

I got to it right then, flipped it back over and frantically tried to get him unbuckled.  I was crying, he was screaming, the neighbor who had watched it ran over to help us.  A woman stopped in her car to check on us.  And another neighbor walked up shortly after and was saying a prayer. 

It was AWFUL!  I’m still crying.

He’s napping now.  And seems fine…just a little banged up with minor bruising and scrapes on his head. 

After we came in Caleb was crying and I was trying to comfort him.  He said, "Mom, you said you were a bad mom."  And I realized that in my horror and tears, I said to my neighbor "I’m a bad mom".  And Caleb heard me and was upset about it.  "You’re not a bad mom", he said.  "You’re right, honey.  I’m not.  But I feel bad about not putting the brakes on."  Even in those moments, I need to watch what I say.  Probably especially in those moments.

1. Samuel is getting MORE teeth (I think these are the top ones) and oh, my is he noisy and grumpy.  A rarity for him.  Love this one of him and Jacob from Saturday.

   

2. I’m ordering Halloween costumes today.  I love having a theme!  I won’t reveal the specifics, but let’s just say the FORCE will be very strong that night.

3.  Headed to the SCOUT shop this morning.  Jacob is now officially a Cub Scout.  And tonight he has his first pack meeting, with a uniform inspection.  So today I’ll be buying a uniform and frantically trying to sew his patches on.  A uniform inspection on our first night…just my luck!  But I’m so excited about Scouting, and so is Jacob.  Today begins a very long tenure of scouting in the Smith home…approx. 16+ years to be exact.  I might as well by myself a uniform while I’m at it.

4. I am back in to THIS show.  Thank goodness for DVR.

5.  Have I told you that my boys are building a go-cart?  From scratch.  Yep…I didn’t believe it at first either.  But it’s true.  They got the idea from THIS book…which is a new favorite at our house.  I’m now in on it…buying camouflage fabric for the seat, and helping with the painting.  Good fun.

6.  Jacob is so excited because he finally has enough money to buy THESE.  He’s been saving for about 9 months now, and the birthday money gave him a big boost.  In fact, he has enough to start saving for THIS now too.  And while these are not necessarily things I would purchase for him, it’s been great to see him save and work towards his goals.

7.  Oh, and Samuel had his first Cheerio yesterday.  In fact, I’ve been trying to give him lots of little table foods lately.  And I forgot how MESSY this age can be.  I’m reminded why we have one of THESE.

OK…you’re probably tired of all of my links.  I’ll close with a sweet conversation with Caleb from our drive to preschool:

"Mom, I don’t want to go to preschool."

Why, buddy?!  You love preschool.  Think of all of the fun things you do there (I attempt to list every thing he’s done at pre-k in the last 4 days).  WHAT’s NOT TO LOVE ABOUT PRESCHOOL??, I ask.

There’s a pause.

"You, Daddy, Jacob and Samuel aren’t there."

Be still my heart.

Something that Jacob did at school:

The question:  Pretend that you are going to take a trip to another planet or solar system for a few weeks.  List 10 important things that you would want to bring with you.

His answer (he does 11): 

food, water, soda, football, spear, my rock collection, dictionary, soccer, tub, brother, first aid

That list could sustain an 8-year old boy for a LONG time!!

My baby turned 8 on Saturday.  And got baptized.  And it was altogether a special and happy day.  It was simply perfect…watching him and having family and friends with us.  Thank you so much to all of you who came and were a part of it.  The memories for him will be strong, I think.  And will stay with him and with me for a very long time.

 

And one of my favorites…

And one more…