Is it bedtime yet?

It's been one of those days when you check the clock repeatedly and ask yourself "It is seriously only 6 pm?"

I think Adri's listening ears were turned off when she woke up this morning because she hasn't heard a thing I've said the entire day. I can ask softly, loud, and then yell and I get zero reaction from her, she just goes about her business (business that she usually has no business doing) as if nothing else is going on. Sammy is also beginning to acquire this skill (I think it might be learned from their Daddy)...It is precisely this behavior that's made me feel like pulling out my hair all day.

A huge snow storm is being predicted for tomorrow night into Wednesday. We are planning a play date in the morning, then a trip to Target (just like the rest of GR) tomorrow as well as running a few other errands and another play date in the evening. I'm hoping to exhaust Adri so she doesn't have cabin fever on Wednesday when there's no way I'll be going out in the freezing cold and snow. :)

A few pictures from today that make staying at home and feeling crazy so worth it...

Trouble can't walk, but he can climb:

From Winter 2011

And tear things apart:

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And scream at his Mama:

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He's pretty good at being adorable too:

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He has some funny looks also:

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And the saddest faces I've ever seen:

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I wonder if he knows he can get anything his little heart desires with this face:

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And then there's Trouble's leader:

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Always busy teaching him new tricks:

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They are so lucky to have a Mama like me who lets them get messy (I can't wait to let them eat outside this summer though):

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Sam Man will be walking soon, no doubt about it:

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And she wonders why she feels sick?:

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I just love this face...I'm sure it's a replica of my own on most days:

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Adri doing Daddy's angry face:

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From Winter 2011

My 32nd Birthday

Honestly, I can't believe that I am now 32. When I was younger I thought 30 was so old, and now I'm 32. Wait, I just have to say that one more time...I'm now 32. While that seems so old, when you think about it in the realm of things I'm actually just beginning. My children are only almost one and three and I'm only almost seven years into my marriage and six years into my career. Life is just starting to unfold for me! :) (How's that for optimism?)

I remember when my mother turned 30. She spent the day in the bathroom and cried. It was such a sad day for her because she felt like she was so old, like turning 30 automatically made her old (which it didn't). I was ten years old at the time, and didn't understand her frustration, but vowed never to let myself feel sad at growing another year older. I don't think there is a magical age at which you are "old". You're old when you feel and then begin acting like you are old. Until then you need to live life and enjoy it, which is exactly my plan.

My birthday couldn't have been more perfect. Last night we celebrated my birthday at The Corner Bar with Jan, Bob, Shannon, and Mart and then went back to Bob and Jan's for cupcakes. Then oday began with Adri coming into the bedroom and telling me she "wanted to cuddle with her Mama" (my very favorite way to wake up in the morning--I can't wait until Sammy is begging to cuddle with us too!). Matt took care of the kids all day (diapers and feeding) and even got me a Biggby coffee! We then went over to my Mom's and had brunch and lemon cake (which Matt made--it was fantastic!). Afterward we went grocery shopping as a family and Matt got to enjoy a normal shopping trip--Adri decided to act crazy and didn't listen once. :) It was such a relaxing birthday. I couldn't have asked for anything more than enjoying the day with the people I love.

A couple photos I stole from Jan's camera last night:

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Mommy's Day

Sammy made my day an awesome one. After many weeks of trying to teach him to say the word Mama he finally said it today! It came out "Mamamamamama" but it was clearly the word Mama. He repeated it many more times too, always with a big smile on his face, like he knew how happy it was making me to hear it. :)

Our day was extremely uneventful (unless you count the Mama event and the many meltdowns Adri had throughout the day). We enjoyed staying in our pajamas all day, cleaning, and then spending the rest of the day relaxing watching Go Diego Go. I went out for a couple of hours after Matt got home (without kids--my first time all week!) only to return to a destroyed house and Matt telling me that he needed to sit down for a little bit because the kids had been all kinds of crazy while I was gone. :) Maybe now he understands why some days I feel the need to get away for a bit to breathe.

Sammy showing me how good he's getting at standing up.

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It won't be long now! (The smirk says it all)

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Adri says "Here comes the monster".

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"Help! The monster's attacking me!"

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What the heck is this thing, anyway?

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It kind of sounds like Adri?

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I'm going to check and see what's under the blanket...

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Ahhh!!! It is an Adri-Monster!

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Where's Sammy?

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Oh Adri! This is the funnest game!

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Whose turn is it to be the monster?

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Sammy's!

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We sure have fun together, don't we?

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Sam will be walking soon!

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Alphabet anyone?

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Sammy's new helmet design--Super Sam!

I took Sam's "Chicks Dig This" stickers off today and replaced them with his "Super Man" ones. Unfortunately, the stickers weren't a perfect fit and bubbled up a bit, so I'm not sure how long they are going to last. Here they are in all their cuteness for now though. :)

Thinking back to a couple of months ago it's funny to think that we were so worried about Sam's head shape and getting the helmet. It was all consuming for us. I felt like it was going to be such an inconvenience, hard to get used to and that Sam would hate it. It has just become a part of our everyday lives now. We rarely think about it (except the smell at the end of the day--whew!) or even notice it now. I can honestly admit that I miss kissing his soft, sweet little baby head though. I take full advantage of his helmet being off for that that one hour a day each day, kissing and nuzzling his head as much as possible. I am so thankful that we ended up getting the helmet. There's a world of difference in his head shape from then until now and I don't think it would have changed had he not had the helmet.

I borrowed an external flash and lens from my friend today. I had to try them out as soon as I got home. I'm in love with the external flash, I think it's almost time for me to invest in one. :) The kids were clearly mesmerized by the bright flash, as you can see from the last pictures.

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Potty surprise

Pride does not even describe the way I'm feeling about Adri's accomplishments today. After fighting with her all day yesterday about potty training, she decided to use the potty all day today! She did go poop in her pull up once, (she hasn't pooped in two days, so she desperately needed to go!) but has had a dry pull-up the rest of the day.

While I was changing Sam today I casually mentioned to him how happy I was that his sister went potty on the potty and not in a diaper anymore. That comment was all it took for her to run to her room and put on her big girl undies. She kept them on the rest of the day without an accident and even went out to run errands with me, asking to use the restroom while we were out. (She does a really good job of surprising me sometimes.) I think that I might have figured out the secret to getting her to potty train...or at least I hope. :)

This morning we spent time at Chuck E Cheese with Grandpa (please don't mind the pictures--my beloved camera lens is in the shop and all I had to use was this digital--clearly I have no idea how to get it to focus properly). Adri and Sam had a blast and were exhausted by the time we got home. It was so nice to have the entire place to ourselves. We played so many games we ended up winning 310 tickets. Of course, Adri used them to buy candy (a Chuck E Cheese Pez dispenser). She had the Pez finished before we even got home.

Adri's favorite ride at CE Cheese--she could ride it the entire time:

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Love the look on Sammy's face here...

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Grandpa and Sammy trying to figure out how to get a good picture. This was about the 4th try:

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Really, this is all there is for me to play on?

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Bet you'll never guess what ended up happening here (once again--thank goodness he has that helmet on!)...

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Grandpa and Adri with their loot:

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On Monday Adri received a package in the mail from Great Aunt Bonnie...It contained a slew of books. Bonnie must know Adri well, because she sent books on two of Adri's favorite subjects. Thank you Bonnie for all the books!!!

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And here's Trouble looking for trouble--His favorite new thing is to pull every one of these magnets down multiple times a day and scatter them all over the kitchen floor. This would be fine except it really hurts when you step on or slide across the floor on them!

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Sammy's 9 month appointment

Our little man is a little peanut!

At 9 months he is weighing in at 19 lbs 15 oz which is only the 36th percentile! I would have guessed he weighed a lot more after carrying him around for awhile. He feels like a huge sack of potatoes. :)

He is 29 in tall, which is in the 71st percentile and his head is 47cm, which is in the 89th percentile. We could have easily guessed that he was tall and had a big head, we've known that all along. It's the weight that still floors me!

When Adri was this age (their age is 2 years and 2 weeks different) she weighed in at 20lbs 14 oz (80th), and 29.5 in tall (95th). As for her head measurements, I'm sure they were up there. It was inevitable that both children would be born with big heads, I mean, look at Matt's and mine. :)

When our Pediatrician saw Sammy's helmet for the first time today he laughed and laughed. He said it was the best helmet he's ever seen and he's glad to see that someone going through this process has humor. I'm thinking he would have really liked the other "just fixin my flat" design I was thinking of getting if he liked this one. I plan to take off his current decals tomorrow and switch them with the "Super Man" ones. I think his days are numbered in his helmet and I want to be able to use both sets of decals before his treatment is done.

On a sad note, there is something terribly wrong with my camera so there won't be any new pictures today. I tried to take some pics of the kids so that we could make Valentine's Day cards and my camera won't even focus or take pictures. I had this problem this past summer and Norman Camera gave me new lenses, thinking that was the problem. I'm now thinking it's a problem with the camera body and hope they will just switch that out tomorrow when I go visit them. Thank goodness they have a kiddie coral there. It might keep Adri busy for a couple of minutes before she jumps the fence and they kick us out. :)

Potty training is going about the same. Adri has no problem with number 1 on the potty but is still refusing to even go number 2. How long do I keep trying to force it before I should just let it go and allow her to do it in her own time? I don't want to cause issues...

Adri at 9 months:

From New Years 2008

Sam Man at 9 months:

From Winter 2011