Disney...Finally!!

Hey little buddy,
Sorry it's taken me so long to write about our Disney trip. I'm terrible I know.

You are an excellent traveler. You just looked out the window or slept the whole way. You loved swimming in the pool as much as Hannah and you really really enjoyed the Disney parks. I know you won't remember the majority of it though.

We went to Aunt Patti's house for Easter (Daddy's aunt). We had lunch and you played with Destiny. We also had an Easter egg hunt and you were hilarious! I would show you where the eggs were and you would pick it up and then throw it into your basket! You broke two eggs! I have it on video so that we'll never forget it.

I would say that your favorite ride/show of our trip was the Live with Playhouse Disney. You were standing, dancing and clapping. It was so sweet watching you. You enjoyed all the shows that we went to and clapped and chattered through most of them. When we had our picture made with Tigger & Pooh you leaned right against Pooh and I had to pull you off of him after the picture. I don't think you liked the Tea Cups that much - but they almost made me sick too so I don't blame you there! When we rode the Dumbo ride at Magic Kingdom you sat with Daddy but he said that you really liked it. At Animal Kingdom you got to play some African drums which you loved! You also liked the Safari that we went on. You pointed at all the animals and chattered though I'm not entirely sure what you said :-)

Unfortunately you got heat exhaustion even though I tried to make sure you guys drank enough water. I think your poor little body couldn't regulate your temperature because it was so warm out, then we would swim in a heated pool and you weren't getting your naps during the day. While we were at Animal Kingdom Thursday you were so warm and you just didn't seem like yourself. When we got back to the Condo that night you went straight to bed without any supper. When you woke up later in the evening I took your temperature and it was 103. So we gave you Motrin and prayed for you. You slept all night and when you woke the next morning your temp was down to 100 on it's own. So I gave you more Motrin and we stayed home while every one else finished Magic Kingdom. You took a bath, played, ate lunch and then took a nap. By the time Daddy picked us up to go to Epcot you were back to normal!! And you really enjoyed Epcot. I'm sorry Mommy let you get so sick. I just didn't realize that could happen to you.

You got a stuffed Lightning McQueen as your souvenir as well as a little set of Star Wars figures. You and Hannah spend a lot of times playing with those little men (Chewie, Yoda, Bubba Fet, a Storm Trooper, Darth Vadar, R2D2 and C3PO). So I've let you guys watch the movies and you love them. One day you sat for about 20 minutes straight watching one of them.

Here are some of the new things you can say: Bobby, Right there, and potty. I know there are more but for some reason my mind isn't working right now! You will go to the potty and tell me when you're done. While we're in Maine this coming week I'm going to work on officially potty training you. I think you'll do great. You can do the sign for food and drink now as well as moon and cereal.

The other day you and I planted sunflowers along the cross ties where we park the cars. They're already sprouting too! I would dig the whole and you would take a seed and drop it exactly where I pointed. You're such a good little helper!!

Saturday we went to see Monsters vs Aliens 3D. It was your first movie and you did great. There were some other kids there that cried just about the whole time but you loved it! You just sat with your little glasses on and ate popcorn and drank Rootbeer. It was so much fun.

I love you little buddy and I promise I won't take so long to write again :-)

Love,
Mommy

"Tars" and "Sharks"

Hey Buddy,
I can't believe I've even found time to write this, I've been crazy busy packing for our trip to FL. Packing for you two and myself is a daunting task!

Monday was mine & Daddy's last night of bowling so we took you and Hannah with us. You guys did great and were so well behaved. I got out your sign language book for you to look at. You immediately put your hands above your head and said "tars" and did the sign for stars! And on our way to the bowling alley Hannah pointed at a billboard and mentioned that there was a shark on it. You said "shark" clear as day! You're really starting to take off verbally. I'm very excited because it's so much fun when babies start talking and really communicating.

Tuesday we were eating lunch with Granny and Aunt Bonnie at Scholozsky's (funny name, serious sandwich) and you did the sign for food! I love that you're able to do sign language and let me know what you want.

Today was Daddy's birthday party at work. His department took him to Sardi's and they also bought him a cake. You inhaled your cake but not before rubbing it all over your face! When you were through with your piece you started reaching for mine! The one thing you will soon learn is Mommy does not share her sweets! :-)

You've also been saying "Pung-bob". Hannah has started watching her Spongebob movies again and you love him too! Anytime you see him you start yelling "Pung-Bob!!" It's so cute.

I can't wait for our trip to FL. You've always been an excellent traveler and I know you'll do great this time too. Plus I'm very excited about taking you to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. You're going to love the animals!! Not to mention we're going to spend time with your Uncle David and Aunt Karen. We only see them about once or twice a year and I know Uncle Dave really misses you guys.

So, I probably won't write again until after our trip. I just wanted to tell you about "tars" before I forgot :-)

I love you sweet buddy,
Mommy

New Roommate

Hey Buddy,
I have wanted to write this letter for a while now but I wanted to have a picture to go along with it. Even though I've been reluctant to do it, we moved you into Hannah's room on March 25th. Hannah was so excited for you to be in her room! She almost cried when I started to just put your crib back in our room because I was having trouble moving it.
I worried how you would do without me but you were fine. You & Hannah talked for about a half hour but then you both nodded off. You've slept fine in there ever since.

In other news, you can now do the signs for toothbrush, lights, stars, and book. Your new favorite book is 'Moo, Baa, La La La'. You'll sit and look at it all by yourself and make all the noises. You can also say "Jack" and "baby" now.

You're growing up so fast little man!

I love you!!
Mommy

You ripped that Madagascar poster the 2nd night you were in your new room.

Watching Hannah from your crib.

Hannah is always excited to see you when she wakes up.

While you were using the potty Hannah was doing the sign for potty for you.

Book & Stars

Hey Little Buddy,
You're really doing great learning sign language!! The other day you were on the potty and I was going through some of the signs from the book we're reading. You started doing 'stars' and 'book'! I can't believe it!! You and Hannah are the smartest babies ever!! You're going to be even smarter b/c Hannah is going to teach you everything she knows too :-)
I've also discovered that you like strawberry covered raisins. You don't like raisins by themselves but cover them in chocolate or strawberry and you'll eat them all!!
Yesterday I took you and Hannah to the park to play since it was such a nice day. You are fearless!! You can go up the stairs yourself and you did not want me holding you or helping you down the slide. You even went down the "twisty" slide all by yourself! I was amazed...I know I say this all the time but you're the total opposite of Hannah. I'm still not used to that.

I love you little man,
Mommy

Going Potty & Taking a Bath

Samuel,
You constantly amaze me with how smart you are and how quickly you learn!! After supper last night I just looked at you and did the sign for bath and you headed straight towards the bathroom. While your bath water was running I asked if you needed to use the potty. Now if you know bath water is running you are glued to the tub and won't budge until I pick you up and put you in the tub. But when I asked that last night you immediately turned and walked right over to the toilet. There was a towel on top and you pulled that off and lifted the lid and turned for me to pick you up. I couldn't believe it!! You are so awesome. I have so much fun with you every day and I love staying home with you and Hannah. You are two very smart children and I can't take all the credit either :-)

I love you Sammy,
Mommy

Sign Language

Sweet little boy,
Earlier this week I took you and Hannah to the library to get some new books. I picked out Baby Signs for Bedtime. After two times reading through it your smart sister already knows how to do them all but you're not far behind!! The other day you started opening and closing your fists which is the sign for "lights" and then you pointed at the light!! Every night since we started reading the book I've done the sign for bath. So last night Hannah & I were getting everything ready for your bath and we were doing the sign for you. You started doing it too!! Smart boy!
You've also been saying "Hannah" very clearly and you've started drinking through a straw. This last accomplishment makes Papa very happy. He loves giving you tea when we go to Ryan's and now he can just hold the cup up and let you drink :-)
I love you so much. You're such a little blessing and we all love you so very much!!

I love you buddy,
Mommy

Snack

Hey little buddy,
I'm sorry it's been so long since I've written but we've been very busy with Hannah - she has the flu. You just can't understand why she lays on the couch and doesn't want to play. You go up to her and talk and sometimes you lay your head on the couch near her. You're so sweet. But all the time that Hannah has spent resting as mean extra play time for you. We've read more books than ever lately and played with your block set so many times I think I might hide it for a while ;-)
Last night you walked into the kitchen toward the cabinets and said, "Snack!" You know what you want!! The other day Daddy called and you picked up the extra phone and said, "Hey Da Da!" The other really cute thing you've been doing is heading straight for the tub when we get you naked. You've come to realize that the majority of the time that I take your clothes off it means you're getting a bath. You're a smart little boy!!
I love you so much and I'm exited about all the new things you're going to be doing and saying soon...

Love always,
Mommy