Our little artist

I am, in no way, an artist or crafty.  I really, really, want to be, but I have learned to accept the fact that God did not give me this gift.  The whole, "Anybody can be crafty" is not true!  Anyway, with that said, I have always hoped that our kids would get David's artistic talents.  I mean, yes, it would be great if they got my love for  math, but let's face it, that's not fun. 

 I realize more and more everyday that  Samantha did get that talent.   She is amazing, if I do say so myself.

Caleb, Mommy, Logan (her buddy), Daddy and Sammie

A pig

"It's abstract, Daddy!"

"Ball with two sides"

The body

I think the last one looks like a horse.  I know she didn't do that on purpose, but I still like it. :)

I just love watching her color, draw, paint, build, mold....she does it all and she is so good!

Our easy going kid

Caleb is so easy going.  We can do just about anything to him and he couldn't care less. I don't know if that is a good thing or not....

No matter what we do, he's still a cutie, isn't he?!

Sammie's grandparents

Samantha's grandparents are truly amazing in her eyes. 

They have taught her how to sing and dance, how to color and even write. 

They let her jump on the couches and take her to all sorts of fun places like Sea World and Legoland. 

These wonderful grandparents feed her breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

They always have a popsicle or 10 for her. 

Not to mention all the ice cream they let her eat  and all the capri suns they let her drink. 

They have a bedroom just for her and they have decorated just like she wants it. 

 And when she changes her mind, they redecorate. 

Once in was full of Princess  Jasmin stuff. 

Another time it was all dolphins and then there was a time when they decorated her beautiful room with sheep. 

Grandma and Grandpa play with her all day long and let her do just about anything she wants. 

Yes, Sammie's grandparents are amazing...and they are also imaginary! 

 Seriously, she has had these imaginary grandparents for a few months now.  It is very cute, but can be very confusing when she's telling me a story.  I will totally be thinking she's talking about one grandparent and it turns out she's really talking about her imaginary one.  Oh, my girl and her imagination!  Gotta love it!

Children are...

I saw this at the dentist's office and  I loved it.

Children Are ...
Poet: Meiji Stewart

Amazing, ACKNOWLEDGE THEM.

Believable, TRUST THEM.

Childlike, ALLOW THEM.

Divine, HONOR THEM.

Energetic, NOURISH THEM.

Fallible, EMBRACE THEM.

 

Gifts, TREASURE THEM.

Here Now, BE WITH THEM.

Innocent, DELIGHT WITH THEM.

Joyful, APPRECIATE THEM.

Kindhearted, LEARN FROM THEM.

Lovable, CHERISH THEM.

Magical, FLY WITH THEM.

Noble, ESTEEM THEM.

 

Open minded, RESPECT THEM.

Precious, VALUE THEM.

Questioners, ENCOURAGE THEM.

Resourceful, SUPPORT THEM.

Spontaneous, ENJOY THEM.

 

Talented, BELIEVE IN THEM.

 

Unique, AFFIRM THEM.

Vulnerable, PROTECT THEM.

 

Whole, RECOGNIZE THEM.

Xtraspecial, CELEBRATE THEM.

Yearning, NOTICE THEM.

Zany, LAUGH WITH THEM.

 

 

  

 

Loving and appreciating them now

There are some days when I find myself dreaming of the days when my children are older and will be able to  take care of themselves and will not need me there constantly.  And then there are other days when I find myself missing them as babies...so sweet and cuddley, no talking back, no getting into everything.  That's when I have to check myself and remind myself what a wonderful time in life we are in now.  Yes, Samantha and Caleb are exhausting and there are days when I want to pull my hair out, but there  are so many things that I adore about them right now and I just have to take a breathe and enjoy these  things before they are gone and I am longing for them back.

Samantha...what can I say about my Sammie girl, my little lovie bug...

-I love how she can make "families" out of anything.  She gets four leaves and says they are a mommy, daddy, sister and brother.  Same with four candles, four bears,  four anything.  And yes, nowadays there has to be four.  It use to just be three.

-I love how she will ask me to pause her show or movie when there is singing so she can go put on a dress and dance like a princess.

-I love how she likes to draw and paint pictures to give to her grandparents and others, always saying "They are going to loooove this!"

-I love how much she LOVES Taylor Swift.

-I love how she has to put everything back in it's place...dvds have to go back in the right case, baby doll toys are separate from food toys...she is her Mama's child for sure!

-I love how, no matter what kind of day we have, she always ends it with a hug, kiss and an "I love you."

-And I love how she just randomly breaks into song.  It's like we are in a musical some times.  It could be a real song like "Mean" or a made up song like "Gooooood Niightttt eeeeeeeeeverrrrybooody." or "I waaant a caaaanddyyy plllleeeeaasseee."

 And Caleb...my sweet boy...my bubba bear...

-I love how much he loves popsicles.  He points to the freezer and says "cle" (as in pop-si-CLE) with a huge smile on his face, then claps and laughs when I get it for him.

-I love how he says "dada" and points to his daddy when he walks in the  door, then starts to walk to him, but half the time  a toy catches his eye and he detours. :)  It's good intentions though. :)

-I love how he stops what ever he is doing, even crying, when he hears the Fresh Beat Band "Here We Go" video on tv, runs in front of the tv and starts to clap and dance.

-I love how he stays on the floor for a second after he falls and thinks about his reaction.  Some times he cries, some times he laughs, and sometimes, apparently it's so comfy, he just closes his eyes and lays there.

- I love how he chases the cat around the house and when he catches her, he holds on tight and screams and laughs.

- I love how he calls my cell phone "dad" because when Daddy calls I put him on speaker.

-And I love how he likes to give random hugs and kisses and cuddle.

And of course, I love how much they love each other. 

I know I am beyond blessed to be their Mommy.  Even on our roughest days, they can put a smile on my face and joy in my heart.



Flashback Friday - "The Incident"

It was a year ago, Labor Day, when "the incident" occurred.  I think it might have been the most horrible moment in my mommy life thus far...

Sammie cut her wrist open when a snow globe she was trying to get fell off of her dresser and came crashing down.  I remember that I was in my room with Caleb (he was only a few weeks old), trying to get him to sleep and I heard  Sammie screaming her head off.  At first, I thought she was mad about something David told her not to do or something like that, so I didn't react.  She'd been having some  trouble adjusting to having a little brother, so her tantrums were pretty bad. Anyway, after about a minute, I realized David wasn't with Sammie, so I put Caleb down and went t o Sammie's room.  The door was closed, which wasn't normal, so I opened it only to find blood ALL over the carpet and ALL over Sammie.  She was crying and screaming and I just grabbed her and screamed for David.  Thank God David didn't lose it like me, because he had the sense to get a towel to wrap her wrist.  We called 911, because there was so much blood coming out of her wrist and we knew there was no way she would keep her wrist wrapped if we drove her to the hospital and there was no room for us to sit in the back with her. 

Anyway, while waiting for the paramedics, I asked Sammie what happened and with tears in her eyes, she answered, "I just wanted to hear my music."  I can't even explain the guilt I felt.  All I kept thinking was "I should've been in there....I could've stopped it...She didn't think I had time for her...Why didn't she just ask me?"  And on and on and on...just quilt.  Now, I know, and I knew then, that this happens all the time; kids get stitches, kids break bones, all that stuff. So, yes, my head gets it, but my heart, to this day still isn't convinced.

Well, after the paramedics cleaned Sammie up and wrapped up her "owwie," I took her to urgent care where she ended up with 5 stitches.  It was awful!!!  They had to wrap her in a blanket and I had to hold her down while they stitched her up.  It took everything I had to hold back the tears and be strong for my sweet girl as she screamed and screamed and screamed.

Once it was all over though, Sammie was her happy self again.  To this day, Sammie is not allowed to close her bedroom door and we just barely put another snowglobe in her room.  She tells me all the time though how she is not going to pick it up!  No need for us to remind her...she knows! :) 

So, my flashback is not a fun one this time.  But it is definitely a day I will always remember, but some times I wish I could forget.  And on the upside, she has a  cool scar now. :)