Meet Sam

Meet Sam.

Sam joined our family last Christmas (he came driving "Papa's truck").  He was named by my brother, who thought it only appropriate that the muscular truck-driving man be named after him. :)  Sam has spent the last few months driving various vehicles around the house (primarily Papa's truck, but also Sam's jeep, the fire engine, the excavator, and the tractor).  Last week, however, Sam suddenly began to take on a personality.  He went from truck driver to fire fighter, and in that capacity, sustained several life-threatening injuries that necessitated several trips to the hospital.  Two surgeries, a leg cast, and a full-body cast later, Sam was perfectly healthy again.  The next day, Sam required even more personal care.  He ate all of his meals with Charlie, took two naps, was admonished several times to "stay out of trouble,"  and required two diaper changes.  When Charlie was told that Sam was a big boy and wore underwear instead of diapers, Sam started going pee-pee on the potty (but insisted on using the toddler potty seat).  Things really got interesting when I heard "Sam's hungry.  Sam's eating me!" and looked down to see Sam being held to Charlie's tummy.  Apparently, Sam is now breastfeeding (?!?!).  [I think the funniest part was when he had Sam tucked under his shirt and looked down and exclaimed, "look, look, Sam's feet are peeking out!"]  Charlie was quickly told that Sam has been weaned and eats big boy food like sandwiches and cheese.  :)  He seemed to take this to heart, and Sam hasn't been breastfed again.  The next day, however, Charlie did breastfeed a koala bear and a Bucky's beaver lovie (I know, I can't believe they make those either :).  This led to a longer conversation, but he seemed relieved to learn that only mommies breastfeed babies.  I think Charlie quickly realized that breastfeeding is a lot of work--luckily for him, he didn't have to worry it about it for long! :)

Katie's 3rd Birthday

Clint had a rare weekend off last weekend, so we took the opportunity to get out of town and headed in Seguin to introduce Clint to Charlie's latest obsession, the Ranger, and to celebrate sweet Katie's 3rd birthday (an event that we could NOT keep Charlie away from once he heard about it!).  Although it was a quick trip, we had a great time, and certainly made the most of our weekend!

We spent all day Saturday out in La Vernia.  The Reed kids were out there as well and we had a great time exploring the ranch with them.  

Here's the beautiful little birthday girl.  I can't believe she is 3!!

Evie enjoyed her morning out at the cabin...

Jackson showed off his new rowing skills...

...and after watching Jackson, we had to take a turn as well.  Charlie loved the canoe!

Julia is an avid little fisherwoman.  She is so patient!

Climbing trees...

The kids are SO sweet with Evie and, not surprisingly, she adores them.  I love how they make her laugh. :)

This so brings back memories of Charlie swinging on the porch at the House on the Hill.  My kids love to swing--the higher, the better!

While the little kids were napping, Jack and Julia showed off their new gymnastics skills.  I was so impressed by all that they were doing.  They made for some fun pics.  As Jackson said, this picture of Julia "is a keeper!" :)

Bryan took Charlie for a spin on the 4-wheeler.  He was a little nervous, but SO proud of himself afterwards.  This has been a big topic of conversation ever since.

Ahh got a new horse (Astro) for her house.  Charlie isn't quite sure what to make of it, but Evie loves it!

We headed over to Dede's on Saturday evening for Katie's big party.  It was so much fun.  The kids swam and we all ate, and went home very, very tired. :)

Someone doesn't like having his picture taken.

Much happier in the water!

After their swim, Graeme remarked, "I've never seen anyone so happy about being squirted in the face with water."  :)

Evie loved swimming as well.  Note her sponges--she is obsessed!

I wasn't going to take Evie swimming, but sweet Meg took her for me.

Evie was SO happy to get to swim.  Can you tell how much she adores her Aunt Meg?  They totally bonded during their Austin weekend together.  I love seeing how excited Evie gets when she sees Meg now--it is too cute!  (and very unusual for the very skittish Evie :)

A few attempts at a cousin pic...

Evie was not thrilled when we remembered to add her to the picture... :)

Oh, Charlie.  The boy loves his food!

Isn't the birthday girl adorable??

Miss Katie in her new Cinderella dress.  She was SO proud.

No outfit is complete without a killer pair of heels... :)

Cousins!

Such a fun weekend, and a wonderful party.  So good to see everyone.  Thanks to Katie for including us and thanks to Amy for the photographic support (all the good photos in this post are hers :).

Evie: 9 Months Old!

Evie is 9 months old now and is starting to seem like so much more of a kid than a baby.  I can't believe how busy she has become this month.  Any dreams I had of having a calm, cuddly little girl have been shattered this month--this girl is wild and crazy!  She is crawling all over the place and has gotten so fast.  She pulls up on everything, walks around while holding onto furniture or a wagon, stands by herself for fairly long periods of time, and even climbs up the stairs (this has resulted in a few bad tumbles, but no broken bones as of yet :).  She loves our outings and although she still gets nervous around new people, she is getting more and more independent.  She loves our playgroups and has really started to mix it up with the big kids.  It was so cute today to watch her standing at a play kitchen and "playing" with two older girls.  She was so pleased with her big self. :)

Evie's biggest love is her sweet brother.  When we go to get him up from his nap, she gets so excited that she starts screeching and wildly kicking her legs before we even go in his room.  As soon as we get in, she starts diving for his crib--she loves getting in there with him and playing.  Evie always laughs at Charlie, no matter what he's doing.  Unfortunately, the word "poo-poo" cracks her up, which encourages him even more.  They play and laugh so much lately--I hear them giggling in the car, at meals, under the dining room table, and in the playroom.  Charlie is a great teacher, and loves to help Evie learn new tricks.  She really likes to copy sounds (especially spitting and screeching).  Evie also really loves music and dancing.  As soon as we turn the music on for our nightly dancing, so starts dancing and screeching (apparently, after reading over my post, Evie does a lot of screeching :).  She giggles and smiles so widely while we're dancing that it looks like her little face will break.  Evie also loves her daddy.  She is pretty clingy with me right now and doesn't like to stray too far, but she will always pick Clint over me.  She gets really excited when he gets home from work and just loves for him to carry her around with him.

Evie doesn't have any real words yet, but she is babbling a lot.  She says a lot of "dada," "baba," and "nana."  She's said "ba!" a few times while we're playing with a ball (another of her favorite things), but I'm not totally convinced she means ball yet. :)

Evie has a few tricks up her 9-month sleeve: she waves bye bye, plays "so big!" (which involves throwing her hands up in the air when we ask how big Evie is), and plays peek-a-boo, and copies a number of sounds.  She is starting to love reading, although she doesn't have a ton of patience for it.  We have to talk fast to get her to sit still for a whole book.  She loves turning pages right now, and I get in major trouble if I linger over a page too long.  She really just wants to keep them turning!  Her favorite books are Pat the Bunny and Pat the Cat (and really any touch-and-feel book).

According to our pediatrician, Evie is: Weight: 17 pounds, 14 ounces (45%)

Height: 28 inches (75%)

Head: 17.75 inches (75%)

According to us, the little mouse is just perfect! :)

Here is the mouse herself, in all of her 9-month-old glory:

I love this ruffled backside. :)

We tried to take a few pics inside, but there was just too much distraction.  Notice the 2 bruises on her forehead--her newfound mobility is fairly dangerous!

I see this determined little face all the time.  She is the most hard-working, determined little baby I've ever seen.  When Evie gets a goal, whether it's crawling, pulling up, standing, or obtaining one of Charlie's toys, you can bet she will accomplish it.  She just does not get discouraged!

Charlie's matchbox cars are his most prized possessions, and as a result, Evie thinks they are the biggest prizes.  She loves to find a stray one lying around or, better yet, get into the whole stash when Charlie's not looking...

We love you little mouse!

Happy Birthday to...me?

Some days just seem made for Charlie.  Take my birthday, for example.

We took a ride on a bulldozer (I can't tell you what a hit this was).

 We spent a fun, yummy afternoon at Monster Yogurt with my two little monsters...

 No yogurt for Jeebs, but I think her Mum Mums tasted better here. :)

 Yogurt + play equipment = great outing.

 Only tricky part?  Getting Charlie out of there.  It took a bit of bribing on my part. :)

 Finished off the day with a delicious chocolate cake, courtesy of my sweet husband.  Guess who enjoyed it the most?

Happy Birthday Charlie--I mean me! :)