daddy's home!

daddy came home right in time for bedtime stories. but he missed buddy wrestling time.
maybe tomorrow.
buddy is pretty nice, but he's no daddy.

sammy love

there is nothing better than looking at this little face. unless you count looking at the faces of both my boys together. but mike is in detroit, so i'm enjoying the boy i've got in my lap and the yummy feeling of his little arms holding on to me, his warm little body leaning on mine, and his soft little head under my nose. these are the best moments of my day.

are you ready for some football?

friday night after bath and stories, we put sammy in his "astronaut seat" and blasted off for columbus. we arrived late, after grandma and grandpa were in bed, and went straight to sleep. we needed to get plenty, we had a date with a football game to keep the next day.

after a morning of visiting (including a nice visit with grandma nordstrom), we headed over to the game. sammy was likely one of (if not the) youngest fans at the event, which drew a record breaking 95,000+ cheering spectators. he attempted to get a little shut-eye, but the excitement was too much to ignore. he spent the majority of his time charming a couple of small boys in the family sitting next to us.

though he seemed to find the game a little stressful at times...

"i sure hope the buckeyes win!"

...we think he had a good time.

thanks grandma and grandpa for having us over! we can't wait to see you again soon! sammy sends his love and says "ah-goo" to you both.

california dreamin'

the forecast for today was supposed to be warm (high 70's) and sunny. so far it's been slightly chilly and cloudy. but that hasn't kept me from thinking about warm weather and the vacation days to come. most specifically, our annual trip to oglebay in west virginia, and how sam is going to be in need of a bathing suit for all that playing in the pool. yay!

i really like this one at baby gap. i can never resist monkeys, and we still have a gift card to use…if only i knew what size to get…sam is growing like such a weed (wearing 3-6 month old pants already)!

i'm scheming

we found out that part-time hours for me wouldn't pay for daycare and transportation with anything left over to make it worthwhile. so, if i want to define my own work hours and work from home, i'm going to have to grow my freelance business. so...i'm scheming to do so and have started to email people and put the word out. if you know anyone with a small business that might need some design work done (business cards, logos, flyers, etc.) or anyone shopping around for wedding invitations or baby announcements, feel free to send them my way!

yippee!

i printed out the second proofs of the coloring book yesterday afternoon. it was exciting to see my by-line on the title page, especially knowing that there are already 350 back orders. some 350 kids are going to be coloring on drawings i made! yippee!! 

lots to say

sam's new digs

i've been meaning to post about this since last sunday, but never seemed to have time until after sammy's bedtime, and i wasn't about to walk in and start flashing the camera while he was sleeping soundly, so it just didn't get done. today when i went to grab him after his nap, i decided now was the time to snap a few photos.

sammy enjoying his new bed

thanks to mom and dad for working so hard on this! we know it was a major project and really appreciate all the time you spent to fix it up for sam. it's wonderful! and thanks to doug and karen for the loaned mattress. sam says it feels like sleeping on a fluffy cloud of happiness.

busy bees part 4: the new routine

tuesday morning i started back to work, which meant getting up and going early enough to get sam fed and to the daycare by 7:30 and me to the train by 7:45. i took some time off the first couple of days so that sam could be picked up by 3pm, and mike took some time to pick him up early the following two days.
sam had no trouble adjusting to the new routine or charming the grownups at the daycare. i had more trouble with it, and came to work on tuesday still a bit teary from having to leave sammy.

this monday i have a meeting with my supervisors to find out about my request for part-time hours.

busy bees part 3: sammy gets shot

monday afternoon sammy had his two-month check-up. he weighed in at 12lbs 1oz and 23 inches tall. he also got his first round of shots, which was traumatizing for us both. he spent part of the afternoon and evening feeling rather unhappy with a pink, swollen leg. poor sammy!

busy bees part 2: easter sunday

easter sunday we woke up early so we could join the family at church to blow up balloons. i wish i had taken pictures, but we were quickly put to work and needed to use both hands (and sometimes a foot) to get things done (and keep sammy bouncing and happy).

after the balloon launch, everyone gathered at our house for dinner. we all marveled at abby's ability to scarf down strawberries and be amazingly cute all at once. it was so nice to have a house full of family!

mom and dad also dropped off the crib for sammy, complete with bumper pads hand sewn by mom that match his decor. it was put together and sammy had his first easter and first night in the crib that very night.

busy bees part 1: pre-easter activities

it's been a busy week around here. i've been meaning to post, but there always seemed like there was so much other stuff to be done that this didn't quite make it to the top of the list. so tonight while sam sleeps, and the laundry sits next to me waiting to be folded, i'm going to take the time to do some posting.

last friday mike had the day off, so we treated it as a normal saturday and did all our saturday chores. there was much grocery shopping and cleaning to be done, as we were expecting a visit from mike's mom and john that evening and were planning our (now annual) easter gathering with my family on easter sunday. we had a lovely, relaxing evening of take-out and watching "the storyteller" on dvd.

the following day, after mike cooked breakfast for us and our guests, we did some serious easter prep. we dyed eggs, and i made kolaches and bread and pre-chopped things for salad. sam helped by watching and reminding me to take breaks and feed him.

we topped off saturday evening with dinner out with family at a new restaurant. i was excited to find that there was a section for vegetarian dishes (always a good thing!) by the end of the day, we were pooped.

2 months old

our silly boy is two months old today. happy monthaversary, sammy!

"we miss you" or "fun with paper, scissors, and sam"

what sammy starts thinking at about 6 o'clock on days when mike is travelling.

pillow talk

i finished my pillow cover and sam was nice enough to pose with it. today he's 8 weeks old and smiling more than ever. i'm having a hard time thinking about being back at work next week. being with sam is way more fun (and way harder!)

chair switcheroo

we decided to move the rocking chair to the living room, and the big chair from our room to sam's. it'll be great for storytime and midnight snacks and such (mmm...comfy). i decided it could use a slipcover though, not just because it didn't go with my color scheme, but because i'm all about things that can be washed in case of accidents (hence the two futons with removable, washable covers). we got this great red slipcover from target.com. it arrived yesterday and was sent into action directly. i'm now working on a pillow cover with leftover fabric from this project.

fabulous 5

today marks 5 fabulous years of being married to the bestest boy ever. to mark the occasion, sam and i went shopping. five is the "wood" anniversary, so we decided on these wood building blocks. sam seemed to think they'd be fun for the whole family. i think he's right.
here's to many more happy years! thanks, mike, for being my better half!

surprise

from mike. isn't he a sweetie?

the most important thing i learned this week

i can handle the major head-to-toe poopy diaper blow-out, the kind that requires scrubbing down the changing table and a bath for both me and sam (not just an outfit change), and still be able to smile for sammy and not lose my patience. still, i have to say...hooray for disposable wipes!