William-ese" Big Helper

Although this picture was in a previous post, I felt it deserved it's own documenting.
In an effort to get out the door in a timely manner one day, Brandon gave William the task of getting Sam dressed. I was getting myself ready in the bathroom. I could hear Samuel fighting William, as he does with anybody that decided to get him dressed at almost any given time. William patiently worked with him and persisted. I thought about going out and telling him not to worry about it, that I would get him dressed. I thought better of it and I sure am glad I did.

 Once Samuel was dressed William came in the room with him with such a look of triumph. He did it! He was so proud of himself.

And he had every right to be proud. He dressed a two year old in a onesie and pants! He did need to snap the once on the shoulders, so I managed to capture that on camera, along with his adorable smile. 

Sam Had a Birthday!

Somewhere between the hours of the end of February and the beginning of March, my little guy turned 2. We celebrated simply and happily on March 1st. Brown paper packages decorated with his current obsession and hinting at what was hidden behind the wrapping.

"Choo-choo, Sam is Two!"

Oh, Sam. You have brought us so much joy in your life, so far. Your smile lights up our darkest days. We all run to see you when we know you are awake for the morning, or awake from you nap. You love to say hello to everyone that catches your eye.

You rush to give hugs and never want to see any of us sad. Each day that I have with you, I consider a tender mercy, as I watched you nearly slip away from me as a small baby.

You are my little buddy and one of my best friends. You, my Sam-Sam and I, your Mom-Mom. I love that you call me that.

Your sisters adore you and smother you and generally can't get enough of you.

Your brother cherishes his live-in buddy. He was so glad to get a brother to balance out the family.

My tender sweet baby boy, I love you so much. Happy birthday

Thank you for giving me the gift of letting me cuddle you to sleep on your birthday. My arms and my heart were so grateful.

February Moments

Note: Some of these are duplicates from this post, alas the captions vary slightly and I figured I might as well double post for record keepings sake. I started all of these blog posts over the last couple of months and apparently, I got a bit confused about where I was at in the process.

 His affinity towards toilet water, toilet paper, and climbing into cupboards has been replaced with an obsession with toys. One cannot be happier for this phase in his life. This airport was a Christmas gift from Grandma and Grandpa Pulsipher.

 Marie thinks she and Sam combined make pretty cute subjects for picture taking, thus it is a common request for me to take a picture. I can't help but agree with her ...

 ... even when she has crazy bed head pigtails. Best big sister ever.

 Sam ran to me in the kitchen and said, "Cool. Cool. And pointed for me to follow him. This is what he showed me." Agreed. Very cool. The look on his face being the best part of it all. 

 We ran to WalMart while Marie was at tumbling. I was going to get laundry baskets, but realized I forgot my wallet. These planes entertained him while I window shopped, which was rather boring. We live rather close to a Target now, so proximity and quality brings me shopping there. I will never be satisfied with another super store. ;)

 Another request for a picture. I need to remember to kneel down.

 Another window shopping day while killing some time. Anne decided she needed to wear her "dress-up best" on this particular shopping day. I couldn't argue with that cuteness, now could I?

 Sam was here.

 Anne was here.

 The only way to watch a show on Mommy's Chromebook is with pillow pet and blankie in tow. Just ask Samuel. He insisted. (And it took me about 15 minutes to translate his requests, as those are not words in his limited vocabulary yet.)

 On this particular morning, it was snowing outside. I loved seeing William playing Bach's Minuet 1 and staring at the snow. Playing violin is a happy place for him and for me. We both have better days when we start out with a practice session. 

 And guess who didn't take a nap on this particular day? (And many days before and after.)

A Frenzy of February (F)otos

William helped get Sam dressed for the first time and he was so thrilled that he was able to do it. So was I! It hasn't happened again since, but you know, whatever. We'll take what we can get!

Oh, the irony that is this picture. I'll give you one guess as to whether or not Anne took a nap that day.

Reading Incentive Program that I became in charge of when the volunteer that WAS in charge became. MIA. It was exactly what I needed, something else on my plate. I did have fun with the bulletin board though!

When a dear, dear friend of ours called me in tears because her boys really wanted a Valentines party, but she just wasn't up for it (she had just given birth to a stillborn baby boy a week before, her third stillborn baby boy, bless her heart) .... I was SO glad to come to the rescue. Any excuse for a party is a good one in my book and this was more than just an excuse. 

I gathered every crafting thing I could find that was pink or red, glue, and scissors and let their little creative minds have a blast. In the meantime, I baked a cupcake mix that they had brought with them

We decorated some cupcakes and then they played.

Valentine party was a success!

Signs that Sam was here.

Valentine's Day!

My baby sister got engaged!

Poor Gus Gus fell and ripped his ear. No stitches needed, just some glue. $150 glue, apparently. (We're still fighting with the insurance about that one.)

An ENT appt for Anne.

Keeping Sam happy at the grocery store is always a challenge.

Zoo Day!

Artichokes! Same didn't eat any. He just played with the leaves.