Want to know the first thing Sam said to me when he woke up this morning?

“I think we should get a new baby.  A girl baby. We should get a girl baby.”

And as if that wasn’t enough, just a few days ago Hubby came downstairs saying, “You know, I was just thinking about how fun it would be to have a girl . . .”

All right, gentleman, LISTEN UP. Last I checked we were all done here, so everyone needs to just settle down. I do believe that just last week we were celebrating a FIRST BIRTHDAY in our house? Yes - here is proof: one year old eating first birthday cake.

 So ya’ll need to take your Baby Fever and let it just roll right off, kay?

And I know I don’t need to tell you all why I’m truly scared here . . . because I’ve been feeling it this summer too, The Fever, that is. And every time I feel the pang I give myself a good smack in the face and shake it off!

Labels: Birthdays, Hubby, Mommyhood, Pictures, The Big One

The day has come: my baby is one year old.  I think I must be in denial, since I am currently speechless, which, as you know, is uncharacteristic for me.  Wasn’t it THIS summer that I was going to Dairy Queen every day while pregnant?  Wasn’t it just last night that my water broke in the kiddie pool?  Weren’t we nursing for the first time just a few short hours ago?

But no, I had to go back into my archives from a year ago to find that last one - not surprisingly, it was the only post from that month. And then I got to look at those pictures again.  The smooshy face one is still one of my favorites.

What a sweet baby. What a sweet boy. It’s so hard to write this, because when I try to think about what to say about Robby, that’s what I come up with. He’s happy. He’s adorable.  He’s my sweetie. He’s simple, in the best of ways. Good-natured, by definition.

Although, he did get mad at me when I was feeding him in his high chair yesterday and proceeded to make a very angry face, point at me while yelling “aaaaagh!” and then threw his spoon at me. He is loud, oh, so loud. He thinks screaming is hysterical and loves to do it whenever possible. Banging things rocks, especially cabinet doors. We’ve gotten him an instrument set for his birthday, which will technically be celebrated tomorrow with family and cupcakes.

I just can’t believe a year has gone by. I know how cliche that is. But I didn’t feel like the first year went by quickly with Sam; actually, it felt like an eternity. With Robby it has been an instant, a blur. It’s bittersweet for me, because I know he hasn’t gotten all of the undivided attention his brother did, and I know things will be even faster from here on out.

But today, he crawled up to me in a room full of toys and other children, climbed up my body to reach my face, and turned my head to give me a kiss. The he climbed back down and went back to playing. He did this twice, just to check in, I suppose.

He wakes up every day with a smile on his face.

No, my head is not actually 18 inches long - I’m taking this with my phone and am at a weird angle . . . just look at the kid, would you? 

Labels: Birthdays, Pictures, The Little One

Labels: Bloggy Stuff - Memes/Links/Business, Hubby, Pictures, The Little One

I’d like to take a moment to direct you over to something I happen to be very proud of. I currently have a book review up on Mama Speaks.  This kicks off a new weekly book feature we’ll be doing over there. And I’ll admit it - I worked hard on it. I interviewed one of the editors and a few of the contributors for it, and between picking up cereal from the floor and changing about 3,112 poopie diapers (there’s been a tummy bug over here…don’t ask) I managed to put it together.  Why is it so hard to admit when we are proud of something?  I’m so paranoid about writing that here, like it’s wrong to be proud of one’s work. Anyway, I highly recommend the book and feel free to go and check out my review. It was nice to be in contact with adults for a while there, not to mention kind of scary and intimidating.

As it happens, the editor I interviewed has just started a new blog, Up Mama’s Wall, and the other editor has a blog called Suburban Gardener, which is about, well, you can probably guess.  So by all means, click on over there as well.

And thank you for all of your thoughtful comments on my Blog Ads inquiry - it’s fascinating how everyone has such different takes. I look forward to following up on that.

Labels: Bloggy Stuff - Memes/Links/Business, Pictures, Writing

I’m not one to compare my kids - really, I’m not. I love them both, cherish them both, want them both to be exactly who they are, no more, no less.

But I’ll tell you a little secret: I really loved Sam’s hair when he was a baby, this hair. I would have been so very happy for Robby’s hair to turn out however it was meant to turn out, be it the opposite of Sam’s and dark and straight; I would have loved it too. But I’ll admit that now that Robby’s hair has started coming in and it is going in the same direction as his older brother’s, I’m really very happy. Truthfully, I love it so. And it’s not just that it reminds me of Sam’s babyhood, which it does, and it’s not just that it ties him a bit more to me physically since he is the spitting image of my father-in-law, which he is, and it’s not just that it makes him that much cuter, which is also true. It’s that I like the similarity between him and Sam.

When we were at the beach last week someone said to me, “Well, there’s no mistaking them for brothers, is there?” I don’t want them to look exactly alike - of course not - but I really do love watching my two little curly-haired, sweaty-headed boys go forth into the world together.

They’ve been playing more and more with each other now that Robby is more mobile, and I think it might be the best thing yet of this whole two children thing. Perhaps the only thing better than making your baby smile and making them laugh is watching your other child get them to smile and laugh, and then the two of them laughing right along together.

Labels: Brothers, Pictures, The Little One

Warning: In these photos I have not yet bathed and am still wearing a pajama shirt, but I love so much that Sam loves flowers and gardening, that I had to suck it up and share anyway.

Labels: Pictures, The Big One

It had been a long while since I’d been swimming in the ocean. Last year when we went to the beach I was very pregnant with Robby. Every time a wave would hit me in the stomach I’d just picture him being bopped in the head, so I didn’t end up going very far into the water during our trip. It probably didn’t help that my balance was off enough that I had a lot of trouble getting in and out what with all the waves knocking me around, and my feet were so sensitive from the pregnancy that the rocks and shells might as well have been little spear points.

So this time around I knew I needed to get in some good swim time. As I mentioned, the ocean was “closed” for a little while, but once the waves were calmer and it opened again, I took my first opportunity to get out there while Hubby watched the kids (we have a thing where we take turns so that we can each have a little swimming time).

The water was cold, VERY cold, but I was determined to get out past the point where the waves were breaking so that I could enjoy some calmer water, despite the fact that my shoulders were a bit numb. There was only one other guy out there that far, wading around with me. Not three minutes after I got past the waves and in a comfy spot, I looked over and saw three dolphins maybe 40 feet away and heading in our direction. I pointed to them and looked back, hoping Hubby would see, but I didn’t wait to see if he saw me gesturing, I just kept pointing toward them so that when they came up again I’d know where they were. When they popped up again they were about 25 feet away, close enough to the other guy that he let out a little “whoop!,” and when they came up again they were maybe 15 feet. I could hear the air coming out of their blow holes quite clearly.

When they came up once more they were right in front of me. An conservative estimation would be maybe ten feet away - Hubby said it looked more like five from where he was sitting on the beach with the boys. They were close enough that I could clearly distinguish the marbled nature of their skin. They were close enough that I knew if I really went for it, I might have been able to touch one. But I stayed put. I didn’t want to scare them off, and I certainly didn’t want to ruin it for all the people behind me who were watching. After they passed I considered swimming after them again, but I think I was a bit mesmerized, unable to commit to moving from my spot, not wanting to spoil or change the moment in any way.

Dolphins, right in front of me. Pretty incredible.

And here are way too many photos in which my boys look like raccoons. I guess our sunblock did the job since both of them now have decidedly dark circles around their eyes exactly where Hubby and I stop for fear of getting lotion in them. That or they are just totally and completely exhausted from the trip - you can tell in some of the pictures they are totally beat - I know I am. Good to be home.

Labels: Pictures, Tales, Vacations and travel