single mom...this week.

There is something special about being alone with Sam this week.

Don't get me wrong, I want Matthew to be here. I want him here to scoff at the messes I have ignored, tell me I'm in a bad mood or even openly disagree with how I have dressed our son. Somehow I even miss all that along with all the good things he provides.

However, it is so much fun to spend every minute worrying about Sam. He has had my full attention from morning until night, and I love giving it to him. He is so cool. Sam has started giving "bumps" with fists and "showing his muscles" complete with straining grunts. But my favorite trick this week has to be "waaa-weee" (aka-sorry.) He hit me in the face this morning and when I started to (fake) cry, he petted my face softly and said "waaa-wee" so sweetly. Life could only be better if Matt was here to laugh with me.

Although it has been hard practicing single parenting, I am so thankful for every second that I get to spend with "Shmooly."

The doting will end after this next sentence.

Sam is so stinkin' handsome.

Videos of Sam

http://www.youtube.com/user/hollyaprecio?feature=mhum

Finally got them uploaded :) Hope these dont make you miss us too much, Matty!

Daddy, Im being good

I'm taking good care of mommy. I have been her wake up call all week at 7:30 sharp, sometimes 4am, sometimes 2:30am.


I am giving her lots to do so that she doesn't get bored while your away. Anything from pooping in the tub to throwing around all the q-tips.


I remind her when its dinner time with some good ol' fashion whining. She knows exactly what I want. I have also been very clear when I'm thirsty.
I point to the refrigerator and yell until I get my milk.I have been eating really well which means that we are going through diapers really fast.
The dogs are being taken care of too. I make sure they get fed by opening up the pantry all day long to help them get to their food. They seem thankful.We got out of the house yesterday and met Tyler and Quinn at the Mall. We were in a hurry to meet up with Bub for dinner so I made my decision fast. I made mommy buy me a "Rex" stuffed animal at the Disney store. I sure do like him, but I'm sad mommy wouldn't let me buy two of them.

I went with mommy to a photo shoot last night at a night club. But don't worry, it was just a rehearsal for Bub's new band and I wore my ear plugs like mommy asked me too. The coolest thing was that my binkie glowed in the black light. I also tested the equipment by pulling on all the cords and climbing up on stage to tune the guitars. Mommy says she's not going to take me again tonight because I was a hassle, but I really loved listening to the music.

We really miss you daddy! I hope that you are missing me a lot and I am working on a few more tricks to show you when you get home.

Gotta go! I am working hard on another poop for mommy right now. :)

Soothies

Sam has 2 things that he needs in order to sleep.

His binkie and his blanket.

Lately we have been working on weaning ourselves from the pacifier. And yes I say "WE" because it is also hard for me to not just give in to him having it when he is whiny or loud. Especially at obnoxious times.

For the last 2 weeks we have done very well at leaving the binkie in the crib. Sam actually thinks its a funny game to "hand it over" when I go in to get him out of his bed. But how long do I allow him to even have it at night?

I am TOTALLY against him having it in public after the age of 2 but I don't know how I feel about him having one after that for night time and naps. I don't even want to think about that weaning process. I enjoy my sleep too much.The blanket is something I can put up with forever. Grandma Bailey made it for him before he was born and he loves it so much. Its so cute to see him cuddle up to it when you lay him in his crib. Sometimes when he is tired and I am not paying attention, he will pull it out of his bed and bring it to me. Such a sweet boy.It sure is a pain to wash though. You have to time it just right so that its all cleaned and dried by the time his next nap comes along. And with Sam, that's not something you can prepare for. The kids sleeps at a different time every day.
We sure he love him. I just hope that one day we can be binkie free without any loss of Zzz's!

Tyler's First Birthday

Our friend Tyler turned 1 yesterday and Sam and I went over to his house a few hours before the party to help out. I put Sam in the living room next to the toys and started to talk to Quinn. The next thing I know, Sam is standing next to me with two little giraffes that he found in the toy box. Two! Giraffes! (The ones he owns were waiting for us in the car because heaven help us if we lose them.)I swear, this kid cracks me up. I don't understand his obsession, but I think its pretty cute.

Anyway, while we got ready for the guests to arrive, Ben blew up the bouncy house and the boys were ecstatic to go inside.They had so much fun. Even Sam who spent most of the time just trying to get back up.

Tyler just enjoyed playing with his daddy.

When it was time for cake, we all gathered around to help Tyler blow out his candles. He must have been full of the yummy party food because he had very little interest in the chocolate cake he was given to destroy.

Just when we thought the fun would never end, it did just that. When I large "thwack" was heard and felt by those standing on the back patio, we all gasped in fear when we realized Sam had tumbled head first onto the rocky concrete. Witnesses say nothing but his forehead stopped the fall.

The large bump that immediately appeared proved it.

Luckily there were 2 nurses at the party and both felt that Sam would be okay without a trip to the ER. He had a hard time calming down, but who wouldn't bawl their face off falling like that? Poor guy.It was a bad mixture of tired legs from jumping, missed naps and a sugar high from birthday cake that caused the accident. But in about 20 minutes Sam was back to playing and laughing with the big kids and the swelling is way down this morning.

Well anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER! This bumps for you :)

Quilt

Newborn clothes hold so many memories for us mommies. Which is why it is so hard for us to pack up or hand down the tiny outfits.

So I had an idea.

To make a quilt using all of Sam's memorable baby clothes.

Let me start off by stating, I don't quilt. This was my FIRST time ever attempting anything of this sort. I looked up a few projects online and figured out how to go about it as basically as possible.

First, I picked out a few of my favorite outfits, burp cloths, fabric from Sam's room and receiving blankets. The hardest part was cutting up the pieces that I wanted on the quilt. Luckily everything Sam owns is the same color scheme.

Then I pieced everything together and sewed it all up. It took a few days, but it was so worth it for me.

Its not perfect. In fact its not even close. But I will forever have these little squares to remind me of when Sammy was a baby. Not that I will ever forget.

This is the shirt that Sam came home from the hospital in. Honestly it still brings tears to my eyes. We were not always sure that we were going to get to bring him home. So it was an amazing feeling to pack our little boy up in his car seat and take him with us. Matt and I held hands the whole way home. Then we carried him into the house and introduced him to the dogs. Its a crystal clear memory that floods back especially when I look at this little doggy shirt.

The brown and white lion pattern on the right is a hoodie that I bought from Old Navy when we started trying to get pregnant. For 2 years it hung on the door handle of our extra bedroom. It was so cool to finally put a little baby in it!

This is Sam's blessing shirt, buttons and all.

The importance of this is obvious. It was so great to have all of our family and friends at church this day to support us. I especially remember thinking to myself how lucky I was to have Sam and Matty.

Owls. Of course. When I was pregnant I knew I had to decorate the nursery with owls. Some may think I even went a little overboard, but I don't think so :)

Now whenever I see owls, I think of Sam. And, we hear a lot from other people, that when they see anything with owls, they think of us too.

The owl was a napkin that Auntie Shauna found for Sam and I couldn't figure out what to do with it until I made the quilt. There are other owls on the quilt from some burp rags my mom made for me and a onesie a friend found with little owls on it.

I love it all. Every square has a story. I hope that it means as much to Sam one day, as it means to his mommy every day.

A Tale of Two Giraffes

Last week at Target I let Sam play around in the toy isles for about 30 minutes. He had latched on to a small stuffed dog early on and I was sure that we would be adding it to our toy collection at home. (I'm a sucker.)

But, as we were leaving he spotted a bucket full of plastic animals that he had to check out. He quickly abandoned the stuffed dog for a plastic giraffe. When I thought that we were done choosing a new toy I placed him back into the shopping cart.

Sam started to cry pointing to the bucket.

"We are not taking them all. Pick one more. How about the elephant."

Sam smacked the elephant away with one loud, "Eh!"

"Monkey?"

"Eh."

"Rhino?"

"Eh."

It went on like this through a few more animals when I realized there was only one I had not yet offered him.

"The Giraffe? You already have one? Do you want the other?"

Sam immediately grabbed the identical giraffe from me and grinned.

And so started Sam's new obsession with giraffes. He finds them first thing in the morning and plays with them throughout the day. He stands them up next to each other on tables, chairs and the floor and exclaims "Whoa!"

And don't even think about taking them from him. It was love at first sight.

Its funny to me that I could spend all day in a toy store looking for the perfect thing for my son and I would NEVER decide on 2 plastic giraffes. No wonder we have so many ignored toys around the house.

From now on, Sam can pick out his own obscure entertainment. Hopefully, it will always be found in the $1 bucket :)

Northstar Resort

I had an eventful Labor Day weekend at Northstar Resort in Truckee California. I flew into Reno on Saturday afternoon and got all settled in my cabin. The first thing I did was explore the resort and get something to eat at the pizza parlor. Then I grabbed a towel and spent most of the night soaking in the hot tub.Sunday was the "big day." Amber and Craig flew me down to photograph their wedding. They had a beautiful ceremony on a golf course, and a fun reception at sunset. Lots of pictures, and a few blisters on my feet from standing all day.Monday morning I spent hours on the phone with Alaska Airlines trying to get on a flight. But, considering it was Labor Day, it didnt happen.

So I packed up some water and snacks and caught a Gondola ride up the mountain for some hiking. Not even my painful (bleeding) blisters were going to stop me from seeing the sights.

I hiked to Sawmill Lake just on the other side of the mountain. It was a very peaceful hike and the lake was beautiful. I thought about taking a swim, but the water was so cold.Heading down the mountain I could hear the pool calling my name, so I went to my cabin, changed into my swim suit and limped my way to the Clubhouse.Tuesday came and I grabbed the earliest shuttle to the airport. The driver managed to crash into the median about 4 times heading down the winding road, but we made it safely into Reno.

When I finally caught a flight to Seattle (8 hours later) I was consumed with excitement to see my boys again.

I sure missed them and luckily they missed me a lot too :)

Home

It was a fun but long trip to Truckee California and back.

After 1 shuttle accident, hours of being surrounded by hippies still dusty from the Burning Man Festival, and a very turbulent plane ride to Seattle, I am home.

And it feels so good.

I love Matty, I love Sammy and I love my duck-down infested bed.

Pictures and updates to come soon.

Time away

I know that its not that weird to say that I have never been away from my 1 year old son, but isn't it crazy to say that I have never been away from my husband?

NEVER.

In the 5 years that we have known each other Matt and I have never been apart. I have seen him EVERY DAY since we met. Seriously.

Tomorrow I fly to Reno for a wedding and I am very nervous about being away from my boys. I know that its probably healthy for us to have a little time away from each other, but holy cow am I going to miss them!

You better believe that before I go to bed each night I am going to stare at these pictures while I say goodnight to Matthew and Sam via telephone.