All Boy!

Twice I have had to cancel my appointment for Sam's 4 year pictures because he's constantly doing something that causes him to have a bump, bruise, or scrap on his face. Finally, Sunday afternoon we were able to get his pictures done! Literally, within 2 hours of finishing, the kid already had a black eye! Apparently during "rest time" Sam decided to play a game with his flashlight and somehow bonked himself in the face and now he has a lovely black and blue mark under his right eye. At least we got those pictures taken first! (Look closely at the pic below and you can see his ringer).

Here's a few of the 4 year pics that were taken yesterday at Sears. We had a hard time choosing our favorite one. Those dimples get me everytime!

Let the Countdown Begin!

In less than 1 month (26 days to be exact) our lives will change dramatically! While I am very excited for the arrival of our new little boy, I'm also not quite ready to give up my life of freedom. Currently, I get a full night's sleep and Sam is mostly independent. He dresses himself, goes potty by himself, wipes his own butt, and even helps me out around the house (ie. "Sam, please go get mommy a drink of water.") Soon, I will be totally responsible again for the feeding, nursing, and diapering of a helpless (but precious) little infant and my free time will virtually disappear. So, I'm doing my best right now to not only prepare for L.B.'s (Little Beckham) arrival, but also enjoy some quiet moments to myself... laying in the sun, reading a good book/magazine, getting my hair colored, mini-pedicure, etc.

36 WEEKS

Also, I wanted to mention that Thursday I had a final ultrasound in Grand Rapids to check on the health of this baby's heart. At 19 weeks I had an initial appointment that confirmed that structurally the baby's heart had no defects. This appointment was to check on valves and other areas that were too small to see earlier. I went alone to this appointment and surprisingly I was much more emotional that I was prepared for. Everything checked out perfectly and I was a big ball of hormonal tears. Mostly just very grateful that this baby is so healthy. As I waited for the cardiologist and ultrasound tech. in the same room that we found out about Sam's problems, I was overwhelmed with so many emotions....remembering how awful and hopeless I felt 4 years ago when they confirmed that Sam had something very wrong with his heart that was going to require open heart surgeries...while at the same time reflecting on how amazingly healthy and active Sam is today...to feeling so grateful that this pregnancy has been so much less stressful and without all the conflicting emotions and fears I was going through while carrying Sam.

The ultrasound also confirmed that he is a very average sized baby...currently weighing in at 5 lbs., 15 oz (41st%) and that I am measuring perfectly (even though I feel huge!) Our little stinker is head down and would not show his face (hands were covering) but they were able to see the boy parts so that's still a for sure! I just can't wait to hold him in my arms!

MISC. WEEKEND ADVENTURES

On Saturday afternoon we had to have a large tree in the middle of our yard removed. While we were sad to see this old tree go, it was something we had to do because it's been dead for a couple of years and is becoming hazardous. Now we have a huge open area in the middle of our side yard which will be great for our boys to safely spend hours playing baseball, football or whatever.

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

(the stump will be removed soemtime this week)

While the tree was being cut down, Brian and I spent time planting some new perennials. This space used to be occupied by 2 large overgrown Holly bushes. We removed them because we were planning to remove the cement balcony and add on a deck to the side of the house. However, due to the tree removal and a few other unexpected house expenses, we are putting the deck on hold. Instead, in 2 weeks, the cement balcony will be repaired and refinished with a new coating of cement and the old rod iron railing will be replaced with a new updated railing for a much cheaper cost than building a deck. We are very happy too with the look of the new perennials.


Friday afternoon I babysat Mya for a bit and Sam took her for a ride on his new Gator. They had a blast riding around the yard for a long time. Can you tell they're cousins?!

Lastly, on Saturday evening, we took a trip to "Sam's park" and Brian attempted to start teaching him how to ride without training wheels. Sam really wasn't very excited about trying so I'm not sure if he's ready or not. He loves to ride his bike everywhere and doesn't understand the meaning of the word "slow down", so we figured he was ready. I guess we'll just keep trying once and a while until he's more comfortable.

Here's a couple of quick video clips...

Maniac Sam riding with training wheels...

Learning to ride without...

Wild At Heart

Happy Father's Day to all our wonderful dads and grandpas! We are so blessed to have you all in our lives. I'm feel especially blessed that Sam gets to grow up surrounded by so many good men who model for him how to be a great man. Today in church our pastor's message had many referrences to the book "Wild at Heart". It is a book that Brian has already read (and highly recommends) but it was so good for me to hear again that boys were created in God's image to be "wild at heart". Sometimes I feel exhausted by Sam's energy and rambuncous spirit, but today I realized again that #1 it is totally normal and #2 it is a huge blessing. Considering the health issues he started with in life and despite 2 open heart surgeries, Samuel has far more energy than either Brian or I could have ever imagined. And now I've been blessed with another little ball of testosterone due in 33 days....Lord help me!!!!!!!

Here's some pics of our "Wild at Heart" gymnast. Next up is swimming lessons starting in a week.

Ready to POP!

Here I am at 34 1/2 weeks...only 38 days to go (not that I'm counting or anything)! Surprisingly I'm still feeling really good. With Sam, my back hurt a lot, but I'm not having those issues this time. I've been having to get up 1 or 2 times a night to pee, so that's kind of annoying, but I can't complain. Also, I've been having a lot of Braxton-Hicks contractions. I know this is typical and expected, but it makes me anxious! I lay awake worrying that I don't have everything done and end up getting up out of bed at 4:00 a.m because I'm so wound up. Some people might call this "nesting", but anyone who knows me knows that this is just part of who I am... a slightly anal retentive/perfectionist person when it comes to organization, cleanliness, etc. Sometimes it is a trait that serves me well, but mostly I just end up driving both myself and Brian crazy with my to-do list of "Things that must be done or the world will end"! My poor husband, God bless him, has been awesome for me lately. He works hard all day, but still comes home and does whatever I need done around the house or in my new classroom to help me relax. My goal is to be done with everything by the end of next week so I can just relax and enjoy a few weeks of summer before the baby arrives. Oh, and I think we finally picked a name! Well, at least we're down to 2 favorites. We will probably wait until he arrives and we see his cute little face to make the final decision. Here's some more pics of some of our summer adventures...

Cory and I took Samuel, Samantha and Brynn to a mini-zoo exhibit at the library. Sam got to pet a turtle and a big lizard, and look at other things like snake skins, deer skulls, and snow leopard furs. He had fun, but did not like waiting in line!

Last weekend, Brian, Sam and I went up to Silver Lake again for some family alone time. It rained alot in the mornings and evenings, but Saturday afternoon was gorgeous! We all got terrible sunburns (even with SPF on!) Guess we forgot to reapply. :( Here Sam is building a sand castle with a little boy that he met at the beach. While Brian fished, I sat with him on the beach for 3+ hours and he had a total riot making mud, throwing things in the water and then jumping from the dock into the water to retrieve things. He was SOOO tired by the time we got back to the cottage.


Sam was the fisherman of the weekend. He mastered the technique of slowly reeling in his line and everytime he pullled it in, there was a fish on the end! He was so proud of his skills, but actually he probably had more fun playing with the worms.

One of Sam's favorite things is to be pushed over and over again on the swings. He giggles so hard the entire time...it's so cute! Apparently I don't push him as high as daddy does because he kept bugging me to push him higher. When I finally gave him a good shove his response was, "Now that's what I'm talking about lady!" (needless to say, I almost peed myself from laughing so hard!) I have no idea where he comes up with some of his little sayings!

Last week, I took Sam over to Anna's house for a playdate. The kids had fun dressing up and playing for hours while LeAnne and I chatted.

Sam is in his 2nd week of gymnastics. He is having a blast! Every morning he wakes up and asks me, "Am I going to preschool today?" For some reason he has confused preschool with gymnastics, but either way, he is always excited to go. Today he started learning cartwheels and he seems to catch on to everything quite easily. He's one of the older kids in his group so I think he feels a little over confident (several times I've caught him running and trying to cut in line or push over some poor innocent little unsuspecting 3 year old girl in a too too.)

Every year since Samuel was a baby I've taken a picture of him in front of this flowering bush in our yard. It only blooms for about 2 weeks, so it's kind of neat to see how he changes from one year to the next.

A couple of weeks ago, we had a "Family Night" and roasted marshmallows in our outdoor fireplace and made smores! Yum!

Last but not least, I couldn't resist this adorable pic of Sam all pooped out after a day of gymnastics and playing at the park with his church buddies. He has lots of friends, but Murphy is still his "best buddy".