A moment of reflection

A friend in blogger world had a post one day just filled with little nicknames she gave her kids and it was one of the most enjoyable posts I have ever read.  So, I thought I would do the same.  

So here they are in no particular order:

Baby

Baby Boy

Dude

Love

Lovey

Lovey Bear

Love Nugget

Monkey

Tiny

Fresh

Freshy

Muffin

Muffin Top

Sweet Cheeks

Punkin

Punkin Head

Sweetness

DooDaa (as in Zippity)

This blogger friend also posted what she loved most about each of her kids. (blogger friend...you know who you are. Thanks for the ideas)  I am totally ripping her off, but it's really nice to reflect on stuff like this every once and a while.  So here are just a few things (because I could never list them all) that I love most about my Sammy.

I LOVE.....

The way he gives me a kiss when I get him out of his crib every morning.  

The way he will grab my face and force a mouth kiss if I try to offer him a cheek.

The way he "dresses up"

The way he nuzzles his head against you when he is really happy or nervous.  My Grandmother has a sweet little doggy and Sammy LOVES dogs, but for some reason he is really timid around Maggie.  So instead of petting her with a hand, he will bend over and gently touch her with the top of his head.  It is hilarious.  

The way he will run in circles like the Tasmanian devil when he hears the "Little Einsteins" theme song.

The way he LOVES to hear his Daddy play guitar.  He will watch for a minute and then he grabs the pick out of Jordan's hand and strums a few bars and hands it back.  

The way he just starts laughing and running hoping that you will chase him.  

The way he cuddles right before bedtime. 

 

How he will sit by himself and look at books.

The way he lays on his stomach and plays with this cars.

The way his countenance brightens when his Daddy gets home from work.

The way his eyes light up when he sees his grandparents.

The way he idolizes his big cousins.

The way he is made happy with the simplest of things.

Most of all I love the way this child has filled a hole in my heart in a way that I could have never imagined.  He is more than I could have hoped for.  Even when I am exhausted from the day, I miss him after he goes to bed.  On the mornings when Jordan goes to get him out of bed, I get a little jealous that he got to see him first.  I always heard people talk about how you love your child so much that your heart hurts, and I thought that was really neat.  But, it is far more than neat.  It is magical!!!!!!!!!!  This tiny little boy does things to my heart that can't even be described.  

Memorial Day/Daddy's Birthday

Our Memorial Day/Daddy's birthday started out with Jordan and I giving Sammy a "Daddy Cut".  It was not intentional, but the top of his hair got a little weird looking after we trimmed it so we kind of had no choice but to shave it off.  He looks adorable though. 

This is what happens when I ask Sammy to sit still for a picture.  Silly kid!

First errand of the day was Frys where I thought I would look for a Little Einsteins DVD for Sammy.  It is his favorite show of all time!!!!  I had flipped through all the "L" videos and came up with nothing.  I turned to Sammy saying "sorry buddy, no Einsteins".  I looked down and realized he was holding one!  Little stinker!  I have no idea how he found it, but he did!  He was so excited and studied the back of that DVD case like a big boy would.  Notice if you will his leg crossed over his knee.  It's his new sitting position.  He looks 5 and it makes me want to cry.

Jordan and I started singing the Einsteins theme song and our little baby freaked out with excitement.  It was almost more than he could handle.

My stomach hurts from laughing, but please don't stop!!!!

Beautiful Boy!

Then It was on to the Big Birthday Bash for Jordan, my brother John and myself at Grandma and Grandpa's.  My Dad was sitting at the water faucet and would turn the sprinkler up and down when the kids would get close.  A little cruel, but we all thought it was too funny to actually make him stop.  Good thing Sammy digs the water.

Cousin Emma making an artsy moment of standing in the middle of the sprinkler.  Strike a pose girl!

Auntie Danielle and friend Rachel in a serious game of "toss the volleyball"?  Not quite sure what they were doing, but Sammy liked being in the middle of it.

Sammy mooching food off of Grandpa, but everything on his plate contained a pepper of some sort.  Sammy was none to happy about that!

All in all the day was wonderful from start to finish.  A lot was crammed in to it, but it was perfect.  We celebrated Jordan and the gift that his life has been to me as his wife and the gift that his life has been to Sammy as his father.  Sammy and I are blessed to have this man in our lives.  The way he takes care of us and loves us is priceless.  We were also able to take a moment and celebrate the lives that have been lost while fighting for the freedom that we all too often take for granted here in our country.  I thought about the fact that we look at this day as a free vacation day, but there are families out there that take this day to visit the cemetery and grieve the loss of their loved one.  We have no idea how fortunate we are to live in a country where our men AND women will voluntarily go and fight for our freedom.  Wow!

Please Pray

I was stunned last night to learn of the death of Steven Curtis Chapman's youngest daughter from China, Maria.  Due to the fact that it was this mans adoption testimony that led Jordan and I to adoption, I feel like his family is somehow my family.  I am sad beyond words.  Here is the link that explains kind of what happened. www.stevencurtischapman.com

Please be in prayer for this family.

The Races

Jordan has been nagging me for like 3 weeks about when I am going to update my blog.  I tend to tire of things quickly and I figured it was only a matter of time before I grew board of blogging.  It just happened a lot faster than I had anticipated.  So, I am going to try this again.  Let's hope that this post will get my juices flowing again.

We decided that it would be fun to take Sammy out to Lone Star Park over the weekend, so after his 3 hour nap(yes, 3 hours!!! It's been going on for almost 2 weeks...it's amazing!!!) Saturday we headed out.  It was like 4:30 when we got there and a massive cloud had rolled across the sky creating a canopy of lovely shading and a cool breeze.  It was perfect!!!!!!  We placed a few $2 bets over the course of 3 races.  We know nothing about how to choose a horse, we mostly pick based on the odds and the horses name.  Snooky's Image, Little Ms. Cozzene, Dawali and Gone Missing were just a few of the ones we picked.  Who comes up with those names anyway???  Do they really say "come here Little Ms. Cozzene" when they call the horse?  I think those are stage names and the horses are really called Jack, Belle, Fran, Gus, and Lighting.  It just makes way more sense!  ANYWAY, after two hours of races, good greasy hot dogs and two $3.50 bottles of gatorade, we called it a night.  It was fun to be out there, but Jordan and I said that the best part of all was being together as a family.  Sammy is getting to that age where he is showing more interest in things for a longer period of time.  He was such a joy to be with yesterday and really seemed to enjoy himself.  We left as soon has he got oochie so that his experience would remain a positive one.  It was such a good day!!!!!!  

And they're off!!!!

Sammy and Daddy cheering on the horses

    

"Rockin Ronny"

Come on guys, just a little smile....please!!!!!!

                 

Sammy and Mommy

  

Sammy groovin to some Prince on the way home