Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Cuteness


Hey! Guess what everyone? I'm still alive! Barely!  My parents and entire family were up a few weekends ago to celebrate Sam's birthday (party #3) and to just hang out. We got the first ever, actual decent picture of all of the kids sort of looking in our general direction. Cat herding is hard work. :)

We're off to the SWK again this weekend for more family fun, so I'll have more to post soon.

Loves,
The Hot Mess

Monday, August 15, 2011

Cake Wreck: Sombrero Edition

As many of you probably know, I really love to make my children's birthday cakes. I am not a cake decorator by any stretch, but one of the things I loved from my childhood were my homemade, home decorated, birthday cakes.  It's instant nostalgia for me.

Sam and two of his friends have birthdays in August, and instead of all of us having 3 separate parties, we always do them all together, in one big blow out day.  This year the theme was the Three Amigos, so mustaches and pinatas and sombreros were a must.  The cake wreck theme was born: A giant sombrero.  We also make personalized cookies for the kids with mustaches on them.  They all turned out adorable!  I love them.

Monday, August 8, 2011

Happiest of Birthdays, My Sweet Sam.

August 8, 2007 was a day that changed my life forever.  My beautiful miracle child came into the world. It was quite a production, as Sam does nothing on the small scale. He wanted excitement, terror, happiness, panic, and love...and he got all of it. He still does nothing small.  Sam's motto is "go big or go home." 

This week, Sam jumped off the diving board at Aunt Megan's house with no life jacket, in the deep end, with no adult there to catch him or make sure he wouldn't sink to the bottom.  He kicked over to the ladder and continued doing it for the rest of the afternoon.  The people there might not have noticed, but hubs and my hearts were bursting with pride for our daring child.

Sam's vocabulary is expansive now, and he will pretty much repeat everything anyone says. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. :)  His favorite thing to do is sing songs, many of which he's only heard once before.  He likes to recite commercials, too.  Hubs and I have a good chuckle every time we hear Sam tell us we can get something "for the low low price of 19.95!" or talk to us about the "3 levels of insulation in the Pack-It cooler".  It's not so funny when he reminds me that I need to bust out the cuss jar again.

Sam starts preschool in September, and we are most excited for this transition in his life.  Uneasy transitions are not Sam's strong suit, but he's head strong and will figure anything out he sets his mind too.  And he's got some of the most wonderful, caring instructors, therapists, and people in his life.  I have no doubt that Sam will continue to do Big Things.

Jump off the diving board of life, my sweet son.  Though there might not be anyone there to catch you, I know that you will kick until you make something wonderful of whatever situation arises.

Happy Birthday, Samuel Mark.

Monday, August 1, 2011

Like Mommy, Like Sloaney

This past weekend we visited my family back in Southwest Kansas.  I am to a point in life that I really do appreciate and love going back home, even though at 18 if you'd have told me that I'd have laughed in your face.  It's good to get away from the grind in my own home, and Sammah and Papa's house is a great place for the kids.

I take a lot of pictures. A lot.  I'm the family photographer; everyone always knows that I will show up with my Nikon, shooting every minute of our gathering together.  I can't help it, I want to preserve memories.  I want to remember times like these, where my kids are cute and smile and laugh...so that I can ease the pain when they are mean, have attitude problems, and want to G.I. Jane their hair or dye it green.

This weekend I caught Sloane playing mommy. I asked her what she was doing, and she said "I'm being you", and she'd grabbed an old camera and was walking around telling everyone to Smile! and Say Cheese!

Too cute for words.  I hope she gets some of my other attributes, too.