ramblings from home....

well we've been home now from vacation for one whole week and i think we are finally all caught up. sammy mac has gotten back into her routines and the swing of things sleeping in her own bed again (whew!), we are used to the time zone again and have gotten lots of cleaning and reorganizing done around our house. now that things have settled in we have been enjoying all the little things at home together and loads of playtime.....there's nothing better!

here's a few pics from sammy's relaxing days full of art work, playing in her play closet, taking care of all her babies and little dolls, hanging out in the garage(nevermind the heat, ahh!) and being the big helper that she is with house chores and things. her joy and interest and excitement never ceases to amaze me and remind me the importance of play and imagination and being content in the moment!

still adjusting to sleeping well again and trying to get rid of that nagging cough....gotta love snuggling on the couch

"helping" with laundry

her interest in little peoples is so cute. love listening to her little stories she makes up and how this person is happy or sad. her vocabulary gets me smiling every day. recently some of her favorite lines...."somethings missing here mommy!" as she looks around, asking "whats that" and what's that noise" and "where ___ gone?" she decides that cole should go outside and says "come on colebaby, lets go" and she leads him out the garage and says "be right back" and closes the door to let him out. i laugh out loud when she tells me "good idea mommy" or "sammy mac not like that" when the salt and pepper puppets come on sesame street. i wish i could get it all on video so i wouldn't forget!



she always wants me to draw our family....she describes that daddy has to have a hat and big muscles and that mommy has to have long hair and a dress on. she says that sammy mac has curly hair and that cole baby and nemo have whiskers. cracks me up....



i could go on and on....feeling so blessed to be home watching my baby girl grow into such an independent girl. any chance we can slow things down a bit...hehehehe.

Speaking of growing.....and of babies.....we were happy to help eric and lita celebrate the upcoming arrival of their baby-to-be, baby Kyle. they had a great family party at their house. thanks to paula and pam the party was a huge hit! (well except for sammy who napped most of the party in rylan's crib...did i mention before that she was still adjusting to sleeping by herself since vacation, yikes!) anyway, we can't wait to meet our newest nephew in just a few weeks.

soooo my first attempt at making homemade SMORES cupcakes to go with the jungle party theme. i'm telling you....these were SO good. the homemade marshmallow frosting and graham cracker crumbles and chocolate shavings....i could have eaten them all night. thanks carly for the idea.

And didn't want to forget the other important baby around here.....baby manring-to-be is kicking and growing right on track inside my big belly. we went to our 20 week ultrasound/dr appointment and got to see him or her on the big screen, surrounded by all of our family and we even brought samantha! it is amazing and i am finally remembering how much i really enjoy being pregnant. it took me a little longer to get into it this time and i still find myself a little distracted sometimes but i really really really love my baby belly and all of our hoping and wishing and planning for december is just the best.

almost 21 weeks here.....i'm weighed in at 136 lbs at the doctors office which means i've already gained about 10 lbs. still cant believe we are less than half way there already!

it doesn't always hit me how wonderful it is having samantha with me to be apart of this whole journey until i see a picture like this or i catch her rocking her babies so gently or when she pats my belly and says hi baby, i love you and gives my belly big kisses......i cant wait to give her a baby brother or sister to love!

baby boy or baby girl?