Lately (come on spring...)

Spring is so close... We are ready for it!  We've had a good mixture of cozy, late-winter activities and lovely early spring excursions lately...

James loves making graphs lately (probably because it's the only time mama gives him candy...)

We had some odd weather last week (for NC - we don't get tornadoes here often... we are far more used to hurricanes!) - thankfully we didn't have any problems other than this brief flood in the backyard.





Post-storm sunset reflecting on the clouds



Homemade stock (winter lingers...)



A cold-day trip to the museum with Mema and Uncle Matt, Aunt Mere and Canaan









Bread-baking!  I accidentally used pastry flour instead of normal, so the texture was a little weird, but still good!  I'll try the same recipe again with the right flour and hopefully it will be awesome.



Sam is climbing on all.the.things (James never really did this, so I'm not sure what to do about it?!), and his most recent excursion was into the washer, where he got stuck and couldn't figure out how to get back out (he's also very sensitive, so bring on the tears...).  Am I a bad mom for laughing?





Band practice







More baking - this time, a pie for a church event (Hymn Sing & Pie Night -- it's as wonderful as it sounds!)





Handsome boy before church



Sam's 18 month check up with Dr. Pickens - it was quick and easy because he's the most perfect specimen of an 18 month old that ever was.  Easy in all the ways (so far...). 80th percentile for weight at 26lbs 9 oz (continues weighing in the same as his 3-year-old brother).



We put a screen door up on the back porch!  Yay spring is coming...

1st Dentist Visit

I finally took the boys to the dentist!  I have been meaning to take James since his 2nd birthday... so, I am a little early for Samuel, but we were going anyway, so they both got little dental check ups!  This particular dentist came highly recommended, but I still had very low expectations for the visit.  Boy, was I delightfully surprised!  It was fun... James even said so. :)  We saw Dr. John and a handful of hygienists, and everyone was super great.

James did great and sat in the chair like a big boy!  The professionals said his teeth are in great shape.  Zero plaque, which is evidence of good brushing technique (go figure -- I am constantly paranoid that his mouth is full of cavities).  But his teeth are pretty tight, so we have orders to floss, floss, floss (which we have been trying to do, but James is often hesitant to let anyone else do it besides himself...).  The dentist also said to not worry at all about the thumb-sucking for now -- most kids stop on their own by age 4, and it isn't a real concern until adult teeth start coming in around age 6.  He said the best thing to do is absolutely ignore it, because if they get attention for sucking their thumbs (even negative attention), they tend to persist for much longer.



I didn't get any photos of little Sam because we did a knee-to-knee exam with Dr. John (so my hands were full during his exam!), but he did pretty great after the initial shock of someone sticking their fingers in his mouth.  No one cried or got bitten.  Win for everyone!

Lately (late winter)

We've had some cozy days lately, but staying quite busy!  Stuart is on his gyn oncology chief rotation, which he LOVES when he's at work.  Problem is, he's at work 80+ hours every week, so he's quite tired and misses his home people (that's us!).  2.5 more weeks and he will be on a better rotation (from my perspective - way better hours, though quite boring for him at work).  The boys and I have stayed busy with projects like getting the spring garden ready and lots of stroller jogs to the playground.  Here's what we've been up to...



Brother bathtime kisses



Wagon ride in the yard (I tried to take them on the trail, but James protested and insisted riding in the wagon was only for the yard -- trail rides happen in the stroller. Ha.)



Playing nicely together (at least for the moment)



Sam is pretty much grown up is all.  Brushing his teeth like a teenager.



A grumpy morning and some oatmeal.



Muddy puddles -- favorite things!



Making music together



Monthly lunch out at Foster's Market (will always be some of my very favorite memories from mothering in the early years)



Sam's favorite playground activity: sliding!



James prefers to collect things and throw them in the lake rather than actually play on the playground these days.  No complaints from me :)



Allergist check up for this dude.





Skin test for egg... No news on the other allergens (tree nuts, sunflower seeds, dogs), just continuing to avoid and watch everything closely for now!  Waiting for some blood draw results to see if the egg allergy has worsened or improved.



Trip to Lowe's for mulch and other garden supplies!



Best winter plant in the yard



Lunch picnic on a mild day before prepping the garden and planting spring time seeds!

(Two) Two-year birthdays

Two of our favorite people turn 2 within the week!  We celebrated cousin Canaan's 2nd birthday on Friday night in Roxboro at his house...

I didn't get a picture, but Matthew made a chocolate cake from scratch and they cut it into the shape of a mustache.  Very cute (and impressive!).



Happy birthday, sweet Canaan!  We love you!



Saturday night, we headed down the street to the Reagans' for a mini birthday celebration for Ezra's 2nd... Pierce-Reagan and pizza and donuts.  All the right things.











Donut cake for the win!





Happy 2nd birthday, Ezra!  We love you bunches, too!