Sam's 3 Year Video

I'm finally finished with Sam's 3 year movie! Happy Birthday, little Sam.

Our Thankful Weekend

We had a busy and laaaazy long weekend. We hung around the house mostly, watching movies (Becky and I watched 3 movies together last night). Brooklynn spent Wednesday-Friday night with us. I always love when she sleeps over because she is my late night buddy. We like to eat and watch TV and do nothing. It's the best.


To start off the holiday weekend we spent all day Wednesday at Dr. Doxey's office getting Sam's cavities fixed.


Mollie and I hung out in the waiting room. She was pretty entertained by the sock on her arm.
Sam now has a mouth full of silver (just like Russ Sorensen used to). I'm so glad to have Sam's teeth all healthy again. The only problem is now I found a cavity in MY OWN mouth!!! AHH the plight of the uninsured!



We had Thanksgiving dinner at Brian and Scottee's. It was a lot of fun even though 1/3 of the family was missing.

This was also my first Thanksgiving without my parents minus the year I was away in Mississippi. They were so depressed that year they had to leave town and go to a resort just to get their minds off missing me. Kind of like the time they got a dog to "fill the void" of me leaving for college. They have a funny way of coping with things. This year they were so depressed they arranged for Whitney to have a baby.I love this baby. His name is Harrison King Neier. Good job, Whitney! He is precious!!



On Black Friday we made shopping a family affair and bought a new toilet at Home Depot (Sam broke our old one by lifting the top lid and dropping it, cracking the toilet from top to bottom).It's times like these I'm so glad I'm not the man.



Tonight after church we went to the Mesa Temple to enjoy the Christmas lights.




Hallelujah they both fell asleep on the way home.




Happy Thanksgiving EVERYBODY! (That was for you, Don).

Look Who Has to Go!

Since my post about Sam's bathroom issues, things have improved slightly.

We went to Desert Ridge today with Selena and brand-new Brynn. We posed for some Christmas pictures (even though it didn't feel very Christmassy. Selena and I were both sweating in our long sleeves). I'm so happy to see Sam feeling the urge (thank you, Capri Suns)!


Still feeling it



We headed to the bathroom shortly after, but not before Sam bonded with his future wife.
Love that Brynn.

Family Night Family Night We Get a Treat!

Today was tiresome.

This morning we headed to the mall to let the kids play and to browse Christmas toys. Our first stop was the Disney store (Sam was our guide). The last time we were in this store, he walked straight to a toy he wanted. He kept saying, "Can I get this for Chrissmis, PWEASE?!" It was a box set of Toy Story toys, some of which he already has. This box set costs $70.

Today when we walked into the store, Sam walked straight to his desired toy again. He wouldn't leave the box's side. He kept repeating his same phrase about how he wants this for Christmas. I don't know where he learned to beg, but he is a pro.

After the Disney store we went to the indoor playground. Sam was roaring at all the other kids (per usual) while Mollie crawled cautiously around the bases of the slides. Sam found a playmate, a little boy with blonde curly hair, probably about 2 years old. He and Sam were running laps around the play area. If Sam would trip, the boy would copy him and fall to the ground also. They were having a great time until Sam turned to his friend and roared as loudly as he could right into his face. The poor blonde boy stood there for a few seconds before the tears starting pouring out. His parents tried to calm him down while I told them my usual, "I'm sorry, he thinks he's a dinosaur..." After a minute or two the parents scooped up their crying boy and left.


For family night tonight our lesson was about missionaries. (Maybe it should have been about not roaring at your friends). Sam loves family night because he knows when the prayers and the song and the lesson are through, we get a treat. In fact, we have a family cheer: FAMILY NIGHT! FAMILY NIGHT! WE GET A TREAT!

Tonight we had Jello. It was Mollie's first time eating it. She was a fan.


It is currently 6:50 p.m. and both kids are sound asleep.

Happy Monday.

How Often Do You Pee?

Lately Sam has only been going #1 twice each day. Friday he only peed once, and today he didn't go at all until noon.

We took him to the doctor last week. She said it could be a number of things; that he could be acting out for some reason (my theory would be that Devin is MIA a lot because of work), that he could have a buildup of poo that is muting his urge to urinate, or that he simply needs more fluids. She suggested doubling his fluid intake and giving him a laxative to test the poo theory.


Devin and I have been liquid nazis ever since Sam's appointment last Friday. Sam went 4 times yesterday, which also happened to be a day when Devin wasn't working (that acting out theory might be valid after all). Today, however, Sam was back at only going twice, refusing to use the bathroom before bed (even though it had been 3+ hours since he last went, plus he had had 2 popsicles. I know there was liquid in that bladder).


I don't know what to do with this boy. Him not peeing might be his version of a hunger strike.

Any ideas to get him to go?







Devin gave Sam a priesthood blessing because of his pee issues. Sam felt the need to return the favor.

Three.

Sam Barry turned 3 years old today.

Here he is before the sun came up this morning opening presents.


We thought it would be a good idea to sugar him up all day. He's got 5 cavities already, what's a few more? (Does anyone know a dentist that would trade dental work for having their carpets cleaned, by the way?)
Notice Sam's very cool landscaper's hat. He insisted on wearing it inside Dunkin Donuts.



We rode the train at the mall.



Sam even had a lunch/shopping date with Grandpa and Gogo. While he was away, Mollie played with Sam's new toys. That's my girl.


Sam is my love. Sam is a sweet boy and also a spitfire. This is my motherly way of saying he can be a bully. He sometimes gets kicked out of nursery at church for being violent, but then again he usually always apologizes and hugs his victims. Oh man there is no way to make that sound good, is there...

Sam is compassionate and energetic. He loves to snuggle with me and Devin, although he's not too keen on Mollie getting in on the action. Sam loves Cars and anything boyish. He loves dirt, loves boogers, and loves making people laugh.

Sam is the greatest boy in the history of boys. I can't wait to see what the future holds. Happy birthday, little Samothy!

Negligent Mom

This morning Sam wanted to take a bath. I ran the water, undressed him and Mollie, and let them play. After they had been in there for a while, I walked from the bathtub to our bedroom computer (our bedroom and our bathroom are connected). I needed to check the time since we were expecting our neighbor to come over very soon. I was gone probably 4 seconds. I heard splashing and Sam laughing. I came back in to find Mollie completely underwater, and the splashing sound was the sound of her struggling to get up. Sam was laughing because he thought she was playing. I immediately grabbed Mollie out of the water and waited for her to take a breath. She was completely shaken up and so was I.

I am so mad at myself that I left the bathtub. I guess I figured that if Mollie fell down or something that Sam would let me know. I know not to leave children alone in the bath and I hate that I did it anyway.

I am so SO grateful to my Heavenly Father that he preserved my little Mollie's life and taught me this lesson without a tragedy occurring.

I don't know what I'd do without my girl.

Tell Me a Story About a Bat!

My parents visited this weekend from Florida. On Thursday night we were all sitting around talking. My mom started telling the story about the time a bat flew into our house when my sisters and I were little.




The grandkids loved that story. The whole drive home, Sam made me tell him the story of the bat. The whole next day, Sam made me tell the story. I finally got the bat story condensed into a 15 second sentence:

"Once upon a time, when Mommy and Becca and Whitney were all little, Mama D was downstairs doing the dishes when all of the sudden she saw something fly by her so she yelled, 'JAPPA, JAPPA! (my dad's grandpa name),'THERE'S A BIRD IN THE HOUSE!' so Jappa ran downstairs and said, 'THAT'S NOT A BIRD, THAT'S A BAT!!!' and the bat flew upstairs then downstairs then upstairs then downstairs until finally it flew outside and went home to it's mommy. The End."

(I skip the parts where my parents hurriedly stuffed towels under our bedroom doors so the bat wouldn't attack us, or that my dad chased it around with a broom for a while, or that he called his neighbor for help but he wasn't interested in coming over)

Sam loves his Mama D and his Jappa. And also bats.

For the First Time in My Life

I hate smoking. I hate the way it looks and especially the way it smells.

When we first moved into our current house back in February we spent a lot of time out in the back yard since the weather was so nice. I love our back yard. We have 4 huge trees that shade the whole thing, and the kids love to run (and in Mollie's case crawl) up and down the length of the sidewalk. One day while we were playing back there, I noticed it. Cigarette smoke. It was very strong. I had discovered that our next door neighbor was a smoker.

Over the next few weeks I noticed it more and more. Our next door neighbor was a HEAVY smoker.

It wasn't until a few weeks later when I met her. Her name was Joan. She was a nice lady in her early 60's. As time passed, Devin and I would see her occasionally in the front yard. I began to bring her cookies whenever I would make a batch, and she brought Sam and Mollie books when she took a trip to Barnes and Noble.

I found out that she was a widow. She raised 2 kids and loved to talk about them. She told me stories over and over about her crazy little boy, since I am raising one of my own. She said she loved to hear Sam and Mollie playing outside. She told me I was doing a good job raising them. A mom needs to hear that sometimes.


Tonight Joan passed away. For the first time in my life, I think am going to miss the smell of cigarette smoke.