More This!

Sam takes a bite of a homemade strawberry-kiwi popsicle

Because I see them together so frequently, it’s easy to speculate what genes Sam got from my mother (the eyes, the love of fruit and reading), but whenever he eats there is no doubting that Sam is genetically related to my father. Sammy may not have that same one-bite-of-each-food-around-the-plate method that we all teased Jimmy Joe about, but Sam definitely loves food and he consumes it with a passion. Today while I cut up the ingredients for salsa he insisted on taking a bite of the onion.

“You won’t like it sammy. It’s hot.”

“I want it.”

“I don’t think you will like it.”

“I want it!”

He chewed on the chunk of raw white onion and swallowed and smiled even though his eyes were watering.

“I tried it, Mommy!” he said with pride.

Same with the lime from which he sucked every last fiber of pulp.

And the peppers.

But the big surprise of the day was when the hot turkey sausage that turned out to be hotter than I thought went down with hardly a pause between bites. I needed to follow each bite I took with a chip or a drink of milk, but not Sam.

“More this,” he said over and over again pointing to the empty place on his plate where the previous serving of hot turkey sausage had been. He inhaled two entire bratwurst-sized sausages before Mommy made the executive decision that his tummy might not be able to handle more than that. And he was not pleased when I told him he could eat as many strawberries and grapes as he liked but there was no more hot sausage.

Unbelievable. Jimmy Joe’s stomach reincarnated.

Bubbles, Cupcakes, and Christmas

Two unrelated things in one post today. If I were a better writer, I'd figure out a way to weave these two things things together, but I'm dealing with pregnancy brain (Is the next month June or July?) and interrupted sleep (how did I make the mistake of letting Sam train me to get up with him at 3am every night?) so I just give you the two things separately...


One
Another fabulous weekend with TT. The moist, muggy air didn't arrive until Sunday morning, but before that we had Friday and Saturday to enjoy more perfect spring weather. Friday night we hung out on the deck and listened to the birds and chased bubbles through the wet grass. Saturday Sam and TT went on another of their adventures while I planted tomatoes and peppers and cucumbers and squash and surrounded them with fragrant white alyssum and yellow marigolds. TT and Sam came home from the farmer's market with 5 of the most delicious lemon cupcakes I have ever tasted, and we spent the rest of the day outside in the sunshine picnicking and blowing bubbles, racing bigwheels and tracing each other's feet with sidewalk chalk, watering the gardens and pouring water from little buckets into big buckets and back again. Just before sunset we had burgers on the grill and fresh organic veggies soaked in butter, and the cupcakes did not last the evening.






Two
I preface this story with two facts that are worth considering: Sam is not yet 2 and a 1/2 years old, and Christmas was almost 6 months ago.

Yesterday Sam and I came upon a blue Rubbermaid container unexpectedly. I did not touch it. I did not open it. I did not say anything about it. Sam pointed to it and said, "Mama, Christmas." The container is a box that I use to store all our Christmas ornaments. The box has not been opened or touched since we dismantled the tree during the first week of January.
"You're right Sammy. How did you know that?"
"Mommy, I want play christmas. Play Christmas?"
Sometimes I don't even know where I've stored my Christmas stuff. I guess from now on I will just ask Sam.

TT's Boy

Outdoors!!!

In the car on the way to the trailhead on Saturday morning, I told Sam we were going hiking with Kate and Gedion. "Lucy? Arie?" He asked. Subsets of the little foursome of two-year-olds often travel in groups, and I don't know that Sam has ever had time with just Gedion. I explained that Lucy and Arie weren't coming. "Just Gedion and his mommy. You remember Gedion?"

"Hike, Guide-eon," he said. "I see cranes. Guide-eon see cranes."

I had explained to him earlier in the week what hiking was, that we'd be going into the woods along the Mississippi River to look for birds. Geese and ducks and turkeys and cranes. Since his latest obsessions are the tall construction cranes along the highway bridge projects and near the new office building we pass on our way into town every day, he was very excited about the cranes. I had to explain that cranes are also birds, and I explained it to him again in the car.


It was the perfect morning for a hike, and before we had even hit the gravel trail I was peeling off layers and packing Sam's coat under the stroller. The boys ran along the gravel chasing each other and exploring the rocks and pulling at the grass and dandelion fuzz. We scared up a green heron along the first part of the trail and crossed a nervous mommy killdear sitting on a nest after the turn. The boys got in and out of the strollers, running and jumping and then snacking on juicy bright red co-op strawberries and goldfish crackers as Kate and Eric and I got to know each other. After a slightly inconvenient stroller mishap before the second turn in the trail, we abandoned it and Sam walked the rest of the way out to Delta Point, only occasionally whining or turning on his pout face in an attempt to get Mommy to carry him. But he was a trooper and he kept hiking through the cool grasses edging the backwaters of the Mississippi. He pointed out geese, telling me the sound they make is "honk." He studied goose poop and piles of feathers, and he stepped a wide path around a dead snake. "Pee-euw," he said.



At Delta Point the boys had a quick snack and then started digging for sticks and rocks to throw into the river while I peeled an orange and inhaled some cheese and yogurt. By the time we returned to the parking lot near the trailhead almost 3 hours later, both boys were sleeping in their strollers and all three parents were a little worried that we might miss out on the much anticipated afternoon nap time. We were all tired, but it was a beautiful day and a beautiful hike, and I hope we have more opportunities for such adventures as the summer goes on.

More pictures of our weekend's outdoor activities here.

Thanks for a great morning, Kate and Eric!

Mother's Day Weekend 2010

I'm getting so bad at keeping up to date. Can I blame it on the ever-growing To Do List that comes with spring weather and lawn and garden season? Can I blame it on the fact that I have a 2 and a half year old who says "No!" every time I tell or ask or suggest that he do something so when I do have a few moments free from the constant rebellion and negotiation, I just want to sit and enjoy the peace? Can I blame it on being exhausted at the end of every day even though (thank God) the first trimester morning sickness and debilitating need to sleep has passed?



Last weekend was another road trip to Green Bay. Sam slept through almost the entire 4 hour drive (thanks to some medication to treat a recent ear infection and the cold, rainy weather that made us all sleepy), and we arrived before sunset to be greeted by an excited TT. Sam had taken off his shoes and socks in the car, so he couldn't walk on the rough shattered concrete of TT's driveway, but I carried him into the garage and they were off and running. Despite the pretty icky weather all weekend, they had a great time together... off on adventures to the book store (mom's women's fund was doing a fundraiser) and Target and the Wildlife Sanctuary and McDonald's while I just gave myself some time to nap and rest. It is such a treat to visit Mom because I do get an occasional break, but there is absolutely nothing as joyful in my life as watching the two of them together. I feel so blessed to be able to share each of them with the other.

Lucy Sheep?

Wednesday night before bed I told Sam we were going to the pizza farm the next day. His eyes got big and he said "Lucy come with us?" I said yes.

"Lucy's mommy daddy come with us?"

I said yes. Then we talked about the last time we were there last year and all the cows and sheep and chicken and rabbits.

When I laid him in his crib he asked if I would come check on him. "Check me? Check me?" He said. I held up my hand, my fingers spread wide. "Five minutes," I said. "I will check you in five minutes."

When I went in five minutes later, Sam turned his head to look at me. "Hi Buddy. I'm just checking on you," I said.

"Lucy come with us cows?" he said.

I told him yes, Lucy would be going to the pizza farm with us the next day. "Tomorrow. You have to go to sleep so it will be tomorrow."

"Lucy come with us sheep?"

"Yes. We will see sheep tomorrow."

"Lucy come with us black sheep?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Lucy come with us white sheep?"

"Yes," I said and I tucked the blanket around his shoulders and under his chin. "Now go to sleep."

The next day the forecast threatened rain in the evening, but Sam and Lucy ate wood-fired pizza and pet baby cows and laughed at baby chickens and chased each other around the playground for just long enough before the rain sent us home. A great "season opener" at the pizza farm. We'll definitely be going back.


There are more pictures of the kids and the animals here.