Sweet Summertime!

We started off the summer with swim lessons. Finley LOVES it! She enjoys being in the pool and of course having her bestie, Abby, taking the lessons with her makes it even more fun. Her first two summers she was fearless when it came to water, then as she got older she has become more cautious. I'm glad she's cautious around the water, but I didn't want her to be scared. Even when she has floaties on, she panics if we let go of her in the water. The swim lessons are geared towards getting her comfortable getting wet and going under water. Her favorite thing to do is to get the toys from the step and jumping in off the side. I am so happy with her teacher. She is wonderful! She is a teacher during the school year and she is so great with the kids. Once you see the video and hear her voice you'll be able to guess what grade she teaches ;) We'll definitely be using her for summers to come. Now if she would only serve margaritas ;)

Parenthood...

The other night, I had one of those moments when you know you should be mad, but you can't help but smile. In our house, I'm the disciplinarian. Mainly because I'm with the Finley most of the time, but also because Joey has a hard time disciplining Finley. I suppose it's a father-daughter thing. I can already tell I'm going to have a hard time disciplining Sam so one day Joey will get to pay me back for being the mean one all the time. Anyway, Finley was acting ugly and refusing to stay in bed so I scolded her and put her back in the bed. She started wailing. "I want Daddy!". Ugh! Rip my heart out why don't you. Then, a few seconds later she cried out "I want baby brother!" I couldn't help but smile because even though they are both so young, they definitely have a connection. She is comforted by his presence and it makes me happy, happy, happy.

All Smiles :)

Sam is smiling all the time now! We even get a little giggle occasionally. Having your baby smile at you for the first time is quite possibly the best feeling in the whole world!

School's out for Summer!

I'm sad to say that school's out for summer :( Finley's last day was last week. They celebrated with a luau party. We had a great year at SWEEM and look forward to returning in the fall. They made me a scrapbook of her year with pictures, interviews and crafts. Finley loves to look through it. I know she will miss going to school and I will miss my "me time". Luckily, she still gets to see Ms. Debbie and some of her friends at church. We are filling up our summer with pool time, playdates, gymnastics and trips to the beach, Atlanta and Bham to see family and friends. The first picture of Finley is from one of her first days and the second is from her last day. I remember how nervous I was that first day about how she would do. It took a few weeks, but she came around :) She looks like a baby in that first picture!

Still trying...

I'm still trying, unsuccessfully, to catch Sam smiling on camera. On Mother's Day he gave me his first "real" smile. It was the greatest gift ever! There's nothing sweeter than a baby smile ;)

Sibling similarities

Finley (as a baby) and Sam are similar in a lot of ways, some good and some bad. I wanted to get these similarities down so I don't forget. Here goes...

-Finley never wanted to be put down...ever. Neither does Sam. Putting either of them down unless they are already asleep or have just eaten is a big no no. It was the cause of so much frustration when Finley was little. Luckily, this time around I am handling it better. I'm better at just being patient and waiting for his nap so I can do whatever I need to do. I have tried baby carriers, but neither of them would entertain that idea unless they are really tired and are going to sleep anyway. Sometimes I can put Sam in his bouncy seat and sit right next to him and talk to him and he will sit quietly for a little while, but it defeats the purpose of me putting him down so I can get something done. I just pray for naps :)

-Finley hated her carseat and so does Sam. For now, he will usually go to sleep because he's still sleeping a lot, but if I put him in when he's fully awake he screams like I'm scalding him with hot water. Thankfully, we aren't in Mobile and there is no need for us to be in the car for 4 1/2 hours anymore. We also live within 7 minutes of everything so it's no where near as bad as it was with Finley. I'll be excited once again for the day I purchase my child's forward facing car seat.
 
-Finley did great with nursing and Sam is doing great too.

-They both slept well. She started sleeping through the night around 9 or 10 weeks and I think he's almost there too. Right now he gets up once a night around 2:30am.

-Finley only wanted to be held up over your shoulder while you walked around so she could see everything and Sam is exactly the same way. I spent and am still spending many hours pacing the house. He only wants to be held "like a baby" when he's tired.

-Finley would never take a paci and Sam will. I'm kind of indifferent about this one except that it does pacify him when he's overtired or if I'm trying to stall him when he's hungry.

I haven't noticed many major differences, but I'm sure as his little personality develops they will come to light.

I know the biggest similarity is that they both have my heart and all my love!

War on Baby Weight!

I've been cleared to exercise so my war on the baby weight has officially begun. I've got 35 lbs. to lose and lots of motivation. Summertime is just around the corner and I do not want to hang out at the pool in a tshirt and shorts. Wish me luck!