Quick Note

Can we talk about how much Davis and Holden look alike? Look at the pictures in the previous post of Holden and then check these out that were taken of Davis around the same age. Geez. The main differences I notice, though, are: her mouth is prettier than his. And I think that's okay to say because she is a girl. It's supposed to be prettier. Their noses are a little different. And her hair has a little more auburn in it. But how cute will it be if they continue to look so much alike!?

My Sweet Girl

I took Holden back to the doctor on Friday- just to doublecheck- make sure nothing was really wrong beyond being congested. I almost didn't take her. She has been so happy and really other than coughing a ton, you would have never guessed she was sick. But I'm so glad I took her because she has a DOUBLE EAR INFECTION. Can you believe that? She is such a little sweetheart. Always smiling, still sleeping normally, and not fussy at all. I cannot even believe how laid back and easygoing she is. It's reminding me of her daddy. I love that we are starting to see her personality. I think she's going to be such a little love.

She has just realized she has hands. She is constantly clasping her little hands over her chest while I feed her- OR- she uses one hand to grab my thumb and one to grab the pinky on my other hand to MAKE SURE she can keep the bottle close. She never tries to hold the bottle- but just wants to make sure she keeps me in line- keeping the bottle where she wants it.

She is also rolling from her back to her side and today I put this little stuffed pink mouse close to her and she wrestled it like it was either her arch nemesis or her lover. She was getting into it.

She adores Davis. He loves to hug on her and kiss her and anytime she accidentally grabs his face or something- he says "she getting me!" and thinks it's hysterical. He is always saying things to her like "it's okay baby Holden. we almost there." and if/when she stops crying he exclaims "baby stister happy again!"

Speaking of Davis, we went to San Antonio this weekend and he was so excited about it. We first went to see the Furls and LOVED their new house. Such a cute neighborhood and amazing house with stained glass windows and all the details of an older home. Next we went to Chris Madrid's for their famous beanburger and some margaritas...and then, the highlight of the trip was going to the hotel. Davis loved it. He kept saying "I in antonio. I at a hotel." And then we took him to the swimming pool and oh my gosh- flashback to my youth. You would have thought we took him to Disney World. He was having the time of his life.

That night, we all slept in the same room. Usually we can fit Davis' pack n play in the bathroom, but not this time. And add to that, a 3 month old baby. I planned on getting ZERO sleep...but he slept all night and she only woke up once. We did get up at 6:30 because Davis was ready to go to the swimming pool again- but all in all- it wasn't bad.

Bennett and Holden slept in while Davis and I played in the room. It was like he knew he could get away with more there- like jumping on the couch and things.

On the way home, we stopped in New Braunfels for Porter's 3rd birthday party. It was a fishing party, right on the river, and it was so nice to be outside under the trees. Davis is at such a great age where he is pretty self sufficient and really entertains himself or gets involved in whatever is going on. And Holden, she slept the whole time. People kept teasing us about what a pain in the butt she is. HA. And then today- here is a little picture of Holden at church. What a doll!

Finally, today my mom, Nikki and I went wedding dress shopping! It was so fun. AND, Nikki asked me to be her maid of honor...and I couldn't be more honored! I have been looking forward to this for a long time. I'm so excited.

Hope you had a happy weekend too. Sorry about the quality of my pictures. I've been living in the moment and just snapping pics with my phone instead of my camera.

FIESTA

Bennett had a great idea this week- he suggested that we have a little getaway and go to San Antonio or something fun on Friday. He had to work last Sunday, so he's taking the day off. As you can imagine, I was super excited about this idea. How fun to spend time together, just the four of us, in a fresh place.

So we booked a hotel via priceline negotiator, which I'm usually good at, but I think I got ripped off this time. Anyway, that's beside the point. We love doing the "name your own price" and are constantly singing/shouting the Priceline Negotiator jingle while we wait to see if our bid has been accepted. So we booked a hotel and then started talking about what we'll do while there. 1) of course we have to have mexican food 2) of course we want to see Kirsten and the Furl boys (and their new house) and 3) it would be great to see Randy, Caitlin and Logan if they are around...but other than that, we didn't really have an agenda or reason for going.

UNTIL...

Someone at work told me it's FIESTA week in San Antonio. And NIOSA is actually friday night.

And now I am SO excited. I've never been and Bennett hasn't been since he was little. I have been reviewing the schedule and holy cow there are about 20 events a day including everything from special exhibits at the Witte Museum, flower parades, river parades, doggie parades, parties, etc. I mean, I am so excited that yesterday I said to my friend, Oscar, at work "Hey, did you know I'm going to FIESTA this weekend" and he said with a smile "Seriously? Are you joking? You've mentioned that like five times this week." HA!

So anyway- super jazzed about this weekend...and FIESTA!

Week of the Young Child

It's Week of the Young Child at Child's Day and basically that means they are having a week-long celebration with activities and events like painting extravaganzas, petting zoos, water world, a Joe McDermott concert and pajama day.

Yesterday was petting zoo day and parents were invited, so Bennett and I went with Davis. All the kids were so pleased that their parents were there- some were excited about the animals in the pettting zoo- and some were not. Davis enjoyed it, but certainly got overwhelmed when approached by a chinchilla while holding two chickens. It was pretty funny to watch. Here are some pictures.

 This is the house they painted the day before- though I felt like they all had more paint on their bodies than the house itself. Davis' hair was matted with orange paint- and his back looked bruised- it was so purple and blue!

This is a 7 foot tall tire tree. Logan said Davis just mastered it this week. I was like "Umm, Logan, is it okay that he is climbing this?" Ha.

 King of the tire tree!

Just hanging out with his buddy, Noah.

I love Davis' school. I'm already starting to feel sad that he will be changing classes and teachers this August. He is being scooted up a bit with some of the older kids- so I think only 1-2 kids in his current class will be his classmate when he becomes a Robin. :(

Maybe Mr. Kevin will be his teacher again- or Logan. I asked him which of his friends was the nicest the other day and he said "LOGAN!"

Making it Big

What is the first thing you do when you've really made it big? You hire a yard man.

Can't beat that view. And the fact that he works for pop-stickles.

Snuggle Bugs

How beautiful was the weather this weekend? Geez- if it could stay in the 80s all summer- well, I guess we'd be in California! We had a great time snuggling, playing at 3 different playgrounds, and hanging out with Honey.

Today Davis did two funny things... 1) Honey was reading him a book this morning (Honey came over because Bennett was flying around on a leer jet with the President of Great Clips- yes really) and she was getting all into the characters and the emotion of the race between Mater and Lightning and all of the sudden, Davis put his hand up over his ear and just looked up at her with a serious face. She said "Oh, am I too loud?" And he said "Honey. too. loud." Ha.

2) I was trying to convince him to wear a polo, so I kept saying "Oh Davis, you look so good in that shirt. You need to go show Honey. Five minutes later, he walked in the living room and said "Honey. I look SO good." So funny.

Here are a couple pics of my snuggle bugs and a beautiful shot of Honey and Holden at the park today. We had a great earth day. Playground time, lunch, naps, and shopping! Hope you had a great weekend too.

Come Play Pease, Mikki!

yesterday on the way home from school, Davis was talking to me about Nikki. sometimes, out of the blue, he will say something like "Not play with Mikki today. Mikki not at home today. Play with Mikki another day." And I can tell he is sort of letting himself down easy from things that he would like to be doing, but knows are not happening right then. So I said "That sounds like a good idea- let's call Nikki and ask her to come play soon."

So I put the phone on speaker and as it rang he alternated between saying:
"Answer Mikki. Answer." and "Come play pease, Mikki!" So finally, when her voicemail picked up, he repeated "Come play pease, Mikki! Lub you." And then I had to explain that she would call us back.

Well instead of calling us back- we got a knock at the door at 7:30 a.m. this morning and there was MIKKI! He ran down the hall and jumped into her arms like they were being reunited after 20 years. He couldn't stop smiling. He was beaming. I wish I had gotten it on camera.

So sweet and such a fun way to start the day. Thanks Mikki!

Our Life Right Now

Looks a little bit like this:
- We play outside all weekend...then during the week, the craziness hits.

5:30 a.m. Feed Holden, hold her, change her diaper and pick something cute for her to spit up on wear.

6:30 Make Davis' lunch or go lie in bed for 30 minutes

7:00 Jump in the shower

7:30-7:45 Davis gets up and asks for his navy cars shirt. I then have to explain to him that we can't wear the same shirt every day. It's in the wash. It has to be washed, it has to dry, and then we can talk about it.

7:45-8:00 We do breakfast, I have to explain almost every morning that a pop-stickle is not breakfast (and neither are fish sticks for that matter)...we choose which shoes he is going to wear (he's very particular), we talk to Baby Holden in a very high pitched voice, we say good morning to daddy, hello to Jennifer (the nanny), and then we scoot out the door.

8:15 I drop Davis off at the playground at school and stick around for a little bit to see what he wants to play with that day. I talk to the kids, I sit in the canoe, I just hang out for a bit.

Five hugs and a kiss later- I leave. "Mommy have to go work hard." And he reminds me that "Davis have to work hard too."

8:45-5:30 Work (Being a busy advertising executive- asking for Xeroxes by 5:00, pitching taglines, you know the whole deal)

5:30 Head home (Unless Bennett is out of town, then I have to sneak out of work early to go pick up Davis and go home to relieve Jennifer).

6:00 Home. Usually Holden wants to eat right then, which is such a bummer because that's also the only time I really get to play with Davis- but I feed her- try to entertain Davis while doing so (Unless Bennett is home and then we tag team).

6:45 I put Holden down for the night and start to figure out how I am going to get Davis fed, bathed, read to, rocked, played with and snuggled, all before 7:30. This part is stressful because I want him to feel relaxed, not rushed, but really it's a TOTAL RUSH JOB. Ugh. The stresses of being a working mom...anyway...

7:30-7:45 I put Davis to bed and then I lay down on the couch for goodness sakes and feel like I might be too tired to do anything else. And sometimes I am. Sometimes I have Ritz crackers and Crystal Light for dinner. Sometimes I fall asleep on the couch and wake up at 10. Sometimes I make myself do the Biggest Loser DVD- but I'll be real honest- that hasn't happened in a while. Ho hum. I miss working out. I really do.

Life is crazy. It's busy. It's tiring. But I'm glad to have all these amazing things to be juggling. I mean, right? It would be sad if I had just more time than I knew what to do with- and no one to love on and take care of. That's what I have to remember...I do just wish I had a little more time to just be though. To not have a list of things to do. That's why I love the weekends so much. I don't want Davis to remember how hurried everything was. I want him to be happy and enjoy the moment. As you can see- I'm working this out in my head. How to do it all and do it all well.

Here are a couple pictures of Holden working on the farm. She is getting so big. I realize she sort of looks like she was in a knife fight- but really one of her scraggly fingernails got her. So then I tried to cut them and I accidentally cut part of her finger. I felt SOOOO BAD. Oh man. Anyway- she is a trooper.

Patterns

Holden turned three months old on Friday- so crazy and hard to believe how quickly it's going. I'm starting to notice some patterns emerging, which is nice. Lately she is eating around 5:00 then going to sleep, for the night, around 6:3o. She usually wakes up between 10-11 and then again around 3...but that part fluctuates a bit. Last night, she went to sleep at 6:30, woke up at midnight and then slept until 7:30 a.m. This would have been an amazing night of sleep for me had I not been out partying it up till the wee hours of the morning. Dear Hangover, I forgot how miserable you are.

Holden is also sleeping pretty consistently in her bed. She is the most smiley baby I have EVER seen. It is awesome. She is just so happy all the time.

And Davis is keeping us on our toes lately. He is both so fun, and such a little toot, whining about things he can't have, pushing his limits all the time, etc. But geez he says and does some funny stuff. He was so happy when Bennett came home Friday- it was really sweet to watch his face light up as he drove up. We were all waiting outside for him. :)

Here are a few phone pictures of Holden on her three month birthday as well as some pictures of Davis getting his haircut. I'll prep him that we're going and that if he sits really still and doesn't cry, he'll get a lollipop. He then says to me "No haircut today. Just lollipop." Smarty.

How big does he look after the haircut? I can't even take it...

Answered Prayers

Just wanted to take a quick moment to acknowledge some things that I stressed about, lost sleep over, and definitely prayed for, that have turned out beautifully.

1) I was so worried about finding a good nanny. I mean I didn't know how it could happen without going through a crazy expensive service. But we found one, she is actually Davis' teacher's younger sister who just moved to Austin, looking for a job in childcare. She is so sweet and gentle, I don't worry about Holden for a minute.

2) That I would be ready to go back to work at the end of my leave, and I did. I mean, its still hard, but at the same time, its nice to be back.

3) That Davis would not be so sick all the time. Since then, he has not missed a day of school for sickness in a month and a half. That is a record.

So thank you God. I appreciate these things. I realize that prayer isn't just about things working out exactly how you hoped they would, but let's be honest, its nice when they do too. :)

Exhausted.

Last night was ridiculous. Here is a little snapshot:

11:00 Fed Holden
11:45 Headed to bed

1:30 Woke up to Davis crying, rocked him for a minute and rubbed his back
1:45 Headed to bed

2:30 Fed Holden (she would only eat 2 ounces- about half the normal)
3:00 Headed to bed

3:30 Woke up to Davis crying again, went back in to rock him and give him tylenol
3:35 While rocking Davis, Holden woke up crying, so I fed her another couple ounces
4:30 Headed to bed

6:00 Davis informed me that "I want to wake up, mommy. I want to get out of bed." I reminded him that it was still dark.
6:30 Fed Holden

At this point, I gave up on sleep and just started getting ready for the day. And now, I feel like it should be 3:00 p.m. and it's not even noon.

All in all, I got about 3.5 hours of sleep. I am pretty much over this doing it all myself while Bennett is out of town. Ho hum.

Me on a Business Trip

So here is a little peek into what you should visualize when I am traveling on business. First things first, it's important to note that I almost always travel with a group of people significantly older than me. Don't know why- that's just sort of how it happens. This is important, for context.

So in the airplane- I always sit in the aisle. I have to get a drink each time they offer one- and sometimes I get really antsy- so I visit the bathroom a lot. If I'm especially nervous about flying, I try to sit by someone who looks open to conversation and then I chat their ears off on takeoff and landing for distraction purposes. When I started traveling for work, I assumed that the team tried to sit together. That's what friends do, right? Not so much. Not cool. Everyone gets on the plane and acts like they don't know each other...so my chatter is often the butt of many jokes. The CMO of GSD&M often opens a meeting with clients by saying something like "you should know how much we wanted to be here based on the fact that we were willing to listen to Sam chatter to her seatmate all the way to Boston/Chicago/LA/etc." HAR DEE HAR HAR.

Occasionally, I'll get to chatting it up with someone (male or female) and they'll offer to buy me a drink (usually male). I always say yes. No one should drink alone on a plane. I always order a bloody mary.

When we get to our location, I check in, I go upstairs and I drop my stuff in the middle of the room, sigh, and flop on the bed. It's very important to me to FLOP because then I know what sort of bed/sleep I'm working with. And I love the drama of it.

Once I recover from the sheer exhaustion of being a busy advertising executive, "traveling on business", I put on the hotel robe and scope out the snack situation and scan some channels on TV. Depending on what the snack situation looks like, I either have a snack or evaluate the room service menu. More often than not, I open any variety of fancy water, diet coke, and usually peanut M&Ms (not many hotels carry skittles or chewy sprees). I constitute this sort of gluttony because I'm on vacation. I mean, I'm "traveling on business".

When I first started traveling for work, I would occasionally jump on the bed in my robe at some point because it gave me a giggle that I was jumping on the bed while the rest of my team was responding to emails or reading a newspaper or something grown up like that. But I've outgrown that, for the most part.

If I'm in a shopping city and it's before 8:00, I'll skip any and all other activities in to go peruse the stores. Boston, LA and NYC are especially good for this. After I've done all these things, I usually head back to my room where I order a movie or read a book or if I really need to- catch up on work.

The next morning, I wake up about 40 minutes before I have to meet in the lobby. I order breakfast- two eggs and fruit- and a toothbrush and toothpaste. I almost always forget these essentials. It's sort of my calling card. I jump in the shower. I eat my breakfast. I blow dry my hair and put on my makeup...and then I am out the door.

There you go. That's me on a business trip in a nutshell.
I wonder how many other "business people" do this. I think it's more than one might originally think. That visual really makes me smile.

For any and all readers that have a connection to GSD&M- this is our little secret. :)

My little sweethearts

Here are some random pics taken over the last few weeks. Enjoy!

I'm heading to Boston tonight, back tomorrow. Someone told me recently that business travel is a new mom's best kept secret. And I imagine it is...we're staying at the W, and the idea is that I should get a full night's sleep...but not this time. I get in tonight, and home tomorrow, after midnight. Oh well. I'll sleep or read on the plane. 4 uninterrupted hours. I don't even know what that feels like anymore.

Happy Monday!

Happy Easter!

From the littlest easter bunny.

This easter was so fun. We woke up, went to church, listened to an amazing sermon, and then met Nikki, Tony, Honey and my grandparents at the park for a picnic brunch and an easter egg hunt. The weather was so nice, the food was tasty, and the best part was we just had to show up. It was such a treat not to have to prepare everything. Okay, maybe that wasn't the best part. The best part was being with family on such a special day, watching Holden look at the leaves blowing in the wind while her brother ran wild under the trees. That was the best part. Oh and also this Davis sandwich. I love the way he is really hugging Nikki.

We then went home, took naps, and then when we woke up, headed over to the Ryans for more easter fun. It's so great that Davis and Porter are now truly playing together. They have a great time. They are each other's ying and yang. Davis plays pretty quietly and is always trying to push the limits, whether it's sneaking Porter's shoe when he isn't looking, or standing on his chair until someone sees him...and Porter just chatters along, talking to anyone and everyone that will listen, always with some good questions ready for you. And lately, he is also pretty good at letting Davis know when he's pushed the limits too far, which doesn't bother me. Sometimes I say "That's right, Porter, you tell him..."

Watching them play together and randomly hug each other or chase each other until they fall down is great fun. They are a good pair. Today they dyed eggs and were pretty excited watching them change colors. It took a little while to explain to Davis that you can't just DROP the egg into the bowl. You have to be "gentle, gentle..."

See, look at that little stinker, thinking about dropping that truck in the dye.

It was a great Easter and I am thankful. Thankful for forgiveness and hope, and the joy of my family.

That sounds so old, doesn't it? Geez. Today I walked by the window at church with Bennett...he was pushing Holden's stroller and I was holding Davis' hands and I saw myself out of the corner of my eye and did a double take, thinking "Who are these people? That looks like a grown woman." And it was ME! Ha. Happy Easter.

TGFHD

Thank God For Home Depot.
Today Bennett took Davis to the kids workshop at Home Depot. Which is such brilliant marketing, by the way. We can't go near the Home Depot without Davis begging us to stop. Anyway, they made an adorable red and purple bird feeder and Davis came home with a tiny Home Depot apron. About the cutest thing ever.

I worked out with Stacey and Ahmad and then snuggled with Holden while the boys had their manly adventures at Home Depot and Academy. Bennett said that when Davis was leaving Academy he said "Bye Cademy. Love you Cademy." Guess he really had a good time.

So the workshop was great- but these pictures will show you why we're really thankful for Home Depot today.

I filled the bucket so Davis and his neighbor buddy, Gavin, could splash water on each other or float boats in it, or, I don't know...but after five minutes, Davis climbed in in his shorts. And I guess birds of a feather really do flock together because next thing you know, we had to find, and fill, another Home Depot bucket for Gavin.

Imagine driving down the street, minding your own business, and seeing this scene out of the corner of your eye...

Don't mind us. Just cooling our heels in our own little slice of paradise.

Thank God for Home Depot. Seriously. Those boys played in those buckets for at least an hour.

Simple things. Such joy. If we could all only be so happy with just a Home Depot bucket, some water, and a friend.

Oh and if you wonder what Holden has been up to- well she slept through most of the bucket shenanigans today- but here she is making out with her mouse! So forward, kids these days.