Sam's baby

Not a lot to say about this one. Daddy is so proud. He he he.

I love this picture. His face seems to say, "Go ahead and try to make fun of me." I'm sure the look on his face will reapear quite often during the teen years!!!

First soccer game.

About a month ago, Gracie woke up in the middle of the night crying that, "she didn't want to dance, she just wants to run." Okay, I can take a hint, the solution...Soccer. Gracie is playing on a co-ed team that Daddy helps to coach. Yesterday was their first game. Gracie loves it. She even scored one of the first goals. Which of course, Mom missed because she took Sam back to the car to change stinky diapers.

Here are some of the comments overheard at her soccer game that are classic and you just don't hear in regular soccer games.

"Stand up" Said by the coach of our team to his daughter who sat down in center field while the other team had the ball.

"No, Kick the ball" said by ...hhmm just about everyone to hhmmm, just about every child on the field.

"Put your shoes on" Said by the opposing coach to one of the little boys who took his shoes off while playing.

"Wrong way, go the other way." Said by too many people to count.

"Wow Mom, I look like a real soccer player." Gracie, before the game.

Too cutE and so much fun. Gracie had the biggest smile on her face! Gotta love soccer

Samuel D's 1st birthday.

I know, this is incredibly late...But, I have to post this. Chris and I use this blog as our journal . We print of the entries and put them in a binder as a family remembrance. I can't not post about our sweet little guy's first birthday.

We decided to have a birthday party for Samuel with just close family this year. It's a good thing because he was overwhelmed!!! As usual with Sam, his birthday did not go as planned. He cried, he fussed, he beat up his cousin Tori under the table while no one was looking. Gracie had a blast opening Sam's presents for him. All of the little cousins made hand puppets and we had ice cream sundaes instead of cake.

Momma made Samuel his very own basketball cake which he refused to even taste! What a character. He screamed and cried until, literally the door shut on the last guest and he reverted to being his charming self. He was happy, he played with his toys and days later, he ate all of the frosting off of his cake during a cake re-do session.

That things with Sam are unpredictable should come as no surprise to those of you who remember his birth. When I was pregnant with Sam, he was breach. We had him manually turned 3, yes 3, times. It was excruciating. The doctor described the procedure to me as "feeling like an elephant is sitting on you." That was about right. It is only supposed to take one time to flip a baby around. Each time it took him all of 5 minutes to turn back. In fact it seemed to coincide with the doctor walking out the door. Hhmm, what does that say about Sam's personality?

The Dr. Finally decided that he would flip Sam, break my water and deliver. We went in every other day for weeks to see if I was dilating. Every time we would hear, "Next time we will schedule you for delivery." It was the longest wait of my life!!!

Finally the big day arrived, they prepped me, flipped Sam (AGAIN), broke my water and the doctor assured me, this time, he would stay put. What happened next, the doctor left the room, and you guessed it, he flipped back!!LOL. So onto the C-section. It was...different. I missed the process of giving birth. Sam still wouldn't come out, He got his head stuck and after some quick thinking by the doctor and cutting mom practically in half, out he came!!! I couldn't see him...It felt like the longest few minutes ever...Chris kept giving me updates, but oh, to finally see him was sheer joy. He nursed and slept right away. He was so sweet and I was soooo sick. I spent the next few days in a haze of pain and nausea. I couldn't keep anything down including water. Finally when I started to have problems with my kidneys, the nurses put me on an IV of fluid. I remember next to nothing of the first days of Sam's life. I do know that mother nature wrecked havoc on us. The day he was born started a weird series of natural events. everything from comets streaking through the sky, to earthquakes and solar eclipses.What started out as an adventure has certainly stayed that way. We love our unpredictable little man!!!!

Our stripper

Hey, get your hands out of my water...Please

Gracie has always considerd what is mine to be hers. Every time I have a glass of water she wants a drink. From the time she was tiny, she has first stuck her hands, dirty or clean, into my glass of water before taking a drink. It grosses me out. I have finally broken her of the habit. After 5 years, she no longer sticks her hand in my glass of water. Sam, however, has taken over.

Grandpa Dave & Grandma Kristi

There was a hole in our family left with the passing of Chris' father. Gracie (and Britt when she was younger) has asked where her other grandpa is. It has been a very sensitive spot for our sweet, impressionable children who just wanted a second grandfather to love like all their cousins have.

Dave Anderson, a longtime Rankin family friend, has filled that hole. He has become a sounding board for Chris and a beloved member of our family. He and his gracious wife Kristi come to all of the kids birthdays, special events, family functions. What a blessing they are to us and our children. Thank you Grandpa Dave and Grandma Kristi. We love you!

Her own thing.

Gracie loves to wear things her own way. She wears all of her socks like they are knee-highs, will only wear "soft" pants, and her hair has to be a certain way. She has definite opinions on what is cool and what is not. Usually what Gracie thinks is cool makes her look like an orphan.

But, how can you not love this face.