A Springtime Saturday

Family gathered at the Cox casa to enjoy the warmer weather.

There is one outfit of Sam's that, I kid you not, he has a blow out in e.v.e.r.y.t.i.m.e he wears it. Luckily Camme had a creeper Sam could wear, but it was a bit chilly for shorts so I grabbed a pair of baby legs on my way up from the salon. My, that kid was STYLIN'!

It was a real task keeping Samson away from that firepit.

That poor black eye hasn't gone away yet, but it's definitely the mark of our busy, busy little boy.

Tadd's parents got a couple of these cars for Christmas with some RC Willey deal, and theycan be remote controlled! AND you can plug your iPod in! Lyla and Sam loved cruisin' around.

Then we took a little stroll in the wagon around the pool, to which he also very much approved of.

Bree lovingly patted and rubbed Sam's head during this wagonride.

Oh, my favorite! Deer in the headlights. It's beginning to seem that this face is replacing his FotoFace seen here and here, which I'm really sad about.

I love when these two play together, and don't you just love Lyla's Michelin Man arms!?

Riding off into the sunset together. Awww, how romantic.

When do you think it's the ideal time to break it to the two of them that they're cousins?

"Peace out!"

Speaking of babies, let's talk about the stupidity that is the parents of ID and UT...please read this.

Would You Agree...

...our little one is having a rough time cutting his two top teeth?

I felt like I walked in on a mini blood bath when I got him up from his nap.

Notice the little bottom-teeth marks (from awhile back)...grrrrrr...make me want to wallop his little behind.

Gruesome, eh?

Poor baby. Guess this explains why he took an unusually long time to fall asleep. Worst mother of the year.

Monica didn't even survive the nap terror (see first picture).

Nor did his sleep sack.

May this never ever happen again!

We Indulged

I walked in the door the other night after a long day at the salon to hear Tadd shushing me. Apparently Samson had been laying on Tadd's lap, had finished off his bottles (I guess he demanded 11 oz), set his bottle down and zonked out like *that* (finger-snap). There was no waking him. Nor did we want to try.

Since we sleep trained Samson he will not fall asleep anywhere but in a crib. Fabulous, most of the time, but occasionally a pain (ie: church). Side note: At this time in my life there is nothing more satisfying than laying my baby down in his crib wide awake, knowing that he will fall asleep on his own. So, basically this occurrence was rare.

Tadd graciously let me take Sam and cuddle with him to my heart's content. And cuddle, I did.

Long day at the salon = lookin' nasty by the end of the day

Sam even stayed asleep while I laid myself down to get nice and comfy and enjoy my cuddle time. Had he not become a sweaty little beast, I could've stayed like this all.night.long.

Tiddle Bittles

A few other pictures to note...

Samson has never been busier than he was at Mark n' Meg's. Moving the chairs, licking the glass door, dumping Sophie's water, climbing the stairs, grabbing any and all things he shouldn't be, etc...

He and Addie discovered the door stopper in the bathroom, and were SO entertained. It was one of the first times I really noticed them playing with each other. Samson would rattle the stopper, look over at Addie and wait for her to laugh then he'd squeal and wave his arms around (a common gesture of his when he's excited). They just laughed and laughed!

Our second favorite time of the day. Bath time. Leading up to our favorite time of the day. Bedtime!

Addie practiced her coloring skills often, and Haley also found it to be therapeutic when she felt the need to wring a certain young one's neck*.

Megan ingeniously punctured her beloved Sonic cup after a grueling 90 minutes of Bikram yoga. Still...a whole other post to dedicate to the sweatiest 90 minutes of my life.

An uber relaxing swing for the little tyke at the Sparks Marina.

Doesn't two kids look great on Haley???

Heading home. I had to play a fair amount of musical chairs to appease Samson. It got pretty lonely back there for him without Addie.

A close up of that shiner he got falling onto his activity table. It's a week and a half later, and it's still not gone. How long do these suckers typically stick around?

*In Addie's defense, she was getting sick, wasn't sleeping well at night (the poor little thing has night terrors), and in a new place.

*In Haley's defense, she stressed herself out to the max for nothing. None of us were bothered by Addie, but Haley felt it was her duty to shield us from any Addie-ness she felt was unwarranted.

Sparks Marina

A Sunday afternoon with two dog lovers, two crusty-eyed babies, two moms, and my favorite animal (Sophie).

Sparks Marina has a couple kid parks and a dog park along a two mile trail. The weather was great, even called for baby capris, so we strolled on over to the dog park where Mallory frolicked among "her Disneyland".

Not being our element*, Haley and I headed back to the playgrounds, where we discovered Samson does not like his umbrella stroller. There was only one incident(s) of Haley semi-yelling at a little girl for pushing Addie, Addie getting kicked by Sam in the swing, and the losing of a pair of keys (recovered).

Mister Adorably Grumpy Pants

(huge factor in this: his numerous viruses he had diagnosed yesterday)

Treat on the way back home. Allowed on vacations. Also allowed, trucker-sized sodas.

Sammy trying his best to win Mallory's affection back after she had to suffer through three hours of watching him AND Addie while Haley, Megan and I went to Bikram Yoga (a whoooole other post).

When Meg, Mallory and SophieGirl rejoined us, Addie practiced her sharing manners with her jelly beans. Yum yum.

*Although not my thing, I did learn a lot about dogs, the culture of loving dog owners, and the inhumane treatment of animals on this trip. I actually stopped on the side of the road in Lehi yesterday to help a stray dog. If you know me, you'd get what a huge influence Megan and Mallory have been on me (Sorry Mom, I still won't let Gus or Miles cuddle up next to me).

Although the dog wouldn't come over to me so I could help it out, I felt like a better person for trying!

Spark it Up

Let me remind myself...vacations with babies, are not vacations. Well, they are once 8 o'clock rolls around.

Mal, Hells, Adds, Sam and I headed to Sparkly, NV Friday morning, and all us adults breathed a collective sigh of relief when we rolled into Sparks all in one piece, unharmed, and only slightly flustered with the babies.

Road trips apparently call for a lot of pictures, luckily we had two daaaahling subjects to photograph, so away we clicked.

My brown-eyed baby boy

Sam discovered his carseat visor, which I had no idea was there.

He had his first sucker, and loved it. Poor Haley was the one in the back with him at that time and lovingly cleaned up the sticky mess, on both babes.

He also gave Addie's baby lots of open-mouthed kisses. Inappropriate.

On the way home Samson figured out how to play peek-a-boo (top right), and I about peed my pants laughing. Then he read himself some books (SMRT, smart) and played with his activity table (yes, I'm ridiculous and brought one of Sam's favorite toys), but figured out it was so much more fun to prop it up on his feet. He's a silly little dude.

The trip home was sans Hells and Addie because they flew to California to visit Grandma 'Chelle, so Sam was a little lonely in the back. I often visited him, and showed him the cakes I was doodling on the iPad. He was impressed.

We got off to a great start once we arrived at Casa de Romo, what with the overflowing diaper of Sam's, having to immediately scavenge the house for any potentially breakable things my monster could've gotten into/onto, wiping two baby noses over and over and over, and dragging in, no lie, about 20 pieces of luggage (of random sorts). Sheesh!

Much more fun was had throughout the rest of the trip...to come later...

Intermission...

...while I compose the post of all posts about our exciting vacation to Reno (oh p.s. vacation with kids is NOT a vacation).

10 Months

Our monster turns 10 months old today! Whaaaaaaat???

Some fun things that have been entertaining us lately...

.He's become quite needy when his mother is around.

.Gives kisses occasionally.

.Repeats what a sheep and lion say.

.Crawls everywhere, and quickly.

.Pulls himself up on everything, and tries to push his limits of all kinds all the time.

.Says "uh-oh", "da-da", "ya-ya", "ma-ma" (but apparently only when I'm not there).

.He's a Fatty McFatterson and I love it.

.Hates getting dressed and/or having his diaper change and turns into Houdini to get away from us (actually not entertaining, unless you're Haley and then it's very entertaining and a little pee comes out).

.Has mastered his "camera face" (please see above).

.Sam's finally started eating (not barfting up) actual solids. Slowly, but surely. Beans, rice, cheerios (and apparently suckers), and little tastes of what we're eating.

Confession

I take motherhood for granted, and I act childish about being a mother.

It's been tough for me to let myself fully assume the role of "mother", and not feel silly when I talk about motherhood, or child rearing, or calling myself "mama". I've asked myself "why?" so many times, and still haven't completely pinpointed the reason.

Do I have a hard time accepting that I am an adult, not a teen anymore, and this is what life brings as we age? Am I trying so hard not to become the typical Mormon mommy that I'm not allowing myself to exhibit motherhood at all? Maybe I don't feel that I can dub myself a "mother" after just one child, 10 months in? Like I'm some sort of poser?

But, today I realized that I need to freaking grow up. Stop thinking those silly thoughts and just dive right into motherhood. I already enjoy it, but I feel like I am holding back. The fact of the matter is, is that I AM a mother. A mother to a beautiful baby boy who depends on me and loves me. I need to cut the crap more often, and be real. I love my baby and love the role I've assumed to care for him, so why should I feel strange or uncomfortable talking about it?

I have been incredibly blessed with this new chapter of my life, and it's shameful that I take it for granted. It was not hard for us to get pregnant. Although not the most ideal nine months of my life, I had a fairly average pregnancy. How immature of me to not take a step back and realize, not just enjoy, the incredible gift I have been given of experiencing motherhood.

I am going to earnestly try from this day forward to take full advantage of motherhood, not shy away from it or give into fear of mothering, and bask in the little gems of our new life.

Introduction

to Photobooth one morning

judging by Samson's face over and over again, he didn't think much of it.

As of Late

I packed away baby shoes and clothes Samson has outgrown. I put this off for a couple months since I couldn't part with the tininess of them.

My love of stripes grew.

Little mister got his hair parted, and I can't even handle the cuteness.

These two little peanuts turned 2 months old. Where does time freaking go?

Sam is pulling himself up on everything. Cabinets, toys, couch, toilet, chairs, tub, my legs, the pantry, garbage can, bookshelves, etc...and started inching his way along the furniture a few days ago.

Little Lucy bug was blessed, and we had some delicious homemade Cafe Rio salads and desserts.

I made a delicious fruit pizza for the blessing that was a total hit (thanks to Rookie-Cookie and Pillsbury. That's HUGE for me!

Everyone needs a pair of floral leggings. And everyone's should be $5 at WalMart.

Gots ma' hairs smoothed with Brocato's Curl Interrupted Smoothing System. Not the smartest idea for my hair right now. It does work wonders (I did the semi-permanent process which lasts 2-3 weeks), but I wasn't planning on it being SO smooth, I had hoped it would still hold curl the same, alas, it did not. I'm clarifying it next week with Kevin.Murphy Maxi Wash.

Oh, is this not how hair is to be washed???

We were finally corrected of our washing ways, and efficiently lathered up my locks.

Baby boy got his first owie requiring a band-aid.

Got a new print on sale from Twig, and I must be really dense because I can't see the hidden letters. Help.

Lyla mistook the tip of a medicine bottle as a baby bottle and just sucked away. It was too funny!

I turned myself into Taylor Swift.

Mostly I was just forcing my hair to hold curl like it used to before the smoothing system (will rectify next week), and it worked.

Discovered the Hipstamatic app. Brill.

PS. None of this is a prank.

Just in case you were wondering.