At last...

Well, I quit trying to promise anything until I was actually going to do it!!!! So, here are some new (well, July, Aug and Sept) pictures of Sam!

He is growing like a weed, and he repeats everything we say! He is so adorably cute that I just can't ever seem to get over it! We laugh at/with him ALL the time! Just the other night, BJ was watching Clemson beat Florida State, and he got excited after they scored. Sam got excited too and started pumping his fists and jumping around - then he gave BJ a double high-five! He is just full of cute stuff like that!!!!!

He FINALLY started (somewhat) smiling for the camera a month or so ago!

And posing...When it gets quiet for longer than, oh, say TWO seconds, I know it's time to go see what he's up to... here is what I found - yes, he's in a fish bowl, and he, obviously, thinks it's SO FUN!And that it's a game to get in and out!!!!Daddy's little helper. I didn't get back with the camera quite in time to get him squatting next to BJ REALLY observing what he was doing!Push faster, Daddy!

Always up to no good!Sam loves his big doggie... he is always picking it up and carrying it around!Too bad it used to be Stormie's "safe place"!!!!!! This is Stormie during Sam's nap!!!!!

We like cream cheese now, can you tell?First of all, Sam has to have his milk (Moke) and water on hand at all times; second, I pulled out mine and Bo's little table, and Sam absolutely loves it! He's such a big boy with his milk, water and Cheerios (Chose) at the table!!! What a little ham he is!!!!
Looks are DEFINITELY deceiving right here. It would appear that he is quietly reading a book at his table, but, in reality, he is about to stand in the chair and try to climb on the table - then start running to get into something else!!!!I don't know when/how he learned this, but opening presents is no longer an obstacle!And the best part of the gift... the box!And he is so creative!!!! =)

Stuff Mommy's don't want to forget...

Sam is growing SO FAST... and he's talking SO MUCH... and he's doing SO MUCH!!!! I just don't want to forget all of his little idiosyncrasies, so I am putting it all on 'paper'!!!!

• At first, everything was a doooooooog or a baaaaaaaaalllll... but now, there are a lot of words in his repertoire!
• Boon=Balloon
• Kee/Tee=Key (when he's looking at a key!)
• Mock=Milk
• Hot=Hat or Hot... whichever applies!
• Nana or NANA=Banana
• Chose=Cheerios
• Wah or Wahter=Water
• BiTe=Bite or Bike... whichever applies!
• BoaT=Boat
• Chee or Tea=Cheese
• Bree=Bread (both are major staples in Sam's diet these days!)
• Bock=Box or Book... whichever applies!
• Po=Pillow
• Hone=Phone
• Oooee or who=shoe (our fault for always telling his feet and shoes are SHEWEEE!)
• Bobo=4-wheeler (I dunno!)
• Mama is also "MY mama"
• Dada is "MY dada" sometimes too
• Rock=Rocky
• DoG or DoGGee=Stormie (LOVES his Dogee!)
• Dog Gone=All Gone
• Gaw Gone=Gone Gone (always with the arms out and hands up!)
• Pane=Plane (usually accompanied by Bo - b/c he flies a plane)
• Tee=Tree
• Toes=Toes or fingers
• Pie=Paci
• Nack=Snack (usually followed by the yelling of NANA!!!!)
• Boon=Spoon
• Nee Yot=Need Out (good thing he already knows what he NEEDS!)
• MeMee=Mimi
• Pop=Pop Pop
• BeeBee=Baby (usually accompanied by lifting my shirt or looking at a picture of himself!)
• Uh Oh= Uh Oh!!!!! And it's true!!!
• OOOn=On (used most as we're getting in the car b/c he wants his DVD player on)
• Licht=Light
• Toes=Toes
• Eye=Eye or Ice (whichever applies!)
• Hi and Bye Bye are usually accompanied by the pageant wave... SO CUTE!!!
• Dog can be a dog, Elmo, cow, pig, bear, frog... you get the picture
• Bo=everything else when he doesn't know what else to say!

He says sentences in his own language, but I can't yet make out what he's saying except for a word here and there... this kid is FOREVER talking, but I absolutely LOVE hearing his little voice!!!

I have some funny pictures to post, so I am going right now to the Sony site to order that darn cable that I have lost and hoped would show back up, but hasn't!!!!!

Farm Life

First thing's first... our newest little addition is a BOY!!!!!! Absolutely NO QUESTION there!!!! As of this week, we like 'Jacob Robert' for his name... and we'll call him Jake. We'll see if this sticks! Right now, I'm so tired of thinking of names that this one is just perfect!!!!

We have been at the farm for the past 5 days "camping"... yes, you heard me - pregnant, with a 15-month-old, and camping!!!! We bought a travel trailer last week, picked it up on Friday and hauled it out to the farm to 'break her in'!!!!!! Here's a link to the factory site in case you're just not able to picture what in the world I'm talking about!!!!

http://www.forestriverinc.com/nd/floorplanview.asp?name=83&page=wood&series=LETTrailers

It has a tub that's perfect for bathing Sam, and bunk beds for when the boys get older, a kitchen, dinette, a living room, and a queen sized bed!!!! Just perfect for our little family!

It was SO MUCH FUN!!!! Mama and Daddy were there in their motor home, and Bo was there with Jenn in his camper! We had great food, LOTS to do, and the time just flew by!!!!

Memories:

• BJ backing a 31-foot trailer for the first time with 5 1/2 spectators... he did a great job, and he's a VERY good driver! Kudos for the Tahoe that wasn't even squatting under the weight! Glad we got a "truck" SUV instead of something smaller!!!!
• What a great sense of accomplishment for the men to realize that we actually HAVE filled up this 8,000 square-foot barn they built!
• Trailblazing is no problem with three men, a chain saw, a machete, big tweezers, and a woman to tell them where to cut and to mark the trail!
• We now have trails pretty much covering the perimeter of the 100 acres!!!! It's VERY cool to be able to ride on them!
• The ghetto-fabulous pool is wonderful when the swamp butt is just too much to bear!!!!
• Sam had absolutely NO schedule, and, with all the entertainment, it really didn't matter. When we were ready for him to sleep, we would fire up the mule and take him for a short ride... did the trick every time! I need one of those at home!!!!
• Sam loved riding the 4-wheelers, the mule, the tractor... it didn't matter!!!
• But, MAN, is he Pop Pop's little buddy! Pop Pop couldn't go anywhere without him! And if he tried, Sam cried and ran after him!!!! Daddy can't stand to hear him cry, so Sam was always right beside him or on his hip!
• The food was always great, but trying to find leftovers between three refrigerators and kitchens was a bit of a challenge!!!!
• I have a super bruise on my butt from bouncing across the field on the back of Mama's 4-wheeler!!!!!
• Jenn has 4 yellow jacket stings on her from 4-wheelin over their nest!!!! Never fear, Bo and Daddy went back and sprayed them... and hopefully killed them!!! We're lucky it was only 4 stings... 4 Benadryl later (and a nap =), she was good to go again!
• My belly has some bad heat rash... itches like crazy!!!
• Stormie ate rat poison! Obviously not enough to hurt her, thank goodness!!!! It was one of those blocks, and Mama saw her chewing on something, so she went and checked it out. She freaked out and hollered at BJ (I was off on the 4-wheeler), who proceeded to stick his finger down her throat to induce vomit (he's such a good daddy); Mama found the package and read NOT to induce vomiting, so they fed her bread and made her drink water! All the while, mama was telling BJ that "Tammy can't handle this right now!" BJ broke the news slowly and calmly, and Stormie is just fine. Mama caught her early, and she was just shredding the block and not really eating it... thank goodness!!!! Nope, she's not the brightest bulb in the pack!!!
• And who can forget Milo and Otis??? We left Rocky and Stormie in the barn while we all went 4-wheelin. BJ and I came around the trail nearest the barn to find Rocky leading Stormie up the trail towards the pasture... they looked like Milo and Otis in Homeward Bound!!!! Except they were going the wrong way!!!! Rocky was probably about to ditch Stormie!!!!

I guess that about sums it up... I'll add more if I think of them, and I'll definitely add pictures to this post when I get them from mama... I still can't find my stupid camera cord to download pictures, so we just used Mama and Jenn's cameras!!!!!!

Hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th!!!!

Update by Pictures

I haven't forgotten... I have put some updated pictures of our little man on here... finally!

I am feeling good - getting bigger by the day it feels like! BJ and I went to youth camp in Panama City last week - I started swelling in my legs and about had a emotional breakdown! Turns out it was probably just the food, late hours, minimal sleep and sun! Lesson learned! Sam was at Mama and Daddy's keeping them PRETTY busy!

He's just at that stage where he is ALL OVER the place, but doesn't exactly listen unless you have a hand on him pulling him away or whatever is required to distract him! All that said, he amazes me everyday! He will repeat words we say, and actions we do... so cute! He smiles and laughs ALL the time! But when he's fussy, watch out... he's making up for the extremely happy baby he is!!!

Here are a couple of pictures from his party... he ATE so much of his cake!

Here's the pretty cake!And he loves to help us when we go into the fridge... sometimes you can't even see him! Well, he really likes to help no matter where we go!!!He knows where to find his Goldfish too!!!This is Bo's $75 jet ski I was talking about! Isn't it a beaut???

And it fell off the back of the mule as they were driving it back up to the garage! Funny, because no one cared... we (they) just put it back on and kept going! Jennifer was letting us know that it wasn't her fault!!! =)

Everyone rode it, but, my blog, my picture! Preggy showed them all how to do it!!! =)Except Sam, he wasn't so keen on getting on this thing! (No, we didn't even put him in the water!!!)Isn't this ghetto-fabulous? Who says you have to make more than one trip???

Sam's starting early - talking on the phone while driving!!!And he's trick-riding already!!!! But he's really safe... keeps both hands on the wheel at all times - well, most of the time!Can't stop playing... even for milk!!!! There's no reason when you can drink and drive!!!

Playing is such hard work!Sam and Kaden at the park! What a difference 6 months makes!!! Kaden is sitting quietly until Mommy decides to get him out... Sam is ready to go run and find something much dirtier to get into!And here's Sam showing Kaden how to really PLAY with his cool toys! They actually sat there and stared at each other for a little while... it was so cute!And here's Sam's first escapade in the pool! He loved his boat!Really, he did!!!
Sprinkler water is just a TAD BIT cold for Sam...

So Mimi had to show him how it's done!And off we go to play in the yard with Rocky!This is the grin that says, "I know I am not supposed to be doing this, but I'm going to do it anyway!!!"This is the perfect speed for his car... he doesn't like to be far from someone or for us to use the remote to drive him!!! YET!!!!Sam's favorite place to play... on the hearth!!!!And he sleeps... but not for long, the flash woke him up!!!! But isn't he sweet????

So now you can see where the time goes! Nap time is 1-3 hours a day, but that's shower and get stuff done time for me now... no more 2-3 naps a day for us!!!! I still love every minute of it, though! But, I won't lie, breaks are nice! You know you have a hectic life when youth camp with 200 teenagers is a "break" to you!!!!

The past couple of weeks...

Well, it's been a crazy few weeks. I have been extremely tired, and nauseous... that being said, I am feeling like I'm actually in my 2nd trimester now! Good thing since I am over 4 months along! Can't say I have MORE energy, but I don't feel like collapsing at any given moment, and the nausea is pretty much gone!!!! YAY!!!

Week before last, I was having weird palpitations with my heart. After a couple of tests and a heart monitor for 24 hours, turns out that I'm just pregnant! I didn't know that fast heartbeats for no apparent reason could be caused by pregnancy!? Oh, Well... better safe than sorry! That has actually cleared itself up as well!!!! Go ahead and think it - my body is weird... and even weirder pregnant!!! Hence why this is it... no more pregnancies!!!!

Last weekend, BJ HAD to go deep sea fishing for work down in Key West. But, my dear sweet husband came home early to be with me on Mother's Day!!!! Here's what he was tortured with seeing each morning:

Mother's Day was wonderful. I was at my parents' while BJ was away, and Bo, Jennifer, BJ and Nanny all came in for the weekend. We had a blast on the lake. Bo has a $75 jet ski... and it's just that. But even preggy got up on it!!!! Yeah, I have pictures, but, as usual, they will have to come later!!!!

Sam's doing GREAT! He's walking/running all over the place. Everything is a dog or a ball these days... but it's so cute to hear him say it - he's a southern boy, that's for sure! He has the cutest expressions, and can sure express his displeasure with those expressions! I never knew he had such a big lower lip!!!! The problem is, that he screams and kicks when something doesn't go his way! I'm hoping we can learn OTHER avenues for expressing our anger!!!!! The funniest, though, is when he does something he KNOWS he shouldn't, then picks his head up and gives the cutest melt-your-heart smile... it's so hard to stay firm!!!! But, for my sanity, and for those around us, I must!!!!! I love that kid, though!!!!!

You guessed it... pictures will come soon! Not enough time to upload!

Holy Pictures!!!

So Sam is at the lake with Mimi and Pop Pop, so I am MAKING the time to post some LONG over-due pictures!!!

On Sam's real birthday (March 31), we were in VA at a wedding for some dear friends. It was beautiful, and they were so happy!

I am not sure where BJ was here, but Bo was inside doing wedding stuff. Jennifer is on my right... that's Bo's new girlfriend (or old????)... they dated when the were graduating high school and ran into each other in the last few months and are dating again!!!! The other two are Chris and his fiance Amanda - we went to college with Chris, who is also a very close friend!

Keeping Sam happy... not such a hard job!Sam couldn't hold his little head up by the end of the night! Bo's face when Sam plopped his head on his shoulder was SO CUTE!!! It just made his night!!!

Here's Sam's birthday brownie that Mimi and Pop Pop had for him before the wedding... my child is not shy!!!

So Sam had a bunch of birthdays... this was actually Easter too, but he got presents then too!!!

This was so cute, because Sam crawled up in Bo's lap and started "showing" him how to use the computer!!!!

The Easter Bunny brought Sam a swimmie suit! He looked like the Hulk in it! This summer will be so fun watching him swim for the first time!!!My little boy is getting so big!!!

This is him first starting to walk (on my birthday)... Now, he is trotting... running is coming VERY soon!!!!!
I believe that is all for now! Preggy mommy must eat!!!! But at least we are somewhat caught up in the life of Sam!!!!

Little Update

OK, so I haven't been the best blogger lately...

Here's a quick update:

• Sam's ONE... I can't believe it! We had a little party for him this past Saturday - yes, I have pictures, but they're on Mama's camera, and she's in Orlando (not for fun), so I will get them from her when she gets back. Sam got a bunch of wonderful presents, and has been in toy-bliss ever since!!!!!
• Sam is walking like a champ now. I'm giving him a week, and I bet he'll be running!
• I'm still fighting the morning sickness that lasts all day... I THINK it's getting better, then, BAM, it's not. SURELY it will pass soon! Saturday was 12 weeks, so I'm officially in my second trimester... can't believe that either!
• Sam is obsessed with Stormie's water bowl - he wheels his walker over to it (literally, you can envision the wheels off the ground as he careens aroung the corner), tumps it out, tries to eat some food and he's off again before I can even get over there! I have started spatting him for it - I hate the little cry he lets out, but it seems to be working... we shall see!
• If it's not Stormie's food and water, it's the blinds, or the living room. He's just obsessed with things and places that aren't his... go figure!
• He's still such a happy little boy! And, today, he napped for TWO AND A HALF HOURS... and he's sleeping right now!? So far, for another hour!!!!!! What the heck is going on here? Last week, I was praising God for 30 or 45 minutes!!!!!
• He now has a bunch of little teeth - with which he has bitten me with... once! Then he bit himself... didn't do that again!
• Poor Stormie gets chased and harassed all the time... if she's in the right mood, she'll chase him back, though! It's pretty cute!!!

That's all I can think of right now... BJ and I are doing good - hanging in there! Bless his heart - he comes home from a hard day's work to a wife who can't get off the couch and a one-year-old that won't stop; he fixes dinner, plays with Sam, takes care of me, puts Sam to bed, and then puts me to bed! I know he's exhausted - but he's the best husband in the world! I am ready for this burst of energy thing to kick in... I don't really remember that when I was pregnant with Sam... =)

Pictures to come...

P.O.D.

Path Of Destruction...

That is Sam's new nickname - given by Mimi and Pop Pop!!! And it's so true. Wherever he goes, he leaves a wake of, well, destruction behind him!!!! Toy boxes unloaded, Stormie's toys unloaded... basically anything he can get his little hands on!!!!

Have I mentioned that he's walking? He took his first steps a couple of weeks ago (on my birthday!), and he is getting more and more stable and confident everyday!

I am doing better. Some days are worse than others. I just got Sam down for a nap, so I am about to eat and go take a nap too!

Here are a few pictures - I got SOME downloaded from the camera... there's still more!!!

Here's mommy's little helper - he found his stash of "un-used" toys... well, that is no longer the case!!!

This is Sam just getting started!!!!Have I mentioned that he's a climber??? He can push his toy boxes around and use them to climb onto the couch and various other objects!!!! This time, he is helping Mommy unload the dish washer!!!

Sam LOVES balloons! So, everytime we go to Mimi and Pop Pop's, he always has balloons! He got some for his birthday, so everytime we come downstairs in the morning, he says "Boon" and points! It's so cute!!!!And he drives! I think after this driving experience, Daddy's truck was in Auto 4WD for about 200 miles - he was wondering why he was getting worse gas mileage!!!! Sam likes to push buttons while he drives too!!!!

Here's why...

OK, so here's why I have been awful at updating my blog and posting pictures...

I am pregnant again!!!!!!

Yes, it was planned, but, as I get further along, I am wondering what the heck we were thinking! I am due October 27th, and am about 9 weeks along now... we had our first ultrasound Friday, and everything looked great! I am EXTREMELY tired (partly due to Sam, partly to baby #2), but I figure that I need to learn to function in this state of tiredness for the next few years!!!! I have had morning sickness again... all day!!!! It's not quite as bad as when I was preggy with Sam, but it's harder, I think, because I am chasing Sam constantly! I have actually been napping (hence, no computer!), and Mama and Daddy have been AWESOME!!!! I go out there one or two (sometimes 3 or 4) nights a week, and they take care of both me and Sam! I am so incredibly blessed to have such loving parents!!!!! They are DEFINITELY the busiest retired people I know... between me and Sam (Mama has done laundry and cooked and all that fun stuff), going and helping Bo with stuff, both of their mothers at different ends of the state needing something or another, and keeping up their own home, they are BUSY!!!! BJ says he's the lowest maintenance of us all.... yeah....

Anyway, that's my excuse! I'll still try for updated pictures soon - right now, I need sleep!!!!

Bad Mommy!!!

Oh, what a bad mommy I am!!!! I have promised pictures, but, in all honesty, I haven't TAKEN that many lately!!!!! What's my problem????

Well, last week, when Sam and I went to Mama and Daddy's for Thursday night, because BJ had a late meeting; it turned into Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights!!!!! (BJ came out there after work on Friday) We went to the farm on Saturday... and I think Mama MAY have gotten a COUPLE of pictures on her camera!!!!! I'll post those when I get them!!!

Sam FINALLY clapped... we have been trying this patty-cake thing for awhile, but, what got him to do it, you ask???? GOING 30 MPH ON THE 4-WHEELER!!!!! It was SO CUTE!!!!! Mama was driving with Sam in front of her; Daddy was behind Mama holding onto Sam, and he was just laughing and clapping the whole time they went fast!!!!! Now, I'm sure that's all kinds of breaking the law, but it was worth it for that smile and that clap!!!

Now, he plays patty-cake all the time!

And another thing that just makes him giggle and smile (Pop Pop discovered) is brownies!!!! When he gets a little bite, he just goes nuts!!!!! Again, SO CUTE!!!!

Well, here are the pictures I have...

Sam discovered that he can 'open' doors - it's just SO FRUSTRATING when they're locked!!!

Here's his first 'big boy' boo-boo... can you see it? It's on his chin! He fell after he flushed the toilet for me, and decided he wanted to go un-roll the toilet paper! His mouth was bleeding, and I didn't even know he hurt his chin until the next day!!!! It was scary for both of us, but we survived!!!He's SO MUCH bigger than the last picture we have of him doing this! Which will probably be the last picture of him drinking his bottle, since he's ALMOST ONE!!!!!! I can't believe it!!!

That's all for now!!!

Sam-date time!

With Sam, there is always a need for an update... so, here we go!!!!

• He is walking around with his walker and all around the furniture! Last night he 'accidentally' took his first step alone - he was walking between furniture and had to let go of the couch to get to the chair! Won't do it again, though!
• He pushed his plastic toy box over to the couch the other day, climbed on top of them and onto the couch! I was right there just seeing what he was going to do with it, but he looked like he had been doing it forever. He later thought he should push the boxes over to the baby jail wall and tried to climb over to the fire place... oh, what he learns SO QUICKLY!!!
• He called 911 yesterday morning! The Gwinnett county police called me back, and I had to explain that my baby called them and there was no emergency! They probably thought I had a 2 or 3 year old!!!!
• Sam fell and got his first bloody lip and chin... it was so sad (and scary)!!!!! He then scratched over his eye after his morning nap, then got the other eye after his afternoon nap... needless to say, he looks abused!!!!
• He has now started pointing at EVERYTHING!!! We were in the grocery store and pointed at every balloon we saw... Mimi and Pop Pop got him three, and he LOVES playing with them!!!
• He has an arsenal of words now: balloon, Mimi, Pop Pop, Big, Ba for bottle, bana for banana, hi, bye, ball, bang, Rock, puppy, , EEEEE and AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
• He also doesn't want to be rocked to sleep. He pushes me away, I lay him down (for nap or at night), and he lays there and, sometimes he plays awhile, and sometimes he just goes right to sleep!
• He's so smart, obviously, but he is so much fun to watch explore and discover things!

Sam and I are at Mama and Daddy's, so I don't have my recent pictures, but, I promise to post some soon!!!! He's gotten so big! He weighs 25 lbs, and he's tall now!!! He needs to be able to walk so I can quit carrying him everywhere!!!!!

It's been a week...

Quick update on the Laterveers...

• My dad's mom fell and broke her hip and her wrist up in Rome last Friday... Mama and Daddy had to go up there that night and were up for over 40 hours - not a good thing, so they were then sick!
• Mama, Sam and I went to Albany to see the other grandmother and take her to one of her doctor's appointments on Monday... we got back Wednesday, but it was so late that Sam and I just spent the night with them and came home Thursday night!
• Daddy had to pick up his plane in the midst of all of this - so Mama and I were able to pick him up at the airport on our way home from Albany (oh, yeah, and he was on his way home from Rome).
• BJ's brother is on Spring Break this coming up week, so he is here staying with us this weekend! He loves seeing Sam - they're so cute together!
• I wanted him to have a yummy home-cooked meal when he came home from college, so I cooked yesterday (huge feat with Sam pulling on my leg!!!)
• Friends are coming over for dinner tonight, so I'm cooking again... good, though, because Brandon will get another home-cooked meal, and he and BJ can take care of Sam while I cook!
• I haven't even been able to look at my email, MySpace or Face Book until today!!!!! I believe it's been over a week... yes, major withdrawals... rivaling those of caffeine withdrawals!!!!!

Busy week, but all fun things... except for the broken bones, of course! She's doing better... they should be moving her to rehab today or Monday, so that's a good sign!!!!!

I have some pictures, but not the time to upload... stay tuned!!!!