Oh, the summer night Has a smile of light And she sits on a sapphire throne. ~Barry Cornwall

Sami has discovered she absolutely loves swinging. I started taking her out a bit a few weeks ago, but lately it's Jesse who wants her to go out so he can push her. She loves it! Of course, I think he probably pushes a bit too hard, but she doesn't seem to mind at all. In fact, I think that the harder he pushes the harder she laughs.

Just some chit-chat...

The big kids have headed off to school. Tay to 7th grade, PJ to 3rd and my baby, Jesse to Kinder. All is going well.

Tay is doing well, seeming to enjoy herself. But, she is like her Dad that way. You can never quite tell because they are so easy going that they just go with the flow. She is at a new school and it is beautiful! Looks like you are on a college campus! Really nice! She is in Honors math and Language Arts again, and her elective this semester is Photojournalism. She has very nice teachers - although, of course, she had opinions about some of them. haha Her new school is a "Backpack Free" school. I'm not really sure why this is, but it is a little hard for her to get used to. She has to carry a really big binder that zips all the way around. So, being as there are no backpacks, there are no books to carry home. Which means that all her books are online. Fortunately, when Gramma and Tata heard about this they decided that Taylor deserved a brand new laptop! And, it's purple, too! Such a generous gift - but there is nobody in the world that deserves it more. Taylor is just amazing in all that she does!

PJ has a tough teacher this year. This is the same teacher that Tay had for 3rd grade. And, Tay spent 2 weeks crying and refusing to go to school. So, that tells you how bad it was! Once I figured out the problem, though, and talked to the teacher I realized that she was the nicest person in the entire world. She just has very high expectations. But, we have high expectations for the kids, too. So, when I saw her name as PJ's teacher I was thrilled. A little nervous, but really happy. And, it seems to be working out really well. He loves her structure and the rules. He was happy as can be to have to write up his behavior contract and have me sign it.

Mr. Jesse is loving Kindergarten. However, he has been sick and missed all this week so far. I was hoping he'd be going in today, but when I woke him up he said he thought he shouldn't go. hmmm.... We'll see. We were at the Dr. on Tuesday and he has Croup. Which, I thought only babies got, but I guess not. Anyway, he enjoyed Kinder while he was there. haha He was Star Student the first full week of class and he really liked that. He got to be line leader and do lots of special things in the classroom. However, he also had to have something to bring in to the class everyday. Which, made me the Star Mommy, I guess. And, it was a lot of work being Star Mommy!

Miss Samantha is all of a sudden doing everything! She is sitting up, and when I'm not looking she'll somehow dive to her belly and to the side. I haven't figured out how she's doing this yet, but I'm anxious to see her in action. She is eating very well, too. She loves most anything, but these days her favorites are applesauce, sweet potatoes and baby Goldfish. This week she also started doing a lot of talking. She is saying Dada, TayTay, and PJ swears he hear her say "phooey". I'm not so sure about that one, but whatever. She also has discovered her love of shoes. Mostly her Dad's shoes. I think that this is because he's the only (weird) person who wears shoes in the house. haha He'll be holding her and all of a sudden she's bent in half looking down at his feet. It's really funny!

8 months old already!

sam 8 months
Originally uploaded by MrsSuperSpy

Such a big girl!

All of a sudden my tiny baby is doing things that a giant baby should do! She has *almost* mastered picking things up and getting them into her mouth. As long as she is not mobile I guess I won't have to worry quite so much, but yesterday as she was sitting on her quilt with some toys I looked over and she was raising her hand to her mouth like she was eating something. Of course, I thought she had found something and ran over to check it out. Turns out her quilt has these little "ties" on it and she thought she was picking them up and putting them in her mouth. It was so funny to watch!

4th of July

I know, I fell of the blogging bandwagon again, but I'm trying...

Fourth of July this year we all headed to a park in Chandler. There were tons of people! They had bouncies and games for the kids, but the lines were sooo long that we only ended up doing one. The boys were just happy to be with their cousins! We all pitched in a packed a picnic dinner and waited for the fireworks while the boys ran around in the grass and on the nearby playground. Miss Samantha was an angel as usual. She loved being with everyone and seeing what was going on. When it came time for fireworks she settled back onto my chest, watched a few and then decided to take a snooze. Pete and I just sat back and laughed at how lucky we are to have her!

Sitting pretty...

sami in the grass
Originally uploaded by MrsSuperSpy

Miss Samantha is sitting! Thanks to her daily "sitting lessons" from her sister and her bff, Sam is able to sit for quite a good amount of time before toppling over. We took her out tonight to snap a few pics of her new skill. Jesse went with me to be the "catcher" so I could take the pictures. Well, right after this last picture Sam proceeded to do a face plant into the grass. I asked Jesse what happened, and told him that he was supposed to catch her. He replied with "Well, I'm not a football player, you know!"

Sippy cup adventures...

Sippy cup adventures...
Originally uploaded by MrsSuperSpy

After Sam's 6 month appt. Dr. G. gave the go ahead for her to have some water from a sippy cup. When Jesse heard that he was sooo excited! If you look closely you'll see it's his little hand helping her with her first drink.

7 months already...

I know, I say this every month, but I just can't believe that my baby is 7 months old already! She has accomplished so much in her short 7 months, too! Unfortunately, I haven't posted in awhile, but we've been having a very rough month. However, I can see the light and I believe that sunshine is in our future!

Miss Samantha is just a riot! She is perhaps THE best baby in the entire world. She has done soooo many things in the last few months. She is drinking from a sippy, eating solid food, *almost* sitting up, and laughing at everything. Definitely the happiest baby ever! She just loves life - and everyone in her life so much!

At the beginning of June we drove to Disney for Jesse's 5th Birthday Celebration. His bday was in March, but I was nervous to take such a tiny baby. So, once school got out we were on our way. This was the first time in the last 12 years that Pete and I have slept in the same bad while on vacation! We have always had a child who wouldn't sleep without one of us. However, now that we have so many kids, we can just through them together. haha (Jesse was a little nervous, so he bunked with Tay the first night and then PJ the last 3.) We brought along Sam's Pack N Play, her fishy crib toy and her Miracle Blanket and she was all set. The first night I wrapped her up, turned on the fish and told her good night - and she went to sleep! I think I heard angels singing! It was truly miraculous. She was great the entire trip, though. Just rode along in her stroller taking in the sights. When she was hungry she ate, when she was tired she slept. Such a good girl! And, she even got to go on quite a few rides! Luckliy I had also brought the Bjorn, because about 6-7 each night Jesse kicked her out of her stroller so he could ride. Oh, and after Tay discovered the Bjorn she started carrying Sam around in it! They both loved it.

Since coming home from Disney Sam has started on solid food and drinking water out of her sippy cup. She is a pro at eating - loves most everything and will eat a whole container in one sitting. Which, for a 12 pound peanut who barely drinks 4 ounces is a lot! She loves sweet potatoes and squash. Fruit is okay, too. She does not like peas at all, though! I'm hoping maybe she'll take to whole peas once she is able to pick them up herself.

This summer we have been trying to get out to do some things that the big kids enjoy. Swimming is a big hit with them, and Sam goes right on along with it. She has also been to the movies, the mall, you name it. And, she takes it all in stride. We are sooo lucky!

"A hundred hearts would be too few, To carry all my love for you."

"A hundred hearts would be too few, To carry all my love for you."
Originally uploaded by MrsSuperSpy

P.J. says...

I'm thinking that I will record all of the hilarious conversations I have with the kids. Here are a few that will start P.J.'s page...


As he is poking a fish with a long reed he pulled from beside the pond...
PJ- shhh, I'm about to catch this fish
Tay- Um, PJ, that fish is dead

As we are reading the menu's at a local Italian restaurant...
PJ- (sobbing) I'm not eating, they don't have bean burritos enchilada style

PJ- I think I need to go to the eye Dr.
Me- We'll go when we get back from Disney
PJ- But, what if I go blind before then?
Me- You won't
PJ- If I do you'll have to train Rocky to help me. Or...get me a monkey.

Oh, and he wrote me a book, here's a teaser... "Noooooooooo! My son is a saguaro!" said Mom. hahaha And, it's illustrated!