grandma T and more-now with words

Sam unloaded all the books from one of the shelves of our bookshelf.

I had Sam try on his Halloween costume a day or two in advance just to get him excited since he didn't really know what was coming. He got a huge grin on his face and stuck his tongue out as far as he could. That's what he does when he's excited.

Periodically Sam entertains himself by pulling out all the tupperware and "cooking" it.
Sam was so excited for Grandma T to come. She arrived Wednesday evening. We went to the zoo on Thursday. I'm no good at taking pictures when I'm carrying Thomas. Unfortunately we don't have any pictures at the zoo.

On Friday it was rainy so we went to an awesome kids play place. It was so fun. They had lots of different rooms or stations with different themes. I didn't even see them all, but the ones I saw were an astronaut room, a water room, a grocery store with little shopping carts and cash registers, and a make-up room? I'm not really sure if that's what it was, but the first couple of pictures are from that room. They had water soluble crayons. Teresa and I decided it would be a great present for Sam when he's about 4 years old. (Although last week when I emerged from Thomas's room after putting him to sleep I discovered why Sam had been so quiet. His bedroom wall is now accented with green crayon.)

Sam was excited about the crayons because he always wants to color on his face with my make-up and I don't let him. These crayons were a dream come true.
Thank goodness Thomas fell asleep despite the noise. It was a really busy day because it was one of the first rainy days.
Below is the astronaut station. What kid doesn't want to drive a rocket ship?
Mission control I guess-loaded with lots of buttons that light up and switches to flip.
Sam was thrilled to get a backpack made by Grandma T.

Pumpkin Time

We went to a pumpkin patch yesterday with a bunch of people from the ward. Here are a few pictures.

This haystack tunnel was Sam's favorite part. It was more extensive than I thought it would be. (I went through with him the first time.)
Sam and Isaac checking out the cardboard pumpkins.

And the rest are just some random pictures.

Sam and Thomas. Awwwe!

We tried to feed Thomas some rice cereal. I don't think he's quite got the hang of it. He still pushes the spoon around with his tongue. I think that reflex is supposed to go away around 4 months which he isn't yet according to his adjusted age. He is actually 5 months old this week though (from his birth date).

Sam found a hands-free way to keep Thomas happy! What a great helper he is! Thomas will suck on just about anything.

I just happened to see this on the internet and wanted to post it because this is so me. Sometimes I spend so long deciding if I have time to exercise or what I want to do to exercise that I run out of time to exercise.

Lots o' pics

Sam is so cute with Thomas sometimes. Below is Sam joining Thomas for a little "tummy time". A few days ago Sam had a rough morning and had to go to time-out for excessive whining. On the way home from the park later that day Thomas was getting kind of fussy. Sam gently told Thomas, "No whining Thomas, time-out."

Thomas is such a smiler! He'll smile at just about anyone who looks at him. He'll smile at his dad even if he's not looking at him. He's a pretty easy-going baby as far as babies go. He's not much for napping longer than 40 minutes at a time, but we have had a couple of long afternoon naps so it's getting there. The last two nights he has just woken up once instead of twice...but I'm probably jinxing myself.

He likes to watch his older brother be crazy, play with little toys dangling in front of him, put them in his mouth, and be held by his mama.

The doctors tell us he should catch up developmentally by about age 2, so until then we have to think in terms of his adjusted age from his due date, not his birthday. He sure is a cutie though.
Thomas and Sam in their blue zebra pajamas in the double stroller-we love it! It's been on many walks and a few jogs.
We got a pass to the Oakland zoo! They have a little petting zoo area in it. In the first picture with Sam is Landon with matching blonde hair.
And in this one is Jack...we'll have to get some better pictures of these boys.
Sam really likes to ride the pig.
Before school even started our very first outing was Tilden Park. (Thank-you Aunt Claire!) We got to do the steam train, but didn't make it to the carousel. Another day for that one. Sam was a little uncertain while we were on the train, but then he talked about it the rest of the day.

The Move

Well-we did it. We moved. It was exhausting! A HUGE thank you to Dave's parents for their help getting here and getting unpacked. I'm hoping the next time we move a company will be paying for movers to move us. Our ward is very friendly, and unique. We love the family housing. Our place is small, but I am really happy with where we ended up. There are several LDS families living in the family housing too which is always nice.

It's also fun because we are surrounded by Asians! The vast majority of people living in family housing are Chinese so we hear Chinese a lot. It's so fun to try to understand what they're saying. (I have a vocabulary of probably 100 words.) It makes me want to keep working at it. I'm afraid to say the wee bit I know in Chinese to anyone because then they might think I know a lot and start talking and I'll have no idea what they are saying.

Dave started classes on Thursday. So far getting a PhD is a breeze! I'm sure it will change.

Sam and Thomas have adjusted well. Sam still has been waking up too early, but Dave is wonderful and get's in Sam's bed while Sam plays in his (Sam's) room so that I can sleep in. I love my husband. And now for some pictures.

Thomas rolled over for the first time about 3 weeks ago I think. He's done it probably 5 or 10 times since then, but I don't think he really knows that he can do it. He just happens to do it sometimes. When he gets going he just rolls over the instant I put him on his tummy...again and again and again. Other times he gets stuck. He's no anorexic baby like Sam, as you can tell.

Oh and one more minor thing. Dave graduated! Congratulations graduate! (Cum Laude, no less.) We even got our picture taken with the President. When we told him where we were going for school he said, "Well...remember who you are and what you stand for." He was relieved Dave is doing engineering because "those people are reasonable."

Being a baby is kind of like being a cat. All you do is sleep, eat, and lay around.

And Sam enjoying some of our "California Survival Kit" from the Walters.

fishing and getting ready

Sam had his very first fishing trip with Grandpa Edwards. He has his very own pair of polarized-lense sunglasses for this and many fishing trips to come.

Thomas is getting stronger, and still looking like and old man. He's about 2 months old in this picture. Last Sunday was 1 month from his due date.
His hair kind of looks red in this picture below, but it's not. It must just be the lighting.
The result of letting Sam sleep un-contained. It doesn't happen as much now that the novelty has worn off.

Well last week we watched our next door neighbors, the Andersons, drive their U-Haul off to California. It made our upcoming move seem a little more real. The next day Sam told me, "Scout move." (Then a pause for dramatic effect.) "Sad." (Scout is the Anderson's two-year old daughter.)

I'm getting really sad about starting all over and leaving friends and family. I have had great neighbors and friends here! For the first time in my life I actually think I may have a preference for returning to Utah. Before I just felt neutral about it. Anyway, we'll see where life takes us. So far we have sold our futon (we're getting free couches from Dave's mom-hooray!), our washer and dryer, and we have a buyer for my car.

Brothers!

I'm sorry to those of you who only know what is going on by looking at my blog because I am behind. (But I have a good excuse, right?) Thomas was in the NICU for 11 days, coming home on Memorial day. I think Sam is getting used to the idea of having to share my attention.

This picture is my favorite of Sam and Thomas. Sam even picked out Thomas's outfit.

One day Sam got out some books and started "reading" to Thomas. He even let Thomas have his own book to look at.

Is this indecent? Sam wanted to try on a newborn diaper. I bet Sam is one of the few 2 year olds who could actually get it on. On that note, Sam is at the 5th % for weight now. He's improving. He's started eating better since we have been doing one bottle a day. Some days he forgets and doesn't even ask. It's been a lot easier than I thought it would be considering how much he has loved the bottle.

He also did really well at the doctor for his last visit. Ever since he had his soar throat swabbed he has been terrified of the doctor. But this last visit went really well. The worst part for him was getting weighed and measured for some reason. He didn't cry with the doctor at all and quickly got over it when they gave him shots. I think he thinks the bandaids are the actual "owies" because he pointed to the bandaid and said "off". Once I took it off he moved on.

Dave's mom and Thomas.

Thomas...coming home maybe? I've forgotten already.

A funny video of Sam (with bad lighting).

A Little Cutie

Here are a couple of pictures of Thomas. He's still in the hospital, but he's doing really well for how early he came. If things continue to go as well as they have he may get to come home by next week...maybe this weekend even, but I'm trying not to hope too much for that. Oh, and he was 5 lbs 13 oz when he was born.

Sam hasn't seen him yet because little kids can't go in the NICU, but we think he sort gets it. I am so grateful for all the nurses and doctors who have cared for him.