10 months

 

Sam turned 10 months old last week.  At the rate we're going, he is going to be one before I know it.  Blows my mind.  Although he isn't walking yet, he gets himself into mischief on a constant basis.  He is crawling, exploring, pulling himself up to things and walking around them, crawling up the stairs, and putting nearly everything he can find in his mouth. He is cutting an upper tooth but it's not the front one, more like his canine tooth, little vampire baby!  The pool is his favorite place to be these days.  There is no water fear at all.  Even when his face goes completely under, he smiles and keeps playing.  Sam has all the confidence in the world that he can swim.  It makes it a bit challenging to watch at the pool.  I'm always on high alert!  He sleeps like an angel and smiles constantly.  I couldn't be luckier to have such a mild mannered baby.  He is truly a dream.

Here is a prime example of him getting into trouble.  This is his preferred stance in the tub these days.  He doesn't like to lounge, he must be busy at all times.

He has the most adorable giggle.  He is extremely ticklish, especially his feet, under his chin, and his armpits.

I can't resist that squeal.

When Sam looks at you, he really looks into your eyes, your soul.  He loves to study every little detail of your face, your hair, or your jewelry.

He loves eating everything but his bottle.  He has completely lost interest in it.  It takes way too long to drink and he has things to do.  Occasionally he will let us hold him while he eats it but most of the time Max ends up feeding him in the car or he drinks it in his crib.  I think he would be happy to transition to sippy cups.  I'm not ready for that yet!  He needs to be a baby longer.

He is so pleasant to be around.  You can't help but smile in his presence.  I love this stage of exploration and expressiveness.  Everything is so exciting to a baby at this age.  Being his mother is an absolute joy.  Love you Sammy-boy!

Brothers, Owlz game, and Updates.

This summer has presented lots of brother time.  With Max and Hank out of school, Sam is in heaven having them around all day.  He always peers around the corner when he wakes up, looking for his bro's.  This picture of them in the tub could never be recreated if I tried 100 times.  Sheer perfection!

We took the boys to an Owlz game last weekend with the Jones Family.  It certainly won't be the last time we go.  It was so much fun.  We sat right behind the players and Hank even caught a foul ball.  I loved watching him nervously approach a player and ask for an autograph.

 We had a big blanket spread out on the grass and since we were on a pretty steep hillside, Sam found the challenge of crawling up quite entertaining. 

That face...too much!

After I took this picture, Max walked away and said, "those guys are weird".  I have to agree, especially the girl owl.  Not sure what the costume designer was thinking.

The following pictures are from the past 2 weeks.

Tucker and Sam got to spend some time with their darling great grandparents at Isabel's birthday party.

 Sam is into everything these days.  He loves to explore the house and just discovered the stairs.  He can climb all the way up to the bonus room.  Every little crumb, scrap of paper, wood chip, or piece of dirt he comes across goes straight to his mouth.  This kid needs to be watched constantly and his brothers help me out with that.

Max continues to be Hank's #1 fan.  Here he is cheering him on during his baseball game.  He has also been playing a lot of pokemon with the neighbor kids.  Today he insisted I talk to him in a pokemon voice.  Max is our comic relief for sure.

 

Hank is loving his rat tail, I am not a fan but for some reason Hank pulls it off.  Hank and his hair preferences drive me nuts.  However, given what he has to go through on a daily basis with his diabetes, I'll let him enjoy his rat tail...for now.

Here is a glimpse into my facial physical therapy.  These electrodes monitor nerve function.  I'm trying to retrain my brain so I can use my new misfiring nerve to it's fullest potential.  I'm seeing some progress but it is painfully slow.  I really like my physical therapist.  She encourages me to be positive and focus on the good things that are happening to my face but I get frustrated a lot.  I made a bold step and finally scheduled our family pictures.  This is my face and I am trying to embrace it.  Trying being the key word!

How was that for a random post?

Summer has begun

Summer is in full swing for our family.  We are loving life and enjoying every day we spend together. 

Exhibit A

When you have Randy as the head of our household, you have no choice but to have a good time, always!

Hank started baseball, machine pitch, and is doing awesome thanks to some guidance from Coach Griffin. This is much more legit than coach pitch was last year.  His games are so fun to watch.

He rotates through all the positions but here he is playing catcher.

Hank isn't the only one playing ball this summer.  Randy is playing softball and the boys love hanging out in the dugout.  Sam can't wait to be big enough to spit seeds with his brothers.

Until then, he gets to hang out with me...which he kinda likes!  

The kids were in dire need of some summer hair cuts.

Max Before

Max After

Max can most certainly pull off a buzz, it really shows off his handsome features.

Hank on the other hand had different ideas of what he wanted for his summer do.

Since I wouldn't let him dye his hair blue, we compromised with a mohawk with shaved sides.

I was skeptical but Hank looks pretty awesome.  Good thing he has such an angelic face.

Hank participated in Jr. Golf week at the Ranches and was rewarded with new golf clubs upon his completion.  He has the golf bug...bad!  The fact he's addicted to golfing makes me giddy.

Randy is pretty pumped as well to have a new golfing buddy.

 

 I am so impressed with just how much he learned about the game.  He even offered me some tips to hit my ball out of the sand.

Hank and I had a fun date at the golf course, it was a dream come true for me.

 

We've had plenty of cousin time as well.  Jack's birthday celebrations lasted all week, giving us the perfect excuse to play together every day.

 

Kangaroo Zoo didn't know what hit it.  Sarah had a fun water party set up in their back yard and my kids took full advantage of every toy.

 

Max

Hank can't resist a homemade slip n' slide.

Neither boy could resist thrashing Grandma with water guns!

 

 

Sam had his first experience at the pool this week and absolutely loved splashing around.  Max never strayed too far from his baby brother.  He really loves watching Sam experience new things.  Max is pumped that he can touch in the lazy river this year.

My darling mom is always around to help hold a baby, change a diaper, or take a lap around the pool with the kids.  I say this all the time but we are so fortunate to live so close to our families.  My kids have such amazing grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.

I love our Sunday BBQ's at Grandma Jeri's house.  She loves an arm full of babies.  My kids best friends really are their cousins.  Even though I don't have pictures of Colby and Dyson in this post, I assure you they've spend quality time playing ball together.   Hank and Max are happiest when their cousins are near.

 Isabel's birthday was yesterday and we had such a fun day with her.  She is such a hilarious, darling, sensitive, smart, and loving little girl.  I adore her in every way.

 

Her sweetness appears to be rubbing off on Hank and Max!

Sam and Tucker enjoyed their first car ride together.  Sam was quite pleased, Tucker not so sure!  The funniest part was Sarah leaning over the seat, holding in Tucker's binky, and feeding Sam a bottle.  These two have no choice but to be buddies!  

As you can see, summer is treating us right so far.  I don't want it to end!  I'm thinking we need another trip to the pool today.

9 months

Where did my little baby go?  All of the sudden, Sam went from being pretty much sedentary to rolling, scooting, crawling, pulling himself up to things, and standing in the past 2 weeks.  He is all over the place now, he has so much to explore.  I guess that means I have to really watch him more closely.  He's entered the phase of putting everything he finds in his mouth.  Nine months has raced by.  I have enjoyed every second of it.  He is so pleasant to be around and is without a doubt a mama's boy.  He got rave reviews at the doctor this week.  I couldn't be more grateful for his health. Here's the run-down at 9 months.

Height- 28 3/4 inches 67%

Weight- 20 lbs 1 oz 43%

He finally cut his first tooth last week.  The kid loves to eat so a few more teeth would really come in handy.  I can't believe the variety of foods he loves.  He is really loving red bell peppers and parmesan risotto at the moment! 

He is my only son that likes dogs.  My neighbor invited us over for dinner and he got along with her dogs quite nicely.  His hair had just been freshly licked in this picture.

He crawls with speed and excitement.  Hank and Max love to play with him now that he is interacting more.

We haven't made it to the pool yet but he loved playing in the water at Jack's birthday party.  I have an idea he is going to love swimming this summer.

 

He continues to be an amazing sleeper.  He never gets up during the night and is consistently taking a morning and afternoon nap every day.  He loves his crib and squeals with delight when we walk near it.

His newest trick is raising his hands in the air when you say "so big".

I'm sure walking is just around the corner.  He is already longing to play with the big boys.

 

Soon little Sammy-Boy, you will be dunking, flipping, wrestling, running, and raising hell just like your big brothers.  Until then, I will cherish every second of your vanishing babyhood.

Memorial Day with JRI

 

Our second annual JRI Insurance retreat took place over Memorial Day Weekend this year at the 5 star ranch.  Randy and James really went to great lengths to provide a fun weekend for their employees and their families.  Despite the crappy weather, we had a great time.  Nothing can stop this group from having fun.

There was plenty of 4 wheelin'.  Poor Sam was battling a nasty cold as well as cutting his first tooth. Only Sam could maintain a happy disposition through all that.  I didn't mind spending most of the time hanging out at the house, relaxing with Sam.  It was a great break from our everyday routine.

Randy and I managed to sneak out one afternoon for a fun 4-wheeler ride.  The sun came out just for our romantic jaunt.

 Back at the ranch, we found Max and Erica playing and having a blast together...perhaps we have another Bromley/Griffin romance going on here.

Jimmy and Hank look so grown up in this picture.  This was taken before their crazy dad's took them out on a canoe ride they would never forget.  Hank felt uncomfortable and opted to get off the boat just before it capsized, dumping Randy, James and Jimmy into the icy cold pond.  I'm glad we can laugh about the experience now but at the time it was really scary.  We are lucky no one was hurt.

Since canoeing was too dangerous we moved on to shooting guns...much safer.  Especially when you have a 7 year old firing an assault riffle.  Where was I during this?

Max and Asher...the peanut gallery.  At least the 4 year old kids didn't get in on the action.

We ate great food, jumped on the tramp, fed horses, had epic wacky 6 battles, dance party's, limbo contests and much more. 

Here is some of the crew. I wish I would've been a little better at taking pictures on this trip.  Honestly, I relaxed most of the time.  It felt amazing to sleep in, take naps, and lounge around.  Spending time with my little family is awesome.  I'm so excited for a summer filled with quality family vacations.  School's out, time to play!!!