Far Too Long...and Many Changes!

(The boys had a pirate birthday, complete with treasure hunt. It was great fun! ARRR)

It has been far too long since I have written anything on the happenings of the Davidson family. With the occasions of Samuel's 4th birthday, Brennan's 2nd, and a new additon to the family, I thought it was high time for me to update the blog. When I say "new addition," I must admit that "Satchemo" is not new to our family. Satchemo, or Juwan for that is his name.  You may wonder why I am calling him Satchemo and not "JOE." Well, he has the biggest, widest, opened mouth smile. Louis Armstrong, was called Satchemo because he had the biggest, open mouth grin, like a satchel. Anyway, a few days after he was born we brought him home from the hospital and he is now 6 months old. He is a beautiful boy with the most wonderful, bright eyes one could possibly imagine. He is very sweet natured and loves to interact with his two brothers.  Brennan and Samuel can easily make him laugh. Just recently he started sitting up on his own. He loves to play with his little toy piano, click his tongue, grab hold of his feet, and of course be held and snuggled. One funny thing he has been known to do is suck his lips; this is too cute. This little guy has stolen our hearts.

(Brennan's first hair cut)

(No I was not going to smack his head. I was feeling his new clean cut.)

Brennan, has changed and grown in so many ways; it is hard to believe he is 2 years old now. He no longer has all those beautiful blond curls. Those were cut off about a month ago because he just didn't like getting his hair washed or brushed. This is a lot easier on him and me :) However, he is just as cute! Brennan is usually at his big brother's side trying to imitate whatever Samuel may be doing. Yet, there are lots of things he enjoys that are all his own. He loves cars, trucks, trains, tractors, and tools. It is funny to watch him play because he often makes great sound effects along with the motions. Many times you can find him hammering, sweeping, lining his "cars" up like a train, or stacking blocks. Some of his favorite books are "Tom and Pippo," Benny Bakes a Cake, Old MacDonald has a Workshop, and Machines at Work. Don't let all the interest in cars and tools fool you though; he is very sweet and tender also. Sometimes, he will just go and talk to the baby or give him a toy, which is often not age appropriate. However, it's the thought that counts. My baby boy is also getting very independant. If I try and help him he often says, "ME!" He is wonderful and I love watching him grow into the little man God is molding him to be.

(First Soccer Game, what a cheese!)

Samuel is now a big 4 year old who loves to make friends. Anytime we go someplace he usually says, "Mom I'm going to make friends today." The amazing thing is that he always does. He is not shy at all, introducing himself to some child and asking them if they would like to be his friend. Countless times I have seen him hand in hand running and playing with a new friend. Along with being great at making new friends, he is also a wonderful big brother to Brennan and Satchemo. Many times he is including Brennan in one of his make believe games or sharing a new toy with him. They are always running around the house after dragons or some other creature. One thing that seems to be pretty constant with Samuel is his love of language. Whether it be books, poetry, silly sounding words, or words in other languages, he is very interested in them all. Lately, he has been loving to read Shel Silverstien's poetry. He has two of his poems memorized one is about too many kids in a tub and the other about a man's beard. We get a laugh most of the time when we are reading his poetry. One other new highlight in Samuel's life is that he has started soccer with the Y. Scott is his coach and it is great fun to see him out there running along side all these other little 4 year olds, chasing the soccer ball. Brennan loves to run out there also. He thinks he is part of the team and is always saying "team," when he hears us talking about soccer. Samuel's team is called Power and their favorite thing to do is huddle, put their hands in and on the count of three yell, POWER! Sometimes we have to do it 2 times :) If he comes away from this experience with new friends, fun, and being active then that is fine with me.

(GO POWER! the little guy in the green wasn't on our team, but hey this is too much fun to miss out on.)

Well, hope the brief update and pictures are a welcome relief from the "nothing new" that has been on here for far too long.

Things I don't want to forget!

O.K. so I have been keeping track of funny things said, done, or just some moments that I do not want to forget. Scott and I have been looking back on when Samuel was a baby and we both realized that our memories are not as good as we thought they would be. Of course there are things we remember, but there are more moments and funny quirks that we have forgotten. Therefore, I am trying to write things down so we can look back and our memories will be jogged and we can enjoy once again those wonderful moments of our children's childhoods.

Samuel:
One day Samuel came running out of the bathroom yelling, "Mama, I had a saxophone poop." Sure enough (yes I had to go see it of course) his poop did resemble a saxophone!

While eating dinner at our friends the Campbells, Samuel at one point said he had to stop eating (it escapes me what he was eating) because it was going to make him toot. Then he said, "You know toot means you have gas."

Reading a book of children's poems there was a poem about telling a secret to and egret and the egret then shared it with all the other birds one of them being a Cockatoo. Well Samuel just cracked up when I read the part about a Cockatoo. I couldn't figure it out until he said, "Ha ha that said 'caca'too." He was laughing because caca in Romanian means poop! So it was a poopatoo! Now we laugh when Brennan poops or Samuel farts and we call them cockatoos. I don't know why bodily functions are so funny for kids and as one friend commented even for grown men.

Samuel really likes the Jabberwocky poem from Alice and Wonderland. He will often repeat lines from it while playing. Such as, "Callooh, Callay," "My beamish boy," or he will talk about his "vorpal sword." Here is a link to a video he just loves.

We had to have Samuel's carpet cleaned (long story) and the smell from the cleaning solutions was pretty strong; so I put Samuel to nap in our bed. I went to wake him up and when I opened the door he popped open his eyes. He helled out his hands palms up and hands open while saying, "Do you see this? Do you see this?" Well, naturally I went up to him and asked,"What what is it?" He didn't have anything in his hands and you could tell he was in between sleep and waking. Then he took his hands like he was pulling something stringy from one hand to the next. He said, "Do you see this? It's flubbery."

Samuel calls his farts, rocket blasters!

Samuel loves words. He will ask what a word means or a certain saying. Sometimes I just say words because I think he will like the way they sound. One day I told him the word "pumpernickel." He just cracked up laughing. Then at playgroup a couple days later we had been playing and it was time to leave. Samuel turns to Stephanie all excited and said, "Stephanie, I forgot to tell you something." Then he shouts, "Pumpernickel!" With thunderous laughter following.

"Mom, I am going to do you a flavor." says Samuel. "Do you mean a favor?" I say. "No, a flavor."

Samuel often has a great imagination. We will have make believe visitors with us through out the whole day. He will constantly give me updates on what they are doing or not doing, what they want to eat, if they are going with us in the car and what not. One day it was Delila and Chobacca the nice monsters. The next it's Aladdin and Tarzan.

During our quiet time before bed Samuel and I were talking and he was remembering some things that had happened during the day. He was talking about how Great Grandpa Bill had read him some books down at the farm. I said how nice that was that Grandpa Bill read books to him and how we love him. Samuel says,"Yea, but Grandpa Bill is old and rusty."

Down at the farm we are getting ready to head home and Samuel says, "Dang it!" Now I try to remind him not to say this, even though I know I slip up and say it and he learned it from me. So, I say my little part about how he shouldn't say this; that it doesn't sound nice. He then says, "It was just a figure of speech."

Brennan:

These are some things Brennan has been doing for a couple of months now or just recently.

He loves to put the phone to his ear and say, "Hi."

He ways at every person he sees practically. And he has recently been saying, "Hi" as he waves.

Brennan would be outside all the time if we could let him and when he is out in our yard he is chasing the chickens and tapping them with a stick. (Ooops, I think he saw his mama do this :) He also was chasing butterflies. This game of chase with the butterfly would go on as long as he could keep track of it!

When Brennan sees or hears a dog he will pant like a dog. This is the sign we taught him for dog or "caine."

My baby is a dancing machine. He loves music and will get his feet going really fast. It reminds me of flash dance! Tonight, Samuel, Brennan, and I were dancing to some Paul Simon "Graceland." Brennan had his arms going up in the air.

I have been trying to teach Samuel some of his letters and we have the letter A and S on the kitchen wall. Anyway, one day Brennan was saying "a." I thought hmm...I'll just see if he knows what he is doing. I said, "Brennan were is the "a?" He went to the wall and looked up at the "a." He also now says the "sss" sound for 'S.'

Sometimes if I"m folding laundry in his room while he is playing, he will get his glow worm and press the button for it to sing. Then he will come to my lap holding his glow worm like a baby and sits in my lap to be rocked. He is so sweet!

A Little of This and That

The Beauty of Fall!

Fall...the wonderful moments it brings to us every year! Whether it was drinking hot chocolate at the pumpkin patch, going through the hay stack maze and getting all muddy, playing in leaves, climbing trees, riding bikes, or trick or treating, we enjoyed all the beauty that Autumn offered us once again.

Samuel's 1st Hair Cut

A couple of days before Samuel's 3rd birthday party we decided to get his hair cut for the first time. Oh my, I didn't realize how sentimental this would make Scott and I. Mema came to watch the big event also; it was a big deal to see those curls go! Samuel was such a big boy. While we were there it started to pour down rain, thunder, and lightening. The lights even went out a couple of times, but Samuel (who is usually scared of storms) did not even cry. He simply sat in the chair and let the hairdresser cut is golden locks! Our "Sampson" didn't loose his strength. He looked so grown up...but oh how I miss those golden curls!

Our August Birthday Boys!

We had Samuel and Brennan's birthday parties together this year. Since their birthdays are so close we figured while they are little we will celebrate on the same day. I think as they get older though we will celebrate them on different days. Many friends and family came to celebrate the lives of our boys and we couldn't have asked for better weather. In August we were outside and it wasn't hot or humid. Brennan enjoyed his first tastes of cake as you can see from the above picture. He had no trouble finishing the whole cupcake all by himself! Samuel requested a crocodile cake (it's actually cupcakes put together) and we all got a kick out of how cute it turned out; his Tati is very good at cake decorating (shhhh don't tell him I told). There was also a pink pig pinata, which Samuel helped us make. He loved getting his hands all goopy with the paste and newspaper. Scott and I were worried that it was going to be to thin to hold all the candy, but we must have gone a little over board. The pig was as hard as a rock; it took Scott to break it open! It was a wonderful day...I can't believe how grown my boys are getting.

On Being Samuel; On Being Brennan

Time has flown by since the last time I was able to blog and my children have changed in so many ways. I really have no idea where to start and where to end so I am going attempt to summarize "who" my two boys are right now. Of course this is how I see them and isn't all encompassing of the very nature of who they are, but maybe someday I will look back at this entry and be able to have a glimpse back into the past, into their childhood.

On being Samuel: This little man is very observant to what is going on around him. We will be sitting at the kitchen table in the morning, the sounds of National Public Radio in the background, Brennan making his hmmmyummhummmmm sounds as he eats, and Samuel commenting every once in a while about something he just heard on the radio. You can sit and watch him listening. He does this when we listen to music also. Yes he likes the music and loves to dance and act goofy, but he is also listening to the words. This has made for some wonderful and interesting conversations.

Samuel from a very young age has loved to read. We go to the library once a week and get a huge bag full of books. These books are read and re-read for a whole week and long before the week is up, he is ready for some new books. His latest obsessions have been about outer space, astronauts, rockets, dinosaurs, dragons and knights in shining armor. The swing set has become a space ship with which we travel to the moon and bounce around in our space suits because of zero gravity. The cushions or mama, or tati have become the fire breathing dragon and Samuel is the knight in shining armor that defeats us with his sword. The blow up ball pit that he got from his Aunt Nikki and Uncle Dave for his birthday becomes the satellite that is going through a meteor shower. He has a great imagination and loves to play, but he really loves to have his mama or tati to play with him, especially since his sister Lola has gone back home to live with her mom. He really misses her. He was also worried that he was going to have to leave also. We would be out in public and I would walk a little ways away and he would yell, "Mama don't leave me!" We are blessed though because we have been able to have Lola spend the night already since she went home and she is hopefully going to be coming for a visit again soon.

"Mama where not saving the earth!" This is one of Samuel's frequent sayings as of late. Scott and I have been trying to teach him about things that are healthy for the environment and those that are not. As a result, he sometimes is more conscientious about saving the earth than we are. Our latest goal, while the weather is still nice, is to ride our bikes as often as we can instead of taking the car. We will ride to the grocery store or to central park and the post office. Yet, when we are in the car Samuel will remind us that we are not saving the earth. Scott has tried to explain to him that sometimes people have to drive. Also, in the kitchen in the morning he will remind me not to turn the light on because we don't need it and then we will be saving the earth. I find that throughout the day, even when Samuel is not there with me, there is a small voice in my head every time I am about to turn a light on or do something else, saying, "We are not saving the earth!"

Now being 3 years old, Samuel loves to talk and talk and talk. He will talk to anyone who will listen. However, he also notices if someone is NOT listening. Anytime we are in a public place with children playing he attempts to make friends with them. I feel so sorry for him when they are older kids who just ignore him. One time we were playing at a park and he was so upset when two boys told him he couldn't do something because he wasn't big enough. He ran and told Scott and Scott says yes you are big. Samuel takes off running and yelling at the boys saying, "I am big, I am big." It was sweet, but sad also. Along with loving to talk comes learning new words and phrases and sayings. He gets a big laugh out of different sayings and we get big laughs out of his language mistakes. The other day, we were outside playing when Samuel said, "here's a weasel!" as he was trying to pull up a weed! You can also imagine being a child he says some things that are pretty hilarious. I'm sure he is going to kill me for sharing this one day, but a few months back he was sitting on the potty and yelled out somewhat distressed. I asked him what was the matter and he said, "There's something wrong with my penis. It's cracking." TEE HEE!

Samuel is also a wonderful big brother. As Samuel gets older and so does Brennan, I can see their brother bond growing everyday. He is definitely the big brother, the protector. Anytime, Brennan is walking away from us when we are outside or somewhere other than home, Samuel is quick to run after him and grab him saying no no Brenny. That is what Samuel calls Brennan, Brenny. In our yard we have a pear tree and this summer there where lots of Yellow Hornets eating the pears. While we were playing outside, Brennan started going over to where there were lots of hornets and before Scott or I could even get to him Samuel was there stopping him and calling out to us. Along with being a protector though, Samuel loves to wrestle and thinks that Brennan should be able to wrestle now also. We have to remind him that he is still little and not yet ready for wrestling. All in all he is a wonderful big brother, loving and attentive.

On being Brennan: I'll start with the facts. Brennan now has 6 teeth, his hair is getting pretty curly, in the back especially, he took his first steps at 9 months old, he started really walking at 10 months old, and he loves to eat. He also just started waving bye, bye and "talking" on the phone is another new favorite.

Brennan is very independent. He will play and walk or should I say run around the house and be very content for a long time. Things he enjoys doing include: sweeping, playing with bowls and plastic containers in the cabinet, getting into the kitchen drawer (which is baby proofed by the way) and pulling out measuring cups and spoons, running from room to room starting in Samuel's room and going through the house to our room and then back again, he loves anything that his big brother Samuel is doing (as one can imagine this causes trouble from time to time), he enjoys putting plastic shapes in the corresponding holes, he likes to throw his food off his tray when he is done, screaming is one of his new found tricks (yikes, the ears), when I'm folding laundry he likes to try and unfold what I've already folded (it's a game we play and he loves it) and he enjoys trying to get into the bathroom every chance he gets in order to pull my hairdryer out and play with it.

At the beginning I wrote that Brennan is independent, which can be very beneficial; however, it does come with some negative aspects. Brennan's Independence can also rear an ugly head in the form of stubbornness. If you scold him, take something away, take him inside before HE is ready to go in, or heaven forbid you do not get him out of his highchair when he is ready, well he sure can throw a "fit" for a one year old. He will rear back if you are holding him or he will throw himself on the floor and scream. He also does not like getting his diaper changed. I think we have another exhibitionist on our hands because he also likes to take off his diaper. He has discovered that the cloth diapers are pretty easy to take off since they have Velcro sides. Yet, with all this said he is a wonderful little boy.

There are times when he will come and grab onto my leg and hug me, or if I'm on the floor folding laundry he will come up on my lap for a minute and then go. The love he has for his big brother is very evident. Blowing on his belly or grabbing onto him and holding on are just a few ways he shows his big brother some love. Also, when I hold him he will put his hand down the collar of my shirt for comfort. Sorry Brenny baby, I'm sure that might embarrass you someday. I can't imagine our family without Brennan in it...it's amazing to think it's only been a year.

My boys. Ahh so sweet are these words in my mouth. It is hard to believe that one day they will be grown men with wives and children of their own. I pray that they will forever be "my boys," no matter how grown up they become.

Too Big for His Breeches!

Brennan was supposed to be taking a nap but this is what I found when I peeked in the room!

Brennan is getting way too big for his breeches literally and figuratively. First, he only has a couple of outfits that fit him right now. I thought we were set having another baby boy only five days from Samuel's birthday; all the same sizes for all the right seasons. WRONG! Brennan is much longer than Samuel was at this stage. Three outfits I had for him were already getting worn in the toes from when Samuel wore them because they were second hand, but Brennan's big toes poked through them and well that leaves him with only a few things to wear. I am constantly doing laundry to keep from running out of things for him to wear. Soon warmer weather will arrive and that means short outfits; he will fit into those because he doesn't have to worry about being too long for them. Secondly, he has been pulling up on things and standing now for a couple of weeks...this stage makes me a nervous wreck. Gone are the days of laying quietly on his back or even being content with just crawling around. Oh no, he has to pull up on hard kitchen chairs, the excersaucer (which is not very stable), the little wooden rocking chair (also not stable, rocky), or hey how about the wall or dresser. He can't pull up on soft things like the couch or something. Last night, he woke up crying, which is normal he usually gets back to sleep fairly quickly, but he had the hiccups. It sounded like he was really awake. Then it got quiet and I was already drifting back to sleep when Scott and I hear this crash and then screaming crying. I run into Brennan's room and I can tell he has just fallen backwards from standing up in his crib and hit his head. Oh it was horrible and then once he was calmed down I realize he has leaked out of his diaper and was poopy...lovely at 1:30 in the morning. He is just getting too big and doing so many new things way to fast. I don't know why I'm surprised because in 2 weeks he will be 8 months old, but it still seems too soon to me :)

Brennan pulling up on the very unstable rocking chair!

Brennan crawling under his excersaucer.

Brennan playing in the grass outside.

Brennan snuggling on the front porch with his Tati.

I had to be very vigilant to keep sticks, grass, and other things out of his mouth.

He was so mad; he really wanted the camera.

Loving the swing!

Pulling up on the bookcase...looking for a good read!

Video clips:Brennan crawling and bouncing. Samuel kissing :)

Tonight while we were eating cookies Samuel stuck out his lips for a kiss and then just held it there...he wouldn't pull away. He did this like three times and I had Scott film some of it...he is too funny.

Brennan loves to bounce; if you hold him standing on your lap he will automatically start jumping. Here he is in his excersaucer. He jumps so hard that he will move his excersaucer across the kitchen floor. Bouncing Baby Brennan or as Samuel loves for me to say, "Jumping Jelly Bean."

Here is Brennan with his new army crawl...he sure can get around! Samuel also had to show us that HE knows how to crawl also...geeze Brennan's getting all the attention. Watch at the end because Brennan really goes for the broom.

OUCH!

To start off this blog I must of course talk about the extremely horrible bruise bump on Samuel's forehead because if I didn't you would all be scanning down the blog skipping all the other info, in order to find out what happened. Anyone that knows Samuel knows that he loves to jump on these foam cushions he got from his Grandpa Chuck. It is one of his favorite activities. Well, Brennan and I are watching Samuel in the living room jump on his cushions having fun and doing the same thing that he has done a thousand times before. When all of a sudden Samuel takes a leaping jump in the air coming down with full force and then his forehead smacks directly on the wooden corner of our ottoman! Yes the cushioned top ottoman...the one I didn't worry about because it's not a coffee table it has a padded cushion top. How in the world did my son manage to hit his forehead directly on the wooden corner covered by the cushion? On my watch!?! Well he did! Instantly there was a dent in the middle of his forehead and a bluish green bruise appearing. Needless to say I was freaked out and made Scott call the doctor. They said as long as he didn't pass out he was o.k. It looks better today, not so swollen, but it is a brownish yucky yellow bruise now. He is still going strong and still jumping on the cushions, just far far away from the ottoman!

Some more news that many of you already know is that our foster daughter Lola left to return home to her mother. I have postponed writing about this for many reasons but the main 0ne is that words are hard to come by and seem somewhat cheap when writing about someone dear whom you have lost in one way or another. I know that we have not lost her and that we can talk to her on the phone and see her from time to time, which is a major blessing. However, it will never be the same. She is no longer "ours" but in reality she never was. It is good that she is back home with her mommy and that is where all children deserve to be. Yet, things have changed; Samuel no longer has his "best friend" to sleep next to at night, to fight with, to play with, to read with, to laugh and make up silly games with...Lola no longer has her brothers to love on...but God is good and I know He has a plan for her life. She actually came for a short visit last week and when her and Samuel were in the bedroom I peeked and saw them hugging. Lola saying, " I missed you so very much!" So, as I wrote earlier words are cheap and can't give a full account of our hearts having let go of a beautiful little part of what our life contained for a year and a half.

On a Brennan update he is 6 months old and on his 6 month birthday we could see one bottom tooth starting to poke through. Now, it is poked through enough to feel it with your finger. At his doctor visit he weighed in at 21lbs 5 oz...he is a chunkster. He has just recently gotten over having RSV and has been a trooper. Unfortunately, he has some upper respiratory stuff that started two days ago...so I hope it doesn't get worse. He started inch worming at 5 months old, but now he is doing the army crawl and he is rocking back and forth on his hands and knees. I am amazed that he is already crawling and he gets around fast...we really have to watch him now. The days of leaving him on his back and walking away are no more! He is such a good baby...I am amazed at how fast the time has gone, I get a little sad thinking that he is halfway to 1 year old.