Boys playing ball and the field manager

I stole that title from my father-in-law. He got a new tee for Sam to play with, so Stuart, Clarence and Sam went outside Sunday night and enjoyed the nice weather. We took Kate out there to crawl around too, and you'll see her in her pretty little dress without the matching hat that she refuses to wear. (Thanks Sarah M!)

Kate's First Haircut

Our niece Nickie came over and tested out her new beauty-school skills on the family on Saturday. She cut Mary, Clarence, Sam, and Stu's hair, and I decided she could help me by trimming Kate's bangs. Kate has all this hair on one side, and it hangs in her face, but little on the other side. So we don't want to cut much, so that it can grow or whatever it is girl hair is supposed to do. Here're the pics though:

Recent Pictures

As you may notice, no picture postings of late. So I'm including a few from the last week or so to show you what we're up to...

Here's one of Mamaw and Kate... Mom stayed with us for about 10 days while caring for Nanny during her recent hospitalization. We tried to squeeze in a few good times. Notice the big wave from our girl Kate.

We took the kids out in their wading pool on Tuesday afternoon. They were so sleepy and strung out all day that we weren't out for long, but we got a couple of cute pictures...

I took this one as a reminder that I still have a sweet little boy and I need to cherish him while I can. He's growing so big so fast now. I noticed today that his foot is now longer than my hand!

And our other sleeper...

Last T-ball practice... er... game

Sam had his last t-ball practice today, which technically was a game. They played two innings-- everyone bats and no one gets out. It's a great way to play. It also requires parental support for nearly every child on the field at all times-- much more labor-intensive than football or basketball.

At the end of the practice... I mean, game... the "coach" called all the boys in for one last (and possibly first) team huddle. He started to say "On the count of zero" (no, I'm not joking, he used zero) and Sam jumped in with "I like it when we yell..." The coach ignored him and said, "let's yell "go penguins" or whatever and sam said "Why don't we yell..." He's a natural leader, I tell you. Not intimidated by what any coach might say... able to make his own decisions and lead a team. I was so proud.

Growing Kate

Things are still pretty crazy, but Kate has been changing in leaps and bounds. Just in the last two weeks she started standing up, cruising, clapping, waving, and now has two more teeth! That girl is a mover-and-shaker at the ripe age of 8.5 months.

Diaper Good

We got up this morning and were working our usual routine to get out the door by 7 am. Sam was getting dressed and I went in to get Kate and she needed changing. On work days, I try to make breakfast for Sam and Kate before she gets up, but today that didn't happen. So I had just ripped her diaper off when I realized we were out of diapers. No worries, I set her on the ground for a minute (she won't stay on the changing table) and ran downstairs to get the next package. When I came back upstairs, she was crawling down the hallway and her little naked butt looked so cute that I grabbed the camera to take a picture. I figured since she was entertained, I'd quickly pop in Sam's toast, which turned into making a bottle and getting milk. I walk down to get her and first notice a wet spot on the pergo in the hallway. Ha ha, little accident. No problem. THen I walk into Sam's room where she's playing and, you guessed it, there sat Kate, totally naked, playing with Sam's toys and sitting in a pile of her own poo. I snatch her up, which startles her of course, and hold her as far away from my just-back-from-the-dry-cleaner Ann Taylor Loft outfit and carry her to the bathroom.

You'd think it would all be uphill from there, but I had to call Sam to come get the beach towels out of the bathroom and instructed him "Do NOT go in your room," which for once he obeyed! (Thank goodness!) He went back down to watch cartoons while I wrestled with the bathwater and kate. By now she's totally freaked, as am i, and her crying leads her to go AGAIN on the floor of the bathroom (tile, of course). This time, though, she moves away from it and sees it and reaches for it. So now it's on her bottom, her hand, her foot... I grab a handful of wipes from her room and wipe her, the floor, everything and put her in the tub. Once she's clean, I diaper her this time, and put her in her crib with her blanket and bottle. She just laid in the corner sucking her thumb for the longest time with a look that said 'what in the world has happened to me'. I spent the next 30 minutes cleaning and bleaching the bathroom, hallway, and of course Sam's room.

The whole time this is all going on, my mother is downstairs getting dressed and ready to go to see Nanny at the hospital. Though she generally hears Kate cry or Sam walk down the hallway in the morning, she did not hear my screaming, the tub water, or the washing machine. I went down afterwards and asked her to check me for damage and she said, "What happened?" She didn't hear any of it and when Sam went to find her, he didn't say anything. In my stupid supermom pride, I refused to send him down to ask her to help. What a joke!

Well, it's certainly not a morning I'll easily forget, and I figured this would be a great one for the record books.

Off day

Sam and Kate and I got to spend all day together, like normal, today. It was great to have some regular things going on instead of the chaos that has ruled my home since Nanny fell on July 2. We ran errands and were very productive.

After naps, I took the kids outside to play in the wading pool and sprinkler. Of course, we can't have much water in it for Kate's sake, so I dumped a cup on Sam's head. His response: "That's refreshing!" I'll add some pictures when I get a chance...

A Crazy Week

No big updates last week because I spent most of it with my grandmother at the hospital. Sam and Kate and Daddy spent lots of time over at Grandma and Granddad Matthews' house. God really sent them here at just the right time! Cousin Reed was staying with them too, so they all had a good time going swimming and to Powell Gardens and such.

My Mom and Dad (Mamaw and Papaw to Sam) did take Sam out on a date on Friday night to Jason's Deli and the "ice cream store". He told them, very seriously, when they were out driving: "If you drive through the car wash backwards, the car comes out dirty." And they all laughed. Such a jokester.

I was thinking last night about memories. It's amazing how difficult it is to really remember the past. I sit in the car watching Sam sing or watch Kate crawl across the bedroom and think, "I will never forget this." But I do. I told Stuart last night I can't remember what Sam looked like when he crawled. Or what we did together during the week when Stuart was out of town. It really is good to have a place like this blog to keep track of some of these moments, because they change so fast.