Summer 2016 (and everything else from the last 10 months)

It's been 10 months, blog. Probably the most challenging and most wonderful 10 months of my life. Our little family has grown both numerically as well as physically, mentally, spiritually. We welcomed our sweet Levi on March 23. Samuel became a big brother and we became parents of TWO. Eric matched into a nephrology fellowship here at Wake, and finished residency in June. He had a nice week off before changing to his new position, which is hard, but he really likes.

Obviously there is no way I can sum up everything that's happened in one short post. However, I'm hoping that, since Samuel is now at school 3 days a week and Levi has to nap, I can maybe at least update once a month or so. These years are so fleeting, and I want to remember all the sweet times I have with my boys. 

This summer ended up being one of the best I've ever had. I was genuinely petrified at the beginning of it. How in the world was I going to manage two kids at home all day, every day, on limited sleep, while my husband dealt with the stress of a new job and all the wonderful meals everyone was bringing us after Levi was born suddenly ceased? How was I supposed to keep everyone alive and happy and fed and not go absolutely mad? 

Thankfully, the Lord blessed us with the sweetest baby ever. And he and Samuel adore each other. And time at home with my big boy, while still challenging sometimes, proved to rebuild our somewhat rocky relationship (because, let's face it, I was no picnic to be around at 9 months pregnant, nor when I was only getting 4 hours of sleep. And he was no joy when he was in the midst of dropping his nap and shifting his wake up time to whenever the sun rise might be - 5:45 in the summer. Ugh).

Yes, all the grouchiness gradually faded away. And it was replaced by fun. Not relaxation, but reconnection. 

We spent countless hours walking around the park, looking for treasures, playing water games in the back yard, "camping" in his room, pretending we were doctors, reindeer, trick or treating, kings and queens, animals of various kinds, train conductors, monsters (nice ones, of course), and airplanes. We sang songs and had dance parties, learned some yoga and did lots of art. We kept a journal of our daily adventures. We played in shaving cream, played soccer and baseball, rode bikes and started a rock collection. Samuel started helping me with morning chores. 

And, every day, we WENT. Somewhere. Anywhere. Sometimes just to the playground. Often to the science museum or hiking or swimming or to have lunch with friends. We ran errands and went to the library. We found fun things to do. We picknicked. We got gloriously tan and our hair turned 3 shades blonder. We did everything summer is made of. And it was more refreshing than my apprehensive heart could have ever dreamed. 

Samuel did go to VBS - he loved it! He also did 2 weeks of summer camp at one of the other local preschools. And Gran Gran came to visit for a week. Eric had a few days off between residency and fellowship, so we got to check out a few fun local places then too. 

But that's not what I'll remember about this summer. What I'll remember is the joy in my little boy's eyes as he tried to convince me a giant log was actually one of Santa's lost reindeer, the excitement that came with making a smoothie together, the wonder at catching bubbles and playing in the rain. I'll remember the first time he sat through a movie (Finding Dory!) and how he learned to use chopsticks and became obsessed with hot dogs (we love our local hot dog stand, PBs). 

I'll remember my sweet little Levi cuddling warm against my chest, able to fall asleep anywhere and always so happy to be worn in the carrier. I'll remember his sweet little laugh and how I got to play with him and cuddle for a couple of hours after Samuel went to bed each night. I'll remember his amazingly chubby cheeks and how I could kiss them for days, his toothless little smile that lights up his whole face, how proud he looked the moment he realized he could sit up on his own, the first time he gave me a big slobbery baby kiss. 

I'll remember how my sweet boys made each other laugh, rolled a ball back and forth for the first time, and snuggled in my lap together every morning to read the Bible or watch Daniel Tiger. 

These little moments, these beautiful little moments, make up the tapestry of the best summer I remember.

Sure, there were fights. There were tears. There was noise - SO MUCH NOISE. There were times I thought I was in no way cut out to be a mother, that I would never make it through. But they were replaced almost instantly with the sound of laughter, with a hug and kiss and whispered (or yelled) "I love you".

So here's to this summer. I'm sorry to see it go, but I hope it will forever be woven in my memory like it is now. And I pray that, moving forward into a new type of normal, that we will all thrive and grow in God's love, grace, and generosity. (and that I will get a few things done. Haha).

Cue about 50,000 pictures. In backwards order.

We built a " dinosaur".

Hanging Rock Lake.

Samuel's favorite spot. :-)

Half birthday celebration at Moes.

Samuel fell asleep in the car a lot. I didn't mind. :-)

I painted the dining room!

Bellies.

Swimming with daddy.

Children's museum.

Pouty face.

Typical.

Dress like a cow day at CFA.

Blueberry picking.

Mall train ride. 

New stroller!

Chocolate ice cream with M&Ms and gummy bears.

End of residency dinner at Graylyn Estate.

First face-drawing. :-)

Backyard water party.

The YWCA indoor splash pad. 

Painting Father's Day pictures for daddy.

Adios, Residency. You will not be missed. (Eric ended on an awful 28 hour shift.) 

Dan Nicholas Park. One of the best places we've been in NC!

2 Years, 9 Months

I haven't been great with keeping up with Samuel and his funny little growing self this year. It's hard to believe he will be 3 in a few short months! He talks SO much more now, has a silly little sense of humor, and , and, of course, run and jump and climb. He's definitely still "all boy!"

Samuel's favorite indoor toys right now are his trains, cars, his toy drum, and his doctor kit. He loves to tell us that "Doctor Samuel will help your boo-boo!"

Outside, he loves pretty  much anything! Basketball, dodgeball, football, rocks, whistles (we only allow those outside), etc. He knows he's only allowed to be loud outside (though he doesn't always adhere to that... we're working on it!), so it's his FAVORITE place to be! He also loves going on "hikes" through the woods across the street from our house. We've started going as a family on Sunday evenings when it isn't rainy. He thinks it's the best thing in the world!

Samuel love love loves music and is constantly singing and even making up his own songs. He's also been working on learning Spanish with mommy and memorizing scripture verses, which is really cute to hear. :-)

We got extremely lucky in that Samuel had a great motivator for potty training and was able to get into underwear super quickly! Our gym has a HUGE play area for kids to go to once their potty trained, complete with slides and climbing ladders. He got a glimpse of it a while back and got really excited about it. I told him for several months that he would get to go to the "big room" once he used the potty all the time. I'd always ask him if he wanted to try, and he would think about it and say, "no."

But one Saturday morning (when I was in the middle of morning sickness and NOT in the mood for it at all!), he woke up and told me he was going to use the potty so he could go to the big room. I really didn't take him seriously at first. After 2 days of him consistently insisting, I went and bought him underwear. And after 2 days of accidents on and off, he pretty much was done. We've had maybe 2 or 3 accidents since then (almost 2 months), and he's now wearing underwear at nap time and occasionally at bed time too. I've been so impressed with him. He knew what he wanted, and he absolutely loves going to play and climb every day now!

His nap time is about over (he actually took one today - those have been very off and on the last few months), so I'll close with a few funny things he's said that I've put in my phone to remember:

A few days after learning about our new baby, he looked at my belly and said, "Hi baby!! I want to SEE you!!"

Samuel LOVES construction trucks, especially "bull-da-dozers." One day he saw a RED bulldozer:
"Ooooh, I LOVE this bull-da-dozer. I have never see nothing like YOU before!"

We went out to eat at a very loud restaurant the other night, so Samuel naturally had to join in the fun.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I am singing a song! ABCDEFG..."

Halloween was last weekend, so we took him trick or treating. We talked about how all the costumes were fake (he got a little scared of some wolves and skeletons, for obvious reasons). So when we went up to a house decorated like a pirate ship and a "pirate" out front, he went up and said, "Hello pretend pirate! Trick or treat!"

And, the funniest thing he's done recently (and it was certainly most funny if you were there): I went in to get Samuel up one morning. He'd been talking so I knew he was awake. I walked in and didn't see him, so of course he was under the covers. I said, "Samuel, are you in here?" and he jumped out from under the covers - completely naked - and said, "SURPRISE!!!!!!!" and laughed hysterically. OH my!

Anyway, we have a lot of things to work on, but I love love love this crazy kid, and I'm so glad he's ours!

Baby Yates #2!

So, since finding out I was pregnant, I've done basically nothing except the bare minimum - eating, sleeping, making sure my kids was alive. I've been thinking for weeks that I need to do a post about Samuel at 2 1/2. It will come soon, I'm sure. For now, I've been soaking in the fact that we are going to have another baby in a few short months! SO exciting!

Because I made a separate blog for Samuel and because I like things to be neat and tidy, I've made a separate space for this little peanut as well. Feel free to follow at: http://theyatesplacefamiliadecuatro.blogspot.com.
A word of warning, it's more for my own memory, so there may be a little more info than you want to read, haha. But I'll try to post pictures and such too!

And, just for comparison, here's a link to Samuel's little baby blog too. It's been SO nice to have this the last few months to remember what was happening when!
http://theyatesplacenumerotres.blogspot.com/

Anyway, more coming soon. Eventually. :-)

Trip to Arkansas/Fellowship Apps etc.

My blogging has really gone down the tube, huh? It really is because our laptop is pretty much done and I have to type everything from our desktop in the hot attic bonus room. Not my favorite place to hang.

Anyway, Samuel and I just got back from Arkansas. Eric's on a ridiculously hard rotation, so we decided to peace out for a little bit. It was quite the adventure.

We flew to Little Rock where my dad picked us up and took us to De Witt. We spent the night there, then left early the next morning (after I had a little run around the park) and followed him in my mom's car to Warren for lunch. Then we went to El Dorado to have ice cream with my friend Ashley. Then on to Magnolia and Eric's family.

Friday we went to Backyard BBQ (mmmm) and went swimming at Eric' grandma's house. We also went to a 4th of July Fireworks show (even though it was the 3rd). Saturday it rained, so we hung around then went and grilled hot dogs and Samuel got to ride in a back hoe and on a tractor. That was fun. Sunday was church, and Monday we spent in Texarkana shopping and visiting with our friends the Renfros. There was also a lot of walking on the farm road and cooking involved there too.

Tuesday we took off to meet my parents in Pine Bluff for lunch, then followed them to De Witt. We went to visit my friend Lindsay in Mississippi on Wednesday and then went to the Memphis Zoo on Thursday where we had an adventure with an escaped monkey that cause the whole zoo to go on lockdown, leaving us trapped and hungry. We also saw pandas and got to feed some giraffes. Friday we mostly hung around, went to eat in Stuttgart, watercolor painted, and ate some more mexican food. And Saturday we headed back to Little Rock to see my brother, JJ, college friend, Karis, & her new baby, and to head home. There was also a lot of playing at the playground, in the church nursery, and banging on the piano in there too. :-)

So that's a quick summary of our trip!

The other fun thing going on right now is that Eric has decided to do a fellowship in Nephrology (kidneys). So, much like when he was getting ready for residency, he has to apply to programs, interview, rank them, and then get "matched" again. Wooo. Applications go in Wednesday, so we will see how that goes.

Thankfully, I (we) seem to be way less stressed about things this time around for a number of reasons:
1) If he wants to back out, he can. He can practice by himself as of next June, so this is really just an "add-on" option.
2) The program is only 2 years. That feels a little more manageable.
3) Nephrology is not very competitive at all. He has a pretty darn good chance of getting one of his top 2 choices.

Plus he will be DONE when he finished this. That's hard for me to even imagine!

Anyway, I have some chores to do before little man wakes from his nap. ;-) At least I posted something right???