update!

I feel like I have come back to the land of the living!  Man, for those few months of all-day sickness, (I don't believe in morning sickness where I'm concerned) I really felt like I was just surviving.  My house will attest to that!  I do wonder how I managed to work full-time when I felt that sick with Sammy.  I guess the answer is; no toddler to chase.  This baby and the sickness have reminded me of the way that I felt with Sammy.  Thankfully I rarely throw up, but I feel like I'm going to throw up most of the time.  I am so grateful to the Lord that it is finally passing!  I had my days for sure when I wondered if I would ever feel better/normal again.  When I go through all-day sickness, I begin to think a lot about folks who have chronic illnesses.  I am amazed at the heart and attitudes they have to display day after day as they live with their new "normal".

This baby is doing very well per the visits with the midwife, and the fact that I've been so sick, haha.  It's not comforting to be told that being sick means a healthy baby, and yet, I guess there is a little comfort in it.  Here's a picture of the bump at 16 weeks.  This baby does seem to be showing a bit more than Sammy did at 16 weeks, but that's pretty typical of the 2nd baby, so I read :-)  If this one is anything like Sam, it'll pop out really fast in a few more weeks.

Speaking of Sam; he's doing well!  He's talking up a storm.  Much of it is jabber, but words are coming more and more often.  He loves "mones" (phones) and "ba bats" (buttons).  Right now he's watching Veggie Tales Esther, and he's singing the puppy's song right along with the lady.  Super cute!  Here are some pictures of him.

Trying on Daddy's shoes!

His "trash can car".  We don't have a ton of toys, but Sam deals well by creating his own.

Samster the hamster!

Driving his "car".

Thanks for bearing with my lack of posts.  It's been a rough few months, but I'm starting to feel like my old self, praise the Lord!!

Can't think of one...

A title that is.  As I have been lamenting on Facebook, I feel I often lack clever little one liners, titles, etc.  I think some people are just gifted with the kind of clever that makes us all laugh or remark at their amazing creativity. That is not me, and I am okay with that.

Because I am not coming up with a title for this post that I am happy with, I'll just leave it like that.

LaRock baby #2 now is!  I'm about 7 weeks.  This little one is due around May 26th, 2011.  I was hoping to keep it a secret longer, but starting at around week 6, this baby is making me as sick as my little Samster did, which means I have to drop out of things, which means I have to share the news.  People start suspecting when you eat a slice of toast for breakfast, a potato for lunch, and maybe a bit of toasted cheese for dinner.  They also tend to wonder when you begin to cover your nose for odors to avoid the gag reflex.  Ah...gotta love the first trimester.  It's fun to share the news with people anyhow.  I'm just praying these next few months go by quickly so that I can remember what it feels like to enjoy eating again!  The things we take for granted; seriously :-)

Peter is very excited about our newest addition.  He's pretty amazing with our little guy.  It'll be fun to have two crazy kiddos running around wrestling with daddy.

Folks have asked me if I prefer boy or girl, and I really don't have a strong preference.  I do have lots of boy clothes, and we already have a boy name picked out, (crazy kids we are), but either one will thrill us.

Last week we went to the Outer Banks.  How's that for a transition?  We met up with my sisters Jeanette, Joanna, Janessa and her husband, Justin.  Joseph, my brother, also came down for a few days.  We had a good time.  I felt pretty well until the Friday we left; Praise the Lord!  I went boogie boarding with Peter which is always a treat.  I spent a lot of time resting on the beach.  We set up a tent for Sammy, and he took his nap in there each afternoon.  It was nice to have him right there, and to be able to rest, too.  It was fun to see my family, too.  Here are some pictures!

daddy's my buddy...

In the morning I like to help daddy make breakfast.  When mommy was so sick when she was pregnant with me, daddy started making breakfast, and he's kept up this tradition.  I like to help him cook stuff with my awesome spoon and pan!

Here daddy's teaching me a new cooking trick.

I really love daddy.  I like the way he lets me help him.

Here I am helping daddy wash and wax the car.  Aren't I such a good helper to daddy?

I just love water...

and tubs to put water in...

but the hose is my favorite by far.

At the end of a long day, this is the best place in the world to be.  Safe, next to my daddy.

Wuv Wuv, dada!

haircut, domesticity, and whitey tighties!

The curls finally went.  It's funny, now that they are gone, my little baby looks a lot more like a little boy.  While I miss how super cute they were, it was high time Sam was recognized as Samuel and not Samantha!  I think the lack of humidity kept the curls from tightening up lately, and he was looking feminine and had a mullet.  Here he is about 2 weeks ago:

And here he is now looking handsome!

About 3 weeks ago I started potty training Sam.  I've started early with the hopes that I can stop buying diapers for Sam when the next little LaRock decides to join us, (no this is not an announcement.)  I was really good about working with him for about a week, but then I started slacking.  I'd catch the #2's in the potty, but I missed a lot of #1's.  Today we started back in earnest; every 20 minutes we hit the potty.  This morning was a total failure--felt like I was cleaning up after a puppy, and had a blowout on my bedroom floor; however, this afternoon was much more successful!  We managed to keep his whitey tighties dry all afternoon!  I had to wash all 6 pairs by naptime, lol.  Here is is showing them off:-)

He's really been a fun toddler so far.  I've really been enjoying this season of his life.  He was a pretty demanding infant, and I find his growing independence mostly refreshing!  He has some bad habits though.  For instance: when I'm working on dinner or washing dishes, he'll come up between me and the sink and give me a shove.  He still hates it when I give someone or something else any attention.  He bites me when I try to work on the computer when he's awake.  He's started collapsing when he doesn't get his way, bleh.  But, he's also a little sweetheart who loves to give everyone "bah" (kisses), says "thank you" often, and giggles lots when he plays with daddy and mommy.  Right now he'll wake up in the morning, fuss and little and say, "mama, mama".  I love this!  All in all, we're loving this little cutie lots and lots.

Oh, please note the lovely white grout in this photo.  Last weekend, Peter scrubbed our grout and sealed it.  What a blessing!  It was getting really gross and needed this badly.  It was a hard job, but my man did it and didn't complain.  I love him so much!

In other news, I finally bought some fabric (Peter eyed it, and I love how it looks) and pinned this curtain together for our downstairs bathroom.  I haven't hemmed it yet, but you can see how much this improves this little room already!

The water heater is in this bathroom, and it's always been a little tacky

Here is a shot with the curtain pulled back.

And here is the finished look.  Much better!

There you have some updates on us!

"Day Du, Daddy"

Daddy made me some really neat toys!  First he made this sticky, strange stuff that he and mom call play dough.  I'm not quite sure what to think of it yet...

It's alright I guess.  I just don't quite know what to do with it, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. 

Next, he made me a peg board!  He went to Grandpa's cool shop and made me this!  I was a little afraid of the loud saw, but I had fun playing in Grandpa's shop and watching daddy make it.

Sooo cool!  Yes, I know that my diaper with sandals look is original, but I get so hot!  Mom and dad let me go around in my diaper a lot, and I find it quite nice.  Besides, this way I get lots of raspberries, and kisses!

Mom wanted to show off this last creation of daddy's.  He made it awhile back, (back before I started walking and getting into stuff.)

Pretty good!  Mom and Dad had a shelf in the corner, but once I was up and moving, they decided to move the books up to this shelf.  Mommy says that daddy takes good care of us, and I agree with her! 

I have to say that I have a pretty amazing daddy.  He loves me lots, (even when I'm a bad boy), and I can tell he loves my mommy.  When daddy gets home from work at night, I start giggling because I am so excited to see him.  He plays this game with me that I call, "Run Away!"  He growls at me and then chases me until he gets me and tickles me!  I love it, and I sure love him.

"Day Du DaDa", (Thank you DaDa) for playing with me and for my awesome new toys!

  "Wuv Wuv", (love love).  Big, "Bah!" (Kiss).

Your little munchkin, Sammy. 

New blog and fun recipe!

Yay, finally, I have updated our blog!  I have been wanting to do it for some time, and just hadn't made it enough of a priority I guess.  I'm amazed at how much easier this new one is to navigate. 

My little one is a bit of a picky eater.  My mother-in-law lent me a cookbook that hides fruit and veggie purees in food.  One of his all time favorites is below.  He especially hates green veggies.  I love how this one hides broccoli.  Forgive all of the pictures.  I have always been a visual learner, and I love using pictures in my posts if you haven't gathered that already.

Chicken Nuggets

1 Pound of chicken breast or tenderloin cut into chunks.  Salt it generously.

Mix one cup of broccoli puree, (I just bought frozen this time, cooked it, and put it in the blender.)

with 1 egg.

For the breading:

1 cup of breadcrumbs, (I used cornmeal this time.  While we're not on a gluten free diet, I try and mix up our grains when I can.  The cornmeal isn't AS good a bread crumbs, but Sam still ate it up.)

1/2 cup ground flaxseed, (perfect way to sneak in fiber, mwuhaha.)

2 TBSP Parmesean Cheese, (I just use the cheap kind, but the recipe calls for the real deal)

1/2 tsp Paprika

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

Dip the chicken in the broccoli mixture and then bread it.

Fry in olive oil over medium heat.

I usually cut one in half to make sure it's done through, and there you have it!

Samster the Hamster at 15 months

Here are some pictures of our goofy boy! He's learning to try to smile for the camera.

Quick trip to Assateague Beach!

On Thursday night Pete, Sam and I, and several of the LaRock crew, headed to Assateague Beach. We planned to camp for the night and then spend the day at the beach on Friday. We made it to the campsite right around 10PM. My memories from that night include...three random horses outside of the bath house-the horses run wild on this island; Liz and Peter's fitful nights, (one feared bug bites, Peter, and one got a nasty bug bite, Liz.) She finished her night in the van, poor girl! John being frightened by a sand crab that he came across in the dark, Sam sleeping as he should-like a baby, and falling asleep to the sound of the ocean just feet away.

Sam got us up bright and early on Friday morning. He was excited to be at the ocean! Here he is in the camper ready for the day!



We packed our stuff up after breakfast and then headed to the beach. Here we are packing.



Laura and Rachel packing up their tent. I wish I had a picture of what this looked like set up. We didn't have the right frame, so the tent was eh, saggy!





Liz, hard at work!


John, being a ham.

Here we are at the beach!


Handsome Peter getting Sam some rocks and water to play with.


Love this picture of John and Abby:-)




Samster loving the big sandbox!


silly kiddo!


Makin' stuff with Grandpa LaRock.