Bucket

Sam has a new word. He says, "bucket". Bucket is a universal word with no obvious meaning. Sometimes this can be exchanged for the pocket, but he seems to prefer bucket. He thinks he has made up his own word, and we don't think he knows it has an english meaning already assigned to it. You may, if you are lucky or special, be told, firmly, BUCKET when talking to Sam on the phone. At first I was worried that Sam was really repeating naughty words, but as that isn't a phrase either Eric or I use, Eric pointed out that it was an unlikely source.

In other Sam news, he's become an anti-morning child lately. He gets up and whines and cries for an hour or two, begging for a movie or just generally being a turkey. He gets better after his noon nap. Yesterday I took both kids to a birthday party. Eric had to work and couldn't get anyone to cover the front dest for him, so I was on my own. Sam was a model child walking from the van to the house, and again when it was time to leave, he came right over to me and held my hand and pulled me to the van. During the party he managed to be only mildly crazy and luckily there were enough other adults there that someone could hold Awyn while I chased Sam. They had a cat who wasn't shy so Sam was in heaven as well as a giant fruit bowl that he snacked on for quite a while. Sam loves watermelon. We quit giving it to him last summer after a series of truly terrible diaper rashes. We left the party before it was officially over because it was Sam's nap time. Awyn slept through the entire party. Somebody took pictures of her with the other newborn, so I'll have to post one after they send me a copy.

Sam is busted playing with yogurt. I had to take a picture before I stopped him. 

After her bath, our little princess is all smiles 

Cookies

Sam helped me make peanut butter cookies today. I think he prefers the cookie dough to the finished cookie though. He was begging me for a cookie this morning and I don't even have any crackers around the house to fake him out with, so what the hey, we made cookies. I haven't made peanut butter cookies in a couple of years, so I thought it was about time. Sam dumped stuff into the bowl and helped himself to the dough in each stage.

I need to finish dropping off thank you notes before lunch time, as it gets too hot in the afternoon. I think I've dropped most of them off. It is a challenge getting out of the house with both kids. Sam is more difficult than Awyn. All the places I'm going are very short distances, so if she gets hungry, I can feed her at anyone's house. Sam on the other hand I have to get in and out of the carseat and wrestle with him while carrying Awyn. I'd walk and use the stroller, but it is too hot outside for Awyn and I haven't set the stroller up for the infant carrier and Sam at the same time. A rat did a little nibbling on the new double stroller, and some of the fabric isn't as strong.

Again, just for comparison, here is Sam at about 5 weeks of age getting his first really wet bath in the same bath tub. I thought you might like to see the differences and similarities. I'll do another one when Awyn is the same age and we'll see just how much she changes. 

Just for comparisons, Here is Awyn in the bathtub getting a sponge bath and having quality nakey time. This was taken two days ago, so she still qualifies as 3 weeks old. 

Tool Man Sam. He loves working on his home improvement center. The too-small hat is just because it was in Awyn's drawer and it used to be Sam's. Notice how he keeps some of his tools on pegs and everything has a place. These are the only toys he regularily keeps in a particular place. Tools need to be put away. 

Three weeks old

Yesterday made it three weeks since Awyn was born. I'll try to download the camera again and post some pictures later. Today is Eric's first day back at work. He has a lot of stuff piled up on his desk, so I bet he doesn't get much of a break. He'll be home for lunch around noon. I've started the day of right; Sam is currently plugged into the TV watching a signing time video. We watched The Incredibles twice yesterday, so I am avoiding it today. I finished writing thank you notes yesteday, now I just need to finish mailing and delivering them. It will be interesting delivering them with two kids in tow. As soon as we are all officially fed for the day I think I'll go out for a walk and try to give away some of these thank you cards. We've barely started on baby announcements. And the confession I have is that they are the same cards we bought for Sam's birth and just never used. We never sent announcements for Sam, just a few pictures in some of his thank you cards. In fact, I never finished writing thank you cards for all the presents we got for Sam. I did really good right up until he was born, and then never had time. Maybe this time I've gotten better about it. We'll see. If anyone still needs a thank you card or really wants an announcement, just let me know, I'll shoot one out your direction.

Sears = Hell or They're Doing It On Purpose

I'm on hold, again trying to get my washing machine repaired. It is a brand new front loader from Sears, Kenmore brand. It no longer drains or does a spin cycle. So last week after it happened I called the 18004MYHOME line to see if they'd make good on that extended warranty we bought. The salesperson said that they'd honor it despite the distance and where we actually live. Since it was a floor model, we thought it would be a worthwhile investment.

Here's where we stand so far. I called last Monday. I was told a service repair center would call me back in 24 hours. Nope. I called back Tuesday, same story, still no call. I called back Wednesday. They scheduled an appointment for today, this morning. Didn't show up, so I called this morning and a manager was supposed to call me back. No call back. So I called again, this time I was referred to another call center, which routed me to another center, who found someone else for me to talk to, and finally told me that they don't schedule repairs and that they needed to call the nearest repairman and see when he could work us in. The answer: Wednesday, June 15th. When I complained to the call center wench, she had no sympathy or platitudes, just a matter of fact tough doo-doo attitude.

So now we'll be driving somewhere to a laundrymat. Not too cool. Have I mentioned that none of the coin operated laundry places in this area are air conditioned and it is in triple digit temperatures? There are two machines at Rio Grande Village, 20 miles away. There are several in Study Butte, but they are really expensive, $2 or more/load just to wash. I think it is only 75 cents here in the park. There is a beat up old coin machine in the former bathrooms over near the maintenance shop, but it is in constant use and we have several loads built up.

Anyway, oh the joys of Sears! If the appliances weren't generally so reliable and cheap, I'd never shop at Sears, ever. I actually think less of Sears than I do of Wal-mart. I get better customer service from Wal-mart and lower prices. Sears pays their employees slightly more than Wal-mart, with slightly better benefits.

I took this a couple minutes ago. They are both asleep in the chair. Sam is down for a nap, so we are all snoozing. 

We bought Sam a new trash can for his room. We needed something to throw wet diapers in, and he really has fallen in love with this silly trash can. 

Too cute not to post. Awyn asleep in Sam's bear chair. 

Awyn with her eyes open. She really does spend hours each day looking around and acting very alert. The pediatrician was pleased with her ability to look at things and lift her head up. 

First appointment

We just got back from Awyn's 2 week appointment. As we figured, she's healthy and really growing. She does have a gooey eye that I'll have to put warm washclothes on. But I suppose what everyone wants to know is what the measurements are, so here they are:

Height/length = 21 inches
weight = 9 lbs

This is rather up from birth, which was 20 inches and 7 lbs 15 oz.
So she's gained a pound and an inch. They also measured her head, but I don't remember it right now, and we don't have a birth measurement to compare it with anyway.

I'll post some pictures later after I download the camera. For those of you who might notice a funny time discrepency with the photos, it's because this blog program posts all the pictures using Pacific Standard Time and I post my messages using Central Standard Time. I can't figure out how to change that one...

Two weeks old

As of yesterday, Awyn is officially 2 weeks old. She's growing so fast!

Right now I'm on the phone waiting for a Growing Family representative to get back to me. We received the photo package we ordered in the hospital, and as expected from the website photo, the photographers hand is in the pictures, except the 8x10, and they blew that one up so large to cut the hand out that the resolution is horrible and grainy. So I'm calling to see if I can get my money back. I'm pretty put out about it, as there really isn't any way to go back and retake a first photo.

They just offered me 20% off and some free frames. I said ok because I didn't want to send the package back. We're going to write them a letter and let them know that despite their official policy, we still aren't happy. I just wasn't going to take it out on their customer service rep, she did the best she could with an unhappy parent.

For those who want to see what the picture is that I'm complaining about, go to this website:
http://www.growingfamily.com/webnursery/babypage_view.asp?URLID=4V9R0H4Y1U

Also you can leave messages on her website and I'll print it out just before the website goes offline in about a month and put the pages in her baby book. I did this for Sam too when he was born.

Cuddle time on the couch. My mother is holding Awyn while Sam gets sleepier and ready for bed. He is slowly pulling all the fur off his bear. 

Bernadette came over when Awyn was around a week old and got the first smile. 

Sam gets the broom to help us clean up. He really did try to sweep the kitchen.