girl

Sam came with us to the 18-week (structural) ultrasound a couple of weeks ago. Though he was convinced that it was a boy (at the time-- he'd been referring equally to "brother" and "sister" in the weeks leading up to it), we saw three clear parallel lines-- it's a girl! Or at least they're 90% certain that it is. Yay! We honestly would have been thrilled with either, but yes, I am already figuring out how to indulge my fetish for little girl shoes. And Sam quickly adjusted to planning his explorations of the "spiky mountains in California" (which we've told him he can start exploring on his own, a recent obsession, once he turns 18) together with his sister "when she gets bigger".

We're in FL enjoying being warm. Pics when we're back.

Birthday party!

We had Sam's bday party yesterday. It wasn't as bad as anticipated, for a couple of reasons: we instituted a "no siblings, please" policy, and then 5 of the 13 invitees couldn't attend in the end, so it was a very civilized 8 guests. Much of the time they just played with Sam's toys, but there was also a game of Twister:


Then sat on balloons to pop them (and get the stickers inside:



In addition to some snacks, we had RR crossing cupcakes (a train cake proving beyond my decorating skills):


And then some not-too-nutty gift opening (Sam is definitely in the age of the Fake Camera Smile! also that's frosting on his nose, not a humongous booger):


[We'd gone back and forth on the "opening gifts while kids are still there" question, but so many kids clearly wanted to see Sam open the gifts they had brought that we did it, but not in the organized-activity kind of way; it worked out pretty well in the end.]

So, all in all, it was a good time, nobody got hurt, the noise level stayed within acceptable levels, and Sam was very pleased. And he got some great gifts.

He'll shortly start posting his own pics to this blog, as well: Omi and Opa gave him a kiddie digital camera. So far his efforts have mostly been partial head shots (ears etc) with plenty of light fixtures etc, but I'm sure he'll get better with practice (and with outdoor photo-taking, where there's not as much of a delay for the flash).

Feb & March pics

In February, working with a magnifying glass and a flashlight to find bugs in Daddy's hair. (Just for the record, there weren't any, though Sam claims to have found some on previous occasions. There was a lice outbreak in his school a few weeks ago, so that might have contributed to his interest.)


And then earlier this month, posing with a particularly complex locomotive that he had just made:

concept

Sam coloring furiously on his Doodle Pad: "I'm making a concept."
I look over his shoulder, note only that he's colored in just about the whole surface. "What's a concept, Sam?"
"It's when you color the whole thing black."
"Where did you learn that?"
"On television."

Hm. This is what happens when I sleep in past the end of kids' programming on PBS on a Saturday morning, apparently.

In other news, we're picking up Sam's new bike from the bike shop tomorrow. Even though there's still a fair bit of snow on the ground, he and I are both excited. Hopefully the snow will clear enough for him to ride it soon-- maybe even on his birthday weekend (in two weeks). It has removable pedals, so it functions first as a balance bike and then as a real bike w/pedals, hopefully skipping right over the training wheel phase.

And next weekend we'll have 14(ish) 3-5-year-olds in our home (yes, our 1100 square foot home), not to mention their parents, for Sam's birthday party. That should be interesting. Sam's Omi is coming for a few days to help out and celebrate with him. At the end of the following weekend we'll head down to FL for some warmth and another celebration w/Grandma and Grandpa. Pics coming soon!