Our Fairweather Samuel

These are a few photos I took of Samuel Friday afternoon. The weather was rather pleasant before a somewhat cool and rainy weekend. Samuel LOVES to play outside. So, if the backdoor is open we have to really watch him to make sure he doesn't dart out the door and head downstairs without us. This is him on one of his many escapades where he successfully made it out the door and down to the backyard. He loves to explore and just play outside.

As you may have noticed, my boys love their hats. And Samuel gets much satisfaction out of putting on his own hat. So, you may notice that he often has his hat on sideways or backwards in photos. I suppose that's his way of claiming a bit of independence!

Everyday is something new with Samuel. He is a rough and tumble boy who seems to already have a natural sports ability (although Don and I aren't really sure where that's come from). He definitely has a strong interest in balls

regardless of their shape or size and can identify and say most types of sports balls...

"soccer," "basketball," "football," "baseball," etc. Although, we are still working on his speech, everyday he surprises us with a new word or two. He has gotten "help" and "help pweese" down now. We are eager for him to start putting words together and getting past his frustrations of not being able to tell us exactly what's going on in his two year old mind.

The Greatest Show on Earth...

Last Saturday we headed into D.C. to see the Ringling Brother's Barnum and Bailey Circus. The boys had never been to the circus and it had been years since Don or I have gone. In February, Benjamin had been learning about the circus at preschool and had been coming home from school with loads of information and craft projects about the circus.

Saturday morning when we got up we told the boys where we were headed and Benjamin was thrilled. We took the Metro train which was as exciting to them as going to the circus!

I was a bit nervous that our active two year old would not sit still but he did amazingly well... until intermission. Once he realized that we could get up out of our seats then he thought that was pretty neat. Plus there were a few slower parts of the the second half so Samuel and I walked around a little bit and then he did much better.

There were a lot of neat acts and while they changed scenes and prepared for the next act the clowns would entertain the crowd. When Benjamin is asked what his favorite part of the circus was he says it was the clowns. They were pretty entertaining!

On the train ride home, we were all tuckered out and Samuel fell asleep in his Daddy's arms. He continued to sleep in the car and even when we got home! Apparently, it was a lot of excitement for that lil guy to take in!

Benjamin is still talking about the highlights of the circus and recently told me that I was the "Queen of the Clowns" like at the circus. They did call one of the acts the "Queen of the Clouds" but he apparently thought they were singing "Queen of the Clowns!" As you might imagine, I am quite proud of my new title.

Gum Chewing and Our Short-Haired Boys

Our boys are an ongoing source of fun, laughter and entertainment for us and we hope to always take time to enjoy some of the little moments of boyhood that they share with us.

Just the other day, we were all in the car and somehow the topic of bubble gum came up (neither Don or I are big gum chewers so the boys aren't really around gum much to even know what it is!) But apparently, the last time the teenage babysitter was over she was chewing blue bubble gum so Benjamin was telling us this and I told him that bubble gum was for older kids. And that maybe when he was 6 years old he could try it. Knowing that 8 is actually his favorite number, Don jumped in and added... "Or maybe when you're eight!" Benjamin's response, "I don't want to try it until I'm eighty-eight!" hmmm. Time will tell how that works out.

Anyway, it's been at least a couple of weeks now since we took the boys for haircuts and got Samuel's curls all cut off but I'm just finally getting around to posting a couple of pics showing off our, once again, short-haired boys. It's taken a little while for me to get used to Samuel's super short hair. He looks so grown up now!

"The Green Brothers"

Just thought I'd post a few photos of the boys that I took today... St. Patrick's Day.

They were pretty cute grinning in their green!

Benjamin sounded like he had fun at school this St. Patty's Day. Apparently, a leprechaun came into his classroom and really stirred things up and made a big mess and left a trail of gold coins as well as some Lucky Charms cereal. (I don't really remember teachers getting that much into St. Patrick's Day as a child but they sure do have fun on this day at Benjamin's school).

The two of them are getting more challenging to get nice pictures of them together. Samuel is all smiles for the camera these days with one of his favorite words being "Cheese" as he holds my camera and points it at me! But Benjamin likes to either hide from the camera or make every silly face he can think of. I thought these pics turned out pretty good considering the two lil silly characters I had to work with!

Hope you all had an enjoyable St. Patrick's Day!

Tourists in the President's Front Yard

A couple of Saturdays ago now, we had gorgeous weather here and we decided to head to D.C. to the National Zoo. We packed up a sandwich lunch and were off...

We arrived at the zoo around 10:30 a.m. and all the parking lots were full... closed. We drove on a bit and were frustrated with the lack of parking. After wandering aimlessly through the streets of D.C. we decided to head to the National Mall area. Again, no parking! Apparently, on the first gorgeous Saturday of the year, everyone had the same idea... head to D.C. and play outside! Finally, around noon we parked quite a ways away from anything of interest and headed towards the mall area on foot with the two boys in the stroller.

We decided to head to the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History or what we like to call "The Dinosaur Museum." We hadn't been since Daddy-O has been home so Benjamin was thrilled to be going back. Don and I were just happy to be getting out of the car after spending so much time driving around in search of parking.

En route to the museum we stopped at a grassy area in front of the White House. The boys ran around and enjoyed being silly and soaking up the sunshine. Then we all settled in on a park bench and enjoyed our lunch. Since the election hype, Benjamin has been quite fascinated by the President and had tons of questions about him and "his house" that we were in such proximity to while eating lunch.

After lunch we walked the rest of the way to the Dinosaur Museum and enjoyed our visit there.

We ended up having a really nice time but declared that next time we venture into D.C. on such a nice day we will get an earlier start... and maybe even take the Metro.

21 Weeks and Counting...

Yesterday was an exciting day for us! Don and I dropped the boys off at Ms. Natalie's (their sitter) and were off to D.C. for our ultrasound and genetic counseling. We got stuck in traffic and took a scenic route (aka got a lil lost) but made it there a little late but safely.

I am 36 years old and, apparently, anytime you are pregnant after 35 years of age, they consider it "Advanced Maternal Age." So, this pregnancy is my first in this exciting category which necessitated the genetic counseling part. So, first we went over all the chromosomes and how they can get confused and result in different outcomes for the baby. I was offered the option of an amniocentesis and opted not to take that route. So, we were then brought back for the ultrasound!

As many of you know, I love surprises! While Don claims he does not. (My theory is that everyone truly loves surprises but some people just can't help themselves when given an option. Not a bad thing. Just a difference in how Don and I are). With that said, NO "we" did not find out the baby's gender. However, Don did find out and is sworn to secrecy until our new little Chapman baby arrives.

Even though we did not find out the baby's gender, I do have to say that the ultrasound is an exciting time in the pregnancy. I was thrilled to see what is actually going on in there and, of course, the confirmation that the baby appears to be healthy is a blessing to us. This baby has been extremely active already and he/she didn't even want to sit still for most of the ultrasound. If you have been fortunate enough to witness a baby's ultrasound, you'll agree that it's truly amazing the detail of the baby.

The ultrasound photos I'm including in this post are mostly of the baby's profile. The bottom photo is kind of a 3D shot of the baby's face against the uterine wall. He/she looks pretty cozied up in there.

All went well and the technician said that the baby is about 1 pound at this point and all seems to be on target for a July 21 due date.

Kelli Came to Town!

Last weekend I we were fortunate enough to have my dear friend from college, Kelli Berry Polatty come visit! She is from Memphis and came to Washington D.C. last week for a Down Syndrome Association Conference. When she found out she was going to be coming we coordinated and she stayed through this past Wednesday morning! It was a treat for us all! So, I thank her hubby and two lil ones for allowing us the pleasure of borrowing their lady of the house!

I picked Kelli up in D.C. on Saturday and we spent a little time at Arlington National Cemetary which she had never been to. We made it up the hill to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier just in time to see a changing of the guard, which is always an impressive ceremony. It was a litttle cold but it was just nice walking and catching up with each other and get some "girl time" in!

Saturday night we headed out with the family to a local Japenese steakhouse and enjoyed food and entertainment. The boys really enjoyed the chef's show although Samuel wasn't too interested in eating... he was totally fascinated by the chef!

Sunday after church, Kelli and I headed out to a movie! We were so excited to get to see a chick flick! We saw "He's Just Not that Into You" which was really cute. We got a huge tub of popcorn and sodas and were two very happy women at the movie! It had been too long for either of us to have gone out and done that!

Monday morning we woke up to a bunch of snow and school cancellations. So, by 10 a.m., Kelli, the boys and I were decked out in snow gear and out enjoying the snow. We had a blast sledding, building a little snowman and shoveling too! With Kelli being from Memphis it had been a good long while since she had seen that much snow (even though they did have a decent amount of snow while she was visiting us!). It was hard for me to tell if the boys or Kelli and I were having more fun riding the sleds down the little hills. I don't think any of us really wanted to go in but the wind was a little harsh and the snow was really blowing into the small portions of our faces that were exposed.

On Tuesday Benjamin had preschool but we enjoyed a little time at the mall before we took him. The day went by to fast and we ended our last day with Kelli at the "Original Steakhouse and Sports Theater" here in Ashburn which we had not been to in a while. Yummy!

Wednesday we reluctantly let Kelli return to the airport so she could make her trek back to Memphis and her family who were anxious for her arrival by then!

Benjamin has declared a few times that he misses Miss Kelli and I have to agree with him. We had a wonderful visit with one of my bestest friends and it's not every day that we get to share that time together. So, yes, I miss her already too but am so greatful for the time we had together during her trip!

Our Samuel Thomas

Just a quick post to share a few photos of our funny and silly Samuel. He received an inflatable ball pit for his birthday and has been enjoying it. He loves balls of any sort and this toy has really kept him entertained!

Samuel is amazing us daily with his new words which we thought may never actually arrive but are now coming out at an amazing pace. Some of his new favorite things to say include "hi," "happy," "hippo" and "one more."

Shortly after his 2nd birthday I took him for his 2 year check up and he weighed in at 38 pounds. He is off the charts on both height and weight and is a healthy and happy lil guy. Although, he has recently learned how to pout quite well!

He loves to follow his big brother around everywhere and tries doing everything brother is doing. (Including trying to sneak into Benjamin's preschool class like he's one of the big kids when we go to drop Benjamin off or pick him up from school).

Samuel continues to amaze us and keep us smiling daily!