Sams we like

Sam I am

Dr. Sam Beckett

Uncle Sam

Samuel Clemens

Samwise Gamgee

The Good Sams

And this guy!

Happy one-week-and-one-day birthday, Sam! You are sure a keeper.

introducing Samuel Clive

Our little Sam finally made his entrance into the world on Saturday July 12 at 3:10 pm after a quick and easy induction. He weighed in at an astonishing 10 lbs 13 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. And a 14 inch head! No one was more surprised than me. I guess I should apologize to all the people who thought I was having twins. I kind of did.

He has five adorable rolls on his squishy pink arms and a grumpy little crease of pudge at the bridge of his nose. He is the baldest of our babies so far, but I guess he was redirecting all those calories elsewhere. We call him Sammy the Bruiser, but he so far has a sweet disposition despite looking a bit like a thug. Looking at the size of his parents, he probably won't stay the biggest kid on the playground for long. :)

Sam's debut, in many photos:

Both girls were super excited to see their new baby brother and to hold him. I love how quickly they have assimilated them into our family and how delighted they are to finally be seeing him after months of talking to him through my tummy. Sam will have many little mommies taking care of him!

Eve loved to write little messages to Sam on the white board in my room. When I unexpectedly had to stay Sunday night instead of going home that afternoon as planned (they wanted to monitor some of Sam's erratic breathing), her cheery little messages brightened up a rather long and lonely night at the hospital. I love how it says, "Best brother ever!"

Finally going home! I love how Jared and Sam are unintentional twinners in their going home outfits.

The girls were very excited that we were finally coming home. They kept whispering little secrets in his ear. Eleanor's was, "When you grow up, you have to be a pony or a T-rex. Or a dragon."

Jared and the girls planned a surprise birthday party for Sam, so when we walked through the door, there were balloons and streamers and a big chocolate cake complete with a zero candle. I was impressed that they had baked a cake but then they told me they made the frosting from scratch since we didn't have any in the pantry. It was delicious! I need to tap into these hidden talents of Jared's.

It was so much fun to come home to a little party and to unwrap the pictures they had made for their new brother. Sam also thoughtfully provided a little gift bag for each of his sisters courtesy of Mom. So nice to come home to a party and to celebrate this new addition to our family. I'm sure there will be sleepless nights (I've already had two!) and so many new changes, but I love that the girls found it a reason to celebrate. So welcome baby Sammy! We love you!

grower's market

I woke up today having no idea what I was going to do with the kids. I was not expecting to have to plan activities this far into the month! But luckily it was Children's Day at our local grower's market and we had a lot of fun.

There were pony rides...

I love how serious Eleanor is about her pony ride. How is her head not falling over in that huge helmet?

And face painting...

And cookies to eat....

And flowers to smell...

The vegetables looked pretty good (as did the flavored lemonades!) but it was getting hot and I decided to follow my friend's 15-minute rule by leaving before the kids were cranky (the rule is you leave 15 minutes before everyone starts falling apart and while everyone is still happy. Genius, but tricky to time - I'm trying, Corinne!)

But I'd love to go back and get me some of those berries and some butter lettuce. And a watermelon lemonade. Mmmmmmmmm...

just a birthday, not a birth day

It is now Thursday, July 10 so it looks like I won't be sharing a birthday with the little guy. On the upside, he gets his own special day and doesn't have to share it with his mom. And vice versa. I was reluctant to give up the only day of the year where my family has to eat what I want to eat and do what I want to do. On the downside, I'm still pregnant. Oh well.

A nice birthday, all in all. One of my sweet Laurels came over the night before and gave me a pedicure as a gift. The perks of being in with the Young Women! It was perfectly lovely, though I did feel bad she had to touch my swollen pregnant feet. I now have cute toes for my delivery.

Yesterday, we were invited to a pool/pizza party with some of our good friends and spent a chunk of the 108 degree day splashing around. I also got to talk to my mom for the first time since my parents left for Korea just over a week ago. Jared and the girls and my family spoiled me rotten - I had the biggest pile of presents! I think Jared felt bad for his poor pregnant birthday girl. :) He brought home dinner from a fresh mex place I like, which was one of the nicest gifts of all - not having to cook.

I was going to post a few pictures but, on closer inspection, I think I won't. I am four days over due after all, so I think I have the right to withhold them! And delete them...

I lied

I actually do have one picture from the 4th of July:

No, I have no pictures of my kids in their adorable flag t-shirts and hair ribbons, but I do have a picture of half-eaten Jello! You can see it unmolded just fine, even if it did have to suffer being put on an orange tray.

wasn't born yesterday

My due date was yesterday and I am still pregnant. It looks like this little boy will carry on the grand tradition established by his sisters of making a fashionably late entrance into this world.

Despite a very positive doctor's appointment on Thursday ("you'll go any day now!"), the 4th came and went - as did our dreams of naming him Benjamin Jefferson Quincy Hancock. It was a really super day, though - we met friends for the community BSA pancake breakfast, stayed for the parade, spent a lazy afternoon at home, had a little family BBQ (complete with flag Jello), and went to a nearby park to wait for night and fireworks. The kids were troopers from start to finish, despite being up till 11:00. Alas, I have absolutely no pictures because I was not in the mood to bend down and squat and coax smiles. I'm kind of regretting that now.

I thought the 5th would be a grand day for the baby to come. But Eleanor was pretty grumpy and underslept, so on closer inspection, maybe it's all for the best he stayed put.

I was prepared to stay home from church yesterday. I really hate going to church on/after my due date - it is usually an exercise in humiliation and tongue-biting. But at the last minute, I decided that I'd rather go than stay home and feel sorry for myself, so I threw on a dress and a really positive attitude and joined my family. I was glad I went. For the first time ever, no one said anything rude. On the contrary, everyone was so sweet and supportive. And it gave me the opportunity to secure one of my Laurels as our emergency babysitter for whenever labor strikes. I thought last night would be a good night for his arrival so I wouldn't have to go to my doctor's appointment this morning. No such luck.

At my appointment this morning, I actually scheduled an induction. For the the first time ever. I'm on the line up for 6am Saturday morning, but I really think (and hope!) he will come on his own before then. I certainly tried today! I spent today doing three loads of laundry, mopping all the floors in my house, cleaning two bathrooms, and changing and washing the sheets on my bed. Let's see if my fanatical nesting brings on labor. Who wants to go on a nice long walk after dinner?

giving the flag a little wiggle room

I have a flag Jello mold that I use once a year, for obvious reasons. It makes a cute little layered Jello that the kids love and that looks really festive. And nearly every year I have problems with it. (Maybe it runs in my family - I'm sure several family members remember the infamous 50 State Jello mold incident of '96!)

One year it wouldn't set up. Last year I brought it to a barbecue at a friends house only to have all three layers slide off of eachother, making a big wiggly mess. And this year? I haven't even made all three layers yet and disaster has already struck! While checking on the bowl of blue Jello (does my finger stick to it? does it "mound," like the recipe says?), a tupperware of taco meat decided to jump into my uncovered bowl of Jello.

I'm pretty sure that a cup of Jello exploded all over the inside of my fridge. It was everywhere! (It reminded me of the Mr. Bean episode where he's showing his waiter how his steak tartare is inside the salt shaker, under his plate, etc.) How did it get in the butter drawer? Or inside the loaf of bread? It was one big sticky mess - I don't think my fridge will ever be the same.

On the bright side, at least it gave me a reason to clean out my fridge. And maybe squatting and standing a hundred times wiping out the Jello will induce labor. Who knows? At least I already got my Jello crisis out of the way. I'm sure it will unmold just great tomorrow. With a somewhat thinner layer of blue.

oh, what do you eat in the summertime?

It is hot in Medford. And hazy and smoky courtesy of the several wildfires burning in northern California. And who wants to cook in weather like this?

Tonight we had one of my favorite hot weather, I-don't-want-to-cook dinners - Panzanella. Thanks, Barefoot Contessa! It's a great Tuscan style salad, consisting mostly of toasted bread cubes and fresh veggies in a light vinaigrette. I make it more dinnery by adding mozzarella and cannellini beans. I forgot to take a picture of it before we ate it, but I promise it is nice and refreshing on a hot day. We had corn on the cob and watermelon to go with and my kitchen is still cool.

What else is cool and tasty on a hot summer night? What is your favorite keep-cool summer recipe? This hot pregnant lady wants to know!

a few items while waiting for the baby

1. I have not had my baby yet.

Just in case my absence from posting put ideas into your heads, I am still pregnant and still waiting. My due date is this Sunday so I will try to play it cool until Monday. After that, I can freak out. For the record, I was 10 days late with Eve and 3 days late with Eleanor so I should keep my expectations fairly low.


2. Our other roses turned out to be pink.

I was hoping for yellow, which is my favorite, but the girls were pleased as punch that they turned out pink. I spend the morning pruning and deadheading and even picked myself a big fluffy bouquet of them. Gardening is very therapeutic while waiting for a baby.

3. Jared is very nice.

Jared has been super helpful and supportive, even more than his usual kind and considerate self. I have slept in the past few Saturdays and, this last weekend, he and the girls disappeared to run errands for several hours leaving me to take it easy and enjoy the peace and quiet. It was so lovely! And it's important to note that it was over 100 degrees on Saturday, so while I stayed cool inside, he ran the kids around in the sweltering heat. He has also become the primary bather and tucker-inner recently. I'm sure if I told him I was done cooking and that we had to order pizza every night from now on until the baby comes, he wouldn't bat an eyelash - he'd just say, "Okay! Good idea!" What would I do without Jared to take care of me?

4. I think pregnant women in Jane Austen's day enjoyed a few perks.

Okay, so maybe the mother and infant mortality rate was really high. And there wasn't the miracle of modern day medicine. And they had to ruin their sheets having their babies at home in their own beds. BUT! I think society was very merciful on the pregnant woman back then by confining them to their homes for the last few months of the pregnancy. Perhaps this was really to preserve the woman's dignity so she didn't have to disgrace herself by showing her growing belly. But I secretly think it's so they didn't have to leave the house and listen to the neighborhood busy-bodies say, "Are you still here? Why haven't you had that baby yet?" I wish I could confine myself. Target is full of busy bodies. As is my ward.

5. I don't like earwigs.

I remember from my childhood summers spent in Eugene, Oregon that earwigs are a fact of life around here. But we seem to have more than our fair share. As Eve aptly put it this morning, while squashing one, "Earwigs are so totally not endangered." I don't think they really do anything except look ugly and eat my roses, but I still don't like them.

6. This is for you, Grandma J.

The girls love their "Hong Kong dresses," as they like to call them. This is the second Sunday in a row that Eve wore hers - we may have to lay down some rules! :)