Mostly Silas and Sam

Sammy turned 2 on March 30th! We had his party the weekend before. He wanted a garbage truck cake. His train idea was a close second, so we went with that instead. I think he enjoyed it!
Since the cake below would feed maybe 5 (hungry) people, the one on top was a backup to make sure we had enough!


Sam has been such a joy! He is a very passionate and excitable kid...when we pick him up from his time in Sunday school, he seems to explode like he hasn't seen us in months! You will rarely see him without a ball in hand ready to "dunk" it somewhere. If he misses the basket, he says "missed it" with the same excitement as if he made the shot. If he sees a baby anywhere, he absolutely cannot pass him or her up without an affectionate nuzzle and a few kisses. He makes me smile a lot :)


Digging in!

Below, Sam is opening his gift from Uncle Phil.... and it's ....


the latest Cozy Coupe model, face included! All the kids love this one! Thanks Uncle Phil!


"Cheeeeeeese!"

Ohhhhhh! A track and cars! This will be fun!


The car set and "BATHketball" set are from Uncle Bri and Amber. They always seem to know exactly what the kids will be interested in! We had fun having Sammy repeat "Bathketball". Just try and say it. You might even laugh out loud.


Bri and Amber are getting married in August. We better start practicing walking down an isle with Sammy. He will be a ring bearer and needs strict instructions on not dunking the rings!


Here's Gretta checking out the sand/water box from GG and Gampy. So fun!


That's where Gretta must have been when the picture below was taken with GG and Gampy :)


And finally, a Hot Wheels bike from Grandma Lo and Grandpa Jer. Now we can go for bike rides without fighting over Gretta's Dora bike. :)


Thanks Grandpa and Grandma!


Great Grandma and Great Grandpa enjoying some Sam-time.



Gretta got Sam a flashlight. Perfect for camping this summer!



The birthday boy ready to go on an adventure...


Silas, Sam and Gretta...a common scene in our home. Whenever Silas is anywhere near reaching distance, the older two are as close to him as can be.


They love their little brother. I think it's mutual!


Here's Sy at four months old. Poor guy had a double ear infection towards the end of a week long cold. He's still in smiles though. What a trooper! Praise God for all of our little blessings!

This & That

Silas has the best forehead. I found that out when I put this almost-too-small-hat on him before a walk. Just look at those scrunchy wrinkles :)

One night away from kids (besides Silas) + 4 girlfriends + lots of chocolate = 1 sweet time :) Thanks mom and dad for letting us stay at the cabin. We had a blast!



While Sam learned how to swim in the pool below, Gretta practiced her balance beam skills in the balcony above. The both slept like logs that night. Woo hoo :)

Got our pizza ready for the oven...

Set the timer for 30 minutes...

Ate the rest of the cheese &....


Ta Da! Happy Valentine's Day!

Here we are at Jody's house. Sammy & Gretta are having a blast with Anna!


Silas is having a good time too, kicking those monkey feet around :)


Si's last bath in the little tub...sniff sniff! He just seemed to be too big & kicked out most of the water anyway...Grets and Sam love having him in the big tub. Sam's first welcome to Si was a cup of water over his head...let the fun times begin!!

Ninja Sam attempting the splits in jeans...



And Gretta in her home-made princess (80's?!) outfit. She asked me, "mommy, does daddy have a tool to keep my headband on my head?"


Some of Gretta's latest art...wow, it is so cool to see her draw people, letters and shapes!!


GG taught her how to draw kites, so we see them on almost all of her pictures lately...



And finally...a gummy grin from Si, with love.

Three reasons why I need to stick to blogging when the kids are sleeping:

4:10 Sammy comes in the living room with a mouth full of I wasn't sure what. I asked him to open his mouth, and sure enough, he got the banana from the trash that I threw out around lunch time because it was very brown on the inside but the peel was yellow. Gross.

4:14 Gretta yells from Silas' room after #1 above happened, "mommy, come and see what sammy is doing with markers!!" My stomach sunk. Sammy colored with black marker on the hard wood. Yes I took pictures. Maybe I will post them next time.

4:21 Gretta yells from the kitchen minutes after #2 above happened, "mommy, come and see what sammy is opening in the kitchen!!" Of course he found those, the presents I just finished wrapping for their cousins. I shouldn't have been surprised!

Our visit with Carly

Our friend Carly was over for a while last month. We had snacks...


drew pictures (not without talking on the phone a bit :)


and took good care of Silas! Carly is going to be a big sister pretty soon!!


Below is Silas's 2 Month picture...my Little Slam Dunker :)


Sammy's new favorite place: the time-out corner. He likes to give himself time-outs and then count to 10 as fast as he can...

Happy New Year!!

We brought in the New Year with lots of laughter....

new faces...

not so new faces...

....and messy hair! Tim made us special blueberry pancakes to celebrate the New Year. Since none of us were up past ten the night before (well, with some exceptions... :) we had a pretty energetic morning.

Gretta teaching Silas "cheeeeeeeese". Out of all of us, I think Gretta gets Silas to smile the most. Usually, that is.

This is the day mom had a lot of cooking to do, and a lot of little ones (and one big one under the table) to take care of. Solution? TV trays in the kitchen and play dough. One great combination that led to minutes of fun.

Who doesn't like to mix all of the play dough colors together?

This is at a gymnasium near our house; our new discovery before Silas was born. Silas came with us (well...out of the womb this time) but slept for the majority of the hour. Gretta builds a castle; Sammy knocks it down. Gretta laughs....thankfully.

Sammy doing what he does best, but this time on furniture where climbing is encouraged :)

Dad and Silas spending time together. We have been blessed with family members who have been more than willing to take Gretta and Sam overnight on a few occasions. Thanks to their help, we got the attic clean, enjoyed a date out to our favorite date-spot, Cafe Espresso, and even managed to get a few cribbage games in. Oh, how quiet it was with one child!


Our friends Sarah and Dale just moved a bit further away from us, so we are especially happy (don't let Sammy's face fool you) when we get to see them and their two kids, Matt and Annabelle.


Goof-balls :)


Notice the color choice of Gretta's crayon pile. He he. She was humming the tune to "The Farmer In the Dell" and then broke out in the lyrics (not joking) "Hi-ho the Dairy Queen the farmer in the dell". Too cute to tell her the real words :)


And finally, Silas at 5 weeks old. With Gretta, each months picture of her first year of life was taken exactly on the 19th of each month. With Sam, give or take a few days. With Silas, well, give or take a week. :) He is such a joy to us; we are blessed indeed.

Another wait is over and our hearts are full!

Silas Nathaniel Gremore Born on November 23rd 2009 at 1:21pm
8lbs 11oz 20 1/4 inches


Proud and thankful mommy and daddy!


Sam and Gretta just love their little brother! I wasn't sure how things would go, especially considering Sammy's latest motto "my momma!". Well, he marched into the hospital room, with that characteristic left arm of his pumping, ready for a mission. "Baby!" he exclaimed and even wanted to take him home! Gretta was such a proud big sister too, showing off her new big sister sticker. She was a little more apprehensive at first, but I'm sure will be a huge helper with Silas.

More to come!!