BatGrandpa

As many of you know, I come from a family of girls.  So my memories of playing with my father revolved mostly around swimming, riding our bikes, and playing cards.  They are fond memories because my dad was always completely present when he spent time with me.  I don't remember him being very distracted or short tempered.  He would just devote the time we had to our interactions.  Now that I have children, I love watching them interact with their grandpa.  Once again my dad devotes as much attention as he can when he is with them.  It's especially fun because they are boys, which means I get to see a whole new side of my dad.  The following pictures will be added to my best memories!

In Action!

Yes, that is my dad's barber smock he is using as a cape!

Love my dad!

I might need to enlarge this and hang it in our house!

Lets not forget a haircut from BatBarber!!

I'm always amazed at how still Michael sits for a haircut. 

For now Sammy just enjoys his grandpa's hugs and cuddles!

Thanks dad, for being so awesome!

A Few of My Favorite Things....

Being home everyday with two children is hard work!  It's not just caring for them that can be challenging, but also all of the details of creating a home that can sometimes become overwhelming.  So when times get tough I try and stop myself from stressing out and take pleasure in the little things that make me smile.  I try and relish in the tiny details that I come across that remind me how fun it is to have little boys.  And it is SO FUN!  Here are a few of my favorite things....

Justice League underwear

Dinosaurs in the bathtub

Mini shaving set

Finding out your son is Spiderman

Super Heroes in the sand

mini lawn mower next to Papa's

Finding out your son is Batman

Motorcycles in the mailbox

mini hats and capes on the coat hangers

Superman birthday parties

Finding out your son is Gandolf the Grey

Tiny hand prints on the couch cushions

Finding out your son is Frankenstein

Finding out his little brother is an owl

Finding out your son turns into the green lantern while he's sleeping

!

 

Thank Heaven for Little Boys!

Brothers!

Here they are!  The Brothers!  It is so much fun taking pictures of these two when they are both cooperating.  ie. Samuel isn't crying and Michael isn't saying "NO!".  The transition into brotherhood has come with more turbulence than was expected.  We knew Little Michael would have some challenges sharing attention, but we have found that this challenge runs deep!  Don't get me wrong, Michael is a great big brother!  And in all fairness, he is turning 3 soon which we have heard is the "New 2".  And we probably have said "Shhh!" and "Be Quiet!" and "Don't do that!" more in the last 6 weeks than in his entire "single child" life.  Basically we are all adjusting!  But overall Michael loves baby Samuel and tries hard to interact with him..... and contain his sometimes overpowering urge to squeeze his face....hard. 

For the record, Michael 2 years 10 months, Samuel 1 month.

My little gentleman...

I vividly remember the day I brought Little Michael home from the hospital.  It was so exciting and scary to think Michael and I were going to have to care for this precious baby all on our own!  Fast forward 3 years and I was filled with a new emotion....Pride.  I was so proud of Little Michael as he escorted me out of the hospital with his baby brother.  I knew we had some bumps ahead with introducing this new person to our family.  But when Little Michael insisted on walking me out, I knew everything would be ok!  I love you my little man....my little gentleman....

 

Welcome Samuel!

 We did it!!!  We had another baby and he is beautiful!  Here is Samuel Braddock Romero! 

Born on Easter, April 8th, 2012 @ 2:46pm.  6 lbs 9 oz, 19 1/2 inches.

 Yes, you may have noticed we are not in an operating room!  I was able to have a VBAC this time!  (If you don't know what that means...look it up)  I will tell me labor story later....

 Proud Papa of his second handsome son!

I'm not sure why this pic is so important to me, but it is!!!  Maybe because it captures the before and after, or because it captures a moment in time that describes the details of what has just occurred.  And what has just occurred is SOOOOO important!  And maybe because I glanced at this board repeatedly for 14 hours!  For some reason I get flooded with memories and a myriad of emotions when I see this picture.  Maybe its because I may never see a board like this again....

Happy Easter Eve...

 It's Easter time!  I love coloring Easter eggs and was anxious to share this experience with Little Michael!  On Saturday, the night before, we finally got around to dying eggs!  For some reason we had not accomplished it earlier!  It was a crazy evening that started with a neighborhood BBQ where we ate LOTS of food and the kids played like wild children all over the front yard!  We had a great time and realized at about 7:30pm that we had not dyed eggs. We rushed in the house, Skyped with my family, and then began the fun process of giving a toddler an egg and a bowl full of food coloring!  Yea!  I was a bit exhausted being that I was 39 weeks pregnant and having serious contractions which I now know is called labor!! But we had lots of fun and ended up with some beautiful bright Easter eggs!

 Sporting the 39 week belly!

 Michael's first batch of Easter eggs!  Good job little man!

 Ready for bed with eggs and basket out for the Easter Bunny! Also we left out carrots and water in case the Easter bunny needed a snack!  

But, the Easter Bunny went into labor and ended up here.....

Thank you Deanne and Mike Sr. for making sure Easter was a success!

Under Construction...

As you can see, our blog is under construction! I am not a very talented blogger, basically I only know how to add a post and some pictures :( And as many of you know, posts have become few and far between! So I will do my best to update our family news while I wait for my husband to add a cool header and show me how to be less boring in my format and layout. In the mean time here are some recent events worth noting:

1. I am 20 weeks pregnant (I know that's a biggy!)
2. We are having another boy! Samuel Braddock Romero
3. I am 11 working days away from being a stay at home mom! (another biggy!)
4. We won the lottery!

No just kidding on the last one! I felt like I needed a fourth item even though the first three are eventful enough. And in many ways we have won the lottery with a second baby coming, the opportunity for my to stay home with my boys, and being surrounded by the best family and friends one could wish for!
So keep an eye out for back-dated posts! Thank you for your loyalty in keeping us on your bloglist with so few posts these past 6 months...ok, this past year!
Amanda