Top Reasons Why Christmas With Sam & Ben Rocks

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-Having Sam point to a new toy each day in December saying, “I want this for Christmas”
-Sam shouting, “I love it, I love it, I love it” while opening presents
-Spending 6 hours building a gingerbread house…enough said
-Riding the Santa train and almost missing Santa
-“Catching” Santa leaving presents by the tree (thanks Pop!)
-Watching a true believer open presents Christmas morning
-It’s actually cold outside so we get to see Ben in his cute hats
-Explaining on December 26th that we have to wait another year to do this againcc

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Moving Thomas

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Sam loves playing with his “moving Thomas”. Thanks Grandma & Paw Paw!

Playtime!

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We’re having the best time watching Ben grow. He’s starting to put everything in his mouth and loves to squeal all day long. But his favorite activity is watching the ceiling fans go round and round.

Christmas with the Lindsey's

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We always have the best time in Palestine. This year we decided to celebrate Christmas early with the Lindsey side so we could all be together. There was lots of smiling and laughing while presents were being opened. But the best was when Sam opened his gift from Lindsey & Daniel (a tool belt and hard hat). I’ve never seen such excitement from Sam. He was jumping up and down, screaming with delight and clapping his hands. It was truly the reaction everyone hopes for during the holiday season. Thanks to all the Lindsey gang (and Rogillio’s…and Lewis’s) for making this holiday truly memorable!

Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow!

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This has been the year of extreme weather in Houston. First a major hurricane and now snow! It was beautiful to see huge snowflakes falling in December.

Sam ran around trying to catch them while Ben watched in amazement. We got enough that it actually covered the ground, but our winter wonderland melted by morning.

I tried to get some good pictures but I’m not used to photographing snow!

Brotherly Love

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Take my picture

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As many of you know, I love to photograph my children, friends, family, etc. Sam has become increasingly interested in taking pictures over the past few months. Here are a few of his photographs from this past weekend. So artistic!

Running!

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One of Sam’s classmates had a party at Little Gym this past weekend. The kids honestly ran nonstop for 45 minutes & then shoved cake/ice cream down their throat. It was such fun!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

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Christmas has always been one of my most favorite times of the year. The decorations, lights, songs, shopping for loved ones… But it’s especially great this year because Sam actually understands what’s going on.

This past weekend, we definitely got into the Christmas spirit.

One of the museums created a snow playground on the front lawn of their property. Since this was the first time Sam has seen snow he didn’t know what to think of it. But 2 of his good friends were there, Kate & Sean, so they encouraged him to make his first real snow ball. He ended up having a great time.

The next day we purchased our Christmas tree. It’s great to run through all the trees to find your favorite. This year Scott and Sam found their favorite tree only 2 minutes after we arrived. It took longer to get Ben in the Baby Bjorn than to find our tree! When we arrived home, Sam helped Scott position the tree in the stand and carry it into our living room. As we were decorating, Sam wanted to know who gave us each of the ornaments on our tree. Most have actually been handmade by my mom over the years. Some were given to us before we got married…some from when Sam was born. There’s a lot of memories on our tree.

I love this time of year!

Eeyore...our new best friend

Ben has become so expressive in the past few weeks. He’s almost 3 ½ months, and we’re truly loving this time in his life.

Before Ben was born, we let Sam pick any toy he wanted for his little brother. He was really into Winnie the Pooh at the time and chose a stuffed Eeyore. Sam was determined to make it Ben’s favorite toy, and became very persistent in giving it to him each and every day. Over the past week Ben has fallen in love with the toy. We never leave home without Eeyore…not that Sam would allow us to!

Grandparent's Night

Mimi and Pop came to Houston last night for Grandparent’s Night at Sam’s school. The school puts on a massive book fair each year and they always invite the grandparents for the opening night.

They got to meet Sam’s most beloved teacher, Ms. Faruolo and some of his favorite classmates. They were such troopers by playing on the playground outside prior to the beginning of the book fair, and for looking at every single book that Sam picked up. Of course, he ended up choosing one of the only books at the fair that made noise. I was hoping it would accidently leave in the Sheehan’s car but alas Sam pulled it out to read at 7am.

Thanks to Mimi & Pop for making the long drive on a school night! I hope you had an extra cup of coffee and tea this morning.

A big 3 month old

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Happy 3 month birthday, Ben! Even though I got your birthday wrong on your birth announcement (thanks to everyone who never mentioned the mistake…I guess the hurricane zapped all my brain cells that were left following pregnancy) I do remember the exact day you were born. I’m sure you will never let me live it down!

We’re having the best time watching you learn new things. This past week you discovered that you had hands attached to your body. The curiosity and intensity on your face as you explore these “things” is so fascinating to watch. I can’t wait until you discover that you have feet, too!

Can you feel the love?

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Sam continues to amaze us at how much he loves (and wants to engage) his little brother. I can’t capture every great moment on film (I like to be in the moment for most of them) but I had to share a few from the past week. What cuties!

Thanksgiving in P-town

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This year, we packed up and headed to Palestine for Thanksgiving. It was a quick trip but a wonderful time. We spent Thanksgiving Day as we always do at the Lindsey’s…watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on TV, eating lunch at Gigi’s, cheering on the Cowboys in the afternoon, eating leftover ham for dinner and then it’s off to bed with very full bellies.

Of course, the growing number of grandchildren makes for a lot of insanity during and in between all these events. And there were 21 total people at lunch this year (a few noticeably missing…Lou, Dabney & Mike…we really missed you guys!) so that calls for a lot of laughing, jockeying for a place at the “big” kids table, stories about life, fighting over the last bit of mac & cheese, fighting over a “real” chair to sit in, just fighting in general, etc.

Luckily, the weather ended up being great so we spent most of the afternoon hanging out in the backyard watching Sam, Van & Bella (and some very energetic adults) run around Gigi’s backyard.

It’s always great to be with family. Looking forward to seeing you all again in 2 weeks.

Good times with the BOYS!

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We had another great weekend hanging out with the boys. They continue to keep us busy, but their positive dispositions make the days fly by. I wish I could bottle up this time in each of their lives.

A House Divided

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I guess you now know which teams they support. Let's hope they never have to play each other or else it could get ugly! But honestly, who's been teaching Sam all about the Longhorns? Go ahead and speak up now!

What's that lady doing in the men's room?

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Scott has every other Friday off. This past Friday we took Sam’s good friend, Sean, for the morning. It was an exhausting but eventful time.

I wish I would have taken a picture of the three boys in the backseat. It was a tight squeeze with all the car seats. Ben was sandwiched in between Sam & Sean. While I was a little nervous about this at first, the older boys were surprisingly nice to the crying baby in the backseat. Sam and Sean spent most of the car time speaking toddler gibberish and pointing out every construction vehicle that we passed.

We made our way to Pump It Up (an indoor inflatable jumping place). Sean immediately goes in and finds the highest part of one of the inflatables and jumps off. I just knew we were headed to the hospital but he just bounces back up, completely unfazed. After a little bit of crazy jumping by both boys, Sean needs to go to the boys room (he’s potty trained) & Sam tells us he needs to go too. So, Scott, Sam, Sean, Ben and I all head into the boy’s room…what an experience. Sean’s at the urinal…Sam’s on the potty…Ben’s screaming his head off in Scott’s arms…and I’m just laughing. I guess this is what I have to look forward to as a mom of 2 boys. We wash hands and head back to jump some more.

Finally, we leave for Lupe Tortilla to eat some lunch. Upon arrival, the boys run out to the sandbox and grab a dirt digger and a dump truck…necessities on this particular playground. The boys share their regular meal, kid’s quesadilla. Sean eats the quesadilla and Sam the rice & beans…and both eat lots and lots of chips. After lunch they head back to the playground. As both boys go into “I’m tired and about to have a complete breakdown” mode, Betsy (Sean’s mom) arrives. There were a few (actually a lot) tears as both boys head to their separate cars. You would think they hadn’t spent every day that week together (Mon-Wed at school, Thurs at gym, Friday playdate)…and that they wouldn’t see each other again on Monday.

It only takes about 10 minutes when we arrive home for everyone (mom and dad included) to fall asleep. We love our boys but they sure do wear us out!

Fun during bath time

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I love how curious kids are at Sam’s age. Tonight during bath time, Sam accidentally made a water fountain with a cup. He was very proud of his invention.

Praise the Lord

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Sam has chapel at school every Wednesday. Today was a sharing chapel where students were encouraged to bring non-perishable food to donate to a local food pantry for Thanksgiving. It was amazing how high the pile of food was. But the best part was watching Sam and all the other 2-5 year olds singing Jesus Loves Me at the top of their lungs while doing the corresponding hand signs…and putting their hands together while the head of school prayed. It was a touching experience.

Howdy

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We’ve got a future cowboy on our hands. The boys and I go to the Children’s Museum at least once a week. They have a section in the museum that represents Mexico. Sam found these tiny cowboy hats and tried to put them on his head…of course, they didn’t fit. So, we tried one on Ben. As you can tell from his smile, he wants us to buy him one for his own personal use. Howdy Y’all!

First Family Portraits

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http://www.brookeschwabphotography.com/myblog/portraits-1/a-new-brother.html

Last week we had Brooke Schwab over to our house to photograph the boys. It was one of the most stressful moments that I’ve experienced with the boys, but the results are amazing.

The link above is a link to Brooke’s blog about the photo session. She also includes a few of her (and our) favorite photos. What cuties!!!

SLDS Halloween Party

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Here are some pics from Sam’s Halloween Party at St. Luke’s. They are a bit late but I just got them from another mom. The teachers “helped” (they were a little too neat in Scott’s opinion for the kids to actually have painted them) each student paint their shirt the week before so they could wear them to the party. They looked so adorable in their handmade, pumpkin shirts.

Round & Round We Go

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Oh, what a day!

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Ben wanted to spend a lot of quality time with me last night, so I woke up (did I ever really go to sleep?) this morning exhausted, not knowing how I would possibly survive until Scott arrives home from work tonight. Of course, it’s raining which means I will have to somehow get Sam, Ben and all of Sam’s stuff into his school without it getting completely soaked. Sam insists on getting his Thomas the Tank Engine umbrella out. He walks all over the house knocking things off tables while hitting Sadie & Ben in the process. As I come outside to get the boys loaded into the car I remember that I forgot Sam’s snack inside. The door locks automatically behind me, so I place the key in the lock only to have it stick where I can’t move it much less unlock the door. I place the kids in the car telling myself that Sam can share a snack with a classmate. Once we’re on our way Ben starts to scream louder and louder the longer we drive along. As we pull into the parking lot at St. Luke’s the entire car is on edge.

Luckily the rain has stopped so I manage to get everyone inside without getting wet. Ben allows me to get Sam settled into his classroom without even one scream from the hallway where he waits in his carseat. When I come out to retrieve Ben, I notice he’s fallen asleep while I was helping Sam. He continues to sleep the entire way home and then for another 1 ½ hours in his crib. When I wake him up to feed him he’s as happy and smiley as they come. After picking Sam up from school we come back to the house for lunch. No one cries, whines or complains throughout the entire lunch (woo hoo!) and I actually get a lot of feedback from Sam on how his day went. Following lunch we play with trains, read books, sing songs and get ready for nap. All go to bed without hesitation.

What an intense and lively 5 hours we’ve had thus far…I can’t wait to see what the afternoon brings!

Playtime!

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This time of year in Texas is amazing. Blue skies & cooler weather make for lots & lots of outdoor playtime. We spend at least an hour each day at a park enjoying the great weather and considerably more time than that in the backyard. The boys are truly happier when they can have a little outdoor time. Here are a few pics of the boys playing outside (and inside) over the past few days.

(Thing 1 + Thing 2) x 2

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My mom and Aunt Deta went to Florida in September and brought back these hilarious shirts/bibs. I just had to share the group photo!

Growing up so fast!

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Sam and Ben are both at points in their lives where developmentally they are growing in a very noticeable way. It’s amazing, exhausting and thrilling all wrapped up together.

Ben is really starting to give a lot back. He’s got a killer smile (with a dimple in the right cheek just like Sam) and when he’s well fed and well rested he will smile & flirt with you for 30 minutes. He’s also starting to coo. I love this time during infancy.

Last week at the park Ben also rolled from his back to stomach. Of course, he was immediately upset the second he did it because he realized that he would now have to hold his head up. Tummy time is not something he likes. He’s also very aware of things going on around him (very much like Sam was at this age) but he’s much more serious about it. Don’t try to have a staring contest with him because he will win every time! Oh I wish I knew what was going on inside that brain of his!

Sam is turning more and more into a complete jokester. I’m afraid we’ve got the next Conan O’Brien on our hands (minus the red hair). He’s amazingly funny…so much so that we try not to crack up every time he says something. He also picks up on everything we say so we’re having to be more and more careful about conversations and reactions to things.

He also loves to see people he knows in other people. Like every time he sees a picture of Martha Stewart he says it’s his Mimi (Scott’s mom)… And yesterday he saw a lady on the back of the blueberry muffin box and he said it was me. Both of these likenesses were actually pretty flattering (in my opinion) but they aren’t always!

We love Carolina!

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I always wonder how 2 people from rival schools ever make it past the 1st date…especially when their families are graduates of the schools as well. And we’re not talking about some crappy rivalry…we’re talking UNC vs Duke!

Luckily, our good friend Ellie (who graduated from Duke and who’s parents met at Duke and who’s cousins attended Duke…you get the picture) made it past the 1st date without storming off when her new husband Adam mentioned that he graduated from a rival school (he graduated from UNC and loves, loves, loves Carolina). We’ve enjoyed the email exchanges between the 2 during a fierce, heavily battled game. And while they’ve both been good sports about the rivalry thus far, I can’t wait for the day when their 1st born applies to college…oh to be a fly on the wall…

They are 2 truly generous and loving people who treated us to an eventful wedding weekend. We felt so honored to be part of their wedding celebration and wish them all the happiness in the world. And while we knew Ellie first (and actually used to cheer for Duke before Scott attended UNC…what was wrong with us), we have to admit that we’ve become pretty fond of her husband (the UNC connection didn’t hurt).

You guys are so lucky to have found the other. Have a great time on your honeymoon. Make sure to send pics of the beautiful UNC lamp in your apartment! We won’t accept any stories about it getting “broken” while in transit to Chicago.

Happy Halloween!

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While Scott & I attended a wedding in San Antonio, my amazing (and now very tired) parents kept the boys for 2 nights. The first night was Halloween. They took the boys to a small carnival at a park near our house. There were tons of toddler activities, hot dogs and a fire truck that came at the end. After that they trick or treated to a few houses (apparently Sam wasn’t too keen on the whole thing) and then stopped by my aunt & uncle’s house to help them hand out candy. Scott & I were so sad to miss Halloween with the boys but it sounds like they had a memorable evening with my parents.

The rest of the weekend involved keeping the boys entertained & busy during the day (butterfly exhibit, TWO train rides at Hermann Park, football in the backyard with Aunt Deta, an impromptu trip to the zoo and lots & lots of Mexican food) so they would sleep well at night. I tried my best not to call every hour to get an update, but when I did check in I only got positive (and sometimes hilarious) stories. When we arrived home today, I could tell just how tired my parents were. Getting up off and on 2 nights in a row & chasing around a crazy toddler during the day can wear someone out very quickly. So, thank you Mom & Dad for spending a weekend entertaining the boys (and for the adorable pictures from Halloween night). I can tell they had a wonderful time!

Chubby, chubby cheeks

Ben had his 2 month check-up today. He’s growing like a weed and continues to be a non-stop eater (as is confirmed by his weight). I think we’ve got a future linebacker on our hands!

Here are his measurements:

Length – 23” (60%)
Weight – 12 lbs, 11 oz (75%)
Head – 16” (60%)

Day Out With Thomas

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This weekend we loaded up the boys and headed to Rusk, Texas to ride Thomas the Train. My brother and his family met us there as did my mom and Aunt Pam. To say the kiddos had a blast would be an understatement. Sir Tophan Hatt made an appearance and while my brother’s family (Arlen, Courtney, Van & Bella) got to meet him face-to-face Sam refused to go anywhere near him. Seeing Thomas was truly the highlight of the entire day. Surprisingly, he was very lifelike and all the kids insisted on getting their photos made with him. After our train ride, the kids played with the Thomas train tables, jumped around in the bounce houses, fed rabbits and goats and, of course, browsed through TONS of Thomas stuff that was available to purchase. We got out of there with only purchasing an umbrella & a lunch box and truly felt very fortunate (my mom wasn’t as lucky). Of course, Sam proceeded to try and convince us it was raining (there was not a cloud in the sky) so he could open his umbrella and then talked nonstop about a video his grandma had purchased (which we had to watch the second we arrived back home on Cottage St). I know it’s a day that Sam, Van, Bella & Ben (well…maybe not Ben) will remember for a very long time!

Trick or Treat

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Scott and I will be in San Antonio attending a wedding Halloween weekend so we’ll miss seeing the boys (and all their friends) dressed up in their costumes. Sam is a fireman and Ben's his dalmation/fire dog.

Since we will be gone, we decided to gather everyone at our house this morning for crafts, snacks (you would be surprised how quickly the m&m's went) and playtime to celebrate the holiday. We had as many newborns as 2 years olds so you can imagine the insanity that occurred during the party (at least one newborn crying because they were hungry or one 2 year old crying because they wanted a certain toy at all times). And while we didn’t have an actual Halloween contest, best in show definitely went to Sam’s school friend, Renato, who arrived in a wonderful elephant costume.

Happy Halloween!

Best Friends

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I don’t know if you can recall your first best friend. Maybe they are still in your life, but most likely not.

Sam has his first best friend, Sean McCeney. They’ve been in the same class at St. Luke’s for the past 2 years and take gymnastics together on Thursdays. When they see each other they jump around screaming as if it’s been months since their last playdate. During the occasional weeks that they see each other every day of the week, Sam will wake up on Saturday and ask to go to Sean’s house to play. He just can't get enough.

Since Sam was born, we’ve been waiting for him to acknowledge that another child his age was in the room…and now that he’s found someone to kick a ball with, climb ladders with, fight over a bag of goldfish with, have conversations with (I love toddler conversations!)…it’s just so rewarding. So, in case Sean moves tomorrow (which please don’t let happen because we would all be heartbroken), I hope Sam never forgets his first best friend!

Brotherly Love

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While Sam and Ben are night and day when it comes to their mannerisms as newborns (Sam crazy…Ben calm), they already have such a fascination with each other.

Ben will sit on my lap for hours watching Sam run around in the backyard or play with his train table. He loves (maybe love is too strong a word) it when Sam gets in his face and says, “Don’t cry fussy bear” and is most content in the backseat when he can turn his head to view his big brother.

In turn, Sam is taking his role as big brother very seriously. He loves to say “you’re my best boy ever” and is so ready for Ben to be able to play with him. He’s always asking us to “show Ben what I’m doing” and is never for one second bothered by his brother’s cries.

Only time will tell if they will continue to be opposites, but in the meantime we’ll continue to enjoy their interactions with each other.

Scott's Birthday Weekend

While it was technically Scott’s birthday weekend, we spent most of our time entertaining the kiddos. And while we all enjoyed the celebration, Scott is already lobbying for a “grown-up” birthday bash next year.

St. Luke's Pumpkin Patch

Hermann Park

Dewberry Farms

Happy Birthday, Scott

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ccScott turned 32 on Saturday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Daddy's Home!

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The brightest part of most days is the moment that Scott arrives home from work. Within 30 minutes of getting up from his nap Sam usually starts asking for me to “email Daddy to see when he’s coming home”. Once I announce that Scott is home, Sam yells, “Daddy’s home!” and runs immediately to the backdoor to wait for him to walk through so they can play. Of course, Sadie is right behind him fighting to get to Scott first. This makes me feel SO loved (kidding). Lately, the weather has been so nice that Scott can’t even make it in the door before Sam is begging to play basketball, lacrosse, soccer, digging dirt, fishing, wrestling, whatever…

Today the FAO Schwarz catalog arrived (top picture in the middle). Sam had picked out everything that he wanted for “Daddy” to buy him and instructed Scott to sit down so he could run through his selections with him (I tell Sam that I don’t have any money all the time so now he waits to ask for things from Scott). Scott and I just laughed at the entire situation because we both vividly remember circling things in the Sears catalog when we were little.

Many of you have asked how Sam has been reacting to having a newborn in the house. While the first few weeks after Ben’s arrival were tough on Sam, he’s been so happy and cheerful the past month. He truly loves his big brother and is always telling us to “wake him up”. He’s the first one to let us know when he hears Ben crying and is wonderful at reapplying the paci the second he notices that Ben has spit it out. Unfortunately, Ben doesn’t love the paci as much as Sam did so the battle over inserting the paci into a mouth that doesn’t want it begins. Of course, he has his moments that he wishes he was an only child again but they are becoming fewer and fewer. Scott and I are enjoying watching the bond between them grow each day. We just know (or maybe hope) they will be the best of friends one day.

Life after Ike

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While we, The Sheehan’s, left Houston the second we knew that Hurricane Ike was headed our way, many of our neighbors hung around to brave the storm. They went without electricity (which meant cold showers, darkness at 7pm, no hairdryer, no working refrigerator…you get the point) for 2 weeks. When we returned home, most of the mess had been thrown into piles on the front of each house’s lawn. The scariest sight was a huge pine tree that fell across the street, narrowly missing the house, two houses down from us (you will see a pic of the tree above…bottom pic is our viewing party as the city workers cut up the tree). While the tree was a huge inconvenience for workers that tried to get down our street to repair electricity/pick up trash/deliver mail/etc, it actually created a nice cul-de-sac feel that we missed the second the street was cleared. While there’s still people without electricity (not us thankfully) and lots of clean-up yet to do, we finally feel like life is returning to normal.

**A special thanks to our good friend Alan for providing us with the great photos above (the top left photo is a view from his front porch the morning after the hurricane hit).

Evacuation Trip Two - Palestine, Texas

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Scott and I parted ways on Sunday morning. He went back to work in Houston and I made my way (with the 2 boys) to Palestine for our next stop on the Hurricane Ike traveling Texas tour. Both of the boys were surprisingly well behaved on my first 3 hour trip alone. Ben slept the entire way (thank you, thank you son) and Sam entertained me by singing nursery rhymes, pointing out EVERY horse/cow that we passed (trust me, there were many) and saying hilarious things like, “Where did all the cars go? Where's the highway?” You can tell a majority of his childhood has been spent in traffic.

Once we made it to Palestine, we spent the next few days enjoying the simple and calm life of a small town. We spent every morning, afternoon and night playing in my parents’ backyard. We practically had to drag Sam in to take a bath each night. My Dad and Sam spent a lot of time playing lacrosse (and my Mom being the good grandma even played a few rounds herself) while I hung out on the porch with Ben.

The boys got to spend Tuesday morning at my Gigi’s house (truly the sweetest lady you will ever meet). She was such a trooper even though Ben screamed most of the time. Don’t worry Gigi, you’re still his favorite! Unfortunately, he didn’t get to enjoy any of her good home cooking on this trip but as Sam likes to say, “Ben can’t eat…he doesn’t have teeth!”

But the best news of all came Tuesday night. I came outside after feeding Ben and my mom told me we had power!!! It’s sad but I honestly got chills when I heard the news. She had just gotten off the phone with Scott, and said he sounded more excited than she had heard him in the longest time. Thank you Centerpoint Energy. I apologize for cursing your name all those days.

While we were sad for our short stay in P-town, we couldn’t have been more excited to be going home after almost 2 WEEKS of being away from home. But have no fear Palestine, we'll be back in a few weeks to ride Thomas the Train.

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Evacuation Trip One - Austin, Texas

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Well, we’ve made it to our second Ike evacuation destination, Palestine. My Dad actually had a cord that fit my camera so I thought I would send some photos from our stay in Austin. As you can see, we had a great time hanging out in the Sheehan’s backyard. Sam loved teasing Kallie (the Sheehan’s dog) by attaching her toy to the back of his tractor and pulling her around the yard. You might be surprised to know how many hours of enjoyment this could provide. Ben spent most of his day sleeping, sleeping and sleeping some more (but he’s definitely “woken up” the past few days as everyone in Palestine can attest to). He LOVES being outside as much as Sam so I envision many outdoor, “sleeping in tent” adventures in my future. Those of you that know me well know that this will be very hard for me to embrace…

I’m sure you have noticed by looking at the pictures that we have on the same 2 outfits in every picture. See here’s the thing, Scott told me to “pack light” and for some reason I actually listened to him. So, for 2 weeks now we’ve been washing our clothes every night so they would be clean for the next day. This isn’t that terrible for Scott and I, but those of you with children know how many clothes an almost 3 year old that loves to play outside and a 4 week old that loves to spit up can go through in a day.

While we are desperately awaiting the phone call from Scott that says we have power, we’re trying to make the most of spending time with our closest family and friends. So, if you are reading this and are jealous that we haven’t spent a week at your house (ha! ha!)…just wait because we might be knocking on your door next week begging you to take us in!

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Hurricane Update

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Well, we’re still part of the more than 1 million people who are without power in Houston. Progress is being made (slowly…) so we’re trying to stay optimistic that we’ll be in the next wave of houses that regain power.

While we’ve enjoyed our stay in Austin (visiting with family/friends, enjoying old hangouts) we’re SO anxious to get home and back to our old routine. Scott will return to Houston tomorrow and will be staying with generous friends until we regain power. He has a list of things to get done before we return, and at the top of the terrible “To Do” list is cleaning out our fridge that has been without power for over a week. If you hear screams in the distance tomorrow morning, I’m sure it’s Scott reacting to the smell. Poor guy…

The boys and I are headed to Palestine (my parents’ house) tomorrow as well. I know life on the road hasn’t been easy on them, but they are taking the situation in stride. I’ve taken some adorable pictures of the boys while we’ve been away and hope to get them uploaded as soon as we get back to Houston.

It’s also crazy to note that Ben will turn 4 weeks old on Monday. He’s being a real trooper and is learning to get by without the finer things in life (i.e. stroller, swing, etc).

While the past week has had its ups and downs, we know that we’ve been terribly blessed to have a cool and free place to retreat to while we wait for life to return to “normal” in Houston. There are lots of people that haven’t been so lucky. I know that everyone has their charities that they support each year, but if you have a few extra dollars lying around at the end of the month, I encourage you to donate to help the thousands of displaced people due to Hurricane Ike. The American Red Cross’s National Disaster Relief Fund link is below.

https://american.redcross.org/site/Donation2?idb=109958666&df_id=1086&1086.donation=form1

Hopefully, we’ll be back in Houston by the end of the week. Until then, we continue our tour of Texas…

Hurricane Ike

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We've received so many emails/phone calls checking to see how things are in Houston. We bailed yesterday morning and are waiting out the storm in Austin. We have lots of friends/family who are hunkered down in Houston (and the surrounding areas), so please say a quick prayer for them and their safety over the next few days.

Ben's 2 week check-up

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Ben had his 2 week check-up today and is growing like crazy. Here are his measurements:

Length – 21 ¼” (75%)
Weight – 8 lbs, 13 oz (60%)
Head – 15” (70%)

The Sheehan's come to town

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Scott’s family came to visit the boys this past weekend. Ben slept most of the time and Sam entertained everyone by running around the house in the astronaut suit that Scott’s brother, Jim, brought with him. The space suit is a gift for Ben (fits an 18 month old which is why the pants look like capri pants on Sam) but Sam couldn’t resist putting it on. You should have heard the negotiations between Sam and Scott when it was time to get in the bath last night…someone did not want to remove the astronaut outfit.

The Boys

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Ben will be 2 weeks old tomorrow so I thought I would send some recent pics of the boys hanging out together. Ben is finally starting to wake up (and get hungry) so we’re having more and more sleep interrupted nights. But he’s just so cute that you have to forgive the 3am breakdowns. Everyone keeps asking if he looks like Sam. In the beginning we definitely thought so…but the older he gets, the less he looks like Sam.

Sam, for the most part, is adjusting great. We definitely have a few more unnecessary temper tantrums (which seem to peak most when others are around…of course!) but random strangers at the park are always telling us it’s normal and they’ll be the best of friends in a few years. Sam does love to try to shove Ben’s paci in his mouth at the most random of times, and loves to say “get that cry out” (which he heard his father say) when Ben tunes up.

We love our boys!

Houston, We have a problem!

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