Give your brother some space!

That has been the constant refrain coming from me and Andy since… let me think… the second Sam was born! Seriously, from that moment on, Kate has been thisclose to him pretty much constantly.

I love the girl, but this habit drives me absolutely bonkers! I don’t know why she insists on being in his face all the time, but I haven’t found a way to stop it. I have tried asking nicely, I have tried time outs, and I have even tried showing her how much better she can see me when I’m a few inches from her face instead of smooshed up against it. She just thought that it was awesome that it looked like I only had one eye and ran over to try it out on Sam.

Sometimes I fear for his safety. I was pretty sure she was going to do something awful to his soft spot, but fortunately we’ve been able to avoid any brain damage. Knock on wood. It’s only been four months, there’s plenty of time for that.

The craziest part is that, most of the time, he doesn’t seem to mind being poked, prodded and scrunched. He just sits there and takes it. I have a feeling that is going to be a theme in their relationship for many years to come. He is a pretty easy-going kid, but every once in a while, he looks like this:
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Can’t you just see him thinking “Get her OFF OF MEEEEEEE!!!”?

And he is NEVER of more interest to her than when he is asleep. No, that is the best time to hug, kiss, pull and push him. We’ll say “Kate, what is the rule?” and she’ll grumble back “No touching Sammy while he’s asleep” but it’s like she just can’t help it. He has an irresistable pull.

I can understand it, really. Who could resist this?
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And I know… soon enough, she will be locking her bedroom door and doing anything she can to keep him away. I just hope we can avoid any major bodily harm until that day.

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Weekly Winners July 13-19

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Hosted By Sarcastic Mom

This week I took some more photos of things you will find on my front porch, including:

Easy Breezy Sophie
easy breezy

A Sunny Bus
get on board

Sunshine & Ivy
a view from my urban paradise

Of course I snapped some photos of my favorite little people, too:

Joshua’s sweet face
sweet face

Kate’s determination
perserverance

Sophie is precious even when she is sweaty and scabby!
sweaty soph

Our beautiful niece, Isabel:
Isabel

Finally, I had the honor of being there when my pal Leland smiled is VERY FIRST SMILE!! I was taking pictures of him at the time, and it just worked out! I can’t take credit, though, he was smiling at his Mommy!! But I was very excited to capture it! Isn’t he adorable?
leland's first smile!!

That’s it for me! For more amazing photographic feats, check out the Weekly Winners HQ at Sarcastic Mom!

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My bilingual daughter

Since I’ve been back at work this week, I’ve been talking to Kate on the phone a couple times a day, which is fun. Here’s a conversation we had yesterday.

Kate: Mommy, don’t forget to think about your wrinkles.

Me: My wringles?

Kate: No, your wrinkles. Don’t forget to think about them.

Me: Um, ok.

Andy (in the background): What?

Kate: Wrinkles. It’s Spanish for rain.

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