Extreme Sharing

In my last post I talked about all the amazing ways Samuel was interacting with Sydney, by holding her, talking to her and even putting a boat on her head, but this past Wednesday it went EXTREME! Samuel and I were playing with change that he had and he was putting it in his pockets and moving it from one pocket to the other, and then he decided to share it with his sister. Sam looked at me and said "Sydney, money mommy." I looked at him and I am not sure why thought/realized he had just put some of his money in Sydney's mouth. Sydney was laying flat on her back, and quicker than I could say "oh *#!p)" my finger was half-way down her throat pushing a penny against her throught and pulling it back up. I don't know who was more scared her, or I, or Samuel who began crying because I was screaming. I got the penny out, thank goodness, and she began crying and screaming. As a mother I have never been more scared, and nervous about what just happened and was she going to be okay. Sydney calmed down after about ten minutes and then passed out. I don't think she had ever cried that hard, we actually had our 1st tear during this event. As the day progressed she was unable to be settled, and wouldn't eat (which is very unusual.) So we went to the doctor and they sent us to Children's hospital because they thought she may have swallowed more coins. I had never been to Children's before and it was more than I could have expected. Every person there was wonderful and so good with the kids. Sydney had to have 3 X-rays and they were so gentle and actually gave us a copy to take home. After the x-ray I was pretty nervous about what the results were going to say, but the doctor came in and explained that if there were other coins inside she would lite up like a christmas tree, and thankfully she did not. She was free and clear of all coins, but they did say she had lots of bruises on her throat. She has recovered well and gotten tons of love from us and her brother (who has no idea he did anything wrong.)

As an fyi.. I learned nothing smaller than a toilet paper role for Sam when he is around Sydney.

Here is Sydney's 1st X-ray scan, such a scary day!

One Month!!!

Sydney has turned 1 month and Samuel only has 1 month until he is to, we can't believe it. The last 4 weeks have been (tiring) but the best of our lives. Ben and I constantly are smiling from ear to ear watching our children grow, and interact with each other. Samuel loves his little sister so much, the first thing he asks in the morning is "baby??" and then he runs downstairs without doing his usual routine, runs in our room and climbs up on the bed and looks at her in her bassinet and says "hi baby!" and then just watches her. Throughout the day he asks to hold her, sit by her, and lay with her. He gives her hugs and kisses, and now has picked her up and tried carrying her (something that makes us very nervous, he doesn't go far!) He tries to share his drinks and food with her to, I don't know if this scenario could have gotten any better. It almost feels like Sam thinks she has been here the whole time so nothing is different.

Sydney turned one month last week, and is really beginning to grow. She is a lot more alert during the day, beginning to sleep better at night, and starting to see our first real smiles from her. She is such a wonderful little girl (I can't believe we hoped for a boy, she is just what our family needed.) She is very different from her brother, she likes to sleep in her bassinet and he hated it, she is a babbler non-stop and he was mute, she smiles, he was stone face and the list goes on. She has already got her daddy rapped around her finger, if she makes a peep he jumps up, which is so cute to see.

And Samuel turns 2 years old in just under a month, where has the time gone. These days you can usually find him, climbing and jumping off any and everything, eating non-stop, ordering his dogs around, watching you-tube video's, riding his tricycle around the living room and playing with his sister. Samuel is in love with Sydney and tries to carry her, role her over, and feed her all the time. While he usually always has a bruise somewhere from jumping off something he never seems to mind, this kid is the happiest toddler on the block (pun intended!) Since I am now able to work out again I have been doing work out videos at home and it is hilarious to see Samuel join in, he thinks he is a natural. I am still amazed at his capabilities with the iPad and iPhone. Sam can turn it on, find the you tube videos and play them, select new ones, and stop ones he doesn't like. He loves horses, phonic videos, and anything with kids especially America or England's got talent he never stops laughing. But FYI moms, if you leave them for even a minute they can click to things I didn't know you tube would have, horses mating...... enough said!

Ben's parents were also able to come and meet Sydney over Thanksgiving. It was great to see them and they really enjoyed being with the two kids. It is sad that they live so far away but great when they come they get to spend good quality time with them. Samuel got to go on daily walks with his Jiji and Papster, and Sydney couldn't get cuddled enough from her Jiji. We will get to see them again in two weeks when they come for the birthday and Christmas.

Here are some pictures of the kids together and the top two are Sydney at 1 month and Samuel at 1 month, can you tell that they are siblings?

They look a lot alike but Samuel has Ben's eyes and Sydney has mine. And yes, that is a boat on her head that Samuel put there for her!

This kid loves to smile for the camera now, and tries to walk around taking pictures as well. She loves to just lay on her back and look around.

Ben trying to stay interested in the 4-year old Shakira dancer for England's got talent!

Sydney in her bassinet all swaddled up

Samuel trying to pick Sydney up, she doesn't seem so pleased!

Samuel and Sydney sitting together listening to books.

Sam's up in his bed taking a nap and here is the rest of my family a typical Sunday at the Levy's!

Sydney Jean

Sydney Jean Levy joined our family on October 26th, 2011 and the time is flying. I remember with Samuel that we used to be able to sit and watch his every move, smile and coo but this time around it seems to be flying by with Ben and I looking back at the day asking each other what happened that day and what did we miss. Sydney was born at 9:51pm, weighing 8lbs 7oz and 20.5inches long. She has been amazing every day. Sydney looks a little more like me, but still has a lot of Ben and definitely looks like Samuel's little sister.

From the beginning we have been on our toes, forgetting the simple things and learning the differences between boys and girls. This time I didn't get peed on as soon as we got home, Sydney smiles all the time (even if it is gas) and talks jibberish all the time. She has been eating well, sleeping good, and a joy to be around. We feel so blessed with our new addition, she has expanded our hearts beyond our dreams.

Samuel has also adjusted well and seems to really enjoy being a big brother. He loves to hold her even for a second, give her hugs and kisses and is a very protective older brother. Anytime anyone gets near her he says "my baby" and then looks at them like "what do you think your doing with my baby" it is really cute, I hope that continues when she is in High-school (will be great to have someone protecting her) and keeping the boys away. I am sure we are going to see other sides of the big brother but I am loving this side and watching them interact.

My mom and dad were able to be here to help with Samuel and see Sydney right away. It was great to have that help right away and Samuel didn't seem to notice I was busy with a new baby. This time around Ben and I are a little more relaxed and a little less nervous about things so it was great that we were able to do stuff together and allow them to spend more time with the kids. Ben has once again continued to amaze me as a father. He has really taken to having a little girl and has been such a help with her and making sure Samuel is getting tons of attention. These kids are so lucky to have a dad like him!

We had Sydney's newborn pictures done three days after we got home, and it was a great experience. The photographer we used was amazing and so good with kids. She is so creative it really took the stress off of me, and Sydney didn't have any accidents on her things yippee!! Our friend Katie made her a red and white tutu for her pictures and it turned out awesome, matching Samuel's husker pictures! We hope to get her announcements with some of our favorite pictures soon.

Here are some pictures of our new little bundle of joy, that has truly completed our family.

Pumpkin Patch and Halloween

It has been so long since I have blogged that I have begun to forget some of the great things Samuel has done or places we have gone. Samuel has loved the fall and with the help of all of his meds. He has been playing football with the neighbor kids, riding his tricycle (assisted on his bike), going to the park, feeding the animals, and being home with mom three days a week. He has started to talk so much it is awesome to hear. Though Ben and I understand more than anyone else on what he is saying his vocabulary has exploded. He listens really well and then just starts using the word. He has started to expand his length of phrases as well. We get to 3 words now and you can tell he is really proud when he does it. At times it feels like we are holding a true conversation which is great. He has understood everything we are saying for some time now, but giving understandable full responses is new. Ben and I were discussing that it is amazing on how almost overnight he has turned from a baby/toddler to a young boy that has his own STRONG opinions, likes and dislikes and relaxed fun personality. This couldn't have come at a better time with the new addition to the family. Samuel is ready to be a true BIG brother and an amazing one at that.

Here are some pics from October and his Halloween costume from last night, this was not his original costume but the only thing we could get him to keep on.

We had so many adventures over the last month, and had such a great time just the three of us, enjoying Samuel and his amazing personality all the way until October 26th at 9:51pm when his sister Sydney decided to join our family and we became the 4 of us. She is all we wished for and more, we are truly a blessed family. Pictures and updates on her will come soon!

Ragweed Running Ragged

Ragweed Pollen is at an all-time high in Kansas City, and making it very challenging for our little man (and me) to do much of anything these days. We had an Italian dinner party with friends on Friday night and thought it was a smart idea to stay up way to late and then Samuel decided to get up at 4:45 coughing horribly and couldn't breathe because he was soooo congested. Since then we have spent most of our time inside, and avoiding pollen whenever possible. Sam is now on a laundry list of medications, showers if he has been outside, and daily cleaning of his room to remove any pollen that may have gotten in. I feel so bad for our little guy, but he is taking it like a trooper, you would barely know anything was wrong minus his red eyes, raw nose and heavy breathing because he can only breathe through his mouth. We hope that the medication starts to help and Samuel can go outside for a little while. What makes this even worse, is that Samuel's doctor said the allergists are thinking it may be November before we get an actual hard freeze to make this go away, lets hope that isn't the case for our little guy.

With our little girl coming in a month or less we have been really busy, but it has been great because we have also been able to have a lot of visitors who give Samuel a ton of attention. Two of Samuel's grandmothers came to visit him and then lots of our friends came down to see us for the weekend, and Samuel's Godmother visited for four days which was great, he really had a good time with her. We couldn't be more excited for our little girl to join us, but are enjoying every minute we have with Samuel. His personality is so fun to watch, he jumps up and down whenever he gets excited, loves trains, and "mater" from Cars and has learned to say I love you where it really sounds like I love you and it melts our hearts he is such a sweet boy! Here are some of the few recent pics (though we take very few) that we have taken from feeding the animals to playing with friends.

Ella and Samuel cleaning up the backyard.

Samuel playing some baseball, already a little cocky even pointing to where he is going to hit the ball.

Missouri Town

Last weekend Ben and I decided to take Samuel to Missouri Town, which is less than 5 miles from us and a place where you can feed elk and buffalo. After our first visit there we can't believe we waited so long. We always promised we would take advantage of the things around us after we left Chicago, and we still do a horrible job of it. Sam had an amazing time, and loved the animals. He would have fed them carrots all day long had we let him. Here are a few pictures from our fun adventure at Missouri Town.