Spring in the garden

The weather here has been pretty terrific lately. Yes, we’re still getting days of lashing rain and hail stones, but when the sun shines and it’s 10 degrees in the garden you’re bound to find us outside. Sam is loving all of the fresh air and opportunities to dig in the dirt. Here are a few pics from the last little while….

Playing with his shadow

Playing hide and seek. He really didn’t think I could see him :)

Looking at ladybugs with our magnifying glass.

More digging with the team.

Moving to a big boy bed

They say that the moment you see you first child after having a new baby they suddenly seem so very BIG. I can’t quite fathom just how big Sam will look to me in around 12 weeks time, because he’s already growing into such a big boy it’s frightening. Almost two and a half years have gone by in the blink of an eye.

We reached a big milestone in our house recently when Sam moved out of the baby room and in to a new big boy room- and proper big boy bed. Kevin and I kind of held our breath. He’s been such an amazing sleeper from the start but we worried that this would be a setback. And I especially worried that those glorious two hours I have to myself every afternoon would disappear. If he wasn’t contained by his bed would he really lay down and sleep?

Apparently yes. It’s been three weeks since we took the plunge and Sam could not have been more of a trooper. He adores his big boy bed, and is very fond of showing it to anyone who visits the house. I’m surprised the mailman hasn’t been invited in :) Every afternoon and evening he climbs in, snuggles up in his blankets, says goodnight and sleeps soundly as can be, not moving or trying to get up. Maybe it’s that he loves his sleep. Maybe it’s that it’s a heck of a cozy bed :) Maybe it’s that we started the transition 2.5 months before and took it slowly, waiting until he expressed an interest in sleeping in there. Maybe it’s that he’s really embracing the big boy role now that a little brother or sister is on the way. We’re not really sure, but we’re loving it.

Sweet dreams Sam.

Meeting the spring lambs

Spring is a really lovely time of year here in Ireland. The weather warms up much faster than at home in Toronto (my daffodils have been in full bloom for two weeks now) and the most adorable baby lambs dot the green fields. Sam had the absolute pleasure of helping to feed one of them a bottle of warm milk today. He was in heaven.

He took the job really seriously and really wanted to bring the lamb home to ‘cuddle it in his bed’. We had to pass on that :)

Two peas in a pod

To say Sam adores his Dad is an understatement. Copying everything he does, and thinking it’s the greatest thing ever, starts early :) Check these two out. I could have been burning down the kitchen and they wouldn’t have noticed!

Can’t tell you how much I’m loving the sounds of harmonica practice. At least Kevin doesn’t play the violin :)

Favourite Things: big yellow excavator

After his nap today Sam was pretty excited to help me make bread for dinner. Excavator had to join us, of course :) I had visions of him wanting to use the bucket for stirring, but thankfully he was happy to have it just sitting there beside us. Thank goodness. Because here it was hours earlier in the garden digging through the dirt.

The very same excavator joined us in the bath last night- it took up more than its fair share of space.

Oh and here he is in the car on the way to swimming.

Attached at the hip :) Needless to say excavator has spent more than a few naps and nights with Sam as well. Who wants to cuddle up next to a hard plastic excavator? Sam, apparently.

In case you have your own construction crazed little one, here’s where Kevin bought it back when Sam was 1.5. It’s indestructible.