The Best Entertainer

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Poor Ben was in no mood to wait in a cold doctor’s office room this afternoon while we waited for our pediatrician to see him. Luckily there was a crazy mirror that entertained Sam (and, in turn, Ben) for our 45 minute wait. Once the doctor arrived, he quickly diagnosed Ben with an ear infection and sent us on our way (with prescriptions in hand). Hopefully Ben will be back to his happy & healthy self soon! Until then, we know how Sam can get him to smile.

The Resting Stop

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The natives were a little restless from being thrown so quickly into the car this morning. So, I decided to pull off at a rest stop in Madisonville, TX so Sam could use the restroom & Ben could eat. What I discovered after going about a ½ mile up a windy road, was a beautiful resting area in the woods (there were lots of people & policemen so don’t get nervous). I was blown away that such a nature oriented place existed. Sam played on the playscape while I fed Ben and Sadie got to stretch her legs on the path to the lake. What a perfect break.

Roly Poly Fun

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There were tons of roly poly bugs at my parents’ house. Sam noticed them this morning and couldn’t stop playing with them. He was determined to protect them all from “the bad ants”. After finding his favorite one (which he put on the front porch when we went to run an errand and it was amazingly still there when we returned) he carried it all over the yard. Ultimately, it was lost as it fell between the boards on the back porch but he sure adored it up until that moment!

**The roly poly is circled on the red table above.

The Fastest Trip to Palestine...Ever!

Since we’ve been lucky enough to have at least one showing of our house each day since we put it on the market late last week, we decided to go to Palestine for a few days to avoid the “when does Ben nap” + “trying to keep a house with 2 kids & a dog spotless” struggle that was making us a little insane. Unfortunately, we ended up being in P-town less than 24 hours. Poor Ben woke up a little cranky today and after 2+ hours of off & on heavy crying, my mom & I decided that I should head directly to our pediatrician in Houston to see what was going on. We hated to leave like that (we didn’t even get to say goodbye to Paw Paw as he had already left for work) but we knew that something wasn’t right with sweet Ben. As we were getting in the car Sam turns to my mom and says, “Don’t worry Grandma…we’ll be back tomorrow.” We all knew it wasn’t true but I think it made the entire crew feel a little better about the situation!

The Sheehan's Favorite Past Time...BASEBALL!

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For parents who don’t really love baseball, we were surprised when Sam started talking about it constantly. While at Target, Scott & Sam picked out a new bat, glove & ball. Since then, Sam has asked us continuously to play with him. It’s an exhausting sport when there’s only 3 players (Ben tried to get into the game a few times) so we’ll have to beg some of our neighborhood friends to play next time!

Houston, We Have Lift Off

Sam scooted around the floor 90% of the time by army crawling. Ben is following in his big brother’s footsteps by creating his own spin on crawling. One day he’ll learn that he can get there faster by getting on his knees, but until then we love watching our little centipede move all over the house.

Where Did My Block Go?

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Sam has wanted Ben to play with him since the day he came home from the hospital. But I think Sam wants to take that wish back now. Yesterday Sam built a huge fire station with blocks. Upon completion Ben crawled over to “inspect” his work and knocked the entire thing down. As Sam bent down to start rebuilding it, Ben pulled his hair. Of course, I laughed but Sam didn’t see the humor in the situation. I guess we all need to be careful what we wish for!

Who Needs a Bed?

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We’ve found Sam sleeping in some pretty crazy places, but this has to be one of our favorites!

Quit Horsing Around!

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Don't Touch That Tennis Ball

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ccWatch out Sadie…you’ve got another Sheehan boy competing for the tennis ball.

We Love Our Wagon

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Scott took the boys for their first wagon ride. We threw a bunch of Ben’s toys in the wagon before they left, but Scott said two steps into the trip Sam stole them all and refused to give them back. *Sigh*

Smiley Bear

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Sprinkler Time

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Sam has finally discovered the fun of a water sprinkler. This is a rare instance where he’s actually wearing a swimsuit.

Boing

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I had forgotten how a door stop can entertain an infant for hours. Ben gets so excited each times his hand touches the tip & the stop goes flying by. But what I like best is his focus. He stares so intensely as his hand reaches for the stop & only smiles when he hears the “boing” of success!

Brotherly Love

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Wow...that's a lot of Ballew Boys

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The Ballew Family was nice enough to let me crash Mother’s Day weekend so that I could meet their newest baby boy, Bowen. And while Maston & Minor (almost 3-years-old) are adorable & energetic…it was Bowen that I couldn’t get enough of. He’s 5 weeks old and quite possibly the sweetest, most patient and loving baby to be born this year (hey…I have to be careful not to upset my adorable infant). And while I had the perfect weekend with the Ballew Family (how can I talk you into moving closer???) I couldn’t wait to get back to my boys. I sure hope they missed me as much I missed them!

Boot Scootin BBQ

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St. Luke’s end of year school party was on Thursday. The theme was Boot Scootin BBQ and they had a smore station, horse stick races, clowns, etc. But the 2 most exciting stations were the petting zoo and the horse races (on the old spring, bounce horses). Sean followed a bird around all night in the petting zoo and when he finally got to hold it, he and Sam got overly excited. Then they ran off to the horse races where they rocked back and forth so intensely that I just knew one of them was going to fly off. We ended the night with a family hayride. What a great event!

Barnyard Fun

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It’s amazing how quickly you forget a beloved toy. Sam spent hours on hours playing with the fridge farm that makes animal noises and sings silly songs. We pulled it out earlier this week and Ben immediately took to it. Of course, he enjoys sticking the pieces in his mouth more than anything right now…but when he accidently hits the music button he gets very excited!

Who is That Baby in the Mirror?

Working So Hard

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Let's Play Ball

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Sadie is such a good sport when it comes to playing with the boys’ toys. She really, really, really wanted Ben’s ball today but she was patient and allowed him to swing it around in front her face. I doubt she would have been so gentle if he had a tennis ball…but I’m still proud of our sweet girl!

Water...not everyone's best friend!

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We finally found something that sweet, chill Ben doesn’t like…the pool. We’re hoping the water was just too cold for him but every time Scott or I put him in the water he had a complete meltdown…and the second we picked him up, he was fine. He was much happier sitting on the back porch playing ball with Sadie and watching Sam run around in the water.

Sam and Scott continued their tradition of throwing buckets of water at each other. Eventually Sam was so exhausted that he wrapped himself up in a towel and plopped down on the porch.

Let’s hope Sam’s enthusiasm for the water rubs off on Ben before the Houston heat kicks in!

Chubb E Cheekes

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Sam’s new name for Ben is “Chubb E Cheekes” like Chuck E Cheese. I know we shouldn’t laugh but…

Pictures courtesy of Sam

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Playtime

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Smiley Bears

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Sam's 2008-09 Class Photo

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Teachers: Ms. Faruolo & Ms. Quiroz