LISTEN!

"Sam, listen to me."

"Sam, did you hear me?"

"Sam...what did I just say?"

"Sam, be a good listener!"

If you were to put your ear to my front door, phrases like those above are what you are most likely to hear! (Along with" don't jump on that" or "climb down from there")

But Sam proved me wrong tonight. It turns out that he has been listening! Our efforts at good parenting aren't being wasted after all! Listen for yourself:



Untitled from docktercrew on Vimeo.

Dockter, Dockter... give me the news...

Well, as Eric and I sit here contemplating what to blog about our minds have drawn a complete blank. Sadly, there really isn't any exciting news to be had at the Dockter household these days.

Eric's been working like a dog finishing up his rotation in internal medicine. (He'll be done on Friday...hallelujah!) His appearances around the house have seemed few and far between; however, he's still managed to work in some time for BYU football...would you expect anything less?

Sam's a little anxious for Halloween and has already gone trick-or-treating to some of the neighbors (thanks Dusty and Leisy for playing along.) He seems to be obsessed with Halloween. We read books and talk about jack-o-laterns and ghosts all day long. This latest obsession has made for some rather humorous discussions at church when the Holy Ghost is mentioned.

And as for me...well, I feel about ready to pop! Only 6 weeks and 4 days to go...ahhhh, that sounds like an eternity! Does anyone else feel like time comes to a standstill when nearing the end of a pregnancy? I'm still feeling pretty darn good; mostly feeling anxious about adjusting to life with TWO kids!

The coming weeks are already looking more exciting for us. Mo-head and Jigga Joyce, along with Alster, are coming to visit this week. YEAH! We cannot wait! Family visitors are the absolute best.

Love Long Weekends!

I was shocked and thrilled to find out that Eric had ALL of Labor Day weekend off...no studying, no nothing! Last year, it seemed that every possible hope of a long weekend was demolished by professors scheduling quizzes or tests on the day Eric had to return to class; thus making it nearly impossible to enjoy a completely stress free weekend! So, this last weekend was wonderful! We didn't do anything even super exciting, but it was great to just have an open schedule! Here are some things we enjoyed:

The driving range...complete with an AMAZING sunset!

The Fulton County Fair...this was a REAL fair! Tons of animals, tons of cowboys and farmers! Little kids were dressed in their Sunday best showing off their prized sheep and pigs. It was great! We realized what city slickers we are. And to top it off, the main display this year was all about TRACTORS!! Perfect for Sam!

And last but not least "BIG MOMMA"...this has become a frequent saying of Sam's, and I was reminded of it this last weekend. Let me explain...

There are several BIG BOY restaurants around town here. We've never been to one, they don't look (or sound) all that appealing, but we drive by one nearly everyday. One that is particularly close to home has put this HUGE inflatable BIG (chubby, chunky, fat, pudgy) boy in front of their restaurant for advertising, and I remembered to snap a picture this weekend.

Well, our sweet little Sam has noticed some resemblence that I seem to have to this Big Boy. Whenever we drive by he excitedly yells, "BIG MOMMA!! Look like BIG MOMMA!"

Thanks, Sam, thanks.

Sam is 2!!!

Where does the time go? I can't believe our sweet Sam is two years old today!! It has been the most wonderful 2 years with Sam around. Here are a few highlights:

We spent the day celebrating! Eric had the day off today! How lucky was that?! Sam woke up to find balloons and his special request, "worm gum" (gummy worms). He couldn't have been more happy!!

We then headed up to Ann Arbor to visit the Hands On Children's Museum. Sam loved it! And it was great to finally check out the fun city of Ann Arbor.

Sam was totally spoiled today! He loved opening his presents. It took us nearly all afternoon to open his presents though. He would get distracted with each one and did not want to stop playing to open another one. He even wanted to sleep with two of his new birthday gifts. I don't know how well he'll sleep with his garbage truck and tractor next to him...we'll see how the night goes!

Sam also LOVED blowing out the candles on his cake and singing happy birthday. Today was a fabulous day and we were lucky to spend ALL day together!

Happy Birthday, Sam!

Get in the hole!

I caught Sam giving himself some encouragement while golfing in the family room the other day.


Untitled from docktercrew on Vimeo.

For those of you that don't speak toddler, he's chanting, "Get in the hole! Get in the hole!"
I think this may be a sign that he has watched too much golf with Eric on the weekends.

Experiencing Toledo!

Last weekend, my sweet friend from clear back in the 4th grade, Ashley, ventured out here to Toledo! She is living in Milwaukee and decided to make the trek east just to see US! We were thrilled to have a visitor; someone new to experience the thriving metropolis that is TOLEDO!

We had fun eating apple donuts from MacQueens, devouring icecream from Handel's, staying up late to watch the Olympics, wandering the Maumee Summer Fair, and hitting up a REAL movie theater to see a total chick-flick, while Eric stayed home with Sam! I cannot tell you the last time I saw a movie in the theater...it was so great! :) Sam loved having a new friend to play with and tricked Ashley into reading to him and playing trains several times.

The entire time Ash was here, we kept forgetting to take pictures!! We finally made up for things on the last day at the Maumee parade and fair. I must admit I'm not really in a picture posing mood these days...hot, sweaty, and HUGE don't make for the most glamorous shots! Especially when you have to stand next to someone as tiny and cute as Ashley!!! :)

Thanks for coming!! Toledo misses you already!

Lovely.

Considering that Sam will be turning 2 in two weeks, we've decided to start giving him a lot more responsibility around the house. It's about time he starts pulling his own weight around here! One such responsibility is putting dirty clothes into his hamper at night. Now normally this is a job that is virtually impossible to mess up, but tonight he proved me wrong. This is where I found the dirty clothes:

Now mind you, I found these after I put Sam to bed and told him over and over what a great helper he is and how proud of him I am...perfect!