Craft Day at Home

Brotherly love

Johnny doing a craft

Applying the glue

Handsome Sammy

Grinning at Mama

Getting some exercise

"I am fat"

Smiley bug

It's been awhile since my last post, so I have a lot of photos this time. Johnny made an abstract bean and pasta "mixed media" work of art and came up with the idea on his own to grind some pepper onto his wet glue ... quite creative. He added a "green boogie" to the face I made using mung beans ... a tribute to Aunt Amy, who coined that favorite image of Johnny's. Sammy smiles all the time now, I just need to remember to walk around with a camera to capture some of his glee. He exercised happily for quite a long time today trading off between tummy time and kicking his legs and flailing his arms while on his back. Johnny used to love to kick his legs endlessly ... it was very amusing. It's amazing Sammy can lift those heavy cheeks up off of the floor, but somehow he manages. :)

Please say a prayer for our wonderful next door neighbor Lee, who has been in the hospital since Friday with double pneumonia. Get well soon Lee!

Klevenski family

Johnny's first day back to his Mother's Day Out program was today. We had to send along a photo of our family and since we didn't have any photos of the four of us together, we took this one last night. Aww ... don't we look happy? ;)

Imaginations

Johnny and his friend Allie had a great time this morning at a place called Imaginations where they created unique masterpieces by painting on Plaster of Paris molds. Allie had a very creative approach to painting her snake and took the brush in her teeth ... who knew tooth brushing could be so much fun? Johnny turned his LOVE plaque into a mixing palette and created exciting new colors. Jessica also created a freeform masterpiece entitled "Red Sun." :) All in all, it was great fun and Johnny and Allie got to spend some quality time together. They will be starting a Mother's Day Out program together in another week and a half. It will be nice for them to already have a friend in their class the first day of "school."

Thanks Jessica for showing us a good time today!

The History of Sheridan

William Sheridan Brock and Celeste Brock

(Mandy's parents)

Sammy’s great-great-grandfather, Ronald Sheridan Brock, got his middle name from the name of a general, in true Yankee fashion (according to Jean Brock, Sammy's great-grandmother). Jean named her son William Sheridan Brock, after her father-in-law (RSB), who she loved as her own father. William Sheridan Brock (WSB) is my step-father, who I love as my own father, and who I wanted to honor by naming our son Samuel Sheridan Klevenski. Some meanings of the name Samuel include “God has heard” and “Asked of God.”

Johnny was named Jonathan Walter Klevenski, his middle name coming from Keith's father Walter William Klevenski. The name Jonathan means "Gift of God."

Swimming at the Kiddie Pool

Today, my newly rediscovered friend Jessica took us to a fantastic kiddie pool at Magnolia Plantation. The entire gigantic pool ranges from about 8" to 2' in depth and has various fixtures that spray or shower water out and four slides. It is by far the best kid's pool I've ever been to. Johnny had a simply fabulous time and splashed around the pool for a good three hours. Sammy enjoyed the water as well, and peacefully slept in my arms while being partially submerged in the water. Sammy was on the sleepy side today after his 2 month checkup at the pediatrician this morning. He weighed in at 13 lbs 4 ozs, which puts his weight in the 90th percentile.

Sammy and Johnny

Here are several photos showing Sammy and Johnny at approximately the same age. Johnny is actually a week older than Sammy (9 wks vs. 8 wks), but they're close. In case you can't tell who is who ... Johnny is the one with all the hair.





Sammy was sleeping so peacefully on my desk propped on a pillow while I worked on my computer. Then suddenly, he woke up and announced to the household that he was hungry and wanted a meal "right now!" Johnny still loves his baby brother and hugs and kisses him constantly, but he has started saying "Mama ... put Sammy in the bassinet and come play with me." If only it were that easy. (sigh) Today has been pretty boring for Johnny, except that his Mother's Day Out teacher came by this morning for a home visit. That program starts up again in 3 weeks. Yay!!

Sammy the Pie Boy

Sammy is now 7 wks and 6 days old, and appears to weigh about 13 - 13 1/2 lbs (using our home scale, which might not be a very accurate measurement). His 2 month check up is later this week, so we'll see what percentile he is in ... I'm guessing 90 - 95th. Any other guesses?

Sammy in July

I'm posting some photos of Sammy and Johnny from July. Johnny is still enamored with Sammy and says "I want to hug Sammy, kiss Sammy" all the time. Johnny also says "I love Sammy! Sammy loves me!" and rubs his head and says "Awww .... Sammy's sweet!" Of course Johnny also tells everyone that Sammy eats, poops, cries and sleeps all the time. Such is the life of a baby! :)

Johnny's 3rd Birthday

Johnny turned three this year and we went all out for his birthday party. With the arrival of a new baby brother who has been getting lots of attention, and a fully decorated new room (done in a nautical theme of course ... for SS Klevenski), I wanted to make this birthday for Johnny extra special and unforgettable. So, we invited about 13 kids and their parents and started the party out at Chuck E. Cheese in the morning. After that, we continued the party at home with a barbeque, opening presents and eating cake and ice cream. I think the party was a huge success, but our plan for the future is to invite a lot fewer guests to cut down on the sheer chaos. Johnny had a great time, although he looked pretty overloaded at times. His big gift from us was his very own Johnny-sized Corvette. I also decorated his room in a race car / sports car theme, although I haven't taken any photos of that yet. I'll plan to include those photos in a later post.

The Arrival of the SS Klevenski

Samuel Sheridan Klevenski was born June 14th, 2005 at 1:06 p.m. "Sammy" weighed 7 lbs. 5.6 oz. and measured 20 1/2 inches long. The SS Klevenski's "maiden voyage" into this world was via C-Section as he was in the breech position and couldn't be turned. Sammy was born beautiful, healthy and with all his fingers and toes to proud parents Mandy & Keith, and adoring big brother Johnny.