Sam x 2

Playing by the sliding glass door:

Christmas 2011

Sam had a great Christmas this year! We spent a long weekend in Chicago with Grandma and Grandpa. It was a long trip in the car, but well worth it. Sam had fun chasing down the kitties (who are too fast for him!), undecorating the bottom branches of the Christmas tree, visiting with LOTS of family, plus taking a special trip to the Shedd Aquarium.

Some highlights from the weekend:

Coloring

Sam enjoyed coloring during lunch on our drive home from Chicago!

Merry Christmas!

Who needs presents when Grandma and Grandpa have a closet full of toys?!

On our way!

Sam's enjoying a good book in the car on our way to Chicago. See you soon Grandma and Grandpa!

Drawer

Sam really likes putting things into and taking things out of drawers..and opening and closing them. We used to keep our things in these drawers, but Sam kept taking everything out. There was no telling where our stuff might end up!

Christmas cookie!

Sam never turns down a cookie...

Whoomp, there it is again!

Sam dancing to.. Sam dancing:

Penny is always just out of reach...

Santa!!

We took Sam to see Santa today! The Macy's in downtown Minneapolis has a big exhibit for Christmas--it takes up the whole 8th floor, and has a different theme each year. This year's theme was "A Day in the Life of an Elf". Sam had a good time looking at the exhibit, but CRIED on Santa's lap. Mom and Dad had to be in the photo too. A few cookies might have been involved as well...

Christmas Tree

If anyone needs help taking ornaments off a tree, we may have the guy for you. Well, only if your bulbs are only on the very bottom of the tree:

Tree Farm

We took Sam to a tree farm last weekend so the three of us could pick out and cut down our Christmas tree. Sam wasn't much help cutting down the tree...he preferred the petting zoo:

whoomp there it is...

Sam loves movies that have music in them--this is his favorite part of the movie "Elf". He's so happy when the music starts and so disappointed when it ends!

October/November highlights

Sam is 13 months old today! Even though we aren't doing the "months" photos anymore, we still thought it would be fun to share some highlights from November...and since we got caught up in the birthday fun last month, we decided to share the October highlights too:

Thanksgiving!

Last year we spent Thanksgiving at home with Sam, since he was only 3 weeks old. We enjoyed it, but with only the three of us celebrating (and only two of us eating the turkey) it definitely felt like something was missing! This year we flew out to Pittsburgh to spend the holiday with Grandma, Papock, Aunt Valerie and Uncle Mark, Emily and Clara, Uncle Mike and Miss Erin, and Great Aunt Beth and Great Grandma. A much fuller table than last year!

Sam did really well on the flights, and he had a great time playing with everyone, being pulled on the "blanket sled", and seeing the birds at the National Aviary!

Some highlights from the holiday weekend:

Grandma and Papock--here I come!

(We started packing our suitcase and Sam climbed right in!)

Yum!

I don't think Sam could fit one more bite of PB&J in that mouth!

Rock Rock Rock

Puzzle

Playing with his farm animal puzzle--plus a shot of those teeth!

Trying to get the last few puffs out...

What a ham!

Another highlight from the big birthday weekend--Sam sure knows how to ham it up for his audience!

Birthday Party!

Sam had a GREAT weekend with all of his grandparents here. We celebrated Sam's birthday with lots of food, cake, presents, and playing!

Some highlights from the weekend:

I bet there's something good in here...

Treats!

Happy Halloween!

Sam loves his Tiger costume!


Or does he...?

Children's Museum

For Sam's birthday we took a trip to the Minnesota Children's Museum. They have lots of fun stuff to do, including an exhibit for kids under age 4 (the "Habitot"). Sam had fun going through the "log", looking at the turtle in the aquarium, playing among the "cattails", pushing buttons (his favorite), and crawling around everywhere!

Cake!

We let Sam have his birthday cupcake at 9:07AM, the time he was born one year ago. At first he wasn't sure it was food..but once he got a taste of the buttercream frosting he was hard to stop!

12 Months of Sam

Sam turns one...

Hi guys! It's my birthday! Stay tuned for birthday updates :)

Videos!!

We have so many great videos of Sam to share. With Sam's birthday and Halloween coming up there's little risk that the blog will be short on content, so we decided to share a bunch now. Hope you like them!

Putting balls in the Dinosaur from Grandma and Papock:


Penny? Are you in there?:


Waving to Penny:


These nesting blocks from Grandma and Grandpa are fun!:


Hey, this card makes noise when I shake it!:

Stacking Rings

Sam's getting pretty good at stacking these rings, and at dumping them off again! We were getting ready for his bath, but Sam wanted to play--I think he was showing off so he could delay bedtime.

Check out my spooky shirt!

It glows in the dark!

Pumpkin Patch

Our neighbors recommended a local pumpkin farm, and we took Sam there this afternoon. Not only do they have great pumpkins, it's also on a small family farm, so there are animals too! Sam saw pigs, goats, llamas, and mini horses and donkeys. Sam especially liked being pulled around in the wagon with our pumpkins:



We had perfect weather and we all had a great time!

Lookin' Sharp!

Sam's hair was getting pretty shaggy:



So we took him to get a little trim:



We think he looks pretty good!

Puffs

Sam is good at finding places to put these puffs...

Reading with Dad

Sam thought this pop-out book was pretty funny!

"Feeding" Raven

Like Father, Like Son

Fish Face

Recently Sam's started making this funny fish face, and we're not really sure why. Maybe it's more fun than it looks:

Basket of Toys

I gave Sam's soft toys a wash, and he thought it was pretty fun to play in the basket: