Visit to Idaho-June editon

Our visit to Idaho in the early summer was filled with lots of fun.  We flew on a crazy late flight (which we will avoid in the future if possible) and rolled into my parents drive at about 3am. Other than that the flight went well and the boys were really good travelers. Dan came along for the first weekend to participate in an Alumni conference and catch up with some old buddies, but he couldn't stick around long enough to catch the family reunion.  He was missed, but it was sure fun to catch up with my dad's side of the family!  The boys loved playing with their cousins.  One evening grandma had the idea to bathe the boys outside in the kiddie pool. They had lots of fun splashing around and getting good and tired for bed!

 

 

On Sunday we managed to snap some pictures before church clothes were changed for play clothes.  James wasn't feeling cooperative (typical) so there were lots of bloopers but I think we captured a few keepers!

 

The boys:

 

Mamma, James, and Sammy:

 

 

 With my beautiful, talented sisters!  I love them with all my heart!

 

As always, a big thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for making our visit unforgettable and oh so special!

In with the old...and the new

I've been feeling the need to be better at keeping a personal history.  Since my journal writing is spotty at best, our family blog seems like a good place to do it.  My plan (not a promise, just a plan) is to have a weekly post with something current and something from our not so distant past.  I just can't keep being behind, but I'm sad to leave out all the good stuff (meaning mostly our second child's first year of life...) that's  been going on!  So, without further ado...

Let Freedom Ring!

We had a nice Fourth of July here in Sioux Falls.  We ventured out to the parade in the morning, thinking it might be a little crazy.  Not so!  We got there about 15 minutes early and had almost an entire block to ourselves.  We got the shady side of the street with plenty of space for our chairs and for the kids to play while we waited.  The block eventually filled in and we enjoyed watching the parade.  Dan was a little disappointed, having grown up with Prescott's Fourth of July parade which I hear is pretty great, but the boys loved it and overall it was a successful outing.

We spent the rest of the day at home until heading out to share dinner and fireworks with some friends.  We had to manage to find a place out of town to set off the fireworks (because Dan doesn't get the kind that are legal in town), but didn't want to invite ourselves over.  Thank goodness for good friends!  I didn't get any pictures having to deal with a very tired and scared Sammy most of the evening, but I think it was a pretty good show and the older kids had a blast (yes, that includes daddy)!

One Year Down!

Our little Sammy turned one!  And I've been a mother of two now for a year with no major accidents! James helped me wrap the present and was very proud of it so he took a picture.  We were preparing to leave on a trip (his actual birthday was spent in Idaho with my family) so we  decided to get some gourmet cupcakes and celebrate a couple days early.  The cupcakes were delicious and the activity cube is a hit at our house!

Sam's one year stats: 22 lbs., 30 inches, 100% cute!

His vocabulary has exploded over the last month or so, so this isn't current for the day he turned one, but as of right now he says:
-Amen
-Dog (usually accompanied with a woof!)
-Duck (or quack, not sure which but it definitely means the bird)
-Peekaboo!
-Sat? (while pointing, meaning "what's that")
-Uh-oh!
-Ma
-Dada

This kid is loud, and messy and full of so much personality he can't contain it!  We just love our little Sammy to bits!

James Turns Three

I don't know where the time has gone, but my big-little boy is three years old now!  We had planned to celebrate on Saturday, but some things came up and we had to bump it up to last night instead (the actual birthday being today). So I pulled out a couple of things and tried to decorate a little, and hastily wrapped his presents.  He didn't care one litle bit that it was simple and just the four of us.  I asked him what he needed for a birthday and he gave me this recipe: cake, presents, and Carl (his friend who unfortunately couldn't make it).  Well, we got two out of three ;).

 He's really enjoyed watching and playing Toy Story the last couple of months so when I came across these action figures on clearance I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them.  Unlike most things I make, this cake turned out pretty much exactly as I imagined it and James was pretty thrilled too. 

 

His favorite dinner right now is nuggets and biscuits with jam so that's what we had! 

Then we lit the candles and sang to him.  He got them out on the first blow, but we had to have him redo it for a video because of camera issues, he didn't seem to mind.

Then came the presents, and boy was he excited!  He got a sled and a race track from G & P Kingston, a coloring book, memory game and four-wheeler w/a guy from G & P King and a ball/bat, rocket launcher, airplane, sleeping bag, and pirate play set from us.

 

 I wanted a close up of the map.  It's part one of a three part pirate role play set I made him.  This is just a piece of shelf liner with sharpie marker drawings, then I also made a black felt eye patch and am in the process of making a telescope out of paper towel rolls and craft foam.  Making stuff is so much fun!  I hope he likes them as much as I do.

First Haircut

Last week I decided it was finally time to give Sam a big boy haircut.  He's nearly eight months old now and  I've trimmed his hair already twice, just to even up some stragglers and keep it out of his eyes, but this time he got the clippers.  Here is the before shot.  Without the trims I would have had to put it in a ponytail to contain it!

 I did it in a few phases, when I thought he would be patient enough for the scisors not to impale him.  This is midway, top short, sides long.  He looked like this for two days, and I was sure getting sick of his redneck do.

 Side note: he does this when he's lounging in his highchair.  Gotta stay limber somehow.

 And here is the finished product!  I was prepared for a meltdown (based on my experience with the bigger boy) but just to prove how different they really are Sam giggled!  I guess he thought the clippers tickled a little.  We sure do love our little Sammy boy!

Christmas Time

We spent the actual holiday in Arizona with our families.  It was a nice time, so nice that I forgot to take pictures (typical, I know). Everyone came except for the Baker family, and Uncle Kendal who is on his mission.  They were certainly missed, but thanks to Skype we got to see their faces and visit with them for a little while.  After getting back home we celebrated our own Christmas.  James had a really good time having already had one morning of presents.  Sam played and was happy as always.  We feel so very blessed to have such wonderful families, thanks to all for a great time!