Crayons and Sand

So I pulled out the crayons Sam got for his birthday and thought I would give coloring a whirl. Well things started off slow ... and then they picked up fast when I tried to take them away before he ate them.

He tried them out - he had a hard time using them ... so I actually did most of the coloring.
Crayons are not FOOD. Sam seems to think otherwise. Who would of thought I had issues trying to get him to eat what we eat for dinner? Go figure. The crayons have been put away for now, we will try again in a few weeks.
Sam loving his new "frog chair." Lisa (neighbor) brought it over for him after he went to bed one evening. I put it in the middle of the living room floor for the next morning ... he loved it, he was jumping on it and dancing around it. I actually was able to get a sweet picture of him taking a rest on it.

We went to the beach in the morning on the 4th of July. This visit was a little more work than the first two. We got to the beach before Sam actually took a nap - thinking he might nap a little in the "totally cool, spf tent" we bought for him. WRONG!! Between Dan and I we made about 50 trips to the water with him to fill his bucket of water, only to have him dump it as soon as we made it back to the chairs. Lots of exercise at the beach on the 4th.

Wading in the water. Sam loved it.

Trip 37 to get more water.

Oh ya, he tried to drink the water and was a little surprised when he got a taste of it.

Maybe next time we go - we will play with the sand.

Sam helps his dad put together the Radio Flyer he got for his birthday. What a little helper.

Random FUN Stuff in JUNE

June was full of fun filled weekends ... here are a few random shots from the FUN. In JUNE our town has a festival that showcases all of the towns organizations including clubs, churches and restaurants. We have gone the last couple of years. Sam had a great time this year.

Sam sported his "if you think I am cute you should see my mom!" shirt ... what a sweet little guy already.
We take snacks everywhere we go ... apparently Sam is ready for one, as he digs through the snack bag while my head was turned.

Good Stuff!

First time Sam actually ate an apple, he started off nibbling a little of mine, next thing you know the kid is mauling the apple. Feels good on the teeth.

We enjoyed "Political Distinction" the kids next door are in a band - they can be heard on UTUBE.

And Sam is still eating!

After Hanover Days, we went to Will's 2nd birthday party at "My Gym." Last year when Will turned 1 it was the first birthday party that Sam attended. Sam had a ball - no pun intended.

What is better than a bin filled with balls? Sam was in heaven.

So many balls, so little time.

Climbing - wow, didn't know he could do this either. Sam is constantly surprising us. Cool.

Will - the birthday boy. He has grown so much in a year (you can check out pictures from last year) http://babylightfamily.blogspot.com/2008/09/there-is-first-time-for-everything.html. His mom will be having another baby in a few months so he will be a big brother soon.

Can someone help me?

If there is a ball around, Sam is sure to find it. He wants it bad.

Sliding - once Sam discovered the climbing and stairs, we could keep him away.

Great attempt at getting a group picture with the birthday boy.

Later that same day, Sam and Abe shot some hoops in the cul-de-sac.

The next day we went to Jamaica Plain to visit Uncle Jeff, Aunt Jen and Cousin Asher.

It is always so neat to see the boys together.

The boys sharing the match box cars ... While they play you hear vrrooom vrrooom.

Asher's house is so fun ... so many cool new toys. Interaction - who knows what they were talking about.

Ok, at some point in Sam's life he is going to kill me for taking these pictures - but his little bum is so cute that I couldn't resist. Naked Time rules.

It looks like he is posing - not sure if he knew I was chasing him around the house taking pictures. Don't you just want to squeeze it!

Sam's first time "skinny dipping" so much fun on a HOT day.

After a very eventful weekend, it is time to clean up the house. Sam is learning about chores at an early age, he already loves to vacuum.

Happy Anniversary - can you believe it's been 5 years

Wow, FIVE YEARS. You know what they say, "time flies when you're having fun." I planned the anniversary celebrations this year, Dan & I try to rotate years. Did you know the 5 year gift is "wood?" Well, we took a trip up to Ogunquit, MN this year and stayed at a same Hotel on a nice quiet street. We had a good time. I think Sam was feeling a little under the weather, but he was a trooper. Good way to start the day, breakfast on the porch. We had beautiful weather on Saturday and it allowed us to get out and explore.

Funny guy!
This is certainly not the first time Sam has had ice cream, however, it is the first time he took a nose dive into the ice cream cone. That's my boy!

Dive in!

Ogunquit is breathtaking. I think Sam is recovering from brain freeze in this picture.

Ready for the walk on "Marginal Way," a nice walk along the Ogunquit coast, I think it was like 2 miles long.

Our little guy isn't so little anymore. Mom and Dad have to take turns on the shoulders. Now that he is mobile we try to let him out of the stroller as much as possible, but he wasn't feeling up to walking - He could be cutting teeth (I feel like that is always the excuse, the kid has had the same 6 teeth for like the last 3 months).

What a sweetie! I think he was trying to take a nap on my nappy head. It had to have been sticky with the gallon of hairspray I wear every day :)

BEAUTIFUL!

It is unusual to see Sam so sleepy.

Sam pimpin his stroller. I think the little guy slept most of the day. He definitely wasn't himself.

Stopped at the beach to soak in a few rays.

Cranky Pants! Poor guy!

We took a Harbor Cruise on Saturday evening and Sam fell asleep before we left the Harbor.

Mr Cuddles!

View from the boat.

The next morning Sam woke up and seemed to be feeling better. That's more like it! The weather was crummy though. It poured rain for the entire day...we took a ride up to Kennybunkport and did some sightseeing from the car.

We had a nice time and we will definitely go back. Our little Maine adventure was the weekend before our actual anniversary. June 19th was a Friday. I called and asked Ben (Dan's boss) if Dan could have the day off (Dan had no clue I was doing any of this)... he said yes! So I planned a day full of a fun activities for us both to do (Sam would still go to school). Plan A became Plan B and then I finally settled for Plan C. It rained on and off all day, so we ended up going to the movies and saw Hangover. Then as unfun as it may sound we ran errands, we were able to get a lot of stuff done and had a good time doing it. We had lunch at one of our favorite Mexican food restaurants in the area "Salsas." Shortly after that Dan picked up Sam at school while I packed up the car for the last surprise of the day. We went to the Cape where Dan's parents took care of Sam. We ended our anniversary at the Captain Linell House (place where our reception was 5 years ago), we had such a nice time. All I have to say is that Dan has big shoes to fill next year.

The Captain Linell House

We actually shared both meals. Pork Tenderloin as seen here ...

and Prime Rib ... I know we are dorks for taking pictures. Both were out of this world good and we had leftovers.

We had such a nice time and a wonderful day together. We love our time with Sam, but as many people say, you have to make time for each other. We did, and it was nice!

The gift this year was a wood picture frame with one of our recent photos done by Saydi ( http://babylightfamily.blogspot.com/2009/06/saydi-shumway-photography-dan-amanda.html) the one in front of the wood pile. I know I am sooo creative.