Merry Christmas!

This past weekend, Peter, Sam and I had our own little Christmas with just the three of us since Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are full of family gatherings. It was a lot of fun to watch Sam open up his presents because he definitely got the hang of it this year. They had been under the tree for a few days, but he didn't realize what fun was hiding inside! Once he got going, he wanted to open everything, even gifts not for him, so we had to put those aside.






We wish a blessed Christmas to all our friends and family!

Some pictures from the last few weeks...

We went to visit my dad on his birthday, and Sam got to go on a tractor ride with Grandpa!

This was the second annual Christmas cookie baking party! This year both of my grandmothers joined in on the fun too.
Peter had to work until 9 on his birthday, but we did get to go out to dinner and a movie the weekend before (thanks for babysitting, Candace!), and we met up with some friends at Majors.
This is what our computer looked like the day before my big final project was due for school after I set it on the ground and got the biggest electrical shock of my life. Ouch! Thankfully, I found a way to get it to work again after consulting the manual, and I did not lose the final project!
Amy & Luke closed on their house in Apple Valley last week. Yeah! Sam was pretty tired after moving all those boxes and furniture, so he took a little nap on their living room floor.

Friday night we celebrated Christmas with my dad's extended family. You'll see Sam below with his second cousin, Devon, who is a cutie! He was born just four days before Sam's first birthday.

Saturday was the party for my mom's side, but we missed that one due to the bad weather. At the time the party was starting, our road had still not been plowed and three cars had gotten stuck right outside our front door within a one hour period!

December 13th and 14th

Happy Birthday Mom (Grandma Kim)!

and

Happy Birthday (yesterday) to Amber!

As you can see, December is a busy birthday month. Today we celebrated my mom's birthday by helping her set up her Department 56 Christmas village. She hasn't put it up in a couple years because it is A LOT of work - it has 79 houses in it! It is pretty impressive once it's all done.

December 9th

Happy 30th Birthday Peter!

We love you!!!

Love,

Kristin & Sam

December 3rd

Happy Birthday Dad (Grandpa Roy)

and

Happy Birthday Danielle

We hope you both have a wonderful birthday!!!

It's been awhile...

Life sure keeps us busy. I have no idea how I'm going to keep up with everything once I start working again! I'm officially done with classes next week, and then I start student teaching and Sam starts daycare :-( at the end of January. It'll be hard to be away from him, but I think he'll like the new toys and the socializing. We just stopped by there today to drop off some paperwork and meet the other kids. Of course, in our short visit, Sam managed to get pushed down by a bigger kid and ended up with a bloody lip! He's okay though - just needed a little TLC and a kleenex.

Sam is 18 months old now, and so far he says the following words (though I'm sure I'm forgetting a few):

baba (for sippy cup or milk)

cheese

wawa (water)

please (though it there's no "l" so it sounds like "peas")

shoes

door

all da (all done)

baby

puppy

dada

mama

snow

eye

ball

car

tree

hi

bee

He uses this last word not only for pictures of an actual bee but for anything that is tiny - ladybugs, pieces of fuzz, crumbs, a piece of hair. He gives me these things and says "bee" and wants me to do something with them. There are lots of other words he will say when we ask him to repeat after us, but he doesn't necessary use them on his own. For instance, if we ask him to say Uncle Reed, he'll say "uh-oh wee".

We have taught him some baby signs, and he seems to pick up on these right away. He knows signs for milk, more, hungry, all done, please, thank you, and apple. It just melts my heart when he uses these. Especially when he uses the sign for please and says please at the same time - it's just so darn cute! He also likes to help us around the house now, like unloading groceries and putting them away.

We had a nice Thanksgiving at my parents house - Sam's favorite things to eat were fudge, cranberries, and pumpkin bars - he refused everything else. The next day, we forced him to have a strict vegetable only diet, so hopefully things are now back to normal, but see how happy he is when filled with Thanksgiving goodies:-)

We got to meet little Emmalyn on Friday - she's so sweet and tiny! Her mom, Lisa, and I have been friends since 7th grade!

We have our Christmas tree up now. My grandmother gives us a Minnesota Zoo ornament each year (she's been a volunteer there since 1979), and they are always made out of wood, so those are the ornaments that are kid-safe and near the bottom of the tree. So far, Sam likes to point at them and talk to them and he's pretty good (most of the time) about not taking them off of the tree, so I think he's on Santa's good list this year:-)

Smiling for the camera

So last night I took a little video of Sam as he was eating dinner, but he is used to me saying "smile for the camera" for a still picture so that is just what he did!

Lately, whenever Sam gets reprimanded (in this case for throwing food on the floor) he covers his eyes with his hands as if to say, if I can't see you, then you can't see me! Of course, you can always see him peeking through with one eye. As parents trying to reinforce some rules, the toughest part is to not laugh when he does this!

He really is so much more toddler and less baby these days. For instance, after lunch today, I was eating a chocolate chip cookie and set the half eaten cookie on the table as I sorted through some papers. All of a sudden I heard this sneaky little laugh. I looked over to see Sam with the cookie in his hand, and as I got up to get it from him he went running into the living room giggling. When I got to him, he had the cookie shoved into his mouth and was grinning from ear to ear. What a little stinker!

Yesterday, we went to the Mall of America, and for the first time, Sam didn't really care to be in his stroller. Normally he enjoys the ride, but nope, he wanted to walk like a big boy. So he did, and he loved pointing to and saying "ooohh" to everything he saw in Nickelodeon Universe and Legoland. He also loved to peek through the railings at the floor below, and of course, he HAD to play with the Thomas the Train track at Barnes and Noble.

Sam the Plumber

A few random pictures

We haven't been up to anything incredibly exciting lately. Just lots of school work for me and work for Peter. Last week I finished up my field placement at Wellstone International School, where I had the opportunity to observe classrooms and teach a few lessons. It was a lot of fun and confirmed that teaching ESL does feel like the right fit for me (whew!). Thank you so much to Peter's mom, my mom, Jenn, Luke, and Leanne for all your help watching Sam over the course of my time volunteering at Wellstone the last two months. We really appreciate it!

We got a little snow last week, though it was gone by lunch time. Even so, Sam got to try out his new snowsuit, which makes him look like he doubled in size!

Oscar was outside with us, and Sam knows just where we keep Oscar's sticks for a game of fetch.

Sam reading the paper...
Sam enjoying chocolate ice cream...

This morning's beautiful sunrise out our front window...
Sam on the phone...one of his favorite activities!

An Old Fashioned High Chair

When we visit Great Grandma Helen and Great Grandpa Kenny, Sam gets to sit in a high chair that is more than 100 years old. We keep him in it by tying a dish towel (which also makes a great makeshift bib) around his waist and the chair. Grandma says this is how they used to do it! We always have a great meal when we are there. Sam really likes visiting them, and he knows just where they keep the toys - which are the same toys I played with when I visited them as a child!

Sam's First Hair Cut

Sam got his first hair cut a couple nights ago from Auntie Candy, our personal stylist:-) He had some hair hanging in his eyes and tickling his ears, so now he looks a little more clean-cut! Here he is before the haircut.

Once we got started, Sam got pretty upset and was screaming. He didn't want me or Candy to touch him. I was trying to calm him down, so I didn't get any pictures of that, but once Sam got a sucker and Daddy came down, he calmed down and cooperated with the rest of the haircut.
Afterwards, he shared some ice cream with Auntie Candy, so now they are good friends again!

Thanks, Auntie Candy for the great haircut!

Sam the Dragon

As you can see, Sam was a little dragon for Halloween, and what a cute little dragon he was! For only being 17 months old, he scored a lot of Halloween candy, three new books, and a new toy truck - and we only went to two houses! Earlier in the day, I brought him to my grandparents' house, and we enjoyed a great lunch during our visit. In the evening, Peter and I brought him to my parents' house, and Candy, Jeremy, and Amy were there as well. He got his picture taken so many times that I'm sure he thinks he is a celebrity.

Carving a Pumpkin