Sam's First Birthday Party

Samuel's first birthday was on Sunday, and we enjoyed a wonderful party at my parents' house with my family and Peter's family. It was great to see Robin and the boys since we haven't seen them since Labor Day weekend. I was so busy though, I forgot to get a picture of Sam with his two cousins. Wyatt turns one in June, so I'll have to get a cousin pic at his birthday party.

Samuel had a wonderful time opening presents, swimming in the pool, and enjoying his first taste of chocolate cake! Peter and I had so much fun just watching him enjoy the day, and he absolutely loves playing with his new birthday presents. His old toys were starting to become a little boring to him.

He seems to have grown up so much in the last week or two. He's much more swift in his movements as he crawls around and plays. He actually knows how to bang his toy hammer on his tool bench, and he puts the phone up to his mouth and ear (though it is usually backwards or upside down!). He has several toys that play music, and he bops to the music and will even hold the musical part up to his ear to hear it better while he giggles and dances...so cute.

Since Sam was born we would do what Grandpa Gary calls a "tummy buzz" by blowing raspberries on his tummy. Just tonight he decided he wanted to do this back to me. It makes for a drooly mess, but it was hilarious, and I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. Of course, this laughter just encourages him to continue!

He has also gotten pretty good at playing with Oscar - he plays both tug of war and fetch, though he can't throw the dog toys very far (it's more of a drop). Oscar and Sam both really seem to enjoy this interaction, and Oscar is probably thinking it's about time the kid actually starts playing with him instead of just trying to tug on his fur.

When he gets up in the morning or up from a nap, I pick him up and tell him it's time to put the nuk away. He pulls it out of his mouth and drops it in the crib. Sometimes he hesitates a little, but he always has a sweet, sleepy smile on his face during this moment of hesitation before it drops from his little hand. Now that he is one, we are going to try to break him of his nuk addiction. Should be fun...!

He eats just about everything, though he seems to not care much for potatoes - mashed, baked, or potato salad - he'll eat them, but he doesn't look too happy about it. Maybe he's just holding out for French fries! Bananas and banana bread seem to be his favorites right now. I'm sure that will change next week.

Anyway, here are some pictures from his party...

Here's the video of the Happy Birthday song. Sam is lucky enough to share his birthday with Grandpa Gary, so they both got a birthday cake and song!


P.S. On a different note, CONGRATULATIONS to my cousin Grant and his wife, Carley, who welcomed little Devon into the world on May 21st. We can't wait to meet him:-)

Happy 1st Birthday Samuel!!!

Watch Showcase Minnesota on Monday!

Showcase Minnesota is on Channel 11 from 10am to 11am, Monday through Friday. Every day they have a "First Birthdays" segment, usually around 10:30am. Samuel will be among those listed (with a picture and a little about him) on Monday, May 26th, so tune in if you can!

Looking back...

With Samuel's first birthday approaching, I thought it would be fun to look back on a little video clip taken on the day he was born. My how he has grown!

Como Zoo

On Sunday we took our first trip to the Como Zoo. Candy was also there with some of her friends and their little ones, so it was fun to see all of them too! After the zoo we headed to the Roseville Mall where Sam had a wonderful time in the kids play area! He was definitely the littlest one there, so we had to keep other kids from trampling over him, but he seemed to really enjoy climbing over things and through the tunnels.

Grandma Helen, The Artist

My grandmother, Helen, is a wonderful artist. Last night, we had an opportunity to go to an art show to see some of her work on display. A couple years ago, Peter had her paint a portrait of me as a surprise for my birthday. Last November, she let me know that she wanted to paint a portrait of Peter, as a surprise for him, so we could hang our portraits side-by-side in our home. As you can see below, she did a beautiful job, and Peter was quite surprised to see he was in the art show! It is an incredible likeness of him, and Grandma seems to improve with every portrait she paints! She estimates she spent close to 90 hours on this painting alone. THANK YOU, Grandma Helen for sharing your talent with us in such a beautiful way! WE LOVE YOU!

Beautiful May Day

We woke up to a beautiful May Day today. Sunny and in the 60's, with a high today of 75 - couldn't be better! AND...Sam slept until 7:15, which means the whole family got to sleep in until 7:15. Who would think that 7:15 would be sleeping in on a Saturday!

Sam and I have both been fighting a pretty bad cold this week, though Sam still seems to be in good spirits in spite of his cough and stuffy nose. Nonetheless, we've had a pretty low key week just resting up. We missed swimming lessons this week, but since the water is so cold in the pool, we were actually glad to not go! Sam will get plenty of swimming practice this summer at Grandpa and Grandma's house. As usual, Sam still loves reading books and playing with Oscar. He also really enjoys pulling himself up to look out the windows in the living room now, and of course, splashing around in the tub.

My Boys

Here are my adorable boys!!! Thanks to Peter's mom for taking this picture of them in Florida.

Guinness

Peter's mom also took these pics in Florida. Sam's floaty toy had a beverage holder in it, so we just had to try it out!

Fun at the Park

Warmer weather has finally arrived, and we've been able have more outside play time, which Sam absolutely loves. He's still a little unsure about crawling in grass, but he does enjoy walking on the grass with our help. No first steps on his own as of yet, but they are sure to come soon! It was difficult to get him to look at the camera during our park outing on Sunday. I guess there was just too much else to see!