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:-)