The One With The Tunnel

For Jack's birthday he got a fun little tent with a crawl-through tunnel! Jack loves it, as you can see from these photos. I set up the tent first, and Jack had a blast in that... but by the time I finished and was about to set up the tunnel, one of the tent poles was bent and the tent was caving in. Jack was a little disappointed until he saw the tunnel. He had so much fun playing with that thing! The tunnel became so many things in that boy's wonderful imagination! It was a train tunnel, it was a hamster wheel, it was a tail, it was a cave, it was a cocoon... it's amazing how long that tunnel amused him and he was so excited the entire time he was playing with it!

He Sits!

He does such a great job at it, too! He is 4.5 months old in these photos, and he just keeps getting better and better at it!

God Bless America

I was really looking forward to the Fourth of July this year for a few reasons... it was Sam's first Fourth, Dave had the day off believe it or not, and we had a super fun place to gather to watch the fireworks!!!

But before I could do anything, I just had to get a picture of Sam in the same shirt that Jack wore on his first Fourth! Jack was 2.5 months on 7-4-07, Sam was 4.5 months on 7-4-10... and as you can see the shirt was much bigger on my little peanut Sam, even though he was 2 months older!

The Fourth of July just happened to fall on a Sunday this year, so we didn't have a lot of time in between church (we meet at 5:30pm) and the start of fireworks to eat dinner. So, McDonald's it was! After church we popped through the drive-thru and headed over to meet our friends at a super-secret rendezvous point to eat it as we awaited the start of the fireworks!

It was cold, so we had to bundle up!

To occupy the kids while we waited for the fireworks, I brought along Jack's Stomp Rockets! I put my dad in charge so that I could take pictures... the kids had such a fun time!

And then we sat back in awe as the fireworks started! Of course the kids loved that, too!

I taught Jack "God Bless America" but he refused to sing it when I pulled out my video camera. Typical three-year-old! After the fireworks, we headed home. On the way home we went over a railroad crossing... the next day Jack talked about that more than the fireworks! Have I ever mentioned that he's obsessed with trains? Yes? Good. Cause he really is obsessed with them!

Some Kind Of Jumping Bean

I was going to title this post "Mexican Korean Jumping Bean" but I figured that since he's really only 1/4 Korean, that might be a little misleading. But "1/4 Korean Jumping Bean" doesn't really have the same ring to it, so I figured I'd avoid that sort of description altogether.

This was July 1st, and Sam was 4.5 months old and having his first bounce in his jumper! We finally remembered to grab it back from my mom (she had been using it for Luke), and Sam absolutely adores it! He caught on right away, and he very much enjoys being my little jumping bean. Jack loves 'helping' Sam jump, too (not that he really needs and help), and the two of them giggle profusely as they 'bounce' together!

Such A Beautiful Day For The Beach!

Today was such a glorious day! We've been having such unusually cool weather this summer and two days ago was the first day all summer that there was no gloom in the morning- the day dawned clear and bright! So yesterday we headed to the beach with a bunch of our friends for a playdate!

No, I'm not blogging that beach trip yet... I'm not that fast! I am, however, in the mood to post some beach pictures and next on my list happens to be a beach day! A beach day that took place on a cold and gloomy June day. Nothing like yesterday!

It started out okay... it was a little chilly, but not enough to scare us off! We were having a Great-Grammy Day and we were going to enjoy it! So Jack, Sam and I headed to the beach along with my mom and Luke, Grammy, Aunt Linnette, Danielle, Sarah, Avah, Auntie Sandra, Allie and Luciano! Jack was so excited to get to go to the beach with all his "friends"!

Then Jack remembered that playing in the sand wasn't the only thing to do at the beach...

Danielle offered to take the kids down to the water while I fed Sam, and Jack was so excited to get to put his feet in the water! As soon as I was done feeding Sam I followed to take a few photos. As soon as I started clicking, I saw Jack get knocked off-balance by a wave. It was a very small wave, but small is all it takes to knock over my little klutz!

I didn't get a photo of him actually falling, though, because my heart was in my throat... I know all too well how easy it is to get tossed about once you lose your footing. Add that to Jack's difficulty in keeping his footing under normal circumstances, and he could very easily have been taken in by the waves! Luckily, though, Danielle was quick to 'catch' him and help him back to his feet, so all he suffered was getting a little nervous, wet, cold, and very very sandy!

Nervous though he was, he still wasn't done with the water! He didn't argue when we told him that the rule was that he was only allowed in the water if he was holding someone's hand. By then, grandma had come down to the water and he was only too happy to hold her hand!

Of course, holding her hand didn't keep him from losing his balance! I am so not exaggerating when I say that this kid falls down more times than I can count on a regular basis!

Note the huge smile on his face! Yes, he was just fine, not as nervous now that he had a strong hand to hold to keep his head above water! Soon, though, his teeth started chattering and we couldn't deny that it was not only not the perfect beach weather, but it was darn cold!!! So we headed back up to eat lunch and play in the sand a little bit more before it was time to go home.

Oh, and Sam? He was having a sleepy day, so this is the only picture I got of him that day!

To My Sammy, On Your Half-Birthday

My Dearest Samuel,

My how quickly the last six months have gone by! I hadn't planned on writing you a birthday letter on your half-birthday, but I just can't help myself! Six months is such a milestone and I can't gloss over it! And speaking of milestones, you've been hitting them left and right! I'm so proud of my amazing little Sam-I-Am and I am so incredibly blessed to be your mommy and get to witness your path of discovery as you move from small little baby things, like discovering how your little body works, to bigger baby things, like figuring out how the people and things around you work. You're moving right along on your little path, and here are some of the things you've discovered along the way:

• You smiled at me your very first day in my arms. I, of course, melted and have never recovered! You've been a momma's boy (in the good way!) since day one, and that works just fine for me! However, we know that its important that you are well-adjusted, and we are working on getting you to accept other people more and more. You adore Jack Jack and get so excited to see him, you blush when you see daddy and you like to grab his cheeks and bite his nose, but you gush when mommy comes into the room and you cover me in slobbery kisses when I pick you up! I am quite often covered in Sammy-slime, and I don't mind one bit!
• You have a swirl. Right at the front of your hairline, it swirls in a circle! I think it's absolutely adorable and have taken photos in order to properly document the swirlage. Daddy thinks that it will bother and annoy you when you get older and hopes that you'll outgrow that, but I love it and I hope it stays!
  
• You stand! Ever since you were a teeny tiny baby you have had such strong leg muscles, and you have the desire to use them! If you we were holding you on our laps, you wanted to stand up- those legs were held so straight and tight that there was just no negotiating on the subject! So many people would always comment on how they'd never seen such a tiny little baby stand- and stand so well! At 4 months old, though, you discovered that jumping is much more fun than just standing, and I often find bruises on my lap from where you jump on me!
  
• You first rolled when you were 7 weeks old, from your back to your belly! That's the hard way! Since then you've only occasionally found something that was worth repeating this feat -usually when we lay McKenna next to you... you are fascinated by her- but when you do decide to go for it you have no trouble at all. You never have! You're a rolling maniac from your belly to your back- you most often do this with a glance at me and a quirk of your eyebrows as if to say "Oh yeah? Put me on my tummy, huh? Nice try, lady!"
  
• You have always excelled at tummy time- both your pediatrician and your physical therapist are very impressed at how well you've always done! You pop your head up like it's no big deal at all, and were scooting all around at by 4.5 months old! You army crawl on-and-off (more off than on), and at 5.5 months you started pushing up onto your knees. I'm not expecting that you'll be a full-fledged crawler very soon, but I definitely have to keep my eye on you when I put you on the floor with your toys!
• You have a lot of nicknames for someone so small! You're called Samuel, but your brother introduces you as Sammy Wammy, as that's what he calls you and what you're called most often. Of course, we call you Sam and Sammy, and occasionally The Samster. Sam-I-Am comes out sometimes as well, and I even call you by things are are sort-of-but-not-at-all your name... like Sampson or Samsonite!
  
• Your first word was "Ah-Boo!" (on the day you turned 4 months old) and that is your absolute favorite game! You crack up when we play it, and you like to prompt me by saying the word yourself. I adore watching you enjoy this! So much, in fact, that I wasn't even insulted that your first word wasn't Ma Ma, like it should have been!
• Your second word was Ma Ma! You were a little over 5 months old when you started saying "MUAH-meh" and I knew that you meant me! You say that more often than "Ah-Boo" now (Yesssss!). Just in the last week it has sounded more like "Ma Ma," and our new favorite game is you yelling "MA MA!" to get my attention. I turn and say "Sammy Wammy!" and you laugh so hard! Then I turn away and you yell "MA MA!" again. We do this over and over and over! It never gets old... for either of us!
• You know where your tongue is! Another 5 month milestone... I ask you "Where's your tongue?" and you stick it out at me! You laugh when I say "There's your tongue!" and stick mine out back at you!
• You're getting quite adept at grasping things with your hands! I can't say when you started this... you must have been practicing when I wasn't looking (which isn't often!), because one day you suddenly had it mastered!
• You devour food. You've only had solid food four times, but you love it. You caught on so quickly to eating from a spoon that feeding you really doesn't take any time at all! Of course, your favorite form of eating is still nursing, but I think your enjoyment of that has more to do with mommy-and-Sam time than it does deliciousness-of-breastmilk. You have gone through a lot of phases where you have a hard time nursing, but I don't think you're quite as stubborn as myself or your brother, and we manage to pull through each time.
  
• You are my peanut! It's so fun having a regular sized baby! I still can't get over it, and I can't wait to see how much you weigh and how tall you are at your appointment on Friday! You are the size that Jack was at 3 months, and at your age Jack was the size of an average one-year-old... this is a whole new experience for me and I am loving it.
• You are doing great with sitting! You enjoy having a new perspective on things, and you caught on to the coolness of it right away- you've been able to sit assisted since you were 4.5 months old, and keep getting better and better. As much as you enjoy sitting, though, you also enjoy the I'll-fall-and-momma-will-catch-me-and-I'll-laugh-so-hard game! The look you give me right before you go down on purpose is priceless, as are the giggles that follow!
  
• You are really not a great sleeper. At all. I mean, you are pretty good about going to sleep- I can rock you til you're drowsy and lay you in your crib and you'll fall asleep pretty much on your own. The problem comes when you wake back up! As you edge near consciousness you fight to wake up, even if you're really not done sleeping, and once you're awake you are mad! You nap for only 45 minutes at a time (something I am not complaining about because I remember what it was like to have a 5-20 minute napper!) with 2 hours of awake time in between, and are up a lot at night. Eating twice, usually.
• You had your first and second vacations this summer- to Shaver Lake and to Las Vegas! You are not a huge fan of wearing your life jacket, but you know when you don't really have a choice in the matter so you don't protest (very long) when we put it on you. If it weren't for that, I think you'd really like the boat as you tend to sleep pretty well on it! You'll wake up and cry for a few seconds when you realize you're still on the boat, but then you decide it's a good thing and you go back to sleep. I am trying to figure out how to get you to do that on dry land (and in your crib)!
  
• You got your first tootha few days ago! I think your second one will come in tomorrow, but as of 4 days shy of 6 months, you have one tooth! The bottom left middle tooth. It is sharp. You bit me a few times before the tooth actually came in, but after being corrected you so far seem to realize that biting mommy is not okay. You do like to tease me, however, as when you decide you're done nursing, you'll hum to get my attention, and then you smile with your eyes and pretend to bite me! You laugh when I tell you that's not funny! I can't imagine that you actually understand this entire exchange between us, but it's happened so often that I'm almost convinced that you are wise beyond your, um, months!

You are such a blessing to us! Oh my little Samster we love you so much! You've done so much for our family just being here with us, and I am so grateful that God gave you to us! I am so enjoying seeing you make new discoveries and watching that personality develop and come out, and I can't wait to see what the next six months will bring! We all adore you!

So much Love forever and ever,
Mommy

Another Playdate- Wilderness Park

I love Wilderness Park! I camped there many times when I was a little girl (with the Girl Scouts), and had many fond memories of campfires at the amphitheater and fishing for crawdads in the pond! We used to tie shoelaces to sticks, tie hotdogs to the shoelaces, and catch crawdads... of course, I used to get scared when I'd pull out my "fishing pole" to see a crawdad attached (they are creepy!!!!) and I'd shake the pole to get it off before I ever actually could catch any! But still, fun memories!

When I told Jack that we were going to Wilderness Park for a playdate, he was so excited. It wasn't until we were already halfway there that I realized that it had been too long since we'd been there, because he was telling me that he was so excited to go down the slide! Um... sorry buddy, it's not that kind of park! Don't worry though, he was still excited when I told him what kind of a park it was... a "lake" and ducks and turtles and a "spooky forest"?! Sign him up!

He was really excited to get to feed the ducks. (Apparently the ducks and the turtles and the fishies all eat the same food. I think that's weird).

Jack threw the food with such enthusiasm that he knocked himself off-balance... immediately after I took this photo, he was on his hands and knees in the muddy banks of the pond! I am so that that there was a big rock in front of him to keep him from tumbling straight into the water!

Luckily he wasn't injured, though, and kept right on feeding the ducks... he hadn't even dropped any of the duckfood in his hand! The poor klutz kid is so used to falling by now that it hardly even phases him. It's very common in our house to hear a big thud, followed by an "I'm okay, mom!" A couple of weeks ago he was in the bathroom and I heard a crash, and then Jack's voice "I'm okay, mom! I just fell off the potty chair! I'm alright!" Yeah, he can't even poop without falling down!

Jack was having so much fun feeding the ducks (and trying not to fall in the pond!) that he almost didn't notice when grandma got there with baby Luke!

Since I usually end up wearing Sam, I hardly ever get any photos of him when we're out and about. I'm trying really hard to remedy that by remembering to hand off my camera for someone to snap a photo of him! Unfortunately that means that I have to be in it, too, but at least now my kids will know that they really did have a mother when they look back at their childhood photos!

After we were done at the pond, it was time for our picnic lunch! Since Jack is the slowest eater in the world!!! I handed my camera off to Ang to get some pics of all the rest of the kids... who had finished their lunches long ago, and were done playing and ready to go home by the time Jack finished his sandwich, as usual.

After our friends left, we decided that we weren't done yet! So we made a quick visit to the other pond before heading home.