Yard Work

Pops has been putting Sam to work on the weekends.

The first time they did yardwork they cleared a lot of brush - just like Dubya does at his ranch. Now that it's winter, there are acorns to gather and leaves to rake...and then jump in, of course!

When The Birds Were The Bees

Buzzzzzz.

The day I got Sam's bee costume at our local children's resale shop, I stopped at a thrift store in town, just to look around. I found a bee "body" for grownups for $1.99. It was looking like Sam and I were meant to be a pair of sweet honeybees for Halloween this year. Brian asked if I could get my hands on some yellow duct tape so that he could join in the fun. A quick trip to the craft store for some duct tape, pipe cleaners and yellow pom-poms and our costumes were complete!

We invited the grandparents over to the hive for dinner and trick-or-treating. Sam made it just halfway down the block, stopping at only a few houses for treats, but that was plenty for us, too. We all ended up sitting on our porch with dessert and coffee and passed out candy to the neighborhood kids by the light of Daddy's second awesome jack-o-lantern.

What a Happy Halloween!.

Autumn Blooms

Fall has come to Texas!

Gram and Pops and I took Sam back to the Dallas Arboretum to enjoy some beautiful fall color!

Sam was a bit clumsy that day. It started before we left Gram and Pops' house, when he fell in their yard and rolled over some crushed acorns. Then at the Arboretum he fell in front of Strega Nona's house, right into a big mud puddle. After we wiped off all the mud on his face, all his bumps and scrapes were easier to see. Here's a little before-and-after:

But he was a trooper about it. We stopped for lunch on the lawn, changed his shirt and enjoyed the rest of the park. The pumpkin houses were so colorful. Sam especially loved Cinderella's mice and her carriage that had turned back into a pumpkin. There were many varieties of gourds, arranged in clever scenes.

 (swans in a pond)

We were a bit early for the mums, but the pumpkins were amazing. Everywhere you looked there were more and more pumpkins!

Another special treat was the concert playing on the north side. We stopped so Sam could listen.  He sat with Gram for a while and then and of course, he had to get his groove on!

He didn't make it back to the car before falling asleep.  Too many pumpkins for one little boy...

Happy Birthday Gram

Happy Birthday Gram!

We had fun celebrating with you!

Homerun!

Gram and Pops got Sam a t-ball set for their yard and WOW can this kid hit!

And he does it all holding the bat backward!  Imagine how far he could hit the ball if he turned that sucker around!  In honor of the World Series - where Mama's hometown is playing against Daddy's hometown - here are some pics of our little slugger. 

Up, Up and Away

Well, not away so much.  But definitely up and up.

Sam recently experienced his first Plano Balloon Festival - kind of one last hurrah for the summer. We all know he's a big fan of balloons (see

here

), but this event took it to a whole new level!

He got to see skydivers,

feed Pops some goldfish,

eat some ice cream (of course),

and then it was down on the field for an up-close look at some balloons!  There wasn't enough wind for the balloonists to take off, so they let us on the field to get a better look!  Even better than a launch, in my opinion!

Another first - Sam's first bus ride!

It was humid and hot, but Sam had a blast watching buh-woohs!

Lil' Elton

"Blue eyes, baby's got blue eyes". Gram and Pops' closet is fun because it's a mirror AND it slides open and closed. On this particular day, Sam was having fun looking at that kid in the mirror that was wearing some wacky glasses, the one that looked a little like Elton John.

Funny Man

Yes, those are curlers you see. Many who know Sam are aware of what happens to him after about 7:00 pm. The kid gets silly. Crazy silly. All cranky temper-tantrums disappear to be replaced with almost slapstick comedy routines.

These photos were taken Saturday night at Gram and Pops' house. Sam asked for Gram's velcro curlers and, because Mama has the same kind, he knew right where to put them. After admiring himself in the mirror for a while, he was off to play in the closet. He thinks it's hilarious to run in and out, in and out. He thought he was a riot. And with Gram, Pops, Andrew and Mama all crammed in the bathroom laughing at him and taking pictures, it's not hard to imagine why.

Fountain Fan

If it's a fountain, he's a fan. This fountain was a particularly cool one.  It was big, had lights and "danced".  And when the wind blew, and it was really blowing that day, we all got wet. And no matter which direction we ran around the fountain, the fountain water seemed to follow us!  But as far as Sam's concerned, the wetter the better!

 

Happy Fourth of July!

Sam had an All-American Fourth of July. Gram, Pops and Uncle Andrew met Sam, Daddy and I in downtown McKinney for a picnic and a parade on the square.

Sam did great during the parade - he waved to the floats and even waved the flag Pops got for him. The motorcycles were a little loud and scary, so it was a good thing Gram was there. He shared an ice cream with Daddy and met a puppy named Zack.

The weather was a little warm and humid, but not bad for Texas in July. We had some cloud cover and a breeze and no rain!

Last year Sam was too little to enjoy the 4th, but he definitely had a good time today. Happy Birthday America!

Had to take his shirt off to eat strawberries...       Playing with the ball Uncle Andrew brought him

Dad bought Sam some ice cream to help him cool off, and we all know how Sam loves "sssk-eam"

                     The motorcycles were sooo loud!

This is how all our family photos would look if I were 6'3", but I'm up on a curb today!

Khaki, gray and black??  You guys!!

Zack the "bow-wow-wow-wow"

Happy Fourth of July 2010 from Sara Straka on Vimeo.

More Swimmin', More Picnicn'

We had a picnic on Memorial Day at a spot we'd picked out over three years ago.

We have lots of little parks in our neighborhood with benches and shade. We chose to picnic at the park that Gram and I drove by one day back when Brian and I were house-hunting and she said, "If you move here I want to take my grandbaby on a picnic right there" - so we did!

This was Sam's first time at our neighborhood pool and he had a great time. Gram put him on the side of the pool and he "jumped" to her on the count of three, he swam on his tummy with Pops, got a horsey-ride from Daddy, and bopped around the pool with Mama. I think his favorite part was the walk-through water fountain area. My favorite part was that Sam slept great that night!

Sam's Got Rhythm

This kid can keep a beat.

Last weekend, Sam and Gram and Pops and I went to the Denton Jazz Festival at Quakertown Park just off the square. We saw some bands, a clown making balloon animals, and a little train just for kids. Sam got a big balloon (two, actually) and we played on the swings at the playground in the park. The part Sam enjoyed the most was the preformance by the African Drumming and Dance group.

Sam ate during most of the performance, but he also danced. We get such a kick out of watching him. He really knows how to move for a 14-month-old. Gram commented the other day that he's the only baby she's ever known who can "shimmy" his shoulders. In this video he doing some kind of arm-thing. He's having a great time, that's for sure!

Little Eatin Little Dancin from Sara Straka on Vimeo.

The Park

You'd better not say "s-w-i-n-g-s" in front of Sam unless you're ready to go.
Now.
Right Now. We've had to start spelling things around our house, "swings" being number one.  Our little boy loves to go to the park!

Here we are at one by Gram and Pops' house. Sam loved the swings, of course, and the little baby slide. There were two little boys there his age that he didn't give much thought to. Then he saw a "big boy" (about eight-years-old) that was playing with a BALL. A real basketball on a real basketball court. Now that he payed attention to!

After watching basketball practice, we played with Sam's baby basketball, practiced walking, and kissed ladybugs. A busy park visit!

Hello?

Pops called. He wanted to talk to Sam. This was Sam's first time "talking" on the phone. He seems a little amazed at the idea of a tiny Pops hidden in Gram's phone. They talked about Sophie and playing ball. You know, guy stuff.

First Phone Call from Sara Straka on Vimeo.

Early Easter

The Easter Bunny stopped by early with a basket for Sam. This basket had a theme: balls, balloons and bubbles. How did the Easter Bunny know these are Sam's favorite things?

Not only were there balls and bubbles and balloons, there were snacks.  Snacks of all kinds.  Snacks hidden inside plastic eggs, basketballs, and chicks.  There were yogurt drops, baby goldfish, cheerios and peach poofs.  Because of all the snacks, Sam spent a long time just eating his way through his basket. 

(Here he is...signing for "more")

Once we were able to pry the snacks out of his chubby little hands, we all took a walk to the park to play on the swings and look at the ducks. 

We ended their visit with pizza and another bubble party in the backyard.  Then Sam had his first bubble bath with his new bubble soap. 

What a tasty, bubbly Easter celebration!

Easter Chick from Sara Straka on Vimeo.

Happy Birthday Pops

Happy Birthday, Pops! We celebrated Pops' 60th birthday this past Saturday. We went out to eat and then back to Gram and Pops' house for cake and ice cream. Sam was a good little boy and we had lots of fun.

licking the sugar packets

eating at the restaurant

laughing with food in our mouths

playing toys with Pops after dinner

Uncle Andrew

 

Hugs for Gram

Hugs for Pops (Sam is very into hugging right now)

presents for Pops

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!

Sam had a great first day of 2010 - Gram and Pops came over for dessert and coffee to help us complete our New Year's Day celebration.
They brought gifts for Sam...of course they did, right? Because it's been, what, less than a week since they last gave him presents. Somebody's getting spoiled - it's peach puffs, cheesy snacks and best of all, another BALLOON!  Food and balloons - no better way for Sam to start off the new year!

Happy New Year!

Love,

The Strakas

Christmas, Part II of II

We didn't have to dream of a White Christmas - we had a real one.  Because of that, we ended up spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Gram and Pops house. It was just too icy and windy to drive home. 

Sam had lots of fun opening presents on Christmas Eve, and we all enjoyed a cozy dinner of mushroom-crab soup, salad and bread.  Sam slept really well in Gram and Pops' crib...Sophie kept us up throughout the night, but we kind of expected that. 

Christmas morning we had a nice breakfast looking out on the snow, then spent the rest of the day hanging around, watching TV and eating snacks.  With hardly any room left in our tummies, we finished the holiday off with a ham and sweet potato dinner!

Enjoy the pictures and video of our little guy's First Christmas! 

Christmas with Gram and Pops 2009 from Sara Straka on Vimeo.

Christmas Shopping

We did a little Christmas shopping this weekend. Christmas window shopping, that is. I took Sam to NorthPark Center this weekend and we invited Gram and Pops to join us.  NorthPark is a very well-known shopping center, the oldest and largest in Dallas.  It has fountains and sculptures and the kinds of shops you usually only see in fancy magazine ads! Gram and Pops brought me here to see the Christmas decorations, from the time I was a tiny baby, so it was nice to be able to bring Sam as well. While some things have changed, there was a lot that felt very much the same!

Pops, Sam and Gram in front of one of the many Christmas trees placed throughout Northpark.

 Sam was ooohing over these guys:

They are mechanical, and I remember coming to Northpark to see them when I was very small.

 He really, really liked the moving sculpture.  Such a guy.

Whose presents are these, flying overhead?

 Why, it's Santa Claus and his reindeer!  Santa and his crew are made of very old nuts, shellacked marshmallows and other petrified bits.  We know they are at least thirty-something years old...

 Rudolph, with your nose so bright!

There were no penguins, as there were when Momma was a little girl, but they did have ducks and turtles.  That's two of the three WonderPets!

 It was love-at-first-sight for the salesgirl at the Nasher Sculpture Center Shop, so she had to find lots of fun toys to make Sam laugh.

Because our timing was a little off, we didn't make any of the puppet shows like we'd planned. But that was okay.  Sam enjoyed a snack in front of the gingerbread house and met a couple of babies while we listened to the Plano Civic Chorale sing Christmas carols.

There were lots of fun things to touch, too, like these very soft cactus forests. 

They looked like little Christmas trees, and we felt like GIANTS!

But the best thing about the day was that Mommy's sweater had buttons.  Go figure.

We'll be back next year, for sure, although we might try for a weekday instead of a Saturday afternoon!  And next year we'll make the puppet shows and, if he wants to, we'll take Sam to the Miniature Train Show.  Can't wait!

Family, Food and Fun

What a wonderful First Thanksgiving we had with our baby Sam. Happy to have Papa Emil and Grandma Jan with us, we spent the day eating, playing with Sam, chatting and eating some more! Gram and Pops prepared a great feast and Sam entertained us all. He looked so handsome, too!

Enjoy these photos and a short video of our Thanksgiving Day with our special guests and of course, Samuel!

If you listen carefully, you can hear baby Samuel snoring in the video. 

Looks like somebody had too much turkey!

Too Much Turkey from Sara Straka on Vimeo.