Big Boy Swing
Look who's out of the baby swing.
He's even pumping his legs, trying to swing all by himself. Such a big boy!
Lounging
A year ago he didn't want to go anywhere near it. Now Sam loves this swing.
Turns out it's a handicapped swing, no leg holes which makes for easy access!
Swings
Brian had the day off today and it was nice to have him home.
He watched Sam while I went to the store and then after lunch we took a walk to the lake and the park. Sam had fun watching the ducks and swinging. It was cold by the water, but overall, not too bad for January 2nd!
Beanie Baby
Forgot to post these pics of my handsome beanie baby.
We stopped by Target on our way to the Holiday shoot a couple weeks back and saw this hat on an endcap for just one dollar. It was in the boys department, and while it fits Sam, I have to admit it's a little poofy. But it will have to do, as all the toddler hats are too small! :) It was fun to take pictures of him wearing something new. I shot these at a pretty park in McKinney. He was cooperative for the most part, but in order to get the shots on the stone wall I had to bribe him with the promise of fruit snacks and an extra Oswald when we got home.
He held me to it, too. He's almost impossible to trick!
Somewhere Else
When we visit this park, those 100 degree days are just a distant memory.
It doesn't feel like Dallas here, either. If it wasn't so far from our house, I think we'd come here everyday, at least while the colors are out!
Nature Walk
Sam and I found some cool stuff on our foggy-morning nature walk.
A spider's web, covered in dew, some green moss, and a locust's shell. The spider's web against the fog was especially Halloween-y!
Mother's Day
We had a nice, relaxing Mother's Day this year. Brian got up early to make me breakfast and had Sam bring me a flower from the bouquet he bought, along with a funny card (which was addressed to "Mum"), into the bedroom when I first woke up. "Here you go, Mama", he said!
We enjoyed an awesome breakfast - eggs, sausage, bagels with salmon and cream cheese, juice and coffee - before heading out to meet Gram and Pops for a picnic at Frisco Commons. Andrew, Great-Grandma and my Uncle Brad joined us, too, and we had fun eating lunch and taking a walk in the windy, but pretty weather. Sam was such a patient boy that we finished our day at the park with some time on the giant wooden playground. Sam did the silly stairs with Gram, the swings with Pops and the horsies with Andrew.
Jan and Emil sent me the sweetest card and Nell and I chatted on the phone later that evening. Thanks, too, to Brian and Brad for the flowers. It was fun photographing something new for a change and they look great in the house! The two pictures of Sam at the bottom of the post are from the Mother's Day Tea at Sam's school. His teachers did a great job of celebrating us moms and Sam enjoyed showing me the puzzles he plays with at school!
Central Park
I took Sam to play with some friends in Central Park last week. Frisco's Central Park, that is.
Aside from a few tantrums here and there, Sam had a great time being able to run around without me having to stay right on him. There are huge longhorn and cattle sculptures, fountains, and an outdoor amphitheater. Sam loved walking along the theater "seats" and blowing the pinwheel in the wind.
Click (posted 3/27)
He looks like a natural!
We enjoyed our Vintage Camera Photoshoot playdate today. Sam was pretty agreeable and there were lots of things there for him to explore and enjoy. He climbed around on a playground that was just the right size for him, pet a fluffy puppy dog named Marshmallow, played with a bunny named Molly, and got to take pictures of Mama with his very own camera - a (non-working) Kodak Brownie Starflex. What a fun St. Patty's Day afternoon!
Pinwheels at the Park (posted 3/20)
Sam's always up for a trip to the park.
I was hoping for a little more sun, but it ended up getting pretty overcast while we were out. It didn't matter to Sam, though. We had lots of wind which made our pinwheel spin without our help, and we had fun swinging and chasing ducks at the lake. Cute little boy.
Rockstar
I promise I'm not making this up.
I took Sam to the park by our house this morning. He loves the playground equipment, especially these four green steps that lead up to one of the platforms. He's too little to climb on them, even with my help, so we usually just bang on them and pretend we're drumming. Today, as we were rat-a-tat-tatting, I noticed two sticks on the ground that would make perfect drumsticks. I showed Sam how to tap them on the "drum" and then handed them to him so he could try.
He tapped them two or three times on the drum and then stopped and tapped them together and said:
"Whan, tyoo, free, fhmw", which translates to "one, two, three, four", before continuing with his "riff".
Where did he pick THAT up? I laughed so hard I startled him! But he kept on going, tapping his drumsticks together and saying 1-2-3-4, drumming for a while, then repeating the whole process. This went on for a good five minutes, which is a long time in Toddler World.
Usually when he does something funny we know immediately where he picked it up or who he is mimicing. But this one baffled me. He's been so into music and dancing lately, he must have a little of Mommy's show-choir gene and Uncle Funky's musical instrument gene.
I was going to title this post "Little Drummer Boy", but I decided it didn't sound rockin' enough. He's more than a little boy with a drum, he's a ROCKSTAR!
Squirrel Huntin', Flower Pickin', & Acorn Throwin'
Sam and I made a stop on the way home from the aquarium Friday.
We decided to get out and stretch our legs at Addison Circle, where Mama lived when she first met Daddy. I took Sam to each of the parks I used to take Sophie to when she was just a puppy. He chased squirrels in Bosque Park and, before I could stop him, picked two pansies from the flower beds outside Pastazios Pizza. We played peakaboo around a lamp post and did the freeze dance at the dog park. We'd done a lot of driving and had a lot of wiggles to get out! Our final stop was at Quorum Park to visit the sunken fountain where I'd taken Sophie for pictures almost ten years ago. Sam had a blast throwing acorns into the fountain and I got a few more great pictures. It was a great way to end a fun fall day with my handsome boy!
The Park
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!
