*warning* re-post

okay. i know that re-posting is a little lame, but this so reminded me of all the fun forts we built when i was growing up that i just needed to share the smile it brought to my face (cuz i know there's at least one sibling that will read this :)).

don't you wish we had some photos of our own castle creations? guess i'll have to do a bit of building with sammy soon...

via swissmiss

quick, from-the-pantry, good-enough-to-blog-about soup

tonight sam and i had soup for dinner (surprise, surprise, i know).
this was something that was thrown together in about 25 minutes, and it turned out really well, so i thought i'd toss it on the blog for anyone who might be interested. it's really similar to my black bean and tomato soup soup, but i like it a lot more.

quick, from-the-pantry, good-enough-to-blog-about soup

1 medium onion
1 stalk celery
about 1/2 cup frozen corn
about 1/2 cup frozen peas
1 can black beans (you could use the spiced ones, but i just used plain)
1 can hunts fire roasted tomatoes with garlic (you could use another kind, but you'd be disappointed. these are awesome.)
1 can vegetable broth

herbs and spices (add to taste)

salt
pepper
oregano
cilantro (i used the paste)
cumin
green tobasco
lime juice (not really an herb or spice, but i add it like it is)

i added noodles and chicken and carrots to sam's bowl, and he recommends those additions (he kept shaking his head for more--see photo of him anticipating his next spoonful).
he also thought my homemade applesauce sidedish was pretty awesome too.

spring game 2010

last friday we packed up and headed down to columbus to attend the 2010 buckeye spring game. this was our second time attending, and it was even more fun than last year.

sam, in his usual way, spent the time charming people around us. he started on two older gentlemen sitting a few rows back, and then moved on to the three college guys that were sitting directly behind us. he did such a great job being cute, that he ended up in the arms of one of the guys (wish i had gotten some photos of that. it was rather amusing. i knew that sam could charm the ladies, but i didn't know he could work his magic so well on guys too!)

we stayed until halftime, then went to do a diaper change. after missing most of the third quarter trying to find a restroom with a changing station (there are loads of "family" restrooms, but apparently very few with changing stations, and pretty much none in either the men's or women's restrooms!), we decided that it would be a good time to get going. sam was pretty sleepy by the time we left, and he promptly fell asleep in the backpack walking to meet our ride.

can't wait to go again.

hey, uncle pete!

guess who's holding sam next.

or does it only count if he can ride forwards?

(sam's uncle pete says he only holds kids that ride bikes)

who ya gonna call?

sam spent some time today walking around with his "cellphone" (it's the cartridge from his music-block-toy. also known as "the dooba-doo"). he holds it up to his ear (or chin, or mouth, or sometimes the back of his head) and says, "hello?" (sounds like "lo?"). it's very cute. i think i need to get some video...

coin purses

my coin purse (where i keep my money for the train) is leaking quarters, so i've been thinking about replacing it. i love these small ones (found here).

(and yes, i know i was scooped by oh happy day. but in my defense, i think those look more like wallets ;))

one stuck monkey

i was summoned earlier to rescue a stuck monkey. perhaps getting a photo first wasn't exactly necessary, but i took one anyway.

sam is...

...loving his blue bear. every superhero needs a sidekick, afterall.

...loving his cheese. we bought him snack cheese sticks. he likes them cut up into little chunks. if you say "cheese" sometimes he will follow with "please" (but it sounds more like "pees").

...is also loving golden grahams.

...climbing into the rocking chair on his own now (as you can see in the videos). this is pretty neat, except for the fact that he can be a little overzealous about rocking. he fell over backwards this morning and gave himself a scare, and a little bonk on the beezer.

...has a good scrape on his nose and forehead, with a matching bruise. apparently he had a tumble at daycare this past wednesday. he's taking this toddler thing very seriously.

i'm obsessed

with taking videos of sam.

friday

is the day of the event. i'm working on plucking up the courage to shmooze and promote my freelance biz. thinking i might just do an iron-on for my shirt that says "got graphics?" and has my logo on it.

wars of independence

i knew this was bound to happen eventually, but when sam launched into an all-out-lying-down-on-the-floor-in-a-public-place tantrum yesterday at the store, i was a bit taken by surprise. i mean, i know he was pretty tired, but it's really unlike sam to be quite that dramatic in public, so when we had a struggle over him putting on his own shoes (he really just lightly sets the shoe on his toes, and it's usually the wrong foot for the shoe he's holding, so if he really could put on his shoes, i would've let him do it), i didn't expect it to erupt into a complete breakdown. usually when he has his "moments", i just let him lie down on the floor and get it out. so i did. and i laughed. he looked so silly.

eventually i got tired of waiting for him to finish, so i scooped him up and we left, but i think i'm in for it, because had i not picked him up, he looked like he could've gone on for quite some time.

this boy knows what he wants, and when he wants to do it himself, everyone better get out of the way or suffer the consequences.

easter

hope everyone had as nice an easter sunday as we did.

ours was grand. hope to do it again next year.

ps - sam did a great job of observing the whole balloon blowing operation. i think he'll be joining the crew shortly. as soon as he can keep a hold on the strings, that is.

pps - mom still makes the best blueberry pies EVER. thanks for the pie mom!

new discoveries

today we discovered:

• sam loves the playground at the library. especially the part that is just his size. and the little slide on the little part that is just his size. and the fact that they have that squishy turfy stuff where when he falls down and smushes his face on the ground, it totally doesn't bother him at all. awesome.
• there is a little, 5-year-old boy named edward who lives down the street. he crossed the street just to say hi to sam when we were out walking this afternoon. he wanted to hold him. and then as we went back home for naps, he yelled after us "i love you, baby!" it was a little cute and a little weird.
• sam is getting molars. three molars have begun to break the surface of his little gums. i believe this is one of the reasons he's been waking up in the wee, early hours of the morning and yelling. i'm hoping the molars will make it quick so that we can get back to the "i like sleeping soundly until seven o'clock" boy.

video evidence

of sammy showing off some of his skills.