itsy bitsy

this week we discovered that sam knows "the itsy-bitsy spider".

camping!

we started off friday around 11am and headed out to four mile creek state park in new york. it was a nice drive (not too long) and aftera few pit stops, we arrived sometime after 4pm. unfortunately, we didn't think to make a reservation, so we were only able to get a campsite for the one night (instead of the two we had originally intended to stay), but we decided to at least get what we could. we were set up and ready to explore around 6, and after dinner, we got sam ready for bed and took a walk to check out the lake. after sam went to sleep (and he really was in no hurry to do so), mike and i sat around the campfire for a good long time just visiting and looking at the stars.
the next morning sam was up shortly after 7 (i think. i had headed over to the bathrooms before he woke up), and we took down the tent, ate a little breakfast, played on the playground (sam loves to swing), and headed out to niagara falls.
we had a great time walking around the falls. though sam wasn't exactly as impressed as he might have been, he seemed to enjoy walking around and riding in the stroller. he had a great time watching all the people, but he wasn't fond of the misty spray coming from the falls. at one point he conked out, but he woke up in time for some lunch and a good bit of the ride home. when we arrived, sam did a few "victory laps" and made sure the house was still in order. he seemed glad to be home.

i think the trip, overall, was a great success and am excited about trying again soon (though we have several other trips planned in the meantime!)

believe it or not

believe it or not, but i actually do some things that don't involve sam. for instance, i had four freelance projects to work on this week (on top of the massive wacko project i'm doing for work-work). so far i've made progress on three of them, two are in limbo (the committee doesn't seem to like anything. boo!), and one is complete (i think). i've got one left to go tonight before we are off on our camping trip tomorrow.

speaking of, we are planning to be off on a long weekend enjoying a lovely camping trip and a visit to the american side of niagara falls. i'm sure sam will greet this awesome spectacle with the standard sam reaction--none. :)

(above photo is of my mother's day bouquet. it was gorgeous!)

working on...

beyond my work, freelance work, housework, yardwork, trying to learn dreamweaver and watch sam, i've also been trying to finish up some bibs on behalf a some expecting mammas.

i've got one down and one to go. now if only i wasn't posting, i might be making some progress. maybe.

recipe for a thursday morning

ingredients:

• 1 adorable boy
• 1 mom
• 1 thursday morning
• a pinch of daddy

directions:

• 6:15am - have boy wake up with soaked diaper. change boy. dress boy.
• 6:30am - have daddy change sheets in crib, hand boy over to daddy for breakfast time while you (thankfully) shower, brush teeth, and get dressed
• 7:00am - watch daddy leave for work ("daddy's car!!")
• 7:15am - share breakfast banana with boy while watching out the front door for cars, then sneak another banana for yourself while boy is distracted
• 7:30am - put shoes on boy. put shoes on mom. go outside to work in the yard
• 8:00am - decide whining boy needs to sit still so you can actually DO yardwork. put boy in stroller.
• 8:30am - discover boy has removed shoe, found clump of dirt on shoe, and put clump of dirt in his mouth. boy discovers clump of dirt does NOT taste good. smart boy.
• 8:31am - take away shoes (plural), get damp cloth and wipe out boy's mouth, wipe face, wipe hands
• 8:35am - let complaining boy out of stroller and let him walk around complaining while you attempt to plant, transplant, and mulch the flower beds
• 9:00am - get out hose to water new plantings
• 9:15am - water plants, water boy, water mom--we are now all wet
• 9:35am - put away hose--we are now all wet. also muddy
• 10:00am - go inside to clean up and change boy
• 10:20am - go for walkies
• 10:30am - let boy fall asleep in stroller
• 11:00am - return to house with boy asleep, hope boy sleeps for another hour or so
• 11:01am - let boy wake up, figure out (by deciphering various whines and cries) that boy is hungry and wants a snack
• 11:03am - get boy crackers and sippy cup, go to basement to play with toys, play peek, play ball, look at books, put laundry in the wash
• 12:09am - go up to fix lunch for boy, promising cheese and grapes--be glad daddy will be home in just six more hours

at least the morning part of the day is done!

a special post for grandma elaine

note: he did this for several minutes before i was able to find my camera (and then again after i stopped recording, and again now while i'm posting).

thought maybe i should explain this for non-grandma people: grandma elaine (mike's mom) has told us that she used to see mike lying on the kitchen floor rolling cars back and forth and watching the wheels turn. so when i saw sam doing this i immediately thought about that. like father, like son.

practically perfect

sam had his 15 month well visit today and has been declared "perfect". he had three shots, and only cried a little bit. in fact, he cried the most about having to leave the trucks in the waiting room so we could go home (he was banging on the door of the doctor's office to be let back in—something tells me they don't get that very often).

the stats:

height = 31.5in = 60th percentile

weight = 21.3lbs = 9th percentile

first haircut

we gave sam his first haircut today. actually, it was more like a trim than a haircut (it's not like he was sprouting the amazon jungle there), but we trimmed a good three quarters of an inch in places. he actually did a better job of sitting still than i thought he would, though we had to ply him with toys and i had to sit him on my lap on the floor.
mike has been advocating for sam's first haircut for a while, but i don't think i was quite ready for him to be old enough for haircuts. and indeed, his "after" photos look very big-boyish to me. luckily i can still claim him as my little boy (anyone that's smaller than me totally qualifies as "little" right?)

all i really want

i know i should probably do a post with real words and stuff, but all i really want is to do is watch sammy dance. this kid is a million miles of awesome.

the photo

of pretty sam (and a fist full of fishies)

pretty sam

last night sam, mike, and i discovered a new game. i would put my headband on sam and declare him "pretty sam", at which point he would look very pleased with himself (big smile, arms up) and he would walk across the room to the stairs, take off the headband, and walk back to us. then he would hand me the headband and wait (bobbing and anxious) until i would put the headband back on and call him "pretty sam" again. it was very cute and very amusing. sorry no photos or video. maybe i'll try it again tonight.