visiting tower city

we also took cousins on our traditional trip to tower city to see the decorations. i'm not sure they found it all that impressive, but we had fun eating out at the winking lizard and making wishes in the fountain.

hiking with cousins

one of the things that we did during the cousin visit in november was go to the park and feed the birds at the overlook. in reality there wasn't much bird feeding because three enthusiastic little people and birds don't exactly mix. we did have a good time (despite the fact that i lost my sunglasses), and afterward we spent some quality time on the swings (always a winning activity for sam). we also paid a visit to menchie's (another winning activity), and followed up with some chipotle for dinner (awesome).

best ever

there was a package waiting for us when we got home from the library/playground today. sam was sure it was a garbage truck, and was very keen to see what was inside. when i was done unpacking the flowers, he was still hoping that there would be something more and seemed a little disappointed that the box was empty. until i offered to give him the box, to which he said cheerfully, "there was a bewer box in the package!" and climbed right in.


i'm enjoying the lovely flowers from my sweet boys, but the best gift is a kid with a supersized imagination.

camping! — hocking hills

last weekend we went camping with my older brother and his family. they're experienced campers and were so organized (and also had great equipment), so it was really great for us (the semi-newbies) to tag along. angie organized the food and chris organized the hiking, and all we had to do was join in the fun. it was AWESEOME. plus, sam was overjoyed to get the chance to hang out with his cousin abby—as much as he enjoyed sleeping in the tent, eating marshmallows, throwing rocks in the water, and sitting in chris and angie's van, i think his favorite part was by FAR hanging out with cousins. (and by the way, i think he's adopted dylan, gavin's friend, as one of the cousins.)

we did get a bit of rain (basically anything that was in the tent was somewhere between damp and soaked), but i was feeling so relaxed and good when we got home that the fact that i had about four loads of laundry to do didn't bother me a smidge.

i definitely think that camping in a gang is absolutely the way to go, and now i can't wait to go camping again!

…and we're back!

it's always hard to leave the family and come home to reality again. we had such a good time visiting and playing and eating and cooking and swimming, i think i could've happily stayed another week or two.

i've still got lots of photos to go through, and am hoping to post a few more, but this was one of my favorites from the trip—sammy at the beach playing with the sand and rocks. i think he must've spent at least half an hour just sitting there putting handfuls of sand into the sifter and his bucket (and every once in a while, putting some in his mouth—yuck!)

many thanks

there are so many things i am thankful for: my fabulous family (including all the ones that i acquired when i married mike), a house that i'm so happy to come home to, a job where i work with some of the nicest people i know, and the chance to spend a holiday eating delicious food with some of that wonderful family, are just a few of the leaves on my "thankfulness tree."
thanks to missy for the gift of the tree. i hope to make it a tradition to fill it up with leaves each year. what a great reminder to think about all the blessings i/we have received.
tomorrow we're off to columbus to visit mike's family, and extending this first thanksgiving for the boy (the biggest blessing of all).
incidentally, i was hoping to get everyone on my christmas list this boy-in-a-box. it's the coolest thing ever. but unfortunately, i haven't found another one quite like this one, and i'm just not ready to part with mine.

ps - sammy is thankful for puffs and pie and a box to play in.

missing mississippi

our trip to mississippi was definitely one to remember. seeing oscar, introducing sammy, talking and visiting until the wee hours...what a blast we had! not to mention the corn maze, the pig races, the hay ride, the pumpkin patch, the pecan walk...so much fun! it was hard to arrive home sunday night and be "just the two of us" again.

sammy and i are both looking forward to this christmas when we'll get to see the southern gang again. maybe next time sammy will be able to join in the running around, not just watching and smiling and squealing with delight as his cousin speeds by.

we miss you guys. thanks for having us, and we can't wait to return the favor!

road trippin'

and we're off today to visit this cuteness (well, this cuteness about 10 months later). i can't wait to see how oscar has changed since we last saw him. and so excited to introduce sammy to the fam down in mississippi. sam in his carseat for two days is a little scary though. wish us luck. i think we'll need it!

on the move

alas, i had hoped to regale you with tales and lists of all the things that sammy's been up to this week, but as i'm trying to cross off the last vestiges of my to-do list before we hop in the car, there just isn't time for another list within a list.

we are off to see more grandparents this weekend. far be it for me to deprive anyone the company of my little monkey for too long, and more than a month is way too long (in my opinion).

speaking of monkeys...get a load of the boy using his bouncy chair as a jungle gym. go monkey go!

sammy sandwich

this is one of my favorite photos from the weekend. sammy getting hugs on sunday. so cute! we're lucky to have all the brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles that belong to our church family, and all of them just gush over sammy. not that i can blame them. he's really a magnet for that kind of thing.

we had a great weekend, even if it was a little bit too rainy to do all the things outside that we wanted to do yesterday. and of course it's never long enough. but there's lots to do again this week, and i'm sure it will fly by, and we'll be back to another weekend before we know it. yay!

a fabulous fourth

today i'm back at work after a lovely, busy 4th of july weekend. it was a marathon of driving and visiting and eating and talking, and it was so very fantastic, that we wished it could have gone on for several more days.

we started thursday evening, driving down to stay in columbus to spend the night with mike's mom and john. then another 2 hours or so of driving friday morning to middletown. we spent friday visiting with family, playing a little cornhole, checking out some new digs, and enjoying the little ones (especially showing off our very own). there was gorgeous weather, great food, and funny stories shared on a cozy screened porch. sam, not wanting to miss a beat, was wide awake past his normal bedtime (as were his parents) and waited until the other grown-ups were all filing out to decide that sleeping might just be a good idea afterall.
saturday sam had the chance to meet his only remaining great-grandfather, followed by a bit more visiting, cornholing, then packing up and lots of good-byes. the five hour drive back up to my parents' house was a little bit more stressful, but sam did really well, regardless of the fact that he hates being in his carseat with a passion. by the end of the trip, we were handing him pacifiers and hoping (and praying) he would remain asleep (or at least quiet) for the remainder of the drive. that night we had a fantastically delicious dinner with my family, with cake and ice cream for my dad (the birthday boy), followed by fireworks at the city park. as usual, the fireworks were wonderful (much better than you would expect for a city of that size), and sam (who was extremely exhausted at this point) watched all the goings-on with barely any reaction whatsoever. at one point, he was so distracted by my oohing and ahhing (and making weird faces) that he stared at me, rather than the fireworks. at least there was no crying (hoo-rah!)

yesterday was a day of rest and catching up. we did our shopping, laundry, etc. and sam did a record amount of sleeping (hours, people! hours!) the like of which we probably won't see again for a great while (unless we're supremely lucky).

all-in-all it was a most fabulous fourth. thanks to everyone who extended their hospitality to the three of us. we had a wonderful time!

saturday brunch

we had a great time with visitors this past saturday morning. a yummy brunch potluck that was topped off by cake and ice cream. it was a lot of fun. i've never hosted a brunch before, but i think it went pretty well. i don't think i could ever get too many chances to visit. and even though he took a bit of a nap during the festivities, i think sam had a good time too. thanks everyone for coming over and bringing wonderful, yummy goodies!

a few highlights: here's a photo of two birthday girls and their cake (with sammy overseeing the activities)...

and abby being entertaining...

artists

over the past few weeks we've received several pieces of artwork from our nieces and nephews. they're quite the creative bunch. i'm wishing we had a larger fridge.

many thanks to the artists!

a happy mothers' day

my first mothers' day as a mom was pretty sparkly. i got to spend the whole day with my boys - going to church and visiting with grandparents, going for a long, lovely walk/hike at the park, and having dinner with family.

one of my favorite parts was getting to use my new mug from sam and mike. it makes excellent oatmeal. i can't wait to see if it makes good soup too.

being sammy's mom is pretty awesome. i get the best gifts every day - smiles and hugs and chances to give kisses to the cutest little belly - and i'm finally starting to get my mom powers. hurrah!

busy bees part 2: easter sunday

easter sunday we woke up early so we could join the family at church to blow up balloons. i wish i had taken pictures, but we were quickly put to work and needed to use both hands (and sometimes a foot) to get things done (and keep sammy bouncing and happy).

after the balloon launch, everyone gathered at our house for dinner. we all marveled at abby's ability to scarf down strawberries and be amazingly cute all at once. it was so nice to have a house full of family!

mom and dad also dropped off the crib for sammy, complete with bumper pads hand sewn by mom that match his decor. it was put together and sammy had his first easter and first night in the crib that very night.

busy bees part 1: pre-easter activities

it's been a busy week around here. i've been meaning to post, but there always seemed like there was so much other stuff to be done that this didn't quite make it to the top of the list. so tonight while sam sleeps, and the laundry sits next to me waiting to be folded, i'm going to take the time to do some posting.

last friday mike had the day off, so we treated it as a normal saturday and did all our saturday chores. there was much grocery shopping and cleaning to be done, as we were expecting a visit from mike's mom and john that evening and were planning our (now annual) easter gathering with my family on easter sunday. we had a lovely, relaxing evening of take-out and watching "the storyteller" on dvd.

the following day, after mike cooked breakfast for us and our guests, we did some serious easter prep. we dyed eggs, and i made kolaches and bread and pre-chopped things for salad. sam helped by watching and reminding me to take breaks and feed him.

we topped off saturday evening with dinner out with family at a new restaurant. i was excited to find that there was a section for vegetarian dishes (always a good thing!) by the end of the day, we were pooped.

a long time coming

this t-shirt showed up at our house the day after sam was born, and i've been meaning to take a picture of him in it, but he kept having incidents before i could get around to it. until today. thanks for the cute shirt aunt missy! it definitely speaks the truth.

the fancy dress party

sam was baptized this morning. he got to wear the same christening gown that his great grandma jerabek wore when she was baptized. we were happy to see so much family at the service, and were especially happy to eat yummy cookies afterward. mom went super overboard, making all kinds of goodies (cookies, muffins, pumpkin bread). it was quite the spread. i only made two batches of cookies to contribute, but the recipes seem to have been declared keepers. i love a good bar cookie recipe.

birthday bash

yesterday afternoon we attended abby's first birthday bash. it's amazing how big she's gotten. we had a great time watching the birthday girl open gifts and play with her balloons, but the highlight was definitely the cake eating portion of the party. i don't know how much cake she really ate, but she sure seemed to have fun with it. happy birthday abby! and thanks for letting us celebrate with you!

my little hat boy

many thanks to aunt missy, who sent this cute hat (and matching feety things) for sammy. he's got quite a hat wardrobe at this point, and i love going in and picking them out for him to wear. i'm not sure what he thinks about it, but he always looks so cute in them. he's made for hats.