Happy Birthday Samuel!

Our little man is already 1? How quickly a year goes by!

At 1 Samuel...

crawls everywhere

walks around holding onto our fingers

cruises on the furniture and anything else he can

had his first hair cut

loves balloons and balls

loves playing peek-a-boo, rolling balls back and forth, playing how big is Sambam and giving high 5

is known as the following: Sam, Samuel, Sambam, Bam-o, Samwell

is eating us out of house and home

loves music and dancing - his favorite song is Dr. Knickerbocker, followed closely by The Hotdog Dance

has 8 teeth and is working on his molars

says "mo" (more), "ah dah" (all done), "ma", "mum" and "dad"

has gotten way better about not shrieking when he wants more food

loves milk

has learned that he can make lots of interesting faces using his eyebrows and lips (I'll try to get a picture sometime)

loves water and anything dealing with water (baths, swimming, brushing his teeth, washing his hands etc.)

is always interested in what Grace is doing

still needs 2 naps a day and is in bed between 7-7:30 every night

knows where his tongue is (see picture below)

Happy Birthday Samuel! We love you!

Grace Moments

On Friday I didn't have school because of conferences so I took Maggie in to be groomed. When we dropped her off she was a gnarled, matted mess because she hates to have her hair combed if it's anywhere close to her head or bum. The kids and I dropped her off and then went off to a playground for the couple hours Maggie was at the vet. When we picked her up the groomer brought out an almost shaved Maggie Moo with a pink bandanna (or band aid as Grace calls it). Grace looked at Maggie and looked at the groomer and said, "That's not Maggie, that dog has a tiny head!" The groomer thought it was hilarious and I've been asked numerous times since if Maggie's head is going to grow back. She did go from looking like a lion to a squirrel. :)

On Saturday evening I made the mistake of telling Grace that Sunday morning before church we would go eat breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa Chupp because Jill, Eben and the boys were there. At 5 a.m. (granted with the time change it was actually 6 a.m. which is when the kids typically have to get up) I had a flashlight shining in my face and opened my eyes to a fully dressed - down to the coat and hat - G. Marie. As soon as she saw my eyes she said, "Mom, I'm ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa's!" I told her to get the flashlight out of my face and go play until I was up (I'm such a grouch in the morning). :) She must have because she left the room and I didn't hear from her again until 7 when I woke up.

She has been on a finger painting kick every night before bedtime. Tonight she informed me that she was painting a picture for Grandma and Grandpa and they should probably write a thank-you note to her. That girl...

Samuel at 11 months

At 11 months Samuel...

has 6 teeth

loves food

hates having his nose wiped

hates being dressed/getting his diaper changed because he has to hold still for 30 seconds

loves baths

enjoys wagon rides and being outside

is insanely ticklish

thinks sneezing is hilarious

thinks brushing his teeth is hilarious

hates the car wash and screams when we're going through it

dances to music

loves music (and goes to Kindermusik with Grace)

loves the big Legos

loves to roll/throw a ball back and forth

loves to play with the toy kitchen

loves anything with buttons - remotes, computer, DVD player etc.

cruises his way around the room

loves playing peek-a-boo

loves playing how big is Sambam...soooo big

This and That

Grace-isms:

How did Jesus get her up to heaven? Did he drive a van or fly a plane? (talking about a dog)

Mom, can I wear this outfit out in public? (she's been very adamant about picking out her own outfit - down to the socks, shoes and hair barrettes - dressing herself and doing her own hair) Obviously there are times when I tell her Grace, you can't go out in public looking like that. :)

Samuel got stuck between the table and fence while I was making supper. He was so ticked off. :)

Haven't I seen this before?

Helping with the laundry...and finding that underwear can make a great necklace. Brings back memories...

Samuel at 10 months

Samuel has changed tremendously over the last month. At 10 months he...

eats 100% of what we eat (besides all of those "not until 1" foods)

pulls up on everything

is a climber

has decided he doesn't need to nurse anymore...a couple months earlier than I expected! :(

had his first ear infection

had his first bout of croup

always has a bruise on his head/face somewhere

is working on 2 more teeth

plays a bit rough sometimes...bites/pulls hair

had his first experience playing in the toilet water...we keep the lid closed now :)

switches positions from crawling to sitting to standing very easily

continues to army crawl like a pro

signs all done

loves balloons

only fusses when he's hungry or sleepy

waves consistently

LOVES Maggie (our dog)

always has a huge smile for you

continues to take a morning and afternoon nap

is exhausted and in bed around 7:15 and sleeps until 6:15

is hard to get a good picture of because he's always on the move! :)

Cupcakes

I had my first baking gig this weekend. A lady that Steve teaches with wanted several dozen cupcakes for a baptism. I made chocolate buttermilk filled cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting and pink lemonade cupcakes with lemonade buttercream frosting. They all tasted great but the pink lemonade cupcakes were a bit too sweet for me. I had fun experimenting and hopefully will get to do it again sometime. :)