Just another Wednesday...

Well, since we lost the camera we have not been taking any new pictures. This is a picture of Samuel and his friend Koen at the Fall Retreat. They were making crowns. Samuel was much more into eating the stickers and tasting the markers, but did actually end up with a crown when it was all said and done.

Samuel has been into drawing lately. Whenever he can get his hands on a pen, pencil or marker he starts looking for places to write. So far we have been able to catch him and get some paper. I am just waiting for the day when he finds the wall before I find him.

Well, if you haven't heard...I have a job! Yes, it was willingly sought and accepted. I actually have been trying to figure out if I want to do something more, but do not want to spend time away from Samuel, so I started looking into nanny positions. I was pretty selective on who I responded to since I felt that I wanted to use some of my teacher skills if possible. Last week I came across a part time position for a two year old boy with a bilateral hearing loss. I responded and was offered an interview right away. Long story short, I got the job. I will be watching Jase on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8-3. This works out wonderfully with Mike's teaching schedule. Additionally, I am taking some sign language classes! I had my first one last Monday and loved it. I am really excited to see how this all turns out.

I start with Jase next Tuesday. Ironically, the boys are exactly a year apart. Samuel and Jase have met twice and have gotten along great. I am excited for Samuel to have another little boy to play with consistently. We have also been given the opportunity to go to a play group on Monday mornings. Samuel would be considered a typical language peer within the group. I am really excited about all these changes.

Oh...by the way...I will be getting paid to have fun!

Ahhhhhhh!

This is Samuel's frustration over losing the camera! Yes, that's right, we lost the camera. Actually, I lost the camera. Last we saw it, it was in the bottom basket of the stroller on Sunday morning.

Sunday morning we were meeting Jon and Annie for coffee and took Samuel in the stroller. I remember seeing it in the basket underneath and since we didn't use it... Anyway, our best guess is that when the stroller was folded up and put in the car it fell out. We realized it was missing at our next stop which was the Fremont market and Oktoberfest. We searched the car and all our bags, but it was no where to be found. We then drove back to where we were that morning and looked around where we parked and asked all the retail shops on that side of the street. No camera.

I guess this means it is time to get a new one since we can't go without a camera as our little dude continues to explore. We knew we were going to need one soon since ours had started to malfunction. Occasionally the lens wouldn't open completely and you had to wait forever in between taking pictures. We were hoping it would make it till Christmas though. Oh well. I guess life happens! Best Buy here we come!

The Monkey Continues...

If you ever doubted that he is part monkey, these should prove you wrong.

These are a few pictures from the Mars Hill Graduate School fall retreat. There was a climbing wall on the side of the cafeteria. Samuel watched Mike climb around on it for awhile and decided he wanted to try. He was actually pretty good. He was able to hold on, reach for the next and pull himself up.

I guess he is part boy, part monkey!

Monkey Boy

So you may laugh when you hear that his nickname is monkey, but you can't argue that we're right! We have watch Samuel climb on chairs, up on tables, onto the couch, but this is a first trying to get onto the counter. I am so thankful Mike showed him that all he has to do is move a chair! My life just got easier!

Puyallup Fair

Today we took Samuel to the Puyallup Fair. This is actually the second time he has gone, but since last time he was only 2 months old the memories are vague. We headed down to Puyallup this morning with Jon , Annie, Trapper and Heather. While we were there we were able to see all sorts of animals, walk through exhibit halls, eat yummy fair food and go to the draft horses show. Samuel did well and seemed to have fun. Here are a few pictures from the day!

Samuel next to one of the largest pumpkins. This one weighed 946 lbs. The winner weighed over 1000! In the hottest days of the summer they calculated it to grow about 30 pounds per day!

Samuel liked the animals, especially the goats. A few were making a ton of noise back and forth. Samuel just sat and watched them. As he got brave and started to reach out to pet we had to move away. I prefer him with 10 fingers!


Here we are wasting away our quarters playing Skeeball. No winners today!


To say the least, we were all tired by the end of the day. Samuel slept through most of the draft horse show, even with all the clapping and cheering!

Happy Birthday Beth!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Today is Beth's 35th birthday!
Congrats!
We will all be celebrating her this evening!
Hope you have a great and restful day!

Birthday Bash 2

Here are a couple more pictures from my birthday. As you can see, we all had a ton of fun.

This is cute now, but won't be in a few years!

Birthday Bash

As most of you know, I celebrated my 28th birthday this past Wednesday. Birthdays are not usually a big deal for us so I hadn't planned anything for the day and Mike had mentioned going to dinner that evening. So I wasn't expecting anything special...

Mike got up and left for work as usual. On the way, he took a quick detour and picked me up some coffee and brought it back knowing that I was already up with Samuel! Samuel and I sat around and watched the Today show and played with all his cars. Around 11- we decided to get dressed and ready for the day! After Samuel took a short nap, we played around in the living room for awhile. Samuel loves being chased and has found that the kitchen/dining room area is great for it. We chased each other around there for a good half hour before we were so tired of laughing we had to stop! In the meantime, Craig had to go out and also brought me coffee back! Everyone knows my obsession!

When Mike got home from work, he took Samuel because I had a meeting with Paul (Field Abbot from MHGS). He treated me to a triple chocolate meltdown at Applebee's! This day was only getting better. We had a great meeting and I left not expecting to see him again until Monday. Anyway, when I got home Mike wanted to head out and told me we were going to places that have been meaningful for us over the past year?!


Well, shortly after 6 we arrived at the Park Pub (bar owned by Paul--member or MHGS staff!) only to be greeted by friends. Mike (with Beth's help) had planned a surprise party at the pub for me! It was great. We had a chance to eat, let the kids run around (they have a room separate from the bar so kids are allowed), and catch up. I was surprised by the number of people that stopped by to wish me well. It was a ton of fun!

The best part...all this fun and I was still in bed by 10:30!
Yeah to birthdays!

Too Cute!

I will have a chance later to post pictures from last nights big birthday bash and tell you all about it, but for now, I had to show everyone what I just ordered from the internet...


This is what Samuel will be wearing at Aunt Angie and Uncle Caleb's wedding in four weeks! I am sure he will be stunning! When we were looking at getting him a tux, we discovered it wouldn't be cheap. To rent a tux to match the guys he had to pay the same amount they did! Crazy! We were in the bridal store trying on bridesmaid dresses and one of the sales clerks was telling us about this website where you can buy tuxs for cheap. We checked it out and found this tux and only am paying $35.00! I can probably turn around and sell it for more than that! Anyway, if you ever need it the website is
www.b-onewarehouse.com

First Trip to the Dentist

Samuel had his first visit to the dentist today. Since he has ten teeth now, we figured he better get use to going to see the dentist. We talked about it to him last night and this morning and he seemed fine going! He instantly loved the office since they had a big train table and a Lego table. He kept himself pretty occupied while I filled out paperwork. We then headed back to see the dentist.

When we got in the chair the hygienist asked if she could see his teeth. He immediately pointed to his teeth and gave her a big "ahhhhhh." It was great. The dentist came over to look and he was awesome. He leaned back on my chest and was motionless (this is amazing since we never see him still). He laid there and let them look and brush his teeth for over five minutes. I was stunned. She said they looked great and that he has about six in the process of coming in! GREAT! I guess we don't sleep for the next two weeks. They then gave him a plastic fish for being such a good boy and we headed out. I hope all our appointments always go that smoothly!

Weekend in Review

Finally, a little time to breath and blog. We had a pretty fast paced week last week, right through the weekend. Kate and Addison were here until Friday. It was so nice to have them in town. Addison and Samuel adore each other and had a ton of fun playing. I literally dropped them off at the airport on Friday and drove straight to pick up Mike and head out for the weekend.

This past weekend was the Mars Hill Graduate School community weekend. They do this each year as a marking of the new school year. It started Friday and ended Sunday night. Yes, we were tired. Friday we headed over to Bainbridge Island to the Island Lake Camp. I was in charge of the couples/families housing and some activities on Saturday, which left Mike in charge of Samuel a lot. While on the retreat we celebrated Brian's birthday. Trish, Paul, Sarah, Brian, Mike and I hung out and had yummy cake on Saturday night. It was a ton of fun and the kids slept the entire time! Sunday morning we headed back and showered to head out to convocation and the community picnic. It all went great and we had a ton of fun, but were plenty tired.

I will post pictures when I get them from friends...we forgot the camera!

Fun with Addison

Samuel and Addison had a ton of fun!

Green Lake

Today Addison and Samuel enjoyed a trip down to Green Lake. First, they got to play on the big playground with a million other kids. After exhausting that area, we headed to the water. They had a blast throwing rocks in and watching them splash. We were all a bit sandy and plenty tired by the time we hit Dick's Hamburgers for a quick lunch before we made it back for a much needed nap! Cousins are always so much fun!

Franklin Falls

Aunt Kate and Cousin Addison are in town! They came in late last night and will be here until Friday. This morning after a pancake and grape breakfast, we headed out hiking. We found a "family friendly" hike just off of I-90. It was a mile hike into Franklin Falls. Samuel rode in his backpack and Addison walked some and was carried some. Rounding the last corner heading to the fall Addison exclaimed "Wow, look at the waterfall! Cool! Awesome." She was right, it was a pretty awesome 70 foot waterfall. We found a spot on the rocks and had a short picnic lunch before letting the kids play in the water. It was a bit cold for swimming, but great for throwing rocks in and walking through. We then headed back out and only had one minor injury when Addison tripped and skinned her knee. She recovered quickly and continued exploring with Uncle Mike.

The last 20 minutes of the car ride home was a different story.
I guess we were all ready to be back at home!

Fun at the Park

This morning we also had our Mosaic first large group gathering of the 2006-2007 school year. Since I am now serving on the student leadership team for Mosaic, I planned and coordinated the event. And...it went really well!


We had lunch together at Magnuson Park in the University district. Our shelter was right next to the children's play area which was a great bonus. Mike served at the "Grill Master" and everyone brought a passing dish (which I guess is a Midwest term, but people here figured it out). We had about 37 people show up which was a mixture of staff, returning students and new students along with their spouses and children. It was a great chance to welcome some of the new families and reconnect with friends.

Samuel loved playing in the sandbox and on the swings. His friends, Roxy, Pierce and Matia were all there to play along with some new friends too. He wore himself out pretty well and is currently sound asleep attempting to recover.

Hopefully our Mosaic events will continue to go as well as today did. Keep your fingers crossed!

Blackberries

One of the nice things about having a nature preserve in our backyard is the blackberry bushes. This morning, Mike went out to pick some blackberries for breakfast. Samuel was very interested in the new treat so we decided to let him try it. As you can see, we were at least smart enough to undress him first! He loved them. Of course, they made a horrible mess, but he had a great time and we know now he likes yet another fruit! Too say the least, he went straight into the tub!