Cute Pictures

I know it has been awhile since a post and I honestly don't have a very good excuse.

Samuel and I are packing our bags to head to Michigan on Wednesday. We will be there until the 26th. We will have lots to do and lots of people to visit and are really looking forward to the great weather! Mike will be joining us on the 16th. He has to finish out school and didn't want to miss too many classes.

While we are in Michigan we will be celebrating Samuel's 1st birthday. It is crazy to think that he is already a year old. Before I know it we will be sending off to Kindergarten! These are a few pictures either Craig or I took of him the other day. Just playing around and having fun with the camera!

See you soon!

Girls Night

Tonight I am going on my first real "girls night" since Samuel has been born. We are going to a hotel downtown for the evening and are going to enjoy happy hour, dinner, and great girl bonding! I will also get a full nights sleep (also a first)!

Although I am very excited about going, there is fear and sadness in the event. It will be the first night that I spend away from Samuel. The first night that daddy is fully in charge! A realization that Samuel doesn't need me all the time. I wonder how many times I will wake up thinking I hear him moving and crying. I am sure we will all survive.

Update...

Not much going on here right now. We are actually enjoying moving at a slower pace for awhile. Soon enough we will be back at 'em again. Samuel and I leave for Michigan in 15 days (not that we are counting) for a nice long 2 1/2 week break there. I am looking forward to spending lots of time with family and friends. I am in the process of planning lots of 1st birthday parties for the little dude. I can't believe he is going to be a year old!

Mike is in his summer trimester at school. The nice thing is that he only has two classes that meet weekly this term. His other two are what they call intensives. They meet all evening Friday and all day Saturday twice during the summer. He has already finished one and has one more at the end of June. We are planning some camping trips for the summer and time to get away and enjoy the beautiful state we live in.

Right now, life just seems to be going along pretty well!

Zoo Trip

Since the weather has been so beautiful here we are taking advantage of it. Jocie got to spend the day with us today because her dad was in class, so we went to the zoo. A new exhibit was opening, actually it is an indoor hands on place. It was cool, but very crowded. Both kids seem to enjoy it though. They were able to crawl around, bang on drums, climb, go through tunnels and play in dirt. Samuel decided that he was hungry and much to mom's constant reminder that dirt doesn't taste good, he had to learn himself!

Walking?

Well, Samuel has officially taken intentional steps. About a week ago, Samuel discovered that his legs could take him places. He was very interested in standing up and walking around holding mom and dad's hands. Occasionally, we would let go and he would "take" a step as he fell into something. Last Saturday night, Samuel did take three intentional steps before he landed on the ottoman. It was very exciting. Sunday we were at the park and he took seven consecutive steps. That one we did get on video. Then today when Mike got home he took 17 steps across the room to him! We hurried for the camera, but after that he would only do about 8. He is very excited about this new skill. When we stand him up he gets so excited he generally falls before he even starts. He also cheers for himself when he does fall! I did put two videos on the website for you to check out. Since he still prefers crawling over walking, I guess he is not an official walker, but well on his way!

http://homepage.mac.com/clarkm34/Menu20.html

Mother's Day

We had a great day yesterday. Mike took Samuel in the morning so I could sleep in! It is amazing what a little uninterrupted sleep can do. At noon we met my Mosaic group at Greenlake Bar and Grill for brunch. They were giving all mothers a free meal! We then had a Starbucks treat for desert and went to play in the park. The weather was beautiful and the kids had a great time. We got home about 3:00 and both Samuel and I took a much needed rest! The evening ended with the Survivor Finale! What a great day! Oh, Samuel and Mike are also treating me to a day at the spa!

Just In Time for Mother's Day!

Samuel has finally decided to say mama. Ok, so the situation was not the best, but it was heard clear as day!

I finally was able to get back to the YMCA this morning and dropped him off in the kids area. He has been having some separation anxiety so I wasn't sure how it would go. When I left, he was content playing with an Elmo toy. About half hour later I heard "Jenn Clark could you please report to the Kid's Corner" When I was about half way down the hall, I heard him. By the time I got there he was pretty desperate. He was sitting on a girls lap, tears and snot flowing. I quickly went in and on my way over to him, we made eye contact. He took a break in the screaming and said "mama" as he reached for me! I was so excited I didn't care that he wiped his nose on my shoulder as he snuggled in. Just in time for Mother's Day!

Hopefully next time we hear it we wouldn't have such a traumatic experience. It is nice to know that they do know who you are though!

Golden Gardens

Today we tried out a new park on the Puget Sound called Golden Gardens. We had a beautiful view of the Olympics. We decided to pack a picnic lunch and spend some time playing. As always, Samuel loved the swings. There was also a beach with great sand that we were able to play in. By the end of it, Samuel had sand everywhere! Definalty a park we will be back to this summer.

Naked Baby

This picture was taken awhile ago, but forgotten about. I know someday Samuel will kill us for this, but for now it is pretty cute. Samuel loves his bath time! He also loves crawling around naked both before and after! Yes, we have had a few accidents on the floor! Here he is trying to get away from getting pajamas on!

Big Boy

As you can see, Samuel is becoming a very independent eater! He can eat just about anything now and is very interested in what we are eating. He will still eat some pureed foods, but generally is in a very "do it myself" mood. Here he is eating lunch. He has a grilled cheese sandwich, cheese cubes, grapes and bananas. He also loves his sippy cup, but still needs a bit of help with the mechanics of it! It is nice that he can eat off our plates now!

Our First Hike

We all went on our first family hike today. The last time we went out was the day we went into labor. Since it had been nine months, we now live in a beautiful state full of great hikes and the weather hit 70, we decided to get out and get moving. We found a trail about 45 minutes from our house. Wallace Falls and Wallace Falls National Park are part of the Cascades. The trail has three destination points, lower, middle and upper falls. It ranges in distance from 4 miles to 6 miles and elevation from 807 feet to over 1600 feet. We decided to go only as far as the lower falls for our first hike.


Samuel loved the hike, I would too if someone carried me the whole way. He thought he was pretty hot stuff riding way up on mom and dad's backs. He spent most of his time looking around, talking and clapping! We took plenty of time to stop and enjoy some of the great views and took a pit stop at the lower falls to refuel with water, nuts and toast (Samuel of course!). We decided that we would have to make this a more frequent affair if we wanted to see the state while we were here.
Mike, Bailey and I were exhausted by the time we were finished. Yes, Samuel was tired too!

Trouble

Guess what someone has learned to do? Yes, Samuel has figured out drawers and cabinets. He is now officially into everything. Luckily, most of the cabinets are safe for him to be in, so we let him explore. It is always a new surprise mess! Bad news is that we have yet to find a latch system that works with the cabinets. They way the cabinets are designed where typical systems would screw in, the wood is so thin it will crack! Don't worry, we always have a very close eye on him!

Happy Easter

We had a pretty good Easter weekend. On Saturday, Samuel went to the Lynnwood egg hunt. They had different sections for different age groups. Samuel was in the 0-2 years old group. He loved it. We put him down and he would quickly crawl to an egg, pick it up, try to eat it and head to the next! He found six eggs in all! We then headed over to Target so Samuel could pick out his basket. He chose Elmo! He loves it. We also got plastic eggs that he carries around in his Elmo basket!

Sunday, we were invited down to Jon and Annie's parents for Easter dinner. It was a fantastic dinner and great time to meet new people and share a meal. Samuel did very well in church, actually slept most of the service! He then was able to explore around and very "un baby-proofed" house. The weather turned out to be pretty nice so we did get to be outside for a bit. Although we all missed being with family on Easter, we were able to celebrate this special day together!

More Spring Break

Ok, today is the last posting of Spring Break pictures. I just keep finding cute pictures that I want to share with everyone. Samuel loved the swings on Spring Break. He would smile and laugh as long as you kept pushing. He even would try to crawl across the hot sand to get to them. Daddy said that we might have to find one for him to have at home.


The reason we were in Florida in the first place was to watch Uncle Mike play baseball. Samuel didn't quite follow the games, but thought the batters on deck warming up were hilarious. We are sure he thought they were nuts for swinging so much and not hitting anything! This is a picture of Samuel and his Uncle Mike before the big Red and White game. I think they like each other just a little bit.


Uncle Mike earned lots of bonus points in Samuel's mind when he let him play in the bucket of balls. He thought he was pretty hot stuff!

The rest of our pictures are posted on the website. The link is to the right!

Swimming

Samuel loved to pool on Spring Break. He would watch anyone in the pool and was always eager to go in. He loved this float at the beginning of break, but realized it was too hard to splash. He was definitely not afraid to get his face wet. He even went under water a few times. Now at home the bathtub just doesn't compare!

Florida

Samuel and I just got back from a 10 day vacation in Florida. I loved the warm weather and sun and Samuel loved the water and the sand. We joined Nana and Papa and spent the first part of our vacation in Lakeland watching Uncle Mike play baseball. We then spent our last 4 days in Orlando. Most days you could find us by (or in) the pool. Samuel loved splashing and didn't seem to mind the water in his face. He was quite the ham. More pictures will be posted on our homepage soon.

Haircut!

Samuel got his first official haircut about a week ago. Nana trimmed it when she was here in February, but he was getting a bit shaggy. His hair was down over his ears and curling up over his collar. We decided it was time. We took him to Hair Masters for a trim. Daddy got one too! Samuel sat on my lap and did great. He was interested in the lady's scissors and comb, but was content to hold a different comb while she cut. He even allowed the razor on the back or his neck. Now he is a clean cut, handsome little dude!

Sweet Dreams

The other day I heard a very strange noise coming across the monitor. I decided I better check it out. This is what I found. Samuel must have been having a great dream. He would smile then laugh every few moments. I decided to grab the camera and risk waking him up to get the picture. I got a great picture and he continued to sleep!

Gymboree

Each Wednesday Samuel gets to go to Gymboree class. He loves it. It is a chance for him to go and explore anything he can get into (lately that is quite a bit). He loves all the songs and most of the activities. He has developed a fear of the parachute activity at the end. Usually he gets to stand back with mom and watch or go under the parachute on mom's lap. It has been a great chance for us to get out and do something that Samuel loves.

Going through the tunnel is tons of fun!

Climbing up the incline! Great practice for the stairs!

Here is Samuel trying to escape off the parachute!

Aunt Angie

Aunt Angie was here to visit us for a few days. She came in on Saturday and left Wednesday. Samuel loved having her here. We spent some time at the markets and shopping. Angie also got to see Samuel in action at Gymboree. She was amazed at how big he is getting and at how fast he is. We had a great time with her here and miss her already!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Samuel wants to wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick's Day. He will be wearing his green today.

Sick Again

Samuel (along with Mom and Dad) have had a rough couple of days. Yesterday afternoon, Samuel threw up after eating and it has all been downhill from there. All milk products were replaced by Pedialite and sugar free jello. Throughout the day he continued to vomit and have diarrhea. He also spiked a fever around 2, but it quickly came down with a bit of Tylenol. About 8 last night he spiked another fever that went all the way up to 102.9. We got him in a cool bath and called the Childrens Hospital for advise. They were not nearly as concerned as we were. They recommended more Tylenol, push the fluids and try to get him to rest. Which for once in his life is easy to do since he wants to be in our arms the entire time. This morning he woke up without a fever, but did spike two throughout the day. The Tylenol seems to bring it right down thankfully. He was able to keep foods down today. He ate oatmeal, sweet potatoes, applesauce and baby yogurt (all recommended by the hospital to help with diarrhea). They lied. I think we went through five outfits of his today and two of mine. They believe it is a viral infection so we have to keep his fever down, keep him hydrated and let him sleep. Hopefully tomorrow he will be getting back to his old self. Please keep him and his health in your prayers!

March Madness

Samuel has been watching basketball on TV. He is getting some early pointers from the pros. I guess we will be sending him to basketball camp this summer!

Grandma and Grandpa

Grandma and Grandpa were here from Michigan for a few days. We had so much fun. This was the best day by far. The weather was beautiful. Samuel was his usual happy self with a bit of crankiness when he had been in the car too long. I am spending today updating the website with new pictures and videos so check it out later on.

Beggin!

Since Samuel loves to eat he thinks he needs to eat everytime anyone else does. Here he is begging for toast along with Bailey and Toby! To say the least mommy ate it all!

Let there be teeth!

Well, the last 48 hours have been pretty fun for all of us. Samuel is cutting his top two teeth (one is through the other is visible) and it has been a nightmare. He is not sleeping for more than about an hour at a time. I think the longest stretch last night was just over two hours! When he wakes up it is not just a little cry, but and all out scream which sends both Mike and I running for his room. He wants to be in our arms all day and is refusing to eat anything but the Veggie Puffs and a bottle. Oh what fun! Hopefully these two will come through within the next day so that we can all get some much needed sleep!