Buddies

Samuel, Jocie and Koen playing together this past weekend.

Heading Out

Samuel is so funny sometimes. This morning, I was working on the computer while he was playing in the living room. I heard him over by the door and looked over. This is what I saw!

Complete with daddy's shoes, mommy's keys and money! When I asked where he was going he said "mommy's car". I asked where he was going to take mommy's car and he smiled, showed me his money and said "go park." I should have known! I am guessing the money was for a coffee for mommy on the way!

Sculpture Park

Seattle has a new sculpture park that is located within walking distance from MHGS. Last Thursday, I had a meeting so Mike and Samuel came along and decided to enjoy the beautiful weather with a walk around the park. Samuel loved it. Here are a few pictures of their day.

Samuel and Daddy. MHGS is the red building way back in the background.

Samuel hiking to the top of the Space Needle!

The trip was even complete with a visit from the train. Samuel gets a bit excited when it goes by!

There is a place that you can get down by the water. Here is Samuel throwing rocks in. I heard this was an activity that kept him busy for about half and hour!

Independence

Samuel is currently still in that all to exciting place of "independence." He is almost two therefore he is able to do everything on his own and don't you dare try to interfere. Although this is a very cute stage and it is exciting to see him want to do things on his own, it is also very frustrating at time! Yes...he does have mom's stubborn side too!

Here is a new favorite activity. STICKERS! He wants you to draw shapes on his paper and then proceeds to take off each sticker and put it in a predetermined shape. Predetermined in his mind...The stickers must all fit and he cannot possibly have two different stickers in the same shape or two similar stickers in two different shapes. You can probably guess what some of the frustration looks like with this activity!

To help us cope with the new found Independence we are trying to give Samuel "jobs" to do. We also hope that this will help when baby arrives. He loves finding his shoes and socks and will generally bring them to us when it is time to go. Lately we have been working on getting a diaper and wipes when he needs to be changed. The other day he obviously needed a clean diaper since this is how Mike and I found him in the hallway. I thought about leaving him to see if he would just change himself!

Eating is always an independent activity now. Here he is finishing up his hot dog from lunch the other day. He thought he was so funny with ketchup all over his face. We are also working on eating with a spoon. I am actually impressed with how well he does. Most of it ends up in his mouth!

And finally...mommy and daddy's favorite independent activity. He is starting to finally put himself to sleep at night. You don't know how nice this is. We have been battling bedtime for quite awhile now. Short of duct taping him to his bed we have tried everything. The other night I was putting him down and told him I had to go to the bathroom (an activity he is very use to mommy doing) and that I would be back to check on him. He actually fell asleep.
Some nights go better than others, but we are finally on our way. Yes, Bailey claims she doesn't like the kid, but does end up sleeping next to his bed!

Mommy Monday

Mondays Mike has class for six and a half hours!! Thankfully it is only six weeks long. Instead of paying the insane price for parking, Samuel and I venture downtown and drop daddy off. We then find things to occupy our time while daddy is in class. Yesterday we used our pass to the Children's Museum for a couple of hours of fun.
This is the last time that we will be able to see the Bob the Builder exhibit. Samuel loved it just as much as last time. Here he is putting all the balls in the water pump. We need one of these for home. It kept him busy for about thirty minutes.

Samuel also loved the fire truck. He put the hat on, got behind the wheel and rang the bell. He was not too excited about the fireman coat or pants though.

Samuel found this fascinating. You push the button and air forces the ball up into the air. We spent quite a bit of time here also. The nice thing ...Samuel was one of maybe 15 kids in the entire museum so it was a big play arena for him.

After our visit to the museum we spent some time enjoying the beautiful weather. There where a bunch of hula hoops in the park. Samuel loved dancing with it. We also took a walk around Green Lake before heading back to get daddy!

Who Would You Vote For?

Our Brush With Fame...

This is a sign that is currently hanging on the corner outside our apartment complex. Yes, you read it correctly, BLAKE LEWIS from American Idol was back here, in his hometown of Bothell yesterday! Of course being the American Idol fans we are, we couldn't miss out on the chance to go and see him! So we packed up and headed downtown Bothell for an afternoon of excitement.

Arriving in downtown Bothell an hour and a half before the parade, we grabbed ice cream and scoped out our spot for the parade. As the time went by the crowd got larger and larger. Teenage girls were going crazy screaming at the top of their lungs, running around, jumping up and down and either wearing or carrying their "Blaker Girls" paraphernalia. It was quite humours to watch. A small reminder or how obsessive and "nuts" our society is...I guess that is just job security for Mike.
Here are Samuel and Daddy waiting patiently for the parade to begin. Yes, that is one of the many Blake heads that were floating around. As you can see, Samuel is pretty confused about all the hype.

Luckily it was a beautiful day so we didn't mind being outside for a bit. Samuel saw a lady with a bird and had a chance to go and pet it. He also took a short walk with daddy to the end of the street that was blocked with police cars. The nice police woman gave him a sticker!

By the time the parade began it was mass hysteria. People screaming at the top of their lungs, stampeding the streets as the car with Blake went by, and the migration of the masses to the park that he was going to be performing at. In the picture you can see Blake standing in the background (striped blue and grey shirt) and the people crowding around the car. The two teenage boys were two of the many running around to get a better view of Bothell's own.

After Mike and I regained our composure. No we were not screaming, but rather laughing at the oddity of human behavior, we cut back to the park. With Mike's careful observation we noticed that there was only one road into the park, of which the car carrying Blake would have to travel down. Amazingly the street was clear. We scouted out a spot and waited hoping to get a better picture. Not only did we get this shot, but Mike had the rare honor of having Blake talk to him personally. He had on his Chicago Cubs shirt. Blake pointed at him and said, "Hey, what's that? Where is your Mariner's shirt?" Sorry Blake, we like you but will always be Cubs fans! Now Mike has a claim to fame!

While they were setting up the concert and presenting Blake with all sorts of awards and honors, Samuel went to check out the fire truck. He was pretty excited about the whole thing and it will probably be the only thing he remembers. Oh well. We hung around for a bit longer and listened to a bit of the concert. I will try and post a short video of one of the songs when it is loaded. All in all, it was quite an adventure. It was fun to be amidst the chaos and now we can say that we saw and talked to Blake Lewis! How many people can say that?

Sleep Positions

Samuel is just so cute when he is sleeping that we can't resist taking pictures of him. It is also the only time that he is not running 110 mph through the house screaming like a wild monkey! Here are a few pictures of some sleeping positions we have found him in over the past week or so. Enjoy!

Daddy and Samuel catching a nap together after graduation Saturday.

Gotta love the hair!

He often falls asleep like this with his hands up behind his head. Although he can't see it he also has his legs crossed at his ankles. Very relaxed.

Moments before his head fell forward and he was out in the stroller.
Being a toddler is a tough life.

Puzzle

So we all know how much Samuel loves puzzles. He seems to be a genius at them. When we generally give him a new puzzle he requires assistance the first time he does it and from there he wants to do it on his own. The other day I was cleaning out his closet and found this one. We put it up awhile ago because it did not have the pictures to match like all the others. Long story short...he saw it and wanted to do it. I sat down with him and showed him the numbers and pieces. We did it together twice before he pushed my hands away and wanted to do it on his own. By the time Mike was home he had it mastered. I know I am very visual and remember things pretty photographically, but it is amazing to see him do this. He doesn't hesitate on where the pieces go...half the time I wonder if he even looks at them. Maybe I am a bit biased, but I am pretty amazed at him being able to do this already!

Broken Bug

Enjoying the Sun

The weather has been great the past couple of days and we have been living it up! Samuel loves playing out on the deck in his sandbox. He is getting better about not throwing the sand and toys over the edge, but does need to be reminded each time we allow him to go out. I have also rearranged the deck so that I have room for a chair. I am actually able to sit and read a book while he is playing. I know...an amazing concept!

This past weekend Samuel found his sunglasses again and actually kept them on his face for more then a few seconds. Given we were inside and daddy was making a big deal about how cool he looked! He does look pretty darn cute!

Yesterday, daddy had a six hour class. Since we didn't want to have to pay the steep price for parking Samuel and I dropped him off at 1:00. Samuel then napped for awhile in the car before we headed to the zoo. It was so nice to walk around and see all the animals and actually have Samuel care. He did say "ohhhh wow" to about everything, but really loved the birds (crows to be exact). Each time he saw one he screamed and signed "BIRD!" Oh well!

We then went downtown and walked through Pikes Place where I bought myself some beautiful flowers. We had a quick dinner together and headed back to daddy's school to pick him up. It was an exhausting day, but both Samuel and I slept better last night than we have in a long time!

Communion

Yesterday, we decided to try out yet another church here in Seattle. We had heard a lot of good things about Vineyard Community so we thought we would give it a try. We enjoyed the service, but walked away with a great story to share.

Samuel started the service in the play room. He made it about 20 minutes before he realized mom and dad were not there and got a bit upset. Mike went to get him and spent the rest of the time in with him. Following the message, they invite the children back in for a worship time. This Sunday they also offered communion as part of the worship. Samuel was with us when we went up for communion and watch pretty eagerly as we both participated. In this setting, you go up freely and take a piece of bread or cracker and dip it into either wine or juice.

We then went back to our seats. Samuel joined a few other kids at a back table to color and play with trucks until the worship time was over. Mike was standing back there with him when he darted up the side of the room toward the front. From where Mike was at, he had to go around a bunch of chairs to reach him. By the time he had gotten there, Samuel had picked up a piece of bread and was dipping it in the juice. Mike grabbed him as Samuel smiled and put the bread into his mouth. He was pretty proud of himself.

Luckily the gathering was smaller so he didn't cause a huge scene in front of hundreds. He also was so precise with his movements he never knocked over the full glass of wine, juice or the candles that were surrounding it. He was just doing what everyone else was and was pretty pleased with himself when it was all said and done.

Mike and I laugh at it now, but are still amazed at the power of observation. Since this is our first week at this church and he is not usually with us during communion times, he has never really seen anyone participate in communion this way. It was amazing to see him intention and purpose in an act that I assumed flew over his radar. Little did I know...

MHGS Graduation

Yesterday, the class of 2007 graduated from Mars Hill Graduate School. We had quite a few friends who graduated this year. We were honored to listen as they spoke at graduation, watch as they received their hoods and party with them afterwards. Here are a few pictures of the day!

Paul, Sam and Tucker

Jon and Annie

Paul, Roxy and Trish

Congrats!

All the kids loved playing together. Here are a few cute pictures out in front of the fountain.

Samuel jumping off the step! A new favorite activity.

Stealing a kiss...

The whole gang!
(Roxy, Samuel, Jocie and Koen)

Happy Birthday Nana

Today is Nana's Birthday! Hope you have a great day! We all love you and miss you tons. See you in a few weeks!

Mike, Jenn and Samuel (Baby too!)

One Step Ahead

Since Samuel has decided that escaping is a new past time, we are attempting to stay one step ahead of him. I'll let the pictures tell you how he does it...

Here he is easily reaching the bottom dead bolt.

And now with an extra stretch he can even manage to get the top dead bolt also. As you can see he is very resourceful and dumped his bowl of crackers so he could use it to stand on!

And the solution...daddy has installed an alarm. Each time the door opens we both feel like we just walked in the local 7-11. The chime is really loud, but does fulfills it's purpose of alerting us that the door has opened. It is loud enough that I can hear it both in the shower and when I am using the hair dryer. The only question is...what will I do when I am in the middle of a shower and the door is opened?

Our Weekend

We had a great, relaxing weekend. Since Mike is pretty well finished with his trimester and the next one doesn't start until next week there was nothing that we HAD to do. We spent some time preparing for next trimester, lots of time playing together and time planning for baby number two's arrival. Saturday afternoon we headed down to Green Lake. Annie, Jenn and Samuel took the nice 3 mile walk around the lake while Mike sat at the local coffee shop to get started on some reading for summer classes. Afterwards we played in the park for awhile before meeting up with Jon for dinner.

Sunday afternoon we ran some errands around town. We hit up Babies R Us to look into the car seat and double stroller we will be needing soon. We also made a trip to Best Buy and looked around at a few fun toys. All in all it was a great weekend with family!

Gas Prices

Mike took this picture as we were driving home last night. Unbelievable huh?

Baby Shower

This past Sunday, we had the privilege of throwing a couples baby shower for our good friends, David and Jessi. They are expecting their first, a little boy , at the end of May. We are so excited for them and look forward to watching them enter parenthood.

Everyone seemed to have a great time. Good food, good games, lots of great presents and fun baby talk. I think the majority of the women there were all expecting!

Samuel loved playing with the balloons afterwards. He would run into them, get all tangled and laugh. It was pretty cute. He also thought it was great that they kept going up in the sky! He did have some disappointment when they lost their helium and now lay on the floor! I guess that is one of the hard lessons of life!

Our Little Escape Artist

Saturday afternoon Mike and I had the biggest scare since our entrance into parenthood. We were both in the process of getting ready to leave for the MHGS Spring Banquet (yes, we were running a bit late). Samuel had been playing really well in his room while Mike and I were getting dressed, packing bags and grabbing the final things we needed.

I came out of the bedroom and peeked in Samuel's room...he wasn't there. I asked Mike if he was with him and got the response of "no...I thought he was playing." I did a quick scan of the living room, listened for any noises and determined..."he's gone!" Samuel has discovered the ability to undo the deadbolt of the door, open it and apparently take off.

Mike took off down the back stairs while I did a look through the typical hiding spots in the house. As Mike was rounding the last set of stairs along the back of the apartment he saw the flash of Samuel run around the front of the building...laughing...thinking it was a great adventure. Mike took off after him since he was headed toward the parking lot and caught him halfway down the drive.

Samuel was panting and had probably had the biggest adrenaline rush he has ever had. To recap...he undid the deadbolt, opened the door, went down three flights of stairs and took off across the parking lot in less than three minutes. Meanwhile, I was still searching the apartment, beginning to panic as the ideas of what might have happened started to go through my head.

Oh...the joys...
We are calling our apartment complex about installing a chain!