March

This park was just a block away from our house in Nebraska.  Sammy loves this big slide, and would head up there without an adult, which gave me a few grey hairs!  Mike is with him for this ride. 

Cricket sleeping on Sammy's huge giraffe he got from Grandma and Grandpa for his birthday.

"Um, I don't want any visitors right now." 

So Violet snuck in later. Haha

Wearing Daddy's headlamp  

Riding the lawnmower that came with our house.  It stayed there, since it never ran anyway.

Watching for Da-da

Sliding with a new friend.

Wheeeee!

This is before we cut his hair really short.  Always fun to make silly hairstyles in the tub.

Driving with Da-da

It might have been dry in March....

Reeeeeaaaalllly dry!

He's wearing my shoes.  I love how one of them is backwards.  Lol!

Easter egg hunting with MOPS. I can't believe how competitive the other mothers were.  The eggs were filled with candy (which Sammy doesn't get a lot of anyway), so I was fine if he didn't get many.  

Our painted Easter eggs. 

Sammy made quite the haul for Easter.  I think both my parents sent him gifts, and Mike and I found him some things we thought he'd like.  

Hunting eggs at our house.

It looks like there is an egg in the background here, but that is just one of Cricket's tennis balls. :)

Sammy deciding to wear his potty.  He took out the insert and was looking through the hole at one point, but I wasn't able to get a picture of him doing that.

Cheese!

This is a drink holder, but it cracked me up.  Sammy looks ready to punch someone!

Random stuff from June and July

Smile!

We found a new way to stay cool. :) 

Wearing Mike's work helmet.  

"Wash?" 

Waiting for the doctor.  Sammy was 34 inches and 27 pounds!  So proud of our big boy.  

July Fun

It's so hot here that if we can find an indoor place with a play area - we go! This is at a McDonald's.  I like how they have a toddler area and a place for bigger kids.  Sammy loves to slide; his word for it is "Wheeeee!" :) 

He recently discovered that going down on your tummy is fun!

Turtle!

More silly Sammy faces.  Haha

The train puzzle Noni and Papa got him awhile ago.  It's 2-sided with different pictures on each side.  We have fun building it (easy enough for him right now), and looking for different things in the pictures.  It's definitely a favorite right now.

On Sundays, we like to go for ice cream.   Sammy liked my strawberry and banana creation, but didn't eat much of Mike's chocolate one.  And Sammy REALLY liked the waffle bowl dipped in chocolate and sprinkles. 

Sammy uses his spoon really well.  He still has a little trouble with some solid foods, but overall he doesn't need much help to feed himself anymore.  

Watering the tomatoes

We went to the 4th of July parade.  The town said it was going to start at 9 but it was after 10 when it finally did.  It was too hot, and we almost left.  I'm glad we got to see it, and I think Sammy had fun.  Here he stole my chair.  :) 

Looking for new friends. 

When we go to the store, Sammy likes to help push the cart or ride on the end.  I think one day he was trying to help Mike push when the cart got away from him.  Now he likes to ride through the store being dragged.  What a funny boy!

This is at a park near our house.  It's a nice park with a couple of play areas, and swings.  We haven't seen too many other children there, which has been a bit of a bummer to me.  We definitely enjoy this area when we go.

Peek-a-boo

Someone loves to swing!

Sammy is usually so happy.  He does have his moments when he's definitely not smiley, but Mike and I feel so blessed to have such an easy-going and happy boy.

We'll see you on here again soon.  If you tried to watch the video in the last post and it didn't work, I did fix it. 

Colorado Visit

It has been such a long time since I saw my family in Colorado, so Sammy and I headed up there for a long weekend.  We wish Mike could have gone but he has used up most of his vacation for the year with the move and all.  We'll have to get him up there soon, tho.

Sammy and Grandma Dee.  He was looking at the VERY noisy cows on the hill, and having a blast with my mom. He is such a happy and friendly boy.  He hardly showed any fear or shyness when we arrived.

Riding in the skid-steer with Grandpa Ken.

Keeping his ears protected - even though the engine was never on.

My step-dad is an independent contractor and has this laser temperature gauge.  My mom was using it to "get" Sammy.  Mike thinks I should send this in to AFV - it's pretty funny. :)

One morning, my mom's dog would not go in her pool.  Later in the day we found out it was because a bat was stuck in it.  My step-dad fished it out, and it was still alive! It crawled off and lay on a log for a few hours before it was warm and dry enough to fly away.  Bats are kind of gross, but I felt pretty bad for it.  We think it was in there part of a night and most of a day.

We enjoyed their gas firepit one night.  Here Sammy is pointing at a helicopter flying overhead.

Here is Sammy pointing at Grandpa Ken to turn up the flame.  They were playing a game with Sammy blowing on the fire, and Grandpa turning up the flame.  It was pretty fun.

"Ready - 1, 2, 3..."

"Blow!"

A happy boy enjoying his game with Grandpa.

My three kids and granddaughter.  Love these guys.  

Dan had to work Sunday night and Monday so he let me keep Autumn overnight.  I can't believe how big she is getting! She starts school in a few weeks, and is really excited.  I feel a little bittersweet about the whole thing, but I know she'll do great.

We stopped at Babies 'R Us to pick up a toddler backpack for Sammy and they had these Mickey's and Minnie's on-sale for less than $7 (I think because they have 2015 on their feet).  The kids didn't care, and both of them held or slept on them throughout the day.

Sammy wearing Grandma Dee's shoes.  She said, "Finally my shoes are too big for someone".  Grandma has very small feet. 

At the mall riding an ice cream truck.  Sammy was the driver and Autumn took the orders. 

We went to Steak and Shake before our next stop.  We had to show Grandpa Mike a picture because it's his favorite place to go.  I think these guys like it too, because they ate their lunch, drank their small shakes, ate most of MY fries and drank part of MY shake!  I couldn't believe how much they consumed.  

Our last stop was a nice visit to Whit's End and Focus on the Family.  I love going here, because they have play areas for different age kids.  And I haven't found a kid yet that didn't like it.  Thanks to my sister for introducing it to me.  We sure missed her and her girls this time around.

Sliding.

Autumn and an on-the-go Sammy

Picture at the tunnel.  

Where's Sammy?

There he is! Both of these kiddos were asleep about 5 minutes after leaving Whit's End.  They had helped me run some errands then played hard.  They definitely deserved a good nap. :) 

I had to get a picture of Sammy with the new skill Grandma Dee taught him.  He can now do a thumbs-up, and is really proud of himself.  :) 

I've got some pictures from this month still to post, and then I'll continue with the months back to September to catch everyone up on.