Gardens, getaways and growing up

Thanks to friends, Julie and Chrissi, Bryan and I got to have an overnight together in the Poconos! We had the best weather and really enjoyed our time away.

We left early on Friday AM and came home at Sam's bedtime Sat so we got the most out of 1 night away--thank you again, Julie and Chrissi. :- )

(Here's a shot of the color changes.)

(b always insists on taking pics of me in front of interesting barns)

And 2 days later, I took Sam to meet Me-mom and aunt Pam at Longwood Gardens.

Thomas the tank engine, and his friend, Percy were there--Sam was beyond excitement.
I like this shot because it shows off his still present Phillie P!

And here is Sam meeting Ryan Howard! :- )

(they were saying "Phillies!" instead of "cheese!")

a pensive moment--rare that day...

One of the non-Thomas trains. There were several engines, many boxcars and 2 character trains set up. Clearly, one of Sam's fav parts of the gardens.

Another fav part, tho, was getting wet at the numerous fountains. Ended up being a hot day so I let him get soaked--all the way to his sneaks! Must remember to bring a 2nd set of clothes and shoes next time. :- )

They had a little area of hay bales and big & small pumpkins for the kids to play in--Sam enjoyed rolling pumpkins, jumping off bales and sliding down the bigger pumpkins, along w/the other kids. A crowded day at LG--Columbus day so lots of kids there.

And about a week ago, our church participated in a local fall festival. He looks so old here--these were taken w/my cellphone. We forgot the camera--not bad, eh?

Sam got to sit in fire trucks and ambulances and police cars--he LOVED that!

For some reason, I can't get this pic to rotate, even tho I rotated it in my photo album in the computer (Kathi--does cyber boy know how to fix that??). Anyway, the reason for this child-in-pj's and sweatshirt pic? He had just pulled 2 matching sox out of clean laundry basket and put them on HIMSELF! A milestone, eh? hee hee

Thanks for sharing in our joy-- ttfn, Mb for WeThree

1st day of preschool 2010

Too cool for school, eh?

Our church has a new building (after 17 yrs of renting facilities!!) and we get to use it for our homeschool co-op on Weds. Here's Sam complete w/backpack ("pak-pak," he calls it) containing diapering, and a few school, supplies. So far, his distracted momma has managed to avoid using the glue stick in place of A&D ointment. :- )

Random shots of us in our circle time class. Sam also goes to a music class where he gets to play various instruments including the ever popular drum sticks!

This was a play date w/E-- E brought his own drum but was mostly content to watch Sam use both drums as a set. These boys are peas in a pod-- E is 9 months younger than Sam and just like him at that age--scootchy and fun. Amazes us parents. We fondly reminisce and Megan and Steve know what to expect from E when he's 2.5 yrs old!

It's that time of yr again-- molds in the air bring allergies, colds and wheezes. We're back on nebulizers and hoping he grows out of this soon! Thanking the Lord that Sam hasn't had to use nebs since last winter and then it was only once, we think. He's such a trooper, tho and never minds the mask or doc visits.

And in hopeful anticipation of the "phantastic phightin' Phils" winning the World Series this yr, we had our friend and hairdresser, Sarah, put the "P" into Sam's buzzcut!

(Sam's saying "Phillies!" not cheese in this picture)

Thanks for dropping in on us--ttfn, Mb for WeThree

Indy trip

Welp, we drove to Indy last month--13 hrs w/a toddler in the car, a toddler who doesn't sleep! Good news is, he's not yet potty trained (tho he often asks to go on the potty train--choochoo!), so at least we didn't have to stop a lot to check out turnpike restrooms. It actually wasn't a bad ride--Sam's way better at riding in the car and we didn't have to load a video til the 9th hour. Wow, eh?

Here's Sam in one of his 3 major new experiences--riding the lawn mower (no blades, thoughtful grandpa!) on their cul-de-sac in Indy. Clearly beside himself w/joy.

Daddy even got a turn...

Not pictured is experience #2--for a brief period of time Sam was permitted to ...ready for this?.... sit in a police car, turn on the lights and all the siren choices!! Bryan's dad's neighbor is a policeman and he offered to let Sam sit in his car, despite my warnings that every button would be pushed and his mirrors etc adjusted. Sam LOVED that, of course. Wish we could've gotten it on film.

One day we spent visiting extended family in the country. I wish I had better pics and might hijack some from Aunt Arlene's facebk page! She's a fabulous photographer.

Here is our cousin Mindy and her oldest daughter, Halle.

Halle would NOT allow a "normal" photo. Her momma doesn't take a bad picture, I'm thinking--pretty girls all.

It was so peaceful there--very country. Much like where I grew up and I loved it. Especially as there was a horse farm across the street!

We also loved that the folks in Indiana took time to come hang out with us and that Aunt Arlene and Uncle Marv (pictured below) were so hospitable.

Our cousin Marty (Mindy's brother --they are Arlene/Marv's kids)

Aunt Millie and Aunt June

Uncles Maury and Jim

Maury's son, Keith and his wife, Sheila

And Jenna, Mindy's youngest. She's a trip. All 3 of us enjoyed her joy and exuberance.

As evening came on, we crossed the street to the horse farm where a lesson was underway. Experience #3: Sam was permitted to ride his 1st horse, a tall boy, too! And again, he loved every minute.

Petting his steed...
Getting instructions from the teacher, Amy--such a pleasant woman!
Daddy was a bit nervous, Sam wasn't!

And what barn is complete w/o dogs and cats? This girl was close to giving birth. Sam was in heaven w/all these pets around. He loved Indy! Thanks grandpa and grandma for letting us into your world for a little while. :- )

Thassall for now, folks--ttfn, Mb for WeThree (tho I gotta add... Go Phils!!)

Summer fun

Get ready, folks--this is one longgggg log filled w/loads of pics...

June thru August of 2010.

Here we go-- we joined our friends the Machos at a beach house on the Jersey shore for a day. A great day and the kids had the best time, esp on the bay side in this little roped off portion of the bay.

This is Sam taking some chic "for a ride" on the (stationary) train on that little beach. You can barely see him in the conductor's spot.

Sam and best bud, Z-man.

Daddy taking Sam for a ride on the boogie board--Sam loved that thing.

M and Z's daddy helping Madeline to "ride"

Lifeguarding

Warm me up, mommy!

Then came Father's day (also our anniversary). Daddy got gifts in bed (he didn't want b'fast)

Then, fun-fun-fun (and work, work work)... it was time for the church-wide camping trip! Over 100 folks went this year and it was worth all the prep work to enjoy some COOL WEATHER for 3 days. Oh what a treat. We were actually cold at night--Sam got into bed w/us at one point and slept thru the night in our aerobed (lent to us by friends).

My men lounging...

Sam notices the camera, of course... And you might see the bandaids on B's hands--he was whittling a good bit on this trip. Made some cool chain links, linked together, out of a few pieces of wood!

Some of us went for a little hike that ended at an overlook of Lehigh Valley. The littles could all manage it--Sam just liked being w/all his buds, walking thru woods.

Mercy's dad holding Sam

Lizzie and her folks, our good friends across the street!

More friends, including Sam's best buddy, Kim-met-mot, who pops out her back door w/marshmellows for him regularly.

Shortly after camping together, we had a huge picnic w/over 500 people there this yr! (not sure why this thing underlines randomly...)

Here's some shots of friends at the picnic...

Zachary

Lizzie

Mercy

We took Sam to my mom/aunt's area in MD for a day and enjoyed Aunt Peg's pool. Sam and Me-mom loved squirting each other w/water bottles.
Megan came, as well as Will and Aunt Pam

these are just summer fun shots:

our little drummer boy--kid is always drumming!

helping mommy do dishes

dinner al fresco

one of daddy's days w/Sam and they actually dressed up like a cow to get free food!

when he's not drumming, he's playing keyboard--here he set up his chair so he could play sitting while watching the Wiggles do a song
daddy's shoes

a recent drum pic--this one will be great for embarrassing him in teen yrs, I'm thinking

And this was a big event--he got a big boy lamp (baseballs!) and a big boy bed, which he slept in fine the 1st week and has a few nights of playing, not sleeping since. ugh...

Sam sure is having a fun summer, even if it's far too hot for his mommy's sake. He's happy w/the water hose turned on and his water table in the backyard, most days.

Dad is pretty good at taking him to a park on his days w/him (when I'm at work)

what a big boy these days...

We babysat for friends, the K's one day last week--Jenkins and Felicia. Too hot even in the early morning to go outside, so we headed off to the Discovery Museum--boy have we gotten our money's worth there! I highly recommend it for families w/small children. It saved us in the dreary days of winter, the rainy ones of spring and these 100 degree days of summer. When Bryan has Sam by himself, he gathers some kids and goes (or sometimes he gets to send Sam w/other moms--a real treat for him, as well as Sam!).

Sam loves it cuz he gets to touch EVERYthing, and it has a car to pretend drive, basketballs and a hockey rink, a ball pit, bubbles to make--everything a child could want in a museum. I've only remembered to take the camera once so we didn't get pics this time. :-(

Our friend "E" came over, too. (His mommy stayed, too, which was very helpful in Discovery museum!)
Sam adores Jenkins--he plays great baseball!!

Well, this only took me 2 hrs to compile (2 months of pics to go thru!). Hope it's worth it for those of you who have time to ck it out. Enjoy the rest of your summer! ttfn, mb for WeThree