Suprise Aunt Liz!

Not only did we all go see Oma yesterday but we also gave Aunt Liz a surprise birthday party! It was a Stevie B's Pizza in Acworth. We left Oma's around 4pm because Jonathan had told Elizabeth that he wanted to go on a date so she needed to be home by 6:15pm. On the way to drop her off at Jonathan's house one of Elizabeth's friends called Momma's cell phone! Momma tried to play it off by telling Elizabeth that Caitlyn her by mistake.

It all worked out and she said she thought that we were planning this but she wasn't expecting it to be last night. You see, she had overheard Daddy telling Jonathan about the party when they were visiting her in Florida! Oh well, it was still lots of fun and she was a little surprised. The main reason we wanted to throw her a party was because she has missed her friend so much while at school.

About 20 people turned up to say "Happy Birthday!". The pizza and Publix cake with strawberries in the middle were very good and everyone enjoyed themselves greatly!

Neither Momma or I thought to get a candle so the guy from Stevie B's gave us a tiny little ice cream cone candle! It was so cute! We tried to sing fast so the candle won't melt all over the cake but it turned out very bad! I think that it was the worst song I have ever heard! :)

It was great night and to top it all off Samuel stayed awake until 9:45pm and only got a little sad once. Then Gigi took him and he had a lot of fun trying to touch her teeth. They both were cracking up! I just had to get a picture of that!

Lemon Head

Yesterday Gigi, Aunt Liz, Samuel, and I went to visit Oma. At lunch Samuel was getting bored so I decided to see if he would eat a lemon. Last time I tried it he didn't like it and kept on pushing it away from him. But this time he liked it! He would make a really funny face like he hated it but then he would open his mouth for more! :) It was great fun. We all had a good laugh at this.

We belong in the Zoo!

On Thursday we all went to Zoo Atlanta! It was Samuel's first trip too see all of the fun animals. He loved it! Our first stop was to see the baby Panda. Her name is Mei Lan. She was born in September here in the Atl. Her parents are on loan from China and we are paying 1.5 million dollars for 10yrs! Wow can you believe that! She will only be her a few more months before she has to go to China to live.

Here she is posing for all of her visitors. She was super cute! The guide said that she loves to climb up on the tree branches but she has a hard time getting down once she is up there. :) You can watch her live at zooatlanta.com. I have done this a few times. Every time I see her she is up there.

After we saw the Pandas we went to the petting zoo. Here Samuel got to pet a goat and a furry pig (as seen above). He found it very odd. He reached out touched the pig and then quickly with drew his hand. He looked up at us like, "I am not sure I want to do that again." The pigs were grunting and it was fun to hear them. I think he was thinking, "These doggies are making some strange noises!"

Casey took me and Samuel's picture here watching the Elephants. One was eating hay and Samuel would point to it and talk. It was so cute!

Here is a picture of a momma Gorilla with her 2 babies. They were probably the most fun to watch because this momma didn't want her babies playing with the other babies that were near by. The little ones wanted so badly to go play with the others but there was momma saying no way! One would start to get away and she would grab it by it's leg and sling it up onto her back! One time they both got away and momma took off to get her babies. She yanked them up so fast. You could she that she had had enough! She put them both on her back and jogged away. No more! She was done! The other 2 babies just kept on playing, their momma was close by but she didn't seem to care what they did. It was funny because I could see how some think that we were once monkeys because I could see human mommies doing the same thing at parks with their kids. Some moms think their kids are too good to play with the other kids and then there are the moms who say go have fun. It is amazing what God has created for us to enjoy!

One cool dude in the sand

On Tuesday Alle came over to play in the sand with Samuel. They had a great time! The sun was so shiny that I felt Samuel needed to wear his sunglasses from Gigi. I was really amazed how he kept them on the whole time! He also wore them to Wal-Mart earlier that day and he liked them then too. Alle was so fun to watch because she loved eating the sand! Hand full after hand full! She ate so much you could hear her crunching down on it! Courtney and I just laughed and I said that if she didn't stop soon we wood need to refill the sand box!

The Sand Box

Yesterday something amazing happened! Samuel played in his sand box! Can you believe it? We walked to the park and played there for a while then we came home but on the way home Samuel fell asleep so I left him outside in the stroller. He slept for almost a hour! Then we he woke up he was hungry so he ate some oatmeal. When he was done he told me he wanted to go outside with the doggies so I went and got the dogs and off to the back yard we went. He played on the fort for a few minutes and then I thought I would try the sand box. I took the lid off and he made his "I don't like that face" but I picked up a shovel and gave it to him. Then I put some sand on his feet. He didn't get upset so I stuck his feet in the sand and even then he didn't get upset! After his feet were in he started to get interested. He bent over and put his hand in the sand and laughed! I just sat there and watched because I was to afraid that if I moved he would get upset. About 5 or so minutes went by and he at this point got all the way in the box! It was clear that he was no longer afraid of the sand box! He played in the sand for about half an hour. The fun came to an end when he decided that he wanted to eat it, as soon as he put it in his mouth he stuck out his tongue and started to cry. I had to wipe out his mouth because it was all full of sand. That's when I knew it was bath time! So off we went to get a bath and his teeth brushed! After his bath Dad came home and then Mimi came over to visit. It was a fun day and Mimi got to see Samuel walk a little bite!

Samuel walked today!!!

Sorry no pictures but I had to write to let all of you know that Samuel walked to me today! We were down stairs playing with Samuel after I got home from Cram class and Samuel was standing in front of Casey I was holding a red stuffed animal monkey when Casey said "Get Momma. Go ahead and get her." I held out the monkey and said, "Yeah, walk to me." just jokingly and he did! He walked all the way over to me!! Casey said it was 7 steps! I was too amazed to count. After he got to me, me and Casey said "Yeah Samuel!" and he started to clap. He looked at us like, "I don't really know why you are excited but I will clap anyway." It was great! We tried to get him to walk more after that but him just wanted to crawl. :) I know soon he will be all over the place.

Friday the 13th fun!

Today Samuel and I went to the park. It was the first pretty day in about 2 weeks so we thought we should take advantage of this! After Dad left for work off we went. Samuel loved the swing like he always does. Then we went to climb on the slides.

Samuel thought it was lots of fun looking out through the bars. He was a little to close to the edge for my comfort so I had to keep blocking the edge which he found very annoying but safety comes first!

Then we crawled through the tunnel. I took this picture myself! I wanted a picture of him crawling through but he would not go if I was on the other side! So I had to put the camera in front of him to make him go. :) I think it turned out really cute!

The best part of the day was when I learned he likes to play in the wood chips! Can you believe it? He HATES sand but tiny pieces of wood he loves!? I think that makes no since but whatever makes him happy. He thought it was great fun to put hand fulls of wood on the slide and throw it all over the place. He had it all over his clothes, bib, and hair. It was so funny!

Here he was trying to share his wood chips with me. Playing in the wood ended when Samuel tried to eat it! I had to clean out his mouth with a wipe! Then he relaxed in the stroller and drank some juice. He fell asleep on the way home and slept for another 20 min. outside when we got home. Needless to say when he woke up he got a good bath! It was a fun fun day.

1 year old!

Sorry it has taken me so long to put this post on here but I have been really busy!
These are pictures of Samuel's actual birthday. March 27, 2007. I had to go to class so Gigi babysat him. When I got home Mimi, Courtney, and Alle came over to wish him a good day and to play in the sand box Mimi and Poppa D gave him.

As you can see from the picture Samuel was NOT into playing in the sand! As soon as we sat him in it he started to cry and tried to get out! It was really strange. You would have thought that the sand was trying to kill him or that it was full of tiny little nettles! Alle Girl on the other hand did not mind at all. She just sat there looking at Samuel like he had lost his mind.

I tried to sit in it with him but no that did not help either, so after a few tries we thought it best if we left Alle in the sand and let Samuel swing.

Things changed as soon as he was in the swing and could not see the sand. He loves his swing! After a few minutes swinging it was Alle's turn to swing and Samuel got to play on the slide and watch Alle swing through the telescope on the fort. It was a very special day and I think Samuel still had fun even though he was a little tramatized by the whole playing in the sand thing. :)



P.S. Samuel is still afraid of the sand box! Every couple of days I will take him out there to let him play in it and he does the same thing. Today he was in the swing and I brought him some sand in a bucket to let him touch, he freaked out! He pushed the bucket away so fast! I guess it will take longer that I thought it would to get him used to it. :)

Happy, happy birthday!

Well, as you can see the party was a ton of fun! Sorry it has taken me so long to get these on here! I have been so busy this week. I had class 4 days this week and on Tuesday I had a mid-term. :( So please forgive me.















Samuel's party was great! There were about 40 people there and it was a beautiful day! Samuel loved eating his cup-cake, he found it very tasty! After cake time it was time for presents! Alle girl helped him some and so did Daniel. Daniel saw a "Thomas the Train" toy peeking out of a bag and couldn't keep his hands off! :) It was so funny! The whole time before present time Daniel spent trying to get a hold of the train. Finally I told Dana just to let him play with it. I don't think Samuel minded. ;) The rest of the day Daniel would not let that toy out of his sight! When it was time to go we all thought it was going to be hard to get him to part with it but Elizabeth said "It's time to go. Give baby Samuel Thomas." and low and behold he did! We were all amazed. But not for long... as soon as he was out the door he must have thought "Hey wait a minute! Where is Thomas!?" because he stared to cry for Thomas. But by then it was too late Samuel already had the train.

Samuel really enjoyed getting to play with his big cousins, Christian, Sullivan, Daniel, and Micky! It was so cute all of them kept coming up to Samuel and saying "Happy Birthday Baby Samuel!" Christian helped put together the fort(slide and swing) and once it was done came running up to Samuel saying "Come on Baby Samuel your fort is done and it is so fun!" So off we went to break in the new fort. Samuel slide down the slide and relaxed in the swing while Sullivan pushed him. Sullivan told me that he was getting ready to push his new baby sister in a swing.

All in all it was a wonderful day! I would like to thank Momma, Daddy, Aunt Liz, and Uncle J. With out ya'll this party would not have been a party! Thank you Momma and Daddy for Samuel's slide and swing and David and Sharon for the sand box. We are going to have a great summer playing with them. (Hopefully I can get Samuel to play in the sand box... more on that later.) Also thanks to everyone who came!

A note to Alle: We can't wait until your b-day party! I hope the pollen is gone by then. :)

We are off to see the Oma!

Last Thursday Gigi took me and Samuel to see Oma, Opa, and Uncle Steve. It was lots of fun. When we first got there we met Oma at Chili's and ate a wonderful meal. I ate Country Fried Steak and corn on the cob. Samuel got to eat chicken hot dogs and pears(not from Chili's), Gigi ate her normal but good chicken tacos and Oma got a steak. Oma's steak was not cooked good enough so she had to send it back and by the time it came back to her Gigi and I were almost done eating our food! But it didn't matter because we were enjoying Samuel and having a nice talk. When we were done we decided it was time for dessert, so we ordered a Chocolate something. It was hot fudge cake with vanilla ice cream on top and then chocolate syrup on top of that! It was divine!!

We left Chili's around 2:30 and Gigi and I went to a friend of Rebekah's house to give her back some clothes that Rebekah had borrowed. Samuel and I stayed in the car because he was getting a little sleepy. When we got back to Oma's Samuel was very very sleepy but he would not take a nap. So we just let him play on the floor. He would rub his eyes and lay down on the ground but would not sleep. Uncle Steve came over and we listened to a song he had written, sang, and played! It was pretty good! Uncle Steve has always been a good song writer. (Not as good as Poppy though) :)










Finally it was time for Samuel to eat again so Gigi feed him his bottle and he fell asleep! While he was asleep Oma got out so old photos of her family when she was young and some from before she was born! That was the most fun part of the day. She was so happy to have gotten them from her brother. I loved hearing all the stories that were behind all of the pictures. There was a picture of her whole family (before she was born I think) sitting outside. Her Mom and Dad were in the middle and then their kids and then their grandkids. In between her parents there was a little boy with his tongue sticking out! It was so cute. Then she said that someone later asked the little boy, once he was grown, why he had done that and he said that it was starting to rain and he wanted to catch some of it on his tongue! I love it. In another picture of her whole family, she was probably around 10 years old, I asked why everyone looked so sad but one of her brothers and she told me that the picture was taken right before he went off to the war so they were not happy.



Not long after Samuel fell asleep he woke up. He was still very sleepy but soon he got in a good mood. I feed him more food and then we went down stairs to visit with Opa. Samuel thought it was lots of fun to look in the mirror closet doors and to play and laugh at Oma playing "Patty cake". Then he started getting very antsy so we had to leave. It was a really fun day and I am glad we were able to visit.


P.S. In case you were wondering Samuel was naked because it was so hot in the house. :)

Busy, I'm very very busy

Well, we have been so busy doing such important things! We have been playing in the car seat, hanging out with Alle Girl, rocking out in my rocking chair, going to the park with Mom and Dad on my 11 month birthday, and going to visit Oma, Opa, and Uncle Steve.

Last week Alle, Courtney, and Mimi came over a couple times once they didn't stay long...just long enough to share the rocking chair. Samuel didn't find this very fun. I guess I haven't done a good job teaching him to share. But you really can't blame him because he was getting in his first molars. I can't say that I would be that happy either.

The other time that week they came to walk with us to the park. We didn't start walking until a little past 6pm so by the time we got there it was almost dark. But it was fun to get to see Alle swing for the first time. She thought it was just as much fun as Samuel had told her it would be. By the time we started to walk back it was dark. Mimi didn't like this one bit and Samuel got a little sad but all and all it was fun and good exercise!

On Samuel's 11 month birthday Dad and Mom took him to the park. That was the first time Dad had come with us and oh what fun we had! We went really fast and high in the swings! Slide down the slides, which Samuel really likes now. When it was time to go Dad walked and Samuel and I drove. Dad thought he could beat us but we proved him wrong! We won by a landslide! After we got home Samuel and I needed ice cream so we went out and got a vanilla Frosty with Oreo pieces. It was perfect! I think Samuel had a great day.

Silly sleeping and eating shoes

Yesterday I went in to check on Samuel while he was taking a nap and I found him like this! I guess he sleeps like me. I used to move all over the place when I had a bed to myself! But I am not sure if I ever slept cross legged and face down! :) He is a crazy boy. When he woke up from his nap Alle came and they enjoyed eating a little snack of shoe together. Not only did they eat some shoe but they also enjoyed a side of pacifier swapping! But this visit didn't last long because Chris and Courtney had to return the truck they had rented for the day by 4:30 and it was almost 4 when they got here. They are storing their living room furniture in our empty living room. That worked out perfectly! After they left Samuel and I watched "One Night With The King" a movie about Queen Esther. It was good even though they changed a few thing about the story. Then Samuel and I played and went to bed.

Cheerios, Cheerios Baby

Samuel had a lot of fun today eating his Cheerios! He had them all over the floor his clothes and his hand! But no matter how messy it was he was having a blast feeding himself! That is his new favorite thing to do - eat real food. He was kind enough to share with me too. He would pick up a Cheerio and lift it up to my mouth so I could eat it. That was very funny to him!

Swinging

Yesterday, Samuel and I went for a walk. (A 3 mile walk!) There is a park about a mile and a half down the road so since it was 65 and sunny I thought it was the perfect day to make this journey. Samuel loved it! When I first put him in the swing he looked worried but then I pushed it a little and he started to laugh. It was the best! We stayed there about 20min. just enjoying swinging and sliding. He didn't find the slide that fun though. After we got home Casey wanted to work in the yard but Samuel and I were to tired so we sat on the porch and watched.

Crawling up!

On Saturday, I was leaving, to take the dogs to get a bath, after I said bye to Samuel and Casey I had to come back inside to wait for the car to warm up before I could leave. I walked passed
the down stair door and said hey to Samuel. He made a happy sound then I went into the kitchen. When I walked by the door again Samuel had crawled up the first step and was almost on the second! I couldn't believe it! I guess he wanted to get up to me :)
He has also started to stand on his own without holding on to anything! It won't be long before he is walking!

Our Family