His Brotha From Another Motha

Sometimes it's hard to tell, which one is Sam:

and which one is Henry:

Even when you're right on top of them.

Or right next to them.

Ah yes. There's Sam - the one in the gray shirt.

I'm not the least bit concerned...

Really. This kid loves cars. And airplanes. And sports.

And wrestling. And the last time he was in our bathroom he looked in the mirror and pretended to shave his beard.I promise. I'm not the least bit concerned.

What are you looking at?

Words I Never Thought Would Come Out of My Mouth:

"Sam, please put away your harmonica, it's time for a nap."

The tree

I'm pretty sure I've been waiting my whole life for this:

Christmas time with a toddler.

It's the best.

A 1-year-old's prayer

Tonight's bedtime prayer with Sam

Me: Dear Jesus, Thank you for today and for good food to eat and a warm house and for friends who came over to play.
And for Christmas trees and grandmas and grandpas.
And for cozy pajamas and bedtime stories.
And or aunts and uncles and cousins.
And for a fun day.

Sam: (nearly inaudible whisper) airplanes.

The man knows what he likes.

Adventures of a Different Kind

Over the years we've had many adventures with our good friends, Bob and Lexie. They used to live in the dorms with us at NWC (Lexie was an RD), so we did life together. Then we thankfully bought homes just miles from each other. Our adventures haven't always been actual adventures, but they are always memorable.

There was the earwax candle night.

Then the never ending 5000 piece-puzz.

And all the while there has been baby,
after baby,

after baby.

But the best adventures have been the Christmas tree expeditions.

Over the years, our traditional tree excursions have kind of...how should I say...woos-ified? Let me explain.

A few years ago we went to a place where we could chop down our own tree. We were hard core.

The last couple years, we decided to simply purchase a tree at a local place.
So hit me last night as we rolled into the parking lot where we were all going to purchase our tree...

things sure have changed. I mean, come on, we actually put our tree in a shopping cart!

Yet, over the years, I have noticed that the trees each of us takes home have gotten bigger and bigger.

2006

2009

See? Maybe what we lack in adventure we are making up for in size.

Was he wearing goggles?

I came home from work one night and discovered this photo on the camera. It was from dinner just hours before. Jerod had given Sam spaghetti.
Now, I was not here to verify this, but it seems pretty obvious to me that Sam had been wearing goggles while he ate his messy dinner...which actually seems like a genius idea.

Pottery Barn Sing-a-long

Mandy and I took the boys to a Pottery Barn Kids Sing-a-long last week. We thought the boys would love the music and dancing, not to mention the other kids there in their Halloween costumes. So I thought it was pretty funny when I saw this photo, and the complete look of disregard on both Sam's and Henry's faces.I guess a sing-a-long isn't really their thing.

The best daycare in the world

Sam absolutely adores his daycare buddies (and so do we!) The kids there take very good care of him. They give him hugs when he needs them.

They take care of him when he's sick.

And they are the only ones who can get him to wear a hat!

Happy Halloween!

For Halloween, Sam was going to be a cowboy on a horse. He should have looked something like this:

But I simply could not get him to put his costume on. I should have known I was asking too much, since he is only 18 months old and he definitely has an opinion about things these days. All I could get him to do was this...

and this...

and this.

The man loves horses.

Fortunately we had many other very well-costumed visitors. First, there was Lucy:

She made such a lovely bunch of grapes.
Then, there was Henry.

Oh, Henry.

The best part of both Lucy and Henry's costumes is that they were homemade! Such creative parents.

Two Buddies

Sam and Henry sure are good friends.

They play together.

They investigate things together.

And they run away from their mothers, together.

Yes, we are quite thankful for this little guy.

Little Tikes Cozy Coupe? $49.99.

Fisher Price Power Wheels Jeep?

$197.99.

Realizing that it takes just a little imagination to turn a laundry basket into a car?

Priceless.

Muscles!

Show me...

your...

MUSCLES!

Still learning...

As you can see, Sam is still working on his utensil skills.

...and his ability to decipher between a bowl and a hat.

Happy Birthday Uncle Awesome!

We celebrated Uncle Adam's birthday with a very special doughnut cake. Mm-mmmm!

An Apple Orchard Story

Once upon a time, there was a littly boy who loved apples. One day, he went to the place where apples were born.
Immediately, the boy knew that this was the place where the perfect apple could be found. So he quickly began his quest.

This one was much too small...

This one smelled a little funny...
Then suddenly, he thought he found it. And after one bite he knew, it was the perfect apple! It was so juicy and sweet. He could not get enough of it!The boy quickly went off to tell his friend Henry about the delicious apples.Henry had made the same mistake by first choosing an apple that was too small. So the little boy explained to Henry that there were many more apples to choose from.
He helped him find an apple that was even bigger and more delicious.
And the two boys decided to be best friends forever.