sam i am

2011-12-18T12:48:00.000-08:00

Two smiling children sitting on Santa's lap? Yeah, it happened! Sam is so excited for Christmas this year. He can't wait for Santa to visit. Whenever he is asked what he would like for Christmas, his reply is always the same: "The biggest dinosaur ever!" After much searching, Santa will be able to acquiesce this request (thank you Target sale)!

Sam has been playing T-ball, and L O V E S it. Every Saturday morning we drag ourselves out of bed way too early so that we can take Sam to his T-ball practice, and then to his game. We usually have to wake up Princess Ruby from her peaceful slumber in order to make it to baseball on time, and I have a feeling that this is the beginning of a long road ahead of taking little sister along to various sporting events of Sam's.

Ruby is such a doll! I can't believe how blessed we are with such a sweet tempered baby! She is so sweet and happy ALL of the time. She wakes up only once at night to eat, and she goes right to sleep afterwards. She has never cried at night, and she rarely cries during the day. We are so grateful for this beautiful little baby! She just had her two month check-up, and she is about in the 80th percentile across the board. She is ~23 inches long and 11.4 lbs. It is so fun to see her smile and start to laugh.

Sam adores his little sister. He asks to hold her all the time, and tries to be so gentle with her. He kisses her forehead about a thousand times a day! We are so thankful for our two beautiful children.

Baby Blessing

2011-11-27T17:55:00.001-08:00

Sweet little Ruby was blessed today in church, and some of the Rasmussen clan came into town to be there for it.

We have been driving in the car a lot lately on various outings with the Rasmussen's, and it has made for some interesting adventures with Ruby and Sam. Here are some funny things I want to remember:

(Ruby bursts out crying)

Me: Sam, why is Ruby crying?

Sam: Um...because I poked her eyeball.

(Another bout of crying from Ruby)

Sam: Mommy, Ruby is feeling sad.

Me: (Looking back to see Sam's hand in her carseat) Sam, are you rubbing her head?

Sam: (Smiling sweetly) I'm plugging her.

Sam tries really hard to be a sweet brother, and he cracks me up with his 3-year old logic.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lots of Pictures!

2011-10-27T07:11:00.000-07:00

Ruby Jean Rasmussen

(pictures by Beth Wild Photography)

Ruby is two weeks and and two days old today. She is such a sweet baby, and has been a wonderful addition to our family. Sam adores his little sister, and gives her kisses every chance he can. We were worried about how he would react to a new baby, but he has been perfect. He always asks to hold her, and constantly declares his love for his little sister.

We have received lots of help from our Mom and Mother-in-law, as well as friends and neighbors, and we have really appreciated it. Life is starting to settle down, and we are trying to get back to a routine. We are happily enjoying every moment of this newborn phase.

Beautiful Ruby

2011-10-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

Our darling daughter, Ruby, was born at 4:56am October 11th. Everything went well, and we are so blessed to have her in our family. Aaron helped with the delivery and it was a really neat experience for him to do that. Our bundle of joy was 7 lbs and 12 oz, and 20.5 inches long. She has the prettiest strawberry blond hair. Sam is so excited to be a big brother, and he is so sweet and gentle with her. We love our children!

Birthday Extravaganza

2011-09-06T04:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to our little Man! Sam turned 3 years old yesterday.

We had a big party with all of our friends, and it was a blast.

Here is Sam blowing out candles:

Peanut butter/chocolate cupcakes

Okay, this is one of my favorite pictures of Sam. Check out his stance as he prepares to hit the baseball pinata...he is serious about baseball!

Opening presents

Sam has always been great at smiling on command when we take pictures of him, but last night, he discovered that it was way more fun to make a silly face instead of smiling. So try as we might, most of the pictures were like this:

And this

Aaron snapped one of me and the birthday boy, and I begged Sam to smile nicely instead of making a silly face. This is the best one we were able to get. Imagine what the others looked like!

We love our Sam. He is such a fun and happy boy, and we are lucky to be his parents.

We're still here

2011-08-26T11:13:00.001-07:00

It has been awhile since we have put up any pictures, but we are still here. We have been without a camera for a few months, so it has been tricky trying to document the life of our cute little guy.

But, we are all doing great. Sam is turning three in a little over a week, and he has been so excited for months. Seriously. He knows his birthday is in September, so for months he has been asking if it is September yet. He would get so frustrated at how long each month seemed to last, so he decided to put them each on time-out if they were taking too long. At last his long awaited birthday is on the horizon, and it is a BIG deal to our Sam Man. :)

Our newest addition will be making her debut in about a month and a half, and we are so excited! We can't wait to meet her!

Aaron is doing great. He turned the big 3-0 a couple of weeks ago and is adjusting nicely to what he feels is "old age." :)

Hopefully we will have a camera by Sam's big day to post some pictures, so stay tuned!

Happy 4th!

2011-07-05T08:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Fourth of July!

Sam enjoyed sparklers for the first time last night, and he loved every second of it.

We are all doing great. Sam is as active as ever, Aaron is really enjoying his job, and I am getting more pregnant by the minute. We've been enjoying the summer so much, and a lot of that has to do with our new outdoor living space. We have been hard at work making our back patio a nice place to relax in the evenings, and it has been a success. Aaron got a grill for Father's Day, and so we love to grill dinner and eat it outside together. The best part is the after-dinner entertainment. We have a really pretty small lake/large pond right behind our home, and a family of baby ducks makes a regular appearance after dinner. We come prepared with bread slices, and Sam loves to feed those baby ducks every night.

Living on the coast here in Florida has been such a fun cultural experience for us. Aaron has learned some new hobbies, and his favorite new thing to do is go spear fishing. He is getting really good at fishing, and he especially likes spear fishing. Essentially, he snorkels out in the ocean near some reefs, and throws a spear at a fish while he swims. It has been fun to see him enjoy new hobbies, and it has been delicious to taste the fresh fish he brings home!

Hope you enjoyed your 4th of July!

Potty Training? Check.

2011-05-29T15:41:00.000-07:00

I have heard many mothers tell horror stories about their potty training experiences with their children, so I have been dreading potty training Sam. Many years ago, I was a nanny to a brood of young boys. I was in charge of potty training the two-year-old boy, and after reading a book about it, he was potty trained in 3 hours. Having this experience, I knew that expecting the same results out of my own two-year-old would be too good to be true. So, my mantra has been to wait until Sam is ready. I knew that he would let me know when he was ready. Okay, are you ready to hear Sam's miraculous story?

3 days ago, Sam woke up from his nap, and the first words out of his mouth were, "Mommy, I want to wear big boy underwear." And ladies and gentlemen, that was that. There really wasn't any training involved, it was a decision he made, and he hasn't looked back since. I immediately said, "Okay Sam, lets go put on your big boy underwear." He goes in the toilet every time. He had one accident the first day, and that was all it took. He is even dry overnight and at nap time. I didn't think it was possible, but Sam was easier and quicker to potty train than the boy I nannied! He literally woke up one day and decided he was a big boy. We are so proud of him!

We got this trampoline for Sam, and we are so glad we did! It has mesh walls around it, so that when he does his crazy jumps he won't go crashing over the edge. It is an excellent way for him to burn some energy before bedtime! (If jumping on a trampoline isn't a true test of potty training, I don't know what is!)

I am 5 months preggo and am finally feeling great. I think I am officially over the morning sickness now. Its been a long time coming! I haven't really had any serious cravings this pregnancy until this week. P E A C H E S. YUM! I could eat them all day long, and in fact, I have been! :) Fresh peaches, peach cobbler, oh my word, they are heavenly. I have actually hated peaches my entire life, until this week, that is.

Well, that is us. Aaron and I have been so proud of Sam's bathroom success, and Aaron and Sam have been good sports about having peaches at every meal!

Happy Memorial Day!

We're seeing PINK!

2011-05-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

Baby #2 is a GIRL!!!

We are so excited! When the ultrasound lady told us, we were completely shocked. I kept asking her to check again, and finally she said, "Look, I've checked 9 times. It is absolutely a girl."

We are so excited, but of course a bit nervous because we are venturing into unknown territory. Our whole world is all about trucks, trains, baseball, pirates, etc. Sam is a boy's boy, and so to now think about pink, and dolls, and dresses is totally foreign to us...but I'm looking forward to learning my way around the little girl section at target!

We just got back from an amazing vacation with the Rasmussen clan (minus Jen, Kurtis, and Cannon, who were sorely missed) and had a wonderful time. It was a Disney cruise, so Sam got to see all of his favorite characters while on board, including his unexplainable hero, Captain Hook. Sam had with him at the time, his pirate hook, pirate telescope, and pirate gun (he carried those things EVERYWHERE) so they gave each other hook high fives. It was pretty awesome.

Sam wasn't feeling well the last few days of the trip, and while were at lunch with everybody towards the end of the trip, he threw up all over himself and his lunch. He then looked at me and said, "Mommy, I have a baby in my tummy. I'm sick!" The poor kidddo equates being sick with having a baby in your tummy!

We are home now and settling back in to our normal routine. Thank you Kimball and Shelley for such a wonderful vacation!

Thomas the Train, Disney, and 2nd Trimester

2011-04-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

A little while ago, Kimball and Shelley came to visit, and we had a wonderful time. We took Sam to "A day out with Thomas" and we rode an actual, life-size Thomas train. Sam was thrilled :). Below is a picture of Aaron and Sam on the train ride.

We also spent more time at Disney, and Sam was delirious with joy. He NEVER tires of going to Disneyworld. It is almost eerie how well he knows his way around the parks. As we walk around the park, he knows which ride or attraction is up ahead, before we even see it. That child has been to Disney more times than should be allowed (for the parent's sanity) and yet he never wavers in his enthusiasm for good 'ole Mickey Mouse. We forgot our camera so I don't have any pictures to post of our most recent trips, but if you are hankering for some cute Mickey pictures, please refer to the previous post, or any of the countless Disney pictures posted over the last couple of years. :)

(Cute daddy and Sam on Thomas ride)

In other news, I am beginning to enjoy the second trimester. The first trimester was particularly difficult, but things seem to be getting a bit easier each day now. In a couple weeks we will get to find out the baby's gender, and we can't wait! Sam is prepared for either scenario. If it is a boy, he says he will name him "Blue" and if it is a girl, he will name her "pink."

Sometimes Sam will come up to my stomach and tell stories to the baby. He likes to make up stories about knights in shining armor, Captain Hook, etc. He also likes to stack toys on my stomach to share with the baby his favorite toys. I can tell that Sam is going to be an excellent big brother! :)

As cute as it gets...

2011-03-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

*Sigh. This picture just melts my heart. We went to Disney with Aaron's family during their visit, and you could not find a child more ecstatic about being at "Disneywordorld" than this cutie-pa-tootie you see pictured above. We waited in lines to meet each of the characters, and each time it was Sam's turn, he would run straight into their arms and give them each the longest hug. Mickey was even privileged to receive a kiss on the cheek!

We had a great time with Kimball, Shelley, Nicole, and Camille. We love to have company visit!

Sam is 2 1/2, and he amazes me with how quickly he learns things. Lately he has been interested in all things space-related: astronauts, rocket ships, etc. He has even learned to identify several planets! Yesterday he was looking at my wedding ring on my finger and said "Daddy gave you that ring? Is it like Saturn's rings?"

Last week Sam had a BIG accomplishment... He learned how to ride a bike! His little legs pedal so fast, he just zooms down the street. The only way to keep up with him is to ride bikes with him, so lately we have all been riding bikes together as a family, and it has been so much fun. That is definitely my favorite part of the day. A couple days ago we thought it would be fun to ride our bikes to the park. It was about a 3 mile round trip ride, and Sam did great! Towards the end he needed a little help from Daddy, but we were sure proud of him!

Knight in Shining Armor

2011-03-02T14:39:00.000-08:00

Sam has renamed himself a knight in shining armor. He put this outfit together entirely on his own, and I think its pretty adorable. He has a red bucket for his helmet, a sword, his horse, and cape. All week he wouldn't leave the house without this entire outfit. :) Oh how we love our cutie pie!

Soccer Puppies

2011-01-15T18:11:00.000-08:00

Sam finished his first season on his soccer team "Soccer Puppies" this morning. After all of their hard work over the course of the season, those cute kiddos were rewarded with a shiny medal and a cupcake. It was ADORABLE.

Sam loved playing soccer, and we loved watching him play!

Sam is growing up so fast, it is hard to believe how much he has grown and learned in just two years. His favorite thing to do these days is puzzles, and he is getting really good at them (even puzzles meant for much older kids). He also loves to play with the kids in the neighborhood, despite the fact that they are all older. They race up and down our road on bikes and scooters, and it is so fun to see him in action :)

Also, my favorite thing he is saying lately is:

"I am Mommy's wittle baby, but I am Daddy's big boy!"

Oh how we love our little boy!

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa!

2011-01-11T06:57:00.000-08:00

Kimball and Shelley came to visit this week, and we had a wonderful time! Sam adores his grandparents, and loved every second he spent with them. Sam is becoming so talented at putting together puzzles, and his sweet Grandma was so patient to sit with Sam while he did puzzle after puzzle after puzzle... Thanks Shelley! Kimball gave Sam some pointers on improving his golf swing, and Sam has been diligently practicing :) We all really enjoyed your visit, and are looking forward to your next visit!

Batman!

2010-12-25T12:08:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

I hope your Christmas morning was as lovely as ours. Bright and early, Sam sat straight up in his race-car bed (Yes, this was his 2nd night in his toddler bed! Merry Christmas to ME!) and shouted "I want to open Santa's presents!" Then he ran to our room, jumped on Aaron, and begged us to come downstairs to the tree. It is so fun to see Christmas through the eyes of a 2- year-old!

Here is our very first Christmas tree!

Recently, Sam has had a new fascination with Batman. We're not sure how he even knows who he is, but Sam is always talking about Batman. So, his sweet daddy picked up a Bat Cave for his adoring son - and Sam was thrilled!

This perfect little cape completed a wonderful Christmas morning.

We love our little superhero :)

Merry Christmas!

Cousins

2010-12-19T17:51:00.000-08:00

We've been so lucky to have my sister Brittany, her husband Jeremy, and their cute kiddo, Kobe, visiting with us. Sam has LOVED having a friend to play with every day! Even though we've had some cold weather here, we've had so much fun! We took the kiddos to Disney where they met their hero, Buzz Lightyear. On warmer days, we went to the beach a few times and saw dolphins swimming close to the beach. We've had such a great time with family visiting, thank you for coming guys! We love you!

Soccer

2010-12-15T07:23:00.000-08:00

We traveled to Utah to spend Thanksgiving with the Rasmussen's, and we had a wonderful time. Sam loved spending time with his grandparents, cousins, and aunts and uncles.

When we came back to Florida, Sam started playing on a soccer team for 2-4 year olds. He loves it! The coach separated him to practice with the 4 year olds, and I couldn't be more proud! :)

Last Saturday, the coach told me that Sam has athletic skills that can't be taught, that he is naturally athletic. Of course I smiled from ear to ear when he told me that! We love our little soccer stud!

Beach

2010-11-20T10:10:00.000-08:00

This morning we went to the beach and had a blast. This weekend is the annual Sand Sculpture contest at our beach. It was so fun to see these people work on their amazing sand art!

After we walked down the beach, Sam was sad he didn't see any sharks, so we stopped by our favorite aquarium on our way home to check out some of Sam's favorite sharks.

Miami!

2010-11-07T16:33:00.000-08:00

We spent the weekend in Miami and had a fantastic time! We've been planning this trip all year because the Blue Angels came for an air show over the weekend. While we were there, we visited the Art Deco district in Miami, South Beach, the Keys, and the Everglades. We had a great time!

Sam on some funky chairs by South Beach.

Cute boy! (But crazy hair day!)

This is a cool building in the Art Deco District. It was so fun to walk around this part of town!

Here are lots of pictures from the Blue Angels Air Show. Sam LOVED it! He is crazy about airplanes, so he was super excited all day. Here he is showing me his toy airplane :)

This last airplane picture is one airplane flying in tight swirls straight down while another one flies in circles around it. They did a LOT of daring stunts.

We also went to the Everglades and saw some gators. These particular gators will be sporting some sweet sunglasses thanks to yours truly. After I snapped this picture, my favorite pair of aviators fell right on them!

To Infinity and Beyond!

2010-10-28T06:32:00.000-07:00

Get ready, we've got LOTS of pictures!

Our ward Trunk or Treat was last night, and our little Buzz Lightyear had a blast!

After a long night of saving planet Earth, Buzz took a break to refuel with his friend.

This was taken right after he saw a Frankenstein costume that was a little too scary for him. He started to sob and hopped into my arms. Poor little guy!

These are some Mummy cupcakes I made for the party.

This picture is a little random, but earlier in the day Aaron was installing some ceiling fans, and Sam kept climbing the ladder to "help" daddy fix it. He loves being daddy's little helper!

And last but not least is a picture from the pumpkin festival last weekend. I tried and tried to get some cute pictures of him posing by a pumpkin, but I think he was tired of taking pictures, and this is the best one I could get. I think it captured his emotions pretty well, don't you?

Happy Halloween!

Farm Animals

2010-10-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

We visited a farm today and had fun feeding the animals. He is standing by a chicken coop in this photo, exclaiming "I like chicken!" (He was referring to his lunch)

Sam is such a happy and bright little boy. It is so much fun being his mom!

HOME SWEET HOME

2010-10-03T05:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our home!

Many people have been asking to see pictures of our first home, so here they are!

This is the lovely lake view from our backyard. Sam loves to see the ducks and cranes that make their home here. (We are planning on putting up a fence soon)

This weekend Aaron went fishing with some friends, and he caught a flounder and a mackerel! We had a fish-fry yesterday, and Aaron made a delicious coconut batter for our fresh fish. YUM! Way to bring home the bacon, I mean fish, honey!

Birthday Extravaganza!

2010-09-07T16:40:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful child turned two on September 5th! Happy birthday Sam! We love him and are so blessed to be his parents.

Sam loves every kind of sport under the sun, so I thought I'd try my hand at a sports themed cake. Ta-Dah!

Included are his favorite sports, with the top tier dedicated to his most favorite: golf. It is my first try at fondant, so if you squint your eyes when you look at it, it looks much better. :)

Sam was pretty excited about the real golf ball, he kept grabbing it off the tee - making it very difficult to get a picture with the ball and tee intact.

Birthday boy blowing out candle

Sam also really loves all kinds of boats: sailboats, pirate ships, etc. To celebrate his birthday, we took him on a boat out to a remote island. Several dolphins escorted us on our trip!

They liked to play in the wake.

We were so lucky to have this island all to ourselves most of the time we were there. It was a beautiful day at the beach!

We swam, snorkeled, and built sandcastles.

Perfection.

Happy Birthday Sam! We love you!

Buccaneers and Big Bird

2010-08-23T18:33:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic weekend in Tampa. We went to a pre-season NFL game to cheer on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We sat below the huge pirate ship and it was a lot of fun. Throughout the game, they would throw necklaces and t-shirts to eager hands below. Sam loved it! Sam has had a fascination with all kinds of boats lately, and so to combine a pirate ship with watching football was the perfect storm of pure joy for our little Sam-man (And daddy too).

Sam cheering on the Buccaneers

And having fun with Daddy

We also spent some time at Busch Gardens while we were in Tampa. Sam was so excited to see all of the Sesame Street characters!

We had a wonderful time!

Sam learns so many new words every day, it is such a fun stage!

Cute things he has said this week:

The other day I walked over to him while he was playing and asked him, "Hey, whats going on?" and he replied "Not much." Thats it. "Not much." Like he is suddenly all grown up and playing with cars is so tiresome that he dismissively says, "Not much." Sorry kiddo, I need you to stay a toddler a lot longer! :)

Yesterday, while playing with two trucks, he had the red one say to the blue one, "I love you." And then he took the blue one and said "I love you too!" to the red one. He is so fun and loving, he tells us he loves us all the time. My favorite is when I will be sitting working on something, and he'll run really fast right by the room I'm in, and then he'll stop, and peak his head back in, and say "I love you Mommy" and then run off again. I'm one lucky Mommy. :)

Among Friends

2010-08-16T16:23:00.000-07:00

This is a common sight at our house. Sam's best friends are Winnie the Pooh and Buzz Lightyear. While Sam sits at this chair, he usually insists that Buzz and Pooh are there beside him. It is pretty cute to see Sam share his snacks or read books with his two "friends".

As cute as this is, it is also at little bit heart breaking to see. We are new in our area and haven't made any friends yet for Sam to play with. (Granted, little kids are few and far between in our retirement town) Sometimes we'll see other kids when we go to the park, and Sam will run up to them and say, "Come on guys! Lets play!" And then he'll take their hand and run with them to the playground.

Sam is such a friendly and loving child, we are so grateful for him!

Rise and Fall of a Sugar High

2010-08-11T16:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Aaron! We love you!

Behold the Chronicle of the Rise and Fall of a Sugar High:

Birthday boy blowing out his candles.

Sam hesitantly takes his first bite...

Loves it and eats some more.

The sugar high begins.

Sam devours more cake.

Takes a break to share some with Daddy.

Crashing.

Accepts Defeat.

The End.

But the beginning of a tummy-ache.

Sharks and Sunsets

2010-07-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

As we have been exploring our new surroundings, we've come across some pretty neat places. This week, we went to the Fishermen's Village. It is right on the water, and if you are there when the boats come in from a day of fishing, the fish that they caught are displayed for all to see on the docks.

There is plenty to do in the village, including an Aviation and Military Museum that we visited. Sam loved seeing all of the war airplanes, and the kind folks running the museum loved Sam, so they gave him an American flag. It was pretty cute!

After we walked around the Fishermen's Village, we took a sunset cruise in the ocean. Sam LOVED riding in the boat. He was so excited! He found a boy on the boat and immediately went to his side, excitedly asking question after question.

Sam-"Hi! A boat! Vroom!"

Boy-"Yes, we're on a boat."

Sam-"See a shark?"

Boy-"Nope, no sharks."

Sam-"See a turtle?"

Boy-"Nope, no turtles."

Sam-"See Nemo?"

Boy-"Nope, no Nemo."

It went on like this throughout the boat ride. It was pretty funny to see him successfully interact with someone without me translating.

The other day as I was getting Sam dressed into a blue, plaid, button-up shirt, Sam said: "Cool shirt Mommy! A blue shirt! Cool!" This is the first time Sam has made any acknowledgement towards the clothes he wears, and I couldn't believe my ears when he said it. Is my toddler really growing up this fast? Yikes!

One Proud Wife

2010-07-04T14:04:00.000-07:00

As promised, here are some pictures from Aaron's graduation. I am so proud of my husband, and all of his accomplishments.

I can't help but think back to the day we drove our moving truck away from everyone and everything that was familiar to us. I was 7 months pregnant and Aaron was about to begin graduate school. As Aaron's family waved goodbye to us as we drove away, we were suddenly afraid. Afraid of starting a new life across the country, afraid of having a baby with no family around, afraid of the difficulties graduate school would bring...afraid of being adults. But, here we are. We made it through the graduate program, with a diploma and a toddler to show for it.

Between classes, somehow Aaron managed to work at a job, as well as spend time with his wife and son. He did an exceptional job, and I know that he will continue to do an exceptional job at whatever he does. I am one proud wife.

Aaron passed his boards a few days ago, so he is now certified! Thank you for working so hard sweetheart. We love you.

We were lucky enough to come spend some time with the Aaron's family for the Fourth of July, and we are having a wonderful time. It is so fun to see Sam play with his cousins. He is still working on learning to share, so thank you Jen and Nicole for understanding that it is a work in progress, and that he loves his cousins even if he has a hard time understanding the concept of sharing :) Next time we come, the cousins will see an improvement, I promise! :)

We are heading back East tomorrow, and even though we are still a little bit afraid of the uncertainties ahead of us, we are excited to begin yet another new chapter of our life.

Whirlwind Weekend!

2010-06-24T17:34:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Aaron! He graduated with his Master's Degree last weekend! I am so proud of you sweetheart! We were so excited to have Aaron's parents, Kimball and Shelley, in town for this momentous occasion. It was a wonderful graduation ceremony! I will post more about the graduation in a few days, I need to finish editing some pictures!

The day after he graduated, we moved to another town on the southern coast. We owe a big THANK YOU to Kimball and Shelley for being so kind to help us pack and move. We definitely couldn't have done it without your help! Kimball is quite the babysitter :)

Shelley and Sam and I have had a lot of fun adventures this week exploring the area. Below are some pictures from Busch Gardens.

Thank you Kimball and Shelley! You are wonderful! We love you!

Sun Country

2010-06-12T06:19:00.000-07:00

Sam has ENDLESS energy. In an effort to wear him out, we took him to Sun Country, a children's gym - hoping he would sleep better that night. After two solid hours of Sam running and jumping nonstop, the only person who was tired was ME.

He LOVED the trampoline!

And of course, this is Sam's dream come true. Swimming in a sea of balls!

We love our little ball of energy!

Sweet Dreams

2010-06-03T10:09:00.000-07:00

Most kids snuggle with a blanket or a teddy bear. Nap time at my house is a little bit different. Sam will cry and beg for every piece of sporting equipment possible. You may think that two footballs, two basketballs (one is under him), one baseball, and a golf club is a bit excessive, but considering that I said no to the baseball bat, baseball glove, full size basketball, full size soccer ball, and the remaining golf clubs - I'd call this a success.

Boiled Peanuts

2010-05-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely weekend. My idea of a perfect Saturday morning is meandering through the Farmer's Market, searching for the best produce. After we loaded up on our favorite fruits and veggies, we came across a man selling boiled peanuts. Living in the South, we have had many different cultural experiences. Often on the side of the road, we will see people selling fresh Georgia peaches, homemade pies, BBQ ribs, fresh catfish, etc. We have sampled many of those things, and have come to love these "southern delicacies" - however, we always avoid the people selling boiled peanuts on the side of the road. So, when we walked by the man selling hot boiled peanuts at the Farmer's Market on Saturday, we tried to pretend we didn't hear him telling us about his special "Cajun Boiled Peanuts," but then he said the magic words... "Free Samples!" My wonderful and frugal husband can't pass up a free sample, so he tried some but said he only had a dollar in an effort to not buy any. But the man insisted, so he scooped out a dollar's worth of boiled peanuts out of an old cooler filled with dirty brown water and soggy peanuts into an old grocery bag, and gave it to Aaron. The man smiled and said that he had a feeling that he just created a customer for life. Not a chance!

Anyway, the point of that long and winded tale is that our picky eater Sam loved the soggy peanuts, and ate them by the handfuls. And now he has food poisoning. Coincidence?

After our trip to the Farmer's Market, we went on a really beautiful hike. The scenery was gorgeous! There were hundreds of stairs, and Sam was really enthusiastic about jumping down each one for the first ten minutes, but he was losing patience towards the end.

Sam's latest sentences:

Sam: You ready?

Me: Yes, I'm ready. Are you ready?

Sam: I ready! Yeshhh!!!

I have a feeling he overheard Aaron and I as we were frantically getting ready for church that morning.

The Boss

2010-05-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

Today our Stake was fortunate enough to have Elder Russell M. Nelson speak at our Stake Conference. We arrived at the meeting early to get a seat, and Aaron and I took turns taking Sam on walks in the hallway to get some of his wiggles out before the meeting started. When it was my turn, I took Sam to look at the paintings of Christ on the walls. While we were looking at some paintings in an empty hallway, Elder Nelson walked out of an office right next to us. He smiled and shook my hand, and then I introduced him to Sam. Elder Nelson asked "Are you The Boss?" to which Sam replied by smiling coyly. In our brief encounter with an Apostle of God, he managed to sum up Sam in two words. The Boss. How fitting.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game!

2010-05-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

I hadn't planned on posting about yet another baseball game, but these pictures are just too cute to pass up!

Here is Sam enjoying his popcorn.

Sam, Daddy, and Albert the Alligator!

Go Gators!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T06:29:00.000-07:00

Hello! It is hard to believe that we only have 6 weeks left here in Gainesville! Summer has been in full swing for quite awhile. Last weekend we took Sam to the baseball game vs LSU (Gators won!) and Sam LOVED it! He would clap and cheer at the right moments, and would even add an occasional "Uh-oh!" when a strike was thrown.

Some cute things he is saying:

-I love you! He pronounces it "I wuv you". The other day at the supermarket, he shouted "I wuv you!" to everyone he could see.

-"I shoot! I shoot!" He says this after he makes a basket in the hoop.

-Sam is so polite, he always says "Pease" and "Tank you!". He also always reminds us to pray before each meal by folding his arms and saying "Amen!".

Happy Mothers Day!

Utah Trip!

2010-04-13T21:19:00.001-07:00

Hello from Utah! We made a quick trip to Utah this weekend, and have had a wonderful time. Sam has really enjoyed playing with all of his cousins! On Saturday we went four-wheeling at the sand dunes, and Sam loved it! Here is a picture of Sam - he wanted to be just like Daddy on the four-wheeler. Luckily we had a much more mild version for Sam to ride :)

Here is Sam, Trent, and Owen playing on the train.

Sam had his first hair cut today! The Rasmussen's neighbor and friend, Rowena, was so great to cut his hair. She has quite the set-up in her house with a salon-style sink in her home. Miraculously, Sam laid back and let her wash his hair without moving a muscle.

Shelley added a booster seat to the chair, and we were in business! After he was bribed with jelly beans, he sat very still during the hair cut. He was all smiles!

This is the finished product! After a quick trim, his curls became even curlier! Thanks Rowena!

We love you Rasmussen's! Thank you for such a wonderful trip!

Trip to Spokane

2010-03-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

Sam and I have been visiting in Spokane for my cousin's wedding, and we've enjoyed every minute. We wish Aaron could have come with us, but he is busy with work and school, and couldn't take time off. He is taking a couple of really big exams this week, so he is pretty busy preparing for those.

We've really enjoyed staying with my Grandma and Grandpa McDermott. Sam has loved exploring their house! My Grandparents have a small statue of Jesus with His arms outstretched in their living room, and Sam likes to give Jesus a High-Five whenever he walks by the statue.

It has been so fun having cousins around for Sam to play with! Yesterday we took the kids to a children's museum, and there were so many fun activities for the kids. Unfortunately, Sam had missed his nap that day, so he was a little on edge. He had a lot of fun in the beginning, but it didn't take long for him to get worn out and practice his new tantrum throwing skills. So, this first picture of him smiling was taken towards the beginning. He found a fireman's hat and tried to wear it the whole time. He also found a race track where he could ride around on some neat cars, so he was having a blast.

My sister Brittany took this next picture towards the end...it had been a long day. The only way I could get him to relax was to hold him slightly upside down - I know, I won't be expecting any mother-of-the-year award any time soon. At the moment of the picture, I was feeling pretty defeated, but part of being a mom is figuring out how to handle toddler meltdowns. I'm still learning. :)

Other than a few rough day's without a nap, Sam is as happy as a clam. We love our Sam!

Animal Kingdom

2010-03-02T15:31:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we went down to Disney's Animal Kingdom with our friends, the Andrews, and we had a great time. We rode a train to the petting zoo, and Sam was so excited! He mustered up the courage to pet the animals on the back, but when he got close to their heads, he would erupt in giggles and shy away. Here is my favorite picture of Sam giggling when he got close to the sheep's face.

He is developing quite the adorable personality!

These Mickey Ears were a good investment when we first went to Disney last year...he LOVES wearing them! He especially likes to wear them around the house. He likes to switch between wearing these ears and his bicycle helmet. Cute boy.
Here is Sam, Daddy, and Jiminy Cricket
Family picture with Raffiki
We had a great time! Sam is now 18 months old, and boy has the time flown by. He is such a fun little boy, and we are so lucky to be his parents.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-15T17:22:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day. With Daddy's help, Sam gave me a Lightning McQueen card, which I will treasure forever! :) We made Red Velvet Cupcakes with red sprinkles, and Sam loved them! It is so fun being a Mom, I love it!

Saint Samuel :)

2010-02-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

Our sweet Sam has been showing his reverent side lately! We know that he is very impressionable, and so we try and teach him by example. A week or two ago, he started to say "Amen!" after we prayed. Soon afterwards, he began to fold his arms. He has been getting better and better each day. Just yesterday, I gave him some lunch in his highchair, and then walked away to pick up around the house. When I looked back, he was sitting there patiently with his arms folded, and wouldn't eat lunch until I prayed!

I asked him to fold his arms so I can take a picture, so here he is practicing!

We love our Sam!

Savannah

2010-02-04T09:22:00.000-08:00

Living in Florida has a lot of advantages, and one of them is our proximity to so many fantastic places to visit. We are not far from Savannah, so last weekend we decided to zip up there and explore the historical downtown. Our friends, the Andrew's, came up as well, and we had a blast!

This is a great example of the beautiful southern trees that line the streets of Savannah. As you can see from how bundled up we are, we were having unusually cold weather!

This is a really gorgeous old fountain in Forsyth Park. Sam is showing off his climbing skills. Yikes!

We enjoyed some delicious southern food at Paula Deen's restaurant...fried chicken, fried catfish, black-eyed peas, fried corn bread, sweet potatoes, and her famous "Ooey-Gooey Butter Cake!" It was amazing and heart-stopping all at the same time. Yum!

On our way back, we decided to stop off at the beach and we found this spot that you are allowed to drive on (It's hard to tell from the picture, but that is ocean right behind them) so we let Sam sit on Daddy's lap and steer...Sam LOVED it!
Even though it was freezing, we still had a great time.
Our trip was wonderful, and we enjoyed every minute of it. Today is another story. I've often wondered what my house would look like if I wasn't constantly cleaning up after Sam around the clock, and unfortunately I no longer have to wonder. Let me back up for a minute - there is a really bad stomach virus going around, and I seem to have caught it. I spent the entire night throwing up, and so I am completely worn out. All I had the strength to do all morning was lay on floor and get hit in the head with flying legos (thank you Sam) and watch as Sam systematically tore our apartment apart. Sam was as happy as a clam to do all of his exploring uninterrupted by mommy. All of the DVD's are now separated from their cases and thrown about, the seat cushions of the couch are thrown on the floor, every toy he owns is scattered about, and intermixed with the toys are all of our canned food items from our pantry. Our bookshelves are looking as empty as our pantry, which is a pretty impressive feat considering our shelves are 9 feet tall and that Sam had to scale them to get the books off. With how sick I feel, my energy level is at a zero, so all I can do is sit here and think about how clean my home was before Sam woke up this morning. All things considered, I've been better.

Sam's Stroller Adventure

2010-01-22T06:49:00.000-08:00

Today the weather is beautiful! After a few weeks of chilly temperatures here, winter is over and summer is upon us once again. Despite the 80 degree weather, we had a heavy rainstorm yesterday, so today we thought we'd take Sam for a walk in the puddles. We strapped Mary (the girl I babysit everyday) in the stroller, and let Sam walk beside us. It wasn't long before Sam realized it was so much more fun for him to push the stroller himself, so we took them to an empty area of the parking lot at our apartment and let him push the stroller to his heart's content. He took his job very seriously and wouldn't accept any help from us. Luckily Mary didn't mind being pushed in the stroller by a toddler who aimed straight for huge puddles.

Every once in awhile, Sam would stop and pat Mary on the head, as if to tell her to hang in there!

This is quite the somber look he's got going! This was taken when it was time to head inside and he wasn't very happy about it.

Back to Florida

2010-01-08T07:41:00.001-08:00

We are back to reality. Sam and I were gone for exactly one month, spending the first half in Spokane, and the second half in Utah, where we met up with Aaron. Aaron was unable to make it to Spokane because he was finishing up a rotation, and so we really missed him. When Sam saw Aaron for the first time after two and half weeks apart, it was one of the sweetest moments I have ever witnessed. Sam’s jaw dropped, and he started screaming “daddy” over and over, laughing and running into his arms. Aaron is definitely Sam’s best friend.

We had a great time being with the Rasmussen’s over the holidays! We spent our time playing board games together, eating delicious homemade chocolates, visiting with family, and we enjoyed every minute of it! Christmas was especially fun for Sam. All of the family spent Christmas Eve together and opened presents. Santa gave Sam a lot of fun toys (Thanks Grandma and Grandpa)! In fact, putting him to bed that night was extremely challenging. All that Sam wanted to do was play with his toys, and so he cried almost all night. Around midnight I went to see what the matter was, and he was sobbing, pointing upstairs where the toys were, and saying “BALL! BALL!” over and over. The poor boy just wanted to play with his toys! Occasionally he would interchange “ball” for “beep beep” (which means car) or for “Ho Ho Ho” (which means Santa). We finally gave in around 3am, and Aaron brought Sam upstairs to play with toys. What a patient daddy! So after wonderful visits with our families this past month, we are in Florida, and back to reality.

As we have settled back into our routine this week, Sam has provided some good entertainment, as always. Sam has a vocabulary of around 15 words, which is constantly growing. But, as most of you know, he has a one track mind for a…you guessed it…BALL! He loves every kind of ball: football, basketball, golf ball, etc. Well, he has reached new heights with this passion. The other day I was cleaning up around the house and I wasn’t paying attention to what Sam was up to, but I heard him say “Ball” over and over, so I knew it was nothing unusual. When I walked over to him, I saw him sitting on the couch, with a Sports Illustrated on his lap. He was carefully and meticulously going page by page, staring at every picture of the various sporting events, until he would inevitably spot the ball in each picture, point to it, and proudly exclaim “Ball”! He even offered an occasional “Wow” every once in awhile. Aaron and I couldn’t be prouder! J Usually,Sam will pick out a book from the bookshelf, bring it over to us, and climb on our laps when he wants to be read to, but now it’s a whole other ball game (pun intended) because Sam’s reading interests have expanded! Before bed the other night, Sam sat quietly on Aaron’s lap as Aaron read articles from Sports Illustrated. It is so fun to watch as Sam develops such a fun and sweet personality!

Sam's Santa Saga

2009-12-14T09:16:00.000-08:00

We went to a Christmas party at my mom's ward, and Sam got to meet Santa! This is his second year sitting on Santa's lap, and I don't think it was as fun for him this year as it was last year. Last year, he giggled and laughed, and we were able to take some really cute pictures. This year...I think Sam was wondering why I put him on the lap of a large and hairy stranger. Instead of the magical, happy memory we were hoping to create, it was pretty traumatic. Lots of screaming and crying.

Christmas Party!

2009-12-12T20:43:00.000-08:00

We are in Spokane visiting with my family! It has been so fun spending time with all of Sam's little cousins! We got everyone together and had a little Christmas party for all of the kids (Thanks for hosting it Melissa, you did a wonderful job!). Christmas PJ's, gingerbread houses, and peppermint milkshakes! It was a lot of fun! On the bottom row: Sam, Teagan, Kobe, and Abby - on the top row: Hayden, Dylan, and Molly.

I've loved being in Spokane...even though the weather has been frightful! Sam didn't know what to do with a 75 degree drop in temperature overnight! Nor did I, for that matter! Unfortunately, our trip started out on a sad note when we had a football game party at Aunt Shelly's for the big Florida/Alabama game last week...but I suppose for us Florida fans, the details are better left unsaid... Despite the setback, we had a wonderful time - good food and good company!

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T16:54:00.001-08:00

What an adventure this Thanksgiving has been! We have had so much fun with Kimball and Shelley visiting with us! We spent three days at Disney World, and then went to the Florida vs Florida State game on Saturday. Sam wasn't able to nap much at all, but he did really well all week! He takes the cake on being super busy and active, but for as busy as he is, he is also very happy and loving. He was hugging every little kid he could find at Disney! (Whether they wanted one or not, they got a Sam hug!) Disney was a lot of fun. Aaron really likes to do as much that is humanly possible at theme parks, so we were there until 9pm at night every night! Luckily, on Thanksgiving, we were able to find a Cracker Barrel that was still open, so we were able to still have a Thanksgiving dinner!

The game on Saturday was A LOT of fun! A lot of people laugh when they see us wearing Florida gear when we come visit, but here, you get laughed at if you are not wearing orange and blue! Floridians are crazy about their Gator Football! During the game, the jumbotron screen showed Sam 4 TIMES! After the game, we were walking out and people that were in a section above us were yelling at us to get our attention, and asked if they could take a picture of our little guy, since he was practically famous! Then, more and more people would walk by us and say, "Hey! Its the boy that was always on the jumbtron! We saw you!" We thought it was so strange that all of those people remembered Sam! After we had left the game, I thought that no one else would recognize him, but I was wrong! Later that night we went to the store, and a lady in the produce section said that she saw him at the game on the jumbotron! I think its time I get this boy an agent! :)

Sam, Aaron and Bethany at the game

At football games, usually someone in the crowd will bring a beach ball and toss it around the stadium. As soon as Sam saw it bouncing around the crowd, he got so excited and said "ball!" over and over, so we knew it wouldn't be long until he got the ball :) Here is Aaron, Sam and his game ball, and Shelley and Bethany

Here is a picture of all of us at the game, Kimball, Sam, Aaron, Shelley, and Bethany

Tim Tebow running a touchdown

We had a great Thanksgiving, and are so glad that Kimball and Shelley came to visit!

Puddles and Rain Boots

2009-11-22T13:37:00.000-08:00

Sam LOVES playing in puddles. We took him for a walk this afternoon, and he had a blast splashing around in his dinosaur rain boots.

We had a busy weekend! Aaron took Sam to his first Florida basketball game on Friday night, and Sam had so much fun! He danced and clapped and said "ball" all night! On Saturday, we all went to the Florida football game. Sam did really well, clapping along with everyone else. Of course, Florida creamed the competition. Sam is learning new things all the time. I've been teaching him to say nose, and when I ask him where his nose is, he takes both index fingers and sticks them up his nose, and proudly says, 'nose!' It was pretty funny, until he started showing ME where MY nose was :) In other news, Aaron is doing really well in his rotations. He is given an exam after every rotation, and he scored really high on his test on Friday. We are so proud of him and how well he is doing in school! With the upcoming holidays, we are so looking forward to seeing all of our family!

2009-11-03T13:32:00.001-08:00

We entered Sam into the Gap-Disney baby photo contest. To vote for him, go to the following link:
http://family.go.com/gapcastingcall/entries/happyclamsam5/

You need to log in for a Disney Account.

Thanks for voting!

Trip to Utah

2009-10-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

We came out to Utah for the weekend to attend Aaron's Grandfather's funeral. It has been really nice to visit with his family and to have Sam play with his cousins. Here is a family picture of us at the funeral - Thanks for the picture, Kimball!
We attempted to get a picture with all four grandchildren with their grandparents, it is pretty tricky trying to get four wiggly boys to sit still for a picture! From left to right, Sam (13 months), Trent (5 years old), Cannon (3 months), and Owen (2 years old) with their grandparents, Kimball and Shelley.

We took the boys to Gardner Village to ride the ponies and visit the petting zoo. They had a blast! Here is my sweet baby with a sweet baby lamb.

Here are all four boys dressed in their Halloween costumes. Sam is a pirate, Owen is a monkey, Trent is a race car driver, and Cannon is a giraffe. Cute!

Sam the Man

2009-10-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

Sam is such a cutie! He is always so much fun, and has endless energy! We took some fun pictures with my friend Gretchen and her girls in Micanopy. He is growing up so fast! He has officially transitioned from my baby to my toddler!

Pumpkin Patch!

2009-10-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

We took Sam to a pumpkin patch with our friends Heath, Gretchen, and their cute little girls. It was a blast! Sam loved it! Sam recently mastered the word "ball" and uses it when referring to anything that is round - so, he of course thought he was in a room full of orange balls! He kept saying ball over and over as he pointed to every pumpkin he saw. It was pretty cute :) Then he started picking up the little pumpkins and throwing them on the ground, fully expecting them to bounce like a real ball. That was when we realized that we had to clear up the confusion, and explain the difference between a pumpkin and ball, or else we'd be paying for lots of smashed pumpkins!

I knew that I wanted to get a nice family picture at the pumpkin patch, and when I think about pumpkin patches, I think of the fall, the crisp air, and leaves turning colors. But its a different story here in Florida. It was 92 degrees and SUPER humid, but I didn't feel like it was a real pumpkin patch experience if we weren't dressed like it was cold outside...so we faked it and wore long pants and somewhat long sleeved shirts. I just wanted to feel like it really was the fall, despite the super hot weather outside. So we were sweating like crazy, but we have a great pumpkin patch family picture!

We are all doing great! Sam's measles are long gone, and he is as happy as a clam! Hope all is well with everyone!

Game Day in the Rasmussen Home

2009-10-04T11:23:00.001-07:00

Almost every Saturday is Game Day in the Rasmussen home! We love our Florida Gators! Aaron and Sam dress from head to toe in Gator Gear on Game days, and we pull out the Florida camping chairs. Sam and Aaron having matching Gator chairs to watch the game in, and Sam actually sits still to watch the game! They are pretty cute boys! As you can tell from the third picture, Sam makes it known when he disagrees with a referee!

2009-10-04T11:18:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from our trip to Disney and Universal. Sam loved the Cat in the Hat! He is also quite the fan of Mickey Mouse :)

Mild Case of the Measles!

2009-10-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

Hello! It has been awhile since we've updated our blog - our computer broke! We finally got a new one, so we will be posting pictures shortly. In other news...our poor little Sam has the measles! I started noticing spots a couple days ago, and they started to spread all over his body! So I took him to the doctor yesterday [ coincidentally, he picked out 101 dalmations to read while we were in the waiting room...I think he saw some similiarities between him and the puppies :) ] Anyway, the doctor said it was most likely the measles. Oddly enough, Sam was vaccinated for it a week or two ago, and so the Doc said that since it was so recent, he was still vulnerable to it, but protected enough that it wouldn't be painful for him. So, in the meantime, he said to keep him out of public - which, to be honest, won't be hard for me to do since my child is covered head to toe in red spots!
Last weekend we went to Disney, and we had a blast! Sam's favorite rides were "It's a small world" and "Pirates of the Carribean." My favorite was the "Haunted Mansion" but I think Sam found it boring because he fell asleep in the middle of the ride! Aaron loved Winnie the Pooh when he was a kid, so he made sure we took Sam on the Winnie the Pooh ride. Afterwards, as we were walking through the gift shop, Sam went straight to the huge stuffed Winnie the Pooh bears, and grabbed one under each arm. They were bigger than him, so they were both dragging on the ground, but that didn't matter to Sam, he made a beeline out of the store and ran down the road! People that were standing by yelled "Run, kid! Run!" It was hilarious! After we chased him down and returned to the gift shop to give back the stuffed bears, he would only let go of one, he had a death grip on the other one that no one could break, so we ended up buying him his Winnie the Pooh bear.
Sam is one wonderful little kid. We are crazy about him! I think he is going to be an early talker, he is constantly jabbering away. The word he is currently working on is ball. He says 'bah' when he points to a ball. Its a work in progress...someday he'll attach the "L' sound to it! He has turned into a little bird when it comes to eating, most days I can't get him to eat hardly anything! At his doctor's visit, he was measured to be in the 80th percentile for height, but only the 39th percentile for weight. I know its normal for kids to not eat much sometimes, but i would feel better about it if he had some extra cushion. Lately, the only way I can get him to eat is if I give him a standing ovation after every bite! If cheering him on is what it takes for him to get some meat on his bones, then so be it!
I promise we will post some pictures soon!

2009-09-08T07:40:00.000-07:00

Sam loves playing with his cousin Kobe - and we love matching their outfits! They have been having a blast together!

Sam constantly runs everywhere, and so we are working on teaching him to hold our hands before he runs off. Its a work in progress :)

My sister Brittany took this picture, I love it!

This was funny - we took the kids to LegoLand at Downtown Disney, and Sam quickly found a box of Legos that he wanted. He took it off the shelf and pushed it around the store until he found the stroller, and then he tried to push it up onto the stroller. I told him that we have to buy it first, and, I'm not kidding, he pushed it right to the check out stand without any directions from me! He is one smart cookie! Or he just knows what he wants!

One Year Old!

2009-09-08T06:39:00.000-07:00

Sam turned ONE on September 5th! I can't believe how fast time has gone by! He had a super fun birthday party with his friends at a splash park, played in the water, and ate too much frosting. :) Our family is in town, too - so he has had a blast with his cousin Kobe!
Sam had tons of fun with his friends at the Splash Park, but this one of him and Kapri was too cute so I had to post it!

Daddy and Sam eating way too much!

Frosting overload! This picture was taken right before we sang Happy Birthday to him, and during the song, he threw up all of his frosting! It was pretty funny, but sad for his little tummy!

This is the birthday cake that I labored over extensively! It is a train cake, and Sam loved it!

Carrots

2009-08-21T06:20:00.000-07:00

We went with my friend Gretchen and her two twin girls to a farm to feed the horses. The kids had a great time, and this time Sam did a lot better around the animals. We gave them each a carrot to feed the horses, but instead they thought it would be more fun to run around with their cool new toy!

Hayden, Sam, and Kapri

He's got the right idea...just the wrong animal :)

Sam had a great time playing with his two cute little friends!

Birthday Boy!

2009-08-12T07:58:00.001-07:00

It was Aaron's birthday yesterday! He turned 28 years old! We celebrated by going down to Disney World - you get in for free on your birthday! We had a blast! Sam loved every second of it! When we met Mickey, Sam was so intrigued by him! He stared at him for a bit, and then timidly reached out and squeezed Mickey's nose! It was so cute, and then Mickey squeezed Sam's nose right back. Aaron's birthday celebration was a success!

Family Outing

2009-08-02T13:25:00.000-07:00

Hello! We had a fun family adventure this weekend! We took Sam to a horse retirement farm. It is a beautiful farm for old horses, and they let us feed them apples and pet them. We thought that Sam would love it...but we were wrong. We learned the hard way that Sam is afraid of horses. We tried to get him to pet them, but he ended up screaming and trying to jump out of our arms to get away from them. So, we kept trying horse after horse to see if he would get use to them, but the crying just got worse with each horse. Luckily we found a couple of non-crying pictures to show you, but we threw in a crying one too. It was pretty funny seeing him having a meltdown next to these beautiful and gentle horses.

First Steps!

2009-07-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

Sam took five steps today! Finally Aaron was there to see it, he hasn't taken any steps while he was home before. We were taking pictures of Sam in his new Gator football jersey, when he suddenly started walking towards the camera! Fortunately we had the camera out to capture the moment. There is also a funny picture of Sam looking like he just scored a touchdown. He is pretty entertaining :) And super excited for football season, if you can't tell. 10 months old and starting to walk...yikes.

More Pictures!

2009-07-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

We posted some more pictures! The first two are just pictures of Sam being cute today. There is also a picture of Sam and Mommy swimming at Manatee Springs. It was a pretty area, the water is 72 degrees year round (a little too cold for my taste!). Manatees are known to swim a lot there, luckily we didn't run into any while we were swimming! Then there are a couple of beach pictures, we try to get to the beach as often as we can since we've only got one year left here! The Gulf Coast is definitely our favorite, the water is a lot warmer, and the sand is softer.

Sam is learning to be nicer to Mary (the baby girl we babysit everyday). At first he was getting jealous, but today he tried to share his favorite toys with her. His intentions were sweet, but he kept trying to drop his heavy toys on her, so my reflexes have sharpened in order to save Mary from Sam's "sharing." :)

Fashionably Late to Blogging...

2009-07-11T17:21:00.000-07:00

We wondered when we would succomb to the peer pressure from the blogging world - better late than never! We aren't totally sure how everything works, but we will learn as we go I guess. We are hoping that this will be a better way to keep everyone involved in whats going on with us, as we are several states away from our family and friends!

We are all doing great! Sam is starting to uncover the mysteries of walking. It is fun to watch him become more and more brave. He is standing up on his own now, without holding onto furniture. If he knows that we are watching him and we praise him, then he will sit back down, so we have to pretend like its not a big deal that our little baby is learning to stand on his own! We try to be sneaky when we silently encourage him. Sam gets cuter every day, and we are crazy about him!

Aaron is really enjoying his first clinical rotation. He is working in pediatrics right now at a health clinic. With everything that Aaron is learning there, I think Sam will be one healthy little boy! Aaron saw a patient the other day with really bad tooth decay, so Aaron picked up a baby toothbrush and baby toothpaste on his way home from work and has been working hard at teaching Sam good oral hygeine!

I have been keeping busy taking care of Sam as well as a little baby girl. Her mom is in school full time and so she needs a sitter every day. It has been an eye opening experience trying to take care of two babies at once, to say the least! But I think it will be really great for Sam to have a friend, and help him learn to share. All is well here in Florida!