Soccer Puppies

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!

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!

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

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

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

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!

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!