{ tales from the nest }

Kissing Hand

2012-01-12T15:46:00.000-06:00

Sam was so excited to show me his "kissing hand" when I picked him up from Mother's Day Out this afternoon. I asked him if they read the book and he said no, but I'm thinking they must have. I used to have my own copy, but I couldn't find it, so we'll have to check it out from the library the next time we go.

Breakfast

2012-01-06T12:22:00.000-06:00

It was a two-bowl morning. Two full bowls of oatmeal, more than Daddy eats when he has oatmeal for breakfast. All eaten with a little baby Gerber spoon. :)

Let's Go Look at Books

2012-01-03T22:41:00.000-06:00

Just a quick stop at the library after running errands, before heading home to fix dinner. Two of our favorites in these pictures: Lulu's Busy Day and Sally Goes to the Mountains.

Swings

2012-01-02T18:36:00.000-06:00

Brian had the day off today and it was nice to have him home. He watched Sam while I went to the store and then after lunch we took a walk to the lake and the park. Sam had fun watching the ducks and swinging. It was cold by the water, but overall, not too bad for January 2nd!

Gingerbread Boy

2011-12-31T23:28:00.000-06:00

This was a first for both of us. I'd never done an official gingerbread house before, only the graham-cracker-on-a-milk-carton kind when teaching second grade years ago. This came from a kit I got at JoAnn's and it was very sturdy and easy to put together. Sam had fun deocrating once I got everything assembled. He worked on this with me for a long time. He put each "little ball" on the roof very carefully and was dilligent about getting every last peppermint somewhere on the house. We think it turned out pretty cool!

Candy Cane

2011-12-31T22:49:00.000-06:00

Silly boy. One of Sam's friends gave him a candy cane at his Christmas party. Sam had tried one a few weeks ago and didn't like it, but this one made him quite happy, and silly!

Mahna-Mahna!

2011-12-31T18:17:00.003-06:00

Doo-doo, doo-doo-doo.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine who used to work for Disney posted a link on Facebook to a Muppets clip from 1970-something in celebration of the opening day of the new Muppets movie. I watched the clip and thought Sam might like it, too. I showed it to him one morning on my phone and he thought it was hilarious!

We've added Mahna-Mahna to our morning ritual now. Brian gets up and gets ready around 5:30. Sometime between then and around 7:30 or so, Sam shuffles into our room with Binkie, Blankie and Hop-Hop. I pull him up on the bed and we either go back to sleep for a couple hours, or lay there lazy for a while. Either way, we always watch a little Muppets on my phone before starting our day.

Want to take a little trip down Muppet Memory Lane? Here's the Mahna-Mahna clip:

Mahna-Mahna Muppets Song on You Tube

Galleria Tree

2011-12-04T15:31:00.002-06:00

That is one BIG tree. Sam and Gram and I visited the Galleria yesterday to see the tree-mendous tree and watch the ice skaters. The tree was sooo big my camera couldn't fit it all in, so I pulled out my phone and was able to get some good shots! The first and last pictures show almost the whole tree! So much fun going to Galleria with Sam since I used to come here at Christmas when I was little, too! Next week we're heading out to Northpark for more Christmas-y window shopping. Let the holiday fun begin!

Beanie Baby

2011-12-01T22:42:00.003-06:00

Forgot to post these pics of my handsome beanie baby. We stopped by Target on our way to the Holiday shoot a couple weeks back and saw this hat on an endcap for just one dollar. It was in the boys department, and while it fits Sam, I have to admit it's a little poofy. But it will have to do, as all the toddler hats are too small! :) It was fun to take pictures of him wearing something new. I shot these at a pretty park in McKinney. He was cooperative for the most part, but in order to get the shots on the stone wall I had to bribe him with the promise of fruit snacks and an extra Oswald when we got home.

He held me to it, too. He's almost impossible to trick!

In the Leaves

2011-12-01T22:02:00.000-06:00

Just a few shots from a playdate this week. Sam was rather anti-social for much of the playdate, but decided at the end to semi-cooperate. He taught a couple of friends a listening game he and Gram play - "Stop & Go". I don't know if "taught" is the right word...more like "yelled". The girls were having fun running around at Sam's command and they were very sweet to him. As grumpy as he was at the park, as soon as we got in the car he told me how much fun he had playing "his" game with his friends and has talked about it several times since. I just never know with this little boy sometimes!

November Mosaic

2011-11-30T23:21:00.000-06:00

Holiday Shoots

2011-11-20T10:03:00.003-06:00

For Sam, Christmastime has arrived early. We met up with some Lens Baby friends for a couple of holiday shoots this week and we are officially in the Christmas Spirit!

Recognize this porch with the black door?

I brought some baby here last year - don't know where he went to!

So pensive...

This counts as a big pile of leaves here in Texas, so we had to have a little fun with them!

Had to include this one, even though it's not Christmas-y. This is Chester, Chestnut Square's resident cat. He really had fun with all the kids that day. He'd run away when they chased him, but always came right back for more. Sam and I were the last to leave and while I was packing up all the props I noticed them sitting so quietly together. I grabbed my camera and quickly snagged a couple shots of these two boys right as Chester was snuggling up to Sam. It almost made me reconsider my feelings about cats. Almost. I guess any cat who likes my boy this much must be pretty okay so I'll make an exception for Chester! He even got in our car, twice, while I was loading props. Sam's eyes were huge when he saw Chester hop in the front seat! I think we'll have to go back soon and visit our new little friend.

Somewhere Else

2011-11-19T14:42:00.001-06:00

When we visit this park, those 100 degree days are just a distant memory.

It doesn't feel like Dallas here, either. If it wasn't so far from our house, I think we'd come here everyday, at least while the colors are out!

Moving Day, Five Years Later

2011-11-15T12:36:00.002-06:00

What a difference five years has made...

Jammie Day

2011-11-08T22:47:00.001-06:00

It was J is for Jammies Day at school today. Sam got to wear his polar bear jammies and bring Hop-Hop for show-and-tell. They had pizza for lunch and read stories sitting on sleeping bags by a camping tent. Instead of the usual butter cookies for snack, the kids had teddy grams and, as Sam explained to me, "teeny tiny pillows" - marshmallows, I'm assuming. It was a little chilly and rainy today, too - perfect for a jammie day!

October Mosaic

2011-11-03T20:03:00.000-05:00

iPhone pics from October. My big camera and I haven't been getting along lately so I tend to pick up my iPhone quite a bit more than I ever have before in the last year I've owned it. iPhone photos and their editing applications are much more forgiving of flaws and user error than regular cameras. In fact, goofy composition and blurriness are sometimes part of their charm. And since the camera is attached to my phone, I have it with me everywhere I go. It's been fun snapping these pics and trying different filters. I hope to make this a monthly post!

Harvest Time

2011-10-29T09:13:00.000-05:00

Pretty good lookin' pumpkins, if I do say so myself. Especially since we had such a hot, dry summer. We're hoping we get more next year!

2011 Halloween Round One

2011-10-29T08:00:00.002-05:00

Today was the first of several Halloween Dress-Ups planned for the next few days. Sam's school has dress-up day every year at Halloween time. The kids have to come dressed as an animal from Noah's Ark or a person from the Bible. Last year Sam was a bumblebee for Halloween which went perfectly with his school's theme. It was easy.

This year, Sam wants to be the moon for Halloween Specifically, "the full moon - like a cookie". Not so easy. And, neither an animal nor a person from the Bible.

So we went on a hunt for an animal costume. Most of them are expensive and look like they'd be hot and stuffy to wear all day at school. Fortunately WalMart had a make-your-own-animal-costume end cap with several cheap, lightweight animal choices. For less than 10 bucks, we had ourselves an elephant costume.

Sam was especially excited about his costume once I informed him that an elephant's favorite food is peanuts!

Mail Time

2011-10-28T20:28:00.006-05:00

Gram and Pops sent Sam some mail. At first he didn't know what it was, then he was excited to say the least. Remember what it was like to be happy about getting mail in the mailbox? I never make these faces when I open my mail these days. I don't hug my grocery store circular or water bill. Other than my birthday when all my sweet in-laws send me cards, my mail is pretty boring! :)

Well, Sam's mail turned out to be a big, glittery, tri-fold Mickey Mouse Halloween card. I didn't coach him on any of these pics, by the way. He really did hug his card all on his own and take it out in the backyard to spend some time alone with it.

Doesn't take much to excite a two year old! Thanks Gram and Pops!

Lunch Date

2011-10-27T18:47:00.003-05:00

Despite the way Sam looks in this photo, he really did have a good time! We met Great-Grandma at Willow Bend for lunch and some playground time. It's the best playground because Great-Grandma and I can sit and see Sam wherever he goes. He has lots of room to roam and lots of things to climb on. After strolling around the mall, we stopped for ice cream and cookies and threw some pennies into the fountain before heading home. What a fun day!

Reading the Paper

2011-10-27T09:12:00.000-05:00

I look over at Sam after packing up his lunch and this is what I saw. He had jumped down from the breakfast table after having finished a large bowl of oatmeal, grabbed his favorite thing to read - a brochure from the Plano Balloon Festival - and hopped up on the couch. When I asked him what he was doing he said, "I'm reading the paper". Mmm-kay Little Man. Whatever you say!

Let's Go Fly a Kite

2011-10-25T18:17:00.001-05:00

It just so happened to be the windiest day EVER! A friend of ours had scheduled a "kites" playdate and it turned out to be on the perfect day!

Sam had not flown a kite before so I wasn't sure how he'd do. I had picked up two kites from the dollar store a few months back that we'd never used so I brought them for him to fly, but as it turned out, it was too windy for our little kites and they fell apart before they got two feet off the ground!

Our friend shared her cute little owl kite with us and it worked great. Sam did great holding the string and keeping the kite in the air.

Spooner Shirts

2011-10-25T13:35:00.001-05:00

Don't my boys look cute in their shirts? Brian and I love the show King of Queens. We especially love Arthur Spooner and the shirts he wears. Brian has a couple of shirts that we call "Arthur Spooner shirts" and I found Sam one as well. I took this picture before they left for some guy-time. While I stayed home and picked up the house, they went to lunch and played at the park. They rarely get time out by themselves and I think they had a great time!

Nature Walk

2011-10-25T12:08:00.001-05:00

Sam and I found some cool stuff on our foggy-morning nature walk. A spider's web, covered in dew, some green moss, and a locust's shell. The spider's web against the fog was especially Halloween-y!

Punkin' Cookies

2011-10-25T10:17:00.001-05:00

Gram helped Sam decorate pumpkin cookies, just like we used to when Andrew and I were little. He did a good job of stirring the icing and putting candy corn eyes on the pumkin heads. Then he started sticking his fingers in the icing and shoving raisins in his mouth. So Gram helped him finish and we called on Pops to decorate one for us. Fun and tasty!

Trying New Things

2011-10-25T08:56:00.002-05:00

Howdy, y'all! Sam and I visited McKinney's Storybook Ranch with some friends a few weeks ago. It was a cute little patch of farmland that had pumpkins, pony rides, a petting zoo, and bounce houses. I was shocked that Sam tried, and loved, all of these things! I thought for sure we'd just be quiet observers at this playdate.
The pony rides were the first attraction of the day and at first Sam wasn't sure about riding. He watched some of his friends sit on their pony while the lady pushed the bar around and around in a circle. I asked him if he wanted to ride a pony and he said no. When the first round of kiddos was done I asked him, "Which pony do you want?" and that worked! He said "That one", and pointed to "Brittany", the pony with a flag blanket under her saddle. Sam was a little quiet at first, but really warmed up to this whole cowboy thing rather quickly.

I couldn't get him to wear his cowboy hat, but when our friend Liz asked him to put it on, he complied, of course. And then, thanks to all the moms who were cheering Sam on, I got that great shot of my little cowboy smiling and holding up his hat on his pony.

After his pony ride, he ran through a hay maze and chased after some baby pigs. He thought the pigs were hilarious, but was a tiny bit scared when the goats started chewing at my sweater. I have to admit, I didn't really like that either!
I thought for sure that would be our last activity of the day, but Sam decided today was the day he was going to try a bounce house. He's wanted to try one before, but didn't like that other kids were bouncing in there with him. I guess it made it too bouncy. This time having other kids bouncing with him was fun. If they left one bounce house to go and try another, Sam was close behind. Again, I was pretty surprised!

Before leaving he got to ride a pony again (!) and then we were told to chose our own pumpkin to take home. Sam picked a pretty good one - our first official pumpkin of the season - and it's still on our entryway niche outside his room. It was a very successful playdate, with Sam trying lots of new things. We were very proud of our Cowboy Sam! Yee-haw!!

Peanut Butter on Top, Butter Down

2011-10-24T14:48:00.007-05:00

It's how he orders his waffles...
Peanut butter on the top waffle, butter on the bottom waffle, milk in his Pluto cup. Happy boy!

Tents, Sticks & Slides

2011-10-07T12:15:00.000-05:00

Sam and I had a fun week playing with friends! Our first playdate was in a forested area behind a neighborhood park. A friend of mine made a couple of awesome tents and we all brought some fun props along for a tents-in-the-forest photoshoot. I was surprised that Sam wanted to go in the tent, let alone sit down and "read" a book. I cherish these moments of cooperative-ness, let me tell you!

It was good I got these shots when I did because pretty soon he was off and running with the boys. He found lots of sticks in the forest that immediately became drumsticks and we were all treated to a lot of "1-2-3-4" by Sam the rock-n-roll drummer. All the boys enjoyed hanging out in a little cave that someone had made out of sticks and fallen tree limbs before we got there. One of them turned to me at one point and said "We're talking about frogs". It made me laugh! It was fun to watch them interact. Sam loves the older boys and will follow them anywhere they go and do anything they tell him to do.

After we were done with our tent shoot we played on the playground. Sam loved the attention he got when he came down the slide with static hair and kept doing it over and over again!

From Just One Seed

2011-10-01T23:56:00.003-05:00

We've got pumpkins. It's about the only thing that feels like fall around here! Sam and I planted some pumpkin seeds in a pot last spring. One seed sprouted and grew fast so we moved it to the back flower bed where it grew and grew and grew some more!

Looks like we'll get two pumpkins out of this monster plant. These pictures were taken almost a week ago - the pumpkins are much bigger now! We have a smaller one that is turning orange fast and a big green one is thinking about turning orange any day now. The blossoms are big and orange and blooming every morning when we wake up and look out the back windows. Sam has fun checking on our pumpkins once or twice a day, to see if they're "gettin' orange yet".

Happy October!

3-2-1 Glow

2011-09-28T20:30:00.000-05:00

3-2-1 Glow! For the most part, the Plano Balloon Festival was a bit of a bust this year. I don't think the balloons ever got to launch because of either wind or storm clouds, depending on the day.

This year we decided to go on a Saturday night to see the evening launch and the glow. We waited and waited and waited for the launch before it was finally announced that it would be cancelled. We waited some more for the glow, not sure if it was going to happen either. For a long time there were no balloons blown up, or even spread out, on the field.

Finally the pilots put them up and we had a great view. The festival announcer would say "3-2-1 GLOW!" and all the pilots would light their balloons. It's very pretty and makes a cool whoosh sound when they all go at the same time. We were glad we stuck it out, it was definitely worth it!

Photo Booth

2011-09-28T18:12:00.001-05:00

Watch out! Funny faces ahead!

Sam and I recently hosted a playdate for our Lens Baby group. We set up a couple of photo booths and put out a trunk of silly props and let our friends have at it. They had fun playing with the hats and glasses, and despite the fact the wind kept knocking over the "booths", which were just science fair display boards, we were able to get some photo booth shots. I did two of Sam on seperate days. Not sure which funny faces of his I like the best!

Once he was done with the photo booth, he decided to take my picture. This particular camera is a Starflex Brownie from the 60s that I bought off Craigslist last spring. Sam calls it "his camera". Everytime he takes my picture he says "Good job! Wanna see it?" and shows me the back of the camera. Wonder where he learned that? Mommy's little photog-in-training!

It's Gonna Get Messy

2011-09-24T22:55:00.000-05:00

Our days are full of Sam's little routines. One of his favorites is the time he spends with Brian in the evenings. After Brian comes home from work, while I start cooking dinner, he takes Sam out on the porch and they eat peanuts. It started last spring when I went to the Dallas Farmers Market and brought home a bag of peanuts for Sam. He loved them and we've been buying them ever since. They sit on the steps, shell peanuts, and talk about their days. Before going out, Brian always gets a tupperware container for the shells and they say together "It's gonna get messy!"

The Grannies Are The Same

2011-09-22T18:59:00.002-05:00

Two out of three aint bad. Two out of three grannies, that is.Nell and Dell came to our house for a visit. Sam always likes when Granny Nell comes over, but this visit was extra special because it had been a long time since he'd seen Dell. The only thing that would've made it better is if Bell had been here, too. We called her on the phone, but it wasn't quite the same.

The four of us played for a long time, went out for lunch and ice cream, then came back and played some more. Sam and Dell played The Stinky Sock Game for the first time, a game that Daddy played with Dell many years ago. She gave him lots of coins, all of which Sam calls "pennies", and even some dollars for his piggy bank. They played with stickers and built a pillow house. It was a busy afternoon!

Once Sam realized Nell and Dell were thinking about leaving, he really turned on the charm and asked Dell sweetly if she would like to "go play in my room". So the two of them played and read books by themselves while Granny and I chatted.

He wasn't too happy when they left, but did tell me how much fun he had. For the remainder of the day, he would look at me every once in a while and say: "The grannies are the same!" Yes, Sam, they kind of are!

Heard-Craig House

2011-09-22T16:16:00.007-05:00

Sam and I recently visited the grounds of McKinney's Heard-Craig House with some friends to take some pictures. It was a very pretty day and Sam had fun running around the garden. We need more days like this here in Texas!

Snooze

2011-09-08T17:00:00.000-05:00

They fell asleep watching baseball. I took some pictures. Then I changed the channel...

Sam and Gram Summer

2011-09-08T16:27:00.002-05:00

It was a Sam and Gram Summer! They spent a lot of time together, especially during the week we stayed at Gram and Pops' house when our air conditioner went out!

Gram had some homework over the summer and wanted the theme to be Sam and Gram Summer. So we toted our camera everywhere we went with Gram and this is her final project! She played it for her school and they liked it a lot.

A+ Gram!

Grill Master

2011-09-08T15:52:00.003-05:00

I love this grill. Why? Because I don't have to cook and my house stays cool. Of course, it makes my guy smell smoky, but that's okay because he makes some pretty yummy stuff! And I don't have to cook.

Baby Bird's Bed is Just Right!

2011-09-08T15:13:00.003-05:00

Look who's got a big boy bed! Sam decided, almost overnight, he no longer wanted to sleep in his crib. I couldn't blame him - he was getting so big and tall, he couldn't have been very comfortable in there. And I was having quite a time lifting him in and out. So bed shopping we went. Gram went shopping with us and the salesman let Sam try out his bed before we bought it. He loved it, and still does.

Since getting the bed he's added a new part to our nighttime routine - Daddy has to lay down with him until he falls asleep. And Daddy almost always falls asleep in the process! Sam gets up in the night some, and will just appear at our bedside, dangling his blankie in front of our faces. It can be a little unnverving to wake up to the silhouette of a little person just inches from your face. But overall, it's been a positive transition and he loves the other little changes we made to his room including his special reading chair and his art table.

Someday, when Sam has a little brother or sister, we'll need the white furniture for the nursery and we'll get Sam his own bedroom set. Until then, this setup, as one of Sam's favorite storybook characters would say, is JUST RIGHT!

We left the quilt, which used to be centered above the crib, in the same place, now not-centered on the wall. The dresser and shelves are in the same place, too.

There's his special reading chair!

Last morning in his crib...

First morning in his big boy bed!

Special Reading Chair!

*disclaimer: Sam's room hasn't been this clean since the photos were taken a month ago!*

Clown

2011-09-06T15:38:00.000-05:00

He wasn't so sure at first. But, yep...he likes it!

Day One

2011-09-03T18:48:00.000-05:00

School is back in session - Hallelujah! Can you tell I'm just a little bit excited that Mother's Day Out has started? Being cooped up with Sam this triple-digit summer has been tough!

Sam's excited, too. He has two very sweet teachers, one of whom was a teacher in his class last year. When I pick him up I can tell he's had a great day. They do such a great job there and he's learning so much, academically and otherwise. He's talking so much more compared to this time last year and can tell me in detail all about his day.

Last week we went to the grocery store after school and as I was pushing the cart, browsing for our dinner ingredients, Sam told me a story about a woman who ate an apple. He mumbled something about someone being "mad" at her for eating the apple and when I asked him to repeat it he said "She ate the apple and God was MAD!".

"Oh!", I said. "You're talking about Eve!"

"No! Not STEVE, Mama!!", he said. I told him I didn't say "Steve" I said "Eve", because that was the woman's name - the one who ate the apple.

I was so happy he was a.) listening during Chapel and b.) able to retell the story to me! As a former teacher, these little successes make me very happy!

Yeah Daddy

2011-08-13T11:32:00.000-05:00

Sam is our hero. He stayed very calm and followed directions very well after he LOCKED US OUT OF THE HOUSE!

Brian was outside watering after doing yardwork and I went outside to tell him I had put the garage door down. I hadn't been out for more than a few seconds when I turned around and found the front door locked. It took a few seconds to realize what had happened. I turned to Brian and said, "He locked us out". I ran around to the back of the house, knowing I had shut the garage door, but hoping the back door was open.

Nope. Locked up tight.

I told Brian it was a no-go and we looked at each other like, "What are we going to do?" We knew if need be we could break a window, but not wanting to pay for a new window, we tried talking to Sam first. Sam had just finished helping Brian put knobs on the kitchen cabinets, so he knew just what to say.

Here's a transcript of Brian and Sam's discussion through the door:

B: Sam?
S: Hi Daddy!
B: How many knobs do you see on the door?
S: Two!
B: See the one on top, the one up high?
S: Yeah Daddy!
B: I need you to turn it and let us in.
S: (Sam tries turning the lock the wrong way) I can't do it Daddy! I can't do it!
B: Turn it the other way!

Ta-Da! It worked!

So far we haven't been locked out again...yet. Little Turkey.

Splash Park

2011-08-12T11:33:00.000-05:00

Found another splash park to go to with friends. It's just about the only thing to do in this stifling heat.

Play Dough

2011-07-24T17:46:00.000-05:00

Sam and I made play dough this week.

We made the cooked kind, and used gel food coloring to get the awesome colors. When I took the pot off the stove to stir it and pour it out onto the wax paper I showed it to Sam. I said, "It's playdough!" He said, "Dat's not playdough. Dat's dinner!"

Thankfully, no playdough has been consumed...yet.

Water Wiggle

2011-07-24T17:41:00.000-05:00

Toddlers + water = wiggle.

Bunk Mate

2011-07-24T17:22:00.001-05:00

I've been waking up to a new face, lately.

Sam's been waking up a lot at night these past couple of weeks. We think his last molars might be coming in.

Even though he's quite the flipper, flopper and kicker when he's asleep, it doesn't bother me too much. Poor Daddy has to sleep on the couch, though. There's just not enough room for three, especially when one sleeps slideways...

Happy Birthday Lens Baby

2011-07-22T18:29:00.001-05:00

We celebrated a special birthday today. Our playgroup, Lens Baby, has been around for a whole year now. Can't believe it's only been a year, actually. Feels longer! We got together for an ice cream party and had a great time. Sam was...okay. He's still a toy-hoarder and let out a whopper of a scream here and there, but overall he's playing better than he used to. He loved his ice cream, that's for sure! As soon as I scooped the vanilla ice cream into his bowl he said "No chocolate!" So sprinkles it was.

The last picture is one I took of him at our first meetup, the same house where we were today. He talked on a toy phone at our meetup today, too!

July 27th, 2010

Happy Birthday Lens Baby!

New Wock-n-Woll

2011-07-20T18:11:00.001-05:00

Yep. There's more... Sam calls this song "new wock-n-roll" and we usually play it after the song in the first dancing video.

Not as much movement in this one, but there is a lot of shoulder action!

Let's Hear It from Sara Straka on Vimeo.

Pants on the Ground

2011-07-19T09:07:00.000-05:00

Sam has a new-found love for "wok-n-woll".And no matter where we are - at home, in the car, the middle of a TJ Maxx - when he hears this particular song he can't help but dance. He's pretty good, too. He can sort-of keep a beat and excels at moving his shoulders. Most surprisingly, he changes his moves based on the tempo of the song. Pretty impressive stuff.

What I like most about this video is the shirt he's wearing. It's bright blue, just like my senior year show choir dress. I think I've passed down the dancing gene...

*the blue painter's tape on the carpet was for Sam to practice "walking on a bridge". It's not part of our permanent decor!

Fingerpainting

2011-07-18T18:51:00.002-05:00

It's messy.

This was one of those art activities that Sam spent about five minutes doing, and I spent 15 minutes cleaning up.

{sigh}

I'm now on the look-out for art projects that don't require bathing a toddler and mopping the kitchen floor.

Caps for Sale

2011-07-18T18:05:00.000-05:00

Gram gave Sam two hats from her collection of plastic bowler hats that go back to the days when she taught the story "Caps for Sale" to her Kinders.

Sam was feeling silly very early on this particular morning. He was putting the hat on, then "sneezing" to make it fall off. You can see in picture #3 he's saying the "choo" in "achoo", his little lisp clearly visible!

It's a Pa-wade!

2011-07-11T18:07:00.002-05:00

A very memorable parade, indeed. We returned to the exact same parade spot we snagged last fourth to watch McKinney's parade Monday morning. Sam was in a little bit of a funk, for some unknown reason, so his pictures didn't turn out particularly "smiley". But the parade was a success overall...ask him what we saw that day and he will tell you every time, "fire twucks, motorcycles, and horse poop!"

Happy Fourth!

image credit: Daddy

image credit: Pops

image credit: Daddy

Neighborhood Parade

2011-07-10T15:06:00.001-05:00

Our Fourth of July celebration started off right in our own neighborhood. Saturday morning we walked down to the same corner we were at last year to watch our neighborhood's parade. There were fire trucks, police cars and kids on bikes throwing candy! That night Gram and Pops and I took Sam to see our fireworks display by the big bass lake. It was an awesome show and Sam did great. He fussed right at the end (just in time for the grand finale) but that's never a surprise on a no-nap day. I carried Sam home - all the way home - he was sound asleep, dead weight and sweaty!

The next day we just had to make a pa-wade with our trucks and cars and Sesame Street friends. Everyone loves a parade!

Sam's First Haircut

2011-06-25T16:29:00.001-05:00

Or "care-hut", as he calls it. He did really well, and in fact, didn't make a peep the whole time. His stylist, Mercedes, was very nice to him. She let him watch Yo Gabba Gabba on his own little t.v. and gave him a lollipop after she was finished. She gave him a nice cut, too, and he was pretty shaggy when we went in! He's our handsome boy!

Lavender Ridge

2011-06-20T12:38:00.000-05:00

There's a pretty little lavender farm about an hour northwest of us, so Sam and I took a trip up there this week to check it out. Sam loved the doggies, and I loved all the whimsical things there were on the farm to photograph! We stayed for a couple of hours and enjoyed the quiet time in the country. He did a great job using "zizzers" for the first time (with Mama's help) to cut the lavender, and carried the basket for me since I had my hands full, too. We loved the animals there, especially the bunnies, and it was nice to cool down and have lunch at the picnic tables in the little forest with our doggie tour guides.

We stopped and had a snack at a downtown bakery located in one of the small towns we passed through on our way home, did some fabric shopping at their quilt shop, and dropped off a package at their post office. We met lots of friendly people, too. Sam was very chatty with the lady at the fabric shop and a man in line behind us at the post office! He slept most of the way home - all that lavender-cutting and small-town folk-meetin' wore him out!

We had a great visit and plan to go back again sometime!

T-Bawl

2011-06-19T14:27:00.001-05:00

To say Sam threw a huge fit at this particular playdate would be a major understatement. Not our best day. But I still managed to get a couple of good pics - before the meltdown...

2011-06-07T13:52:00.000-05:00

Sam and I went on a little farewell-for-now tour on Friday. We stopped by my school for the last-day-of-school assembly, visited Mrs. Ellis' library for some flashlight-reading as she was finishing up her last class for the year, then had one last dinner with Daddy, Gram, Pops and Andrew before Andrew goes to Austin for a few months. Not sure how Sam's going to handle not having Andrew to boss around...

Swimming Pooool

2011-06-05T09:02:00.000-05:00

I think this is where you'll find us most of the summer. I wasn't quite sure how Sam would do at the pool this year, but he did great. In fact, he wants to do a lot more than he's ready for, so I have to watch him like a hawk. He loves hanging out in the kiddie pools, which is where we are in these pictures. The fountains are still a big hit (which he still calls "mountains"), and so is the big pool. He still likes for me to give him a "tour", which is just me holding him in the water as we bounce around the big pool, stopping occasionally to jump off any steps we find along the way.The only thing left to do is get Daddy out there!

Summertime Treat

2011-06-05T08:42:00.000-05:00

"Popsicles", he says, "wike Pops". I made several flavors this week - blueberry, peach-mango, and chocolate pudding - and Sam thinks they're pretty cool! I took these pictures the first night we had them, out on the porch before bed. He asked to try the blueberry. They were a little tart, as you can tell from his face!

Triangles

2011-05-30T10:11:00.002-05:00

Triangles.

It's how the cool kids eat their peanut butter sandwiches.

And Then They Handed Him Back

2011-05-26T23:35:00.004-05:00

Today was the last day of school for Sam...and Mama! Sam had a great day, even though it was a little bittersweet saying goodbye to his amazing teachers. He had so much fun this year and learned a lot.

Oh, and he grew. Tall.

Remember the picture on the left? It was taken August 31st, his first day of school. He was just 18 months old. On the right is his picture from this morning, the last day of school, 27 months old.

Where did my baby go?

When I picked Sam up from school on the first day, he'd been crying and looked exhausted, but still wanted to show me his stamp. I still had my camera with me from the morning, so I snapped the pic on the left. I took a similar picture yesterday after picking Sam up from school, and this time he was a much happier - and bigger - boy!

Today was my official last day of school, too. I loved my job, but it will be nice to have a break from the stress of getting Sam ready in the morning, getting him and all of his stuff in the car and to the church on time, and then making the extra little trek to my school!

Come August, though, we'll be ready to be a teacher and a student again!

Greatful for a wonderful school-year for both of us and looking forward to a fun, relaxing summer!

The Dallas Zoo - Our Little Animal

2011-05-24T22:06:00.002-05:00

Our little critter had a great time on his first trip to the zoo! His favorite part? His new wagon!

Please don't feed the animals!!

The Dallas Zoo - Feathers and Scales

2011-05-24T21:54:00.002-05:00

There were those who soar and those who slither. And then there were those who flirt.

Among the birds at the zoo was the owner of this awesome pad, the stork.

And the beautiful, long-legged flamingoes.

Plump little penguins,

and Sam's favorite bird, the Bald Eagle!

In the Butterfly House!

This guy was trying to digest the meal he'd just devoured - ten whole mice!

(they're all sitting in that pouch there, underneath his throat)

And then there was this handsome bird - and old California Condor. He's fifty-eight and loves to flirt!

Some scaly critters...

Mr. Boudreaux, showing off his choppers!

Peek-A-Boo!

The Dallas Zoo - Children's Zoo

2011-05-24T17:40:00.001-05:00

Some of the tamer animals for the little ones!

Best buddies!

A pretty barn owl and a giant bunny. These bunnies can grow to be three feet long and twenty pounds!

Sam and I went into the goat pen with Gram and Pops to pet and feed the goats. One of the goats tried to munch on Pops' shorts! Naughty goat!

Checking out the ponies!

Checking out the fish pond with Gram and Granny.

Best buddies!

The Dallas Zoo - Jungle Critters

2011-05-24T17:39:00.001-05:00

Let's head on into the rainforest! This group was a little more stand-offish, turning their backs to us so we couldn't get pictures of their faces, or just plain going about their business, too busy to give us homo-sapiens the time-of-day. That is, everyone except this colorful fellow, Mr. Mandrill, who was not so much stand-offish, as show-offish. I didn't realize just how "out-there" Mr. Mandrill was when I was photographing him...I promise. It wasn't until I got home and downloaded a large version of the photo on my computer screen that - BAM! - there he was in all his glory. So I covered him up a smidge. This is a family blog, after all.

Granny Nell noticed this gorilla was behaving like any typical male would on a Sunday afternoon: laying around, scratching, wallowing in general laziness. The only thing missing was a tv with some random sport being played on it.

This guy had a friend or sibling with him and they were having fun wrestling with each other, which included some biting and hay-throwing. You can see the jeans and shoes reflection of another zoo-goer in the window. We were close to these guys and their antics were making me a little nervous. About ten years ago a gorilla escaped from the Dallas Zoo and just recently one of these guys threw a rock at one of the viewing windows, cracking at least the inside pane. That's all a little to "wild" for me...

Chimpanzee!

Tortoise. Needless to say, these guys didn't do much.

Crocodile!!

A small rainforest deer - the kiplinger!

Meerkat!

Mr. Tiger, heading off into the jungle for a little rest.

This tortoise was slightly more entertaining.

Some random kid was trying to feed him some bamboo and I got to capture a piece of the "action"

Anteater!

This monkey really showed off his swinging skills for us!

Oh no! Not you AGAIN! Sheesh!

The Dallas Zoo - Savannah Animals

2011-05-24T16:59:00.003-05:00

Get ready for some hungry - and sleepy - animals. These were some of the prettiest animals at the zoo, but also some of the sleepiest. I didn't know lions yawned so much!

The elephants weren't quite as sleepy as the lions. They were all walking around, playing with the hay in their corner of the "savannah". I think elephants seem sweet. They are my second favorite animal at the zoo :) This one looks like she's giving us a sheepish little smile!

Don't worry - I wasn't really this close to Miss Cheetah, I was behind some glass. She just liked walking close to us, showing off her spots!

We took a vote Monday and all agreed the giraffe was the Straka Family Favorite Zoo Animal. These sweet babies came right up to us, looking for food. Some of the kids there were feeding them romaine lettuce, supposedly one of their favorite foods, so I just snapped away. I could have stayed there all day, taking pictures of these guys. There were so sweet.

The lady on the left deserves special mention. Her name is Katie. She's pregnant. And she will be pregnant for *gulp* fifteen months. In a row. And that's not all - she will spend those months standing up, and will continue to stand up right on through, including during the grand finale when her baby will drop to the ground from about six feet up.

Yikes.

Good luck with that, Katie. Better you than me, that's for sure.

One of the giraffes checking out Sam and Gram.

SLURP!!!

This camel was taking a break...

A rhino!

Ha! This zoo speaks my kid's language!

The Cweek!

2011-05-20T09:22:00.001-05:00

Sam and I had a fun playdate yesterday. Several of us "momtogs" and our boys met at a neighborhood creek to let the kids splash around in their rainboots. The water is very clear and shallow and the creek is nestled in a quiet spot, downhill from a walking trail. The only thing missing yesterday was a little sunshine, which would have made for some pretty sparkles on the water. But Sam had a pretty good time, anyway, especially considering we came directly from school when he's often tired and cranky. He was a little reserved in the water, but did wade out into the creek with me and had a great time playing with a stick on the "shore". We'll definitely have to go back to cool down on a hot sunny day this summer!

Lemonade for Sale!

2011-05-18T09:46:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine from our photography group hosted a lemonade stand photoshoot and asked me to help with a few of the details. It turned out really pretty and the kids had fun. Sam was kind of whiny until the very end, then he decided to be a good sport and play lemonade stand for us so we could get some pics!

Dallas Arboretum

2011-05-17T22:31:00.018-05:00

It was a beautiful spring day at the Arboretum. We took Sam to see the fairy tale castles and enjoy the spring blooms!

up close shot of the pollen sacs on his legs!

go bee! make new flowers!

at the first fairy tale house!

picnic lunch

miniature rock garden

the bed from the princess and the pea rapunzel, rapunzel, let down your hair!

a beautiful old tree

throwing pennies in the fountain

resting with Gram - what a day!

Mother's Day

2011-05-14T22:53:00.002-05:00

We had a nice, relaxing Mother's Day this year. Brian got up early to make me breakfast and had Sam bring me a flower from the bouquet he bought, along with a funny card (which was addressed to "Mum"), into the bedroom when I first woke up. "Here you go, Mama", he said!

We enjoyed an awesome breakfast - eggs, sausage, bagels with salmon and cream cheese, juice and coffee - before heading out to meet Gram and Pops for a picnic at Frisco Commons. Andrew, Great-Grandma and my Uncle Brad joined us, too, and we had fun eating lunch and taking a walk in the windy, but pretty weather. Sam was such a patient boy that we finished our day at the park with some time on the giant wooden playground. Sam did the silly stairs with Gram, the swings with Pops and the horsies with Andrew.

Jan and Emil sent me the sweetest card and Nell and I chatted on the phone later that evening. Thanks, too, to Brian and Brad for the flowers. It was fun photographing something new for a change and they look great in the house! The two pictures of Sam at the bottom of the post are from the Mother's Day Tea at Sam's school. His teachers did a great job of celebrating us moms and Sam enjoyed showing me the puzzles he plays with at school!

Easter

2011-05-10T17:43:00.001-05:00

Finally - Easter pictures! A small Easter basket at home, then off to Gram and Pops for another basket and a backyard egg hunt!

Horse Country

2011-05-09T20:31:00.001-05:00

We took a ride to the country recently, to test out Mama's new car. Our neighborhood is just south of an area kind of known as "horse country", so we were hoping to see some horses and pretty ranches. We found some sweet mares, a couple of noisy donkeys, and caught a beautiful sunset on the way home. Oh, and Mama's new car is awesome!

Ribbit

2011-05-09T19:08:00.000-05:00

Sam gets credit for the outfit and the funny face. I can only take credit for the photos!

Central Park

2011-05-09T18:30:00.000-05:00

I took Sam to play with some friends in Central Park last week. Frisco's Central Park, that is. Aside from a few tantrums here and there, Sam had a great time being able to run around without me having to stay right on him. There are huge longhorn and cattle sculptures, fountains, and an outdoor amphitheater. Sam loved walking along the theater "seats" and blowing the pinwheel in the wind.

Sunset

2011-05-08T09:49:00.000-05:00

We took a walk to the neighborhood pond the other night to feed the baby ducks. We stayed for a while and as the sun began to set I snapped some fun silhouette and sun flare shots of the boys. Enjoy!

Ow-side

2011-04-23T17:36:00.001-05:00

We live outside. At least it feels that way right now. Sam does all sorts of things outside - runs through the water wiggle, looks for bugs with his magnifying glass, blows bubbles, sits on (not rides) his tricycle, and plays catch. A lot of his playtime is shared with his neighbor friend, who popped into one of the pictures I was taking of Sam! They beg to play together when they see each other from inside the house. Once outside, they fight like cats and dogs. Ahh, two-year-olds.

I wonder how Sam will handle the heat this summer. Will he want to be outside just as much as he was this spring? Or will he prefer to be inside on this couch like his Mama?

A Visit from Granny

2011-04-23T16:17:00.001-05:00

Granny Nell stopped by this week with some Easter surprises. She brought Sam some fuzzy baby ducks that quack when you squeeze them and some Sesame Street critters. Needless to say Sam was quite happy! She stayed for lunch and had some alone time with Sam while I met with our insurance adjuster and contractor. Sam read her books, and they shared a cookie snack while watching Oswald. What a fun visit!

Happy Birthday Daddy

2011-04-23T15:36:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday, Daddy.

Thanks for taking care of us and always being there for us. We think you're the best and had a great time celebrating YOU!

Farm to Market to Table to Tummy

2011-04-20T09:47:00.013-05:00

Warning: This post contains no Sam pictures. It's tales from the NEST, you know. It's not ALL about Sam.

Who am I kidding. I know it's all about Sam. But there are other birdies in this nest, too! Birdies who like to take pictures of..... vegetables. Lots and lots of vegetables.

I visited the Dallas Farmer's Market with some friends last Saturday while Gram and Pops took care of Sam. We had several reasons for going: to take pictures, to get some yummy local produce, and to have a few child-free hours to ourselves!

We had a great time. There are lots of things to see at the market - plenty of colors and interesting people to watch. I came home with zucchini, new potatoes, tangeloes that tasted like candy, tomatoes, a small pot of Cuban oregano to plant in our herb garden, and one pound of peanuts (in the shell) for Sam! I thought he might like to know where peanut butter comes from. After all, he is peanut butter's biggest fan.

Sunday night I made dinner for Brian and I with some of our market finds. It was delish. We had baked chicken with Crash Hot Potatoes (from the market), seasoned with herbs (from our back garden), and sauteed zuccini (also from the market). It was mighty tasty - I wish we lived closer to the market. We may try the Frisco or McKinney Farmer's Market this summer.

I'll make sure to bring Sam with me and get some pictures of him holding a vegetable or something. Because, you know, it IS all about Sam.

The Night It Was Too Noisy

2011-04-12T15:37:00.017-05:00

The understatement of the year. We had just finished our spring planting. I had just told Brian how nice of a job he'd done on our front yard. I had just said after dinner that evening (despite the weather forecast), "I really don't think we're going to get any of this rain tonight".

And then the wall cloud came in.

Night fell, we all went to sleep (for a little while) and then it started. First, a soft rain shower, quickly followed by a couple of lightening strikes with almost-simultaneous thunderclaps. My first thought: "Oh no. This is going to keep me awake for a while."

Not long after that, the tap-tap-tap of small hailstones started banging against the house. Now I'm really awake. My next thought: "Oh, no. The cars". Almost immediately the storm's intensity increased - significantly. Brian flew out of bed to look out the windows. I flew out of bed and put in my contacts - it was obvious at this point that I needed to be able to see further than six inches from my nose.

I looked out the front window once and could only see my pretty, just-planted hanging baskets whipping around in the wind. I checked on Sam and he was curled up in a ball, snoozing away. Unbelievable! I decided to leave him in his bed, hoping the hail would just suddenly stop. I looked out the back windows and could only see horizontal rain and hail. It got louder and louder and, as Brian later put it, just when we thought it couldn't possibly get any louder, it did. It was the most unbelievable sound. The scariest weather event I've ever experienced. Straight-line winds, 80 miles-per-hour, quarter sized hail coming from the west.

I shouted to Brian "I don't know what to do" (it was hard to hear each other), and then decided at that moment to get Sam and take him to our guest bathroom, which is in the center-most part of the house. Brian got us settled in there and then ran for the laptop so that we could pull up radar and find out how much more of this we had to endure.

I bet we were only in there for another thirty seconds, or so. But it was a scary thirty seconds! Brian said later he was waiting for the roof to fly off the house because it seemed like that was where this was heading next. We were convinced that if there had been a tornado or if the sirens had gone off, there's no way we would have heard them, it was so loud!

The hail finally stopped, the rain went down to just a sprinkle and we took a deep breath! We called Gram and Pops, talked to a friend on the phone, then tried to get some sleep. Sam went down easy, but it took Brian and I a couple of hours to get back to sleep, we were so shaky and sick-to-our stomachs.

The next morning we surveyed the damage. Our bedroom window was broken, our cars dented, my windshield cracked. The flowers were smashed - the leaves that managed to hang on looked chewed-up and the stems were banged up. And the fences - oh the fences! Surprisingly, only one flower pot was smashed, and Sandbox-Turtle made it through without a ding! There were leaves, flowers, glass, plastic and roof pieces everywhere. The sidewalks crunched as you walked! Neighbors reported hail smashing through windows, through wood blinds, and down hallways. One neighbor told us she was up collecting a bucket's worth of hail from her spare bedroom at one in the morning.

Right after Brian left for work, Sam called for me from his bed. I went in his room, he rubbed his sleepy eyes and said, "Mama, it's too noisy!". No kidding buddy, no kidding.

Turns out we needed new cars, a new fence, a new roof, a new window, several new screens and some other cosmetic touch-ups here-and-there. The neighborhood's a mess and still crawling with roofers and contractors looking for business. Brian's been busy talking with our home and car insurance companies. It's amazing how much time and money it will take the community to fix just several minutes worth of storm damage. Fortunately we're all safe and sound and the inside of the house is completely untouched!

2011's been a roller coaster of a year so far. It's only April - here's hoping for a calm and relaxing summer? Please?

outside of fence, west-facing

7:30 am, some hail still left, not yet melted

same side

plenty of hail left, seven hours later with temps in the 50s or 60s...

our bedroom window - we were fortunate, only the outer pane broke, so no glass in the bedroom

other neighbors weren't so lucky

Mama's poor car, facing west, little to block the hail

the windshield cracked a few hours after picture taken

Brian talking to one of many roofers looking for business

we've had a crash-course in roofing standards and construction

we'll learn more in the coming weeks, I'm sure

gotta end with a Sam pic - apparently it's now too sunny!

This is How My Boys Play

2011-04-09T10:12:00.002-05:00

A little backyard fun before the sun set for the day.

Strawberries

2011-04-09T09:41:00.001-05:00

Sam and I were so excited to find a certain something on the clearance rack at Lowes... Five dollars for a strawberry plant that at another Lowes was on for almost seventeen dollars! It was meant-to-be for my little strawberry-loving boy. All our plant needed was one good watering and by the next morning it looked perfect. We're even getting some strawberries! As Sam was inspecting our new strawberries he squished one and picked another. Oops. We had to have a talk about letting the strawberries ripen before picking them. He's done pretty well since then!

How to Entertain a Two-Year-Old Boy

2011-04-09T09:19:00.000-05:00

It's very simple really.

Step One: go outside and turn on water

Step Two: set hose nozzle to "mist"

Step Three: sit back and enjoy the show!