New Pictures!

I have uploaded pictures from my book club trip to the beach in Washington and all of the pictures from our vacation to New Jersey. They include a trip to Ocean City, Lianna's birthday, and a couple of parties. Fun! Check them out. Sorry I didn't have time to adjust the redeye on some of them before I put them up. The above picture of Helene and Sam is one of my favorites from the whole trip!

More from the big NJ

Ah... it's now 10:12 at night and Sam has been in bed for an hour. He went down tonight without crying at all for the 2nd night in a row - wonderful! He only took a nap for a little over an hour today, so he must have been really tired. I spent the last hour with Lianna. She showed me her webkinz online pets and it's crazy and complicated and cool. Then she played a little on her new Quantum LeapPad and I helped her with spelling. She is a really cool little girl.

Yesterday Lianna turned 9! I can hardly believe it's been 8 years since we met Dad and Helene at the airport and watched them walk of the plane with this beautiful little baby - it was love at first sight. I remember holding her that summer as she slept against my shoulder and being amazed at what a wonderful feeling it was. Also one of my favorite things with Sam. There's just something about that closeness and providing a soft place and comfort to this little person. Anyhow, she's 9 now and in the 4th grade. We all went and picked her up from school yesterday and went to the music store to get her big birthday present - a guitar! She loved it and was surprised. I guess in this school district all the kids learn to play guitar in 5th grade so she'll get a head start. Kira and I gave her a CD, a DVD and some books, plus a kit to make a stepping stone for the yard. Kira cooked a vegan cake so we could ALL eat it together and it was delicious. I think the whole day was nice. Her birthday party is tomorrow - it's a roller skating party! Then we're having a party in the back yard where a local band is going to come and play, that should be fun.

Yesterday morning I went to the park with one of the neighbors who has a kid in 2nd grade but also has a 18 month old and a 3 year old. It was really fun, and we ran into another parent that I know who is a friend of my Dad and Stepmom. So, that was fun. Sam got up really early (6:45) so he fell asleep in the stroller on the way home. Last night he went to bed without even crying and slept the whole night in his crib again - he even woke up once and I managed to get him back in his crib, which doesn't always work when we're not at home. Today he got up early again (7:00) and only took an hour nap, so he was exhausted by bedtime and went to bed without crying again! He is just doing so well here, it's really great.

We had an exciting moment this morning! Sam walked into the dining room and there was a garbage bin in there with Spongebob Squarepants on it. Sam walked up and was messing with it and suddenly said "Bob. Bob bob." I was shocked! I said to my stepmom, I think he just said Spongebob! Later when I went upstairs to change his diaper I showed him a clock with a little Spongebob figurine on it to see if he'd say it again, and he did! I love it when he just pulls random words out.

Sam is really into eggs currently. This morning for breakfast he ate more than 2 eggs! He hasn't been very into the waffles this week, but he will chow down on eggs. Also last night we had spaghetti and fake meatballs and he ate the spaghetti too! I just cut it up into smaller pieces and he loved it.

Well, that's the update! Tomorrow is a big day, so I think I'll sign off for now! I won't be able to get pictures up tonight, but will try to get it done over the weekend.

Greetings from Scenic New Jersey

I'm back! It hasn't been long, but we've sure been busy. I've got lots of pictures from our book club trip and from our trip to New Jersey (so far) and I'm going to try to work on getting them uploaded tonight.

I'm sitting in the living room at my Dad's house in Flemington, New Jersey right now typing this on my laptop. Sam's been asleep for about 45 minutes, and he got up early today (7:00), so he might even nap for over 2 hours if I'm lucky! We're working on getting the house neatened up for the party tomorrow.

We have had tons of fun during this trip so far, and it's so fun to watch Helene with Sam. She loves him so much, she's such a good Grandma. We also had a loss in the family recently, Helene's mother died only a couple of weeks ago, so I think it's a really great time for us to be visiting and hopefully Sam is spreading some happiness. Lianna turned 9 yesterday and she is adorable with Sam. She helps watch him and plays with him and talks to him. This morning she was reading him a book, and it was really cute.

So, we arrived to the house at about 10:00 pm last Friday. Kira, Sam and I all flew together and had seats together. My Dad used frequent flier miles to upgrade us to first class, and boy am I glad. If we'd been in coach his car seat would not have fit into the plane seat, and that would have been really hard trying to keep him in once place. The first flight was Seattle to Minneapolis and Sam was awake most of the flight, but slept for about 20 minutes. We had a 2 hour layover so Sam was able to run around all over the gate area and airport while Kira and I chased after him and he could get some energy out. On the 2nd flightit was a little harder because even though the flight was only 2 hours, we sat on the plane for an hour before taking off because of mechanical difficulties. Sam was a little fussy during that time, but didn't scream or cry or anything. Boy am I glad that Justin bought the portable DVD player though. I wouldn't have bought one, but it really saved the day. He was so overtired by the 2nd flight I just wanted him to take a nap, and I was able to put on Blue's Clues for him to have him focus on something while he got sleepy.

Saturday morning we got all packed up and drove down to Ocean City to stay at my Aunt's beach house for a few days. On Sunday and Monday we went to the beach and Sam had a great time. Sunday he slept for a couple of hours on the beach, which was nice. Monday he just ran around and had fun. We both got a little burned, so we decided to just stay at the house Tuesday morning and hang out and take our time packing up to come back to Flemington. Sam's done really well with the time change and since the 2nd day we were here he's been going to bed at his normal bedtime. The last 2 days he's woken up quite early, yesterday at 6:45 and today at 7:00, but he slept in his crib all night both of those nights which was awesome because I got the bed to myself. Sam had a great time at the beach, and so did I! The water was just awesome, it was warm and the waves weren't too big. I got to float around by myself or with Kira out in the ocean while Helene and Lianna played with Sam. Sam loved the sand, although he just had to taste it every once in a while, and he went in the water a little bit, maybe up to his knees and then I also sat in the water with him on my lap so I could lift him up a little if a higher wave came. We also got to see Matt and Erica (just married cousins) who are expecting a baby in January and just found out it's a girl! I'm excited that someone else is adding a little one to the next generation of our family. We also got to visit with my other cousins, Laurie and Emmy, and see Aunt Barb, Aunt Ann, and Grandmom. We just had a good time, and I was so happy when Emmy and Ann came down for the day on Monday so we could see them since I didn't think they were coming.

Tuesday afternoon we headed back to Flemington. Sam was good in the car both ways, just a tiny bit fussy for the last 10 minutes of the trip home, no big deal. Lianna was in the back seat with him, so she helped entertain him and give him some snacks. Wednesday was Lianna's first day of fourth grade, and we just hung around. Kira and I walked down to main street and got coffee at a shop there and went into a few of the stores.

Oh, I gotta go - Sam is awake, way too early! More later on tonight hopefully.