July and August

Well, summer is coming to an end and I can honestly say this has been the best summer of my life. I have had so much fun with Samuel, family, and friends. I really don't feel like summer flew by like it usually does and I am thankful for that. Here are some highlights from our second half of summer:

We took lots of walks to go see the ducks.

We did several activities at home to avoid the heat. We played with cornmeal, jello, and cool whip. Messy but fun!

We swam, swam, and swam some more!!

We tried lots of new foods from hamburgers to watermelon to cherries...there is not much that the little man won't eat!!

We played and played and played!!!

We spent time with Uncle Rob, Nana, Granddaddy, and Granny. Such fun!

We learned to play the piano and the harmonica!!

We are in the process of watching "Shark Week" with our little shark.

Here are some things that Samuel is up to these days:

Talking- He is still just saying a few words: mama, dada, cheese, dog, I think he can say hi and I think he tried to say banana this morning. He makes animal noises for a lion (roar), monkey(oooh ooooh aaaah aaah), duck (cack cack), and pig (tries to snort).

Walking- Samuel finally took his first steps on Saturday, August 4th. We were at the ACU Welcome Center in Abilene and he took 3 steps! Since then, he has taken several steps a day. We're still waiting for him to do some real walking.

I am so sad for summer to end but I have to keep thinking of the fun we had. AND, the fun doesn't stop just because I'm working!!



4th of July and Splash Park

We had a fun 4th of July with the Irby/Driscoll clan. Some of Matthew's family has a lakehouse out past Gainesville so we went there for the day. We played, jet-skiid, and ate!

 Here is Sammy taking a nap with Daddy before we left.

 Sammy loved the dogs! He can say "dog" now and would say it anytime he played with them.

 Had to get a nap in during all the excitement!

 Out on the dock

 Believe it or not, this is the best pictures I got of the two of them playing!!

 Outpaw with his grandbabies



We've just discovered the splash park down the street from us. Samuel loves it!!

We sure are enjoying our Summer!!

Sammy's Birthday Party

Samuel had such a great birthday party! His/our friend and family came and we had so much fun! We swam and played in the sprinklers, ate mini burgers and hotdogs, ate cake and cupcakes, and opened presents.

Here are some of the decorations: Baseball cupcakes and baseball glove cake

This is a banner that went around the bar in our kitchen. It had pictures for every month from when Samuel was a newborn until now.

Matthew cooked sliders and mini hotdogs. They were delicious!

 Here's our one year old the morning of his birthday.

Here's our big boy digging into the cake. He had really never had sweets before, and he LOVED it!! Needless to say, he got it EVERYWHERE!!

Here we are opening presents. Man, Samuel got so many toys and cute outfits!!

It was a great day!!

Christ in Youth Camp

We went to Durango, Colorado with our youth group for camp last week. The kids rode a charter bus through the night, but we drove ourselves. On Friday, we stopped in Abilene and spent the night. Saturday morning we drove all the way to Durango and spent the night in a hotel. Then Sunday the fun began with the youth.

We had a wonderful week praising God, making new friends, enjoying meaningful Bible studies, and just having fun! I'll let the pictures tell the rest:

 Samuel had no idea what he was in for!!

 Pit stop at the Santa Rosa dam

 Driving right up to a wildfire...scary feeling

 Sammy and Daddy admiring the train

 Samuel and Daddy with an astronaut!

 Worshipping

 Samuel with his new buddy, Durango.

 Ah oh, Mommy took away the ice cream!!

 Beautiful!!

 Our precious girls

 We spent the night in Amarillo on the way back and made a trip to the zoo. Samuel loved looking at the animals.

It was a wonderful trip and Samuel did an amazing job. I'm sure there are many more camp trips in his future!!

12 Months!!

Oh my goodness, I have so much blogging to do! I'm going to try to get it all done this week but we'll see!!

Our little man turned ONE YEAR OLD on June 18th. In some ways, it's crazy that it's been a year since he was born, and in others it seems like he's been with us for ages. Here are the highlights of Samuel's 12th month:

First off, we moved into our new house this month!

 Samuel enjoys getting into "his" cabinet and playing with the plastic containers.

 Samuel has climbed across every inch of this house! We pretty much have it baby-proofed and it's nice that he can explore.

 Samuel's room. We love it!!

Samuel and Daddy playing in the backyard.

 Next, Samuel took his first swim class this month! He LOVES the water!! Samuel learned how to kick, splash, "float" on his tummy and back, blow bubbles, and "jump" off the side to Mommy or Daddy. Here is our little swimmer with his Daddy.

And here we are at the baby part of the Carrollton pool. They have all sorts of splash toys and a lazy river! We love it!

Here Samuel is jumping into the pool to Daddy.

We enjoyed getting snowcones after swim class on some nights. I think Sammy like raspberry flavor best!

 Our little man got his hair cut for the first time this month! It was on June 16th at Cool Cuts for Kids. He did a fabulous job! He loved sitting in the little car and chewing on the little gown they had him wear. Doesn't he look handsome???

 We have also enjoyed some good cousin play time this month. Samuel and Hannah love each other and enjoy "playing" together. This is only the beginning of cousin craziness!!

At Samuel's 12 month appointment on June 19th, he weighed 22 lbs, 12 oz (55th percentile) and was 29 3/4 inches long (50th percentile).

He is wearing 18 month clothes.

He can say mama, dada, cheese, and go.

He is cruising along furniture all the time. I'm pretty sure he would be able to walk on his own if he tried, but he really isn't interested yet. It won't be long, though.

Samuel loves to play "peek-a-boo", stack and unstack blocks, swim, go for walks outside, and just be free.

Samuel doesn't like to be cooped up for long, to get his diaper changed (seriously, he fights it and screams when I put him on his back!! I'm ready for this phase to be over!!), or to be away from mama.

He will eat pretty much anything we put in front of him. Some favorites are cheese, bread, watermelon, strawberries, bananas, and ice cream:)

We LOVE our little man!! I am so happy to be spending the summer with him!!

Next up: Samuel's first birthday party and camp!