Having fun!

 Sam loves to crawl into his highchair, even if he isn't hungry and he always gets stuck. It doesn't seem to bother him. I think it's cute. In fact he'll play with play dough or eat a meal with his leg sticking out like that, totally content.

 Sam and I went to this awesome kid's play gym place called Wacky Tacky with a friend and had so much fun! I know the balls are for throwing but Sam found a more creative way to play with them.

 I hope you can see Sam's huge smile through the netting. He was just in complete rapturous joy when we got there. He would just smile as big as he could and yell "Nanna!" every once in a while.

One of Sam's best friends is Addy and boy do we love going over to her house. When we drive up Sam points and yells "dogga, dogga". He knows there are animals everywhere. He loves the chicken coupe. He can't quite get his mind around them

 I like this picture...caught off guard as he investigates.

 

We went to this amazing park in Sacramento called Fairytale Town. It is perfect for toddlers who just want to roam. Everything is themed like a fairytale. It's a cute idea.

 

 Sam roamed a lot. In fact he roamed right into the moat that surrounded the park. It was the most disgusting part of the moat as well. He was so unbelievably drenched. I asked up front if they had any towels and they suggested using napkins from the bathroom..Well that really wasn't going to cut it, so we just stayed for a another hour until he was more on the damp side. He wasn't bothered by it and continued having fun, which is all that matters.

I love this area. There is so much scenery. They have a lot of bike paths as well. They are great places for exploring and to do more of that toddler roaming which Sam is so good at. I am trying to get to know every inch of this area so I can be a pro explorer with all my other kids. Sam is a great adventure buddy.

A another great week!

Sam and I have had a great week. Is it just my imagination or is he getting really big a little too fast? He likes to walk up and down the stairs by himself. He has to use the railing, of course. I think it's pretty impressive.

Don't ask me how this happened. I didn't put his diaper on this way, I only noticed later that it got completely contorted. I think this is evidence of Sam's intense play times. He has such a cute bum.

Hank, Sam and I managed to find a little time to be together as a family this weekend. Rocklin city was holding a Car and Chili cook-off fair, so we checked it out. Sam was ga-ga over the cars. He is really into cars (he's such a boy!). He always laughs when I say "vroom!" for some reason. I think might be making fun of my interpretation.

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We didn't participate in the Chili portion of the fair but still got a kick out of the judging table. Firemen, policemen, and the mayor...true Chili experts.

That evening was our Ward's party. Hank couldn't be there so I went to represent the family. They had a lot of fun stuff to do. Sam was in serious play mode the whole time. Every time I turned he was gone and I would find him cascading among rocks, eating sand, getting into people's faces or sobbing because he got hurt or fell. He is hard to keep up with!

My little social butterfly. He particularly liked the taste of this sand.

After the third and most dramatic fall, Sam was pretty upset. These guys calmed him down. It was pretty cute.

On to another fun and exciting week with my little Sam who as you could probably tell is my life right now. He brings me so much joy and satisfaction. 

Labor day and an amazing boy

Hank, Sam and I had a very fun Labor day. We spent the morning meandering along a bike trial near our apartment. I love living somewhere new, there are so many new things to discover. We really wanted to visit Folsom Lake but we were warned about the crowds so we found a back trail that came off of a residential area and fortunately it was perfect. Enough boats to keep Sam excited but still lots of space to explore. Sam loved the boats and now when he sees a picture of a boat he goes off in gibberish.

Here we are off the beaten path, trying to find a way to the lake. A fun little adventure.

We are so blessed to live near McKay and LaRee (Hank's uncle and Aunt) and their kids. They invited us over to another family's house for Labor day festivities. We swam, we played ping-pong, we chatted, we laughed, we ate BBQ and home-made ice cream...really what more could you ask for?

I know everyone thinks their kid is the most amazing, but really, my kid is :) Here we are at a storytime geared towards babies and toddlers. So we arrive and Sam jumps out of arms and starts exploring everything. He reads books that have been put out, he is climbing on chairs, crawling under tables, touching kids faces and testing to see how close he can get to the story tellers. I think nothing of it since that is usual behavior for my little one, until I notice that every other kid is sitting with their moms'. It took a while for the rest of the toddlers to start exploring. I was pretty proud to see him acting so confident in an unfamiliar environment.Well, there you go...Sam is so amazing.

I know this is silly but lets just add it in for fun okay!

Sorry about the belly shot, but really I couldn't resist. Sam is pals with his Dad, it's just so sweet.

A quick update

 

Sam is continuing to establish a relationship with the neighbors' cats. This one particular cat will come up to Sam and sprawl out waiting for a scratch. Sam usually just pulls his ears or hits him quickly. I wonder how long it will take before the cat realizes Sam's not quite getting it.

It is almost laughable how family-oriented the Roseville/Rocklin area is. There are like 6 libraries (of which I know of) in a 20 minute radius of where I live. Every library has a play area with toys, easels and other sorts of things. I feel like every store has a 'Thomas the Tank Engine' table set up. There is also a story-time going on somewhere, sometime everyday...even if that place is Pottery Barn (no joke). Sam and I have been having a blast discovering this community together.

Here we are at a shopping center where a festival (of course) was going on. Sam loved the water show.

I wish I would have gotten more pictures of the festival. They had a big kids area with rock climbing and face painting etc. Sam just walked around in awe. He was pretty darn excited about the car show. As you can tell he is dying to take this one out on the road.

He is growing up so fast!