Fun times

Sam, you have something on your head.

 No you do!

Charlie comes over every morning for an hour or so before Jack goes to school so we can all head off to preschool together. The boys just love hanging out together. That is, when Sam isn't pushing Charlie. He's tough for such a little guy. I think he was only 10th percentile for height and 6th for weight at his 18 month check up, but what he lacks in size he makes up for in 'tude.

Sam is getting so big!

Every day, Sam just seems so much older and more mature. Here he is after his first painting experience with Jack. He had a blast and didn't even get too much paint in his mouth.

One of his favorite things to do is get on daddy's skateboard. We often walk into the room to find him like this...

Somehow he's gotten the notion that when someone takes your picture you should smile like this. It's his "cheese!" face.

cheese!

Pure Sam

This pic is blurry and has a yucky pic of my knee in it (or something.. can't quite figure it out), but I wanted to post it because it's just pure Sam-- smiling, cheesy, and happy. This is the face he always gives me when he knows I'm taking his picture. You can also see the nice spot where he's missing his bottom tooth...

Cupcakes!

Jack and Sam went to a birthday party last weekend and enjoyed some very yummy cupcakes.

 Look how big he's getting!

An Oldie but a Goodie

I found this pic that some friends took one day we were down by the lake by our house... It's probably 3-4 months old, but I just love it.

The bro's go skateboarding

Jack and Sam both love to play with dad's skateboards. Lately, they've been getting on them together. Jack holds Sam's feet so we can push them easier.

Here's Sam after he was rolling around and playing with one of dad's skateboards downstairs and the one Heather and Kyle gave us for the Wii. They LOVE it, though we've never turned it on for them with the game.

And finally, here's a pic of Jack when he's at work. We've put him to work, of course, to start earning back all that freaking money we had to spend on diapers. Here he is at his "store" selling things... you know, like dad's sunglasses. It's a racket. 

Enjoying the ride

Sam and Jack have a wonderful nanny, Jessica, who hangs out with them while I go to work. This car/bus/box is one of her great creations for the kids made from the box that one of Jack's birthday presents came in. It's one of the first times they've really played together. As you can tell, Sam was having a blast.

 

These pics were taken at Lakeside, a great, old amusement park a few blocks from us. There is a whole "kiddie park" Jack can ride. Three of the rides, along with this car below, are great for Sam too! It is truly a Denver treasure.

Sam's favorite ride is the cars.

He also loves to hold the tires as the cars go around, which results in this...

Penny's visit

My cousin Penny came for her first Denver visit in August too! We had an absolute blast. One hot day we took a drive up to Evergreen to enjoy the cool breezes.

Sam is walking!

August has been a busy month here. First, Jack decided to give up diapers (after a little bribery with a monster truck). Next, Sam started to walk! It was pretty funny. He wasn't walking in the morning, but after a nice restful nap something must have come to him in a dream because he got up and started walking across the room and has been on the move ever since. He's still doing the "zombie walk" where his hands are out in front of him, but even that is starting to go away and he's just walking like a normal kiddo.

Here's a little video of the boy on the move. It was taken the night after he started walking.

We then got a new "family" car with a third row of seats because we need to take Jack and Charlie to SCHOOL beginning next week. More on that to come, for sure!

Breaking News: Tiny Town Train Crashes!

I can't believe it, but the Tiny Town train crashed a few days ago, tipping over and dumping all of its passengers out onto the ground. Twenty folks were sent to the hospital, 3 in serious condition! Holy moly!

http://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=147973&catid=346

Jack's Third Birthday!

We headed up to Tiny Town for Jack's third birthday bash. He was so excited! If you haven't been there, it's just what it sounds like. It has tons of tiny houses the kids can look in, some they can crawl in, and a train and a playground. It was a hit.

Here's Charlie and Jack at the Harley Davidson house.

Jack was so excited for this birthday mini brownies. He picked them out. Then took one bite and was done. A friend offered him more olives (as a joke, mind you) and he was SO excited. He did the same thing with his ice cream cake later...

Sam prefered rocks. Maybe I could write a new cookbook... "30-minute, kid-friendly meals with olives and rocks." It'll be a best seller.

Dealing with the paparazzi is tough on Jack.

Rock on! The Tiny Town railroad is the best!

Life With Sam

Here's a little video of a few fun times with Sam. What he lacks in gross motor skills, he makes up for in smiles. The head banging might explain a lot though....

Boys Update

Sorry I haven't posted in forever. Things around here have been a bit crazy. For instance, Sam turned one!! What? How did that happen. Since then he's had fun with an MRI (he's fine), beginning to crawl (yay!), and losing a tooth to a rough stair (not so fun).

My sweet boys..

Sam loves his older brother!

MMM... love him so much!!


Jack, on the other hand....

We stayed up in Breck for a few days this winter. Then I separated my shoulder on my first day on the mountain. That wasn't so fun. But we had a blast on the trip.

Grammy came with us and we had a great time around town.

Sam's gotta keep that big head warm somehow.

While he's still not crawling, Sam is standing up all the time. People keep telling me he's just going to start walking one day, but I think he's going to be a late walker too. It's pretty hilarious. But with a smile that big, how can he hold it up to crawl or walk?

ugh and grrrrrr

Jack still loves to wear his shark sweatshirt that we made him for Halloween. The other day we passed a man on the street and Jack turned to him and said, "I'm a shark and I'm going to eat you with my big teeth. GRRR."

Ed also taught him to make a "pirate hook" with his finger and say he's a pirate, GRRRRR.

Scary pirate finger, huh?

Jack also has some pretty hilarious expressions... This is probably a time when he was whinning about going out. He's a bit of a homebody and loves to just stay home and "play for a little bit." Or maybe this was the time he was so upset we were going to the zoo. It's a bit disturbing.

Painting our window trim with Grammy.... had to be done naked, of course.