Look out, Daniel Craig.

Sam's Big Night

For one night only...

Tonight, Sam will be running the bases against Wool E. Bull at the DBAP!

We are taking the video camera, so there will be footage.

Dr. Crentist

Sam had his first dentist appointment this morning. I was a little apprehensive about it; if you know Sam then you know he can be a tad bit stubborn. And he was at first... he didn't want to lay back in the chair. But once we got him to relax and lie down, he was great! I couldn't get over how well he did.

The hygienist put these little sunglasses on him to keep the light out of his eyes and she cleaned his teeth. Then the dentist came in and she counted all Sam's teeth and checked out his alignment. He does have a bit of a cross bite, but she said that may fix itself when his molars come in.

I really wanted to get a picture of him in the chair, but Sam was not in a picture-taking mood, and I didn't want to be "that mom."

So here is Sam outside the office before the appointment:

And here he is after, explaining to me that he doesn't need a new toothbrush, since he already has one at home:

You know it's almost Summer when...

Sam gets his warm-weather shearing.

This was him yesterday at lunch...
And then after Daddy got ahold of him...(He didn't want me to take a picture, so this was the best I could do!)

Remember when we did this last year?

Sam in Three Minutes

It's official...

I just received word that Sam is enrolled in the 2 day 3-year old preschool class! His first day of school is September 1.

He's so ready... he's literally wearing the alphabet!

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks, I don't care if I ever get back!

Last Thursday was Opening Day for the Durham Bulls. We were there with our friends the Noells, and we had a blast!

The Bulls beat the Norfolk Tides in what we hope was their first of many wins.

My favorite part of the game was when Sam ate (almost) this entire foot long hot dog. Seriously. Tim and I each had one bite. Sam took care of the rest.

We also got free peanuts, so that was messy and fun.

Tomorrow night we go for game number two, and the first of our mini-plan tickets. We have tickets for nearly every Thursday night game, so that should make for some fun stories this season.

Go Bulls!

A bit overdue...

I just made Sam's first ever dentist appointment! Yay!

Yes, we are a little behind... we failed to add Sam to the dental plan last year, so that's the cause of the delay. Well, that and the hospital stuff. Anyway, we got an appointment for May. He is going to do great! He already brushes twice a day, and the kid even flosses! And by flossing, I mean he will chew on a piece of floss. That counts, right?

You can trust that there will be many pictures. So stay tuned...

Tow Mater

Back when we bought David Ortiz for Sam, we got a second Fathead for free. I just got a "blank" one so that Sam could choose from the larger online selection. We figured he would pick another baseball player or a different sport.

He picked this instead...

Little Slugger

We took this video yesterday...

Field of Dreams

Y'all, we have a problem. Okay, maybe it's not a problem now, but eventually it could end up costing us a lot of money. Our child, Sammer, is just nuts about baseball! I mean, he's three, and he already knows so much about baseball and all he wants to do is play baseball and watch baseball on TV.

Here are a few examples of what I mean:

About a month ago we got the annual magazine from the Durham Bulls. It came in the mail while Sam was napping. When Sam got up I met him on the stairs with the magazine. I said, "Sam, look what came in the mail today." Sam said, "Oh, baseball!" He started walking towards me and then said, "Wait. That's not the Mudcats, is it?" (The Mudcats are a local AA team.) I said, "No, it's the Durham Bulls." "Oh, good. Thanks , Mom!"

And on Thursday I found a Cubs/White Sox game on WGN in the afternoon. So when he got up from his nap and came into the living room, I said, "Sam, if you could watch anything on TV, what would you want to watch?" Without even thinking he said, "Baseball!" I turned the game on and he was tickled. We have a hat from a Cubs game Tim and I went to years ago, so Sam is familiar wit the "C" team and he knows Sammy Sosa plays for them. So we're sitting there watching for a while and Sam looks at me and says, "Wait, the Sox are supposed to be red!" So I explained to him that in baseball there are superior sox and inferior sox. He understood and spent the next five innings pretty happy.

Also, we don't go more than 30 minutes without Sam letting me know who is currently pitching, who is catching, and who is hitting. "Mom, you'll be the batter, I'll be the pitcher and Charlotte will be the hind catcher." Sometimes he'll switch it up and he'll be the batter. Or his imaginary friend Sam Door will be the hind catcher.

So you can imagine our delight when we got an email from the Durham Bulls informing us that Fan Fest was coming up. On March 6th we could go to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP), buy tickets to any regular season game, and then go into the ball park for free food and... wait for it... play on the FIELD! GAH!

Tim came home from work early Friday. I had Sam ready to go with a baseball shirt, his Bulls hat and his glove. Charlotte was also cutely dressed, because she doesn't get out much. Sam was excited.

We got the the ballpark and stood in line to buy a mini-plan pack for all the Thursday night games this season, as well as tickets for the season opener. We got our orange bracelets that granted us admission into the park and we set off. I took Charlotte up on the elevator and we met the fellas up on the main level. The line for food was equally long to the line for tickets. So I told Tim to go ahead and take Sam out to the field while I stood in line for food.

About ten minutes later the guys came back up to get their hot dogs. Sam was crestfallen. He didn't need food! He needed baseball! The wait while Tim got his dog and drink just about put Sam over the edge. Seconds crept along like hours. When I tried to wash his hands with a wipe he started to cry the most pitiful cry... he didn't need clean hands for baseball!

Tim gathered their food and drinks and took off for the field again. Tim might as well have skipped the food. He said the field had a magnetic pull on Sam, and there was no way Sam was going to wait while Dad ate a hot dog! He had to get out there! So Tim set their dogs on top of the dugout and headed for the field.

I have to say that without a doubt, Friday, March 6, 2009 was the best day of Sam's life.

He got to sit in the dugout.

He got to play in the outfield.

He got to stand next to the scoreboard.

And he got to do something he has only dreamed about, talked about and wanted so badly it hurt- he got to wear a batting helmet. Oh. My. Goodness! He was so stinkin' excited about that helmet, he was almost spinning!

So he donned the helmet and took a few swings. Now every batter before him would hit their turns and then hand the bat off to the next guy. But not Sam. He was there to play ball. So he took a few swings and hit the ball really well. Then he hit another ball, slung his bat and ran! The people in the stands behind home plate just howled. Everyone in the place cheered him on as he ran the bases. The kid up to bat next stood back and waited for Sam to run into home. And of course he wanted to slide in! Thankfully Tim was holding his hand so he didn't totally eat it.

Oh, that child did not want to leave. We had to pry him away an hour after the even was supposed to end. He did, however, leave with a new baseball jersey.

And he did finally eat that hotdog.

Charlotte gave up.

I don't know how we will keep him off the field when we go to the games, but for sure we will have a great time.

Takin' Us to School

Sam is at that age where his brain is just a little sponge. He is so good at learning and memorizing new things.

We have been praying scripture over him and with him at night, and he quickly memorized those prayers. He can say Zephaniah 3:17 and a version of Colossians 3:12-14 that includes specific words about Sam. It's the sweetest thing to hear him speak these words of scripture.

The day of the inauguration it was snowing out, so we watched the festivities most of the day. By the end of it, Sam couldn't stop talking about "Brockobama." And he just loves that he recognizes our president and can say his name. Sam even recognizes President Obama's voice on the radio. So Tim and I took this new found excitement and began learning all the presidents with Sam. He quickly caught on and as of this morning he can name 14 presidents (the first 11, George W. Bush and Barack Obama).

Tim and Sam had been using the Internet to look at pictures and learn names of the presidents, and then last week I found giant president flash cards on clearance at Barnes & Noble. Sam loves to look at the pictures, and he can name the men by their picture, both in order and mixed up.

But the funniest thing happened last night. Tim and Sam had memorized through number 10, John Tyler. So we were in the car heading home from dinner and Sam asked to do the presidents. He and Tim went back and forth, naming Washington to Tyler. Then Sam asked us who number 11 was. We didn't really know. So I guessed Zachary Taylor. Tim thought I may be right. Sam piped up from the back and said "No, it's James K. Polk!" We laughed.

When we got home Tim checked the deck, and sure enough, James K. Polk was our 11th president. Zachary Taylor is number 12. Smarty Pants.

Even more fun in the snow...

My feet got so cold yesterday! So as soon as things thawed out today, Mama took me to get some boots. Wouldn't you know, they had Steve (Lightning) McQueen boots! My lucky day!

Lotsa Snow

Mama and I had fun playing in the snow for a little bit. Until that dog came and tried to eat Kitty Pants. But overall, we had fun, and Kitty is resting in the garage with treats and blankets. She didn't get hurt, just a little shaken up.

It's cold outside, but it's fun in here!

Me and Mama have been making the most of our forced indoor time.

We made sock puppets today. I named them Jello and Pudding. Mama has deemed their nationality British, since they were free "gifts" from British Airways. Their hair is still setting, so I'll have to wait until later today to do a show. Mama says we can do whatever, as long as it doesn't interfere with her watching American Idol tonight.

I also stay in my pajamas longer when it's like today. I mean, why bother gettin' in pay clothes if I'm not going anywhere? Today I stomped around in Mama's warm ugly shoes. She says some people actually wear these shoes in public! She just wears them around the house cause they're so warm and furry inside.Charlotte and I did some cuddling in her crib today. I always want to get in there, and today I did!
I've also been reading a ton of books and painting with my water colors. Mama lets me use her good brushes. She said she always hated paining with those silly brushes that come in the sets.

And I have been cooking up a storm on the new stove.

I was up three times last night, just checking to make sure Mama and Daddy were in their bed. They were, every time! But anyway, I am a tired boy today, so I'm going to nap now.

Catch ya later!

Sous Chef

Some friends of ours gave us a gift card to Pottery Barn after Charlotte was born. I have been on that website over and over, trying to decide how best to use it.

I was looking at all the pretty dresses, but I hated to get something that Charlotte would only be able to wear a few times. I looked at stuff for her room, but it's hard to find things that really go with the color pallet in there. Then I checked out the toys in an effort to find a little something that she would enjoy for a while.

And there I found the cutest little red stovetop that you can set on a counter or table top. And it was on clearance! So I also ordered the little matching pot and pan set.

Two days later, it "fell out of the sky," according to Sam. (Any time a box appears on our doorstep, the sky is its place of origin...)

And he hasn't stopped playing with it since. Sam has been my little sous chef for a while now, helping me mix up brownies, pancakes, macaroni and cheese, and anything else that can be prepped at the island. But I think he likes the red stove better than the real thing. I kid you not, he stood in a chair at the island for over an hour the first day we had the stove, and he has spent hours at it on the kitchen table every day since.

His specialty is bean "pancakes." He'll make you some the next time you're here.

Needless to say, we will be getting years of fun out of this little red stove. It's way better than a frilly monogrammed dress.

The Sous Chef's shirt is provided courtesy of Uncle Jeffrey.

Question:

Who has two thumbs, eats cereal, and turns FIVE months old today?

This one!

Oh, I know, I'm not as funny as Sam, but I'm gettin' there.

But if you want to see funny, take a gander at how I'm dressed today. I don't want to say out loud who dressed me like this, but his name is on my shirt. Hee hee.

I'm still sick. Mama says it will probably take me a few days to get better, since my little body has to work harder than most. But I am still in a happy mood. Even when I throw up on two pairs of Daddy's pajamas over the course of one bottle. Love ya, Daddy!

Last night Sam and I had a serious discussion about the merits of solid food over formula. He seems to know what he's talkin' about. (He had just come inside from helping Daddy put lights on a tree. Doesn't he look handsome in that hat? And don't worry, he took that nose strip off before bed. He just loves those things. I don't get it. But now I'm ramblin'...)

I gotta go take a nap now. I am just so sleepy these days...