Eggs-tra Special Easter

Easter at our house started off with a few fun surprises. First, I decided to make carrot-raisin muffins - from scratch. This is quite a big deal since I am a notorious box-baker. Second, the Easter Bunny broke into our house overnight and left Samuel a basket of goodies. That sneaky little rabbit didn't make a peep, but he did leave a few! ;-)

Samuel's basket had only a little candy in it. There was also a huge Brobee pillow (from his favorite show, Yo Gabba Gabba), two Sesame Street books about spring and Easter, a Little Golden Book about Bible heroes, and a blue stuffed bunny. Nana & Grandpa's gift, a set of stuffed lambs, was also out for him to see.









He really took to the lambs and carried them around for a while.







He also enjoyed the Sesame Street stickers that came with his Easter card from Mom & Dad.



My muffins were a hit! I made them extra healthy (or extra lame as Allen said) with hardly any sugar so I was glad they tasted so great.



Unfortunately, Sam Sr. and Sam Jr. had to head back to Albuquerque mid-morning so they weren't able to enjoy our Easter feast or festivities. They even missed the 2nd Annual Graham Family Indoor Egg Hunt.



The eggs were filled with some of Samuel's favorite snacks including yogurt pretzels and raisins, dried fruit, honey wheat pretzels, marshmallows and graham cracker sticks (also deemed lame by Allen). Once Samuel realized that these eggs contained delicious delicacies he stopped frequently to indulge.











Overall, he was a great egg-hunter and only needed occasional hints.











Next, we sat down to a big ham dinner which also included green beans with bacon, scalloped yukon gold and sweet potatoes, and fresh pineapple.





To round out our day of celebration, we dyed hard-boiled eggs. We let Samuel handle all the tough decisions like what color each egg should be, how it should be painted and where the stickers should be placed.











Except for on the one that Daddy "helped" decorate.



Daddy decided to decorate more than just eggs.







I feel that he fulfilled his creative vision and in the end we had 5 egg (and 1 baby) masterpieces.



The eggs looked good enough to eat, literally!





We may have engaged in some of the more "secular" traditions of the holiday but we never forgot the true reason for celebration - He is risen! So at the end of the day we shared some books with Samuel about Jesus and the meaning of Easter. We also read the Easter story from his beginner Bible. It was a beautiful day!

The Thrill of the Hunt

We had a very special surprise this weekend when Sam Jr. and Sam Sr. decided to drive up to Cheyenne to celebrate Easter. It's always fun to have the 4 Samuel Allen Graham's together!

The base community center was hosting their annual Easter Egg Hunt for children and we were excited to take Samuel now that he is old enough to actually "hunt" eggs. I took him last year too, but unless the eggs were within leaning distance he wasn't able to get to them. This year was much more fun.

When Grandpa first arrived Samuel had to show him all of his favorite toys.



At the egg hunt Samuel could hardly wait to get behind the ropes! We even had to pull him back a few times when he snuck under.







Family photo time!









He loved his jelly bean pinwheel and was trying very hard to blow and make it spin.





He did a great job picking up eggs and putting them in his robot basket, until he realized that there were prizes inside. Then he wanted to open them all up right away!









His favorite prize was the stickers and he made sure everyone saw them.





Once his basket was full he helped fill his friend Charlotte's.





Next we headed outside for a visit with the Easter bunny, treats and the bounce house.






At home we opened all of the eggs. Inside one there was a car - even better than the stickers! Another had bubbles which was also a thrill.










Here he is playing peek-a-boo by hiding his eyes behind eggs.



Such a happy little guy!

Wordless Wednesday: He's Crafty!

Scholarly Samuel (20 months)

It is so fun to watch Samuel learn something new. It doesn't always happen immediately, but when all the pieces finally fit we all get very excited!

This month he has been demonstrating all kinds of new knowledge. He is repeating the alphabet, recognizing numbers and starting to speak in short 2-3 word sentences. Also, his vocabulary is growing by several words a week. There have been many occasions when I have been stunned by something he says or does and how he much he comprehends and is able to show or tell me.



We have enjoyed every moment of Samuel's life but I have to say that personally, these "toddler" months have been the most fun. I love that he is able to communicate and share his thoughts and desires with me. I especially love all of the fun things we are able to do together like act silly, tickle, wrestle, run and climb. I even love when he is exploring (tearing apart) the house and getting into everything. He is such an active part of our household now and contributes so much lively energy. It is infectious and life is certainly never dull with him around!

Below are some examples:

New words - tickle, park, careful, toast, stinky (which sounds like sti-sy), baby, potty, hello, soap, excuse me, fruit, show, he, she, bus, truck, boat, chair, peas, toe, get down, play, apples, diaper, go, please, sheep, car seat, ice cream, eat, tea, straw, stove

New signs - fish, bunny, scared, bath, chicken

He loves to listen to how sound comes through the monitor. He often hears voices or music so he will hold it and dance or say "Da-da" even when it isn't turned on.

He is becoming interested in the potty. He likes to flush and even sat on it for the first time.

He uses the knob to close doors that are open.

He is able to repeat the entire alphabet when prompted although some of his letters sound the same or aren't entirely recognizable.

If you name his body parts he will wash them with the sponge in the bath.

He recognizes all the Yo Gabba Gabba characters and can say "Foofa, Plex and Brobee."

He loves to play in water and really enjoys bath time. He will his mouth in the water and blows bubbles, he likes to float and kicks his legs when you tell him to "swim."

His favorite snack is honey wheat pretzels. I always have a baggie stashed in my purse to keep him happy and entertained every where we go.

He likes me to pull his toy dog "Snoopy" around downstairs. We hold hands and make a big loop. If I stop and encourage him to pull the leash he gets upset. It's only fun if I pull.

He tucks in his top lip and sticks out his bottom lip when he is concentrating.

He recognizes all the colors of the rainbow by pointing and will identify red, yellow, blue and green & brown if you ask him to pick something up that is that color.

He says "mmmmm" when he's hungry or wants food/snacks he sees (and boo boo).

When asked to say his name he says "me."

He points to pictures in magazines and calls the people Ma-ma or Da-da, which is very flattering when he picks a supermodel or famous actor!

He always closes the baby gate and shuts the latch when it's open.

He asks about Da-da all day when hes at work and likes to talk to him on the phone. He will tell me to "get Dada", then at the end of the call he will kiss the phone and say "bye bye Da-da."

He tries to sing the ABC song along with us.

He is able to pull his wagon (instead of just pushing like he used to).

He can climb into his highchair and car seat by himself.

He says "I need Ma-ma" when he wakes up and wants me to put him back to sleep.

He is able to identify some of the Sesame Street characters like Elmo, Ernie and Cookie Monster (who he calls Cookie Elmo).

He says "I T.V." and tries to use the remote control to turn it on when he wants to watch a show (oops!).

He is becoming more aware of his bodily functions and will even say "I poop" before or right after he goes.

He blows kisses and says "mwah."

He gives closed mouth kisses and is more generous with them - even dad!

He loves when I sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider with hand motions and does the spider part with me. Also likes Little Bunny Foo Foo and does the bopping the field mice on the head motion with me.

He is able to sort like objects.

Our Tortured Artist

It won't surprise me at all if in a few decades Allen and I are attending a gallery opening for our firstborn son. Samuel is already so interested in art. He absolutely loves to draw (scribble) with his crayons and colored pencils.

I keep them stored on the top of his toy shelf, out of his reach, and several times a day he will stand there with his little arm up, reaching for them. Once I give him a few crayons he will lay in the floor happily coloring in his drawing tablet. As soon as he moves on to the next activity I pick up the crayons and put them away (since he's been known to also "leave his mark" on things like the T.V., toys, and the floor). Then, before I know it he is asking to "ca-l" again!

Today we thought it would be fun to let him explore his artistic talents in a different medium - paint! The other day I picked up a set of watercolors, paintbrushes and finger paints so he could have some fun getting messy. Mission accomplished!

He really enjoyed using the brushes to paint but one wasn't enough. He had to use them all at the same time.







Allen and I took turns showing him how to dip his brush in the paint and then make strokes on the paper, but he didn't need our help. He was a natural. His favorite part was dipping the brush in the water after he was done with a color. We eventually had to take the cup away so he would stop splashing and focus on painting.





We tried the finger paints but he wasn't crazy about getting his hands dirty. He would touch the paint and then immediately wipe it on my old shirt that he was wearing. Besides, it was much more fun to use the brushes to paint.



After creating his own masterpiece he worked on painting a picture of Spongebob Squarepants.







It soon became "nap time" so we started to clean up. That did not go over well at all. He fussed and cried and did not want to stop painting. Daddy had to carry him literally kicking and screaming to the bath upstairs. It seems that he has the big emotions and sensitive nature to become the perfect artist. Since watercolors are his medium of choice I have to wonder: could we be raising the next Monet?

Wordless Wednesday: Huck Finn

Ivy Ca-tat-a-puss

We have two cats, Winston and Ivy, although you would never know it. Winston has been terrified of Samuel since the day we brought him home so we don't see him much anymore. He stays in the "kitty safety zone," also known as the basement. That leaves one cat for Samuel to adore or terrorize, depending on the day.

Ivy has a very easygoing personality so, for the most part, she enjoys Samuel's attention. Lately, after months of discussions about being gentle with kitty, he has started petting her properly. He still occasionally tries to poke her eyes out but she is nimble and adept at avoiding his prodding fingers. His newest interaction with her is to give her kisses. Awww!

He has also learned to say her name, which sounds like I-wie. Sometimes, when he is laying in the floor coloring, she will come and lay next to him. Allen likes to use the opportunity to prompt Samuel to point out all of her body parts. He can find all of her facial features, legs, arms, tummy and even her tail.

They seem to have a love-hate relationship that is mostly love, although some days Samuel will decide it's much more fun to chase either cat out of any room they try to enter. He usually runs after them while also yelling at the top of his lungs. He even likes to tell them "NO!" for unknown reasons. I assume he picked that up from watching our attempts to keep them off the couch. Now that he has mastered touching gently I guess it's time to work on speaking gently!