It's a...GIRL!!!!!

We found out that we're having a baby GIRL!!! The due date is May 3rd and everything looks good. We are super excited to have a little girl (even though Ben thought for sure we were having a boy)! When I asked Samuel which he would prefer (the night before we went in for the ultrasound)...a little brother or little sister, he just calmly said, "no". The poor boy is absolutely CLUELESS that his life is going to change drastically in a matter of months. Here she is with one of her hands by her head. Name still to be determined...

Playing in the snow!

We got about 3 inches of snow last night. We bundled up Samuel and then he couldn't move. He seriously could not walk up the stairs so I had to carry him! He enjoyed the snow. At first he was a little unsure of it but once Ben started making snowballs, he LOVED it! Now every time it snows, I'm sure that he will ask to play in the snow!

Brushing teeth in the dark?

Samuel LOVES to brush his teeth. Multiple times throughout the day he'll say "Teeeeeeth!" This time he figured out that he can reach the light switch.

Dancing to Sesame

Samuel loves to dance to the Sesame Street Theme Song! He just loves to dance. period.

Shapes, Colors & Animals

Because he's just SO cute, plus I need to do the typical mother bragging...

Samuel is getting so big these days! He loves to learn new things. When he looks at pictures of animals, colors & shapes, he'll tell you what they are. He waits for us to acknowledge that he said it correctly & for us to repeat what he said. If we just nod or say "yep", he continues to say it until we repeat the exact same word. He knows most colors except he struggles with green & yellow. He knows a lot of shapes, too although he can't seem to get square yet. He loves to walk around and talk about circles all day long!

He enjoys looking at animal flashcards! He recognizes most animals by name or by the sound they make. He's getting more picky about what shirt he wears, though. He only likes shirts that have something on the front like a ball, animal, etc. He will walk around all day telling you what is on his shirt.

He is learning manners, too. He says "more, please" to just about anything. Although, he assumes that by saying this he will get whatever he asks. :)

Here's Samuel in an old rocker I had when I was little girl...

Animal Flashcards

Denver & my parents visit!

My parents spent a week with us. We met them in Denver last Saturday & the temperature was barely in the 30's! It was super cold. We went to the Colorado Railroad Museum & Coors Brewery in Golden (AB is SO much better of a tour but what can I say, I'm biased to them)! We also went to the Denver Children's Museum which Samuel absolutely loved! We walked a bit around 16th st in Denver but it was just too cold! Saturday night Ben & I went to a nice dinner at Simm's Steakhouse which had panoramic views of the city - it was our 5yr early anniversary celebration. Ben & I headed back home on Sunday night and my parents kept Samuel in Denver with them until Monday. They went to the Denver Zoo on Monday - luckily it was a bit warmer. We spent the week hanging out in Colo. Spgs. My dad installed organized closets in our master bedroom - YEA(https://www.johnlouishome.com/)!

It was great having them here. We look forward to seeing them at Christmas in St. Louis!

Fall in Colorado

We took a drive out to Buena Vista, Colorado today. It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day! As much as we wanted to stay home & watch college football, we decided to hit the road up in the mountains. It was a little under 2 hrs to get there. The drive was beautiful in itself. Once we arrived to this small mountain town, we hiked along a river with an array of different colored trees. After our nice hike, we ate a local bar & grill. Samuel had a great time checking out every rock (& there were A LOT) along the hike. I think we maybe went a total of a half mile but it took us over an hour!

Samuel reading & dancing...

New addition!!!!

I'm due May 5th and so far feeling great!

Go Buckeyes

So, college football has started. YAY!!!! Samuel is all ready. If we say O-H, he says I-O! If we say go Buckeyes, he says "go eyes"! We watched the first half of the game last Saturday at Buffalo Wild Wings with other OSU fans. Samuel was pretty aprehensive about the whole thing, but enjoyed the clapping and trumpet player. Now for the USC game this weekend...

Balloon Classic

We went to the Colo. Spgs Balloon Classic at 7am on Monday morning. There must have been over 50 hot air balloons! We got there 10 minutes after 7 as they were heading up and only stayed for about 5 minutes because we thought that was it. We walked a few blocks back to our car and drove around the block and saw a whole other set of at least 25 balloons getting ready to go up! We didn't know there was 2 rounds of balloons! So, we found another parking spot and headed back and got to see many of the balloons inflate and take off. Samuel was pretty impressed with them, but was more impressed with the "ball" that was on a telephone/electric line! :)

Bubbles

Samuel & his "friends"

The pool

This is Samuel's new indoor game!

18 months!

Samuel is 18 months old! He went to the doctor last week and everything checks out great. The doctor was pretty amazed that he has only been to see her for well baby visits! Yes, we've been VERY blessed to have a healthy child. So, Samuel weighs 25.65 lbs (45%) and is 32.5 inches (60%).

Lately he has been mimicking like crazy and definitely understands most of what we say. His vocabulary is increasing daily. He now says quite a few words: shoe, sun, cat, bear, out (outside), Elmo, Groh (Grover) etc. He even says a few phrases, 'where's the ball?", "it's a ball!" Yes, ball is still his favorite word! His loves to blow kisses, enjoys wearing his yellow sunglasses, walks up & down stairs, gives lots of hugs & loves to play in water. Nearly every day he and Ben go outside and walk around the neighborhood and discover new things. He loves to look around and lately has decided he likes to pick up sticks until he figures out that they make his hands dirty. He hates getting his hands dirty! He waves to anyone & everyone – dogs, too! Oh & he now has 10 teeth!

Before we know it, he'll be 2! What a joy he has been - we are very blessed!

Midwest Trip

Samuel & I traveled to St. Louis July 5th. I got an evening flight figuring Samuel would sleep most of it. However, he thought it was more fun to stay awake. Needless to say, it was a long 2 hr plane ride!. Luckily the plane was not full (20 people missed our flight) so their was no one is front of us. If there had been, they would have had a very jerky ride with Samuel kicking the seat!

Monday through Wednesday we just hung out at my parents place. My niece, Addy, stayed with us as well. It was fun to have them play together. She adores Samuel and is quite the little "mother" to him. I was able to see a few friends as well. I had dinner with my friend Stephanie Monday night and my old roommates, Susan & Marcy, came over on Tuesday. Susan's 2 little girls came as well. It was good to see them, but with 3 young kids "catching up" is more of a challenge. Next time we'll need to do a girls night out! :)

Wednesday we went to the Maryland Heights Aqua Park with my parents, Brad, Tiffany & Addy. Samuel absolutely LOVES the water. He had a great time!

Thursday morning my mom, Addy, Samuel & I headed to Cincinnati. We stopped in Indy for a much needed break from the car. We saw my college friend Amanda & her 2 kiddos. Ben's sister, Shannon & girls are temporarily in Indy for the next month so we also got to see them. We went to Greenwood mall and let the kids run around. Our final stop was my Uncle Jim & Aunt Bev's house in Cincinnati. Most of that side of my family had never met Samuel! We spent Friday with my cousin Jen, & her girls at a Splash Park. Saturday more extended family came down from Columbus - I think there were about 17 adults and 5 kids 5 & under! One of my college roommates, Allison, that lives in Northern Kentucky, came over as well to meet Samuel. We had not seen each other since my wedding nearly 5 yrs ago, but we caught right up where we left off. So great to have friends like that!

Kami & Samuel

Samuel & his girl cousins - Kyra, Kami & Addy

Addy & Samuel

Samuel and cousin, Jordan

Blowing bubbles!

Samuel & most of his girl cousins (1 is missing)

College roommate, Allison

"Cousin-in-Law", Bryan goofing off!

My generation of cousins (from my mom's side of the family) & our kiddos

Overall it was a GREAT time with friends and family! Samuel did fairly well all things considered. I have decided, however, that he and I will not be traveling alone anytime soon! He is at that age where he notices new places and people and is more affected by it (if you know what I mean)! I was exhausted when I got home!

Rocky Mountain National Park

We met Heather and family at Rocky Mtn National Park for some hiking which included getting absolutely SOAKED at the end of one of our hikes by the quick afternoon shower. Samuel thought it was funny until he realized he was cold. In the chaos of getting soaked, I didn't manage to get a picture but we definitely have a fun memory. Poor Ben had to run the last quarter of a mile with Samuel on his back!!! We also drove a bit on scenic Trail Ridge Road which goes up to 12,000 feet elevation. Here are some photos...
Bear Lake

Tasting the river water - luckily it was clear!

Absolutely precious!

Dream Lake

Snow on our hike!

Scenic views from Trail Ridge Road

Elk on the side of Trail Ridge Road

Samuel did great in the car - so happy!