Playdate at Arboretum

We had a play date today at the Arboretum. It was a really nice day in the shade, but pretty hot and sweaty in the sun. We met 4 other friends there and had a picnic lunch and let all of the kiddos crawl around and try to suck on each other's sippy cup. Just kidding..we had toys everywhere but the items of choice definitely had to be other sippy cups and food. Ellianna was hilarious! She wanted Samuel's goldfish instead of her own. I guess at this age they think everything is better than what their own momma brings! Ha!! They were SO cute!

After we had lunch, we walked around and found a petting zoo! They only had goats, chickens and 1 horse...but our little ones didn't care. The pic below is of Samuel and Ellianna. She is 9 months old but can definitely hold her own with all of the boys. She's tough!!

This goat came right up to Samuel and I swear he tried to eat his little nose off! Samuel thought this was hilarious..thank goodness! The last thing I want is for him to be scared of animals..yes..even goats.

12 Months!

Samuel's actual birthday was May 12th, which was a Wednesday. We tried to celebrate as best we could considering both parents had strep throat:( Samuel and I woke up that morning and had pancakes..he loved them. When we came downstairs, we were both shocked to find that daddy had blown up about 10 birthday balloons for S and left them all over the living room. S loves balloons, so this was perfect. That day we just relaxed and went to the park. When Thad got home, we decided to go to a local restaurant called Dixie House and get Samuel his favorite..grilled cheese! After that, we stopped by TCBY for some yogurt! Overall, I think the little boy had a great day!
Samuel's 12 month appointment isn't until May 24th so I don't have his stats yet, but here is just a little bit of what the big boy is up to now!

• He has 10 teeth including 2 molars. I think #11 is on the way.
  
• He cruises everywhere. I mean everywhere....Along walls, curtains, bookshelves, etc. No walking yet, but he can stand when he's not thinking about it.
• He drinks 3 bottles per day of whole milk..no more formula! I have tried to do his milk in a sippy cup but he wants no part of that just yet. He does use a sippy at every meal with water.
• No longer sleeps in a sleep sack. He does pj's with a blanket, and pup pup of course!
  

He eats three meals every day but is becoming very picky about what he likes. His favs this month are grilled cheese, hot dogs, green beans, carrots, Yo Baby, cheese cubes, turkey, french toast, wheat bread, goldfish, etc. He actually likes Watermelon (barf) but all other fruits are a no-go unless they are in baby food form. I think he has texture issues so I'm taking it slow and letting him decide.
He is busy!! When we go to restaurants, he no longer will sit still unless he has a lot going on around him. We now go to really busy, hectic like places just so we can enjoy our own food. Samuel loves to stare at "big" kids, bus boys and waitresses.
He wears size 12-18 month clothes, size 3 diaper and size 3 shoe.

• He is the "boogeriest" kid I know...he CONSTANTLY has boogers in his nose and I clean his nose out all of the time. Poor kid!

• He LOVES the stairs. Any stairs. He will throw a fit if you try to carry him up stairs. He's a big boy and wants to prove it!

• He says only a few words: dadadada, mamamama, ssssss....that's it!
• He has become quite the temper-tantrum boy! If he doesn't get what he wants, he will kick his legs, pound his arms and scream. It is very amusing and sometimes I just sit back and laugh.
  

• He sleeps from about 7-630 or so at night. He still takes about 2 naps per day but the length varies.
• His favorite books are "That's Not My Lion", "Sooo Big", "Peek-A-Boo Kisses", and "Tails." The only page that he will let you read in the lion book is the page where he can scratch the lion's rough paws.
• He no longer takes a bath in a "baby" tub. He just sits in the bathtub like a big boy and he loves it! He crawls everywhere and usually tries to stand. I feel like all we do during bath time is say "on your bottom sir!"

• He loves music and we can't wait until Kindermusik starts back up again..Samuel is in love with his teacher.

He has developed allergies. We are giving him Claritin everyday to help with this.

His favorite toys are his golf clubs, Radio Flyer Rocket, gumball machine, Cookie Jar, and any ball that he can throw. He also loves his stacking cups and especially loves to knock them over once we have stacked them really high.

• He is now facing forward in his car seat, and he loves it!! I don't blame him. I get really carsick so I always felt bad for him being turned around backwards and looking in a mirror!
• He likes to be chased around and he just screams the whole time. He then likes to turn around and be the chaser!

That's about all I can think of for now!!

Happy Birthday Little Angel!! You are perfect to us in every way and I'm so excited to watch you change and grow as the years go by. I can't believe a year has already flown by, and while it makes me a little sad to see that is does go so fast, I know that the years will only get better!! I pray that God blesses you abundantly in your life and that you live your life to praise Him. I love you, precious Samuel Cade Schaefer!!

Swim Class

Samuel started swim lessons about a week ago. It was just a trial class so I could see how he was in the water before I paid the money for a 12 week session. Let me just say.. Michael Phelps in the house!! Just kidding..but he did love it. He was a little fish. I was amazed at how fast he learned how to hold on to the side of the pool all by himself and "monkey crawl" up and down the side. We didn't go under water but I think he will do fine. Needless to say, we joined the swim club and are set through August! Hopefully I will have some fun pictures to come...

This picture was taken after 3 hours of napping after swim class. The cost was worth every penny for this alone!!

First Cousin Bath and papa and grandma

While we were in Arkansas, Samuel and Amelia had their first cousin bath. This was Samuel's first time to take a bath with anyone, so he was pretty confused the whole time. But, once he saw that she liked to splash and play as much as he did, he was pumped!

After the birthday party, we realized that we didn't get any pictures of Samuel with Grandma Becky and Papa Chuck. So, on Sunday morning before church, we had a mini photo session. I think they turned out GREAT! Thank you so much Grandma and Papa for hosting the birthday party..it was wonderful!

Father and Son

I think Mac got jealous!! He found a paci and thought if he acted like a baby, daddy would love him the same..poor baby!

BBQ

Grilling out on the weekends is one of our favorite things to do. This particular night was gorgeous so we decided to grill before Samuel went to bed. We pulled the high chair outside and he munched on goldfish while Thad grilled dinner. We had so much fun!!

New Toy

About a month ago, I went to a Consignment Sale in Dallas. It's one of the big sales that comes to town every year. Samuel LOADED up on toys and this is by far his favorite. This is the Radio Flyer Rocket and it retails for about $60. I paid $15 and it works just as well. These pictures are the morning after I got them. I went to the sale after he was in bed so the next morning was like Christmas morning for him!

Happy First Birthday, little one!

I can't believe my baby boy is 1!! This time last year I felt awful..but was so in love. I have a few pictures to post and all of Samuel's 12 month stats but as of tonight, Thad and I both have strep throat and feel pretty miserable. So I will leave you with a video from this morning. Please ignore the crazy woman singing in the background..

Happy Mother's Day

To all of the women who have shaped and molded Thad and I into who we are today..thank you! We hope to make all of you proud! To my sweet Samuel, thanks for giving me the title "mommy." I love you more than words!

Mother's Day 2009..I went in to labor that night!

Grandma Becky

Nana Karen



Mimi Dana

Samuel's First Birthday Party!

Samuel won't be 1 until May 12th, but we decided to have his party in Arkansas so we had it a little early. We had a Sock Monkey Extravaganza! It was so much fun and the birthday boy had a blast. The day was supposed to be rainy and yucky, but at 12:00 the clouds parted and sun was shining for the entire party. This is exactly how we wanted it to be. The party was at my mother's house and she has the perfect setting for outdoor fun..tree swing, big front porch and a large yard for wagon rides! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the wonderful day!

This is his birthday banner that I made. We have been taking his monthly pictures by a sock monkey since he was 1 month old ( minus the 5 and 7 month pic.) I bordered all of the pictures with sock monkey card stock and strung it with ribbon..it was adorable and now I can put it in a scrap book!

The table turned out so great and colorful!

Family picture to remember this special day

We have been working with Samuel on walking for a while now. He has decided that he wants crawling to be his mode of transportation for a little bit longer.

Samuel decided to wipe his face on Daddy's sweater...and daddy was ok with that! Anything for the birthday boy!

Loving all of the attention! He clapped his hands during "Happy Birthday."

Yes..it was nap time..poor kid!

Bath time quickly followed the smash cake!

Present time! Samuel received so many wonderful things and has really enjoyed playing with all of his new toys. Here he is looking at his new book "That's not my Monkey."

Trying to drink out of his new "Samuel" sippy cup even though it had nothing in it!

Here he is getting excited about all of the fishing he can do one day with his new fishing pole from Aunt Linda and Uncle Terry!

My dearest friend Holly drove up from Little Rock to help us celebrate! How I love her!!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet boy! We will celebrate more on the actual day but the party was everything we hoped it would be. Thanks to all of our family and friends who made it out! We love you!