Joshua Tree

We went to visit Amy at her house for the first time. Samuel loved the carpet.

In the front yard.

On the zipline in the back. It was a strong push, luckily Elena didn't get whiplash!

Elena loved playing with Caleb and Makayla; they are the sweetest kids. It was a short trip but so much fun!

Halloween 2013

I'm barely getting around to posting for Halloween. For the third year in a row we went to our friend Miriam's house. You can see her in the background (the ladybug).

For some reason Samuel had some reflux going on that night and he spit up on his onesie soon after we got there. We're past the days of spitting up so of course I had no change of clothes for him. Luckily they had an old onesie that fit him snug, but worked. 

 

He was a doggy. He fought the headpiece for awhile, but eventually he gave in. Elena was Doc Mcstuffins.

The other baby, Maxwell, is one day younger than Samuel.

All the little girls trick-or-treating together was so adorable.

 

Elena had a blast. We had to leave a little early because Samuel was tired, but it was already dark and cold, and Elena had a bucket full of candy. Such a fun night with friends we don't get to see very often.

Some Fun Moments

Samuel's been mesmerized by his feet the last couple of days.

 

Elena in the new ball pit. 

I had just blown up the ball pit and both kids had some major static electricity going on.

Elena's so much fun to play with. And she plays on her own a lot now. During her "rest time" (that's what I've called it since she stopped napping) she sits in her bed and reads her books to her baby. She does that every day, and she looks forward to it.

 

Elena loves being pulled around by Daddy.

Samuel still wants to be with me a lot. Don't worry, I picked him up right after I took this.

Samuel's First Birthday Party

We had a lot of fun with family on Samuel's birthday.

Elena enjoys playing with her cousins. 

We tried playing Duck, Duck, Goose, but the little ones didn't quite get it.

We had a pinata.

 

Singing "Happy Birthday" to my not-so-little-baby.

Elena only eats frosting; she has no interest in even tasting the cake. Mercedes is very timid, this is how she always smiles in pictures I take of her. Elena is drawn to her and thinks about her a lot after visits.

 

Time with grandpa; I love how Samuel's looking at Amy in this picture.

Then in the afternoon we went trunk-or-treating at our church event. Elena wanted to be a doctor, and when she saw the Doc Mcstuffins costume that's all she wanted to be. She wasn't interested in looking at anything else. Here's my little Doc.

Makayla was a cheerleader, Caleb was Spiderman, and Destiny was Little Red Riding Hood.

It was such a fun day, and the Halloween event was fun, too. It was a blast taking the kids trick-or-treating since I don't see my sisters very often, let alone at the same time, and with something fun for all the kids.

And I still can't believe that Samuel's one year old. It doesn't seem like that long ago that I was walking nonstop to try to move my labor along, and I remember most of that day so clearly.

To see the post about Samuel's birth, click here

I'm One Year Old!

I'm one year old now!

I'm 29.5" tall and 19 pounds, 9.5 ounces. I'm a happy baby, and I'm a good sleeper. I like to sleep cuddling with my teddy bear.

I walk all over the place and am really good at catching myself when I fall.

I can say "Daddy" and "Ginger."

I point at things I want or that I'm interested in.

I cry when I'm told not to do something (like suck on shoes).

I learned how to make a "mwaaaahhhhhh" sound to make bubbles.

I'm a big explorer, always trying to figure out how things work.

I love my mama, and still love to be in her arms.