Jillian loses her first baby tooth

Jillian loses her first baby tooth almost exactly eight years after her first baby tooth came in.  Her permanent tooth came in behind the baby one so they had to pull the baby one. She was such a trooper!

Life isnt FAIR!

Jillian and I were having a conversation at dinner last night about how her cousin would sometimes call her stupid even though she never used that word to describe him.  She asked me why I thought he called her that sometimes and I told her I don't really know why, but it's not true and it's not nice.  She then says to me with the cutest expression, "Well, I know one thing's for sure - Life isn't fair!".  It was priceless.

Blame it on the Pen

The other night, Sammy wanted me to read the book "Goodnight Moon" to him. He gave me the book and I noticed there were drawings on many of the pages. Here goes our conversation:

Rebecca : Sammy, did you write all over this book. You know you're not suppose to do that. We have to respect our books and keep it in good condition. Did you do this?

Sammy: No, mom. I didn't.

Rebecca: You didn't? Then who did?

Sammy: The pen.

Is Heaven up or down?

Yesterday Jillian and I watched Marley and Me. This is the first 'real' movie she and I watched together. She loved it and both of us were crying at the end of the movie. She then asked me, "Mom, is Heaven up or down?"

Me: Many people believe Heaven is up, but we really don't know until we die.
Jillian: If it's up, why are we buried down?
Me: (thought to myself, she has a point) Well, our body is buried underground but our spirit goes to Heaven.
Jillian: What's a spirit?
Me: our minds
Jillian: ok

"Dude"

Jillian's use of language has dramatically changed in the last couple of months. It's so fun listening to her. Here's a conversation between her and her cousin Matty.

Matty comes over to pick Jillian up to go swimming and Jillian takes her time getting ready...

Matty: Jillian, hurry up. We gotta go swimming.
Jillian: Alright!
Matty: Hurry up, we're going to leave soon...
Jillian: Dude, wait a sec, I'm packing...

I still love you though...

Jillian and Rebecca went to get a haircut this morning. Rebecca decided to cut her hair short with bangs and when it was done asked Jillian if she liked it. Here's how the conversation went:

Rebecca: What do you think Jillian? Do you like it?
Jillian (smiling): no response
Rebecca: Well, Jillian, what do you think?
Jillian (smiling some more): It kinda looks funny - it's too short.
Rebecca (sighing): Oh Jillian, you really think it looks funny?
Jillian (smiling even bigger): But mom, I still love you though...

Samuel's Tooth #5 & #6

Samuel's 5th and 6th tooth came in yesterday - well, I noticed them yesterday.

Jail Break!

We all hung out in the courtyard this past Sunday enjoying the warm weather and Samuel figured out how to open up the front gate.  Our Sammy is one clever little baby boy!

17 months and only 3 teeth

Samuel is 17 months and only has three teeth - two on the bottom and one large one on top.  His fourth one is on its way and will break through any day now.  Don't even think about trying to feel his teeth, he has a mean bite!

Future Bike Derby Contestant

Samuel loves riding on bikes, especially two wheelers.  You can't tell in this picture but this bike is way to big for him.  He is suspended over 2 feet above the ground.  Uncle Russ is holding on to the bike and Samuel knows to hold on to the handles while he is being pushed around.

Happy Valentine's Day 2009

Happy Valentine's Day Dad! Rebecca, Jillian, and Samuel's valentine's day card for Ed.

Samuel finally has teeth!

This morning, Rebecca fed Samuel some cheerios and when he bit down, she felt two bottom teeth! We can barely see them, but can definately feel them. The timing couldn't have been more perfect - Rebecca stopped nursing him just yesterday!

He's almost 15 months and now walks like a pro. He's even trying to jump up and down - it's so much fun to see.

Christmas 2008

Samuel takes his first steps

Samuel took his first steps (three to be exact) last week. He can now take about 5-7 steps before he sits back down. As soon as we get a video shot of him walking, we'll post the clip.

Here's a quick video of Samuel trying to walk.

Family Photo Shoot at St. Helena

We hired Briana Marie to take some family pictures. Samuel was sick and very cranky that day, but the pictures turned out great! We highly recommend her.

http://brianamariephotography.com

Samuel's 1st Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Samuel's 1st birthday on November 23rd. The party theme was the color "blue" and the initial 'S' (is it obvious enough?) His Grandparents, Uncle & Aunts, and cousins all were invited to enjoy a feast at the "S Bistro".

As usual, Rebecca cooked everything and even designed a menu for the "S Bistro".

Aunt Theresa made "Blue" Mexican Wedding cookies. They were delicious!

"Is this all for me?" Sam was so happy, especially when we all sang him Happy Birthday.

Auntie Hanh made a dairy, soy, egg, and wheat free cake for Sam. It was designed to match his invitation and turned out great!

Happy 1st Birthday Samuel!

Rebecca took the day off from work to take some photos of Samuel on his birthday. We start out with portrait shots inside the house. What a happy boy!

It was such a beautiful day, we decided to take the photo-shoot outdoors to the front yard. Jillian and Samuel loved playing with the fall leaves.

Today was a small celebration with just mom, dad, and big sister Jillian. We celebrated with a dairy, soy, egg, and wheat free cake. Rebecca's sister Hanh made this cake using coconut and gelatin. If you look closely, you'll see the #1 on the top of the cake. This was a test run cake for Samuel's party on Sunday which will include Grandparents, Uncle & Aunts, and of course all the Cousins.

The cake was delicious! Great job Auntie Hanh!

Halloween 2009 - "Arghhhh....."

Both Jillian and Sam were pirates for Halloween 2008.

Samuel Claps on Command

Samuel likes to clap his hands when prompted.

Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Gate...

Jillian sings the "Five Little Pumpkins" song.

Just in case you couldn't make out the lyrics...

Five little pumpkins, sitting on a gate.

The first one says, "Oh my, it's getting late."

The second one says, "There's witches in the air."

The third one says, "We don't care!"

The fourth one says, "Let's run and run and run..."

The fith one says, "It's halloween fun!"

whooooo says the wind and out goes the light.

Five little pumpkins roll out of sight.

Active 10 Month Sammy

Samuel is 10 months today and is very active. He crawls around the house super fast and can now cruise like a pro.

He also can now open all the lower kitchen cabinets and makes a mess - keeping us all quite busy!