Sledding Sammy...

Today we took Sammy outside to Soldier's Field Park for some sledding. As one would expect, we did the pulling and Sammy did the riding.

Sammy smiles when he hears we are going sledding...

"Faster Daddy! Faster!"

At home in the frigid tundra, Sammy laughs at the dropping temperatures...

Michele gets ready to put Sammy back in the car...
...it got too cold for us...not for Sammy

One Way to Offend the Appliance Gods...

One way to offend the appliance gods is to make the wrong kind of ritual offering to them. So to be more specific, giving the appliance gods the following will actually anger them:

• $3.55 in change
  
• 2 of Sammy's socks
• 1 cap of a pen
  

That's what the service man found in our washing machine drain trap. Apparently they accumulated over the last year and eventually prevented the washing machine from draining water. So if you can imagine how King Kong got very angry when his offering of Ann Darrow was not there...that is close to how angry our washing machine got with the above offering.

Apparently socks clogging the drain in the side loader washing machines is something that tends to happen with baby socks.

Sammy Claus in Wardrobe...

A few weeks ago Michele was dressing Sammy for the day. She put on a red shirt and Sammy spotted his Santa hat. He put on his hat and we caught a few photos:

Sammy is full of Christmas spirit...

Sammy Claus...in partial wardrobe...

Our Little Man...

In addition to the "Santa" portraits we had taken of Sammy, we also had a few shots taken with him wearing his lobster sweater (from L.L. Bean). Most everyone would agree Sammy gets his great looks and personality from his mother.

We call this his "anchorman" pose...

Sammy hams it up for the camera...

Christmas 2007: There's a New Sheriff in Town...

This year Santa brought Sammy a spring rocking hose. He seems to be quite partial to horses. Our house was the last one in the neighborhood to be visited by Santa this Christmas this morning...as assembly took him quite a while. We'll post some video in a few days (or so). But here are some Christmas day photos of Sammy and his new steed.

Sammy climbs on his mount...

His horse is not yet tame/broken and takes off on him...
...but Sammy laughs in the face of danger...
...hang on Sammy, we've grown quite fond of you!

After a few minutes (and miles) his horse is now tired and tame...

Sammy smiles to the gentry as he passes by...

Chistmas with Family 2007...

Sammy's 2nd Christmas was a very festive event. Paul's sisters and Grant came down for a few days and spent them with us. For our Christmas dinner on Sunday (12/23/2007), his nephews Brian and Chris...as well as their girlfriends Molly and Vanessa (respectively) came down. Vanessa's daughter Ashlynn also came along as well. Rounding off the guest list was Sammy's good friend Linda. The weather was pretty cold and windy, but we all were able to get together.

Diane gives some warm clothing to Grant...
...who was putting new wipers on her car...

Saying grace at the table...
(these are two pictures sticthed together, so the doorway looks off)

Sammy the crooner puts us in the Christmas spirit...

Sammy Claus delivered all the gifts from under the tree...

Sammy gives Vanessa her gift as Ashlynn looks on...

Chris, Molly, Ashlynn, Vanessa, Brian, and their gifts...

Perhaps a gift from the Ghost of Christmas Future?

Grant perusing a book he received...

Chris relaxes with the blustery winter weather as a backdrop...

Sammy relaxing with Aunt Diane...

Sammy informed us Aunt Annie had dozed off...

Cookie Monster TMX guards the tree...

You sleigh me...

Veto, being a bit disappointed he was not asked to pull Santa's sleigh, just sat out the holiday on a chair.

This photo is not doctored up...Veto really is this big...

Veto's favorite "gift" was an empty box top...
...which he slept all day in...

Christmas from long ago...

Here are some photos from a Christmas a long time ago that Paul scanned a few weeks ago in November when we were visiting his parents. At Christmas it was a family tradition for all the kids to come down the stairs as Dad photographed us. Often times our grandparents from Pennsylvania would be there to surprise us (once we got to the bottom of the stairs). We're not sure what year these photos are from, but some of the presents under the tree were:

• Matching Gene Autry guitars for David & Paul
• Ernie puppet for David
• Tool set for David (*real* tools)
• Tool set for Paul (*fake* tools)
  
• Bert puppet for Paul
• Bell telephone truck (electric!) for Paul
• Toss-A-Cross game
• Popcorn popper (not really a toy)
  

After some deliberation with Paul's sisters we think this is 1971...
...the man with the Oscar puppet is Grandpa D...
click on photo to enlarge...

Sammy and Santa 2007

On Christmas Eve we went to the mall and just happened to see Santa Claus. Sammy wasn't too thrilled with seeing him, as he had to do all of Santa's work this year. But Sammy indulged Santa's request to have a photo taken with him.

For a quick flashback, here's Sammy's photo with Santa last year. How much Sammy has grown!

Santa and Sammy...

Sammy Claus is Coming to Town...

In the spirit of the yuletide, Sammy decided to give Santa the year off and deliver toys for him.

(Note: We've received some inquiries regarding the outfit Sammy is wearing. The photographer did not supply it--we did. It was on sale at Babies-R-Us last year.)

Sammy Claus waiting for the reindeer to show up...

All these toys...

How he ever get all these toys down the chimney?

Just a little magic is all it takes...

Merry Christmas from Sammy!

And to all a good night!

Our Little Man...

Last week, Paul played Sammy a few clips of Elmo (from Sesame Street) posted on YouTube and suddenly Sammy was an "Elmo Junkie." Sammy could not get enough of Elmo (that red furry muppet with the falsetto voice targeted at toddlers)...so we went to Wal-Mart and bought a few Sesame Street DVDs. One of them is a multi-DVD collection of Sesame Street episodes from the 1970's. Watching them with Sammy brought back memories from decades ago.

Sammy really responds to the Sesame Street shows. Oh, he likes to watch the Wiggles, but they just seem to sing songs about "Fruit Salad". With Sesame Steet, Sammy is answering questions from the TV...talking back. When they introduce a letter, Sammy dutifully repeats it out loud.

Sammy also has been working on the Alphabet Song. He doesn't quite know all the letters by heart, but he's able to finish off many of the sequences.

In some ways having a child is an excuse to relive your own childhood...

Shovelin' Sam...

Lately we've gotten a good amount of snow in Rochester. One day we had ice, then snow, and then ice on top of the snow...which made for some work. Sammy has been a real help around the house lately, and insisted on giving his father a break from shoveling...

Sammy asks Paul to let him finish the job...

Sammy poses with his finished work...

Thanksgiving2007: Sammersize

While we were down in Austin for Thanksgiving, Sammy had a good amount of exercise playing with his cousins. Move over Jack LaLanne, Charles Atlas (Agelino Siciliano), and Richard Simmons--Sammy proves he's a master of exercise!

Sammy likes to lead Celine around...
...pretty much anyone he can for that matter...

Sammy encourages Andrew to exercise with him & Celine...

And then calls in Dominic to exercise too...

Sammy demonstrates proper technique...

Sammy rides Celine as Tricia watches his back....

Thanksgiving2007: Brown Bear, Brown Bear...

What do you see?

Sammy's cousins Andrew, Celine, and Dominic read Sammy a number of books, all of which he completely enjoyed. Below is a photo of them reading "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" (written by Billy Martin and illustrated by Eric Carle). Some things are timeless...such as a classic book (which is 40 years old) or relatives reading to each other. Sammy really lights up when he's around his cousins. It's a shame he can't be around them more often.

Sammy, Sammy, What do you See?
I see three cousins caring for me.

Thanksgiving2007: Father & Son Breakfast

You won't find too many photos of Paul on the blog, but here's an exception. While in Austin for Thanksgiving, Sammy and his father ate breakfast together while Michele had the camera.

Guess who had a good night's sleep...and who did not...

Sammy practices "the look"...

What's Sammy smiling about?

Sammy remarking on his father's morning appearance...

Sammy digesting his breakfast...

Thanksgiving2007: Diane the Whirlwind...

While we were in Austin for Thanksgiving, Diane led us as we did some odd jobs around Paul's parents' house. Here are some photos of Diane replacing the ceiling vents which she had cleaned, sanded, and nicely repainted.

Diane installs the newly painted ceiling vent...

One down, several more to go...