Road Trip

We spent a great two days in Vancouver, BC over Memorial Day weekend.

Stanley Park was a highlight, where we played ball in the grass (Sam now believes Paul can throw the ball to the moon, and asks him to do this regularly), hung out at the water fountains, and Sam went on her first ever bike ride! The bike ride was a huge success. Sammy was thrilled to wear her helmet, seemed quite comfortable on her "bike," and fell asleep halfway through the ride. The memory definitely stuck with her too -- Sam now points out every person we see wearing a helmet, whether on motorcycle or bike, as we walk down the street. We also introduced Sammy to our favorite Vancouver fare - ramen - at a Japanese restaurant. She actually seemed to like the "soup."

Following are some pictures from our trip...

Mother's Day!

We had a great Mother's Day morning. We took the bus (a favorite vehicle of Sam's) down to Madison Park, where we enjoyed a picnic of donuts, milk and coffee on the beach. This was followed by some great rock-throwing time (a favorite activity of Sam's, not to mention her dad's), then a little time at the park before we took the bus back. A perfect morning!

Friends

Samantha has also had some fun times with friends this spring...

A sunny day playing in the Nance backyard with Clara, Hannah, and Eliza Nance --

At the zoo, and the Ballard Farmer's Market, with Jill and Nate Sousley --

Hanging out with Alexa Moore --

Time Flies!

A blog posting is so long overdue here that it's hard to even know what to say. Sammy seems to grow up before our eyes every single day, let alone in the months it's been since we last posted!

Let's see -- a few developments with Sam, and our family, in the past few months:

• Sam's vocab continues to explode. She tries to repeat most everything we say, and even mixes in little phrases like "this way Dada" or "Sam all done."
• Her hair continues to grow, in curls. We still aren't really sure where these curls came from...a few pictures below show the latest 'do (and yes, we're still having her bangs professionally cut).
• Going on a walk with Sam has taken on a whole new meaning. She's far more interested in doing the walking herself now, which means lots of detours, frequent stops to pick up rocks, and usually about double or triple the time to get to the store!
• And, Sammy may not fully understand it yet, but she's going to be a big sister! Our due date is November 22. We are very excited!

Here are a few random photos of Sammy from the past few months...