Videos

A couple videos from a recent afternoon at Gasworks Park. In one, Sammy had just taken her shirt off to be like her dad, and was clearly excited about this development. In the other, after hamming it up for the camera, she exhibits her new tendency to take off running, only checking occasionally to make sure we're tracking her location...

Doe Bay

We spent last weekend at Doe Bay Resort on Orcas Island in the San Juans. It was a beautiful spot and we definitely hope to go back again soon. Here are a few pictures...

Cute penguins make everything feel better

After a traumatic sequence of events a few weeks ago in which Sam had to spend a night at Children's Hospital with breathing problems caused by viral pneumonia, she got to spend a few days home from school for some TLC. She bounced back amazingly quickly, and on her last day at home, we spent a great morning at the zoo.

Sam loves the new penguin exhibit at the zoo. Maybe I'm biased, but I think the zoo should consider using these images in its next ad campaign... :)

Big Girl

A few recent developments for Sammy on the "big girl" front:

--She has moved from being relatively afraid of the water, to being so eager to jump in that she's nearly springing out of dad's arms. On the really hot evenings we had in Seattle, this came in handy as we essentially camped out in Lake Washington!

--Her hair continues to grow, mostly in curls. She's generally resistent to any hair style (pigtails, etc.,), though has taken an interest in putting her own hair or other accessories on temporarily...

--She's becoming much more brave on the playground, and recently has wanted to swing from everything she sees (coffee table, tree branch, etc.)

--Her vocab continues to explode. She's nearly got the ABC song down, and regularly serenedes us from the back seat of the car with her own medly of Twinkle Twinkle/Old McDonald/Wheels on the Bus/etc.

--Speaking of the bus, she's a Metro bus regular, taking the bus to and from school with mom or dad most days. She loves to ring the bell, and the other day said "Thank You Bus Driver" on our way off the bus.

--She's definitely got her own agenda on certain things, whether it be to eat her slushy in her own chair with her own spoon on her own terms, or what shoes she wants in the morning.

--Like her parents, she's very ready for Husky season to start. Warm-up suit is in the closet.

Friends

Samantha's summer has included hangout time with lots of different friends. We're hoping that the obvious joy she feels spending time with other kids will translate to a relatively smooth transition with baby brother or sister! Following are some pictures from the summer of Sam's time with various friends:

Sunriver

We spent a great long weekend at Sunriver in Bend, Oregon this summer with the Savages and Flosis. The highlight for all of us was seeing how much fun the cousins had with each other. Sammy is now old enough to really have fun playing with Jake (age 4) and Becca (age 2). They had a great time riding bikes (Becca and Sam in the "chariot" in back), swimming, jumping on the bed, etc. Here are some pictures from the weekend.