This Saturday we headed out to Cox Farms for their annual Fall Festival. This was our first year so we weren’t sure what to expect. Although it wasn’t the most authentic farm experience, there was a ton to do and we all had a great time.

There were lots of animals to see. Sam really liked petting the cow,

Watching the chickens,

And spying on the noisy pigs.

We had a fun time on a bumpy hayride and then Sam and Daddy went down the slides again and again.

Sam was surprisingly willing to pose for several pictures.

He loved seeing his favorite character, Elmo.

And he had fun playing conductor.

After all the fun, it was time for some hard work. We headed over to the farm-chores section so Sam could pump some water,

Tend to the chickens,

Ride his tractor,

Milk the cow,

And do something important with corn kernels (sorry, we’re not farmers so we may be missing some of the technical lingo).

At the end of all our fun, we got to pick out pumpkins to take home.

And play on the pumpkin scale!

(Sam is 30 lbs, if you’re interested.)

I am sure we’ll be back again next year!

I was going to wait until Friday to post this video, but I have basically given up my “Happy Friday” posts, so I thought I would just go ahead and share this one with y’all right away!

 

 

Sam has us cracking up all the time these days with the silly things he says or the funny things he does. I love when I start laughing and Sam looks at me with his eyebrows raised and a huge smile. It’s like he’s saying “I like that you’re happy but I really don’t get what’s so funny!”

Here are some of his most recent gems:

• This morning Sam was impatiently waiting for his toaster waffles to be done and kept asking “Ready? Ready?” I told him that he needed to wait for a DING! and then they’d be ready. A minute later he walked over to me, and sneakily said, “DIIIING! Waffles ready!”
• At dinner the other night, he looked over at Henry (our dog) and announced, “No pet Henry’s penis. Pet Henry’s hair!” Apparently he had learned an important lesson earlier that day when petting Henry.
• Sam has devised his own classification system. Things are either heavy or baby. All day long he’ll classify things into these two categories. “Heavy jump!” after a doing a big jump. “No! Baby fork!” after I accidentally give him the big fork.
• He loves to do anything he has seen us do. He walks around the house with oven mitts on and then gets frustrated that he can’t pick anything up. He imitates daddy doing push-ups (basically just nods his head while exhaling deeply). And he loves to pucker up and put chapstick on his lips… and all over the rest of his face.
• Today at lunch with Deirdre and Evie, Sam and Evie had their own little game of footsie going on. They just kept tapping their toes together and cracking up.

Everyday it is something new! I hope he is always this entertaining!

Late in August we went to Northern California. It was planned as a fun vacation but since my grandma passed away in July, we held her memorial service while we were there. It was pretty sad to be there without Grandma, especially since I know she was really looking forward to seeing Sam again. But it was nice having the chance to celebrate her life and to visit with my grandpa and other family.

After spending a few days up in the mountains, Ben, Sam, and I drove south to the Bay Area. Ben had some work stuff to do, so Sam and I tagged along for fun. We had a great time exploring San Francisco with Cousin Lani and visiting with Ben’s aunt and uncle, who graciously hosted us for a few days.

 

Sam enjoying the cool air on the plane ride:

Beautiful Lake Almanor:

Nana, Sam, and me:

Sam and Nana:

 

 

Fireman Sam:

 

 

Friendly fireman (Sam’s hero):

Sam with Auntie Nikki:

 

Hiking through the mountains:

Sam and Great-Grandpa Gene:

Of course, we had to stop at In ‘n Out on our way down to the Bay Area:

In front of the Ferry Building. Sam got 100 compliments on his cool shade style:

Sam LOVED the pigeons, especially the way they flew up when he chased them:

Can’t beat the CA views:

Cousin Lani:

Learning to play keyboard with Uncle Mike:

Eating a delicious meal at Inn Kensington. He finished everything on his plate and some of our food too!

Goodbye California!

 

 

 

 

Sam now has two weeks of preschool under his belt! It has been progressively harder to drop him off because now he knows the routine and knows that I am leaving him there. By the third day, he started crying when we pulled into the parking lot. It is so hard to see him upset but I know (from spying on him and talking to his teacher when I pick him up) that he has a great time while he’s there.

Yesterday he did much better at drop off. He whimpered a little but there were no tears. When Mrs. Mallory asked him if he was ready to go in, he reluctantly said “aye” (that is still how he says yes) and walked over to her with open arms as if saying, “pick me up and let’s get this over with.” Mallory and I both cracked up.

Sam has already gotten to do a lot of the fun, messy stuff he doesn’t get to do at home, like painting. I found these adorable pictures on the parents’ website. I hope they come through:

Oh, and here is Sam enjoying that famous cookie snack from his first day of school:

The other day, my friend Nicole had the great idea of getting a sitter for the two boys so the two of us could enjoy a fun and fancy ladies’ lunch! We had a great time and so did the boys. Nicole did a cute post on her blog. Check it out!

http://www.thehobbsfamilyblog.com/2011/08/best-buddies.html

Sam had his very first day of preschool today! We went to an open house on Friday and Sam got to go in to see his classroom and meet his teachers.

A little blurry, but a cute pic of Sam ready to meet the teachers!

He was a little overwhelmed at first but quickly got interested in all the toys.

This morning Ben and I took him in for his first day. Here is our little guy posing before we left the house.

And a family pic (Sam really wanted to bring his new favorite book with him).

Walking to the school:

Posing outside (Sam was annoyed to be taking a pic instead of heading over to the playground):

First impressions:

He seemed fine until we walked out the door and he followed us right out into the hallway. We explained to him that he was staying and that was when he got a little sad. But as soon as we left he settled right in.

It was a little strange being away from him all morning and I was SO excited to pick him up. I peeked in on him through the window and he seemed to be enjoying himself. But as soon as he spotted me he burst into tears! Sam’s teacher, Mrs. Mallory, assured me that he had been a happy guy the whole morning.

She also told me that he didn’t eat his cookie at snack time and just carried it around with him for the rest of the day (and all through lunch!). When we got to the car I asked him a few times if he wanted to eat it but he just said, “nope!” (his new favorite word). After we got home and I took his shoes off, he jumped down from my lap, sat on the bottom step and ate his cookie. I guess he had been waiting till just the right moment to eat it!