Little Cindy Loo-Hoo

Kirk's attempt at a ponytail - we call it the Little Cindy Loo-Hoo!

New Stroller

Sam is really good at using her push toy these days so we got her something a little more challenging. We bought her a doll stroller (and a doll - yes, she already has a doll). She can't push it yet but she loved riding around in it. We may have created a monster...

Cutest Ponytail Yet

Cutest hairstyle I've been able to pull off yet!

First Timid Steps

Sam will now take a few steps on her own! She will waddle once or twice and then lunge for either me or Kirk. But they're steps when she's not touching anything! Since it has to involve both me and Kirk, it's tough to get a video but we gave it a shot.

Kate Gosslin Hair

This is what Sam's hair looks like every morning. We call it her Kate Gosslin look. She could kill it at Halloween this year.

First Real Ponytail!

Here's my first attempt to put Sam's hair in a ponytail. She wasn't such a fun but she left it for a minute!

Helping Dad Bottle Beer

Kirk was bottling beer today and Sam decided to help out.

First Half-Ponytail

Seems like Sam's hair is growing like a weed these days. It's really starting to fall in her face but we're trying to avoid cutting bangs. This is our latest attempt to keep it out of her face:

Sam's New Hideout

Kirk read something about kids Sam's age developing a sense of independence and wanting some privacy. So he got online (Ebay of course) and bought Sam this tent.




Then he set up her own little DVD player and set it up inside the tent so she can watch her Yo Gabba Gabba DVD (the only show she watches). Lots of time if you look on her, she won't even be watching the DVD, she'll have it in the background but she'll be sitting there reading her book. Like mother, like daughter!

The Park

Kirk has been taking Sam to the park a few block from our house nearly every day. The weather is getting a little colder so we've started accumulating new gear. The first purchase was a new windshield for the stroller:




The next purchase was a fleece outfit that we call "The Blanket." Though it's supposed to a size 18 months, it is ginormous on Sam so she's can't really get around in it. But she looks so cozy and it keeps her nice and warm. Here's a picture of Sam in The Blanket holding Rosco's ball throwing thing.

Just to make our midwestern readers jealous, I've included a few pics showing the incredible views from our park. This is Casco Bay and the land you see is some of the islands that follow the coast of Maine. The one with the houses on it is Peaks Island (which is the most inhabited island near Portland but you have to take a ferry to and from). We have taken the ferry out to Peaks and had dinner out there. But next summer we plan on exploring more of the islands via the ferry system.

Here is a picture of Sam on the swings in the playground area of the park. Not bad views eh?

Play Group

Kirk and Sam go to a playgroup hosted by the City of Portland every Tuesday. Sam is one of the younger kid but she hangs in there with the other kids. She's learning a lot just watching them walk around (still no steps from her) and play together. She is definitely still a work in progress but is getting better about jabbing the other kids in the eyes when she first meets them...

Helping Dad

Sam and Kirk were playing with tools today. Sam had more fun than Kirk (here's hoping the tomboy qualities continue...)

Don't worry dad, I've got this!

New Outfit

Kirk ordered this onesie for Sam.

For those of you that didn't know, Kirk was big in the 1980s punk scene so he just had to have the Misfits onesie. Reliving the glory days by victimizing our child...

Let's Go KU!

Aunt Kimmie bought Sam a KU Football Jersey for her birthday. We wore our KU gear for the game tonight!

Waving the wheat - GO KU!

Rainbows

Earlier today we had a quick rainshower followed by gorgeous weather so Kirk headed down to the park near our house. A rainbow had formed over the water and he was able to get this picture. Not a bad view eh?

At the Beach

Kirk takes Sam and Rosco down to the beach almost every day. Now that it's after Labor Day, we can have Rosco on the beach anytime of day so Kirk fully takes adavantage of it. Here's some cute pics from their time at the beach:

And Sam is a crawling machine these days - no steps yet but she can really move.

Blueberry Face

We've found that the best teething treatment is frozen fruit (blueberries are Sam's favorite). She gets some great vitamins and chomps on frozen goodness to make her teeth feel better. It's a win/win for us!

Here's the blueberry face afterwards.

Playing

One of our favorite features about our new townhouse is that we have an extra room downstairs. It is officially a library but we have decided to make it Sam's playroom. We've babyproofed it the best we can and put up a gate so that she can't access the rest of the house. It's the one place we can put her for a few minutes when we need to do something - which is definitely necessary these days because she always seems to get into the one thing that she's not supposed to. At the worst possible moment too. Crazy how that works out.

Here's a video of Sam with one of her favorite new toys. She's been able to close all of them for a while but she just figured out the other day how to get the blue one to pop up. So far it's the only one that she can do but she loves it. She gets so excited!

Here are a few cute pictures of Sam playing in her new playroom:




My wallet is still her absolute favorite toy. My cell phone comes in a close second (by the way, sorry if you're received a random call from me and there was only heavy breathing on the other end. It was probably just Sam punching buttons and then chewing on the phone. Please don't call the cops - we mean no harm.)

Labor Day Weekend in Bethel, Maine

Kirk and I decided to get out and explore New England a little while the weather is still nice. We couldn't make a decision about where we wanted to go (Acadia National Park, up to the mountains, over to Vermont) until the last minute so we ended up staying relatively close to home and heading over to Bethel, Maine. Bethel is a great classic New England village and we stayed at a bed and breakfast for the weekend. A total New England experience and we had a great time!


We spent most of our time out hiking in Grafton Notch state park along the Appalachian Trail. Killer trails with amazing views and the most perfect hiking weather ever. After a full day of hiking, we found a great microbrewery right by the Sunday River Ski Resort (which we also swung by to check out the trail map - not bad). Good food and good beer. Overall, it was an awesome weekend!

Here is the view from the top of one of the hikes we did:

Sam fell asleep on the trail on our way up and it's hard for Kirk to carry her while she's sleeping so we took a break and let her nap on the side of the trail.

Here's our girl crawling around the rocks at the overlook. She's sporting her new "dryfit" gear that keeps her cool while strapped onto Kirk. She already has 2 different base-layers - one super-thin and one medium-weight. Having a kid is a great excuse to get new gear!

Out to Dinner

We went out to dinner tonight. Sam was playing with Kirk's hat while we were waiting for a table. Isn't this the cutest picture?

This is how we spend half of our meals out -- reading to Sam.