Birthday Gifts Keep On Giving

We had a laid-back 2nd birthday celebration for Samson at home back in early October, basically a toddler free-for-all in our big backyard with a bouncy house and lots of borrowed or Craigslist-found ride-on toys. Unlike the first year, we forgot to specify "no gifts, please," and our friends and family couldn't resist showering Samson with a gigantic mound of presents, most related to his favored theme of transportation.

Upon the advice of our more experienced parenting friends, we decided to stash the many gifts in the closet and parcel them out over time so as not to overwhelm Samson with too many new things and better allow him to enjoy each one on its own. This has worked out fabulously; 7 weeks later, we are still making our way to the bottom of the pile.

This morning's surprise is courtesy of the Turners. We just love the toys made by this British company, as they require no batteries, are totally friction-powered, have no annoying electronic sound effects, have a wide age-appropriate range of 1.5-5 years, and have minimal packaging to hack through & dispose of. The picture is from Mama's phone, so it's a little fuzzy. Still, you can see how much Samson is stretching out & morphing into a big boy:


Samson was due sometime between November 21st and 26th, so he's now officially 2 years old. His health and development are all on track, so we're actually no longer adjusting his age as is commonly done with preemies. This is one time that it feels pretty nice to graduate to "average."

Hello, again.

Dear readers, it's been too long since our last post. There's been too much activity and not enough time to write. We have lots of pics to share and stories to tell. More to come this weekend....

A quick update since our last entry: Samson's cut healed just fine. He has a barely noticeable scar that will probably disappear with time, but who can notice, since he's added several more scrapes since then?

Now at 25 1/2 months, our plump toddler has disappeared and in his place: a long, lean boy. We are amazed at how much older he seems in such a short amount of time.

Samson is talking up a storm, jabbering about something all the time; he loves to repeat the last phrase of whatever anyone has said to him. He has finally discovered the tremendous power of the word, "No," which he uses to answer almost any question, regardless of whether he actually agrees or disagrees with the proposition.

After several rounds of colds and assorted infections, everyone in the family is well. Additionally, we've adjusted almost effortlessly to our new routine since Mama returned to full time work outside the home.

We're all looking forward to the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday when we'll be able to travel to Houston to spend time with Daddy's side of the family, including Cousin Bridget.

Ta-ta for now!