Gap-toothed Smile

Guess who got a visit from the tooth fairy last night. twitter.com/leftymama/stat…

— leftymama (@leftymama) December 22, 2012

Second Day of New School

Loving school uniforms! Sure does make it easy to get dressed each morning. Thanks, Magellan International School! yfrog.com/odswzcjj

— leftymama (@leftymama) August 21, 2012

First Day of Kindergarten

Our baby boy is almost 5 years old! Since his birthday falls beyond the cutoff for public kindergarten, he's starting this year in the "big kids'" class at the private pre-school/pre-K campus that he has attended for the past 3 years.  We're expecting a low-drama transition, since he already knows the teacher and all 10 kids in the class, plus the familiar surroundings. The school day is packed from 9a-3p with segments on language arts, math, science, social studies, music, art, and PE.  After hearing so many stories of moms and kids with bittersweet tears on this monumental occasion, we weren't sure what would happen this morning, but it really seemed like any other week day with our busy family heading off to work & school.  Only happy faces all around!

Autumn 2010

At Grandma's family reunion in Pasadena, TX.  Fun day of BBQ, bounce house, swings, cousins, and fly-overs from the nearby air show at Ellington Field.

He oughtta be in pictures...

We just got the proofs from the spring candids at Samson's school and boy are they cute! If you want to order any for yourself, go to www.iclicksmiles.com and enter school code "prodigy" and student code "83565". Here are a few for your viewing enjoyment:

Fall is finally here

And that means a trip to the pumpkin patch for pictures and picking out our jack-o-lantern prospects. This was the first year that Samson actually understood what was going on, but he was too excited to sit still for long. You can view the rest of the best pics online here.

Junior

Here's a classic mini-Brian picture.

A recent visit to Old MacDonald's

This establishment is right outside our neighborhood and is something we pass every time we return to our home. Since Samson has become big enough to venture throughout the gigantic playscape they have, we regularly hear his voice from the backseat saying, "Can we go play at Old MacDonald's today?"

I love concrete trucks!

Getting a new driveway put in has been the source of much excitement this week. Besides watching the big cement mixer pour its contents, Samson enjoyed "driving" "his" Bobcat and even trying out for an apprentice position with Austin Concrete Construction.

Already Two and a Half?

Gosh, we had our heads down for what seemed like a minute and we're already into the middle of Samson's second year. Where did the time go?

Here are some recent big boy pics from one of those candid photo deals at school. If anyone wants to order them, go to iclicksmiles.com before 03/24/2009, and enter school "prodigy" and student "59179".


Life seems on fast forward since Mama went back to work outside the home in November. The weekday routine is something like this:

• wake up at 6a (or 5ish if Samson decides to be an early bird)
• set Samson up with a cereal bar & milk in front of Noggin so that Mama can take a shower; Daddy reads news on his phone and waits for his turn
  
• everyone gets ready for school & work, which generally includes chasing Samson around the house for every stage of the diaper-PJs-clothes-socks-shoes-hair transformation
• we all exit the house together, Mama to the car & office by 7:30, Daddy & Samson in the truck to school & work by 8
  
• Mama picks up Samson after 4:30
• supper & playtime from around 5:30-7:30
• Samson's bath at 7:30, in bed by 8:15
• Mama & Daddy unwind until nodding off by 10

Weekends are much the same, except Samson doesn't go to school, the grown-ups usually aren't at the office, and there is nap-time from noonish to 3ish. Friday evenings still usually mean dinner & playdate with the Turners. If we're lucky, PawPaw (& sometimes Grandma) may drive over from Houston for a visit on Saturday. Just about every other weekend, we also have cousin Emilie (& sometimes Tyler) come to hangout with Samson while Mama & Daddy have a date night. Throw in the random kid birthday party or trip out of town to visit relatives, and that's pretty much our life for the past 6 months.


In February, Samson started going to a new school that is much closer to where we live & work. Mama was nervous about how he'd handle the transition, but it was virtually seamless. He loves his new school, teachers, and friends, and most days, he is actually unhappy to leave when boring ol' Mama or Daddy come to take him home. Mama & Daddy love the new place, too, especially because Samson loves it, but also because:

• it's cut our daily drive-time down by 90 minutes, several toll roads, and otherwise needless excursions to Cedar Park
  
• we don't have to make lunch since they serve great meals, even offering a daily vegetarian option (due to lots of Hindus & Buddhists at school)
  
• the kid to teacher ratio is much lower than our other school
  
• most of the teachers & staff have worked there for more than 5 years and love working with these kids
  

Today, we're going to a toddler friend's 3rd b-day birthday at one of those bounce-house places, so Mama and Daddy will be sure to get a good workout chasing Samson around, preventing certain peril to life & limb. Samson has become quite the fearless jumper, something he tests many times each day on all the furniture he can manage to climb.

A little off the top

When you realize that your baby is veering dangerously into Cozmo Kramer territory...
It's probably time to admit that a haircut is in order. Now you might be tempted to go for the do-it-yourself trim and save a few bucks, but that hasn't worked so well in our family.

Exhibit A:

Bang Trim by PapPaw, Post 6 Pack of Schlitz, 1976

So this morning, Samson and Mama took a trip to KAOS, aka Kids Are Our Specialty, to see Miss Yvonne.

At first we tried sitting on one of the cool motorcycle chairs, but Samson decided he'd rather sit safely in Mama's lap and sip a juice box as the scissors clipped away. In less than 7 minutes, the new do was complete.

Afterwards, Samson was like, "Hey, nobody told me they had CAR chairs. I coulda sat in this CAR all day, man!" Sorry, SammyPie, but Mama figured Daddy wouldn't be too thrilled with you having your strength shorn away while perched atop Barbie's pink Jeep....

Before we left, Miss Yvonne gave us a lovely "1st Haircut" certificate, an envelope full of golden curls, and a first lollipop for the boy. Yummy cherry Dum-Dum!

Calm down, safety nuts. The choking hazard was removed &
seatbelts were buckled securely before the car was put into motion.

New Pics

Samson is getting more and more capable with his eating utensils. Of course, not everything makes it into the pie hole just yet.

PawPaw and Grandma came to town this weekend to visit. As usual, Samson was delighted to revel in hours of undivided attention from his two biggest fans.

And you may have noticed that Samson's hair is becoming especially fluffy. Soon we'll be heading for our first trip to the barber, but for now, we're enjoying these luscious curls.

Ouch!

Samson seems determined to live up to his name, fearlessly charging ahead into everything he does. So it's no surprise that he is already racking up quite a collection of bumps, bruises, and scrapes. Today included two incidents. Running full steam down the driveway turned into a face-plant into the rocks with gashes from forehead to cheek. And later in the day, scaling his foam chair from the back led to a lip busted on the corner of another piece of furniture.


On the bright side, we've learned that Totally Toddler Stain Remover works exceptionally well taking blood out of cotton.

Lovin' the New Camera!

Say hello to the Canon PowerShot SD890 IS. New videos coming soon....

Fun Weekend Report

Samson was a very busy boy this weekend, what with Friday dinner with the Turners, PawPaw's visit, Lily's 3rd birthday party, and playing with his new water-play castle.

Unfortunately, we have no video and few pics of all the cuteness displayed over this time, as Mama's spilled coffee has killed our family historian, the Canon SD630 (Lesson learned: if you get your digi-camera wet, never, NEVER turn it on until it is completely dry inside. Dry it out by opening all the compartments, removing the battery & memory card, and placing in a container of super absorbent material like silica packets or rice. No guarantee, but it might bring the camera a few more months of service. More on this here). We captured a few shots with our old standby, the Canon S410, but the video function on that one went caput long ago. And, it costs almost as much to attempt to repair these digital wonders as it does to just buy a better new one with several improvements for the amateur photog. Guess we're gonna have a drawer designated as the dead digital camera crypt.... But Mama digresses. You're here for the pics, so here you go:

Not sitting on my bottom like I'm supposed to do in the wagon

Clap-clap-clapping with PawPaw

At 3 years of age, Lily slays the giant piggy

Soon to be soaking wet from head to toe

We Heart Uncle M

Mama's eldest brother came to visit this afternoon as part of his annual trek through the states from the secret foreign country where he lives (Uncle M is a bit paranoid about revealing any info about himself online; ironic for a published author, don'cha think?).
Samson quickly determined that Uncle M would make a fine playmate and they shared lots of giggles, tickles, and a few turns doing "The Samson" (that's his trademarked new dance move).

We all enjoyed the visit. Come back when you can, Uncle M.

Off to School

Samson had his second day of preschool this morning. Here's a photo the campus director sent home to assure Mama that the AM parting tears were dry:

After searching high and low to find a daycare that Mama could feel good about, we settled on a wonderful place called the Goddard School. On the con side, it's 12 miles away on the opposite side of town from where we'd like to be driving in the morning. But the plusses are too many to list here, chief among them a caring, professional staff of educated and experienced teachers in every class from infant to kindergarten.

Samson started on Friday in the Starfish class for 12 to 18 month old toddlers, but the staff recommended that he move up to the Angelfish class for 18 to 24 month-olds, as "he's too advanced to be in the early toddler class." Needless to say, Mama and Daddy are giddy over that quote. Our little man is growing up so fast!

The Angelfish class has 2 other boys and 4 little girls, for a total of 7 toddlers under the care of Ms. Desiree and her assistant, Ms. Angela (in the picture above). Samson attends for a half-day on M-W-F at this point, but will probably move into full-time by the end of the summer when Mama goes back to her career outside of parenting.

I Heart PawPaw

Samson woke up from his nap on Saturday to find that his favorite visitor had arrived for a playdate. First things first, though -- hugs and grins.

Running boy

Running boy, originally uploaded by LeftyMama.

After walking for just a few weeks, Samson wants to go faster. He let loose in the backyard this afternoon and giggled as Daddy chased.

Excellent table manners