Little Bakers

Matthew asked me yesterday if I knew about the "situation" in the kitchen. No, it wasn't a bug infestation or a sink full of dishes -- his cookie jar was almost empty and he wanted to be sure I knew it!

Sam was my helper -- and Zak (in Grandma Ro's apron)
wasn't about to be left out!

They played a little before we got down to business.

Sam took care of making the cookie
dough and Zak poured in the chips.

My scooper!


Oooh, they are good!

Poor Zak -- he didn't get any cookies after dinner because he chose to only eat watermelon balls. Hopefully he'll get one tomorrow!

He doesn't look like he's suffering!

It won't be long until I can turn this job over to the boys and just supervise!

Going Home -- 5 Years Ago

September 4th is a special day in our family. Almost as important as Sam's birthday is the day he came home from the hospital. After 68 days in the hospital, Sam was finally released to come home with us!

It was the first day we ever held him
without any tubes or wires -- it was strange
to be able to walk around the room with him.

Shortly after he was born, they told us one of the requirements for going home was to be able to go for seven days without him stopping breathing. At that time, it seemed like he might be going to Kindergarten in the NICU -- it just didn't seem like that was going to happen!

He looks so small in this carseat -- but we
thought he was huge at 6 pounds 13 ounces!

We are so grateful to have this anniversary to celebrate!

The First Day

Sam's much anticipated first day of kindergarten was today -- and he was ready to go!

Worn out from last weekend, he has slept in the last two days until the unheard of hour of 7:00am -- so 6:15am came a little early for him this morning! (When he slept in so long on Monday morning, he came out of his room and said, 'Mom, I was amazed to see it was 7:04am!').

A little sleepy at the breakfast table -- but ready to go!


It was a bit too drippy outside to do
pictures on the front porch this morning!

He wanted to make sure he
had a goofy pose -- he succeeded!

Excited about his first day -- but disappointed
that he doesn't get to ride the bus!

Sam waiting his turn at his classroom door.

Ms. Schoenborn escorted each child to their desk.
The only one with tears this morning was Zak!

Don't tell Sam, but then we headed to Panera!

Zak played while Matthew and I talked about how
in no time Sam will be graduating from high school!

Waiting at the wall to be
picked up at the end of the day.

Corn dogs at Red Robin -- Sam's favorite place!

Zak had a corn dog too!

Sam had homework -- it was in this bag that
he was to open when he got home.

A cookie! A tough assignment!
They have to report back what color their
cookie was for a math exercise tomorrow.

Sam had a great first day and is looking forward to going back tomorrow!

Sam's Puzzled

Sam is great at puzzles and we recently noticed that he needed something a little more challenging. So while we were visiting Jacksonville this weekend, we stopped by our favorite toy store and picked up a new puzzle -- 100 pieces!

Matthew talked him through it -- but Sam put it together all by himself!

Working hard -- notice his tongue!

After a little break for bike riding, dinner
and pj's -- Sam finished his puzzle!

He finished it a lot faster than I thought he would -- so we'll need to get a few more in the rotation!

The Wedding Weekend

On Thursday we piled into the car and headed to Jacksonville, Oregon for Matthew's sister, Katie's wedding.

Grammie and Poppy came too -- so we all rented an historic house in downtown Jacksonville for our stay. Every time Sam talked about where we were staying, he didn't say "the house", it was always "the Judge Hanna House". It was creaky, with old-fashioned light switches, lots of fun toys for the boys and deer that roamed the backyard.

It was so fun to see Matthew's extended family and finally meet Katie's fiancee, Joshua (not to be confused with Matthew's brother Joshua)!

Two goofballs in the backseat!

Two tired goofballs!

Caleb and Sam hiding out in the pantry.

A rare family photo!

Bocce ball on the front lawn.

Sam trying on his tux -- Grammie said he
looked like a Chippendale's dancer!

The flower girl and ring bearers at the wedding rehearsal.

Zak wandering around during the rehearsal.

Sam and Caleb practiced holding their pretend pillows!

Zak trying out the old pump at the house we rented.

Zak and Poppy hanging out before the wedding.

A proud ringbearer makes it successfully down the stairs!

Beautiful Katie and her Dad.

What cute cousins!

It was a great weekend with family, capped off by a lovely wedding and Katie was a beautiful bride!

Congratulations Katie & Joshua!

All Tied Up!

Back-to-school shoe shopping resulted in not one pair of shoes with velcro -- so the lessons in tying shoelaces has begun! Even Zak tried for a little while.

Sam's great at following directions -- so hopefully he'll get the hang of it before long!

A Line In The Sand

We're always on the look-out for a teachable moment -- unfortunately this one flew right over someone's head!

Sam and Zak were playing in the sandbox this afternoon and Zak kept smashing Sam's carefully crafted piles of sand. Zak thought it was great fun and Sam was getting frustrated. I reminded Sam that his brother was only 2 years old and maybe he could play with Zak rather than insist that they each keep to their own sides of the box.

Mom: Sam, what do you need right now?
Sam: My own stuff!
Mom: I was looking for "patience".

I'm sure we'll have another teachable moment in the near future!