The lost months...

Easter Sunday, 2015

A happy belated Easter to anyone who still happens to stop by this utterly abandoned blog.  I think of it often.  And that's usually as far as it goes, because when I have to choose between giving my time to my child or giving it to my blog, the child wins every time.  Were my blog capable of screaming, throwing food around my kitchen, giving adorable, germ-spreading, open-mouthed kisses, or giggling angelically, choosing between the two might not be so easy.  But as things stand right now, there really is no contest.

So it seems another quick update is in order.

January - It was cold.  There was snow.  There's really nothing to say for it.  January is awful.

February - It was cold.  There was snow.  After one particular storm, we brought Sammy out into the snow in the new snowsuit he'd received from my parents for Christmas.  He sat in his car seat and was delighted with the falling snowflakes as Hansen and I shoveled the drive way and cleared snow off of Hansen's car.  When his little nose had turned red and we were just about ready to take him inside, we plopped him in a pile of snow and got his first "playing in the snow" photo. 

First time playing in the snow.

From my Valentine.

Other than that cute little photo op, and the Red Velvet Oreos and roses that Hansen got me for Valentine's day, February was useless until the very last week, when we left Illinois and went to Florida to visit my grandpa.  If you must be alive during February, I recommend doing it in Southwest Florida.  We had some great weather, and lots of fun visiting with my parents (who came with us) and my grandpa.  Sammy got to go in a swimming pool and a hot tub for the first time.  He preferred the hot tub! We also visited the Naples, FL botanical gardens, Corkscrew Swamps Animal Sanctuary (where we saw lots of wildlife...including a couple of alligators!), and, of course, the beach.  Sammy LOVED the beach, but did not care for the cold ocean water, so we mostly just played on a blanket in the sand.

Living the good life on the beach!

Sammy and Poupon fishing from the pier.

Sammy and Daddy in the pool.

Sammy and Daddy in the hot tub.

Sammy prefers the hot tub at night...when it's warm.

Picking an orange off of my grandpa's tree!

Unfortunately, the unfamiliar surroundings messed Sammy's sleep schedule up, so Hansen and I did not get quite as much rest as we had hoped for.  But we made the best of it, and the fact that my parents were there to help out was definitely a huge blessing.

I only read one book on vacation.  In years past I used to read 7 or more.  I'd average about a book a day.  But I think those days might be gone...if not forever, then for many, many years.

The only really crummy thing about the whole visit was the return flight.  We got to the airport around 8 PM for what was supposed to be a 9:56 PM departure.  However, as soon as we got there we were told that the flight had been delayed until something like 3 AM.  Then, after waiting around the airport for over an hour, we found out the flight was outright canceled.  So then we were scrambling to find hotel accommodations near the airport.  That was a nightmare.  We ended up at a Days Inn in the seediest part of Ft. Myers, surrounded by all night massage parlors, in a room with two double beds, which we shared with my parents.  Hansen crowds me to the very edge of our queen size bed pretty frequently, so you can imagine how it was with the three of us (Sammy included) sharing that nice little double.  I kept a foot braced against the wall for part of the night to keep from falling off into the narrow gap between the bed and the wall.  Also, Sammy woke in the middle of the night crying, so I paced him back and forth in the dark for about an hour, trying to keep him quiet enough for everyone else to sleep.  Not my best night on record.

The next day our flight was again delayed, so we spend most of the day waiting around, first in our hotel room and then at the airport.  Waiting around all day at an airport with an 11 month old baby is not as fun as it sounds.  Eventually, though, we did make it home.  And supposedly we're getting free round trip tickets out of the whole ordeal.  I haven't called the airline about that yet, but it's on my never ending to do list.

March - Things got a little warmer in Illinois.  The snow melted and we went on a few walks. 

On the H.U.M. Trail

The most notable piece of news about March was that Hansen installed a dishwasher!  I've never had a dishwasher.  It has changed my entire life!  I don't think I can go without one ever again, and Hansen is my hero.

Hansen and I also got new cell phones.  Kind of expensive (gulp), but so far we really like them.  And Sammy is thrilled that he gets to play with our old phones once in a while.  I'm trying not to let him have them too often, though.  I want them to remain somewhat of a novelty so that I can use them to distract him when things get a little hairy...like when we're stuck in an airport all day or something.

Just delighted with his new toy...Daddy's old cell phone.

April - Sammy turned 1 year old on April 1st!  It was a beautiful day.  I took a half day off of work and we went for a walk with his Granny in the afternoon.  Later that evening we had Granny and Poupon (my parents) and Grandma (Hansen's mom) over for dinner.  Sammy had a great day...opened some presents, ate destroyed some cake, and took some unsupported steps!!!  I just can't believe that a year has passed.  It some ways it seems like Sammy has always been with us.  And at other times I look at him and think, "We have a kid!  How did that happen?  When did that happen?  And when did that little 8 lb. 7oz. baby I remember get big enough to start walking?"

Filled with birthday joy...and chocolate cake.

And then came last weekend...Easter.  This was Sammy's second Easter and he spent much more of it conscious than he did last year.  After church in the morning, he got to go on an Easter egg hunt at his great grandparent's house.  Mostly he just picked up the eggs that I and others found, but he seemed to enjoy it.  He also got a few birthday gifts.  We postponed his birthday party until early May, when his uncle will be in town from San Diego, but a few people were too eager to wait until then.  Sam's great uncle Steve made him a beautiful, Sammy-sized picnic table out of repurposed cedar wood, and his Aunt Barbara and Uncle Tim got him a stuffed puppy that lights up and plays music.  Sammy was thrilled with both.

Sammy with his picnic table and puppy toy!

So...that's all the news that's worth sharing.  Or all that I can think of right now, anyway.  My mind is not at its sharpest these days.  I'm fighting off some kind of illness and I'm super tired.  Hopefully it won't last long.  Spring is here and I want to have enough energy to get out and enjoy it when I can!  It was long in coming.