Dallas Arboretum

We went to the Arboretum weekend before last to take a group picture with the MCOP Moms' group. We took the group picture, then headed off to let Sam play in the pumpkin patch.



I think he ran for a solid hour.



He finally settled down for a photo or two.



Here he is posing sweetly with his Daddy.



But we couldn't convince him to smile and pose for a family photo.



Melanie interviewed for a job at BBJ Linen last week and got it. It's a great opportunity for her doing what she is interested in. We are really excited for her! I took this photo of her when she got home from the interview.



And here she is the morning of her first day at work this week. Notice that it's still dark outside. She's got a pretty long drive to and from work.



This was Sam's first McDonald's Happy Meal. I got him the chicken nuggets and apple dippers with a side order of fries. Sam LOVES french fries and ketchup. This was the first time that he tried apples other than applesauce. He didn't really care for them. He didn't really like the caramel dip that came with them either.



Sam had his first peanut butter and jelly sandwich this weekend. He gave it a good try until the sandwich came apart. He didn't really like the sticky stuff on his hands.

Sam's eating habits have been getting better. He still doesn't love vegetables, so if he doesn't eat his vegetables at dinner, I give him a V8. He loves V8. Maybe it's the same reason kids love ketchup.



Here is Sam playing with his dragons. He likes to sit with his back against things. He really likes to sit against his plastic dragon and then wrap the stuffed dragon around him.

We moved Sam's bedtime about 30 minutes later. He just hasn't been as tired at bedtime as he used to be, plus it always seemed like we were rushing to get him in bed. He's doing pretty well with the new bedtime. I put him his crib awake and he curls up with his blanky and his doggy-bear, and he usually doesn't fuss any more. Sometimes he even reaches for his bed before I'm ready to put him down. The interesting side effect is that he's been sleeping as much as an hour later in the morning. Although, it is possible that he's just quietly playing and not actually sleeping -- I don't really check on him until I hear him jabbering.

Sam has gotten funny about his bedtime stories. If we get a book that he doesn't want, he reaches out, closes the book, claps his hands, and signs all done. Lately he does that with every book except his pop-up books. When we bring out the pop-up books, he claps and squeals and kicks his legs. I'm surprised that he doesn't try to tear the pages, but he does have to hit at each pop-up.

Sam has been teething his top canines for a little while now. It seems like that led to drainage this week, which led to a cough and a runny nose, which ultimately led to drainage in his ears, and one of his tubes plugged up. I took him to the ENT again today, and the good news is that we caught it before it got infected. She was able to unplug the tube and drain the fluid, so he should feel a little better. I can't wait for him to get all of his teeth!