Blast From the Past

Pops went up in the attic. Now Sam's got a whole new world of toys, some that belonged to Mama long ago, and some that belonged to Uncle Andrew, who is slowly but surely learning to share his toys nicely with his nephew.  Everything's in such good shape - amazing after 30+ years!


He also has a new room - Pops moved his office upstairs and then he and Gram set up that room for Sam to have all to himself while he's at their house.  His crib and toys used to be in their bedroom.  Now he has his own "baby cave" and it has even more old toys, mostly Uncle Andrew's, and a they're right within his reach in a big closet with a cool sliding door.  He's already napped three times in his crib and has done lots of singing, dancing and reading in his room.  The video here was taken the day of the "big reveal".  Thanks Gram and Pops!


Sam's New Room from Sara Straka on Vimeo.

The Kid Loves Music


Sam loves music - and shiny things.
This kept him occupied for a while in the kitchen yesterday so that I could get a start on dinner.  This bowl makes a really, unique sound when you strike it with a metal baby spoon.  Not a sound I would describe as soothing.  And yet, a sound more pleasant than a fussy baby. 
Look at those little red knees.  Poor baby.  And look at those cheeks - couldn't you just eat him up!

Play That Funky Music White Boy


Sam really knows how to lay down that boogie. Actually, he just likes to bang on things. And the fact that this little piano makes noise back is simply a bonus. He sits up on his own during most of his playtime now. It's opened up a whole new world for him and enables him to play with different kinds of toys. I think this will be Daddy's favorite toy, and possibly his new alarm clock!

The title of this blog entry makes me smile because not only would it make a pretty cute caption for this photo, it was one year ago today that we found out we were having a boy. As I left school for the doctor's office that afternoon, I turned on the radio. The song that was playing was Pet Shop Boy's West End Girls. "Oh my," I thought. "It's a sign. We're having a girl". But because I don't really like that song, I changed the station. What was playing? You guessed it. Play That Funky Music White Boy. Needless to say at this point I was a little confused by the conflicting messages the universe was sending me, so I decided to change the station once last time and just wait for the sonogram to tell the story.

A short time later, we learned we were having a boy, which thrilled me to no end. And if I had known just how awesome that baby boy would turn out to be, I would have been dancin' and singin' and movin' to the groovin' all the way home...