Sitting IN his toy bin

I found Sam this way on Friday afternoon. He had dumped out most of the toys and crawled in somehow.

The COOLEST Dance

Nope... this is not going to be a photo post, unlike my norm.

Last night I went with the youth to a 7-stake dance hosted by the Boston Stake. The theme was "Winter in New York". It was TOTALLY AWESOME.

Let me describe... you walk in and in every corner of the cultural hall there were food stands reminiscent of the streets of New York. There was a hot dog stand, a popcorn stand, chips, hot chocolate, and drinks. On the sides there were these gigantic cardboard new york skyline skyscrapers which were literally up to the ceiling and complete with window cut-outs. Behind these contraptions was some sort of light source so they looked like real windows with light filtering through. In the middle of the floor were risers of some sort - multi-level that the youth could stand and dance on (also complete with another speaker camouflaged in the middle). In the back of the dance floor was a gigantic piece of plexiglass cut out like the Rockefellar Ice Skating Rink where the youth could "ice skate" in their socks.

AND to top it all off, they had TWO local bands perform live.

It was by far the coolest dance I have ever been to. They have certainly set the bar for future multi-stake dances... Way to go Boston Stake.

MahnaMahna

Many of you know the mahna mahna song from the Muppet Show...

With Robin and Jacee, the YW Presidency used that song for our lip sync skit last night at mutual. We also used these clever puppets instead of lip singing ourselves. Jacee and I had fun putting these together yesterday afternoon while Sam and Kenslee played.

My NEW Diaper bag

Yep! Thanks to my mom and lots of her sewing, we made a new diaper bag for me while she was here visiting! It's tres chic and I have received multiple compliments on it as well as questions like, "Where did you get that? I want one just like it!"

Check it out!

Since I designed it, I must point out a few key features. First, the divider. Essential for splitting up Sam's toys adn things and my stuff.
Next, the button closure (Yep, mom! I finally put the buttons on!)
The custom made diaper and similar wipes pocket. They're the perfect size...
The two pockets on my side for my wallet, keys, (a custom built in pens pocket in the top pocket), etc.
Thanks for all your help Mom! I couldn't have done it without you!

Lil' Bruiser

Sam had a little fall over the weekend in which he got a nice goose-egg bruise on his forehead and a scrape on his cheek. Here are some pics...

First of all - check out these blue eyes! I am always amazed that Matt and I have a child with eyes this blue. Sam was sticking out his tongue at me while I was taking pics.
Neither of these pics do his little gooser justice.
Sam getting into his toy bin. Whenever I have the camera out these days, he wants to take pictures too... This is right after I took the first pic. Notice that sneaky look in his eye?

Nothing Like Having Your Mom Here

It was great to have Mom, Lindz, Leese, and Sopharoo come visit. Here are the last (I promise) of some fun pics from their trip here.

Here's LindseySophie trying on Sam's hat
Some tags Leese made. These represent what most of our free time was spent doing on this trip... CRAFTS! Especially sewing and using my COOL cricut which Matt got me for Christmas.
Matt trying to scare Sophie. It didn't really work...
Sam walking - yes, full blown walking everywhere now!

Lindsey after trying some delicious treats that she and Leese made.
A little MarioKart competition...
Sophie playing in the water.
Cute little Soph.
And that's it! Thanks for coming!

Blankie on Head Stealing

Check out this photo story that happened during our photo shoot...

Sam loves to wear his blankie on his head. So, Sophie had her burp cloth on her head...
Sam decided that that burp cloth was too tempting.
"Well... " says Sophie... "I guess I'll take yours!"

Sam thinks, NO WAY are you going to have my little "binkit"!!
But, all's well that ends well!

Photo Shoot Part 2

The last few of the RED set of pics. I really like these two of little Sophie.

Photo Shoot

Photo Shoot Part 1
We had some fun taking pics of Sophie, Lindsey, my mom, etc. while they were all here. Here are some of the best. I"ll put the rest of them in the next post.

This is the first thing Lindsey did when I told her we were going to have a photo shoot...


Lindsey and Sophie
Lindsey and Mom

Sophie in THE CUTEST little "polar bear suit" as Matt calls it.
Sam
Cousins Sam and Sophie
Lindsey B.
...and more representative of Lindsey's personality...

Cocoa Puff Addiction

Matt loves cocoa puffs. It's his favorite cereal. So, while Lindsey was visiting, she had some for breakfast. Sam, the ever observant one, wanted some too...