Keeping Up with the Kramers

We also stopped by Aunt Tammy's house to visit with the other side of Mommy's family. We managed to squeeze a second Thanksgiving dinner into our bellies, and Cooper (Tammy's dog) gave Sam the usual face bath with his tongue.  Sam cracked up laughing, of course, and couldn't have been happier. This kid is cuckoo over dogs! We also got the chance to teach Sam about the game of Corn Hole. We can see him now, getting into some fierce competitions with his cousin Olivia.. just as soon as he can stand up on his own! 

Over the holiday weekend, we headed to Aunt Kath and Uncle Mike's house in Palm Harbor, FL. We had a great time catching up with the Kramer side of our family, eating more delicious meals and exploring cousin Lleyton's awesome toys!  Sam discovered that there is such thing as a Hess helicopter with a car inside of it.  Jackpot! 

On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, Sam hit another major milestone - his first public temper tantrum.  Such a proud moment for us (sarcasm). We were finishing lunch at a Palm Harbor restaurant when Sam's patience had expired and he decided that he was done with being confined to a high chair. He screamed at the top of his lungs, arched his back and slid down in the chair until he hit his head on the back of the seat. We were genuinely surprised since our "chill baby" has never acted out to this degree before. This display was as equally fascinating as it was concerning.  I guess we'll be working on a discipline plan sooner rather than later!  Stay calm, young Samuel...use The Force.  

Temper tantrum and all, this Thanksgiving we couldn't be more grateful for all of the amazing gifts that we have in our life: each other, our healthy and strong-willed little boy, a warm and safe home, food to eat, great jobs and the love of our wonderful family and friends.   Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.  Tonight we will fall asleep counting our blessings...    

We put out one heckuva spread at our house for Halloween, complete with a "driveway picnic" of homemade crock-pot chili with all of the fixins', cornbread, and old-fashioned Root Beer (plus some Yuengling on ice for the grown-ups) and of course plenty of candy! All of our family, neighbors and friends were invited to grab a bite, take a seat and sneak some treats!

Grandma Ewen came over dressed as one of Sam's favorite Disney characters - Minnie Mouse.  Sam wasn't as fascinated with her as he is with the real deal, but he was quite fascinated with her painted-on black button nose.  He kept grabbing at it, which only confused him when he could never quite "gotchyer nose", but only ended up smudging his hands and her face with black make-up!  It became pretty comical after a while...

  

Uncle Scott came by for a bowl of chili and some trick-or-treating. Our first stop was right next door at our wonderful neighbors' house, where Sam picked up his first-ever Halloween treat from Hello Kitty!  Nothing but smiles and laughter all around!

Another neighbor, Officer Ray, brought his huge Great Dane by for a visit, which we thought might be the trick of the night for our tiny boy.  This dog stands at least a foot taller than Sam!  But Sam just looked that huge dog right in the face and giggled hysterically.  This big dog's name is Princess, which is pretty ironic.  And we are learning that our little boy LOVES dogs of all shapes and sizes, and even loves their "kisses"!   

Shortly after Princess arrived, we all had to dart inside when a blanket of hungry mosquitoes suddenly appeared in blitzkrieg style and put a damper on our driveway party!  But it was still a great Halloween since Sam got to visit with so many of his favorite friends and neighbors.  We were visited by lots of ghouls and goblins throughout the evening, even after Sam was fast asleep...and by the end of the night our candy bowl was empty.  We will call this first Halloween a success!  BOO!