Keeping Up with the Kramers

Thanksgiving came and went in a flash, so it seemed. Sam and Heather spent the day with her side of the family while Shawn worked, then the whole family headed to Palm Harbor for the weekend to see some of the Kramer clan. We had a great time catching up with everyone, but as usual, the time just went by way too fast.

And here we are now, in full swing of Christmastime. We started out the month by taking Sam to see his first musical production, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, at the Orlando Repertory Theater in Downtown Orlando. We weren't sure if Sam would have the patience to sit through an entire play, but we were delighted when he not only sat through it, he was completely engaged. He clapped, he danced and he exclaimed "OH NO!" when the abominable snowman tried to attack. We were so thrilled that he had such a good time.


We've been reading books about Santa and watching Christmas movies since the start of the season. Sam, all on his own, started saying "ho ho ho" and talking about Santa. We have even included Santa in the list of people that we say good night to at bedtime. This was all good prep for our annual trip to visit with Santa Claus!  Now, even though the visit went great last year, we weren't quite sure how Sam would do this time as an often rambunctious almost-two-year-old.  He's very good with the Disney characters and with meeting new people, so we were fairly optimistic.  We arrived at the mall on a Tuesday morning, ready with Sam's wish list and million-dollar smile!  We knew we'd be asking too much of him to wait in a long line (last year we only waited a few minutes, but this year the crowd was much heavier), so Daddy held a place in line while Mommy and Sam walked around and took trips up and down on the elevator. After a few laps around the mall and several elevator and escalator rides, it was finally our turn!

"Let's see, have I been naughty or nice?"

I love you, Santa!

We can officially call this visit a success!

Props to Theme Street Pictures... they really know how to pose these kids and have the right tools on hand to distract and get them to look in the right direction. They are serious pros, I have to say. And major kudos to Santa... he not only looks amazing (you know, for his advanced age and all), but he's really great with the kids. This is the second year in a row that we've gone to the Mall at Millennia to see Santa and we will keep coming back! P.S. Did you notice the Spiderman photo bomb in each of these shots?

Like a lot of you with busy schedules, it's really important to us to make the most of our time when we're together as a family.  We've created a family calendar that helps us plan ahead so we're not left in that frustrating position of answering "what do you want to do today?"  While we love our quiet "lazy" days hanging around the house, we also love to get out and let Sam explore the amazing world around him.  And we have visitors with small children a few times a year that often ask, "what should we do?"

So here is our go-to list of things that we enjoy (or hope to enjoy) doing as a family in the Winter Garden and Orlando area. We expect this list to grow as Sam gets older and can participate in more things (We can't wait to take him to Wonderworks or back to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex), but for now you'll notice that this list is limited to "little kid" friendly activities.

1. Orlando Science Center

2. Green Meadow Farms
3. Turkey Lake Park

4.  Fire Station Tour (the station in Downtown Orlando is pretty cool)

5. Winter Garden splash pad

6. Pool crashing

7. Downtown Disney

8. Beach day

9. Gatorland

10. Picnic in the park, followed by ice cream at Scoops!

11. Fun Spot or an arcade/mall with ride-ons

12. Orlando Repertory Theater

13. Matinee movie at the West Orange 5
14. PetSmart for tapping tanks and meowing at kitty cats waiting to be adopted
15. Themed or Character Dining (i.e. Rainforest Cafe, T-Rex or Backyard BBQ)
16. Pony Rides
17. Story time at the public library or Barnes & Noble. The Winter Garden library also has arts & crafts for kids of all ages
18. Richard Petty Driving Experience (as spectators, of course)
19. Music with Mar or Gymboree class (Sam attends Music with Mar every week with his sitter)
20. Central Florida Zoo

Here are some seasonal ideas that really help us immerse ourselves in the season and create some fun family traditions:

Ringling Brothers Circus (January)
Central Florida Fair (February)
Winter Garden Evening at the Pops, featuring the Orlando Philharmonic (March)
Easter Egg Hunt (April)
Disney/Pixar Cars Masters Weekend (June)
Movies in the Park (Summer)
Fourth of July fireworks - no one blows it out like a Disney theme park (July)
Barktoberfest (September)
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (Sept-Oct)
Dragon Boat Races (October)
Winter Garden Music Festival (October)
Winter Garden Halloweenfest (October)
Air & Space Show (November)
Celebration Fall Festival (November); Snow Drop (December)
Winter Garden Christmas Parade (December)
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (December)
Orange Blossom Cannonball Express Christmas Train (December)
Candlelight Processional (December)

In case you don't watch the movie Cars at least twice a week like we do, Mack is the name of the semi truck that hauls Lightening McQueen around. McQueen gets lost from Mack in the beginning of the movie and he speeds off down the highway screaming for Mack. So every time Sam sees a semi truck, he points to it and screams MAAAAACK!

Shawn's brother Chris drives a truck for a living so we were pretty excited when he called to say that he was passing through our area. We were excited for Chris to finally meet his nephew and we knew that Sam was going to lose his mind over the truck.

We met up with Chris and his truck just as the sun was setting, and Sam didn't disappoint. He shook with excitement and screamed MAAAAACK! when we pulled into the parking lot.

Can you tell he's excited?

"I wonder if I can just drive away while no one's looking."

"Move over and let me show you how this is done, Uncle Chris."

Sam, Uncle Chris and Shawn

"This thing goes on FOREVER"

We think that Halloween is shaping up to be one of Sam's favorite holidays. His Aunt Deb and Aunt Shell sent him books for Halloween, and Sam has chosen these books as bedtime stories almost every night since October. He says Happy Halloween very well, and we've even taught him to cackle like a witch.  "HA-ka-ka-ka-kaaaaa!"

Like most boys his age, Sam is obsessed with vehicles, particularly fire trucks and trains. It was a tough choice, but we decided to go with a train engineer for his Halloween costume given his strong preference for Thomas and Friends at the time. Coincidently, I found these overalls at a local consignment shop. Not only were they the only pair in the store, but they were just Sam's size. After that shopping find, it was a done deal, and an adorable Thomas treat bucket topped off his costume perfectly.


We had a blast trick-or-treating with our neighbors and Grandma Ewen, who had to come over to see Sam dressed up for Halloween. Sam was excited to run up to every door - light on or not - and hold out his pail. He even said "Trick-or-Treat" several times which was usually met with an "awwww."  Since Sam isn't quite into candy yet, we may have sampled some of his treats. So, all-in-all, it was a SPOOK-tacular evening for everyone!

Our neighbors and Officer Grandma

Making friends with the neighbors

With this intense Florida heat, most of our outdoor activities this summer have taken place in or around water.  Good thing the little man is learning to swim and even better that he loves the water so much! We've found some pretty awesome spots to cool off and make some summer memories.

Swimming with cousin Collier

Downtown Winter Garden Splash Pad

Our favorite pool is the kiddie pool at Disney's Port Orleans Resort

Sam's newest trick in the pool is diving.  Yep, you read that right... our 18 month old can swim to the bottom of the pool and retrieve a toy.  Shawn and I had a hard time believing it since we weren't there when he first tried it at his swimming lesson.  But his Grandma Ewen showed us video proof, and we soon saw it for ourselves during the next trip to the pool.  It's pretty cool to see how quickly kids learn new skills... especially things that you can't imagine they're capable of doing at their age.

Speaking of which, Sam is finally big enough that he has started navigating the playground equipment more confidently.  And he gets better at it every week!  We found a pretty cool playground at Turkey Lake Park where Sam climbed his first "rock wall."  He's been a pretty good stair climber for a while now, but we were still pretty impressed as he pulled himself up this plastic wall pretty easily.

Baby's first rock climb

Blowin' up the fist bump

Here are more photos from our June and July adventures including Father's Day and family visits.

Sam's language is exploding now.  He says a new word almost every day and each one brings the same excitement as the last.  It's just been amazing watching him go from "dada" and "ball" to big words like "applesauce" and "firetruck."

The month of May started off with two special family celebrations, Shawn's forty-somethingeth birthday and Mother's Day!  We dedicated each of those days to enjoying time together as a family.  Whether it was early morning breakfast in our jammies, lunch at our favorite restaurant, playing in the park or taking a family bike ride...no matter what we did, it all added up to perfect for us.  And of course, little Sam was happy to simply play with the balloons!

A typical kid...so fascinated by a balloon!

We enjoyed a visit with Shawn's sister Kathy and her husband Mike who live nearby in Palm Harbor, and who we always love to have around as much as possible!  Mike and Kath had been interested in spending some time at Disney World, and we had been looking forward to taking Sam to see some of his favorite characters from Disney Junior, live on stage.  So off we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios for a fun-filled day!

C'mon, Aunt Kath...we have a Fast Pass!

Hola, Handy Manny!

The Disney Junior Live show was the highlight of this visit for Sam.  He is crazy about many of the characters he sees on TV each morning, like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Doc McStuffins and Jake the Neverland Pirate.  And Sam loves to dance and feel almost any kind of music.  So he was very excited to see, hear and dance along with the show...and for the grown-ups, he was a joy to watch!



Another Disney trip was in store when we had a brief surprise visit from some of Shawn's family visiting from up north.  Sam got to meet and enjoy some play time, this time at the Magic Kingdom,  with his Wisconsin cousins who are affectionately known in our family as the "Cheese Curds".  He also got his first kiss, somewhat reluctantly, from the fairest of them all, Snow White!

Natalie, Jack, Sam and Maia at the Magic Kingdom...they all actually stood still for a split second!

I know, I'm irresistible.

Back at home, we've been experimenting with sensory materials. We try to keep Sam active and engaged throughout his days, and sensory activities have offered us a creative, safe and inexpensive way of helping him explore the world around him. The best part is that he has a ton of fun and gets to make a mess!  And our boy is happy to dig right in - literally.

This oatmeal is no match for Sam and a Mac truck!

There are several bloggers out there that offer sensory play ideas. One of our favorites is Fun At Home With Kids. So far, we've been inspired to play with cloud dough (flour and vegetable oil), "dirt" (dried coffee grounds) with plastic toy creatures, oatmeal, shaving cream, jello and rice. We've mainly been using edible items because Sam can't seem to resist taking a taste.  As you can see above, he's not afraid to get his hands dirty, but nothing gets this boy more excited than a tub, or pool, full of water.

Which brings us to one of the most fun and exciting developments of late, Sam began taking swimming lessons!  We are so lucky that one of Shawn's oldest friends lives really close by and she is a certified Infant Swim Resource instructor.  Sam's lessons were ten minutes per day, five days a week for about six weeks. At first, we were really nervous for him. Sam cried during his first lesson (and Heather may have even shed a few tears herself), but soon enough he was smiling and laughing as he showed off his new water skills. He took to holding his breath very easily, and it wasn't long before he could swim to the wall or to an outstretched hand all by himself. We are so impressed with Sam, and proud of his courage and hard work.  And we couldn't be more grateful to our friend for such an amazing gift.  Here are a few shots of Sam in the beginning of his six-week program.

Sam's instructor, Brynn, said he took naturally to holding his breath under water.

Hey Michael Phelps...check out my butterfly!

Snackin' and relaxin' after working hard in the pool...

If you live in the West Orange County area and would like more information about Infant Swim Resource or our favorite instructor, please feel free to contact us!

Here is a closer look at these and other photos from the month of May.

Okay so the title of this post has nothing to do with anything except maybe that relish goes with ketchup (see Ketchup post below, if ya didn't get that reference).  So as we continue to post ourselves back into the present, here are some of the adventures we enjoyed back in April....or I guess you could say, these were moments that we RELISHed.  (hold the applause, I'll be here all week)

Our little Sam is between 14-15 months old in these photos.  He was growing like crazy and seemed to be sprouting a new tooth every few seconds.  He had some mildly grumpy days and a low-grade fever here and there, just enough to let us know something was going on.  But luckily for all of us, for the most part he plowed through a really busy period of growth without too much stress.  He's a tough little cookie and doesn't seem to let things get him down for long.  Sam is still a great sleeper, catching around 10-11 hours of uninterrupted sleep most nights, plus a nice long nap during the day (ahh, to be one again).  He loves to eat, mostly regular grown-up food at this point (even if it sometimes has to be cut up into smaller bites), and has gotten really good at feeding himself while thoughtfully leaving a pile of crumbs on the floor for his best furry buddy, Teddy.  We joke quite often that no one should ever try to raise a toddler without also having a little dog around to clean up after them!  Just like his dad, one of Sam's current favorite foods is cheese, which he asks for regularly in his cute little voice..."cheeeees?".

Here's Sam taking his dinner on the veranda at sunset, what a life!

One of the more distinct characteristics that we can report about Sam through this period is that he loves to be outside.  Doesn't matter to him if it's hot, cold, sunny or raining, he just wants to be out there.  He loves to walk and run until his chipmunk cheeks are flush, loves to push or ride in his wagon, and is happiest when he can find either water, dirt or mulch to play in (and occasionally eat)!  This little one is ALL BOY, and we are loving every minute of it.  Oh, and he is still crazy about dogs, so he has grown more interested in playing with Teddy (sometimes against Teddy's wishes), and wants to talk to and hug every other puppy or dog he sees.

We had plenty of great outdoor adventures in April, when the weather here in Florida is often nearly perfect.  Not too hot, not so much rain...just right.  Let the good times roll!

"See ya later, guys!"  Sam, on the go, at Wall Springs Park in Palm Harbor, FL

We all enjoyed a nice long weekend on the west coast of Florida, enjoying our friends and family and the gorgeous natural attractions that come along with the region.  We visited Wall Springs Park near Palm Harbor with Shawn's sister Kathy, where Sam got to run around to his heart's content and also got to play with a big pack of adorable dogs.  He was in Heaven, and cried when we had to say goodbye to all of the cute little critters.

If only we could have captured the gigantic smile on Sam's face in this moment!  Arf, arf!

Here's Sam, telling Aunt Kath and Mommy all about the history of Wall Springs

Sam loves the view from the top...of Daddy!

Sam also got to spend the evening with Aunt Kath and Uncle Mike while we went out for a real "date night"!  As much as we miss our little guy every minute we are away from him, we also realize how important it is to enjoy time as a couple, and with other adults!  Much thanks go to Kath and Mike for allowing us to have an amazing dinner out with a group of our friends at the Columbia Restaurant in Tampa, to celebrate our friend Jill's birthday.

A rare childless moment for Heather and Shawn!

Speaking of Jill...three very imortant reasons for our trip to the coast were Heather's BFF Jill, her husband Chris, and their "Sweet Baby James" who were visiting the Bay area from their home in Utah.  The three of them invited us to join them for an amazing day at the beach, North Redington Beach to be exact, and it couldn't have been a more perfect day for more outdoor adventures!  We really enjoyed the time we got to spend with our friends, and we miss them already.

Aunt Jill was lovin' the Sam hugs!

Happy family at the beach (and Sam chomping a fake starfish)...awesome!

Our beautiful boy, lovin' every minute of it!

Back on the home front, we are sad to say good bye to some other great friends who will soon be moving away from the Orlando area and starting a new adventure of their own in North Carolina.  Heather especially will miss her friend Ashley, and Sam will miss palling around with little Jack.  We have had a few chances to spend some extra time with these special friends before they depart, and we look forward to visiting them in their beautiful new home "up north"!

Sam and Jack playing together in the fountain on the plaza at downtown Winter Garden

With the weather being so perfect, a little boy who loves to be outdoors and on the go, and a nice smooth cycling trail within a few blocks of home, we decided a bike trailer was a good investment for our family and found a beauty of a deal on craigslist for just the thing we needed!  Sam loved going out for a cruise with us and exploring the areas right here in our back yard that he had never seen.

Sam was grinning ear-to-ear about bike riding with his mom and dad!

Finally, we will leave you with this photo that Shawn snapped of Sam playing in the water at a popular Winter Garden gathering spot.  We have already had so many happy and playful moments here, and are sure to have many more.  Happy Spring and Summer to you all.  We hope you are enjoying it as much as we are!


To view these and more photos from April, click here.