The Boxing Day snow

You want me to leave the comfort of my bar seat and go outside in THAT?


What fresh hell is this?


Still not so sure about this new weather phenomenon.

Same sweater, different day

As I sort through our various shots from the holidays, I realize that, with only several exceptions, Sam is wearing the same sweater throughout. Coincidence, lack of hygiene, lack of sweaters, or an abundance of holiday cheer? I will let you draw your own conclusions. On Christmas Eve eve (yes, it's a thing) we went to see the Leonard Bearstein (sic) orchestra. As it turns out, Sam shows a real interest in classical (bear) music.


Posing in front of the big tree. Hey, nice sweater!


Trying to get a good angle for the performance.


Little help?


Great view, thanks to mom.


Sam and Dad pose in front of the orchestra. Yes, Sam's head does look larger than Bruce's, but we are attributing it to my awkward camera angle.

Christmas No. 1

We had an early Christmas celebration with my sister and her family at my mom's and dad's. I took zero photos at my dad's house because, as it turns out, he 1) has a large shot glass collection, which is 2) at toddler height. We felt it might be better not to document that visit.

But we all recovered in time to get some shots of Sam and the cousins opening presents at Mama Jane's house.


The cousins. They are big. And there are many of them. Can you imagine the sheer quantity of goldfish crackers it would take to keep them full?


Sam with Aunt Robin


Cousin Josh helps Sam with his music


Dancin' to the music


An exclusive performance for his great grandmother. Good night, Kernersville! I love you!

IKEA

Saturday was cold, damp and miserable, and Sam was tired of being cooped up inside. I'm not sure where you take your toddler on rainy days (seriously, where DO you take your toddler on rainy days?), but we took ours to IKEA. It was fun for all, and even involved some international intrigue when we noticed a sweet Asian girl we thought was abandoned at one of the playstations, but who was rescued by her mother just before we could hustle her out of the store to be Sam's new big sister. Just kidding about the Asian sister. Sort of!


IKEA makes its Poang chair for tots! Sam is reflecting my excitement.


Never pass up an opportunity to put Sam in a funny hat. That's my motto.

It's beginning to look a lot like [insert appropriate word here]

What a day of Christmas decorating looks like in the Warreid household. A photo essay.


Helping Dad with the tree.


God, the holidays are exhausting.


The (somewhat) finished product! Note the bottom half of the tree has no ornaments. Safety first, people.


Sam assesses the situation. Is it climbable? Breakable? Chewable?


This is mine now.


Sam works to add his special touch to the tree.


Blinky colored lights, I must have you.


Wait for it....


No babies were actually electrocuted in the making of this picture.


But I look STUPID in my Christmas PJs. What's a penguin got to do with Christmas, anyway?


Chilling in my baby Snuggie. Sipping on some eggnog.

Yardwork is more fun with a toddler.

Not so productive, but fun.

Practice, practice

Sam is practicing his dog walking skills by pulling his cart of blocks in circles around the house. This is step one in his campaign to prove to his father that he can handle the responsibility of owning his own dog. (See the damp ring around his neck? That's not sweat from exertion but drool from cutting four molars at once.)

A blur

Sam literally had the time of his life over Thanksgiving (hey, he's had a short life), but I did a terrible job of documenting it.


This is pretty much what he looked like the entire time, but instead of photographing him, I was chasing him down. Clearly, I've got a lot to learn about action photography.

Sam had two dogs, two cats, and a number of cousins to keep him busy, plus all the turkey he could eat! He loved all the action and attention, so coming back to our quiet lives in Charlotte was quite an adjustment for him. The only people I felt more sorry for than myself upon returning to work this past Monday were his daycare teachers.

Here are a couple of (still) shots I did manage to capture of him: