Dino Love

We named him Grapey.



How big is the dinosaur, Sam? THIS BIG.


Posing with Grapey.

Coach Dad

Bruce helped out last Saturday with the Cracker Jack soccer game, offering strategic plays, encouragement and leadership. Mainly that just means that he retrieved the ball when it inevitably got kicked onto the adjacent field and, more than once, physically placed one player (not Sam, believe it or not) into the correct field position. The grandmother of the player in question happened to be standing beside me during Bruce's "coaching," and commented, "He is really good with little *Johnny!" Heh.

*Names have been changed to protect players' privacy.


Watch out! Here come the Cracker Jacks! The child in the light blue was a donation from the other team so that we were evenly matched. He made all the Cracker Jack's goals. Go Cracker Jacks!


Note in the background (right), the opposing team appears to be examining the grass/bugs on the field.


Coach and Sam in action.

Weekend Roundup: Spring Edition

This photo makes me laugh so hard that I was tempted to just post it and leave it at that. Maybe host a "submit your own caption" contest.

I would like to explain what's happening here, but I honestly have no recollection. He's fine, though.

Here's a photo immediately afterward:

See? He's fine.

The occasion was Fridays on the Front Porch at the Carolina Inn. This was the first one of the season, and we invited our neighbors to go with us. They have a four-year-old little girl, Savannah, with whom Sam likes to play, even though she's a bit sophisticated for him.


Sam thinks she's a rock star.


Moving to the music.


But mostly Sam wanted to dance with his Dad because he would pick him up and swing him around in the air.

After illnesses and rain disrupted much of Sam's soccer season, we are proud to announce his return to the fields.


Here's a little live-action footage of Sam and his soccer team:

Sam is the little one in yellow. He also appears to be cheering the other team's goal at the end of the clip.

On Sunday we made a quick trip to the outlets in Mebane, where Sam enjoyed posing with some of the "rescuers."



That's him spraying his web out of his hand, a la Spiderman. Still working on that technique.

Sam also had two play dates over the weekend, thanks in part to my poor planning. He had one Saturday and one Sunday. Honestly, two in one weekend is one too many. Bruce took the fun one Saturday at the park (in the sunny, 75 degree weather), and I took the rainy one, stuck inside someone else's home.


Meet Sam's pal Luke, who is reaching over to steal Sam's snack, while looking me dead in the eye. He's a tricky one.

Further Dispatches from Preschool

Dear Sam,

I love you and think you have many talents. However, you may want to step it up in the art department. For an example of the level of work being produced by your peers, please see the lovely picture created by the young lady across the table from you. Also, please note, it would seem the rest of the children find it more relaxing to sit (rather than stand) at the table while they draw.

All joking aside, please do continue to color outside the lines (and in earth tones only). Your father and I totally see your vision and celebrate your work.

Love,
Mom

P.S.  Ignore that drawing you might find in the recycling bin today -- that was a mistake. Your father's mistake.

Healthy Weekend Roundup

I know I'm jinxing myself by putting this in writing, but this weekend was the first in three weeks that everyone in the household was relatively healthy. The funniest part was (re)discovering how Sam behaves when he's 100% (well, maybe 99%, due to a lingering cough). We have been commenting on how perky Sam is when he is sick, and he really is. He has pretty much soldiered through a stomach virus and tonsillitis without acting that sick -- a bit short-tempered perhaps -- but now that he's almost completely healthy, I realize that he really hasn't been himself for a few weeks. Sam spent this weekend running at full-speed everywhere he went, and then running in circles once he got there. And when he wasn't running he was talking. A lot. And loudly. He's exhausting, but it's so fun to see him on his game. We attribute some of his enthusiasm to the fact that his grandmother (Bruce's mom) was visiting.

We kicked off the weekend early on Thursday with a little outdoor dining, at Sam's request.



We capped off the weekend with another visit to the Museum of Life and Science.





It took a lot of convincing for Sam to accept that the bears wouldn't escape and eat him. In fact, they were so cute and playful (and seemingly innocuous) on Sunday that my new fear is that Sam will not act appropriately should he encounter one in the wild.

Monday we bade farewell to Grandma. And headed back to school and work.



Sam's teachers report that he did a great job counting rocks and recognizing his numbers 1-9.

Chocolate Chip Cookies: They're What's For Breakfast!

On Easter morning, despite being under the weather, Sam wanted to help me make scones. Chocolate chip scones. After they were baked and gobbled up, Bruce asked -- innocently enough -- if the scones weren't similar to the chocolate chip cookies that I make. And, yes, upon review of the ingredients, Sam and I essentially made giant chocolate chip cookies. Which I have been unapologetically eating for breakfast the rest of the week.

Thank You, Easter Bunny!

With my apologies for the low light and poor quality, here is a video of Sam's indoor, rainy-time, pre-dawn Easter Egg Hunt! Throw in a stomach virus (which meant he couldn't eat any of the candy inside the eggs), and you've got the makings for a rousing good time.