samuel turns 1

So we arrived almost an hour late to our own party. It's a long story mainly having to do with me setting the actual time a half hour early thinking that everyone else would be late (and then forgetting that I had done that), and Samuel deciding to take a 2 hour nap - which he never does.

In our mad dash to do everything that we planned, we didn't manage to take any pictures, but Gil saved the day with these photos. Samuel of course had no clue that the day was anything special, or that all the fuss had anything more to do with him than usual, but you can never go wrong with a day at the park and a bunch of people to play with you.

the lime green ibert

I really wanted to get back on my bike again, so I needed to figure out a way that would allow me to take Samuel with me. After a bunch of research, I came upon this seat that goes on the front of the bike. I really like it because it keeps my center of gravity and the weight in the right place on the bike, instead of having a seat on the back which makes it very hard to control the steering, especially for someone like me who doesn't weigh very much. It's nice for Samuel because he can see everything I can see.

In the beginning Samuel really hated his bike helmet, but we learned to put a little beanie on underneath, and that seemed to help quite a bit. Now he runs into the garage and pulls on the bike, tries to put on the helmet, and yells at Steve and I to let us know he wants to go for a ride. The only problem is, he wants to ride the bike, and he frequently pushes my hands off the handlebars.

Our newest feat on the bicycle was Samuel nursing while I continued to ride. Complicated and tiring, but it stopped the crying. I knew I could put those bike racing skills to use somewhere in my life.

chef in training

Samuel loves to help around the house and one of his favorite things is to "help" me cook. He is not above taking a sample or two, either, especially if it is one of his favorites, like hummus.

This kid is a tool user for sure. Spoons for stirring are very popular, as is the Cuisinart. Samuel agrees with his Aunt Suzette, though, the Kitchen Aid is by far the best kitchen innovation. Samuel likes to make pizza dough in it, however he is not above mixing water with it, as his Bubbie lets him do.

how cute is crawling?

Here is video of some early crawling moments. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "If you think it's hard now, wait till they can move." I can't disagree more. Crawling in our household is the best thing since peanut butter. That's right kiddo - now you can go get that toy for yourself. Doesn't hurt that it's so darn cute, either.

barcelona, wow!

We took a side trip to Barcelona before returning home from Paris. Guell Park, Catalonian food, Picasso, Gaudi, Miro. Wonderful. It was rainy but the people made up for it. Everyone loved babies (in both Paris and Barcelona) and we were treated well everywhere we went. Our last night we took Samuel to the Parade for the Three Kings. He was mesmerized.

paris for christmas

Tom and Susan brought all of their kids and spouses on an amazing trip to Paris this winter for their anniversary. A free trip to Europe - need I say more? Thanks Tom and Susan.

It was also great that the European branch of the family could join us there. It was wonderful to see Francis, Teddy, Nik and Nicola

thanksgiving new york 2007

Samuel's first Thanksgiving. One of the great things about having a child who doesn't sleep (can there be anything great about having a child that doesn't sleep?) is that going on vacation doesn't make a difference, cuz they certainly can't sleep any WORSE. I mean, once you are already getting woken up every hour or two, can you really go down hill from there?

So the trip went off without a hitch and it was great to see Steve's fam.