Sam's Favorite Hobby

Whenever Sam gets a chance, he grabs the camera. I think its because of the ergonomics of the camera, but he always, always ends up with self-portraits. Or maybe it's just his 2-year-old narcissism.

You can see his love of the camera as I was trying to get him to tell his two favorite jokes. Here's a little movie:




It's fun to see him develop into a kid who understands nuances and what is really going on behind the language. Bedtime has been tough for us lately, especially on the days I work. I've been getting home around 6:45, marching Eric off to bed and then Sam as quickly as I could, to get him to bed before his witching hour. It became a huge struggle, and not something that either of us looked forward to. Often he would try to escape, and one night, it was not pretty. I tucked him under my arm, marched him into the living room, and read him a book. And then I said, "Now, Sam, I know that you want to go to bed, but you can't! We have to read one more story." He looked at me like I had lost my mind. I said, "I know. You want to go to bed, but we have to read another story. So pick one out." I did that 3-4 more times, and by the last few times, as I said it, he would poke out his lower lip in a fake pout, and say, "But mama! I want to go to bed." Needless to say, it was much more peaceful that night when he finally did make it to bed. And every once in a while, we play that game, and it's usually initiated by him.

And Eric thinks Sam is hilarious. He'll often just look at Sam and start laughing out loud.

Five Wonderful Years

So ... last Saturday was our fifth aniversary. We had grand plans, but the kids had had some rough nights for three nights in a row, and we almost ditched them all (the plans, not the kids!). But around 11:00 am, our kids were about to lose it, so we decided to pop them in the car and take a drive--at least they would be contained and if we were lucky, they would even fall asleep. We went up to a State Park about an hour from here that one of our friends had just told us about. We pulled into the parking lot, stepped on to the beach, and within 20 yards, were at Lake Huron. It was absolutely gorgeous. I had never been to Lake Huron, so I didn't know what to expect. But it was just like an ocean, only without the salt. They also had a playground for Sam, but he was so excited and spent an hour throwing rocks and dirt--one of his favorite pasttimes, and this time, no one tried to stop him! Eric's favorite pasttime is chewing on his stroller, so he had a great time too.

We did have a great aniversary. On the way out, we called a friend of ours who cleans houses for a living and she came over and cleaned the house, did the laundry, etc. It was the best aniversary present we could have given ourselves. I feel so much more peace when my house is clutter free. And then we went to dinner with our friends who have the same aniversary as we do. There's nothing better than great fun, good food, and great conversation. We went to dinner at an Indian restaurant in Hamtramck, a little pocket city surrounded by Detroit. It used to be a Polish community, but now there are immigrants from all over the world. One of my friends who used to live there said that Hamtramk is the most exciting place in America to drive because everyone on the street learned to drive in a different country. There is so much I love about living in southeast Michigan--the diversity, the beauty, the family values. The only thing I miss is my friends and family--anyone want to join us here?????