Enjoying The Holidays...

Okay, so before I go any further...I just have to say that here I thought I was doing pretty well at getting on here about once a week. That was until I realized it's been almost TWO weeks since I've been on here last. What on earth?! Who is stealing my days away? I really can't believe February is almost over. It feels like it just started!

The past two weeks have been full of new experiences, crazy emotions, and countless smiles thanks to the little man. Samuel is now full on crawling -- not far from walking on his own either! He has also finally recovered from a nasty cold that sent this paranoid mama to the doctor's office thinking it was an ear infection -- thankfully it wasn't! He loves to say, "Ga," over and over and over -- along with trying to hiss like a cat when he gets overly excited while trying to talk. He loves blueberry and strawberry when combined with banana. And we were reminded once again earlier today that he HATES the Ergo carrier. While hiking around the Providence Canyon (Georgia's "Little Grand Canyon"), he let us know how much he hated it, ha.

There was more to the last two weeks than Samuel updates, but it almost feels like a blur when trying to think back. I will say, walking past the clearance Valentine's Day stuff at Walmart gave me an unwanted flashback. That may sound odd, but seeing those "I love you" teddy bears took me back to two years ago when I was freshly grieving the loss of our daughter. James was back in Afghanistan, while I admittedly turned into a hermit with Obadiah as my wingman. I remember barely even leaving the house other than to get food and on one of those necessary trips, I saw the clearance teddy bears and decided to surprise Obadiah with a little treat. He destroyed that little treat in about 30 seconds flat. Nonetheless, watching him murder that bear brought a little smile in the midst of the endless tears. Ahhhh. Those moments of grief will never pass. I'm glad that unlike in the past, I was able to at least remedy that flashback with a smile from Sam. Boy does it make it just that much better. He can't take away the sadness, but he sure can sugar coat it! Kind of like when he paused while walking and stared at my bracelet that honors Jacob, Jordan, and Olivia. Little things like that melt my heart...

And so...the reason I chose such a title for this blog post...

While we're not big into Valentine's Day -- we MIGHT celebrate it with dinner and flowers, but sometimes not even that -- we did enjoy it a lot more than usual since it was Samuel's first! Of course, it started out with a trip to the doctor's office. Here's Sam while waiting in the exam room -- proudly wearing his big brother, Jacob's shirt (crazy to think we bought that shirt in 2003!)...

Then after the doctor cleared Sam of any possible illness, I took Sam out to shop for his dad and made sure he had a homemade Valentine's card waiting for James when he got home from work. It wasn't exactly perfection since an 8 month old refuses to sit still -- let alone allow paint to be put on his hands and feet -- but it was fun and his dad loved it!

And while we were at it, we grabbed a few pictures of him with his mom's red roses...

He started out being gentle...

Then tried to run away...

When we brought him back, he was a good sport and laughed...

But it didn't take long before he decided to pick out a rose for himself...

It's a good thing his dad has quick reflexes...

So as you can see, his rose is there in the back hanging down. Sweet Sam...

It seems like almost immediately after we celebrated Valentine's Day, we were enjoying a 4-day weekend in honor of President's Day. We chose to stay local, but still get away from the town we live in. One day was spent in Auburn, AL -- enjoying an awesome restaurant and the college campus (there's something so peaceful about walking a campus...call me weird, but I love it!) -- and then another day was spent at Georgia's "Little Grand Canyon." Sam was still recovering from his cold during our afternoon in Auburn so he was fairly laid back and relaxed. However, the same can't be said about our afternoon down at Providence Canyon. He let everyone know what he thought about riding around in his Ergo carrier. The handsome little punk.

If you haven't tried duck fat fries, it's a must! We went to Zazu thanks to a friend's recommendation and absolutely loved the fries! In fact, I think they cheered up the hubs after acting like he was famished upon arriving at the restaurant...

On the other side of the table, Sam was as happy as can be...

And there they are...yum...now I want some!

To feel a little better about eating an unhealthy meal, a campus walk was a must. It was such a peaceful/quiet campus compared to IU, but then again, I think the university is much smaller in general. It was beautiful, though. The flowers in bloom made me forget that it was February...

And taking our happy little boy around campus made me realize we had better get in gear with that college fund!

Fast forward to our visit to the canyon...This is how I found Sam after a little bathroom break...

(James was, of course, with him while I was away...)

I think he preferred this much more than what was to come...

He was patient at first, but before long, this was Sam...

Being in his dad's arms was definitely his preferred mode of transportation...

I mean, come on, it allows for a built-in teether!

While pictures can't capture it, the canyon was quite beautiful...

And soooo, the holidays are over. The work week is about to begin. And as usual, this blog post is ridiculously too long. So with that, I will leave you with a picture that makes me smile. While at our monthly dinner with our Bible study group on Saturday night, a cute couple made the comment that Mr. Samuel looked like Rick Santorum with his sweater vest. Ha!! Love it.

PS. Please ignore any grammatical errors. I've stayed up later than I should and I'm too tired to go back and reread this... :)