Night At The Pool...

While I talked about this on the new blog, I figured I may as well share it here as well. I want to bring this space back to being all about the boys and just life. So here's a little documenting of something they love.

Being in Southern California, with this nearly year-round warm weather, we spend from around mid-March until late-October at our neighborhood pool. In fact, this month, we've been there almost every single day. The boys both love it! Caleb loves jumping in and being thrown up to do flips, etc. He's definitely still in the daredevil stage! Sam was once there, but he's much more cautious now. However, he's slowly getting back to that once-daredevil self and jumping in again. With that said, he's been wanting me to get videos of him jumping in. It's not often that I actually remember to bring the waterproof camera, but I happened to the other night and Sam decided he wanted to make a YouTube video about it. His goal right now is to be the next big YouTube kid, ha! I don't know that he'll quite hit that mark, but we'll sure try and start making videos more often!

Here are the boys at the pool. I love that I caught Caleb doing the Hulk Smash move in the pool, ha. He's always reenacting his favorite superheroes...

If you like it, make a comment. Sam is super excited about seeing what people think of his first video...

Homeschooling Adventures And The Letter R...

The past month has been a great one for the Moore house. Samuel has gotten involved with two separate homeschool groups, Caleb started his very own speech class, and we've been trucking along with pre-k at home. I can't believe Easter is just around the corner!!!

Etsy...

Who here is on Etsy? I'd love to check out your creations! It wasn't until my sister convinced me to create an Etsy page to sell some of the things she had previously hired me to make that I finally caved. I love all the fun things you can find on there -- not to mention it's a fun creative outlet for me. Most recently, I was hired to do a few ads for a fellow photographer as well as a couple birthday invitations. I only mention any of this because one of them stands out and I think it's hilarious…

Summer Love

So, I'm a little behind on making Samuel's Paw Patrol letter worksheets, but for good reason. We spent a week in our hometown (Indianapolis) and just got back late last night. It was the first time we had been home in almost 3 years. It's hard to believe Samuel was 18 months old the last time we visited! Overall, we had a great time! I'm thankful Samuel was able to play with his cousins and Caleb was able to finally meet everyone (at 15 months old)!

Such Joy...

I can't even begin to describe to you the amount of joy this boy brings to each day.

Here's Samuel and his daddy just before bed two nights ago. The laughter wasn't nearly as strong by the time I realized I should find my phone and take a video, but you get the idea...

(ignore the mess on the bed -- I was sorting laundry just before I grabbed my phone to take this video...)

Trick-Or-Treat!

Anymore, I never know where to start when I finally get a chance to sit down and blog. There's so much I'd love to talk about, but it just doesn't seem to happen. Soooo...tonight will be about my little Optimus Prime...

Let me start off by saying that I'm not a big supporter of Halloween. I don't even decorate for Halloween, but rather for the fall season. Honestly, I'm torn on even letting Samuel trick-or-treat. However, I do think certain parts of the holiday are fun and I absolutely want to create fun memories with our little guy! I love the idea of having Sam dress up as his favorite character and carving (innocent themed) pumpkins -- I just lean more towards the church-sponsored trunk-or-treat or Harvest festival events where you don't have the creepy/scary aspects of the holiday.

With that said, it was probably over a month ago when I went to Target with a friend and ran across the freshly laid out Halloween section, only to end up going home with a costume for Samuel. It wasn't my plan to buy one that day, but gosh, they were too cute to pass up! I showed Samuel various costumes available in his size and let him pick one out. At first, he was all about Captain America, but once I showed him Optimus Prime, it was all over. He HAD to be Optimus! And who can turn down a cute little boy who is full of excitement?! So it was set. He was going to be Optimus. And being as cheap as I am, I was going to make sure that kid wore that costume OUT! So, I looked up various events going on around town and on post and had plans of hitting up several of them. Plus, with James being in the field, it gave us something extra to add to our calendar...

Our first event included a trunk-or-treat event with the Army base. Sam and I joined some friends and went around the parking lot checking out the decorated vehicles and learned how to say trick-or-treat! He ended up being much more interested in walking on and off the sidewalk and running around a pole over and over again, but it was still fun. After all, he was a proud Optimus Prime!

Excuse the horrible cell phone pic...

The next day, we joined the same friends and had fun at the on base youth center Halloween party. Samuel was able to play various games like fishing for pumpkins (or rather, ditch the fishing pole and just reach in the water and grab one as he preferred!), decorate his own cupcake, get a temporary tattoo, etc. With Sam being at an age where he's running everywhere and exploring, it was fun to let him go/see/do with a ton of other kids. Sweet Sam. He's growing up way too fast!

Here he is looking unsure about the activities going on in the gym...

Later on, he REALLY enjoyed his cupcake...

Fast-forwarding to the next weekend, Daddy came home for a tiny break from the field and we went to Boo at the Zoo. It was our first time at the El Paso Zoo, so not only did he get to check out all the animals for the first time, but he got to do it in style, ha.

Here's Optimus Prime and a bear with crazy long claws...

The best part about the day was that he was able to enjoy time with daddy...

Oh, that sweet boy. I'm glad James was able to join us for one of the many festivities, since he had to head back to the field shortly there after. Field time is never fun, so yay to little breaks in between!

Luckily for Samuel, he had an awesome distraction to James heading back out, as my parents decided to come for a visit. Let's just say Samuel and my dad are pretty much BFFs. I'll go into more detail later about that, but having them here has definitely allowed for a great distraction to daddy being away.

It didn't end up happening until the night before Halloween, but I finally carved Samuel's pumpkin (and one for our 3 angels). It will be fun to possibly have Samuel help with the carving next year, but for now, he just gets to enjoy the finished product...

To finish out the Halloween season, we decided to join friends on post and go down the row of Officer houses (LTC and above) where it's well-lit and soldiers are on duty blocking the road for safety, etc. It was absolutely priceless watching him get the hang of it. At first, he was shy and wanted Grandpa to hold him and take him to the houses, but halfway through, he was carrying his basket and running up to homes that weren't even participating, ha! The night even had a little bit of excitement when he played his game of walking on and off the curb (best game in the world if you ask Sam!) and face-planted into the concrete. The poor guy's lip got beat up pretty bad, but after taking a few minutes to clean it up, he was right back at it...

Samuel with Grandma Julie and Grandpa Grant...

(Grandpa Grant carried the Optimus Prime mask since Samuel has wanted nothing to do with it all season.)

He's such a happy boy!

At one of the homes, Samuel received a piece of candy only to turn around, put it back in the basket, and give the man a high-five. Never a dull moment with this kid. Love it!

Love him...

At some of the homes, he didn't feel that it was necessary to bring the basket with him...

Or he would carry it around like he was too cool for school...

Lastly, the sweet boy and his momma...

While I'm not a huge fan of this particular holiday, we had a blast joining in on the various activities sponsored by the base! So many memories were created in the last month that will forever bring smiles to my face. I love that sweet boy!

And now on to my favorite time of the year...Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Fun Times In New Mexico...

So with James having a 4 day weekend, we decided to head up north and check out Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta that they do every year. Who wouldn't want to see a massive field full of hot air balloons taking off at the same time for some big event? We sure did! So after dropping Obadiah off at his puppy resort, we headed out...

Once we arrived in Albuquerque, I pulled up the event schedule only to realize I didn't pay close enough attention to it...turns out, it didn't start until the next day -- leaving us with an open afternoon/evening. With having already seen that particular city before, we decided what's an extra hour on the road? So we drove up to Santa Fe. Have you been?! We LOVED it! Not only did we finally get to experience real fall weather (it's still in the 90s here in EP!), but it was a beautiful town full of fun shops/restaurants -- not to mention the historical landmarks. We couldn't help but check out one of the famous restaurants that is apparently a hit with Gene Hackman -- Harry's Roadhouse was great!

And, of course, while we were there in the little downtown square, I had to grab a few shots of the Sam-man...

Love those two!

And I'm not sure if you've seen that article floating around about how moms needs to get IN more shots rather than always staying behind the camera, but it was a good reason to hand the camera off to James for a bit...

I could just hug him all day long...

So beautiful there in Santa Fe!

After thoroughly enjoying our unexpected evening there, we got up ridiculously early to head back to Albuquerque to get there in time for the mass ascension. Of course, as luck may have it, we got in town only to see not a balloon in the sky! Turns out, the wind was too rough so they had to cancel all morning events -- such a bummer! That then gave us an excuse to check out Old Town Albuquerque and the Children's Museum there. Can I just say, El Paso has ruined me!!! It was in the 40s that morning and I seriously felt like I was going to freeze to death. I felt like I needed a scarf, gloves and you may as well throw in a big poofy down coat to top it off. Instead, I had a light jacket and walked around acting like I was in the tundra. A wimp...I've become a total wimp with the cold! Whatever will do I when I finally face real winter weather after adjusting to EP? Oh, the joys. Either way, freezing or not, we had fun. And after a little while at Old Town, we warmed up in the museum...which by the way is nothing like the Indy Children's Museum. Apparently, I was spoiled growing up with having the world's largest children's museum at my finger tips -- who knew?! It was still fun nevertheless, and with Samuel being such a little guy, a small museum can go a long way. Oh, sweet Sam. Did I mention how much I love that little man???

To sum up our morning...

We're nerds and find historical buildings fascinating...

And Sam was pretty much in awe of various exhibits at the museum...

With doing such a good job at home of learning how to pick up his toys and put things away, he apparently felt the need to help out at the museum. Upon seeing the train tracks laid out, he immediately ripped them apart and put them in the rubbermaid container, ha. I feel like I have a little Danny Tanner in my house and I love it, haha.

While in the toddler room, James snapped a few shots of us...

Sam thought the spinning ball (I think representing a planet?!) was ah-mazing!

Soon after that, Sam was done and we were ready for lunch. Did I mention, Albuquerque has Jimmy Johns? We LOVE JJ, so whenever we're in a city that has one (assuming we're stuck living somewhere that doesn't), it's a required stop. Who doesn't love a good Vito?! Yum!

With that behind us, we headed over to the Balloon Fiesta for the rest of the day. Due to the morning events getting cancelled, the afternoon parking and admission was free -- can't beat that! It ended up being a very relaxing afternoon and with an open field in front of us and a cute little boy as a subject, I just couldn't resist...

This boy brings us so much joy...

Later on, we sat and enjoyed a live band while waiting for the evening balloon glow and these two cracked me up. James looked like he was mad and Sam...well, Sam was just focused on enjoying that apple and watching his daddy's every move...

This makes me laugh so hard, haha. He claims he wasn't mad, but he sure looks it!

Oh, those eyes...

This was around the time Samuel decided to rock out to some live music...

And after waiting for the final go, they decided that even though the wind was still a risky factor, they went ahead and still did the evening glow...

It was such a fun experience!

With talk of similar weather the next morning -- risking another cancelled event -- we scraped our plans of staying overnight to attempt seeing the launch the next morning and just headed home late that night. We both figured we'll most likely be in El Paso next year and we can try again then. In the meantime, at least we were able to see the evening glow -- so fun!

If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend it! It was something different to do and we're always up for that...

A Day In The Life Of A 13 Month Old...

So as I sit here staring at the blog, I know I should be in bed. After all, Samuel has two more teeth coming in so he has been protesting that amazing thing called sleep. But what can I say? I'm a glutton for punishment...

Today was a great day, but a long one. Since moving here, I've tried to keep Sam busy with new things and today was no different. It started out with Samuel going to Story Time at the local library for the very first time. After a rough start consisting of a few screams and holding onto my shirt for dear life, Samuel eventually calmed down and had a blast! I think the poor guy thought I was leaving him there (he doesn't handle separation very well), but once he realized I was there to stay, Mr. Social Butterfly appeared. It was sweet watching him interact with the other kids -- especially the little Olivia that happened to be turning 2 tomorrow. Talk about bittersweet! Oh, I miss our baby girl...and to watch Sam play with a little girl with that name and that age...yeah, bittersweet. Considering the emotions felt by that craziness, it helped that Sam then brought laughs to all the parents. Miss Olivia brought cupcakes to share with everyone in celebration of her birthday. If you all remember how Samuel reacted to his smash cake (and I'm not sure if I blogged about his similar reaction to his Cookie Monster cupcake after getting his 1 year shots)...it wasn't any different today. He looked excited and took a bite, then gave me a weird look and spit it all out. Then after I took a bite, he eagerly wanted another try -- only to spit that out, too. The parents laughed and one said "Hey! I don't want any of that refined sugar! I need my healthy all-natural food..." As Samuel reached for the Ziploc containing his whole grain wheat bread that I had in my purse for him. What a strange kid! I know if I have the choice between a cupcake and a slice of whole grain wheat bread...well, I wouldn't make the same choice as Sam.

This picture pretty much sums up his time at the library...

It reminds me of his 2 month picture...

What is it with Samuel looking shocked/surprised? Ha. As you can see, he created his first masterpiece while at the library -- a moon and stars. I definitely plan on taking him weekly after seeing how much he (eventually) enjoyed it!

After story time and picking out a DVD to rent with his new library card (Samuel chose Little Einsteins), we headed to post to eat lunch with James. Sam had so much energy that I took him to the toddler playground and then the pool afterwards. I'm seriously in trouble with this kid. He kept trying to go down the slide head first at the playground -- no matter how many times I would put him in the sitting position -- and then kept pushing away from me in the pool. He has been to the pool several times now and has figured out the whole kicking thing and now likes to hold on to the side of the pool and pull himself up, etc. Well, I always walk/tread water from one side of the pool to the other while holding him out on his stomach to promote splashing and kicking and now he tries to push me away. The kid has no fear and wants to explore the water on his own. It definitely makes for interesting times, ha.

Once we got in the car to head home, he immediately passed out. After not really getting much of a nap today, I thought I was in for a long one once we got home. Of course, that didn't happen. He was wide-eyed and ready to go once we got inside. So with a hyper boy, a hyper basset (after hours in the cage) and a tired momma, we headed to Sam's room to play. That's always my go-to when I'm exhausted, but want to allow for Sam to play and explore. To go along with all these new experiences, he decided to break out a few toys that until now, he had no interest in. So with that...I decided to break out the real camera and capture it...

Anyone remember this classic Tupperware toy? I had received it as a gift for Jacob back in '03 and now Samuel is LOVING it!

Oh, the drool that comes when new teeth arrive. #9 and #10 are on their way!

That bay window is Sam's new fav. He climbs up on his chair, then tries as hard as he can to get on the bay window. Luckily, he can't quite get up there yet, so instead, he takes his toys and puts them up there...

The boy is always on the move...always...

And Obadiah is always there to torment -- poor pup...

And for the first time, Sam found interest in this Ikea toy...

I just love watching those cute little fingers go to work...

Usually by the time he has dinner and a bath he's rubbing his eyes, but the crazy kid was still wired at 9pm. So the fun continued for quite awhile. I'll be curious to see how tomorrow goes. We have our first FRG (Family Readiness Group) meeting for this new unit and Smashburger has their kids eat free deal -- I think Sam might be testing out his very first burger tomorrow night...

Until next time...