December

Closing out the year with a few  images of December...

For awhile Sam rejected mittens.  "I do not like mittens.  I do not like mittens," he would emphatically enunciate.  As the weather got colder and colder, I began to worry.  But after some clever indoor "mitten games" invented by Kevin, Sam finally warmed to the idea of wearing them outside.  Phew...I was anticipating a very long winter if this battle raged on.   

So here he is, red mittens and all, doing a little shoveling after a recent storm.  The folks who sold us our house left this wonderful kid size shovel for us - great score!

The shoveling team.

Gordie came to play after this same storm.  Here he and Sam watch Kevin rake snow off the roof.  Very cool stuff.

The long john line-up.

And a warming hug, too.

This is random, but I had to throw in these photos of Kevin suited up for an afternoon of dirty work.  In preparation for getting our basement insulated, Kevin donned a tyvek suit and respirator to clear our basement of old junk, some of it very old.  Ah, the joys of new (old) home ownership.

Our friends Chad & Susan Olcott came for breakfast mid December.  After filling our bellies with pancakes and coffee, we ventured to a Christmas tree farm.  Funny how one can agonize over a couple dozen, nearly identical trees before selecting just the right one.  Sam was actually asleep in the truck at this point.

But he woke up in time to enjoy the views and inspect this lovely orange tractor, which was, of course, a whole lot more interesting than trees.

And at last, Merry Christmas 2008!  We spent the holiday in MA with Kevin's family this year. Sam had a wonderful time and was very much in the Christmas spirit.  We taught him to exclaim, hands raised high, "Behold! I bring you tidings of great joy!"  This performance, indeed, brought great joy to all.

Modeling his new John Deere hat and tools from Morfar and Grandma Kay.

This train set belonged to one of Kevin's grandfathers.

It was a source of great interest to Sam and his Daddy, too.

Our family.  (How happy young Sam looks!)

Cashman family photo: (back to front, left to right) Kevin, Will, Jim, Gitta, Mike, Kathy, Laura, Sam(2+), Bella (6mo.), Ava(3+).

November

Oh dear... when the new year is approaching and your blog still leads with "Halloween", you know you're behind the eight ball!  So here are a few images from November to start...then I'll see if I can post some December hightlights under the wire while it's still 08.

First, I had to post these shots of Sam modeling his special cow shirt.  Our dear friend Hana Schutz is a very talented artist and made the shirt for Sam's 2nd birthday back in September. She has ideas of marketing these adorable prints - I think they'll be hot items!

We had several of our Apogee leaders over for breakfast in November...

...apparently they enjoyed themselves.  

Actually this is a promo shot for our new Apogee hoodies.  Sam got in on the modeling, too...

Here Sam & Daddy do a little trench digging for a new heater going into Kevin's office.   

Makes the old sand box look pretty boring, eh?

If I were a famous artist this would be called "Boy and Swing".

The girl in the party hat turns 35.  We were not able to capture it in the photo, but Kristin is holding a chocolate Obama bust in honor of our recent, historic election.  A clever and tastey gift!

Halloween

Halloween was all about tools this year.  Here Sam & Gordie go to work on their pumpkin...

And the finished product... Who knew you could carve a pumpkin with a plastic drill?!

Sam gives Mr. Pumpkin some love.

October

A few pics from October:

Our friend Gil recently took a family portrait of us for the 2009 Apogee catalog.  Sam was only mildly cooperative so we had to coax him with Cheddar Bunnies and snap fast.  We failed to get a smile from him, but at least you can't detect crumbs on his chin or tears on his cheeks! 

Earlier this month Sam & I went apple picking with friends.  I realize in looking through the photos that I never took shots of the orchard or the picking.  But below are some images of other fun at the farm.

On our way to the orchard with friends Hannah & Beck.

Needless to say, this tractor was the big hit of the day.

I thought this plastic Frankenstein monster might frighten Sam...

 

...but I was wrong about that!  It was love and kisses at first sight.

Nothing like a tasty Mac right off the tree!

Making popcorn with Daddy.

The other morning I decided to let Sam watch TV for the first time.  Here he is getting his first taste of Sesame Street.  Glad to report we've detected no adverse side effects :)

Farm Yard Fun

Last weekend Gitta & Kristin brought the cousins to Pettengill Farm in Freeport.  In addition to hay rides and apple picking, the boys got cozy with some ducklings and goats.  Sam was running around trying to kiss the ducks and exclaiming, "I'm so proud of you!"  When kissing them on their bills didn't work, he resorted to hand blown kisses.  He's a lover, that kid.

Mister Two

It's hard to believe, but Little Sam Q turned 2 this past weekend.  We invited a few friends and had a wonderful party - our first gathering at our new house!  Unfortunately rain kept us inside, but spirits were certainly not dampened.  Sam had so much fun and really seemed to understand that it was a special day.  Here's a window into Sam's big day...

Sam and his helpers open gifts.

Blowing out the candles with help from Mom & Macy.

Yummy!

In honor of Sam's first and truest love I decorated the cake with an image of a vacuum cleaner.  But Sam thought it was an elephant and Macy guessed an alligator.  "A" for effort??

Kevin had the kids upstairs playing games.  This was the lineup for "run and jump on the bed"...an old standard birthday party game, right?  From front to back: Gordie, Macy, Sam & Benjamin (hidden).

Sam & his guests, L to R: Baby Nate (Benjamin's little brother), Benjamin, Sam, Gordie, Macy & Harper (Macy's little sister).  Grownup guests included the parents of the above mentioned children, plus my mom & Dick (Mormor & Cappy), and my friend Laura...We highly recommend this crew for parties!

After everyone was gone Sam had some fun with his new loot.  And then took a 3 hour nap!  Ahhh...it's good being two!

Late Summer

I'm way behind on blog updates...No doubt our viewership has declined drastically and many have gone elsewhere to look at other people's cute kids.  Alas, if anyone is still out there, here are some pictures of Sam from late summer.

Reading continues to be one of Sam's favorite pastimes.  Here he enjoys Toot & Puddle, a delightful pair of pigs introduced to us by our friends Hana, Gabe & Liam.

Sam & Daddy tend to the worms.  The boys are equally enthusiastic about composting.

Sam holds up a wiggly one for a camera close-up.

Sam went through a "Wellie" phase.  What more does one need on a warm summer day?

(I believe this is one of the last pictures I took in our old yard.  We moved to a new house in Brunswick mid-August.  I have not managed to take a picture of the new place yet, but promise to do so soon!)

Early September Uncle Willy came to see our new house and to visit his favorite nephew.  Sam thinks Will is the bee's knees.  Several days after he was gone Sam sighed and said with such earnestness, "Uncle Willy is so talented".

Learning some new moves.

Sam & "Baby Finley" enjoy a play date.  Finley belongs to our friends Nate & Shannon Alsobrook who also live in Brunswick.  Sam absolutely loves being around smaller children and babies.  This day he kept bringing new toys to Finley and saying, "Maybe Baby Finley would like to play with the school bus...Maybe Baby Finley would like to try this toy..."  Finley was very receptive and agreeable.

The post-tubby towel wrap.

We took Sam to the Common Ground Fair this year.  It's a huge fair put on by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association "in celebration of rural living".  They have everything you can imagine from sheepdog demos to wagon rides to gardening tips to music, crafts and food.  It was a gorgeous September day and Sam thoroughly enjoyed all the sights and sounds.  Following are a few shots from our day.

Observing some musicians...

and joining in dance...

There was a terrific kids' area with all kinds of activities.  Hammering nails proved to be a favorite...

Look at that consentration...