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...

July

With Apogee in full swing, (and us about to move house next month), it seems a small miracle that I am finally getting a few pictures up on Sam's blog. Leader training started late June and it's been full steam ahead ever since. Sam LOVES the leaders and often requests a "bike ride with the leaders!" We're in our second round of trips right now and over the next couple of weeks the Apogee season will be wrapping up. Following are a few pictures from leader training as well as a few other shots from Sam's summer.

Our friend Sue Wells came to help out with training again this year. She and Sam were pretty sweet on each other.

Sam made himself right at home with the Apogee crew. Notice he's situated himself between two cute blonds here!

Sam & Maggie, one of our western leaders.

Sam bids the leaders farewell as they head out on their training trip.

Sam & I snuck away from the Apogee goings on and spent the 4th of July on Casco Bay with Kristin, Bobby, Gordie and a freind, Nora. Kristin and Bobby have fixed up a wonderful little skiff. The pictures don't show it, but it's a real beauty now!

A "life is good" kind of day.

Sam & Daddy take a break.

Sam's friend Macy turned three recently and had a wonderful, country party at her house. Activities included a wagon ride, swimming, naked pinata (the line up pictured above), cake and even fireworks! Macy was a gracious hostess to her all-boy guests.

Here, Mr. Gilly explains the pinata rules to the contestants.



Mimi & Big Poppy came to help out with Sam & meals during the between trip change-over. Apparently we worked them pretty hard!


Sam & Gordie were delighted to find a fleet of dump trucks, an excavator and a bulldozer at Mormor & Cappy's house earlier this summer. Their grandparents love them so much that they called in the big trucks just for the boys' entertainment...(and decided to have a new septic put in during the process!)


Boys and trucks...what can we say?...
(Notice Sam's yellow Wellies. He went through a phase earlier this summer when he had to wear them constantly, indoors and out!)

June

This morning we woke up to a beach weather kind of day and decided that's just where we wanted to be. So we packed up and went to beautiful Popham Beach. Sam did a lot of running, splashing and digging, and at one point exclaimed, "Fun at the Beach!", which verified our hunch. Following are a few photos of said fun...

After a nap in the car the fun continued in our back yard where Sam spent the rest of the afternoon naked and happy.

May

Here are a few snaps from May!

Sam & Gordie have joined the VFD and are in charge of keeping Engine No.1 clean and ready for action. Here Gordie gives it a sponge bath. (Sam meant to help but was more interested in dumping the water out of the bucket!)

"Come out and play, Mormor!"

Sam and his girlfriend, Sylvie. Sylvie took care of Sam this year and has just graduated from Bowdoin. The two were pretty nuts about each other so it was a sad parting. Luckily Sylvie will be in Maine awhile so we'll hope to see her again soon. For now we have this photo on our fridge and Sam often requests, "want to look at Sam & Sylvie!"

Kevin's latest endeavor has been setting up a slackline in the backyard. "Let's do some slacklinin'!'" is now a common refrain from Sam.

Slacklining has been a good antidote to the Apogee pre-season build up. Life is all about balance, right?! :)

Sam and Mommy go for a ride in Mr. Gilly's big red truck. What could be more fun?!

April

I may be the world's most inconsistent blogger. Clearly this is not a daily log, nor even a weekly log. Every 4-6 weeks seems to be the best I can muster. Following are some pictures from April. We've been having some very nice spring weather of late, but you can see from some of the shots that it wasn't long ago that we were still in our down coats!

To celebrate spring, Mormor gave Sam a special rake. Here the two of them get to work on yard clean up. Putting leaves into the wheelbarrow is Sam's favorite part.

Gordie & Sam gather sticks.

Look, Sam! Spring really is coming!

Inspecting Dad's buzz. This is Kevin's answer to the Barber Shop.

Sam LOVES bike rides with Daddy. Guess that gene passed.

A walk with Dad on the Gilroys' country driveway...

...that ended with a face plant in the mud!

A bike mechanic in the making. I may need to remind Kevin about U.S. child labor laws. For now Sam is a willing worker!