In July right before Samuel’s 1st Birthday, all of us traveled across country to Long Island to visit with Joe’s side of the family. We had a really great time, despite the challenges that Samuel had with traveling (we spent the majority of the plane trip both ways trying to keep him from crying through both flights). Although we were tired when we arrived, after a few hours of rest, all of us were much happier and Samuel was so happy the whole time we were there.

Both Samuel and I got to meet a bunch of cousins, aunts, uncles, and say Happy Birthday to Joe’s Grandma Olsen. Curtis who is Joe’s youngest cousin was really excited to meet Samuel and they both had a blast together:

Curtis even taught Samuel how to play the piano:

Grandma Olsen was excited to see Samuel too, since she hadn’t seen him since he was 2 weeks old:

Most of the time while we were there, we just relaxed around the house. They had a pool, so we took Samuel in a few times. Here is a family shot of us in the water:

Samuel loves to be thrown up into the air, and he had even more fun in the pool. He looks like he’s perfecting his stunt moves:

Samuel loved being on top of the raft:

When he was on the raft by himself, he actually fell asleep more than once. We didn’t get a picture of it, but we did catch a picture of him sleeping in the crib, which is impressive since he normally wakes up when we open the door:

One of the days we were there, we had a babysitter for Samuel for the day so that we could travel to the Big Apple to see The Lion King on Broadway. It was such a great gift that Joe’s parents gave us and we had a wonderful time. The show was amazing and we even had fun playing at the huge Toys ‘R Us across the way. Here is a picture of us in front of the sign:

We had such a great time and can’t wait to go back and visit again once Samuel is old enough to enjoy the traveling!

Samuel is now 11 Months old and only one month away from having been on this earth for one full year. It has been a very busy month with several travels to visit family, lots of events, and fun visits by friends. I wanted each event to be a separate post, but things have been busy, so they are all on here

Samuel’s personality continues to emerge and he is loving to babble constantly. He still hasn’t decided he wants to stand on his own or walk, since he is content crawling and leaning against furniture. This is one of my favorite pictures from this month, since he looks like a little man:

He is a hungry little boy and loves waffles and cheese, although he continues to love bananas and enjoys blueberries. He also loves to eat paper, so we only let him play with it while supervised:

There are many more pictures in the Samuel 11 Months Album.

San Diego Visit

Samuel had a lot of firsts this month, starting with his first time being around a dog. Samuel and Baron really enjoyed playing with each other, although maybe a little too much. Baron is Joe’s parent’s dog and there is a great picture that Joe took of the “guys”:

Samuel also got to meet his Great-Great Grandmother:

And his Uncle Craig:

And family friends:

We had a really fun visit and there are more pictures in the San Diego Visit Album.

Brenda’s Visit

Samuel also went to Pismo Beach for the first time when Brenda came down to visit. He and Brenda really enjoyed the company of each other:

Brenda and I have been friends for a really long time and it was fun for the three of us to hang out:

Brenda brought an early birthday gift to Samuel, and he really really enjoyed the bag that Brenda put the gift in (he’s also wearing the shirt she got him from Honduras):

My parents were also down for their anniversary and dropped in to say hi:

There are more pictures in the Brenda’s Visit June 2010 Album.

Samuel & Friends

Samuel also had the opportunity to play over at his Godparents Josh & Sandra’s house and they taught him how to play the piano:

He is quite the natural:

They also let him play with wood blocks and he thought they were rather tasty:

There are more pictures in the Samuel & Friends 11 Months Album

Folsom Visit

Samuel also had his first time in the pool when we went up to visit my family in Folsom. We went up because we needed to get a “new” car since our car was totaled (it was just me in the car, wasn’t my fault and everything is fine). Samuel wasn’t too sure about the pool because it wasn’t as warm as he is used to with his bath, although he certainly is the cutest little shark ever:

He also played for the first time in a tent. The tent had a tube for him to crawl through and he had a lot of fun:

While Samuel was in the pool, we also had a BBQ with my extended family:

The day before Joe and I also had a little “date” when my mom watched Samuel while we hung out at the mall and shopped. It was the first time we have been out without Samuel that wasn’t a wedding, since our anniversary last year when Samuel was 2 weeks old. It was strange not having him there, but we felt like teenagers again – in a good way.

The next day was Father’s Day, so I got to give my dad a card and had some special gifts for Joe’s first Father’s Day. The first gift was a signed copy of Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share, and the second gift was an engraved silver ring that said Samuel in Hebrew. Later that day, my mom watched Samuel again so that my dad and us could go see Toy Story 3. I wish my Mom was there so that I wasn’t the only one balling my eyes out. We left that day in what was formerly my Dad’s car, a really nice Toyota Camry – in Silver! Yeah for grandparents!
There are more pictures in the Folsom Visit June 2010 Album.

PHEW. That was long, thanks for reading!

Last week was a fun time of celebration with friends and family. It started two weeks ago when all three of us went on a trip up to the Bay Area. On Friday we went to The Tech in San Jose, which is an amazing science/technology museum on its own, but they also have Star Trek: The Exhibition. The exhibit was a lot of fun and the rest of the museum was great as well. We were there for 4 hours and could have spent more, Joe especially wanted to keep playing with the exhibits on circuits, we can’t wait to go back when Samuel is older. In the Star Trek exhibit we decided to get a family portrait on the bridge of the original Enterprise. Call it our new fashioned Italian family portrait.

After that we went to my grandmother’s house in San Francisco and my parents met us there. The next day we visited Ghirardelli Square where my parents worked as teenagers and then went to the Presido and happened upon The Walt Disney Family Museum. It was very expansive and contained all kinds of great facts about how Walt started in cartoons, the end of Oswald and beginning of Mickey and other business challenges, a Multiplane Camera, a huge model of Disneyland in the first few years and a lot more. We were there for 3 hours but could have been there longer. Just outside the building I went for a walk with Samuel in the stroller and got some shots of Golden Gate bridge.

That night we had Thai food and chocolate cake and took a bunch of pictures:

Later in the week we went out to Japanese food, at our favorite place Goshi’s, and had desert at Cold Stone Creamery.

The next day some friends came over and made me yummy mexican food for lunch and chocolate desert. It was fun to see everyone and they know me so well. That night when I came home from work Joe surprised me with a candlelight dinner all prepared with romantic music playing. We even danced a bit and then watched the sweet movie Imagine That. The next day Joe came home from work and surprised me with flowers. He was really excited that he surprised me twice in a row.

Thanks everyone for making my Birthday special.

Samuel is growing up quickly into a little man as evidenced by the photos below. It probably helps that we dressed him like a grownup this past weekend. Both of the grandparents came for the weekend and it was a fun time.

On Halloween we had a lot of fun dressing up Samuel as a Starfleet Officer. To be more specific he wore a uniform from Star Trek:The Next Generation and the color he is wearing is for Security, Operations, and Engineering. We choose it obviously for Engineering. My mom made the incredible shirt that he is wearing and we found a pin that worked well as a communicator. He wears it well with his intense stare that he likes to do.

Then on Sunday, November 1st we dedicated Samuel to the LORD. It was a really special moment for us because we went onto the same stage that we got married on. Pastor Tonye had some great words to share about the meaning behind a dedication, that it is a time for the parents to declare how they want to raise the child. Also he mentioned that it is not a baptism because a baptism requires that the person has made a commitment to follow Christ. Also praying with us was Pastor Jack, Brian (head of Chidren’s Ministry and friend of Joe), and our good friends Josh & Sandra who are his Godparents.

We came home and had a quick little family photo shoot that turned out well. It’s crazy to think the last family photo was almost 3 months ago.

P.S. Joe also got an early Christmas present of a MacBook Pro which allowed us to download all of the photos that were on our camera. Take a look at the new Samuel 3 Months album for more photo fun.

Samuel has been able to meet both sets of grandparents now.

The day that Samuel was born Kristen’s parents came down to visit for a week. Samuel enjoyed sleeping in Nonno and Noni’s (Italian for Grandpa and Grandma) arms.

Last weekend he got to meet his Grandpa, Grandma, and Great Grandma Olsen.

We also took a trip to Avila Barn, so Samuel could experience being outside and the family could enjoy some good food.

It was really great to see family and they were such a great help with Samuel.

Check out the different photo albums for more pictures:

• Nonno, Noni, and Samuel
• Grandpa, Grandma, Great Grandma, and Samuel
• Avila Barn with Grandparents