Look Who's Walking

Samuel has been working on walking for the past 2-3 weeks now. He's finally getting the hang of it. Every day he walks more and more. He's carrying around his socks in this video. I guess he thought that would be a fun thing to do.

Happy Birthday Poppy!

Poppy would have turned 94 today. It goes without question that we miss him and think of him often. He comes to us in the tiniest of ways in our every day lives. A picture, an item, a poppyism. They come unexpectedly most of the time. They bring a lump to my throat, a tear to my eye and tug at my heart. I think we all have that special someone whose memory resides permanently in our minds and hearts. Poppy is that person for me.
I love you Poppy and I look forward to seeing you again.

Go faster daddy!

Samuel loves to be pushed around in the laundry basket. We chase the dogs around the house and he loves it.. more than they do I'm sure.
Watch out mama here I come!

Valentine's Day Haircut

The trip to get Samuel's first "real" haircut started off well. We took him to a place that's just for kids so they had lots of cool toys and things to distract him. I'm sure he was wondering what he had done to deserve to be in such a cool place. "Was it the dog food I ate or standing in the tub that got me such an awesome reward!"
Samuel got to sit in a cool firetruck to get his hair cut. As you can see, he was still calm at this point and thoughts of getting the worst torture imaginable hadn't crossed his mind... YET! He seemed a little suspicious that something not so fun was about to take place.Misery setting in.

Okay.. now that his hair is wet it's time to comb it and see just what a mess mama had made. As I said, this is his first "real" haircut. I couldn't stand watching the pathetic trim I had given him grow out any longer. If he could've run away at this point I think he would have.

Samuel's really starting to get upset at this point. He was trying to lean away from her but she kept combing and it was driving him nuts. I was trying to distract him with bubbles, the TV.. anything.. but nothign worked.

Now the ultimate torture has begun.. the cutting. He was so upset but there was no turning back now. I tried to distract him with his pacifier, Mardi Gras beads, food.. nothing worked. He was downright miserable but the torture.. I mean haircut.. continued. Samuel stopped crying for about 2 seconds when another stylist across from him started blow drying this little girl's hair. Typically, he likes the hairdryer. When I use it in the morning I always point it at him and he loves it. Of course, this time he hated it.

He's almost done and is 100% miserable and upset. He could see what was going on in the mirror so I'm sure that didn't help. Poor little guy.

The torture has come to an end and he is finally calming down. I'm sure he's thinking "What a lousy Valentine's Day gift!!!"

Mardi Gras Beads- His new obession!

Samuel loves these Mardi Gras beads. He will sit and play with them for 20 plus minutes. Putting them on, taking them off, putting them on again. Putting them into the container, taking them out.........

This picture really emphasizes the awful first haircut I gave him. I was hoping it would grow out and look better but it's just becoming a longer version of the same awful haircut I gave him. Poor Samuel. We're going to take him and let someone who knows what they are doing cut his hair very soon!

Snowed In!

8 1/2" of snow. I have never seen so much snow in my life. WOW.
Our cul-de-sac had so much snow that we coudn't get out til late that morning. That didn't stop our neighbor next door from leaving... twice. He goes for Starbucks every morning.. no matter what!
Our snowman from yesterday is looking pretty miserable. I think he can't believe we had a record snowfall either. ;)

Our backyard. Unfortunately, several trees lost several branches during the night. I told Mike we should've dusted off the trees. He thought I was insane of course. The satellite dish didn't work most of the day and night yesterday because of all the snow. I told Mike maybe he should dust that off as well. His response.... a weird look. Then, today, he looks online to figure out how to get the signal back and what does it say. "Dust the snow off the dish!" DUH!

It's weird being able to see our neighbor's house. Usually, the bamboo is so tall and dense that we can't see their house. Hopefully, the bamboo will return to how it was before the snow. ;)

Now this is something you don't see every day... 3 men working... just kidding. I mean people shovelling snow in Texas. WEIRD!

Amazing Snow!!!!

Mike made these mini snowmen in the flower box outside our front window so Samuel could see them from inside the house.
Mama and her Snow Baby

Samuel rally enjoyed the snow. He didn't complain about being cold and wet at all.

I was trying to get him to make a snow angel.

Crawling in the snow.

Our first family snowman.

NO matter what the weather is like outside, Samuel still wants to be pushed in his swing.

Enjoying a lovely sleigh ride in his wagon.

Busy, busy cleaning his wagon!

The dogs wanted a piece of the action as well.

Jackson did a faceplant in the snow while trying to run through it. Mike enjoyed his misfortune a little too much I think.

GEAUX SAINTS!

In honor of Super Bowl 44, the Welsh family made shirts supporting both teams.. the Saints and the Colts! Mike is very indecisive so I wasn't shocked when he suggested the idea.

We're talking about a man who mixes his cereals because he can't decide which one he wants and I don't mean Cheerios and Lucky Charms. It's more like Lucky Charms and Raisin Bran.. G-R-O-S-S.

Anyway....Mike was torn because he really likes Peyton Manning but he has ties to Louisana (he went to College in Thiodaux and his best buddy, Chad, is from Louisiana and of course a die hard Saints fan).

So... Samuel and I had Saints on the front and Colts on the back. BUT to take Mike's indecisiveness to the compulsive level... he split his support in half on the front and the back. He had Saints on one half of the front of his shirt and Colts on the other half. I wish I found this surprising!

Way to go BIG GAME (one of Mike's buddies who knows nothing about sports gave Mike this nickname... fitting don't you think!)

Samuel's baby

This is the cutest thing I've ever seen. Monica and Mariah showed Samuel how to take care of his babydoll while Mike and I were gone overnight for my birthday. The dolls were originally Mariah's and Siena played with them as well when she came over, but now Samuel has taken a liking to them.
Samuel hugging his babies. If you ask Samuel, "where is your baby" or tell him "kiss your baby " he goes over and hugs them and kisses them. Seriously.. it is too cute. He might be embarassed by this when he gets older but I don't think he should be. He's learning to care for something else and I think it suits his sweet personality.
I love this one the most.... when we tell Samuel to "wash your baby" he takes the washcloth and washes her face. This is remarkable because he absolutely hates his face and hands washed. Those of you that have tried to wash his hands and face or seen Mike or I do it know what I am talking about. I'm hoping this will teach him that it's no big deal because his baby doesn't cry when he washes her face so he shouldn't either.... we'll see!!!

Somone Feed Me

This bowl has a suction ring on the bottom to keep this very thing from happening. Somehow Samuel gets it off his tray. He thinks he's pretty clever and funny when he does this.

Steam Roller!!

Samuel's new thing is to roll around on pillows. He throws himself down on them and then rolls. It is so funny. What a smart guy he is!

Box fun!

This picture cracks me up because it looks like he was caught doing something wrong which isn't the case surprisingly enough.
Samuel finally got a big boy car seat and this is the box it came in. He really enjoyed playing in it. He was trying to tip it over by leaning against the side. He's fearless.
What a cutie!! Even though he has moments where he gets frustrated and is screechy this is the face that I remember most.