Why can't I pick just one...

Sam's weekly photo shoot resulted in way too many cute pictures for me to choose just one! So you get a slide show of all of my favorites :-)

Zac's Birthday Party

Today we went to a birthday party for Zac - one of our friends from our Shakopee Mom's group. The party was at a near-by park and there were a lot of Maddie's and Sam's friends there. We had a yummy dinner of hotdogs, noodle salad, fruit, veggie's and chips - sooo good!
Then it was time to sing Happy Birthday and watch Zac blow out the candles on his lion birthday cake. Madeline & Ava really enjoyed their cupcakes. Then it was time for a water balloon fight - what a great idea! The birthday boy even got in on the action :-) Next we watched Zac open all of his gifts - Madeline did such a good job not sharing our secret about the Thomas the Train bath toy we got for Zac :-) Then it was off to the playground to wear off a little more energy.
All the while Sam just sat in his stroller and took it all in :-)

New Sandbox

Madeline got a brand new sandbox (built by Daddy & Davey) for her birthday from Grandma Judy, Dave & Godmother Alyssa. We finally got it out in the yard after we laid the sod. Now it is something she plays in almost every day! Tonight her and Daddy spent the evening building sand castles! Sam fussed when he couldn't join in the fun, but we told him he could play in it when he was a little older - he seemed to calm down after that :-)

Family Time

Tonight Daddy snapped a few pictures of Madeline, Mommy & Sam.
Madeline held Sam for a little bit, but she was way more interested in her bedtime show than holding her little brother... So Mommy took a turn :-)

Madeline's First Gymnastics Class

With all of Aunt Melanie's gymnastics meets that Madeline has gone to, she has really taken an interest in gymnastics so we've finally decided to get her in a class. We are still trying to decide which gym to have her go to, so we had our first trial class at the Classic Gym in Chanhassen today. The other kids already knew the routine, so Madeline just followed along as best as she could :-) They did some stretching, jumped on the trampoline, practiced on the balance beam, swung on the bars & tumbled over obstacles. She really had a good time. We'll choose a gym soon and have her start in a few weeks... I have a feeling she'll be flipping all over the place before we know it!

Plus, here are a few more pictures of our smiling Sam!

Big Boy in the Bumbo!

Sam has been doing such a good job holding his head up we decided to pull out the Bumbo and see what he could do! It didn't last for more than a minute or two, but we think he liked it :-)

Rolling Over

His Smile is Contagious!!! So, he did it a few times earlier this month, but this past week Sam started rolling over from his back to his tummy whenever he wants!!! Now he just gets upset that he doesn't know how to get back over :-)

Uptown Art Fair

Today we went to uptown Minneapolis to check out the 3 art fairs that were going on. Since the art fairs were somewhat spread out we took the shuttle between them... Madeline & Sam got their first ride on a city bus and they thought it was great fun! Grandma Judy, Dave, Marv, Kim, Troy & Greta met us there. There was so much to look at but, unfortunately, we didn't find anything to bring home. Later that night Madeline helped Daddy give Sam a bath - it was too cute! We even got a giggle out of him (he just started giggling earlier this week!) :-)

National Night Out

Tonight our whole neighborhood gathered at the park to celebrate National Night Out!
15 out of the 17 families were able to make it, so it was a great night to get better acquainted with everyone. We all brought a dish to share and something to throw on the grill. As usual the food was great and the company was even better :-) The kids had a blast playing at the park, but the highlight was getting to climb on the firetruck and in the police car that stopped by!!!

BBQ at Marv & Kim's

Tonight we headed to Great-Uncle Marv & Great-Aunt Kim's house for a BBQ! We do this at least once every summer and it's always a lot of fun. Along with the usual crowd (Marv, Kim, Greta, Jake, Melanie, Grandma Judy & Dave) were a few fun additions... Great-Uncle Willy & Great-Aunt Alvina, PLUS cousin Troy made it all the way from New York!Madeline wore off some energy picking flowers, playing hide and seek and chasing Grandma Judy. Sam just relaxed and let everyone enjoy his contagious smile :-) We love BBQ's!