Trip to Aquarium

Last week, Sam and I (Jeff) were able to take advantage of a good deal to go visit the Georgia Aquarium. It is usually quite expensive, but on this day, $20 got you one adult, up to 4 kids, and parking (we did choose to take the bus though, so it could have been a better deal I guess). Sam loved it! At first he wasn't too sure why he wasn't going to see his favorites: Rhinos, Elephants, and Giraffes. But he definitely enjoyed seeing dolphins (kind of), ducks (not really), crabs, turtles, fish, and whales. Here are some pictures of Sam enjoying the aquarium with his friends.

Neighborhood Rally

Last night we held a neighborhood rally against some violence that has been occurring in our community. It was a wonderful time of positive neighbors coming together and taking a stand against the negative aspects of our community. Sam loved his first rally and holding his first protest sign. Here are some pictures of the event and the local news coverage . The coverage was not entirely accurate (we really aren't living in fear, but they did a decent job.)

Maya Talks

A Month with Maya

We can't believe its already been over a month since Maya joined our family. She has been such a joy. She is so easy going and lovable. Our family feels so complete with her.

Here are some pictures of her at one month.

There is a little less lap space for Sam these days, but most of the time he is willing to share.

Along with the addition of Maya, our family also has a new mini-van! It's made life a lot easier, and Sam (and Daddy) love cruising in the "big black van."

Getting the mail each day has been an exciting time lately as we have been receiving gifts from so many friends and family. Sam has quickly learned that often he gets a little present in the packages, so he loves to get the mail. He also likes to try out the gifts for Maya.

Maya Shows Off

Here is our first video of Maya

Fun with our Favorite Cousin

Okay...so maybe he's our only cousin, but we still think Symeon is great and we loved his visit last week. We had a great time with Shawn, Shelva and Symeon last weekend even if it did rain and snow the entire time they were here. Sam and Symeon had lots of fun together and seem to be on their way to being great friends as they grow up.

Since the weather was so yucky, we had a lot of time in our pajamas!

We had a quick break from the rain for a trip to the playground. Sam and Symeon love playing with their dads!

Sam's First Snow Man

Sam had a blast in the snow yesterday. The shear joy on his face when he realized that he did not need to go looking for a ball, but rather could just make one wherever he was was priceless. We made two snow men, one Sam's and one Daddy's, which sam still calls by their names, had a snowball fight with Brent, and even ate some snow, all of which Sam thought was quite awesome. The only thing we could not do is go sledding because the snow was too wet, but that was OK, because that made for better snowmen and snowballs.

All in all it was definitely a fun day, and we were glad that Sam got to enjoy it. Here are some pictures of Sam having fun in the snow yesterday.

Maya's First Snow

Here are some pictures of Maya's first snow. She really didn't think too much about it. Katie thinks she was cold and upset, I thought she thought it looked pretty. We'll post some photos of Sam later today. Even before it started snowing, Sam was asking for a snow man. We are not really sure how he knows that you can build a snow man with snow, other than there are a few in his books. But we are looking forward to it.