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Lots of cool things happened on January 11.  Here’s some.

• Alabama seceded from the union in 1861.
• Amelia Earhart flies solo from Hawaii to California in 1935.
• Los Angeles’ first snowfall ever recorded in 1949.
• Chloe Mauter born in 2008.

We hope you have a great birthday and eat lots of cake.

Love, Uncle Brian, Aunt Janie, Samantha and Ellie

My granddad’s 80th birthday party was at the Lake this year.  It was lots of food, family, and great weather.  Even though the day started out with a major mishap involving a blueberry pie, I think all the evidence has been cleaned up by now.

And check out this great picture from Lizzie’s blog.  Boy, Sam sure does love pumpkins.  I guess it’s good that she’s an October baby.

Can you believe it?  Samantha turned 4 on Monday.  We had an easy party at the park with friends, family, and shade.  What a great day!

We started out by playing hard, so after a while, we had to take a break.

Then, Batman showed up.  Seriously, Samantha asked me later “Why did Batman come to my party?”

We enjoyed pizza and fruit.  (Easy, right?)

Ellie even played hard!

After a while, we sang “Happy Birthday.”  Later, Samantha told me that she didn’t sing for her birthday song.  But she could sing for my granddad’s birthday song the next day.  (How did she know not to sing for her own song?)  She was so sweet while we were singing.  I wish everybody could have seen her face.  Nana put it best when she said, “It was like Samantha really knew that everyone was singing for her and that this was a very special occasion!”

Enjoying some great gifts!

(Sorry about the picnic table, Hallie!  I should have been holding it so it wouldn’t have crashed down on you!)

And of course, the hopper.  After she opened her gifts, she carried around the hopper box for the rest of the time.  She literally walked over to some rocks near by, but away from everyone else, so she could sit with her hopper box.  It reminded me of the ukelele incident from last year!  Here’s the hopper once we got home and got it blown up.

For her actual birthday, I went to school to have lunch with her.  It was nice to see her in that environment.  And now I can understand more about what she tells me when she comes home!

I had promised her that she wouldn’t have to take a nap when she turned 4, because she hasn’t taken one in a while.  These days, she’s usually not a basket case by bedtime, so I reluctantly caved.  However, I still make her go upstairs so I can have some “mommy time.”  She has to play in her room, quietly, so she doesn’t wake up Ellie.

We had dinner on the porch, one of Samantha’s favorite things to do.  And she got to eat on her new picnic table.  Then she opened up her present from us.  Rollerskates!  I have no idea where the idea came from, but she was adamant that she wanted rollerskates for her birthday.

Samantha is doing well in school.  I’m amazed at how quickly she’s learning.  She can write her whole name, say the “Hail Mary,” knows about weekdays (5 days) and weekends (2 days) and much more.  She’s creative, thoughtful, funny, outgoing, and becoming such a big girl!

I can feel the ever so slight easing of heat around here.  We’ve had glimpses of some nice fall weather, so you know summer is wrapping up.  Here are some pictures from our summer.

Swimming at MamaLinda’s

Walking in the rain

Trying on a Burger King crown

Visiting the McWane Center

Celebrating a 90th birthday

Wow.  Can you believe it?  Little E is the big ONE!

She was so little when she was born!  (The size of Brian’s hand!)

But now she’s a bustling one year old!

She is so sweet.  She loves baby dolls and cuddly toys.  She will not hold her bottle voluntarily, but prefers to keep her arms completely outstretched while drinking.  She does not like the texture of table food, but loves baby food.

We had her birthday party on Sunday.  Most all of her family came despite the horrific weather last week.  My brother still doesn’t have power!  He and his family (and week old ducklings) spent the weekend with us doing laundry, charging electronics, and drinking coffee.  But, we all had great weather after the storms, so it was a perfect weekend to have a party!

Hm – I’m not so sure about this.

Ouch!  She didn’t actually touch the candle, but obviously, she came very close!

Stand Off.

Dig in!

Thanks for taking pictures, A&L!

She had her check up today, and all is well.  She is about the 90th percentile for height, but only about the 10th for weight.  Also, the pediatrician told me that they recommend following the new AAP guidelines for car seats.  Ugh!  Another year of rear-facing!