GO Vikings!!!!!!

Sam playing at Daycare

It's a.....?????

In the midst of an exciting week celebrating Sam's one year birthday and Grandpa and Grandma Vander Stelt in town, we had our 20 week ultrasound for Baby B!  With such a busy week, we had little time to obsess or think about it until the morning of, when mom was full of anxious anticipation and excitement!  

Boy or girl??  Mom and dad's intuition was a girl - no real strong reasoning for that except for minor variations in this pregnancy from the first - less nausea, no acne (so far), and other small things.  With all the boys born to relatives and friends the last year and a half, mom also felt statistically it was time for a girl!

Well, at the end of the ultrasound, we found out we were having a.... GIRL!!!!  Mom started crying (she did finding out Sam was a boy too :)) and so excited to add a girl to their family!  Dad was excited and glad that since we were having a girl, we already had the "Enforcer" in place (Big Brother Sam!!)

Here are the first pictures of our baby girl!

 We had both sets of grandparents over for dinner the day we found out we were having a girl - we had been somewhat deceptive and told them the ultrasound was later in the week so we could surprise them at dinner.  Well, everyone was surprised and excited - maybe except Sam, who started crying - but I think it was the loud reaction to the news from everyone that scared him, not the news!

It will be so fun to have a little girl to add to our family!  We have gotten a few cute gifts already to start her wardrobe - a "Little Sister" outfit from Colleen Kron and some sock monkey samples from Kelly's work!  I'm sure mom will enjoy adding to this - so far I have not bought any clothes for her, but i do have some ruffled bloomer patterns on the way.... :)

 

We are SO EXCITED!!!  

18 More weeks to go....  I actually don't mind waiting a little bit as I've finally been enjoying full nights of sleep!

Sam's ONE YEAR Appointment!

  

Sam is such a big boy now - 1 YEAR OLD!

 

Weight:  25lbs 2.5oz (75-90%tile)

Height:  30.625in (75%tile)

Head:  19in (90-97%tile)

Sam had his one year old appointment and his stats are above!  I can't believe we hit the 25 lb mark!

We had a Loooonnng appointment waiting for nurses, doctors and more nurses - Sam was quite a handful to contain for an hour and a half in the room - pushing the stool around, getting into drawers, and cruising around the room!

Everything from a developmental standpoint was great, and the only bummer was a really bad ear infection in one year.  The doctor said he must be super laid back to not be complaining about it or have a high pain tolerance (I think it means he takes after mom :) )

Sam had to get a finger poke/blood draw and 4 shots - he was not impressed and was very suspicious of the nurses for good reason!

Birthday Party for Sam!

Sam had a small birthday party at Linden Hills park on the Saturday after his birthday.  We were excited to have Grandpa and Grandma Vander Stelt in town from Idaho to celebrate with us!

  

Who was at Sam's First Birthday?

Samuel

Mom and Dad

Grandpa and Grandma Vander Stelt

Papa and Mema Backstrom

Great Grandma Backstrom

Aunt Jessie and cousin Bryn

Aunt Mary

Janice DeGroot, Colleen and Isaiah Kron

 

Sam got a lot of awesome presents and new toys to play with - A Red rider wagon, a play table, a scooter, clothes, books, Garanimal blocks, a toy boat and car, a hockey set, Twins dino, silverware, a new robe and bath toy, and a soft monkey from GMa he fell in love with!

Sam's cousin Bryn helped him open all his presents!

The box that one of Sam's presents came in was a hit with Sam and Isaiah!

 Sam wasn't sure about Isaiah being on his box so he circled until he could edge in and push Isaiah out of the way!

 3 Generations of Backstrom Men!

Sam had a fun first birthday!  After work, Sam, mom and dad met Papa and Mema Backstrom at the Creative Kidstuff toy store to pick out some toys for his birthday!  He loved playing with all the scooters and bouncies and toys in the store and it was clear which his favorites were!

We all had dinner together at our house and then it was time for Birthday cake!

Sam didn't know what to think of the candles!

 

 Mom helped Sam blow out his candles while we all sang Happy Birthday!

  

Family Picture Time

 Sam with Dad on his big day!

Labor Day 2011 - Camping Madness!

 SEPTEMBER 2011

 

Labor Day Weekend we headed up North to Gooseberry Falls for a weekend of camping!  We were well-prepared with kayaks, bikes, the burley, the play n pak, the hiking backpack, the stroller, and the list goes on!!!

While we set up camp, Sam started exploring the campsite and playing in the dirt!   It was not Sam's first camping trip (that was in Idaho), but it was the first time "roughing it" without the luxury of a motorhome next door!

Hanging out at the campsite!  Dad LOVES his campfires!

  
Hiking to Gooseberry Falls

 

It was a beautiful hike along the shoreline of Lake Superior, along Gooseberry River, and then up and around and down the other side of the Falls!

Sam was exhausted after all that hiking - dad too!  He took a long nap at the campsite in his play n pak under a shade tree!
 

Sam LOVED playing in the tent - climbing up and all over the air mattress and playing with all the stuff on dad's camping table!

Biking to Split Rock Lighthouse

 

The adventure continued on Sunday when we decided to pack Sam up in the burley and ride our bikes up the coast to Split Rock Lighthouse. 

The weather was uncertain with clouds on the horizon, but we thought we could handle the 6-7 mile round trip.  As we left the campground, the first 1/2 mile was all slow uphill and we were doubting our plan.... then we came across a sign that the Lighthouse was 7+ miles away (15 roundtrip!)  We decided we would go for it and despite the hilly bike ride, we were so glad we pushed ourselves!

We took a tour of the lighthouse and climbed to the top for a great view!  I definitely decided that I would not have wanted to live the isolated life of a lighthouse worker before there were roads there!  Talk about long winters....!

We then got back on our bikes and headed back to camp - Sam slept the whole way in the burley there and on the way back - he definitely had the best arrangement behind dad.  Technically, mom was carrying the baby the whole way - that's some extra poundage!!

 We actually opted to leave Sunday night instead of Monday morning.  Sam's first night camping went pretty well (he did end up in bed with us in the middle of the night), but the second night was an all out disaster with Sam screaming the majority of it!  We did not want to endure that again and we also knew record low temps were on the way.   So, we let Sam play on a tarp (it had rained so muddy), and we took down camp and headed for home!

 We had a great time hanging out together and camping with Sam!  It was a beautiful part of Minnesota to see and experience!  As for camping next summer with Sam and a 6 month old... we'll see!!!!  :)  A camper or cabin looks pretty good!!