Out with 2010...Excited for 2011

2010 was Ben and I's best year yet. With the addition of Samuel, Ben's new job, me with a job and so much more we feel really blessed, so we can't wait to see what 2011 brings us.

This was the 1st year since Ben and I have been together where we haven't traveled over Christmas which was awesome. But we got a little stir crazy and decided to head North for New Years, to see friends, family and let Samuel finally meet his buddy Luke.

Samuel and I stayed at my friend Tara's house which he loved, because her house is definitely not child proofed. At one point I looked over as I was making his breakfast and he was in a silverware drawer holding onto two knives (please don't call CPS, I swear it was an accident.) Her house is filled with very nice things and by the end of the trip they were all on the top shelf. Tara was so sweet to let us stay and he loved to explore the new house, and slept even better than he does at home!

On Saturday, Samuel got to meet one of my best friends son, Luke. They live in Colorado so the boys had not had the chance to meet, so Katie and I were really excited to get them together. Luke is 5 months old and such a sweetie, he loves to bounce around and make grrrrrrrrrrrrr sounds, it is really cute. Samuel seemed very interested in Luke and would go up and look at him, and as you can see by the pictures by the end of the playdate he tried to give Luke a hug and hold his hand, super cute.

Samuel and Luke were having good conversation here.

Sam with his Aunt Karen and Aunt Tara

And at the end of the play date, Luke and Samuel got exciting news, that in 6 months they will either have a new buddy or a girlfriend to fight over. Our friends Karen and Brett are expecting, which is such great news. What a great way to ring in the new year!

For New Years, we went to a friends house and Jiji and Papster babysat Samuel. This was the 1st time ever that both Ben and I had been gone from Samuel together overnight. It was nice for us to get to celebrate with friends, and we knew he wasn't even thinking about us but loving getting spoiled by Ben's parents.

The Big Ten Husker/Iowa rivalry started here! 3 on the left vs. the 2 on the right. This will make future Thanksgivings a lot of fun.

This trip was also our test for Samuel to see if he was allergic to cats. I am deathly allergic to cats and can spend very little time in homes with cats, so I have been very apprehensive to put him with cats in the off chance he is allergic. When we got to Omaha we took him straight to Ben's parents and exposed him to their cat and from what we could see we are in the clear for cat allergies. Samuel seemed very intrigued by his Jiji and Papster's cat, but no sneezing, or rubbing of the eyes. Samuel wanted to pet and grab the kitty but the cat just hissed and batted Samuel away. Hopefully Poppy will warm up to Samuel with time.

Samuel had a great holiday and New Years, but we think he is getting pretty bored with all of these adults and excited to get back to daycare with his buddies and of course his girlfriend Abby.

Happy New Year to everyone!!