It's a...

BOY!!!  And here are a couple pictures from the ultrasound to enjoy.  This news isn't exactly new since it's taken me months to post these, but in case some readers hadn't heard yet, I thought we should make it official.  At this point, we will get to meet our second little man in about a month!

Profile 

(Mommy thinks this looks a lot like Samuel's profile)

Showing off his gorgeous little toes

"See ya soon, everyone!"

It's a boy!

Samuel's 2nd Birthday

Right after our return from Arizona, we had to start preparing for little mister's second birthday!  It's a big birthday, after all.  You only turn two once :P  In Samuel's case, we had our first "friend" birthday party.  Our theme was Bubble Guppies, Samuel's favorite TV show at the time (we've since moved on to Dora the Explorer and Go Diego Go).  Samuel's cousin Kyla (and Uncle Dan), and his good little buddies Emmett and Chester (and their parents) joined us to celebrate the big T.W.O.  Four Toddlers + Cake + New Toys = Pure Chaos...and GREAT naps later!  It was a lot of fun, though.

 The Calm Before the Storm

 Present Time!

 Three very curious two year olds

 Samuel's version of a thank you hug...or tackle???

 Thank you for the cool train toys, Uncle Dan!

 Two candles (and cake that Samuel barely touched)

 But Chester liked the cake :)

 And so did Kyla

 Three sugared up two year-olds on the move!

We had a small celebration on Samuel's actual birthday, the following Thursday, with just Mommy and Daddy when we opened family presents because we didn't want to completely overwhelm Samuel at his birthday party.

Out of Africa Wildlife Park and other AZ Adventures

After the Christmas rush of activities, we had a little time to relax and just enjoy the rest of our stay in AZ.  We took a day to visit the Out of Africa Wildlife Park with my cousin Roslyn and her family.  We took a safari tour, walked through the big cats section, visited a petting area, and got up close and personal with a couple of unique animals.  Samuel was frightened by the animals at first, which on the safari ride can come right up to the bus (mostly because you're encouraged to feed carrots to the giraffes and camels, so they stick their heads right into the bus).  Roslyn's little boy, Zane, on the other hand, loved having the animals so close.  Samuel warmed up by the time we reached the petting area and enjoyed being so close to the deer.  After the Wildlife Park, we enjoyed a quick stop off at Montezuma Castle, a neat cliff dwelling near the Wildlife Park.  Then we took a two hour round-trip drive to Flagstaff so the boys could sleep in the car...boy were they exhausted!  We really enjoyed the visit with Roslyn's family, who we don't get to see very often.

Though you can't see it well, there is a serious look of concern on Samuel's face...

Compare to the sheer joy on Zane's face...

Cute cousins!

 Two exhausted little boys :)

The next day, we got to spend some family time with my brother Andy's family.  We also don't get to see them as often as we'd like since they live halfway across the country.  We loved seeing Samuel play with his cousins at the wonderful park at the resort.  They all got along so well and it was nice to spend time with my nieces who are growing up so quickly!

 

Our last day in Arizona, we drove down to Phoenix during Samuel's naptime for our early flight home the next day.  We got into the city before dinner and decided to find an outing for the evening.  Turns out that in December, the Phoenix Zoo has Zoolights, a light display at the zoo.  While we didn't see many animals, we saw awesome holiday lights.  It was a fun way to end a really special trip.

Real zebra...light zebra

Visit with Grandad T

While in Arizona, we also had the opportunity to visit Grandad since his house is just a couple hours from Granny and Aunt Carolyn.  We spent Christmas Day with Grandad, Uncle Derek, and Candice.  Samuel had lots of fun playing with Candice and he was showered with presents from all of them (especially Grandad!!!).  We enjoyed a low-key day with the family and a fun lunch out at a Mexican restaurant.

We also saw Grandad, Uncle Derek, and Candice in Sedona on the day after Christmas. That afternoon, Mommy and Samuel stayed back for a nap at the condo while the others went out for a hike to see some nice Sedona sights.  When they got back, we all drove to downtown Sedona and enjoyed a nice walk together before Grandad, Derek, and Candice had to leave for the evening.  Derek and Candice were heading out shortly thereafter, so we didn't get to see them again.

 

 On December 27, we saw Grandad for a little while one last time. Mommy missed that afternoon so she could get some girl time with her cousins and enjoy a relaxing pedicure.  That afternoon, the guys drove around for a long time while Samuel slept in the car and then unfortunately Grandad had to leave soon after that, so our visit was short that day.  Although it was a little short and choppy, we did enjoy spending time with Grandad, Uncle Derek, and Candice.  It's always special to visit our family that we don't see often enough.

More Arizona stories will be coming soon!  Stay posted...