Bday Party #2 and Another SAMpling

This has been a fun week. It was my "spring break," so I had more free time. I made some good meals this week--a stew, pizza, chicken verde, pasta with Italian sausage, and an egg casserole. I am becoming a competent cook. (Having recognized my liabilities in cleaning, this seems like a good compromise role for me.)

Today we had a very nice day with Sam. I woke up with him, we took a nap together late morning, and the three of us walked to McD's for lunch. He loves the littleplay ground, where he can mosey across the rubber floors and watch the children on the slides. Tonight we did cake. He liked it, but was close enough to sleep that he only had a bite or two.

This week he also did his first trip to the local playground. He liked the swing, but enjoyed eating the dirt even more. I foresee many more such trips.

Sam is in general a delight. He walks pretty well now. In the last few weeks he's shifted from being a slow walker who would drop down and crawl if he had to cross a room, to a pretty fast walker. He likes being "chased." He giggles if I walk backwards in front of him when he's in his stroller. He also thought it was hilarious when I strolled him backwards one day. He's becoming a more consistent waver--it's very cute. The other funny thing he has been doing is "growling" with the toy t-rex my brother bought him. It's very cute. He had a growl before, but now it is a little fiercer.

Our Taiwan plans seem to be all coming together. At some point I'll start a personal website and Emily will start a new blog. I almost can't believe that it is all working out. I've announced I'm not returning to my job next year. I feel a fair amount of guilt about it, and I think we probably could have been happy here for many years, but I think Taiwan is where we belong. More news to follow...