Sam hams it up for the camera, singing an adaptation, en espanol, of the kids classic ‘Frere Jacques.’ Yes, they have Spanish class once a week at his preschool. I’m no expert, but I think his accent is pretty darn good!
Tags: espanol, frere jaques, preschool, sam
In the clip above, Sam reads to us from the book currently at the top of his rotation - Judy Schachner’s Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones. The story of a misunderstood and imaginative Siamese cat who thinks he’s a Chihuahua, the series is full of a mish-mash of Spanish and English, great songs, and some very funny nicknames. Sam can’t get enough. Check out the video above. It’s my first posting from a spiffy gift I received, a Flip Video camera from puredigital. It’s a flash-based, very basic and simple camcorder, and the results are suprisingly good. Certainly good enough for YouTube. You tell me!
Tags: sam, skippyjon jones, theflip, Video
With family in town, an extreme lack of sleep, a nasty cold for yours truly, etc., I’ve not posted here in a few days. So here are some updates.
All week, Noah has had his uncles from Savannah in town - Jerry and Seth - as well as Grandma Rita. Visiting from the great Northeast (Rochester, that is) were 8X grandparents Sherrie and Marty - who in a matter of days will be 9X grandparents when the other Amy in the family has her first next week. But I digress. Click here for the gallery.
Sunday was Noah’s big day, when, as is the custom after eight days, our friends and family converged at our home for Noah’s bris. He was a trooper, and it was great to see all our friends and loved ones who could attend, and know that those who could not had us in mind. Click here for the gallery.
Now anyone who has two children has probably gone through the jealousy phase. Sam has been remarkably resilient, although he’s had his moments. The best cure for this is, of course, lavish attention from grandparents, so they accompanied Sam to the frogs exhibit at the Fernbank Museum this week too. Gallery is here.
And having been cooped up inside with the exception of one trip to the pediatrician, Amy was itching to get out on Tuesday, so we bundled up Sam, Noah, Amy plus Marty and Sherrie for a trip to the Georgia Aquarium. Sam seems to enjoy it more with every visit, and Noah seemed to really enjoy the lights and movement of the fish. More photos in the gallery here.
Today was the final meeting this semester for one of Sam’s favorite activities - The Music Class (more background on this program here). Founded locally in Atlanta, and now available internationally, The Music Class has sessions aimed at kids from birth on through their kindergarden years, and practices a beautiful philosophy of exposing kids to all kinds of music. This morning, Grandpa Marty, Grandma Sherrie and I took Sam over to Glenwood Park so he could enjoy the last class of the session. Focusing on the notion of ‘use it or lose it,’ the classes engage even the littlest ones with aural repetition, dance, and rhythm. It was a joy to see all these kids having so much fun. See the slideshow here.
Tags: Music, sam, the music class
It’s been a hectic couple of days, but we are finally home. Noah and mom were discharged from Piedmont Hospital on Tuesday, and while Sam was enjoying the end of his weekend with friends, babysitters and preschool, we were wrapping up our precious package, tucking him into the car and heading back to the old homestead. Sam initially seemed not to mind the new addition to the household, but as Tuesday wore on he was clearly bothered by the new little being in the house who seemed to be monopolizing all of mom, dad and grandma’s time. There were more than a few crying jags on Sam’s part, mostly spurred on byNoah’s crying. He walked into the room once and tapped Noah’s forehead saying ’stop crying, stop crying,’ and when I pulled him aside to try to cheer him up he told me that Noah’s crying ‘bothered him.’ Funny thing that, it bothers me too! Anyway, I’m sure with the appropriate spreading of affection (and reinforcement via chocolate chip cookies, ‘natch), all will be well in the Trotz household. Click here for the photos.
Tags: baby, homecoming, noah, sam
So Sam joined us for some quality time this afternoon, and Joel was able to grab several great photos of the Trotz family all together. I love this photo of Amy looking on at the trio of boys who now comprise a majority in the household! (Amy still rules, of course!) Sam was so sweet - getting super excited about giving Noah his first present ever - a cute JellyCat duck Dad picked up on a business trip in September at the Laguna Niguel Ritz (Sam’s first stuffed animal was a monkey from the same company on a trip Amy and I took to the Ritz on Amelia Island). Sam was equally excited that Noah had thought ahead and bought Sam a gift of two books as well. The gallery is here.
In keeping with the tradition established in 2005 and again in 2006, I had to capture a photo of Sam, Amy and our yearly pumpkin creation in 2007. We thought Baby #2 might get in the way of providing a sugar high to all the neighborhood kiddies, but alas, there has been limited activity with regard to Trotz 2.0’s arrival over the last 24 hours. Our candy gave out before 8pm, thanks at least in part to Congress’ decision to extend DST until next weekend, making both the candy lobby and the kiddies quite happy to have an extra hour of daylight for candy collection. Next year, this photo will be more crowded, that much we do know!
Now I’m not saying this is the only reason, but I do not believe it’s purely coincidental that the Red Sox have only won the World Series in any years since 1918 when my lovely wife was not pregnant! With Sam in 2004, and now with the player yet-to-be-named roiling around in Amy’s belly in her 39th week, our beloved Sox have won yet again. Now while I’d like to assure all my Red Sox friends that we will keep up our end of this bargain, I may need some help convincing Amy of the same. Anyway, I’m darn ecstatic, and know that Sammy will be at least as excited when he wakes up to hear the news in the morning. Go SOX!
Tags: baseball, pregnancy, red sox, sam, world series
The leaves are turning, the smell of fireplaces starts to waft through the ‘hood in the evenings, and the days are ending earlier. That can mean only one (well maybe a few) thing - the annual Grant Park Halloween Parade. This year’s version wound through the park rather than on the streets around it. I can see the sense in it (no roads blocked off, a shorter route) but the narrow paths of the park made it slow going for the hundreds of lions, princesses, spidermen, red sox players, red sox fans, totem poles, and countless other costumed participants. In the photo above, Sam and his buddy Sophie flirt on the hillside above the parade ending. See more photos from the event in the slideshow here.
Tags: grant park, halloween, parade, sam
