Saturday, November 26, 2011

People actually DO read this thing...

So....blogger has completely revamped their interface...(you may have noticed some formatting problems with my pictures in the last few posts, as I adjust to the new way of doing things...) I must say that for the most part the changes are an improvement over the original...there is a lot more control and ease of use that looks more complex, but once I get the hang of it I'm sure it will be a piece of cake...there are a lot of new customizations one can use like location tagging and what-not (which I won't really be engaging in until I'm a bit older) Adding pictures is also WAY easier and intuitive....

One of the interesting things they have added is an overview and graph of the amount of page views your blog is getting, and a bunch of other stats specific to learning more about the number of people who visit the blog, and when they're doing so...check this out! This is the one from today...




Now, I knew that people enjoyed the blog, as many have told me...but it is humbling to see that I have 4700 views over the last three years (which doesn't seem like a lot until you consider the fact that I started this blog mainly just to entertain and inform the members of my family that don't live close by...and really, much as they love me, it's simply not possible for Gramma Debbie and Gramma Mindy to look at this blog 230 times in one month...so someone else must be enjoying it)

So thanks to my fans...obviously my Grammas are my biggest fans, so I thank them so much for giving me reason to continue the blog...the rest of my family and friends have supported it as well, so to you, cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Great Aunts and Uncles, friends and friends of friends...thank you....

And to you quiet ones that stop by to see what I'm up to, or even if you just pop in to see the exclusive pictures that Mom and Dad don't post to Facebook and don't read a word of what I say...thanks for visiting. I am happy that you're interested in what I'm up to, and will continue to do my best to be a source of entertainment and happiness, as you are for me.

Oh...and here's a fun new picture of me helping Daddy make some waffles from scratch the other day to thank you for stopping by.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Trick or Treating 2011

So this year's Halloween has been a full one, I must say!

In addition to all the previously mentioned celebrations, I got gifts from both Gramma Mindy, and Gramma Debbie! Gramma Debbie sent me some clothes, a story book, and a coloring book. After reading the superhero story (Where is Spiderman hiding in this one!?) a coupel times, I got right down to coloring in my Halloween-Themed coloring book....

Gramma Mindy sent along some stuff, too, including a very cool book with sliding panels. You can read the book, and then when you slide open the panels, the stuff hiding behind them enhanced the story with more information and pictures (or answered questions that were in addition to the story, like "How many Mummies do you see?" etc) It was very cool. (Note my last wearing of my Mummy PJs from last year...)

In addition to this cool stuff, I also got to go out to Trick or Treat this year! Even though the thing we do at daycare is lots and lots of fun, I got to actually go outside and go from house to house for a little while to take part in a time-honored tradition with lots of other kids. Mom and Dad's friends invited us to their neighborhood (Since we live in an apartment, and trick or treating is kind of hard there, their friends were kind enough to invite us to a safe neighborhood with lots of kids, and trusted neighbors) Here they are being the first people that I trick or treated from (Actually, Dad said the "Trick or Treat" part since I was still feeling a bit shy at the new situation)

Even though Mom has been under the weather with a respiratory infection, she still came out with us (What a trooper! She did have lots of fun, I must admit....) Look at this great picture she took of Dad and I (Yes...I made him carry me the whole way....and he let me hold the flashing light that helped tell cars that we were out and about)
We walked next door, and I began warming up to the idea of talking to people...just like the other events we went on, people seemed to be genuinely taken by my costume and personality (I try to be modest here, but sometimes people simply won't let me....)

A few doors down was a nice man who had two little dogs that both intrigued and terrified me. He and I talked at length and he told my Mom and Dad that he foresaw me becoming something special in my grownup years. We had a lot of fun talking together and yelling "No!" and "Yes!" back and forth at each other. We were like an olde tymey comedy duo back in action for the first time....
The man and I even yelled back and forth to each other at his neighbor's house, becaue he yelled to his neighbor "You have to talk to The Cat in the Hat....he's hilarious!" And then he and I threw back and forth some more witty banter...

I was moving and grooving, guys...whenever Mom asked me "Sam...what does the Cat in the Hat say?" I would dutifully reply (With a huge grin) "Your Mother will not mind AT ALL if you do!!" just like they do in the books and on the TV show...I was on fire, I tell ya! I was bringing my best material out for all to see!

After one or two more houses (We kept it simple this year as it was my first, and it was already getting late) we stopped at the house of this nice lady who I finally said "Trick or Treat!" to...she was thrilled, and gave me a Rice Krispie Treat, which I simply can't WAIT to eat....
We saw LOTS of kids in some really cool costumes...it was so much fun to be a part of such a big event...there was a kinship there that I really appreciate in life...very fun stuff...

And of course....what Halloween would be complete without enjoying the spoils of your journey! Mom and Dad were kind enough to bend the rules a bit and let me have a piece of candy before bed when we got home (AFTER supper of course...) People gave out a pretty good variety of stuff, so I didn't get stuck with too many of one type of treat....

Once again, even though it had its challenges, Halloween was a resounding success. We did so many fun things throughout October to celebrate it and I can't wait to do it again next year!