October was a month that was filled with visitors. We enjoyed visits from Amy, Peter, Cooper, Christina, Aunt Kay and her two sons Kyle and Ben, Grandma "Great" and Grandpa "Great" Bakken, Aunt Bev, and Aunt Judy. It has been a busy month and we were so excited for Sam to meet so many of his close family members.

I'm sorry I waited to long to blog about our visitors---so this may be a long blog to make up for it!


Aunt Kay, Kyle and Ben came for a long weekend. It's always fun to reconnect with them. Kyle and Ben are growing so fast---I still can't believe that Kyle is in high school and driving!! Pretty soon, Ben will be also. I work with high schoolers everyday and for some reason, I always remember Kyle and Ben much younger than they are. It just dawned on me during this last visit that they are just like the kids I work with at school each day. Time has really flown by since my stay in Minnesota! Kay and her boys will always be dear to my heart. Thank you for coming all the way from Minnesota to meet little Sam.
Here are some pictures of Kyle and Ben with their new cousin Sam.



























The week after Kay, Kyle, and Ben left, Sam's Great Grandparents and two Aunts on my mom's side flew down from Madison, WI to visit. We were especially excited that Grandma and Grandpa Great could make the trip. I know it was a long and uncomfortable trip filled with flight delays and bad weather---but I hope they all agree it was well worth it. Aunt Bev and Aunt Judy even got their fair share of REALY DIRTY diapers to change. Thanks for those! On a better note, they also got lots of slobbery kisses from their "smoocher" of a grandson. Grandpa Great kept saying, "Yep, he's a smoocher, all right!"

While they were here, we had Sam's Baptism. It was a beautiful morning. Sam was a beautiful baby in is baptismal gown. My parents were concerned that we put Sam in a "dress", but I am glad we did because he was absolutely beautiful in it. He looked like such an angel. Sam didn't cry at all during his Baptism.

We are so blessed to have Sam and be able to teach him about Christ and how to follow Christ in his life. Amy and Peter are Sam's godparents and we are so grateful for them. Does that make Cooper and Sam cousins and "gawd broders" (as our little godson Jack calls it)? We wish they were closer, but thanks to skype, blogging, and telephones we can remain close. I'm thankful for that! I know that we have our entire family to support us as we raise Sam and that means the world to us.

Aunt Amy, Uncle Peter, Cousin Cooper and Christina also paid us a visit all the way from Germany! We miss the days that they could stay with us during their stay. Maybe next time we'll be in a house that will have a guest room! Cooper is growing so fast. We enjoy his kisses and watching him play. It amazes me how he can find enjoyment in the simple things. He still loves to play in the shower at our house. At least he hasn't figured out how to turn the water on, yet--maybe next time!

Christiana and Thomas also came from Germany to visit Georgia last month. She was out exchange student many years ago. I think Christiana enjoyed little Sam so much that she may even want one of her own someday :)

We tried to celebrate Halloween this year by getting Sam dressed up in a cute little costume for his first Halloween. I thought Sam the Sweet Pea had a nice ring to it...so here he is as a pea pod.

So, his first Halloween consisted of one trick-or-treater at the door (we live in a small neighborhood). We didn't even have candy! A quick run to the Dollar General fixed the candy problem. After we gave our candy out (didn't take too long), we decided to try Sam's costume out. He really didn't like his costume, so we were able to keep him in it just long enought to snap a couple of pictures to remember the moment and then quickly take it off of him. He was just happy to be free of his pea pod.



Thank you to all the family and friends who came to visit us this month. We love to see you every chance we get! November holds a trip to Hilton Head to see Aunt Gail, Uncle Tom, Shari Kay and Mark, and Ryan and Tressa. We can't wait!