YAY Samuel

Lately Sam has been only sleeping 4 hour stretches at night. At first he was a champion sleeper. But since that first ear infection a month or so ago he hasn't been sleeping well. He goes to sleep perfectly but would wake up at 9 and then again around 2 am. Owen mentioned he may need to eat more during the day. I couldn't figure out if that would be the cause or if he was still not feeling well. He has been congested all week so in my mind I thought his ears were still bothering him.

Yesterday I decided to give him a bottle when we got home and then feed him again while he went to sleep. He drank 4 ounces, took a bath, and then I nursed him. Sam did not fall asleep while nursing. In fact I put him in his crib wide eyed and smiling. He did not fuss at all and lulled himself to sleep. THEN he slept from 7 pm until 3 am! YAY Samuel!!! This mommy was so happy about that. I nursed him at 3 and then he went back to sleep until 5:30 am.

Last night was such a success! Today I put 8 ounces in the 3 bottles he takes at day care. I had been putting 6 ounces but want to see if the increase in calories will give us a second night of great sleeping!

I am so proud of Sam. So happy he can be lay down in his crib awake and then fall asleep on his own. This little boy is just such a joy! How we got lucky to have him as our son - I will never know - but am forever grateful.

Memorial Day 2012

We packed up and went down to the beach with the Munton's for Memorial Day weekend. Here is our fun weekend in pictures...

We enjoyed sun and sand...

Andrew re-discovered a love for playing with blocks. He told us he was building a "Monster Truck".

We had silly play times with Mick.

Andrew played and had imaginary play the whole weekend.

The six of us went on a Dolphin Cruise in search of dolphins. The cruise did not disappoint - we say a Momma Dolphin and her baby dolphin swimming side by side and we saw numerous other dolphins as well. The best part was experiencing it with Andrew. He had a cautious way about him but by the end he would walk around the boat hopping to a new person every once in awhile. Sam slept through seeing the dolphins.

I attempted to get pictures of Sam for his first official beach trip. This was a hard task.

This is Andrew copying Sam's pose :)

And finally an attempt at a brother beach picture...

It was a nice weekend.

Sam at 5 months old

How is this happening? How is Samuel 5 months old?

He had a check up for his ears today - basically just a recheck to make sure the antibodic shots cleared up the infection. All is good - YAY!
He weighed 17 1/2 pounds this morning. He is my big boy but still my baby boy in so many ways.

Yesterday was the first time he seemed to get upset that I was dropping him off at school.

He LOVES Andrew and just lights up when Andrew is around. Good news is Andrew likes being with him too. If I have the blanket out for Sam to lay on and practice tummy time...Andrew is right there with him showing him how to roll over. :) It melts my heart. Or If I am on the floor with Sam, Andrew is either in my lap or very close by. Andrew likes to wake up Sam with me and Sam (who is usually awake) gets the biggest grin when he sees the two of us looking over the crib rail.

Sam is so smiley. He smiles when you look at him, smiles when you hold him, smiles at just about everything. He has one of those smiles that lights up his whole face. It is amazing and I love seeing such a happy face.

He is eating about 46 ounces of milk/formula a day. He gets three bottles at school and I feed him 3-4 times at home.

He goes to sleep at 6:30 pm and wakes back up around 9:30 and 10:00 to eat. Then sleeps until 2-3 am - waking because he is hungry. Then will sleep until 5:30 or 6:00 am. Luckily he talks to himself until I can go and get him around 6:30 am.

Sam can grab objects in the front of him. He will pull on things that make noise. He is grabbing his bottle a little. I have seen him put his pacifier in his mouth.

He does still like a pacifier but not all the time. It usually calms him down if he is getting upset (which does not happen too often). Or if he is sleepy - he likes sucking on it before falling asleep.

We took the boys to the pool for the first time last weekend. Sam did not mind it at all. I thought he would like it because he loves taking a bath.

Overall, Sam's personality is a laid back, happy one. He likes to be around people and likes to play with his excersaucer. He is an absolute joy.

Happy 5 months Sam:)

Sam and Big Brother Andrew

Friendship and Love

These two love each other so much.

Mother's Day 2012

Last week I kept thinking about mother's day. I was looking forward to it. I even reflected a little about being a mom. This is my 3rd mother's day and for some reason this year I am feeling more of a mom than ever before. Of course my first mother's day was one of a kind since it was my first. And last year was special because we told our families we were pregnant with Sam. But this year there is some thing different in the air. Andrew is older and knows I am his momma, craves mommy time, talks to me, loves on me and is just about the best son a mom could ask for. Now I also have Sam - my baby Sam. I can't express in words how much this child means to me. He makes me emotional. I dote on him, want him to know he is precious and loved. I want a similar relationship with him as I have with Andrew. I know both relationships will be different because they are different but I want (and need) Sam to know his momma is always there for him. Andrew knows this already.

Saturday we woke up and went out for breakfast. Andrew and Daddy usually go get pancakes for us all but this weekend we went to IHOP...momma wanted chocolate chip pancakes :) I got Owen to take a picture of Andrew and me - because I wanted to document this fun filled mother's day weekend.

When we got home Owen's parents called to see if we wanted to come to their storage unit to see if we wanted anything. They were moving their things to a smaller unit. We knew we didn't need or want anything but decided it would be a fun adventure. Here is Andrew and Mick riding the cart! Andrew (and Mick) had such a fun time taking things back and forth.

We ate out with Aha and Mick for lunch and dinner on Saturday. Andrew kept saying "I want to go to your house" and they loved every minute with Andrew. I think Andrew might be ready for a spend the night party with his grandparents.

Saturday was a glorious day...then came Sunday!

Owen got up to get the kids up. We decided to all go to church together which meant we would go at 10:30 and that also meant a slower paced Sunday morning. The next thing I knew as I was "sleeping in" was a little boy voice saying "Mama, I want to get in bed". So I picked Andrew up and he had a book in hand that he wanted me to read. He snuggled up and we read a book.

We had a good breakfast and then Sam started throwing up. He didn't act sick and didn't have a fever so we thought it maybe a one time thing. Then I fed him before church and in the car he threw up again. As Sam was throwing up, Andrew was having a melt down. The worst melt down he has ever had. He was hungry and even though I had a snack for him and juice - he was beyond all of that. Owen and I turned around and decided we needed to get home. :(

Sam continued to throw up all day. Andrew ate two bananas and was back to his old self.

After calling the on call nurse who scared me to death with her advice that I need to take Sam to ER, Owen and I decided it would be best to take Sam to the pediatricians instead. Which turned out to the best solution. He was not as dehydrated as the on call nurse thought we was BUT he did have an ear infection and a virus. Sam was on a pedilyte diet all day and night and thankfully has not thrown up since Sunday afternoon.

Mother's Day 2012 (one sick baby and one cranky baby)

All of our plans were canceled because of Sam being sick and I didn't even care. I didn't care because the reason I am a mommy is to take care of my babies and this weekend my baby needed me. He needed to be held and to be nurtured. He slept on my belly the whole night. He woke up ever two hours needing something and I was there for him. That is what is special. Seeing Sam's sweet smile and Andrew's happy face is the best scene in the world to me. I am so lucky to have those two in my life and to have Owen as their daddy.

While Sam and I were at the doctors - Andrew and Owen had fun of their own.

Andrew got his very own first pair of sunglasses - that he picked out all on his own! He was (and is) one happy boy.

Sam is feeling better - thank goodness!

Now onto my birthday. I wonder what this Sunday will have in store for me :)

I want to be heard

When I pick the boys up from school I like to ask their teachers how their day went. Andrew is usually on the playground so I don't get any stories from his teachers. But Sam's teacher, Ms. Patsy told me yesterday that he had a good day. And that he had a couple of moments when he wanted to make sure everyone in the room knew we has there and that he wanted some attention. I thought this was so funny. He is not like at home. I think the other babies in his class cry a lot so I guess Sam needed to step up the crying meter too. He will do that at home. When Andrew is upset, Sam will start to cry too. Then will stop the moment Andrew is better.

Yesterday was a draining day for me at work. When I picked the boys up they had their school picture proofs. Here is Sam's...I have giggled over these pictures so many times. It made my draining day disappear because this child and Andrew make my life so much more than silliness at work.

(apparently you can click on picture to see if better)


Sam's expression is so funny. I love him so much!

Transition for Sam

Yesterday Sam got 2 ounces of formula in one his bottles. This was the first time he has had formula. We tried to give him some in the early days when we tried the bottle. I think he was 2 months old but he hated it (both the bottle and the formula). However, my stock pile of breast milk had been dwindling in the freezer so it was time to reintroduce it. The ladies at daycare said he did perfect with that bottle and didn't seem to notice the difference. Thank goodness! I am happy that I have been able to nurse him for so long and plan to continue. But with working it is hard to keep up with the demand. So big transition for Sam and Mommy.

Then and Now

Andrew in 2010

Andrew in 2012

What a difference 2 years make!!! Andrew likes to get in Sam's excersaucer - he actually plays in it - but then can't get himself out.

Family Trip to the Zoo

Our weekends have been pretty busy lately but both Owen and I have had the urge to get out of town and do something different. This past Saturday we woke up early (because we always wake up early) and decided to get up and moving. We packed the car and headed south to the New Orleans Zoo. Andrew loved it! He tells us the Elephants were his favorite. Most of the animals were sleeping but seeing them was fun. We will definitely go back.

Andrew at 29 Months

Last month I said I probably would keep up Andrew's monthly blog posts...but this month it almost slipped my mind - so these monthly posts may be ending. I will just tell fun stories of my little man Andrew :)

We had a fun day for his 29th month of life. It was Mommy and Me family day! I picked up the boys from school and we headed to daddy's office where we met him and Aha and Mick for dinner. We had tacos at the restaurant next door and then headed to Mommy and Me. Andrew feels right at home now and began to play with Brantley immediately. Those two are best buds.

Aha and Mick took care of Sam for us while we played and watched Andrew have a blast.

This is a new face Andrew has been making. He calls it his "funny face"

Mick, Aha, and Sam enjoying themselves :)

After the party we headed home and had one exhausted little man on our hands!

Family Generations

We took so many pictures and had such a fun week back in March when we went to the Grand in Point Clear for Owen's conference that I forgot to post we went to visit my Grandmother. She is not as healthy as she was when Andrew was born so we went to Chickasaw for her to meet Sam. It is not easy to get two boys to look at the camera so the pictures aren't great...but they are great in the fact that we have memories of my Grandmother meeting her great-grandson.

:) these pictures make me smile.

Potty Training Update

The Update is...there is no update. We are at a stand still. Andrew has gone to the potty once - we did the potty dance, he got a sticker and we set a goal with a prize in mind. He wants a watch from Target and a fire truck. He can get those things if he gets 5 stickers. At first I said 5 stickers in a week - now I just want him to get 5 stickers.

He LOVES wearing pull ups - all the kids are wearing them in his class. He likes going to the bathroom with everyone at school. He tells me he tries it and then he is done. I even bought training underwear for home.

How cute is he in his big boy underwear???

Well...I definitely know this is a family challenge and I admit I am not good with the consistency of it. I just knew he would go to school and with positive peer pressure be trained. It is not happening that way. I am not ready for the full on boot camp of potty training. I am taking the advice of when he is ready, he will go. Maybe when he is three I will get more focused.