Sam Silliness

A little Sam silliness to start your weekend...

Catching Up

Summer is FLYING by!  We've been doing so much that one day just blends into the next and before we know it, the weekend is here again!  We've been doing swimming lessons, play dates at the park, zoo class, visits from out of town guests, and hanging out with Granna and Grumps.  Still to look forward to is:  Fourth of July celebration with the family, Sam's first airplane ride to Martha's Vineyard with Mommy in July, a family vacation with good friends to Chippewa Falls, and of course, a Mom and Dad romantic getaway (with free Granna and Grumps babysitting included)!  :)

Here are a few photos of all the fun we've been having:

Riding the Zoo Carousel after Zoo Class.  I was very proud of Max at class -- he was well mannered, listened to the teacher and followed direction, counted along with her and excelled at his matching skills!  He made his momma really REALLY proud!!

We've learned that Sam will fall asleep just about anywhere. One of his favorite spots is on a blanket in the living room. In this picture, I set him down to change his diaper and walked away to grab something -- when I came back, he had fallen asleep -- it was only a matter of minutes (maybe even seconds)!!

We went to see the new dinosaur exhibit at the Zoo.  Little Max was apprehensive about the large moving creatures at first.  He was displaying his nervousness by continuously covering his ears and telling us it was too loud.  By the end of the walk, he was fine with all the dinosaurs and even wanted to see them again.  It was a pretty cool exhibit, and if you live in the Mke area and you have kids, you should make time to see it.

We visited Mommy's doctor for her 6 week check up, and so that mommy could get a photo of Sam with him.  Dr. Leonhardt didn't actually deliver Sam (he wasn't the OB on call when I was in labor), but I still consider him my doctor.  He was such a strong advocate for letting my body do what it was meant to do, and I really appreciate that.  He fielded numerous in-depth and strange questions from me because I wanted to do everything in my power to make sure that my labor and delivery this time around was very different than how it was for Max.  It was comforting for me to have an OB that was so understanding of my neuroses, and that was completely on-board with my intervention free plan.  When I walked in to my six week appt, he asked me how everything had gone, and I told him "I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but that was a pretty awesome experience, and I think I actually enjoyed it!"  I owe part of that to him, his care for me over the last 9 months, and the other doctors in the practice that are all of the same mindset.  If you plan to deliver at Waukesha Memorial Hospital, check them out:  Moreland OBGYN  .

I knew this day would come, but I wasn't prepared for it to happen THIS EARLY.  We had our friend Payton over for a play date, and the two of them went upstairs.  I heard the door to Max's room shut behind them (not too out of the ordinary, because lil Max is obsessed with shutting doors behind him...to keep the 'Sea Bear' away).  I called up to him to open his door, but he didn't respond.  So, when I went up there to see what was going on, this is what I found!  Completely harmless? Yes.  Completely funny?  OF COURSE!

And, of course, no smile is complete unless you let your tongue hang out! 

2 months old!

Sam turned 2 months old on the 17th....(sorry I'm a bit late, but we've been having LOTS of summer fun)...

He's not quite as heavy as his brother was at this age, but he's one inch longer already!  His stats:

Weight = 10 lbs 11.5 oz (25%)

Height = 24 in (75%)

OFC = 37.25 cm (30%)

Sam is still our mellow little boy.  We've settled into a nice bedtime routine and he's been good about wakin me usually only once at night (sometime between 2-4 am).  Last night, I decided to see how he'd do without the swaddle, and he did pretty good!  He woke me up twice to feed, but there was no fussing in between his wake-ups...and he was amusing us over the video monitor with how much he contorts his body all over the place!  I predict this boy will be on his belly to sleep within the next few weeks.

Tummy time has proven to be somewhat of a challenge because he has figured out that by rolling onto his back, he gets out of it...and of course, he always rolls over as soon as I've turned my back...sneaky boy.

We're getting LOTS of smiles out of him, and lots of different coes and talking.  He still really loves the sound of his big brother's voice, and big brother Max is equally as enamored with "baby Sammy Sam".  Most mornings, I am blessed to hear a chorus of "its ok, Sammy Sam", "I love you Sammy Sam" "That's MY Baby Sam", etc. etc.  It makes my heart sing that he is so vocal about his love for his little brother.  And all that above is punctuated with lots of hugs, pats and kisses!! 

We are truly blessed to have two wonderful boys -- they bring such joy to our life!!

Sam's Photo Shoot

One thing I've always regretted about little Max's newborn days, is that I never thought to have a newborn photo shoot for him. Yes, we were new parents, and giddy with excitement -- so we DID take thousands upon thousands of pictures of him (in his first month ALONE! LOL), but it would've been nice to commemorate his newborn days with a professional photo shoot. We did do one when he was 3 months old, with our wedding photographer -- which turned out great -- I just wish I would've brought her in 3 months sooner!

So, when my good friend, Emily Southerland, suggested she take Sam's pictures - that she'd be willing to make the drive all the way from St. Louis -- how could I pass up that offer? Emily and I met on a November 2007 baby board -- which was originally hosted by babycenter. We clicked over sleep issues, and have been fast friends ever since. In fact, lil Max and her son, Noah, were born on the SAME DAY! How's that for Karma?  You may remember me mentioning Emily here, here and here, because she came out to WI back in May 2009 and did an amazing photo shoot for us then too!

Emily really worked some magic with her photos.  Sam was only 9 DAYS old when she took these.  And with her wonderful eye -- she managed to capture just about every iota of his adorable personality with these shots -- a remarkeable feat considering I didn't even KNOW all the iotas of his adorable personality YET!  She is truly amazing, and I am so excited to be sharing these awesome photos with you!!  Thank you EMILY, for once again truly capturing LIFE with your camera!!

But enough of me jabbering...enjoy the photos!!!