Grandma's Visit

Joel's mom was here for the weekend, and Sam had lots of fun with his west coast Grandma.  (His mom and dad enjoyed her visit too!)  Here are a couple of videos of the fun Sam and Grandma had.

High Fives with Grandma

Reading with Grandma

Birthday Party!

Yesterday our family gathered to celebrate our little one's first birthday.  Joel's mom was here, along with my parents, aunt and uncle, and grandfather with a friend.  It was so much fun to have everyone with us, and Sam seemed to have lots of fun too.  He was interested in every present we opened, but I think his favorites were the tool bench from my parents, the puppy book from our sweet neighbor, and his colorful birthday cards.  He wanted to read every book he got, and he immediately turned the recorder from my grandfather into a hammer - which broke it pretty quickly.  The candle made him cry - both when we lit it and when we blew it out, so we're not sure what the problem was.  He liked his cupcake, but LOVED the cheese and strawberries he had for dinner.

The best part of the party - for us, anyway - was seeing his first steps.  They're still tentative, and he falls a lot, but it was fun to let him walk from person to person, and it made him so proud.  It was a wonderful thing to have so much of our family there to share this milestone with us.  We can't wait to see him get better and better at walking.  

We had such a fun day.  Happy 1st birthday, buddy!

Birthday Boy

Our sweet Sam turned one year old on Friday!  I know it's a cliche, but I can't believe how fast his first year went.  I think back to a year ago - to the 36 hours of labor, nights of no sleep, and nursing 12 hours a day - and while I'm thankful those things are over, I'm sad to say goodbye to my little baby.  I cry every time he gets a birthday card, yet I rejoice to see all that he's learning to do for himself.  What a privilege it is to spend every day watching him grow up.  I'm thankful beyond words for this precious gift God has entrusted to us.

We spent Sam's birthday doing a few special things.  We opened presents in the morning before Daddy left. Then Sam and I met him for lunch in his birthday shirt.  Later Daddy came home from work early to do birthday cake (thanks to my dear friend, Yvonne) and candle.  Surprisingly, Sam loved the candle so much that he cried when we blew it out.  We ended up lighting it several times because he enjoyed it so much.  On the whole, it was a fun day, but Sam probably had no idea it was different from any other.  His mom and dad, however, thoroughly enjoyed celebrating their precious little boy.

Highlights from this month:

- Sam had his first stomach virus.  It was a doozy and made me thankful for my mom cleaning up after me when I was sick.  Sam was kind enough to share his germs with both his parents, so we're all thankful for a return to good health.  I loved the extra cuddles I got while he was sick, though.

- We went down to 1 nursing a day - which will probably not last much longer.  I'm pretty sure my milk supply is quickly dwindling.  Sam has gotten used to whole cow's milk, though, and loves his afternoon bottle.

- Sam continues to eat well.  Usually it's baby cereal and eggs or fruit for breakfast, baby food with some finger foods for lunch and something similar for dinner.  He will usually choose fruit over almost anything else, but he's becoming a meat lover too.  We'll have to work to get those veggies down.

- He has started signing more and more.  The sign we see most often is still more, but we've also seen please, all done, and even bath lately.  He also has certain sounds that we know mean specific things.  For example, he barks like a dog anytime he sees - or remembers seeing - a dog.  According to him, every other animal growls like a bear.  He also has a sound for the washing machine or a truck.

- Sam continues to be a wonderful sleeper.  He usually sleeps 12-13 hours at night, which is such a blessing! His morning nap is usually an hour to an hour and a half, and his afternoon nap is generally around 2 hours.

- He's still not walking on his own, but he loves to practice by walking with us or his push toy.  We'll see if this next month brings us a walker...

- He now has 2 teeth (!) and perhaps a little more hair.  Because he's so small and bald, people always think he's younger than he is.  They're amazed at how alert and happy he is - and we think he's pretty great too - but I think it's mostly because they're comparing him to babies half his age.

We loved celebrating this birthday, little buddy, and we can't wait to party with you for many years to come. Happy 12 months!

My favorite church outfit

His feet don't quite reach the floor, but he loves to be pushed on his tricycle.

Checking out a birthday gift

Birthday lunch with Daddy

I love his concentrating mouth!

Playing in his crib

Lately, Sam hasn't wanted to get out of his crib after naptime.  Today I made a video of the two of us playing after his afternoon nap.  Click on the link below to see it.

After nap fun!

Christmas

Sam's first Christmas was lots of fun.  Although we had hoped to be with family in Seattle, it was nice to wake up in our own beds on Christmas morning.  We opened presents and ate breakfast together - Sam had more to open than Joel and I combined! - and then went out to Matthews for Christmas with my family.  It's such a blessing that they're so close!  We had a wonderful meal and opened lots of fun gifts.  We gave my grandfather an iPad, which was pretty exciting.  Sam even managed a nap in the pack-n-play while we were there.  After Christmas, my mom came to stay for a few days while Joel had to go back to work.  It wasn't the Christmas we were expecting, but we're thankful for the fun we had together.  LOTS of pictures and video to share...

Videos

Christmas morning

Sam and his tricycle

Singing snowmen