Two Months Old!

Happy Birthday Sam! Who would have ever thought it was possible to love someone SO much after only knowing them for two months. It is hard to believe that another month has already come and gone and Sam has changed so much in these past few weeks. He has really started smiling a lot and every now and then he will give us a little laugh. He thinks his Daddy is just the funniest thing ever and loves it when they "box." He has rolled from his stomach to his back, eaten rice cereal, gone on his first overnight trip to Lili and Shuffie's house and grown some beautiful eyelashes just like his Daddy's (they seemed to have come in overnight!). I am so thankful for this little boy and for the joy he has brought to our lives. We love you Sam!

"To understand your parents' love, you must raise children yourself." - Chinese Proverb

Happy Birthday Banks!

Today our sweet nephew Banks turned ONE! We had a family party tonight at Amanda and Eric's house and had such a good time. The food was delicious and it was so much fun watching him open his presents.

Banks and Sam

Sam was worn out from all of the partying!

It is hard to believe that one year ago today we were at Woman's Hospital waiting on Banks to arrive. What a wonderful year it has been watching that tiny baby grow up into such a sweet little boy. Happy Birthday Banks...we love you!

A Day of Milestones

Sam has had a very big day! He rolled over from his stomach to his back AND had his first food from a spoon. The rice cereal bottle didn't go over so well. Sam has been used to drinking from a preemie nipple but the rice cereal was way too thick to flow through it so we had to use a Y nipple. After 2 or 3 feedings from the Y nipple Sam was a sick boy. He was getting his supper too fast and his little belly couldn't handle it so his doctor suggested feeding him the rice cereal with a spoon. She said it would cut down on the amount of air he was swallowing and make his little tummy feel better. He is doing so good but is having a hard time being patient with Mom in between bites - I just can't spoon it up fast enough! As Adam and I were feeding him earlier, we talked about how hard it was to believe that this big boy eating from a spoon was being fed with a tube in the NICU just two shorts months ago. How time flies!

First bite

Yum!

Sleeping Brothers

Meeting Cousin Banks

Since Sam got his shots on Tuesday, he was finally ready to mingle! We were so excited to take him to meet cousin Banks. Banks was so sweet with Sam and kept wanting to touch his feet. Sam wasn't too much fun since he slept most of our visit, but I bet these two boys will be down in the floor playing together before we know it!

2 Month Checkup

Sam went to the doctor today for his two month checkup and first set of shots. I think Adam was worried about which one of us was going to cry harder, me or Sam. I did good and just looked away while she was poking him but boy did he scream. When I looked back over at him he had his little lip poked out -pitiful!

He got a great report at the doctor and is growing up to be such a big boy! He weighed 10 lb. 12 oz. and was 23 inches long. He is going to be a tall man like his daddy! He is still having some trouble with his reflux so she said we could start adding some rice cereal to his bottle and hopefully that would give him some relief.

Drinking his first rice cereal bottle. He loved it!

We are so thankful for a good report from the doctor and most of all our healthy little boy!

Sleepy Head

Don't let the face fool you...this blanket is MAGIC! For the past few weeks we have been swaddling Sam only to find the little Houdini thirty minutes later with his hands flailing around out of the blanket. So we finally gave it up and decided to cheat and use the Kiddopotamus Swaddling Blanket that has velcro. Sam wasn't too happy at first but within ten minutes he was out like a light and slept eight hours! What a big boy!

Happy Birthday Rusty!

Today we celebrated Rusty's second birthday. We started a tradition on his birthday last year of taking him to get an ice cream cone and picking out a new toy. He hardly ever gets table food so this was definitely a treat for him and he loved it!

We have truly enjoyed the past two years with this sweet puppy. He was our first "baby" and kept me company many lonely nights when Adam was traveling for work. For those of you that don't know, he and his siblings were found in a box on the side of the road and fostered by Jackson Friends. We adopted him when he was about 8 weeks old and were told he would only grow to be around 40 pounds. Boy were they wrong! He is almost 80 pounds but is so gentle and loving. He has had a tough few months with our new addition and even hides in my closet sometimes if the crying gets to be too much for him, but overall he has been such a good sport. I think he and Sam will be fast friends very soon.

They still aren't too sure of each other, but were nice enough to pose for a quick pic together!

Even though he may take up a little more than his fair share of the bed some nights (yes, we know how crazy we are to share our bed with an 80 pound dog) we wouldn't trade him for anything. We love you Rusty and look forward to many more ice cream cone birthdays with you!

Sweet Smile

Sam is smiling because he slept through the night last night! I gave him his bottle around 10:30 and didn't hear a peep from him until 5:30 this morning...I felt like I had been asleep for days. =)

Sam Is Ready!

Sam is very excited about watching his first Rebel football game this afternoon...so excited that he gave us his first little smile this morning! That face just melted my heart and thrilled his Daddy. Of course Adam says who wouldn't be smiling on game day? =)

Sam has been busy today getting ready for the game.

He helped Dad cook burgers and chicken on the grill.

He modeled his new shades.

And he played with a few of his favorite friends. He just has one question for you..

ARE YOU READY?

New Shades