A Cherry on Top Fixes Everything!

Poor little Sam has been sick most of the week and we were developing quite the case of cabin fever.  I wanted him to have a little fun and feel special so just the two of us went on a quick date to Sweet Tree Yogurt.  He wanted chocolate yogurt with sprinkles and then I added a few cherries at his request.  He has never shown much interest in them so I wasn't sure what to expect but he couldn't get enough and even ate mine too!  We left there with full bellies and big smiles and my heart was happy.  Definitely nothing better than some quality time with either one of my boys.  They're the best!

Character Breakfast at Mint

We woke up this morning and put on our Disney gear so we could go to the Character Breakfast at Mint.  Sam was very excited about meeting Mickey, Minnie and some of the other Disney characters that we've seen in our books and movies.

First, we ate a delicious breakfast of eggs, bacon, cheese grits, and chocolate chip pancakes.  The pancakes were Sam's favorite!

Then, we stopped for a quick family picture (minus baby Jack - he was snoozing in his carrier) before all of the Disney friends started coming around to the tables to meet everyone.

Look!  There's Buzz!!

High five!

Sam was a little shy when pretty Snow White came out.

Tinker Bell and Peter Pan

Belle

Ariel

Finally!  Mickey arrived!  Sam didn't know what to think of him at first so he held on to Adam's neck and hid his face.

Then Minnie came around to say hello...

...but Jack and I couldn't get Sam to join us in a picture with her!

Family picture after Jack woke up!

After all of the characters made their rounds inside we moved the party outside where they were signing autographs.

Sam was still a little unsure of it all and had a tight grip on his daddy's leg.  He kept peeking around to see what was going on though.  :)

We had a great time this morning at the Character Breakfast and as we were driving home a sweet little voice from the back said, "I had a fun day!"

Lounging Around

I'm Impressed!

Sam was playing in the living room this morning while I was getting ready in our bedroom.  I would pop in every now and then to check on him and we were talking back and forth the whole time.  He kept telling me he was doing his "work."  When I finished getting dressed I walked out to find him lining up all of these different people that he had put together from one of his puzzles.  Each person is made up of three different pieces (head, body and feet) and he had put all of them together by himself and then lined them up.  The minute I saw his face I could tell how proud he was and we hugged and clapped over his great job.  We had the best time sitting down and talking about who everybody was and what they did.  This smart boy certainly impressed me today!

Lili's Nap Buddies

Fun-Filled Weekend

The four of us loaded up on Friday afternoon and headed north for our first baseball weekend of the season.  Ole Miss was playing Auburn and Sam was excited to see the boys play.

This face just about sums up Sam's feelings about baseball.

Saturday morning we went to IHOP for breakfast and almost didn't make it out of there.  I think the kitchen lost our ticket and we were there for over two hours!  After our marathon breakfast we rushed back to the condo to get ready for another fun day at the ball park.  Sam hoped that his new hat would bring the Rebels good luck. 

This was Jack's first visit to Oxford and he did great despite all of the pollen that had him sniffling and sneezing. 

These two made sure to wear their green on Saturday so they wouldn't get pinched!  Happy St. Patty's Day!

Unfortunately, the Saturday game didn't go as well as the Friday game but Jack didn't lose any sleep over it. 

After the game we went back to the condo to take a nap and then played a little football outside before it was time for dinner.  Some Ole Miss football players live a few doors down and one of them happened to come outside while Sam was playing ball.  Charles Sawyer was so sweet to Sam and even threw the football with him.  He commented what a great arm Sam had!

This morning Sam and I hit the road early heading back to Jackson for a special "Mom & Sam Day."  Bobi, Daddy and Jack stayed in Oxford to cheer on the Rebels at the Sunday game.

We hadn't been on the road long before our bellies started growling so we stopped for breakfast at the Cracker Barrell in Batesville.  Sam thought their chocolate milk was yummy!  I also introduced him to one of my favorite things, apple butter, and he loved it.  Before we got back on the road we made a quick sweep through the gift shop and found a toy car we couldn't live without.  ;)

We made it home around lunch time and relaxed a little while before it was time to get ready to go see Disney's Phineas and Ferb LIVE at the Coliseum.  A few weeks ago I won four tickets to the show so we invited Didi and Banks to join us.  Before we found our seats we made a stop by the souvenir stand and got both boys their own Perry the Platypus. 

They were so excited they could barely take their eyes off the stage for me to snap a quick picture!

Sam loves his new friend Perry!

After the show was over we tried one more time to get a picture of these two cuties.  They were still all smiles from the show and definitely had a blast.  They certainly kept me and Didi laughing with their dancing.  We had a great afternoon together and were so happy Banks and Didi could join us!

Man of Leisure

Starting Him Early

Jack was a big helper tonight!  Adam and I were sitting at the kitchen table working on our taxes and had our newest little deduction sitting with us in his bumbo seat.  Who knows...he might want to be an accountant someday, too!

Goodnight! Sleep Tight!

Don't let the bed bugs bite!!

Serious Business

These two guys look pretty serious about watching the baseball game on the computer!

Four Months Old!

This happy little boy was so good for his four month photo shoot that we only had to take ONE picture before we got a good one!  I think that is a record for both of my boys.  The fun will really start when he gets old enough to grab at the sign! ;)

What has Jack been up to lately?

*He has been eating 7 oz. of Nutramigen at breakfast, lunch and dinner and then a 7-8 oz. bottle before bedtime.  Hopefully very soon we will be able to wean him off the Nutramigen and give him something that will leave him feeling full and taste much better!

*For the past week or so we have been slowly adding rice back to his bottle and he has done great so far.  I'm thinking if we can make it a few more days without any signs of trouble that he will be good to go with the rice from now on.

*We have started putting him to bed earlier (between 8:30 and 9:00) and he has done great!  We still have the occasional 4:00 a.m. visit where I put his paci back in for him but he usually goes right back to sleep until 7 or 7:30.  He is also taking two good naps a day - usually one in the morning around 9:30 or 10:00 and another one in the afternoon around 2:00 or 2:30 when Sam goes down for his nap.  

*The days of swaddling this boy are over.  We had a few nights where he kept wiggling out of the magic swaddle blanket and it just seemed like he wasn't liking it as much anymore.  Of course when someone is used to sleeping swaddled and you change that it takes a little getting used to.  For the first night or two without his swaddle blanket he moved around a good bit and his arms kept waking him up but he finally got used to it and seems to actually like sleeping much better with his hands free.  I love going to peek at him at night and finding both of his hands laid out above his head.  He looks so comfortable and relaxed!

*He is still a big talker and has even started laughing!  His Lili got his first laughs one day while I was at work and I'm pretty sure he made her entire day.  Sam will try to do just about anything short of standing on his head to get him to laugh and its so sweet watching the two of them interact.  

*I hope I don't ever forget the way Sam says Jack's name - for now he is "Baby Yak."  It's so funny!

*He is wearing 6 and 6-9 month clothes and is about to bust out of his size 2 diapers.  As soon as we finish up this sleeve of diapers it will be time to move on to the 3's.

*He still saves some of his biggest smiles and laughs for his mama and you won't hear me complaining.  I told him he can be a mama's boy for as long as he wants to.  I enjoy every minute of our talks and snuggles and especially treasure our time together at the end of the day when I get to  rock him to sleep.

Happy Four Month Birthday, sweet boy!  We love you so much!

4 Month Checkup

I took Jack today for his four month checkup with Dr. Sherwood.  He is 16 lb. 10 oz. and 27 inches long.  Looks like we have added another big boy to our family!  She was pleased with his growth and said he looked great.  We discussed how well he had done with the rice added back to his bottle and she told me that I could try to start weaning him off the Nutramigen if I wanted to.  She said it still might be too early to make the switch so there was no need to worry if it didn't work the first time we tried.  She felt like it was important to work on the formula change first and to put off starting fruit until we talked again at his six month appointment.  At the end of our visit Nurse Jill came in with the dreaded shots and Jack certainly let her know he wasn't pleased!  Poor little man let out some serious screams but as soon as she finished and I scooped him up all was right with the world again.  So thankful for a good report and a healthy, growing boy!