damn, our kids are cute!

I know every parent thinks that - even those with the really ugly kids that you try not to gasp at when they turn around or you see them in the stroller. You know the ones I'm talking about - when you see a baby in a stroller and you move in to get a better look. Sometimes that move can backfire and the kids are not cute. That's when I lie and say something like "he/she is so sweet - congrats" and then turn around and think - yikes. And for all of you haters out there thinking "all babies are cute - that's just harsh" well, admit it, you're just lying to yourselves. NOT all babies are cute.

Now with that said, mine are adorable, of course ;)

Sam is at that 6 month age where he is chunky and smiling all of the time. He's so sweet & snuggly (assuming he's not hungry). He is rolling over back to front and front to back. Toes are in the mouth all of the time. He's trying really hard to sit up on his own, but isn't quite there yet. He's 50% for weight, 75% for height and 80% for head. He's saying 'aaaaaaa' a lot, but hasn't added any consonants yet. We're working on mama and dada, obviously.

Julia is just a beautiful little person. She is so smart and sweet. When you talk to her it's like talking to a teenager. Sometimes I have to remember that she is only 4 1/2 - especially when my expectations for things like brushing hair and teeth are probably too high for her age. She's still reading and for the past 2 nights has read her children's bible to us. Other than helping her with words like "daughter, goliath, noah" she can read that book cover to cover. She also writes all of her letters in both print & cursive. At school she is working on writing cursive words on the chalkboard. She came to work with me earlier this week and wrote several words on my whiteboard including: tabl (table), shoos (shoes), flor (floor), bok (book), compootr (computer). Lastly, she wrote her first 'story' for us the other night. In addition to the title is says that it is illustrated by Julia Clayton. I love that she knows the word illustrated :)

Some pictures from this summer & fall

Dear Diary

I'm sorry it has been 3 months since I last wrote... (isn't that how you are supposed to start a diary entry?).

Let's see - since July everything has changed completely. Sam does not have a milk allergy. He just had horrible, horrible colic for 5-6 weeks. The prescription formula helped. Also, he was waaaay over tired and didn't know how to self-soothe. After a few painful days he was able to put himself to sleep on his own. At 5 months he still can't take a nap at home in his crib and has to sleep in the swing, but hey, at least he's sleeping!

As for sleeping, Sam was doing well for a few weeks and was even sleeping through the night. Then around 4 months he got a cold. And from there we started backtracking to waking up 1-2 times per night. Julia also gets up approximately 5 of 7 nights and comes to sleep on our floor. Our house is a zoo so to take control Chris and I decided to let Sammy 'cry it out.' Rather than Ferberizing we opted for "extinction" which basically means don't go in and check on the baby at all. For the past two nights we've turned off the monitor, closed the bedroom door & turned on the bathroom exhaust fan. We're not sure if the baby slept through the night, but Chris and I did :)

Life is busy and good. I've been back to work since August 19th. We spent 8 days at BHI over Labor Day with the DeFranks which was a wonderful break. Julia played soccer and learned some Espanol at Spanish for Fun this summer. Now she's back at MSR and is taking swim lessons. She's doing great with both the swimming & the reading. Every chance she gets she sounds out words and reads up a storm. Sam is growing like a weed. He's eating solids and a ton of them. He's giggling, found his toes & rolled over from tummy to back about a month ago. He's sweet & happy and goes from happy-go-lucky to cranky in 3 seconds flat when hungry. Daycare has been great for Sam. He has wonderful teachers who care a ton about him. 6 kids and two teachers - you can't get much better than that.

Tomorrow is Halloween and Julia is excited to be Izzy the pirate. Sam has his choice of a lobster, cow or pirate costume. Fun times ahead with the holidays quickly approaching.

Pictures to follow...I promise :)

Filet Mignon & Lobster

Our kid is officially in his colicky phase. The definition of colic is that they have to fuss or cry for 3 hours per day, 3 days a week for 3 weeks in a row. We definitely meet and exceed those stats!

Sammy is extremely gassy and we think he might have a milk allergy (he is even gassy when he nurses and I've eliminated all kinds of foods from my diet). We've tried various formulas, but the one that seems to be working best cannot be purchased on store shelves. You have to get your pharmacy to order it and it costs...wait for it...$55 a can! He goes through about 2 cans a week.

I guess Chris and I will be skipping any fancy dinners out and spending that money on baby formula. At this rate his formula is going to be more than his monthly daycare bill!

One Month Down...215 to go until...

...Sam is 18 :)

Chris and I finally got around to taking a few photos with the 'real' (i.e. not cell phone) camera this week. Enjoy!


Julia holding Sam. She said (as she fell onto the bed)...'he's just so heavy I can't hold him.' At least she's not dramatic!


A close-up of the ham!


A close-up of the little peanut.


Julia showing Sam her hair.



A rare moment of both kids awake, dressed and not crying.


Julia made this sock puppet in summer camp. She named him George Washington because of his white cotton ball hair. The attitude she decided to show off for the camera was completely her idea (imagine that).


Julia decided she wanted to dress Sam up in her wicked witch of the west hat. Poor kid - I'm sure this will be the first of many times he's dressed-up by his big sister in something hilarious. At least it's not a tutu!

"In Jail without no Bail" :)

You can blame the Fat Boys for the title of this entry - not me :)

Chris sent me this hilarious email this morning. Julia has been obsessed with jail lately. I think it is because we walk past a house where the people went to court for a 'white collar' crime. I'm not sure how she got jail from court, but that's where she's filed it away in her brain. In the transcript below, "SFF" is "Spanish for fun" - the summer camp she's participating in this year. The thing she detests most about summer camp - nap time on the cots. Enjoy!!

J: “Daddy, didn’t you tell me that in jail the only thing in the room is a bed, sink, and potty?”
Me: “Yes honey.”
J: “Do they have a kitchen in their room?”
Me: Laughing….”No honey.”
J: “Well, how do they eat?”
Me: “They eat in a room like a cafeteria, but only when they are told that they can leave their cell.”
J: “What do they eat?”
Me: “Yucky stuff.”
J: “Maybe they eat crab legs?”
Me: Laughing…”definitely not”
J: “Daddy, what is a cell?”
Me: “It is another name for the room that has their bed, sink, potty.”
J: “Oh, so it is like an apartment?”
Me: “No, not at all like an apartment.”
J: “Daddy, is it just one person in a room?”
Me: “Sometimes there are two people and they would have a bunk bed.”
J: “Oh so it would be like the bed that I slept in with Maga in the mountains with Uncle Chet and Aunt Judy.”
Me: “I guess so, but not as nice.”
J: “How big is the bed?”
Me: “ It is a small bed about half the size of your bed.”
J: Finally pulling into SFF……”oh, so about the size of a cot?”
Me: “Yes…that is a good comparison.”

4 Week Checkup

Chris, Paka and I took Sam for his 4 week check-up today. Two weeks ago he weighed 6 lbs and was about 20 inches long. Today he weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and was 21 inches long. Considering he had been as low as 5 lbs 5 oz, we were thrilled. We know how to fatten up a baby like nobody's business!

first bath at home

Julia helping out at bath time.











Sam looking like a little old man :)

pictures from the hospital and our first day home

This is our little guy. Not yet bathed and just entering the world! Little Samuel was born at 6:49pm on Thursday May 26th. He was 6 pounds, 19 inches.






A very tired mom & dad just before leaving the hospital.











Big sister Julia is very, very proud!

new blog

Chris and Sam are taking a catnap so, Julia and I decided to create a blog. Really it's just a vehicle for posting pictures of our (adorable) children since neither Chris nor I are particularly fond of writing. When I asked Julia what she wanted to write for her first blog entry, she said "all the parts of the body. heart first. i want to spell the word heart." So, here we go (verbatim)...

your head - where you think
heart
the organ that's your bone - "organ bone"
eyes
eyelashes
legs
toz
fet
hand
fiigrz
bodm
lips
lipstik
har
fhgdjjjjjjjngvxdfffvvvvffgtr689kjjk,mmuip[''//7812345678900123456789
(take a wild guess at who typed and spelled from "toz" (toes) down to "har" (hair) :)