sunday afternoon photo shoot

sam and i had a little impromptu photo shoot this afternoon after church. 

i literally never stop taking pictures of sam. i can't help it. 

i tell ben all the time how grateful i am for modern technology that allows me to have a phone nearby at all times to take pictures and a camera that i can whip out whenever i want to capture small moments with my boy. 

it worked out that we were able to take these on his six month birthday. 

we love that smile more than anything and will cherish all these pictures forever. 

sam has recently become obsessed with this stuffed owl we got him while i was pregnant. we named him earl. 

apparently he's sam's new bff and i was the third wheel. 

(as soon as the socks come off, the toes go straight into the mouth)

six months

sam, 

where do i begin? i cannot even believe how much you have changed and progressed just in the past month. you are now rolling over both ways (yay!) but this is resulted in  you trying to roll away from me while i am changing your diaper. you are such a ham. you are always either laughing or smiling or trying to get our attention so that we will watch you make your silly faces. 

it might sound crazy but your personality is so evident even at such a young age. you will be such a great older brother to your future siblings. you are calm, so sweet and have a peaceful spirit about you. you are just an all around happy little guy and we love you to pieces. 

at 6 months sam:

- according to our scale at home weights about 16 lbs. (i weighed more than that at 4 months so i guess you're just a little guy:))

- wearing 3-6 and 6-12 month clothes.

- have started sweet potatoes and love them! (prefers them mixed in with  his oatmeal)

- still sleeps 8:30 to 7:50 (on the dot, my trusty little alarm clock)

- consistently taking two 2-hour naps and a 30 minute cat nap just before bed. 

- obsessed with the jumperoo! he jumps so intensely that his toes have poked holes through almost all of his pajamas. 

- cries when he is hungry. or when i stop feeding him to burp him. and that's about all. 

- still loving his soothie pacifier but starting to not be as dependent on it. 

- loves taking pictures and knows how to cheese it up for the camera. 

- loves to cuddle with mom at church. i live for the moments he falls asleep in my arms during sacrament or primary. 

- so outgoing and smiley for mom and dad at home but has started to become a bit shy around others. just loves to observe and people watch. 

- is now sitting up!

- loves to have dance parties with mom and dad in the kitchen. 

- will let mom kiss on his thigh rolls all day long without a fuss. i can't stop. 

- will grab at anything in sight so we have to be super careful about what we leave out around him. one too many knocked over drinks. 

- loves his sophie giraffe and rubber blocks and loves reading time. 

- fascinated with his reflection in the mirror

water baby

bath time has quickly become sams favorite (and my favorite) time of the day. 

this boy loves the water. 

we recently switched him from his little bathtub to his big boy seat. he's still a bit small for it so we put towels all around him to help support him. 

i usually bathe him just before ben comes home from work and before i start dinner. it's such a relaxing and fun time for both of us and i just love watching him splash and chew on all this bath toys. 

i love this boy more than words can express and truly can't imagine our life without him. 

i loving hanging out with my little boyfriend each and every day. 

//those back rolls right there kill me//

currently

i should probably update this blog with more than just updates on sam. 

it's just so hard to find time. 

however, sam man is napping right now so it's the perfect opportunity. 

- ben is currently preparing for an MBA program which begins next year. this all happened so fast but he is so excited. this has actually been a huge blessing because he is doing his program through the University of Utah at a satelite campus up here in utah so he can continue to work full time while completing his MBA. win/win. i am so proud of him!

- i have been a little bit of an emotional sap lately. i was completely unprepared for how fast sam was going to grow. he is at such a fun stage but sometimes i look through photos from the day he was born and the first week of his life and completely lose it. as my husband will tell you, i have a tendency to be a bit dramatic. one moment i'm thinking about how quickly the past 6 months and flown and the next time crying to ben about how tomorrow sam will be walking and the next day he'll be leaving on his mission. when, in actuality, i have, oh i don't know, 17.5 YEARS before i have to worry about this. but this is just how my brain works people. my heart just can't handle thinking about sam leaving me one day. 

- i'm currently in the middle of jillian michaels 30 day shred. and it's killing me dead. losing baby weight is hard! and takes a lot of patience. 

- having a baby changes a lot of things, obviously. but one thing that has been hard is finding time for ben and i to have a date night to be with just each other. it has been so hard for us to leave sam at all. we had just been taking him with us on out dates. a few weeks back i was telling ben i felt like we just needed some alone time. he and i and no one else. baby free. but i told him i was scared of actually leaving sam with anyone else. that weekend he told me he had told his brother that we would watch their kids while they want to a church function. i was totally fine with that (their kids are complete dolls) and when we got there he told me that they were actually watching sam and we had the night to ourselves. i can't even put into words how excited i was, and completely surprised. i knew sam was in good hands and i was so excited to be alone with my husband. it was perfect. 

- shopping for clothes for sam has officially become a problem. it is so much FUN! i would much rather shop for sam than for myself. and whoever said dressing boys wasn't as fun was full of it. 

- i need summer. so bad. we are do done with the snow over here. i can't to buy sam some cutie little swim trunks and a mini beach towel.

- ben got a week off  of work at the beginning of april so we are going to fresno and can't wait! it will be such a nice break and i can't wait to take sammy boy to fresno. we're planning a day in san francisco and are counting down the days. 

- sam isn't even six months and i am already baby hungry. true story. i mean, i don't know if i could actually handle another one just yet. but the thought of sam having a little brother to play with just makes me so happy. 

-also, i finally have my camera back! it has been at canon being fixed for months but it is back and i have been going a little overboard on the pictures. 

five months

mister sam, 

as much as i miss your teeny, tiny, delicate little newborn self, i have to say, this is by far my favorite stage thus far!

you are so much fun right now and it seems like you are doing something new every single day. please keep piling on those rolls because we just love kissing them every day. 

at five months you are:

- wearing 3-6 and some 6-12 month clothes. 

- still sleeping like a dream. you sleep from 9pm to 8am and we are oh so grateful. 

- have a handful of mama's hair at all times. 

- love to give big, wet, slobbery kisses to mom and dad. 

- teething. enough said. you aren't too grump but you chomp on your fists like there is no tomorrow (despite my efforts to prevent that) and are a drooling machine. 

- love reading time and bath time. you somehow position yourself in the corner of your tub each time and hang your arm over the side like you're in a hot tub. it's hilarious. 

- hate your carseat. so that's super fun. 

- had your first ear infection and got sick for a couple of weeks. so SO sad. i hated every single day of those two weeks. 

- love playing on your tummy while watching mom work out. it makes working out a little bit more enjoyable. 

- had your first taste of baby oatmeal! you now have oatmeal once a day for dinner. we love feeding you and laugh the whole time. you nose dive for the spoon and can't get it into your mouth fast enough. we can't wait to start you on fruits and vegetables. 

- loves going to dad's basketball games and "oohs and ahhs" the whole time.

- you belly laugh. all. the. time. it kills us. 

four months

mr. sam, 

you are still proving to be a complete angel baby. we have the sweetest personality and are so happy all the time. you are currently sick with the flu and just had your four month immunizations and yet still managed to smile and coo at the nurse throughout your whole appointment. you have brought the sweetest spirit into our home and never fail to make us laugh. you are growing like a weed and seem to do something new every day. i love showing you off when we are out and about or at church. you love your dad. you are so happy when he comes home and love snuggling up on his chest and falling asleep. you had your first christmas this last month and were spoiled rotten. it's true, having you around made christmas so much more magical. we love you little man. stay this small forever, will you?

stats at four months:

- weight: 13 lbs 12.5 oz. 

- height: 24.5 inches

- wearing 3-6 mo clothes and some 6-9 mo

- LOVE to eat eat eat 

- loves reading books before going to bed. 

-still sleeping like a champ. 10 pm to 8:30 am. thank youuuuu.

- you have the sweetest laugh right now and will giggle when we tickle your toes or sides of your back. 

- love performing your balancing act with dad. 

- rolled over from belly to back on christmas day.

- you have started to hate your car seat. and you'll let us know when you want out. your dad and i place bets in the car as to when you'll start fussing to get out of your car seat. 

-still love to be swaddled at night and for naps. 

- you have established a good routine throughout the day with two solid naps at the same time and an occasional cat nap here and there. it has made life so much easier now that your schedule is predicable. 

- now loves tummy time and has great neck strength.