a little vitamin d

because i had sam in september, it immediately started getting cold outside and i pretty much never took him outdoors because it was freezing and because the flu season hit in full force. 

and because it's still not technically summer weather here in idaho, i was so so excited to be able to let sam hang out outdoors for the first time since he has been born while we were in fresno. 

i couldn't wait for him to feel the grass and just relax outside without being bundled up.

after church on easter sunday, we relaxed in the back yard with mckenzie and matthew and sam was soaking every moment up.

ignore the excessive amounts of drool in these pictures.

easter sunday

this easter sunday we were so excited to be able to be in fresno to spend it with my family. 

it was also sam's first easter which made it that much more fun!

we went to my parents ward which was so fun because i was able to see so many people who i grew up with (and show sam off, obviously.)

my good friend, sara, was there visiting her family as well so i was able to see her and her sweet baby boy, cash.

elder lawrence was presiding over our ward and our third hour was combined so we were able to listen to him and his wife speak about their experiences in russia. 

after church we came home and relaxed outside for a bit while my brother grilled tri-tip (DELISH) and my mom cooked dinner. 

we then opened easter baskets! my parents put together the cutest little basket for sam with some dr. seuss books and toys and ben and i brought out a basket for him with a few toys and a new outfit. 

my mom (i mean the easter bunny?) also got ben some new clothes and me some new candles and body lotions. 

this easter was so perfect and i am so grateful that we were able to spend it in fresno with my family. 

i love the opportunity to be able to focus on our saviors atoning sacrifice and the knowledge we have that we will one day be able to live with him again. 

{don't worry, the peeps were not actually for sam}

seven months

sam, 

it is still so hard for me to believe that you are already on the latter half of your first year of life. 

in so many ways the last seven months have flown by and then in so many ways we can't even remember life before you. 

it seems like you are doing something new every day. 

oh way, you are ACTUALLY doing something new every day. 

it amazes me how quickly you pick up on things. 

at dinner yesterday i was trying so hard to get you to say "mama" (your favorite thing to do is babble "dadadadadada") and after 20 or so minutes of saying "mama" to you you started to mouth it back to me. 

your dad and i died laughing. no sounds came out of your mouth but you were clearly mimicking what i was doing with my mouth and it was so dang cute. 

you are so close to army scrawling. you try so hard to scoot your little body over to whatever toy you see on the ground. 

to be honest, i kind of don't want you to crawl. not because it will be more work (you'll be keeping me on my toes) but because i feel like you will no longer be a baby when you start to crawl. 

so you just take your time, little man. 

i now let you ride in the front of grocery carts and you love it! it's like a whole new world. plus it gives you easier access to flirt with other people who are out shopping. 

that smile of yours stops people dead in their tracks. and you know how to work the charm. 

you love all the new fruits and veggies we have been trying out recently. so far you are not a picky eater at all! you looooove peas. which has me seriously questioning whether you are my child or not. but whatever floats your boat.

we have been experimenting with small finger foods that dissolve quickly in your mouth and you have been doing pretty well with those as well. 

my favorite part of the day is getting you up in the morning and placing you in between your dad and i so we can snuggle for a little while before dad goes to work. you are so happy in the morning!

i have had to master the 10 second diaper change. as soon as i lay you down to change your diaper you can roll away from me so fast it's not even funny. 

while we were in fresno this month you loves spending so much time outdoors and playing on the grass. 

you still love books and calm down once i start reading to you. it is so much fun for me to read to you so i am glad you enjoy it. 

you are such a sweet baby boy, sam. so easy going and so happy all the time. you have stolen our hearts forever and we love you to the moon and back. 

a few more stats:

-almost 17 lbs according to our scale at home. 

-wearing mostly 6-12 months but can still rock a few 3-6.

-loves to stand on our laps. will only sit for a few seconds and then pushes himself up to stand. 

-loves his jumperoo. 

-has the longest eyelashes! everyone comments on them. (how come the boys always get those? not fair.)

-loves going on walks outside. 

-went on his first road trip to california and was a rockstar in his carseat. slept for a majority of the 13 hours and played with his toys when he was awake.

-sleeps 8-7:15

-very observant (loves watching everything that is going on around him) and easily distracted. 

-can now get out of his bumbo. 

-still lights up when dad gets home from work. 

-starting to go through a slight attachment phase to mom and dad but still does pretty well with other people holding him. 

-still no teeth but showing signs of teething. 

-you love going out and about and running errands with mom. the target employees may or may not know you by name and give you stickers when we are there. 

excuse me while i have a mom moment

have you ever had one of those days where you literally think your heart might burst from happiness? 

today was one of those. 

seriously, sometimes i look at sam and want to cry because i can't believe that he's mine. 

i have felt so sick yesterday and today. it started out yesterday with a migraine and then i felt extremely weak sick to my stomach. 

last night i went to bed early and thoughts that i could sleep it off and then feel better today. 

but i woke up with the same migraine and still felt sick. 

not to be dramatic, but i seriously felt so weak that i didn't know how i was going to keep up with sammy boy today. 

anyways, it's as if sam understands that i don't feel well because he has been a complete dream today. 

my usually very active little man has been so cuddly and soft with me today. 

after i got him up in the morning he cuddled with me in bed for a couple hours and placed his tiny little hand on my cheek and stroked my hair. all while my heart melted into a thousand little pieces. i usually can't get him to stop yanking on my hair. he then took a three hour morning nap which allowed me to rest some more. 

i know i sound crazy. he's only seven months old and his change of demeanor today is probably just all one big coincidence. and it probably is. 

but still, i am so over the moon with this little man. 

i never thought i could love someone so much (besides ben, of course). and am amazed as my love for him grows with each day. 

i truly feel like i hit the jackpot with this boy. 

i feel so blessed to be his mom. i feel like he and i gel reallly well. i get him. i get his little personality and understand his needs and what each of his cries means. 

don't get me wrong, i'm still pretty much winging this whole mom thing and hoping for the best. 

but i couldn't ask for a better little sidekick to accompany me while i learn how to be a mom. 

that is all. 

6 month check up

sam had his last round of shots for the next 6 months last week!

i can't tell you how happy i am to be done for the nest little while. 

he did great though! the nurse told me that at this age they start to understand that it is the nurse who is giving them the shots and not mom. 

which was nice. when i picked him up after he had his shots he stopped crying and then immediately whipped his head around to find out where the nurse went. as soon as he saw her he lost it again. i felt so bad. 

luckily our pediatrician has the sweetest nurse who is so gentle and loving with sam. (even though he's still not a fan of her). 

6 month stats:

height: 26.5 inches

weights: 15 pounds 6 ounces (which apparently is tiny)

head circumference: 43 cm

the doctor said he is physically and developmentally right on track. 

:)

little surprises

sammy boy was blessed back in november just after thanksgiving. 

ben gave the most beautiful blessing i had ever heard (obviously i'm biased, but still.)

it was one of the most perfect moments of my life and i will forever remember the feelings that i felt in that moment. 

however, the day was pretty dang stressful. 

my entire family was in town from fresno, my extended family was in town from utah, and ben's entire family was there including his grandparents from utah. 

i had major anxiety about hosting everyone at our house after church and making sure everyone was taken care of. 

i wanted the day to be absolutely perfect so when the power went out in most of southeast idaho that morning i went into panic mode. 

ben and i got on our phones and were using every resource available to us to find out when the power would be back on. 

finally we learned that it wasn't scheduled to come back on until 2pm (church started at 1pm). 

i was so sad. 

i had been looking forward to this day for so long and thought we would have to postpone his blessing. 

we continued to get ready, though, in the hopes that the power would be back on in time. 

finally, my parents called and said that the power was back at the hotel they were staying at in rexburg. 

so i drove all the way to rexburg to blow dry my hair while ben continued to get sam ready at home. 

ben later called letting me know that the power was back in rigby (yay!)

after many many prayers the power was back to sam would be able to have his special day in front of friends and family. 

anyways, amongst all the stress leading up to church i completely spaced asking someone to take notes during sams blessing. and even forgot to take pictures. (you don't even know how sad i am about this. i don't think i will ever get over that.)

i knew that i would lose it during his blessing and would probably soon forget bits and pieces of his blessing. 

later that night i tried to write down as much as i could from his blessing but knew there were parts that i was missing. 

fast forward four months. 

yesterday ben and i found this in our mailbox. 

our bishops wife had quietly taken noted during sam's blessing, typed them up for us, and delivered them to our mailbox. 

i can't even describe how happy i was to receive this. 

it is one of the sweetest things that has even been done for us and i am unbelievably excited to have this and am so grateful for that little act of kindness. 

(the possibly the sweetest idea ever? i told ben i want to start doing this for others)

i still can't read through his blessing without getting teary eyed. 

it reminds me of all the potential that our sweet boy has. 

i love thinking about all the opportunities and experiences that sam will get to have throughout his life. 

i have no clue what sam will eventually become but i do know that the sky is the limit for him. 

nothing that he may want to accomplish is out of reach. 

however, being a mom is tricky business, because my natural instinct is to want to protect him for anything that might possibly cause him harm or sadness. but the truth of the matter is that just as i know sam will experience joy and happiness i also know that life brings difficulty, pain, and heartbreak (heaven help the girl who tries to hurt him). sam will experience trials and there is nothing i can do about it.  

my greatest desire for sam is that he will gain a knowledge and testimony of his heavenly fathers gospel. and that he will develop a love for the lord. that he will be caring, respectful, giving and kind. and with these things i know that he will be able to get through any trials that he may face. and that his potential in limitless. 

that got off topic pretty fast. 

and may not have made sense. 

but i love my little man and can't wait to see the person that he one day becomes and i will always be his biggest cheerleader. 

unplugged

i love reading small fry blog. 

it's the cutest little children's lifestyle blog created by three moms of all boys living in utah. 

they started something called "unplugged week". 

taking on the challenge of going "unplugged" for a week by turning off the tv and video games for one week. 

i loved this idea. 

even though sam is only 6 months and we aren't into video games at all, i still thought it would be a good idea to work watching tv less often. 

i don't watch too much tv during the day to begin with but i have noticed that when i am watching the news in the morning sam is fixated on the screen. i'll somtimes say his name and he wont even take his eyes off the tv to look at me. 

as he grows, i want to practice the habit of getting outside or doing hands-on activities much more often than turning on the tv as a way to entertain him. i want him to grow up playing outside with his friends, playing sports, and participating in activities that will challenge him and help him grow, instead of indoors playing video games. ben and i have already agreed we won't be having any sort of gaming system in our home.

so for the past couple of days we have been enjoying the warm(-er) weather by taking lots of walks together, reading books, and playing with his toys. he is starting to grasp the concept of object permanence and loves to find one of his toys when i hide it under a blanket. the look on his face when he finds his toy is priceless. 

i have noticed that i have also been able to get a lot more done while he naps by not having the tv on. 

i have been able to finally start this book for my book club, finish sam's birth-three months photo book, and actually got all of sam's clothes that don't fit him anymore folded and stored away. 

anyways, 

hopefully this can be a good kick-start to a more tv-free zone.