Sam's Expressions

He's a pretty mellow guy, but I do love his expressions.

Crazy Coupe or Cozy Coupe

You decide......

Cinderelleeeeee

You know, Cinderella they way the mouse sings it...."Cinderelleeee, Cinderellee"....

We have a Cinderella on our hands!  Abby loves watching Cinderella and has been imitating her in the kitchen.  With her tutu and glass slippers on, she grabs a wet dish towel and washes the floor.  You KNOW I don't stop her. 

The secret's out.  My child helps clean the house.  Do you think she'll enjoy imitating Cinderella until she's 18?  At least the chores part...not the dancing until midnight, getting married parts. 

Hanging Out

Abby enjoys hanging out with Sam on his mat and he often endures her smattering (smothering??) kisses.

She really is a big help with him.  She loves giving him his pacifier when he cries, helps change his diaper, and gives his swing/rocker a gentle push. 

Sweetest Face

Sam has been sleeping well (knock on wood) and still in the pack n play in or room.  Not for his sake, but for ours.  It's much easier to hear him squeak and grab him before he starts really squaring.  We don't want to wake Abby.  He also gets a little fussy between 5am and 7am and we are.not.ready.to.get.up.  So, he'll catch a few zzz's in the "family bed".  Oh, what we said we would never do!  Abby actually slept quite well in her crib from day one.  I still get up before he wakes for his next feeding (to get coffee, get Abby ready, get a bite to eat) and the other morning I snapped these pics of this cutie....seriously cute, right? Especially when he's still sleeping at 8am.  He sleeps just like his Momma...

Dog Treats for Rocky!

Abby loves Uncle Rob's dog, Rocky.  I asked her if she wanted to make him some dog treats and she was all over it.  After pouring over some recipes, I settled on this easy one.  It's actually on my friend's amazing cooking blog I frequent for quick dinners or treats. 

We had a lot of fun mixing, rolling, pressing and baking!

And Rocky loved them!

Happy One Month Birthday, Sam!

Sam, I am, is one month old!  I'm looking forward to this series of photos like we did with Abby.  They look a lot alike still and I'm so curious what kind of personality he's going to have.  Sam is making some great eye contact, sleeping and eating well, fussy at the witching hour, taking a bottle like a champ, and starting to make some conversation. 

We're still smitten with this little guy!  He's awfully cute!  Close ups of his eyes indicate they might be blue and his hair is still pretty light.  Blonde maybe? 

Tummy Time

Sam is almost a month old and we've attempted tummy time a handful of times.  Yesterday, he was wide awake for a good part of the morning, and I figured this might be a good time to try again.  He barely made a peep and loved staring at himself in the mirror.  Abby helped in the evening by turning on the music/light toy.

We must have tired him out yesterday because today he fell fast asleep shortly after his breakfast. In my arms.  With a heavy sigh and newborn sweet smelly breath.  Love.

Dancing Diva

Oh my, we're in trouble....our little dancing diva was having more fun looking/flirting at herself in the mirror, playing with her skirt, and pawing the cool umbrella's than listening to the dance teacher.  Abby did amazing before class - she was amped to get into the studio practicing her pirouettes in the lobby; and, had no trouble waving goodbye to mumma and dada on her way in.  She did, however, have a bit of trouble following directions and staying focused.  She was clearly mesmerized by her beauty in the mirror.  We may have to start telling her she's an ugly duckling so her head doesn't get too big.  Just kidding.  Well, kind of....  :-)

I didn't take too many pictures as not to distract the class and these are cropped to exclude other participants and the two teachers.  There were about 12 girls in the class and their outfits were ah-maz-ing.  Who knew a three year old could rock the leggings?  We didn't realize it was a barefoot class, so we'll save her footed tights and slippers for later and rock out the footless tights (and babylegs??) next week.

Meeting the Dee's!

How could I forget the other half??

Grampy

Mimi

Uncle Rob

Trish

  

Uncle Chris

Jen

Lots of family time!

Meeting the Proctors!

We were lucky to have all of Tim's side come up in one weekend to meet Baby Sam.  It was a busy, yet fun weekend!  I didn't get a picture of GJ with Sam, so hopefully next time!!

All four grandkids

Abby's Three Year Old Picture (better late than never!)

I realized that as I was preparing and printing Sam's monthly signs, that we never took Abby's three year old picture.  (GASP!)  How rotten of us.  The good news is that the pictures that Susie took were closer to her third birthday and are the "real" ones.  Here is the obligatory one!  and a few extra...

 

And, I'm missing the bear in her three-year picture.  Oh well.  We'll get it next time!  :-)

Getting Ready for DANCE!

We have one excited little girl on our hands - Abby is super psyched to start dance class on Saturday!  This is NOT a parent led class, so we've been preparing her for an instructor led Dance Imagination class.  Parents wait out in the lobby/viewing room.  Apparently there is a window for us to see the magic happening, but it might have a curtain.  Giddy!

Yes, she is a bit small for her dance attire, but we have a few options!  A friend gave me her almost kindergarteners outgrown leotard and Aunt Kelly gave one to Abby for Christmas! We'll have to see which one fits better.  We've been spending lots of time practicing to Disney's music channel on Sonos.  She is loving it!!!!!!!!!

Second Week Appointment

Today we had Sam's TWO WEEK appointment.  How quickly it goes by....very cliche, but so true!  I didn't even get the chance to post a recap of his one week appointment, but in both cases, all went well!

In his one week appt, the concern was his weight - (SHOCKING, I know!).  He was born at 8lbs, came home at 7.8 and weighed in at 7.9 one week.  The Doc believes that he lost more weight after he came home and wasn't too concerned.  The good news is that at his two week appt, he gained 4 oz and clocked in at 7.13.  Which is perfect!!!! Since newborns gain about an ounce every two days, he'll be back at his birth weight in no time. So, Mr. Sam is eating well, gaining weight, sleeping well, and doing just fantastic! 

We welcomed Sam home with out the anxiety or unfamiliarity that we had with Abby.  I distinctly remember driving away from Fletcher Allen with Abby thinking - "well, what do we do now???".  With Sam, we knew he'd get settled into his own routine of waking, sleeping, eating, pooping - and that was it.  There's no playing or rough housing.  I sing during diaper changes and snuggle when we can, but these newborns can be so boring :-) hehe We've been lucky since his routine is fabulous (knock on wood!!).  We can count on Sam waking every four hours to eat.  He eats, is active for about a minute or maybe five, and then sleeps for another three hours.  We'll take it!

Sam is awfully cute, even with his baby acne.  We can't wait for his aunts to meet his this weekend! 

Professional Shots

We are blessed to have such talented friends and bribed Susie of http://www.suzannesimmonsphotography.com/ to take some shots of Sam still in the womb and of course when he was just a wee one - just five days old!  Here are a few of our favorites for those not on facebook....

Working on "I Love You"...

I'll be sure to post more after our New Year's cards go out!  Enjoy!