A Visit from Uncle Wes and Grandpa

We had a busy, fun weekend! On Friday night my mom babysat for us to go on a much needed date night. We had a great time and after dinner ended up at Babies R Us to use a coupon for 20% off a new carseat for Samuel. They didn't have the one we wanted in stock so we'll pick it up later this week.

On Saturday we had a special visit from my dad and brother. It was a beautiful night so we grilled out. They had a blast playing with Samuel and Samuel warmed up really quickly to them as well. Everytime Wesley would look at him, he'd grin or laugh. He was totally fascinated with my dad's beard too.

My dad is a gifted musician and he always plays the guitar for Samuel. It was amazing how much Samuel took to the music. Notice how he was looking up at him in awe. He stared at him through the entire song.
Okay, I had to post this picture...my brother is very awkward with babies, but Samuel is a little older, so they are bonding. Still, check out Wesley's expression as Samuel gives him a once over. There we go--a SMILE! I knew he'd win your heart!

For those who do not know my dad, he is Harley loving dude. So, when I found out we were having a boy, my dad sent Samuel some much needed Harley paraphernalia. Below he is wearing the onesie my dad sent and I had to snap a picture of them both in Harley gear. Notice Samuel's shirt says, "Born to be Wild" which is exactly what he looks like in the pic. Actually, he is just talking away.

Gymboree class and more

Wednesday is Gymboree Day. Samuel loves the class and REALLY loves "Gymbo" the clown. We have a mini one at home so he thinks the big one is really his. The class has lots of stimulating activities and Samuel loves playing with the kids. His favorite part is the bubbles and the parachute at the end. I couldn't get great pictures of that though. Here are a few shots of yesterday's class:


Here is Samuel trying to share a ball with his buddy Elijah. Everytime Gymbo comes by to give hugs, Samuel hugs him back and doesn't want to let go. I have to say that having a Gymbo in our home sort of gives me the creeps. One morning Brian set it right by my face so it was the first thing I saw upon waking up---not cool!
He even loves the painted Gymbo....


As you can probably tell, I recently learned how to upload videos, so I am going a little nuts with it--forgive me.



This video below is of Samuel w/ his new toy--he loves this thing, especially smacking it:). Sorry it's sideways.

Samuel finds a friend!!

I can't believe he's NINE months!

Time is flying by so quickly! Last Friday, Samuel turned 9 months old. It's hard to believe he'll actually be a year old in 3 months. It's been such a joy to watch him learn and grow as we learn and grow as parents. He is doing a crossover between an army crawl/real crawl and he is unstoppable these days. His poor arms and legs get red from all the moving and grooving he does. He is learning his off limit areas and objects in the house. He'll crawl over to them and I'll say, "Samuel" and he'll look at me and then go as fast as he can to the object before I get to him. Now when we say, "no touch", he makes this growl like sound. We can't help but crack up. He is also exploring in the mealtime arena. He loves to feed himself bite size foods, but he really wants control of the spoon. He sticks it in the baby food and then up to his mouth. I just let him go sometimes to see what he does--it's a terrible mess, but he is so proud of himself for his accomplishment. He is definitely a very sweet little boy who loves to explore! We're having so much fun seeing his personality emerge!

It seems like just yesterday, Samuel was a newborn all swaddled up and ready to leave the hospital (with his eager beaver, clueless parents:)...

Here he is below on his actual 9 month b-day...
This was taken yesterday when he got up from his nap all smiley and happy not knowing it was time for his check up and shots!
Again, so happy to get up from his nap (still in his sleepsack). Just to give you an heads up on his eye, we are going to have to surgery to open his tearduct. If one more person asks me if he has pink eye I'm going to scream. This was on his way out from the appt...he was mostly just tired b/c it was past naptime. Notice he is trying to escape the stroller which he usually loves.
This video is of Mr. Independent trying to feed himself. Like I said, independence can be a messy thing!