Samuel's 4 Month Appt...

Sweet Samuel getting up from his nap just in time for his check-up. Little does he know that shots are in his near future....poor baby! Here he is with daddy right before his shots. He's sucking his fingers with that worried look like he knows something's up!
Here he is right after the shots. He cried, but not for long. I think it was harder on us!
Look at that sad little face!! We put him in his comfy PJ's for the rest of the day.
This picture has nothing to do w/ his check-up. We put together his Jumperoo and the first time we put him in it, he was backwards. Too funny to not grab the camera!




Today we had Samuel's 4 month check-up. I can't believe my little guy is already 4 months old! It's been so fun watching him grow and develop over the last few months and although we know there is much to look forward to, sometimes we want to slow the time down. Samuel's little personality is evolving more and more! He loves when we read, talk and sing to him and let's us know with his cute squeaks and coos. He has started mimicking things too. When you stick your tongue out at him he pokes his little tongue out right back at you. He LOVES this game now! Everytime I go to pick him up out of the crib from a nap he grins and sticks his tongue out--it melts me! He has started giggling too. Mostly when we tickle him and sometimes just when he thinks sometime is funny like when I kiss his hand over and over. He is hitting all his milestones well and even tries to sit up (although he can't quite yet). He sometimes grabs the toys dangling from his mobile gym and uses them as leverage to try pull himself up. It's hilarious to watch. He recently decided baths were not his favorite thing, so he tries sooo hard to pull up and out of it. He has rolled over a few times, but he then finds himself stuck on his back and is not happy. We have to intervene at that point! He weighed in today at 14.6 pounds. He is eating well and loves to play with my hand during feedings. Enjoy the pictures!

I did it!

Here we are--in and out of the store in record time with no meltdown! Mission accomplished!
Ah..the fruits of my labor--Groceries and Samuel, get it?!
Just a cute picture I had to throw in--His Auntie Lynnie got him this cute number.


First of all, we had a rough night last night. Samuel's sleep monitor that sets off an alarm if it senses no breathing in 20 seconds, went off at 12:30am because Samuel had worked his way to the bottom of the crib off the sensor. Well, he didn't go back to sleep until 3:30am! Brian in the meantime tells me, "you need to nap when he naps tomorrow instead of blogging:)"...well, easier said than done! I have a hard time napping during the day lately anyway.

Today was a BIG day....I know this is going to sound crazy to you veteran mom's, but one of my fears has been taking Samuel to the grocery store. I think it has to do with the fact that he hated his carseat for so long coupled with his acid reflux fussiness--grocery shopping just seemed like torture. However, a Harris Teeter just opened literally less than 1/2 mile from my house, so I decided it was time to tackle this little fear. I'm happy to say, all went SUPER! Granted, I was speeding through the grocery store with wreckless abandon, but he did great. He probably felt queasy from my lightning speed throughout the store, but he didn't show it! So, I decided to get a picture to mark the occasion and I have to say--it was embarrassing to ask the bagger take the picture. I told him it was our first trip just the two of us to the grocery store---I don't think he really cared! It's so nice having the store so close because within one hour I was able to feed/change Samuel, get groceries and put dinner in the crockpot before my little guy's nap.

Sleepy Baby, Happy Parents

Last night was a big night in the V household. Let me first explain that our little guy doesn't sleep on the go--not in his car seat on drives or in unfamiliar places. Therefore, when we go out he is bound to miss a nap (well, he'll take a catnap in mom's arms, but that's the extent of it). So, last night at church Samuel slept in my arms maybe 20 minutes which means he only had 20 min of sleep between 4:30 and when we put him to bed at 9:00. The above picture is Samuel SOOOOO tired (notice the sweet little tear in his eye). I love that he is a thumbsucker b/c I think it's so sweet that he loves that little thumb and goes for it when he's tired or upset. Anyway, all that to say---he slept from 9:00pm straight through until 6:35am!!!!!! We are soooo excited and I even made Brian go make sure he was breathing around 5:00am. We are so thankful to God that the acid reflux medicine he is now on is working. He still has some of the reflux, but the major pain he was in is mostly gone with an occasional flare up. Here's hoping this sleeping through the night gig lasts!

Samuel's first Superbowl! We have to turn his head from the TV b/c he loves to stare at it already!

Notice Samuel's grip on the tub--he grabs the edge every time he gets in the bathtub, but eventually he has fun...

Here he is enjoying bath time a little more...


Samuel found his thumb and loves it.

He's tolerating his car seat better--although we haven't driven over 30 minutes with him yet!


Here are a few random pictures from the last few days. We are hanging in there. Samuel is on his third round of new meds for acid reflux and so far we aren't seeing relief for the little guy. He has silent reflux so he doesn't spit up a lot, he just swallows it back down all the time and it burns. It's hard to see him in pain. He wakes up a lot during naps, etc...because of the reflux so we are praying he outgrows it soon! Besides that he is a happy boy and gives lots of smiles and coos. He loves "standing" like in the first picture. You can tell he thinks he is such a big boy when he does it...it's cute!

Samuel loves talking to himself in the mirror on his swing...he thinks he found a new playmate! What you talkin' 'bout, Willis? Samuel's first snow! I was holding him and taking the picture because Brian was out of town.

Samuel is almost 3 months old now and we cannot believe it! I love this age because he is sleeping better and because his little personality comes through more and more each day. I think my lips are permanently puckered from kissing his head so much. Could be why he is losing his hair! Brian was in CA for five days and boy did we miss him! Samuel had a few rough nights with his reflux pain and it was nerve wracking not having another set of hands to help out. We had a little snow storm while he was gone too. It was so beautiful to see snow falling, but a little claustrophobic at the same time because I didn't want to get out in the bad weather with Samuel. It was fun to see the ground WHITE though since that is a rare occasion here.

Samuel had his 2 month check up a few weeks ago (it was a little later than 8 weeks). He weighed in at 12.5 lbs, so he has some chub on him. He is getting more interested in trying to roll over. He has accomplished it twice--once last night. He grunted and strained so hard to move his little body over, then when he did his arm was stuck under his belly and he couldn't get it out. He is still working out the roll over kinks. He has been liking his car seat better too. Although last time I said that he decided he hated it again, so by my next post that could be the story. We were thankful for some peaceful outings last weekend though!

Chris Farley Smile!

Happy Boy!

Which Way to Fenway?


Today Samuel is two months old! Time is flying by too fast. We are having fun with him and love seeing his spirited personality emerge. He still doesn't like his carseat which is difficult. We are hoping one day he will learn to love it--soon! He loves to be talked to and will coo at anyone willing to give him some attention. On a side note, my husband never really got into blogging, but I think he loves to read them now. He will ask me what is going on in the blog world and then the other day he yelled for me to come to the nursery for a blog photo op (the Fenway pic). He knew a good blog moment when he saw it. So, I've made a believer out of him:). Brian's a huge Red Sox fan, so he cannot wait to take Samuel to Fenway Park.

Dress up with Samuel

Sometimes I have too much fun playing dress up with my little man. Here are some pictures in his Christmas outfit, puppy outfit and his preppy New Year's Eve party outfit. We had a fun Christmas with the V's in town. We went to the Christmas Eve service at our church, ate lots of good food made by my incredible cook husband and his sister, and just soaked in Samuel's first Christmas. Last night we went to a New Year's Eve party at our neighbor's house and it was a lot of fun. Samuel was the show stopper as he was passed around all night and loved cooing and smiling at everyone. When we left all the guests circled around him to get one more smile...which he unselfishly gave! However, mom and dad paid the price of his social night because he would not settle down for sleep until after midnight.

We are enjoying are little boy and finally believe all the people who said "it gets easier around 8 weeks"... We thought they just wanted to have something encouraging to say, but low and behold over the last 5 days our boy has slept better and even seems to have less pain from acid reflux. Oh, and he would NOT got in the carseat so cabin fever was settling in for mom, but he is even doing better with that--thank goodness! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years!