Head, shoulders, knees, and...

Lots of fun stuff has happened this week; I was going to wait a little while longer to post these, but I couldn't resist. This week Sam has...












discovered his toes... (hence, the post title)

figured out that he doesn't have to sleep in the same position all night long...

AND

If you're easily bored, don't click on the video.

I realize that not everyone finds our child as fascinating as we do. I also realize that we have friends and family that want to be a part of his every move. Sam may not be sleeping through the night, (although we did make it 6 hrs. straight last night-too bad they're not the same 6 hrs. I sleep...) but he is making real progress as far as holding his head up goes. Tummy time is getting a little bit easier for him. If you're interested, or if you just need your daily Sam-fix, here you go.

Is anybody else's husband "deaf"?

So we're in the process of getting Sam to sleep through the night. For some reason our 18lb. 3-month-old (yes, you read correctly--18lbs) still thinks he needs to snack during the night. I know, I know...we're getting very close to letting him cry it out. Anyway, during the week, I handle all the middle of the night and early morning feedings. It's only fair--Anthony has to go to work. However, I really look forward to the weekends so that I can get a little relief from my better half. Picture this...we had our friends, Tara and Clay Holder stay with us this Saturday night. Tara is 26 wks. pregnant. In an effort to avoid terrifying them, I told Anthony that since he was in charge of weekend feedings, he would need to snag Sam before he went into a full-on, middle-of-the-night, why-aren't-you-people-feeding-me-meltdown. Anthony responded, "I'll try." (What does that mean, anyway? Does he "try" to go to MSU football games? Something here doesn't add up...) Sure enough, Sambo decides he's ready for a 1:00 snack. I nudge; I call his name...nothing. The husband doesn't move. I very sweetly (pick up on sarcasm here) stomp out of the room to get the sweet babe and feed him. Back into the crib he goes. 5:00 rolls round...Anthony doesn't hear him, AGAIN. Needless to say, I was not very sweet to my husband this morning.

I don't think he'll have a hearing problem next weekend.

Sherman Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family album - Free family tree

Hope this helps...

Some people were having trouble with the latest videos, so I've reposted them using a different program.

Grabbing for toys

In the last few weeks, we have really seen Sam develop. He's now grabbing for things; he doesn't have the best aim, but he's getting the hang of it. He's also learning how to control his head when you pull him up. I've posted videos so that if you're interested, you can see for yourself. He gets a little frustrated when he can't reach things which amuses us greatly.

Michael Phelps?

This past weekend, we headed to Point Clear, AL, with Anthony's parents for a long weekend at the Grand Hotel. It was the first "real" vacation with Sam, and I must say, the Grand Hotel is definitely family friendly. The grounds are beautiful, and there are tons of child-friendly activities. The pool is certainly the highlight, although Sam didn't really think so. He LOVES his bath, so Anthony and I thought he would love being in the water--we were wrong. I don't think we have a future Michael Phelps or Ryan Lochte on our hands. (Although we do feel confident he can float based on how chunky he is; Don't be alarmed--we didn't try our theory.) We never could get our timing right--he was always sleepy or cranky when we tried to take him to the pool. I give you exhibit A:



Maybe we'll have better luck next year. Regardless, we had a wonderful time. I posted the rest of the pictures in a slideshow below.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Other new accomplishments...

You always hear about how babies change so quickly, but I never realized it until we actually had one living in our house. In the past few weeks, Sam has really begun to hold up his head quite well; the pediatrician told us that since he's so big, holding himself up would be a little harder for him. We're trying to give him as much practice as possible. He's laughed a time or two, and he smiles all the time.

He can now roll over onto his tummy, but he gets stuck, and then he pitches a fit. I don't know where he gets his temper; I'm blaming it on the extended family. If you look closely in this picture, you can see his little leg is stuck in the crib slats. This certainly didn't help matters.





And last but certainly not least, he has learned the way to his mother's heart. Here he is helping me pick out my new fall wardrobe. He agrees with me that I cannot pull off ankle boots, and he thinks that his father should not take away my shopping budget.

If you haven't heard, we've got a big kid...

When Sam was born, he weighed 10 lbs. 3 oz. and was 21 1/2 inches long. At his 2 month check-up, he weighed a whopping 16.6 and was 24 inches long. I have no idea what he weighs now, but my aching back tells me it's more than 16.6. Because of his large size, he has lots and lots of nicknames. (Hulk, Fatman, etc.--we're hoping he doesn't get a complex.) However, the comment that we continue to get is that he looks like a little sumo wrestler. Some of you might think we would be offended, but since we agree, it's kind of hard to blame people. I'll let you be the judge...

At birth, a real sumo wrestler, (obviously) and almost 3 months

Will sumo wrestling pay for college tuition? I don't think it's popular in the SEC.

Enjoying his mobile

In the past week, we've finally gotten Sam to sleep in his crib rather than in the pack-n-play that is in our bedroom. The first few nights were a little rocky; I had a harder time sleeping than he did. It's hard not to constantly get up and make sure he's okay.

During the day he'll sometimes watch his mobile for long periods of time and talk to himself. He still doesn't "talk" as much when I turn the video camera on, but this will kind of give you an idea of what goes on.

Patriot Sam

Jackson Prep sent us this cute t-shirt to celebrate Sam's arrival. It's a genius marketing tool if you ask me. I think Sam looks pretty cute in it, but I think he looks cute in everything, so what do I know?

Beach Preparations and GMS

Next Thursday, Anthony and I will be taking Sam on his first official vacation. We're headed to Point Clear, AL for a long weekend at the Grand Hotel. Anthony's parents are graciously letting us tag along, and we are really looking forward to it. Sam already has 3 swimsuits and several hats, (because what 2 1/2 month old doesn't?) but I've been looking for a pair of sunglasses. I found some yesterday, and I couldn't resist. Behold: Cookie Monster Sunglasses.


GMS (Good Mood Sam)

Anthony and I have a friend who was notorious for getting into a funk. When he did, everyone referred to him as BMM, or "Bad Mood Mike." Surprisingly, this did not improve his disposition. Anyway, whenever Sam is in an especially good mood, we refer to him as GMS--Good Mood Sam. GMS usually shows up in the morning after a good night's sleep and a full belly. However, he decided to show up last night, and we actually got footage of it. (It's really hard to capture him in pictures/video because the second you get it out, he stops smiling and talking.) Check it out.

So I've given in...

I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would enter the blogging world. I swore that I would never, ever shamelessly write on the internet about how fabulous, cute, and sweet my child is. I was wrong. I had many reasons for not wanting to do this:

1. Safety issues--If I can easily look at other people's blogs and learn about where they shop, what their children's names are, etc. it makes me leery of some stranger doing the same to me.

2. Anthony dying of humiliation--self explanatory. He'll live.

3. Pressure of making sure that my grammar is correct. As a (former) English teacher and current grammar snob, I'll try my best. I am not perfect, though; I apologize in advance.

I decided to bite the bullet for a few reasons:

1. Because it will give me something to do.

2. My parents/family live hours away, and I'm hoping this will give them an opportunity to keep up with Sam.

3. Because my child IS fabulous, cute, and sweet.

So here I am...congratulations bloggers; I've caved.