4 Months

Sam has grown so much in the past 4 months. Its amazing to watch him grow and change every day.

His personality has really started to show in the last month or so.

He has become obsessed with the dogs. He laughs at them harder than we have ever been able to get him to with a "boo" or a tickle.

Sam has found his hands. He loves to grab things and stick them right into his mouth. He sucks on his fingers constantly and thinks its pretty funny to chew on toys and blankets.

Sam smiles at everyone. He loves attention and is happiest if we are out meeting new people.

Sammy LOVES to look at himself in the mirror. I guess the constant reminder from me and Matt about how cute he is is starting to effect his humility. When he sees faces he talks and smiles. It is so funny.Samuel is almost a pro at sitting on his own and can roll over from his tummy to his back. He has also recently begun to migrate around a room on his back. I am not sure how he does it, but its pretty amazing the distances he can get in such a short time.Sam's likes far out number the dislikes. But there are a few...Sam has yet to enjoy cereal. We try almost every day, but I still get the above face whenever he gets a taste. He has also yet to sleep through the night. Our record is held at 5 hours. Lately, we have been waking up at LEAST 5 times a night. Last night I tried the "let them cry themselves back to sleep" technique, and Sam exercised those lungs for an hour! He just can not pacify himself without being rocked back to sleep, fed or given a Binky. We may have already spoiled him rotten.

Its just so hard to say no to this face!

Big Smile

How cute is this smile?! I just cant get enough of it!This is Sam's first time in this toy. Grandma and Grandpa have fun things at their house!

my kids + my baby

Saturday night we were visited by the Dillon family -Doug. I was a nanny for them in New York over 5 years ago. When I moved there, Aubrey was younger than Sam is now. It was such a neat experience to see "Baby Baub"(now 7 years old) holding baby Sam.

Aubrey (aka "Baub") and Samuel. Malcolm (aka "Magruder") and Sam.Laurel (aka "Doodle") and Sam.I feel so blessed that I am able to see the Dillon kids, who I grew so attached to, and have a baby of my own who I love much more than I ever knew I could. I owe a lot to the Dillons who taught me most of what I know as a mom!

A trip to the Bronx zoo with a 9 month old and a 2 year old.

Baub and I in 2003.
Thank you Dillon family!

Sick little Sam

There is nothing as sad as seeing your usually happy baby sick. Saturday afternoon, Sam was napping on our bed as I folded laundry. I heard a gagging noise, and I looked over to see Sammy choking on his vomit. I ran over to him and lifted him up and pounded his back. He immediately projectile vomited all over everything. The face that he made, complete with spit up coming out of his nose, was so heartbreaking! I'm sure he was so confused since he was fast asleep only seconds before this horrible experience.He proceeded to empty his stomach contents 2 more times before falling fast asleep in my arms. He took a good 2 hour nap, while I called the Dr and cleaned myself up.When Sam awoke, he was his happy self and didn't seem to remember reenacting scenes from the Exorcist. I am hoping that this was just a little fluke, or that he may have eaten too much, because he is not showing any other signs of sickness. Hopefully, we can get on with our healthy selves, and tackle the pile of laundry created by this event :)

Trout Lake - First Attempt

Tuesday morning, Sam, the dogs and I, the Cox family and the Coats family all headed over to Skyview to hike to Trout Lake. We got lost on the way, so we started out a little later than we wanted to and didn't make it all the way to the lake, but we had a great time none the less. We will try again on another day.There were really pretty views of waterfalls and mountains and the river was so nice. Sam loved being in the backpack, and was so comfortable in it, he quickly fell asleep.He could breathe, I promise :)

The dogs did really great. I didn't have them on a leash, but they stayed really close to the group and loved playing in the water. It really tired them out, and Brimley passed out the second we got back to the car. It was our first time hiking together and it will not be the last. They love the outdoors just as much as I do. We will give the trail another try. We ran into some other hikers on the way down who had caught 30 trout at the lake! So next time we will be sure to take fishing poles.

Deception Pass Beach

My friend Ashley and I woke up Monday morning in the same mood and decided we needed to get out into the sun. So we drove our little boys, only a month apart, to Deception Pass. This was Ashley's first real time to the ocean (she is from Utah), and it was such a perfect day for a hike. Sam fell asleep during the walk down to the beach, so I laid him out on a blanket in the sand where he continued to sleep. When he was awake, he was as happy as a clam watching the waves crash on the shore. Not sure why that was so funny, but he sure got a kick out of it.Ashley and Ryker had a good time exploring the area and collecting rocks to signify Rykers first time to the ocean. Not only was it a beautiful day to be out of the house, but Ashley and I were happy to get a little exercise to rid ourselves of the left over baby flab.By the time we made it back to the car, both of us were out of breath and ready for a nap! I guess we need to get out more :)

Whale Watching in the San Juans

I now know where I am going to retire if I cant find a way to move there any sooner. I am officially in love with the San Juan Islands.

I had been to the islands before, but it was a long time ago and I must have missed the amazingness of them. Yes, amazingness. Its a word.

Matt and I took a trip this last weekend (baby free) to Friday Harbor to take a whale watching cruise. I have been dying to do this for a while, and it was the perfect day to be out on the water.

My mom stayed home with Sam and it was so nice to be just Matt and I again even though all we really did was talk about Sammy. :)

Our cruise took us out around the islands, and it was only 20 minutes before we came upon the Orca whales. There were reports that all 3 pods were in the area, but we were not aware that they would all be traveling together, which happens maybe once every 10 years. Because of this rare occurrence, the whales were SUPER active, and we saw tons of "breaches" "tale slaps" and "belly up's". However, the Orcas were up against the shore hunting salmon, so we were unable to get really close. But it was so incredible none the less. We were able to spot over 80 whales.

We identified this one as "Onyx", and 18 year old male.

Can you see the breaching whale? I am moving into this house as soon as I win the lottery."Georgia." She has a crush on "Onyx" and is often seen following him. The "Pod-arazzi." These are all the Whale Watching tour boats.On the boat we made really good friends with the crew. Matt and I had tons of great questions, and they used some of my pictures to identify the whales. One of the naturalists that we were on board with told me to look her up when we come back and she will give me a job on the boat with her. It will be done, I swear.

Matt and I are already talking about heading out there again before J, K and L pod head down into warmer waters for the winter. We loved our mini-vacation, and are so thankful to my parents for helping out with Sam.

To learn more about the Puget Sound Orca Whales, click HERE.

Solid Foods

For the last week or so I have been unable to satisfy the growing appetite of Sam without magically sprouting another boob. He has been eating constantly, and my life has become limited because of his eating schedule.

So I figured it was time to try something a little more filling.

The first night, he was not really into the rice cereal. He made the most hilarious faces and then proceeded projectile spit the mess all over himself and Matty. His fit grew more and more intense the more we tried to feed him.

The second night he was willing to give it a try. He would dive for the spoon only to make his "bad taste grimace" the second the cereal touched his tongue.

He learned really quick that nothing could get in if he held his lips closed. I'm pretty sure we got some into his tummy although 99% of it seemed to be caked all over his face.Soon enough he had grown tired of me feeding him, and decided to take matters into his own hands. Literally. (ps-check out that hairloss. There doesnt seem to be any rhyme or reason to his bald spots.)

The next attempt Grandma Bailey took over and finally got him to enjoy the solids. He is not eating a ton, but I am hoping his desire for it grows more and more as he realizes that it fills his belly a lot better than I am able to.

Im a home body...today

This week, for no particular reason, I chose to stay home in some comfortable clothes that I discovered on Matt's side of the closet. Does any other lady find her husbands old tee shirts and baggy sweat pants the best outfit to scrub out in? Well, I do.

Instead of venture out looking like a crotchety old bag woman, I spent the week doing this:And taking pictures of this guy:

And reading books to you know who.

We did get some fresh air. But I can honestly say we didn't get any further than our own yard.Lazy, yes. Responsible, no. There are 100+ things I should have been doing instead and I am sure Matt can name them all in record time. However, I am feeling a little more rested than usual, and ready to take on the world again with a sure to be exciting weekend :)