Samuel's Latest and Greatest: 10 months

The point of no return

If only she had known the true significance of my offer, she might not have so willingly collected all of her binkies and ceremoniously thrown them all away in exchange for this balloon. Leah was very excited to finally get to play with this balloon that has been hiding in the bathroom for several days, but when bedtime came around...not so much. (can you see how jealous the baby is of the mysterious new entity in the room?)




Of course, I waited until after our traditional Sunday nap. After the bathroom routine (where she is fully potty trained and finally starting to let me brush her teeth), we adjourned to the bedroom for story time, and she immediately recognized that her binky was in the garbage can, a permanent resting place. Oh, the tears and decibels of sorrow! I continued our normal routine, reading normally despite the wailing and gnashing of teeth, had a bedtime prayer, and I blew out the light. I locked the door behind me.

After 15 minutes of feeding the baby and breathing deeply, my guilt had truly gotten the better of me. From behind her door, I heard such things as "I don't want a balloon!" and "I don't want to be a big girl!" How pitiful! Did she think she was being punished? Would this be the end of peaceful nights and afternoon naps? Will she resort to thumb-sucking? Would she ever trust me again? After consulting with Chris and receiving some encouragement not to give in, I went back in to Leah's room.

I comforted her and assured her that she was not being punished and I was not mad at her. I told her that it is hard to give up something we love and it is okay to be sad. I'm not sure how much of my pep talk was understood, but after signing and rocking quietly for 15 minutes, the thunder died down. I told her stories and we talked about the upcoming holidays. She is excited to be Jesse (from Toy Story 2) for Halloween, to have a birthday, and to "be nice to Daniel" after we go on an airplane at Christmastime. We looked out the window and talked about the seasons and how the leaves would soon turn colors, fall off and dry up. "We better wear shoes," she decided, so that we can crunch around on the leaves and not have our feet get cold. She was a little sweetheart and I could tell that she had already forgiven me.

Then I laid in bed with her for a few minutes hoping she would fall asleep. When it was finally time for me to leave, she was still awake, but I could tell that she had come to terms with this new development, at least for the time being. I'm hoping that in the morning, she will know to be proud of herself for going a night without a binky. I'm sure she'll parrot back to me that she got a balloon and we said bye-bye to her binky, and then she cried a lot.

I'm beginning to understand why so many people call the two's terrible: we expect so much of such a small creature. Since she turned two not even a year ago, Leah got a baby brother, transitioned from a crib to a big-girl bed and from diapers to panties. She talks in complete sentences but doesn't quite know enough words or have the emotional capacity to understand and fully communicate. It's no wonder they have a hard time.

Here's to my super-daughter and the opportunity to grow up a little. How I love my little girl!

Samuel's Latest Hits: Addendum

Okay, here are a few things I failed to add last time.

Samuel is pulling himself up to a standing position on everything. He is very proud of himself for this.

Samuel loves to play and splash in the bath! I just graduated him from the bath seat in favor of bare-bottom on the bottom of the tub. I had to bust out the old non-slip mat or he would just slip and slide all over, but he loves the freedom!

Object permanence: Samuel looks for whatever it was that you just took away from him or that he dropped. Also, it is so cute, but when he drops a cheerio, he looks down after it and reaches for it. If it is just on the chair or in his lap, he very determinedly reaches and pinches is up and eats it.

Did I mention this kid is determined?

Samuel's latest hits

He's growing so fast that I can't keep up informing you of what is going on!

Samuel is teething. He has one bottom tooth with its next door neighbor coming in. He's never inconsolably cried quite like when he was getting his first tooth. Poor guy! I'm sure thankful for Orajel!

Samuel is eating solids and loves it! He is a hungry boy!

Samuel is sitting up on his own, crawling, grabbing, and putting everything in his mouth. He is very determined. Leah never could get herself from crawling to a sitting position or from sitting to crawling, and she could hardly sit up unassisted until nine months or so. Samuel had it mastered at 7 months.

Samuel is already trying to pull himself up on stuff. He does this crawling "move" where he sticks his bum up in the air with his legs extended below him, like he's a camel, and it looks like he's trying to stand up. He has already tried lifting himself up into a cabinet or onto a toy. I can see the wheels turning--he keeps lifting one leg hesitantly trying to figure out how to get it over the edge of the cabinet, and then he chickens out and does something else. It is so cute, because he's not quite there yet, but I can tell that he really wants to be.

Here's some more evidence that Samuel is more of an independent thinker and a problem solver than Leah. Leah never held her own bottle--she made me hold it for her, and Samuel figured out how to hold a bottle the very first time I handed him one. Nowadays, Leah will complain that she is stuck on something, or she'll climb into his crib and not be able to get herself out, and she'll whine and wait for me to come rescue her. I show her how to get herself unstuck, like "put your leg over the edge and reach down," or "push the chair away from the table and you'll be able to get out." She still doesn't get it. I can already tell that Samuel will be the kid who gets himself unstuck on his own. He also recovers faster after bonking his head. Maybe it only takes a few months of minor older-sibling "abuse" to toughen up a younger sibling. It is so increasingly amazing to me how different my children's personalities are at such young ages. And it is so much fun!

I'm a big kid now!

Leah is such a big girl! She is mostly potty trained (how do you really know when you are completely done potty-training, anyway?). This would have been a week and a half since her last accident if she hadn024't has so many blueberries yesterday... She also has a big girl bed! No more crib for this girl, c0heck out her latest tent bed setup:



Today we videotaped her making a commercial. Okay, so she may not be the most articulate, but don't you think she is just the most beautiful, intelligent, sweet little girl ever? Is this how every parent feels about their own children?

Laughing and crawling

Here are two videos that are quite possibly only appreciated by grandparents.

Samuel (army) crawling, with Leah providing the commentary:

(He is actually quite a determined little mover!)

Leah spinning in circles and causing uproarious laughter--at least they are entertaining each other!

Crawling or not?

Yes, dear sister, I am copying you and asking for votes on whether or no you all think this is genuine crawling or not. 50 bonus points if you can name the movie that is playing in the background.

Latest Developments

Samuel can roll over and "scoot" across the room. I laid there on the floor recording him for half an hour trying to catch the latter on video, so as soon as I got up to transfer laundry for 2 minutes, he got himself all the way across the room. Figures.

Leah has mastered the alphabet!

Eating Toes

Here are my two little ones when they have each discovered their toes. I'm sure you can tell which one is Leah and which one is Samuel based on color clues, but still, I thought it would be a cute comparison. Also notice how much chubbier Samuel's little legs are!

Samuel's 4 Month Checkup

Samuel had his four month checkup yesterday.

Length: 24.5 inches, 25- 50th percentile

Weight: 14 lbs 6oz, 50th percentile

Head: 42.5 cm, 50th percentile

Compare his growth to his 2 months checkup. If I remember correctly, Leah was always tall and skinny(75th and 25th percentile), so Samuel seems like a chubster even though he is pretty average size. Samuel didn't like his shots at all, but Leah enjoyed comforting him by patting his head and holding his hand while he was getting his shots. She is such a nurturing big sister!

The only concern we discussed with the Doctor is that Samuel has a fairly marked asymmetry of his head shape, so he will probably need a helmet in the next couple of months. :( There must be something about the second child; I'm so distracted by a potty-training toddler that I haven't even thought about solids even though I know we tried starting Leah on solids at four months. I'm in no hurry this time, maybe because it's not quite as exciting as starting your baby on solids when you've never done it before. Is this how middle-child syndrome starts?

I can't believe how fast Samuel seems to be growing! He is always such a happy baby and is always ready to smile!

His latest milestones include:

• Discovering his hands, holding his hands together, and bringing things to his mouth
• Rolling around (although not rolling over)
• Reaching for things (and very determinedly!)
• Sleeping through the night regularly
• Baby babbling, and with lots of drool
• Recognizing faces of family members
• Enjoying his baths
• Being so super cute! He already needs another hair cut!

Potty Progress

Here's Leah potty chart. This picture was taken 2 weeks ago when we started, and since then, she has filled 3 rows with stickers (and therefore earned three prizes)! Every time she goes, she gets a treat from the treat jar. I thought she would pick the same thing every time, with the options being cookies, candy, fruit snacks, or popcorn, but she picks something different every time. Several times she's even asked for "bubbles." This is what "bubbles" looks like:

She will stand at the sink and play with bubbles for hours if we let her. It's a really great trick for me when I need to get something done.

When the entire chart is filled, Leah gets to go to Chuck-E-Cheese! We are making progress, and she's learned how to go on command, but we still haven't had much luck with #2. This is a lot harder than I thought it would be! Leah loves to wear big girl panties, but some froofy character is a must. For those of you who think this next picture is indecent, just remember that it's my kid, not yours, and all you can see are her knees:

When I took that last picture of Leah, I looked over to see Samuel being really cute and anxiously awaiting some attention from me, so I took this one:

And here's a cute picture of Leah ready to splash in a puddle:

2 Month Update

Samuel had his 2-month checkup today. Here are his vitals:

Length: 23 inches, 50th percentile
Weight: 11 lbs 11oz, 50th percentile
Head: 39 cm, 25th percentile

So in 9 weeks of life, he has gained over 4 pounds which averages about 1/2 a pound a week! Leah has always been tall and skiny, so Samuel seems relatively chubby even though he is pretty average in comparison to other babies. I'll put up a picture of his fat little thighs as soon as the batteries in the camera are charged! Samuel had three shots today and has been very grumpy as a result. His cry is much more urgent and panicky sounding than usual, and he's just been crying on and off all evening--poor guy!

Other than that, he is usually a very happy baby and has been sleeping for 6 hour stretches at night. I'm happy to report that we've made it 9 weeks before his first all-over blowout in which his clothes required scrubbing and the bouncer cover needed to be removed and laundered--yes, this was today. I'm grateful for the infrequency of such events, but I guess I'm in for it.

More to come--I'll keep you posted!

Big Sister and Little Brother

Since Leah became a big sister 5 weeks ago, she cut two molars and had her first 2 year old tantrums; she learned how to climb on top of the changing table by herself and can finally reach light switches (seizure, anyone?). She is the queen of imitations, and has now decided she wants milk in her cereal bowl even though she still uses her fingers instead of a spoon.

She is a very nurturing big sister. Whenever Samuel sneezes, she says "Bless you, Sammy!" and she runs to him when he cries, saying "Baby crying. I'm coming!" She giggles when he makes noises. "I wanna hold it" is how she asks to hold the baby, which she tires of in about 10 seconds. When we go places, she stocks her arms with as many toys she can carry: "I wanna bring Buzz. I wanna bring Nemo. I wanna bring Sammy." It is very endearing. At least she has realized that this little guy is here to stay. She seems to like him!


As for being the baby brother, Samuel has recently started showering us with cute little smiles. We just love those dimples! He is a very happy kid! When Leah was a baby, we had to rock her to sleep and constantly hold her to give her comfort in those inconsolable moments. Well, either Samuel is narcoleptic, or he's just really good natured and gets over it fast. He falls asleep really easily. He is a good eater; he's starting to get some chubby rolls on his thighs, and his face is filling out quite a bit. He teases me at night though--his first leg of sleep is 5 hours, but the second two are only three hours long, and since I stay up later than he does, I don't usually get to sleep for more than 3 hours at a time. Boy, am I tired!



Three cousins. Samuel and Leah meet cousin Paul for the first time!

Samuel's update

Samuel is 2 weeks and 2 days old.

Birth weight: 7 lbs 9 oz
2 week weight: 8 lbs 1/2 oz

Birth length: 19 1/2 inches
2 week length: 20 1/4 inches

So this means that he is growing! Not much of a surprise since we can tell there is a lot going in and a lot coming out. He is a very good baby!

Here are the surprises we weren't expecting:

• Samuel doesn't really care for a binky that much and sleeps just fine without one. It takes lots of convincing to get him to take one between feedings (so that mommy doesn't have to be the pacifier)
• Leah's eyes were dark dark brown from day one. We would have expected the same with Sammy, but on the contrary, his eyes are quite smokey looking with a very slight hint of blue. Hey, I was convinced they would be dark brown, and since they aren't, who knows what they will turn out to be.
• He has a very strong gag reflux that sounds like choking and it makes me nervous, but the doc said its pretty normal.

No one would forgive me if I posted without including a picture, so here you go:

The First Week

Samuel is 8 days old. Here are the highlights of the first week.

• Samuel has learned how to eat, sleep and poop. These activities occupy his entire day.
• He sleeps very well. When we're lucky, 4-5 1/2 hours at a time. He eats all day, so that's okay with me.
• Today he learned how to spit up. It was gross.
• Since he was born, we've done five or six loads of laundry.
• We've used approximately 100 diapers so far. When he's awake, we're lucky if a diaper lasts 30 minutes.
• Grandma is really good at changing diapers, and willing too.
• Leah is a very nurturing big sister and continues to be a generally happy little girl. She likes to "hold it" (the baby) and keeps asking mommy to feed her milk, too. She can tell she's not the center of attention anymore, but so far is handling it well.
• It took us all week to finally capture Samuel's adorable dimples, featured in the last picture--look closely. (click any picture to see it enlarged)

2nd Thanksgiving and Birthday Pie

Leah was so happy on her birthday yesterday! She somehow knew that it was a special day because we were so happy and kept singing "Happy Birthday" to her. At first when I asked her what day it was and how old she was, she responded with "Elephants" and "Monkeys." Hmmm...obviously, we've programmed certain answers into her.

After church, she took a four hour nap during which the proud parents created a Thanksgiving dinner. We had some of our good friends and neighbors over to share it with us. Kudos to David for being willing to share a birthday bash with Leah. Dinner was followed by presents and a dessert buffet, then a rambunctious game of Balderdash. (Picture of candle-blowing coming soon...)

She really enjoyed opening her presents:

"Where the Wild Things Are" and a giant picture frame for her Pachyderm Painting from Grandma and Grandpa
A portable booster seat from David & Michal (we can take it to their house!)
From Mommy and Daddy: a plush Nemo (should have opened this one last), "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?," a Winnie the Pooh video, and a new shirt.

She also got cards with Target gift cards from Lola, and cash from Aunt Joy and Great-Grandma & Grandpa Fosdick in Savanna. Thanks everyone!

Here she is with her spoils (click on a picture to see it bigger):

Leaps and Bounds

Leah is learning so much. She is really good at relating things that she has experienced (but with some coaching). On her own, she has identified that the circus was noisy and fun and that the elephants danced. Although she can't identify a circle from a square or triangle, she did voluntarily identify the set as "shapes" which was a big surprise to me! She is learning her colors, she sings along to the alphabet song, and can count to ten all by herself. She knows where baby brother is and calls him Sammy, gives my belly a kiss, and can re-create the hearbeat sound we heard at the doctor's office. She knows a boy from a girl since she's watched me change diapers. She is learning to use words instead of whines, much at my encouragement since I have zero tolerance or patience for whining. She can make two and three word sentances including "Baby sad," "Big truck," "Daddy's book," "I like bubbles," and "I love you". She knows how to ask for help, can answer when asked what her name is (E-ah), and can ask for things she wants such as food, a binky, to go swimming, or for a toy. She's recently decided she doesn't like having dirty hands and insists I clean them for her mid-meal. Leah can identify people in pictures, and even said that Uncle Carl, who wears a beard, was Jesus. She liberally gives smiles, hugs, and kisses. She is the queen of imitating. She's recently decided to start snuggling again. How we love our little girl. I'm so glad we didn't leave her at a gas station in Laramie, Wyoming!

Top 7 in 2007

1. Leah is starting to learn sign language! She can sign potty, more, shoes, and food among others. We tried teaching her signs when she was 8 or 9 months old, but she wasn’t interested. Now she is!
2. Leah has four new molars! They came in all at once (a source of lots of tears). She now has 12 teeth, including four incisors (middle teeth) on the top and bottom. Her cuspids have not come in yet, which looks kind of funny to me. (Learn all about teeth here)
3. Leah can give “fives” on command and recently learned how to give hugs!
4. Leah noticed when we put up decorations in our new home after having bare walls for the first few weeks, and pointed at them as if to say “Look Mom, stuff on the walls that didn’t used to be there”
5. We think Leah will be talking soon. She jabbers all the time and Chris got her to say “lights” while pointing at the fixtures overhead. Several months ago, she surprised me by saying her very first word, "Baby," while looking at her reflection in the mirror (how vain!) but Chris wasn't around when she did it so he doesn't believe me.
6. Leah loves to tote around a stuffed animal. Her favorite is a kangaroo called "Ophie" from Grandma Helen. When we gave Leah the middle name Helen, Grandma asked why none of her grandchildren were using her grandmother's name, which was Theophila--Ophie for short. So we gave the kangaroo the honorary name of Ophie.
7. Leah still takes two naps a day and sometimes sleeps until 9am! What a mircale child!

Sorry I haven't put up any new pictures in a while, I just can't find the cord that connects my camera to my computer!