2 Months!

Weighing in at a healthy 11 pounds 10 ounces and 23 1/2 inches long, our little Samuel is in the 50% in both categories. We are happy that he is right in the middle. Everything looked great and he did so good with his shots. I think he did better than me! Ha! I asked the Dr about Babywise and when we could let him just cry it out...he said that Samuel isn't ready. He should start to drop a night feeding on his own very soon and will eventually drop both night feedings. He said that we will be getting 8 hr stretches soon! I can't imagine.... Anyway, enjoy these precious pictures of Sam!

Sweet, happy boy before 3 shots!

Samuel Cade is so big...he's 2 months old! He is truly the light of our lives and I can honestly, finally say...I can't imagine life without him. He just brightens every day that I'm with him. He's great in the mornings and this is when we get the most smiles. He has the most adorable smile! Sweet baby boy, here is what your up to now:

-you love bathtime and are getting much better at getting out

-you love to chew on your hands..and sometimes even find your thumb

-you grunt and coo ALL the time. I can't imagine a time when you are quiet..even while sleeping

-you really have started to enjoy your swing and bouncy seat

-you are in 0-3month clothes and size 1 diapers

-you are hit or miss in the car..sometimes you like it and others you don't

-you never cry anymore when we put you in your car seat

-you sleep roughly 4 hours stretches at night and get fed every 3 hours during the day

-you have started to recognize mommy and daddy and notice when we are not the ones holding you...I love this!

-you can grip toys when we give them to you..but still don't know what to do with them

-you hold your head up like crazy and turn it from side to side very well

-you love your changing table..we could leave you there for so long if it were safe. I swear you get mad at us sometimes when we take you off

-you have proven to be a great traveler

-you really love being in the baby Bjorn

-We love you more than you'll ever know little one!!

An Arkansas Introduction

Samuel and I went to Arkansas on Thursday the 25th of June. It was his first time to meet all of the family..and we had a great time. We got to spend time with just about everyone while we were there. He met his cousins..Claire, Arden, and Amelia and really can't wait to be old enough to play with them someday soon. He met three of his great grandmothers on my side and all of my aunts and cousins. I really think he came out of his shell while we were there. At church on Sunday night, there was fellowship after. It was so great...I didn't even know who had him at one point but I knew he was safe. Such a good feeling...and he did great. Not a tear one! Surprisingly, he slept great in the Pac and Play all week...even going 5 hour stretches while we were there. He definitely was a good boy. We had such a good stay while we were there. We stayed at my mom's house and had all of the comforts of home. I have tons of pictures and posted a lot of them. Thad came up and met us on July 3 and joined in all of the patriotic festivities. We were also lucky enough to get a date night while we were there..dinner and a movie. It was great!! Thanks mom! Stay tuned for more pictures tomorrow...Samuel has his 2 month checkup!

July 4th...mom had a cookout and fireworks. So much fun!

Great nana Georgie and Papa Byron

Big cousin Claire

Aunt Vicki! Vicki babysat one night so mom and I could go shop and get a pedi!!

favorite nap spot...the screened in porch

My college friend CMac!!

Sweet Amelia Brooke and aunt Meredith

Uncle Jason

Sweet Face!

Aunt Ash with her 3 girls

5 Weeks!!

Plain tuckered out after our shopping day!

Go Hogs!!! Our sweet little Razorback fan! Don't worry..he has a Nebraska Cornhuskers onesie as well!!

Lovin' the swing...who knows how long this will last.

What a smile!

Samuel is doing really great! I just can't get enough of him! Of course I'm a little partial..but isn't he the cutest thing you've ever seen? Samuel did wonderful this week. Such an improvement. First of all, he slept in his swing for the first time. In fact, he has never been in the swing without screaming his head off..so I was so pumped when he actually napped in it. I don't care what babywise says...I was lovin' the nap in the swing. He also has been taking a morning nap for about an hour and a half everyday in his crib. This allows me to take a shower, make the bed, etc. We have gone on little adventures everyday this week. Monday was my first outing to Target with him and he did great...no crying at all. Not even in the car! Tuesday we went over to Valerie's house for a few hours then on the Kim's house to do some much needed shopping in uptown. The only meltdown he had was when he was hungry..and momma had to make him wait about 10 mins until we got home. Poor thing!! My good friend Van came over today to "babysit" and let me get out for a couple hours to run some much needed errands. Thanks Van! It was great! He is now sleeping soundly on the couch as a blog. Happy 5 weeks my little love...we are really enjoying you!

I'm 1 month old!!

Very scary monkey!!!

Enough of this mom! The jeans put him over the edge!!

Don't ask what I'm doin!

Precious!!!!!

We can't believe it! Our little sweetie pie is 1 month today. Here is what he's up to:

He loves tummy time and is always lifting his head..especially when he is held on your shoulder.

He just started cooing and ahhing today...I think a smile is on the way.

He hates..and I mean hates getting his clothes changed.

He hates getting out of the bathtub...but still absolutely loves his baths!

He was diagnosed with reflux which breaks my heart..but we now have medicine. Cross your fingers

He is eating every 3 hours...but we are hoping for longer stretches at night soon!

He only knows how to poop one way....Blowout!

He absolutely LOVES his paci...it is a must after eating.

He finally likes riding in the car...but does not like red lights or drive through lines.

He is in love with his daddy!! So precious

He is just now fitting in to some 0-3 month clothes. Hopefully he will eventually make it in to some of the adorable shoes he has for summer.

He is already sleeping in his crib every night. The pack and play never worked for us.

He burps like a champ. You can always get a burp out of him!

We are really enjoying our handsome fella and can't wait until he starts to interact with us. Samuel and I have started getting out almost every day and he seems to like it. I have a lot of stay-at-home mom friends so I have plenty of places to go hang.

Here are his 1 month stats:

weight: 9lbs 10 oz. He gained 1 lb 7 oz in 2weeks. Little chubber!!

length: 21 1/2 inches

Head: 15

New Perspective

Motherhood: oh, no one ever prepared me for this unbelievable journey. I have been so surprised. I remember the day we brought little guy home...we were so excited. We all came in the house together..and just looked around wondering what to do next. Feed, change diaper, rock, kiss, rock, kiss, try to sleep and repeat. Then, the second week came. What a change! Feed, change diaper, rock, kiss, mommy cries, kiss, mommy cries, try to sleep, cry some more, and repeat. Yes, that's right, I said it. Cry! I don't think I was at all ready for this part. Then, the third week came..along with all of the crying. We think Samuel has reflux..and he literally cries all of the time..as well as his mommy. Parenthood is so much harder than I had imagined.

Go back 10 months: I found out I was pregnant. I have never been more excited. I dreamed of my nursery, the baby smell, and the bond that I would have immediately with this new little soul. I remember being so completely overwhelmed with love before I even met him. I read lots of books and prepared for the magical day when we would meet him. I just knew everything would go as planned. Contractions, epidural, lots of phone calls and hanging out, quick pushing and voila...baby would arrive. Breastfeeding would go great..and of course and my baby would be so wonderful and agreeable. Not God's plan

Go back 3 weeks: Labor started on Sunday May 10th. We went to the hospital around 2 am contracting every 3 minutes..but were sent home because I hadn't dilated yet. I labored all night and all of the next day. We returned to the hospital at 7pm on Monday night and we were finally admitted at 10pm. I was informed at 7am on Tuesday that we were having a C-section. After being completely "snowed" by drugs during the surgery, I couldn't even hold my sweet love after the C-section. This continued for about 12-15 hours. Not my plans!

New Perspective: after having Samuel for over 3 weeks now, I realize that our plans aren't always God's plans. I have always known this..but never really experienced it. God threw me some major curve balls..and still is. I never would have guessed I would have a baby with reflux or even worse..maybe colic. I never would have guessed that my baby would cry all day and night unless sleeping or eating. I never would have guessed that I would be so emotional and so overwhelmingly in love..all at the same time. After 3 weeks of feeling so sorry for myself and wondering why..I realize how blessed I really am. God has given me this very special child to love and raise..and he has picked Thad and I out of everyone else to do it. My baby is healthy, not in the NICU, not premature, no major issues and completely precious. So I choose today to stop the complaining. To love this little guy with all that I have..and to make every moment for the next little while about him. To praise my God everyday that he gave me this precious gift. To understand how completely blessed and abundantly loved we really are. Thank you God!

Every day I sing to my sweet Samuel and this song always comes to mind first. I look at his sweet hands, his little ears, his button nose...and think how absolutely amazing God is. I stand in awe of God everyday for this tiny miracle. Here are the lyrics:

You are beautiful beyond description

Too marvelous for words

Too wonderful for comprehension

Like nothing ever seen or heard

Who can grasp your infinite wisdom

Who can fathom the depths of your love

You are beautiful beyond description

Majesty enthroned above

And I stand, I stand, in awe of you

I stand, I stand, in awe of you

Holy God, to whom all praise is due

I stand in awe of you

Thank you Lord for this amazing gift!

3 Weeks Old

Well, it is hard to believe that our little one is 3 weeks old today. I was just saying earlier that I can't believe I've been waking up every 3hours for 3 weeks. I guess I can do this!! At his 2 week appointment he had already gained a full pound weighing in at 8lb 3 oz. He is 21 inches long. Samuel loves to eat and will really let you know when it is time. He throws a complete meltdown if you don't have that bottle ready to go when he's ready. So much like his mommy already! Ha! Thad and I are really enjoying getting to know this little guy and are learning more and more each day. I will definitely say that having a newborn is all about trial and error. It is a lot harder than I had every imagined...but is proving to be very rewarding. Even with all of the sleep deprivation and long, long, long crying sessions...I think we might be figuring each other out. I love being Samuel's mommy!

Still Samuel's favorite place to sleep. He sleeps here almost every night before we put him to bed...think daddy is enjoying it just as much.

First family picture!! Many of you have been asking how are "first borns" are doing with the adjustment. They are doing great...Mac is still a mama's boy and wants to always be with me..and Wrigley could really care less and just wants to sleep. As you can see in the photo, Thad is holding Mac against his will and Wrigs is asleep.

Just too freaking cute to not post!!

Just enjoying some bouncy seat time outside on the patio. Notice the Zoolander face in the first pic. So cute!! We were instructed by the pediatrician to take him outside at least a couple times a day to help with the day/night confusion. The patio is like the baby whisperer...he loves it and it will stop the crying almost instantly. I like to think it is because of my singing...but I'm sure it's really just the nice breeze.

We also experienced our first walk while Nana Karen was here. He loved the walk..but HATED getting in his seat. This first pic is post-meltdown...think the poor little guy just wore himself out. He really enjoyed the walk...and slept in his carrier for almost 2 hours after the walk. Hey..whatever works..no judgement!!

Samuel got his first big boy bath 2 days ago. You can see how he reacted when we decided bath time was over! He got his 2nd bath one day later after the massive blowout he had right before bedtime. The boy loves his baths..but hates getting out. Who can blame him? Please ignore my awful double chin in this pic. Just look at the adorable little babe!

Just a pic with his mommy! I realized that I had only taken 1 picture with him since we have been home.

We are really working on tummy time! Also, as you can see, Samuel would prefer to be in his diaper only. He is so hot natured..just like his daddy!

Lastly, Happy Anniversary to my sweet husband!! I am about a week late on this post but I think I have good reason. I feel like the luckiest wife and mother. Thad has been not only a wonderful husband over the last 4 years but is proving to be such an amazing father. I have not had to go through one part of this pregnancy or delivery without him right by my side. He gets up in the middle of the night...every night...and really takes care of us. He loves me so much...and you should see him love on this baby. Oh my...life is so good! I love you Thad!!