Two Months Old

Samuel--the boy with the smile that makes my heart melt. He's really stingey with those smiles, but when you coax one out of him, it lights up the room.

At his two month well-check he weighed in at 13.5 lbs. and was 24.2 inches long. He still isn't sleeping through the night, but is on a bit of a predictable schedule. He'll sleep for one five hour stretch and then for another two to three hours. I'm able to get about six hours of sleep now, which isn't too bad with a newborn.

On a sad note, phase one of his babyhood is nearly over: I've packed up all of his 0-3 month size clothes, he's moved out of the bassinet into a crib and has moved up to a size 2 diaper. Man, I hate it. I love the little teeny tiny newborn stage, where they will curl up into a little ball and sleep on your chest. I love the little unmistakeable newborn wah-wah wail (Sam's starting to do more of a cry now). I'm just not ready to move on yet!

(Although, that smile does make it much more bearable).

City Parade

We attended our city's annual City Days Parade today. The funny thing about small(ish) town parades is that they're full of small local businesses, city folk and a few firetrucks for good measure. (Sam was not fond of that!) It's always a good time though.

Here we are, waiting for the fun to start:
The girls making a mad dash for candy. Even though it's a small parade, we still somehow accumulate an insane amount of candy by the end of it.
James getting in on the candy collecting action:
The best part about this year's parade, hands down, was watching Josh stroll by with his fellow student council members. He sure had a great time!

The Best Part About Being a Mom

...are the sweet notes and pictures I get every now and then. I came across two from Ally today (she loves to write notes).

This first one was for Mother's Day:

Dear Mom,
How are you? I am fine this morning. I hope your going to have a fun day to day. I will do jobs for you like take care of James. I can bring brekfast up for you. and work in the garden. At church we are going to sing for you. And your #1 mom.
love, Ally

This one was a little tiny note that I thankfully found tucked in her pocket as I was sorting out laundry. It was written the morning Sam was born. I'm glad I found it!

Dear Mom,
Today is a specil day for you! your baby is borne and evry thing is to be bisy today. I love you very much.
from, Ally

She is such a sweetheart! What a lucky mom. :)

Blessed

Joel blessed our precious Samuel at church yesterday. It was such a beautiful blessing. My heart was running over with love and gratitude the entire day yesterday.

We are so blessed to have Samuel in our family. He has the sweetest spirit. He is a perfect addition to our family and I'm so thankful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to love and raise this little boy along with our other wonderful children. This is what life is all about.

Cousins

This is James and little cousin Maggie (just a couple of months older than James) having a good time together after Sam's blessing. It's a lot of fun now that they're getting to an age where they are beginning to enjoy playing together. Cute stuff!