Happy 1st Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day, Rich. You are such a wonderful Daddy. Sam and I are both so lucky to have you. We love you more than you know.


Also, I wanted to say Happy Father's Day to my daddy. I love you and miss you everyday.

Sam and a couple of his friends :)

Samuel is getting to be such a big boy! He is doing an excellent job at sitting up! He can sit up all by himself for a few seconds at a time. I think by the end of the month he will be a pro!

Here he is with his friend Señor Ricardo. Named after his daddy of course.






And here here he is with his best friend Oliver.


And here he is with his other BFF, mommy:)

9 1/2 hours!!

For the past 3 nights Sam has slept 9 1/2 hours! I am so glad he is getting some really good sleep. He is doing great with naps, too. He takes his first two naps everyday! The late afternoon nap is still a struggle but I can live with him taking just the first two for now. I can already see an imporvment in his mood.



This picture cracks me up. Doesn't he look like a bully here? Like a tough guy? Don't let it fool you. He is the sweetest little thing ever.

Oh, and he loves his jumper!!

Samuel, 4 months

I can't believe my baby is 4 months already! We just brought him home!

We had his 4 month shots yesterday. He actually did okay. He cried for a second and then got over it. He is my tough little boy.




He weighs 16.13! Nearly 17 lbs! He is now in the 85% in weight and in 59% for height at 25". He is in the 69% for head circumference. Rich is so proud. He says it's because he is going to have a big brain like his daddy :)

I also talked to the doctor about his fussiness and his lack of napping. I told him how we have been sleep training and he said that we are doing exactly what we need to. He said we just need to give it some time and Samuel will fall into a routine. He wants to see us back in 2 weeks to see where we are with the napping and to see if his fussiness improves.

I think by the time we go back to the doctor things will be much, much better. Yesterday Sam did really well with napping and he went right down this morning for his morning nap. So I think he just needed some time to adjust.

After his nap this morning we are going to Babies R Us and getting him a jumperoo activity station. He loves to 'stand'. He gets so pleased with himself. I think it makes him feel like a big boy. I think he will love something that will let him stand and jump and play.

It was last Memorial Day (May 28) that I found out I was pregnant. It's one of my very, very favorite and most cherished memories. We had been in the adoption process for over 2 years with no success and we had been trying to get pregnant for months. I was convinced we wouldn't be able to get pregnant without some medical intervention, so when I saw "Pregnant" on that little stick, I was in shock. One of the greatest days ever.



A year later and we are so blessed.

Hope everyone has a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend!

Under Construction!

Have I mentioned that we bought a house? Actually right now it's just a lot. We bought new construction here in Bellevue. Hooray! They poured the footer yesterday and construction has officially started! The target close date is September 25! We are so excited! I expected this process to be a lot more stressful than it has been. So far it's just been fun and exciting!

We have Sam's 4 month well baby check up tomorrow. I am anxious to talk to the doctor and get his suggestions on sleep training during the day. We actually have continued on with what we started and he has had some really, really awesome days and some really, really bad days. But we just started and he is still learning so I guess that is to be expected. He is a smart little guy so I am sure he'll get it. In fact he has been napping, in his crib, for about an hour now!



Isn't he so cute? He looks like such a big boy in this picture! This was taken right before one of our afternoon strolls. The weather has been beautiful the past few days and we have taken advantage!

Sam might be ready but I am not

I don't know if I can do this.

Today was especially hard. 10 x worst than yesterday. Sam finally conked out at 2:15...in his swing. One of the places we don't want him to nap. He slept 3.75 hours. I woke him at 6, bathed him, fed him and put him to bed at 6:40. He went right to sleep without a peep. Poor guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTEY20kL6yc This link takes you to a you tube video of a mother sleep training her daughter. The mother in this video is handling the whole let them cry it out thing much better than I do.

I think I might consult with his doctor again before I continue. It's through consistency that babies learn and right now I am not able to commit 100%. I just need more positive reinforcement from his doctor to be positive that I am doing the right thing. Once his doctor gives me the go ahead I think I will feel better about it. I just need that extra reassurance. May 22nd can't get here soon enough.

Sleep training, Day 1

May 14

Ugh. Yesterday was SO hard.

Sam woke up at 6:30.

He was ready for his first nap by 8:00. He cried for about 20 minutes and woke up crying at 9:15.

Second try at a nap was at 10:45. He cried until 11:15. He then woke up at 11:55.

Third try was at 2:10. He cried until 2:40 but then slept until 3:40.

He was exhausted and extremely fussy so he went down for bed at 6:00. He cried for 40 minutes which is not the norm. He usually goes to bed without any crying, and if he does cry it is only for a few minutes.

He woke to eat at 12 am. Went down without any crying and slept until 3:30 when I got him up to feed him again. He was back in his crib by 4:00 and started crying at 4:15.

He woke to start his day at 6 am.

So yesterday he got about 2 1/2 hours of day time sleep. I don't think he got good, restorative sleep last night either. I don't think that even comes close to what he needs. Especially with his night time sleep being so fragmented. He needs good, long, consolidated sleep. I think he is chronically tired and that is why we are where we are now.

This is so hard. I HATE hearing my poor, sweet boy cry. I just want to pick him up and hold him. I just don't know what else to do. I pray that this is the right thing to do and it works soon.