..and he's off!

Samuel is getting brave! He's walking with one hand on the couch or the other day he was walking while holding on to my hand. Some people are encouraging Samuel to just get up and walk. These are not people who live in this house or would otherwise have to chase Samuel around the house/church/grocery store/neighborhood..whatever place would apply. But he has been standing up while leaning against the couch, face out, and it really won't be too much longer.


Last week I accidentally erased the video of him walking with his tractor. I was able to get new video of that yesterday and am posting it before I erase it this time! This is 2 minutes of him going back and forth with his tractor. He will do this for a lot longer than 2 minutes. He goes and when he can't go straight anymore, he walks to the other side and goes backward. Back and forth, back and forth.



Last time I wrote about when I dropped Samuel at Miss Amy's, I said he couldn't have cared less that I was leaving. This past Friday I dropped him off and he actually waved to me as I was walking out the door. Next week I am expecting him to get out of the car and carry his own stuff in and say, "Please mom, you don't have to come in." And then the week after that he will be driving himself there.

He's mad because I won't let him have the camera. I should just give it to him and let him finish destroying it. The buttons have somehow gotten sticky and now I have a rough time turning the silly thing on. Thankfully, Costco has some on sale now...

Still mad...If you read lips, you may be able to tell he is saying something like "nooooooo" or whining something similar.


We are getting ready to go to Maryland for Thanksgiving! Samuel and I are very excited to see all the family that will be there. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures of Samuel bundled up for the cold. That will be fun!

I just realized that he's wearing the same thing in all these pictures. It's not because he doesn't have clothes to wear, but they were all taken Saturday morning, just before breakfast. We really do change his clothes.

Signing out...

Year in review-Thanksgiving

It's hard to believe it's been a year. For over a year now, Samuel has had enzymes with every meal. That's a lot of pills! He's had vitamins everyday. He's had breathing treatments most of those days. He's such a trooper, but to him, he doesn't know that other kids don't do that. He's been really getting into his breathing treatments. He knows he can't win the fight anymore so he enjoys the silly songs we sing for him. When he sees the mask, he actually puts it up to his face for a few seconds. How fabulous!

In the past year, Samuel has had it pretty easy, considering what we are up against. He's only struggled with pneumonia once and the constant battle hasn't been anything more than keeping his weight up. He hasn't had one hospital visit or long stay at the emergency room or clinic. All in all, we've been very blessed. He is a very happy boy who loves just that: being a boy. He likes to get dirty, be in control and not sleep. He really enjoys getting into news things (i.e. trouble) and climbing the stairs to go back down them. When I look at him sleeping in his bed, it's amazing how big he is getting! I am so blessed and have so much to be thankful for.

So, what's Samuel been up to? Well, some people would like you to think he was the one who coordinated the jail break yesterday, but he told me he was trying to stop it. Miss Amy had the windows open and turned the corner to see one and a half kids out the window with Samuel holding on to the legs of the one who was on his way out. Like I said, he told me he was trying to pull him back in, but you can believe who you would like.

The high chair must be a comfortable place. When he can't even stay awake for some chicken nuggets then he must be extremely worn out.




The other day I had some great video of Samuel scooting around with his tractor. Then I went to a baby shower and was deleting old pictures and deleted the video without uploading it first! So, I have to record him doing that again soon and get it up. He looks like a little old man walking along. It's great!

We had Samuel's first year portraits taken. They turned out great! Here are just a few:



He likes high hair, just like his mommy! :)


The first pose in this collection (above)...can you see the mischief in his eyes?


We love Samuel!

A Year Ago, Today...

On this day, one year ago, Samuel had his sweat test. I was a nervous new mom and Samuel was a sweet little, itty-bitty, baby.

He's a little boy

Wow! It seems like since Samuel's birthday his personality is developing so fast! In addition to walking, with the help of his John Deere tractor, he is really starting to test the waters.

While I've been working with him to learn the sign for "finished", he will only sign that he is finished when I ask him. And I can usually tell when he is finished because he starts throwing his food in the floor. Cute at home because Lucy is eager to be on the clean-up crew, but obnoxious at a restaurant or friend's house. That being said, Sunday morning he was eating pancakes for breakfast. While he was eating, I was making a pot of coffee for myself. (Yes, a pot). I looked over to see him throw a piece of pancake overboard and then watch Lucy gobble it up. Just as he was reaching for another piece, I said to him, "Samuel, don't throw your food on the floor." He looked at me, and while making eye contact, dropped another piece over the other side. He is such a stinker!

This is his latest discovery:


He is also doing just great at Miss Amy's house. Kevin has been dropping him off more frequently that I have but I had a turn last Friday. He was so eager to play, he couldn't have cared less when it was time for me to leave. On my way to work, I called Kevin and said "He's supposed to cry when I leave! It's supposed to be harder than this!" We both knew he would adjust well, just not THIS well! :)

He has so much fun at Miss Amy's, playing and doing a daily project. I have Samuel's project on the wall in my kitchen. Soon, we won't need to paint or buy any expensive art to hang on the walls since they will be covered with Samuel's handprint turkeys, trees, pumpkins, or whatever else he is working on that day. He is so busy there, he only has time for 1 nap. Sometimes, it comes a little early. Poor guy... Kevin and I don't know whose kid this is as neither of us ever remember falling asleep while being served a meal. ;)

Kevin and I are bracing ourselves for a big growth spurt. Samuel has had a cold for the past few days and didn't sleep well Sunday night. THEN, he only had a short nap on Monday. Knowing this, we let him take a little nap that evening, starting around 6:30 or so. By 8:30 we were wondering if we should wake him up. We took our chances (after I said I would be the one to get up with him if he woke up fully rested at 2:00 am) and let him sleep on. He woke up at 3:00 am, looking for a binky. Once that was recovered, he went right back to sleep. At 7:45 Tuesday morning he finally was ready to get out of bed. Both Kevin and I were shocked that he slept that long but know when that happens, he's getting ready to grow.

Not sure if I mentioned it before, but Samuel is on a new milk now, Nutren Jr. An 8 oz. can is 250 calories. And he's supposed to have 3 cans a day. Is it any wonder he's starting to get that second chin back? It's great! Maybe we can get his weight up in the same percentile as his head (the 90th)!

Thanks for checking in. More updates soon, I promise.