A day In The Park

Reading In The Tub

I Don't Need No Stinkin Baby Tub!

Wake Up Daddy

Wake Up Daddy

Tippy Toes

He Doesn't Feel Good

Mommy And Me

Sweet Dreams

Okay, confession, I am guilty of using cheerios and puffs as a babysitter for Samuel while I accomplish things around the house.

Family Picture

We had trouble knowing which camera to look at.

9 Months Old!

9 months old and you woke up with a rash, runny nose and cough :o). But we are pros now, so all should be fine. Started the breathing treatments today. Your rash is eczema at least that is what the doctor said on Monday. The above picture was at the request of your great grandma. She said when you turned 9 months old she wanted a picture of you in your diaper....sorry about the rash. But as I took the pictures it hit me, you are getting bigger! I mean like taller and really mobile. I can only be thankful that I have probably took a picture everyday of your life so far, so when I miss something I can just look back. But that still doesn't make it better, I can't help but miss the times when you would just let me hold you and didn't care to play or roll.

You aren't crawling yet, which what I have been told his a good thing but you are still rolling. As I see it, why crawl when you can roll. You LOVE gerber puffs. We can not even give them to you before you have your real "food" because you won't eat your real "food". You laugh all the time, what is the current thing that makes you crack up. Mommy yawning. And, actually I do that a lot. This week I started to teach you sign language. Only one word right now, "more". I chose "more" because you think the way you say "more" is to scream at me and open your mouth. So I do the sign for more and say it. Tonight you started smiling when I did it so I think you may get it. We are going to take a class. Your Aunt Jode thinks I am crazy, ok I am a little crazy. But maybe you can meet some friends and you and the other babies can quietly sign together while me and the Mommies exchange stories and drink coffee. Ok, I think we can agree with Aunt Jode. I am crazy.

You are doing wonderful with your helmet. I can see improvement so I don't think you will be in it too long. You look super cute in it. And is actually kind of useful. Like when you roll on the tile or dive head first off of your dad's lap.

When you aren't eating puffs, you are still eating stage 2 foods. You aren't really into stage 3 (they really are kind of yucky). You also eat a little of what we have for dinner. Like pork or pancakes. Tonight we had nachos and you didn't have any. According to the paper from doctor you can't have chips until you are 1 year old.

It is hard to believe that in just 3 months you will be one. I really need to get started on planning that party :o).

We love you SOOOOO much. You would not believe how much you alone can make Mommy and Daddy so happy. We even fight over who gets to hold you :o).

Easter Weekend

Wee!

Leave it to Grandma to give Samuel a lime...no it didn't follow tequila!

First Easter Basket

Cousins!

Samuel and his Great Grandma!

Samuel had a great first Easter! He got to visit Grandma and Grandpa Ciarrocchi and he got to meet his Great Grandma and Pops from Florida, his cousins Kala, Alena and Drew, and Uncle Andy and Aunt Jode. We all had a great time. Here are a few pictures...

I Shall Leave You With A Pancake

Pancake no syrup..yuck...pancake with syrup...YUM.

I hope everyone has a great Easter! We are heading to Grandma and Grandpa's in Texas! Samuel gets to meet his Uncle Andy and family and His Great Grandma and Pops!

Helmet Break

We are all adjusting to helmet life. Samuel only got us to take off one night..and that is because he wouldn't stop screaming. The second I took it off he was asleep. He gets an hour a day that we take it off to wash it. He went to OKC with Dad today for an adjustment already. Apparently his head grew since last week so they had to shave some parts on the helmet. It was rubbing his skin. I think his head already looks better! Today at daycare Samuel had a great time falling backwards and hitting his head on the floor. They said he laughed so hard every time he did it. Oh Samuel....anything to make the ladies laugh.

Grump

What?

I think the sweet potatoes won.

I feel great! I just walked 3 miles for American Heart Association. I thought this can jump start my diet. But then I remembered I was going out for Mexican with the girls tonight..oh well maybe next year.

I also watched for the first time the Notebook. And OMG if that isn't true love what is? I am total sap now. I had to go hug Dave after I watched it.

No Toast

click here for no toast

Bam Bam Bam

So, I went to pick up Samuel today and they said he was so happy. His teacher also said since he got his tubes he is like a new baby! I then asked, well how did he do with his helmet? She told me that Samuel really likes his helmet and that he head butts everything. He even started headbutting a little boy that was laying on the floor!! She had to tell me how hard it is to tell a baby no and not laugh because what he is doing is hilarious. OH I wish I could of seen that. Apparently this baby cries a lot so Samuel probably just wanted him to stop.

That made me laugh so hard I had tears.

I also laughed so hard I had tears when I realize I accidentally emailed my friends and family 131 pictures of Samuel, when I only met to send like 10! The first line of the email was here are a "few" pictures. I am so embarrassed. But it is kind of funny.

Well it is 6:30 and Samuel is already asleep. I am going to go enjoy my evening.

This Was Too Easy

Ok, Samuel is spoiling US. Did Samuel care today when he suddenly had this big plastic helmet on his head? No. Not a bit. The boy has barely even touched it. Needless to say this has made this whole process even easier on us because he doesn't care. I think we are in for it when baby number 2 comes along (NO there is not currently a baby number 2 on the way), we surely couldn't be blessed with two low maintenance babies. I mean after all one would have to take after Mommy :o).

In case your curious, here is a website that gives more detail on what is going on with Samuel's head. This is nothing I knew about and while most babies will not ever go through this, some will and we should know more about it. It has become even more common now that babies are put on their backs to sleep.

http://www.plagiocephaly.org/

I Needed The Helmet Tonight

Well I am not use to a curious baby. I did fine when the only way he could get around was by me picking him up. Last week it started with the bouncy chair incident..then bottle cap that he almost choked on..then it was the fact I can no longer just leave my shoes laying around (Samuel rolled on over to them and stuck them in his mouth)..but tonight took the cake! When I got home from work I put Samuel in the middle of the bed, like I always do, and went the bathroom. Then I hear a BUMP and a scream and that quickly he rolled off the bed. He was crying, I was crying and we were both a mess. Once Samuel calmed me down I thought everything was okay. And then I saw it on our way out to dinner. The goose egg on the back of his head with a scratch. I don't think he has a concussion. I googled it when I got home and he didn't have the symptoms. He is also very close to crawling (yes just like he is very close to getting a tooth). My guess will be by Easter.

So, now that he is a curious mobile baby, I see the good in the helmet. Not only will it fix the shape of his head..it will protect while he is in that clumsy age of exploring the world.

Stay tuned, tomorrow we get the helmet. And you know pictures will be posted!

No Tears...

Does this look like a baby who just had surgery??

Tubes are in and baby is happy. Samuel was a trooper! We got to the hospital at 6:00 AM and surgery was at 7:15 AM, we were home by 8:45 AM. All the nurses loved him. It was such an easy procedure I don't even have any good stories! He came home, played for awhile and now is napping. It is a rainy day so kind of nice to be home. I have a few movies to watch. I would bake something...but have no eggs...or any desire to take Samuel out in the rain.

9 Month Stats (a few weeks early)

I am not quite sure how Samuel's 9 month appointment ended up a few weeks before he actually turned 9 months..but here are the stats.

Weight: 19 lbs 14.5 oz 50%
Height: 28 inches 50%
Head: 45 cm 50%

Tomorrow is Samuel's surgery to get the tubes in his ears. Keep him in your thoughts!

Reading Magazine

Going to visit Grandma and Grandpa Ciarrocchi in a few weeks, can't wait to read their magazines too!

Enjoying A Spring Day With Daddy!

#5

That is what number ear infections we are on. No antibiotics this time. Why, is 4 different ones in 3 months too many? I think what I will do is just go ahead and schedule an appointment for every Monday and then cancel them as needed. It seems like that is a solution. That way we don't have to call and schedule one. Next week is already on the books, it is the 9 month check up. But I did have a Mommy bonding moment in the waiting room. I heard a Mommy say "I feel like I should live here". I said I feel the same way. She then told me about how much work she feels like she is missing from appointments and how her and her husband have to alternate missing work. I am pretty sure we both felt better knowing it isn't just us.

So, I thought to help with the ear pain I would have you sleep in your bouncy chair. Great idea right? I mean surely you aren't too big for it. It wasn't like we couldn't strap you in (okay we couldn't). It wasn't like you roll from one side of the room to the other daily (okay you do that too). So why 2 minutes after we put you to bed were you crying? Oh, because you rolled OUT of the bouncy chair and you were wedged between the bouncy chair and the edge of your crib. We were thankful you didn't fall out of the crib! Parents of the year award right here.

You slept much better after we took you out of the bouncy chair.

Conversation With Samuel

click here

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Samuel was a little disappointed that his bottle was not full of green beer!

Big Day

Today was a busy day...it all began at about 6:15 when we hit the road for Oklahoma City. This morning was Samuel's first appointment to get started on correcting his little head misshapen. What is the misshapen you ask? Well, when Samuel was a lot smaller (I was going to say a baby but he still is a baby) he favored looking to the right all the time. We started to notice at about 3-4 months that his head was a lot flatter on one side. Dr. Sood kept saying more tummy time Mommy....but my little Samuel didn't like tummy time! When Samuel was about 4 months old we started physical therapy to see if we could correct the shape of his head by changing positions. Samuel had fun at each visit, but unfortunately we were not able to get the shape corrected. So..that is what brought us to Oklahoma City today. Samuel had a mold made of his head and they are making him his very own "helmet". The helmet is going to help take pressure off of one side and put pressure on the other. The entire process will take about 3-6 months. But given the history of baldness on both sides of the family we decided this was well worth it. In fact it doesn't even bother the babies. And to prepare him they suggested Samuel start wearing a hat to get use to it, thus the above picture. And the hat stayed on for about as long as it took to take the picture. Dave asked if it was going to make his hair stop growing or go bald in spots and they said it actually stimulates growth. So we are considering helmet therapy for Dave too.

And if that wasn't enough excitement Samuel also went to the Ear Nose and Throat doctor to meet him. The doctor agreed with Dr. Sood and we are going to have them put tubes in Samuel's ears. He said the entire procedure takes about 15 minutes. So that should be quick and painless. It will help reduce all his ear infections...4 in 3 months was a bit much for all of us.

Samuel you can never say your first year of life was boring! It certainly has been an eventful one. But through it all you are still classified by all you meet as a "very happy baby". Oh and last night you were AGAIN called the "Gerber Baby". These people give your Mommy such a big head.

Yumm!

8 Months-Short and Simple

All I can say is you are one happy 8 month old! And in 4 months you will be 1 year old. I can't believe it. I just can't!

Love you Sam Sam!
(you may not realize it but all of the following are your name-Samuel, Sam Sam, Buddy,Boogs, Booga, Burger, Boogy Boogs and whatever else comes to mind)

Just Curious..

As to why Samuel's school said I needed to pick him up and he has been fine since we got home and I missed work AGAIN.

"Ma Ma"

This morning you were crying for us to come get you...but we were tired. But then I heard it...."wahhhhh ma ma wahhhhh ma ma". I rushed in to rescue you and the fact that you woke up 20 minutes earlier than usual didn't even matter anymore.

True, this is probably just a new sound you are making and you didn't even realize that I am "ma ma" but I will take it!

Gripes

Well the picture below is about as far as that car seat got. It is so complicated and not user friendly! I am tempted to write a review on it on Babies R Us but I am not sure if "user error" is causing all this grief. Needles to say Dave took it out of his car today and we are back to the infant car seats til the weekend. Oh it just so frustrating! I hate when an object is smarter than me.

Samuel went back to the doctor today, YES again. Saturday night he started acting like he didn't feel good and last night he really didn't. He kept waiving his hand by his ear so I figured his ear hurt. He has another ear infection so that means tubes in the ear. He has just been having a rough winter. We are ready for Samuel to be healthy! I don't think he has gone a week since Christmas with out something.

I can't wait for Thursday night..I am getting spoiled facial, massage and pedicure. Dave is picking up Samuel and I am getting pampered :o).

I Am A Big Boy!

We figured since you were such a big boy and moving to the busy baby room on Monday that it was time for a big boy car seat. This is bittersweet. I am not sure what we will do with you when we go out to eat and you are still sleeping but we will get it figured out. Maybe we will stop going out to eat...HA!

On a side note, care seats are a pain in the A&$ to adjust. Dave cussed at it a few times and left me to figure it out while he dealt with all the new wires that go along with his new TV. I figured it out but broke a nail and have a few cuts on my DRY hands. I guess I do feel like I accomplished something.

Picture Day!!

We joined the smile savers club today since I seem to be obsessed with getting Samuel's pictures done. I can't wait for his one year pictures! I already have a super duper cute idea of what I am going to do!

Dave got a new toy yesterday. A new TV! He was so gitty over it. Honestly, to me a tv is a tv. But to him it is so much more...well I see a new coach purse in my future. Mommy needs a new toy too!

Crazy Hair

To Samuel,

Ok, you went back to daycare today. They said you had a really fun day! You played with the "big kids" again. You just kept rolling back and forth. Because FINALLY you have perfected the roll over. Which works against us because now you don't have to do tummy time, you just roll over to your back. You are also standing so tall! We only have to hold one arm. How proud your Mommy is. Your friend Brooke skipped crawling and went right to walking. Maybe you are going down that road. Who needs to be mobile when Mommy gets you what you want though right? I am working on that.

New food alert. You had a 3 course dinner. It consisted of chicken noodle, carrots, and formula. YUMM! Oh and by the way, we finally got you off the cereal in every bottle. So you are hungry non stop and keep waking up IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT TO EAT. And of course guilt sets in and we feed you. That is so against the rules. Please discontinue these late night snack attacks because we can't keep it up. Tonight we woke you up at 8:00 and gave you a cereal bottle. No waking up tonight!

Well I am tired now....

Wait one more thing. You shake your head no all the time....I wonder if you know what it means? Well now you do it when you suck your lips closed because you don't want medicine. Do you know what shaking your head no means?

How Tall Are You?

Back In Action

Relief! Samuel seems to be over his tummy bug! But we will need to dicuss these early morning wake up calls once I know for sure he is 100% better.

Ups and Downs of Being Sick

Still sick...day 5. Doctor said this should last for 2-10 days. I will meet them half way and take 5 days. Though, I would like to say that I could do this working part time stuff. We have been dividing the days, I work in the mornings and Dave works in the afternoons. Samuel is in pretty good spirits but you can just tell he doesn't feel well. Today he has NO voice. He cries and nothing comes out, which I think makes him even more frusterated.

On a lighter note, I was watching daytime TV and found it quite entertaining that a girl took her ex-friend to court for a breast pump she let her borrowed 3 years ago. I don't know ladies, I never used a pump but I don't know that I would want to use one that has been already used. I am sure it is fine but you know....just couldn't do it.

Have a happy hump day!

What A Sport!

Yes, we were at Urgent Care again last night. What was it this time you ask? Stomach flu, double ear infection and upper respiratory problems. Yesterday consisted of 5 outfit changes, one bed sheet change, and two shots in the leg. What a day! Okay, seriously next winter Samuel's immune system is going to rock! Right? Because that is what he is doing, building his immune system??? I have had a few of my fellow Mommies tell me the first winter is the hardest! Spring where are you?

He is a sport (thus the title). Still smiling and playing. And very cuddly! He has fell asleep with me holding him like 5 times today. Really, that is the best! Because he was at the point that he had to go to bed and stretch out before falling asleep. Very sad for his Mommy.

P.S.
Starting to look more like Daddy, look at those huge eyes!

Happy Valentines Day!

What do you mean I can't eat this?

Happy Valentines Day!
Love,
Samuel

P.S.
My Mommy is my Valentine.

7 Months

Well Burger, you are 7 months old today. My oh my how time flies. You are getting so independent! You can sit play with your toys for a long time now. This makes me happy, because you are sitting on your own and because I don't feel I wasted my money on all those toys you just looked at for about 6 months. My challenge is to make sure you play with each one before you out grow it. You are reaching for everything. Everything we have in our hands you want....remotes, cell phones, soda...You are so happy all the time. You even wake up smiling. You are just too fun. You are still in the infant room at daycare but spend a lot of time in the busy baby room. You love watching them crawl and walk, I bet you even dream about doing it yourself one day. Don't worry it will be soon enough and our house is not even close to being baby proofed so take your time. Listen to your Mommy DON'T BE IN A RUSH TO GROW UP. You are a mommas boy. No doubt. Your face lights up when you see me, don't worry Dad he will soon realize that you will let him get dirty and I won't. Then you will be his favorite. Don't get me wrong fellow readers, he loves his Daddy too! No words yet, which even if you said one would you know what it means?? I don't care really, I am working on getting you to say Da Da. So far you have had the following foods:
carrots (getting old)
peaches (yuck)
sweet potatoes (yum)
applesauce (yum yum)
nanners (yum)

5 more months and you will be a year old. OMG! Can I freeze time?

Love you burger!!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

My Two Faves

Super Duper

I don't want to give you a big head...BUT today at the store a lady said "Oh, now that is a Gerber Baby". Which means she thought you were super duper cute. I already knew you were.

Rubbery Ducky Your The One...

Mommy Night Out

Freezing cold, but no snow or ice stopped us this time!

Good times and great friends! Thanks for helping me celebrate 30! This birthday never ends....almost a month later and still celebrating.

Where Did I Put My Teething Ring?

Smiling At Mommy

Made our weekly visit to the doctor yesterday. The diagnosis this week-ear infection. We did NOT get the antibiotic that turns poop red.

And why is it that when I take him and think I am overreacting there is nothing wrong, there is. When I take him in freaking out because I am positive there is something wrong, there isn't. Hmmmmmmmmmm......