4 Months

Hard to believe that Samuel is already 4.5 months old! He got a good report at his doctor's appointment this week. He weighs 14.5 pounds and is 25 inches long, which moves him into the 50th percentile. Look at those chubby cheeks! Samuel is a very happy baby (except when you are trying to put him down to sleep). He gives us lots of smiles and laughs and loves to cover mommy's face with slobbery kisses. Everything is going into his mouth these days so we always have a teether handy. He stands on our laps with assistance from us and is starting to try and sit on his own. Samuel has also figured out how to use his legs to scoot around while laying on his back. We often find him in different positions in his crib than how we left him. He is just such a joy and we are loving every day with him.

Heat Wave

This past Monday it was 90 degrees so we decided to take Samuel for his first swim in Grandma and Pap Pap Galand's pool. It wasn't a good day to go since he was cranky from his shots...but we did manage to get a few smiles out of him. Since he can't wear sunscreen yet, it is a lot of work keeping him out of the sun. We bought this little crab float to put him in but of course it is too big for him so he has to be held up in it! My great uncle bought that pool for me when I was a teenager and it is so neat to be swimming in it all these years later with my baby. Thanks Dad for all of your hard work in maintaining the pool all of these years, we so appreciate it!

New Job

Well, it's official! I went into work today to tender my resignation effective July 1st (I am still on maternity leave until then). I am so excited to be a stay-at-home mom and look forward to spending my days having fun with my little man. As one of my co-workers said "I took a better job" and isn't that the truth! I am looking forward to this new chapter in my life...stay tuned!

Small Update

Just wanted to put up some new pictures of Samuel. He is 17 weeks today...he is officially 4 months on Friday! I will do his every two month photo shoot this weekend. Here he is in his safari outfit getting ready to leave for the zoo.


This is Samuel in his exersaucer...he started crying one second after I took this picture. He loves to play in it with Dad, but cries for me. Can't figure that one out...

Samuel and his Grandma. This is the first time I got a picture of the two of them since he was born. Sorry Mom! Notice how his hand is in his mouth...he puts everything in his mouth these days. When I am holding him, he attacks my face and tries to suck on my cheek, chin and nose. It is really funny...and messy!

Unwanted Advice

So I have heard lots of stories about new mothers getting unwanted advice or scolding from complete strangers, but I never thought it would happen to me. Well, today it did! Luke and I were enjoying a light breakfast at Panera and Samuel was strapped in his car seat and in the stroller. He was sleeping in the car and had just woken up once we sat down to eat. This older lady came over to admire him and then proceeded to tell us to pick our son up out of the car seat. She said that she hated to see any human being "tied down". I just looked at Luke because I wasn't sure I heard her correctly. We tried to explain to her that he was just sleeping, he is strapped in his car seat for safety reasons and that we hold our son all of the time. That wasn't good enough for her and she kept telling us to pick him up and hold him because it is so important. We were both shocked and didn't know what to say. Once she left I almost burst into tears because she made me feel like such a negligent mother. I quickly came to my senses and realized we had done nothing wrong and Samuel was fine sitting strapped in his car seat! That boy is given so much love and attention by us and that woman was so insensitive to say something to us when she had no idea what kind of parents we are. I mean, don't we already feel guilty as parents over the little things that we do or don't do for our children?! I expected that someone might say something to me about nursing in public or about forgetting to put shoes or socks on Samuel for church...but letting him stay strapped in his car seat?! Crazy! Anyone else have a run in with a stranger who critiqued your parenting?

Bumbo Seat and Memorial Day

Samuel is getting to be such a big boy. He loves to sit up and talk to his Mommy and he even laughs at me when I make noises at him. He is also hard to hold onto these days as he loves to kick his legs and flail his arms about. When he lays on his play mat, he kicks his feet so he scoots up the mat. Everyday he spends some time sitting in his bumbo seat and I am going to put together his exersaucer this week since I think he will love playing with all of those fun toys in a standing/sitting position. I can't believe how quickly he is growing.

Today, I got to spend some time out in the yard planting flowers as Luke watched Samuel for me. It was so nice to spend some time outside and get my hands dirty planting. I really love flowers but this year I wasn't sure how I was going to get any of it done with Samuel to care for. Thankfully my father-in-law came down to help me and we got so much done, what a help he was! The flower beds look wonderful and it should be a little more low maintenance for me for years to come. Now all we need is a baby pool and we're ready for summer!

Just another day

Sometimes Samuel is cranky. This past week he has been having a few of those cranky moments quite often (I tell myself it is a growth spurt). Lately he has required a lot of my attention as he is becoming more aware of his surroundings and is sleeping less during the day (thankfully he sleeps a lot during the night). He sure does like to be entertained and is going through a phase of not liking his play mat which used to be his favorite activity. This has required some creativity on my part on how to entertain him! I have also realized the need to spend some time in prayer and the Bible everyday in order to equip myself with the patience to be the loving, attentive mom that he needs. I am thankful that God doesn't leave me to rely solely on myself during this new season of my life. His mercies are new every morning! Even though some days are hard, the smiles and laughs that Samuel gives me makes them all worthwhile. I am his whole world right now and I am cherishing every minute of it.