Sam & Amelia

OK, really – ice cream for a 2 year old!?! Who’s idea was that? MIMI!!!!

We got to Baskin Robbins and I sat down with Sam while Mimi finished ordering because he just couldn’t wait to have a bite of his ice cream. I ordered Oreo ice cream for him (one small scoop), orange sherbert for myself and Mimi couldn’t decide on one flavor, so she ordered one scoop of chocolate and one with caramel. Sam had a few bites of his then decided he wanted to trade with me. Then when Mimi sat down, he wanted to trade up! That boy ate both of her scoops, plus half of mine and his! He definitely loves ice cream – just like Dad!

Sweet Amelia had a few bites, too!

Sam loves the parachute!

Mom came back from her girl’s weekend with lots of new clothes and spring accessories for the kiddos! We didn’t get around to trying on the clothes that she bought, but had fun with the accessories!

You can expect to see us around town and around the pool sporting our new shades and flip flops, as soon as the weather gets warmer.

Sweet Amelia, it seems you’ve grown up overnight! You’re sitting up so well and reaching for toys to play with, sometimes so far that you end up on your belly! Sam’s not too fond of your new ability to play with “his” toys, but he’ll love having you as a playmate before too long. You love to watch Sam’s every (loud) move and smile when he’s nearby. (Most of the time – see picture #2)

We’re trying to feed you baby food twice a day now, but sometimes we’re just not home enough. You’re eating sweet peas, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes and fresh avocado, bananas and apples. You wake up once at night to nurse around 3 or 4, then go back to sleep until 7 or 8am. Sam loves to help me get you up in the mornings. He wants to sit in your crib with you and play. You just lay there and smile or I’ll sit you up and you just take in his every move! It’s so sweet!

You’ve been turning over during the night and getting stuck on your belly. Sometimes you unswaddle yourself in the process and sometimes not. I usually have to come roll you over because you don’t like being on your belly much. Makes me think I should let you play on the floor more during the day, so I can see your moves. You seem to be the happiest when I’m holding you – so I do!!! 🙂

Your last doctor’s appointment went well, except for some tears after your shots! You were 5 1/2 months and weighed 14 lb, 12 oz (50th %) and were 26 1/4 in long (75%).

We love you, Sweet Girl!

December in review! It was so busy, I just now feel like I’m catching up and we’re getting back into our schedule.

We started the month with an unexpected trip to NYC. Is this the start of a Sproles family tradition? I can only hope! This was our 2nd year in a row to go to NYC during Christmas, but this time we went without the kids. Of course, we missed them and when I saw one of Sam’s friends on the street I had to stop and get a picture. Elmo’s silly face is on all of Sam’s diapers and when he’s about to get in the bath and stripped down to his diaper he’ll say, “Elmo off!” Too cute!

I took the kids to Memphis for one night to visit Robert on a job site. I had been wanting to go to the PB outlet and so this was the perfect time to go! I knew I had to plan something fun for Sam to do while we were there and I found the Fire Museum of Memphis advertised in the hotel’s guest book. Sam loves fire trucks, so I thought it would be perfect. And it was! I thought I’d never get him out of the first room – it was filled with fire truck toys from one man’s collection. The whole museum was neat – I would highly recommend it!

Back in LR, we had to squeeze in pictures with Santa. We headed to the mall with our friends Amy & Lainey and were pleasantly surprised by Sam and Amelia’s reaction to the big man! Sam bent over with his hands on his knees and just laughed at Santa when it was our turn to visit with him. He just kept laughing and then let us lift him up on to Santa’s lap. We knew Sam wasn’t familiar with Santa’s mission, so we were prepping him to tell Santa about his favorite toys. And he did, “Truck!” Amelia did great, too – just like sitting on anyone else’s lap!

Sam with his first Christmas present of the season. Thanks Miles!

Sam “helping” Dad wrap presents while Mom is away!

Then we headed to Batesville to spend Christmas with GranGran, PaPa and Aunt Sherry.

Back to LR to celebrate Christmas with the Oklahoma folks: MiMi, Grandpa, Aunt Melissa & Uncle Logan.

After Christmas we decided to visit the Peabody ducks while Grandpa was still in town. Then we caught the trolley for a short ride through downtown LR. That’s where I got the idea for Sam’s 2nd b-day party!

It was a busy, but fun month!

Happy 5 months, Sweet Amelia!

We still haven’t been to the Dr. for your 4 month check-up, so I don’t have any stats to report, but I do know that you’re growing! Long and skinny! I had to reschedule your appt when we went to NYC, so we have to wait until the middle of January now.

You are putting everything in your mouth these days – your hands, my fingers, toys, and pacis. You can bring toys to your mouth and can put your paci back in after you’ve pulled it out! There were a few weeks where you were good at pulling it out of your mouth, but couldn’t quite get it back in. You’ve been “eyeing” our food during meals and will follow it from the plate to someone’s mouth. You are more interested in that yummy rice cereal now, than you were 2 weeks ago. I should be giving it to you several times a day, but things were pretty hectic during the holidays. Now that things have settled down, I will probably start you on veggies soon. You’re nursing every 3-4 hours, which is a huge change from your previous 2-hour schedule! You still get up once or twice during the night to eat.

You’ve figured out how to roll over and did it 4 times today – front to back and back to front! I even caught it on tape (er, digitally). You are held a lot during the day, so I’m especially proud of you for rolling over this early. You are able to sit up for a few seconds by yourself now, too. You like to play with your toes, but I haven’t caught you nibbling on them yet. I’m sure that’s just around the corner. You are so interested in what Sam is doing and smile at him a lot. He loves to give you kisses and occasionally will give you toys. He will pat you on the tummy and say, “OK, Ya-Ya” if I can’t get to you right away when you are upset. It’s so sweet! You two are going to be great friends and playmates before too long. Alex and Jinx have recently let you pet them and that always makes you smile. It’s so cute to see your tiny hand pet their soft fur.

My favorite recent development is that you’re taking pretty consistent naps during the day. You like to go down around 9am and then again during lunch for about an hour at a time. Your afternoon nap still varies a lot, but you always take one! You fall asleep in the car a lot, but don’t always stay asleep for very long. You have been a wonderful traveler on several 2-hour trips to Batesville and Memphis.

We love you, sweet girl!

Today was a lazy day at home. Sam work up around 7:30 with wild and crazy hair!

We played, read books, and ate breakfast before Amelia work up at 8am. Then we just played some more – drawing trucks, trailers and apples on the MagnaDoodle, putting magnets on the fridge, watching Curious George, pulling baskets up and down the hall (occasionally giving Alex a ride). Sam “helped” me wrap presents while Amelia took a morning nap. And by help, I mean he dumped the contents of the trashcan out onto the floor, played with Scotch tape and jumped on the air mattress in the spare room. He helped me carry the presents upstairs and placed them under the tree. As soon as we were done with that he ran to his room (on a mission) and pointed to his basket of diapers. I handed him a diaper and he ran to his new Curious George monkey (thanks Miles!) and started to wrap it around him. Don’t know why he needed a diaper all of a sudden – he had been in our house for about 36 hours, diaperless, and all was well….

The kids stayed in their pajamas today! I briefly thought about going to storytime, but it was just too cold to get out! We spent the rest of the day playing and doing laundry. I gave Amelia more rice cereal today and she actually swallowed a few bites. She still makes faces and pushes some out with her tongue, but I think we’re making progress. Sam always wants to eat her rice cereal – that boy will eat anything!

Sweet Amelia,
It’s hard to believe you’re 4 months old already. Do I say that every month? (probably) Yesterday was a big day for you – I’ve been encouraging you to hit a few milestones before your daddy and I leave for a trip to NYC! I’m already nervous about leaving you, and know I would be crushed if you 1) rolled over, 2) cut a tooth, or 3) slept through the night while I’m gone. I know you’ll be in good hands with GranGran, Papa, then Mimi and Great Aunt Linda, and they would probably be ecstatic if you slept through the night – not so much if you cut a tooth! Back to yesterday – you rolled over for the first time. We were playing in Sam’s room and you were on your tummy and rolled onto your side several times, then went all the way over! I grabbed the video camera, but you wouldn’t do it again. That’s OK – I’m sure you’ll do it again soon!

I gave you some your first taste of rice cereal yesterday while Sam was sleeping! I’m not sure you liked it – although you kept the first 2 bites in your mouth and swallowed them. The third bite came right back out and I didn’t give you any more. I was laughing pretty hard at your expressions.

There’s more. We decided to give you your first bottle of formula yesterday, too! It wasn’t intentional for us to make 2 changes in your diet on one day. You didn’t seem to notice anything was different. Your daddy gave you the bottle and you fell asleep after 2 ounces. I’m glad it went well and I won’t have to worry so much about you eating while I’m gone.

Sweet Amelia,
This is a couple of weeks late, but I wanted to write down what you’ve been doing at this age. You have found your hands! You love to put your fist in your mouth and taste all of your fingers! You’re able to grasp and hold on to your toys and paci. You wake up most nights around 1am and 6am. You’re usually ready to start the day by 7am and call it quits about 7:30pm. I think we’re really close to consolidating your sleep into 2 daytime naps. The timing varies from day to day, but we are making progress. We’re on the go a lot, so you take most of your naps in the car seat these days.

You are generally a very happy baby. You love to smile when people talk to you and will occasionally giggle! You like to kick back on your play mat and watch Sam’s every move! You’re not too sure about the Bumbo, though. You like to sit up and see what’s going on, but it’s a lot of work to steady that head.

Your hair is falling out and is not as dark as when you were born. I’ve been accessorizing your outfits with bows lately, which is a lot of fun for me! You don’t seem to mind it. Maybe that will cut back on some of the “it’s a boy?” questions/comments.

You’re just a joy to be around. Sam asks for you every morning when he wakes up. “Me-ya?” or “Ya-Ya?” He loves to crawl in your crib with you and watch you!
Love you, sweet girl!