Sam & Amelia

We went to Wild River Country on Wednesday with a group from our church. They have a nice baby play area with swings, slides and fountains all in a 1′ deep pool of water. We did one “big kid” ride before leaving – the lazy river. Sam sat on my lap as we rode together in an inner tube. The water was too shallow for me to comfortably hold on to him in his baby floatie. We played for about 3 hours and were exhausted when we left.

I didn’t get any pictures of us in the water because I was afraid to let go of Sam for a second while I snapped a picture. These are pictures I took during lunch.

I just went to check on Sam after putting him down for a nap 5 minutes ago. I usually check on him several times just to see his sweet face and to make sure he’s not laying on his pacifier.

I was amused and a little shocked when I walked in to see him wide awake with his toes in his mouth! He was thoroughly enjoying his 10 new toys!

These are some pictures that Aunt Melissa took when we were in Tulsa a couple of weeks ago. She is an amazing photographer and we’re so lucky that she takes professional pictures of Sam every time we see her. E-mail me if you want the password to view all the photos of Sam on her website.

Sam,
You are more precious than ever! You are so much fun and are so aware of your surroundings. You take everything in and don’t want to miss anything around you. You love to sit on the front porch swing and watch the cars drive by. You can hear them and start looking for them before they even turn onto our street.

Dad and I took you to your 6 month check-up today with Dr. Sanders. He said you are doing so well. You weigh 19 lbs 7 oz, and are almost 28 inches long. You started giggling when the doctor put the stethoscope on your belly. You had 3 shots today and only cried for about a minute. Dad was a big comfort to you, then you were fine the rest of the day.

I’m still breastfeeding you, plus giving you cereals, fruits and vegetables. Last month we added peaches, squash, plums, apples, oatmeal and mixed grain cereal to your diet. You seem to like everything we give you and usually finish all of it. I’ve even made some baby food for you in the food processor – plums, squash and peaches.

You rolled over once more for Mimi and I on the 4th of July. This time you went from your back to your tummy. You roll to your side a lot when you’re playing, but don’t seem to want to go all the way over! You’re grabbing for everything that is in front of you and are getting very coordinated at picking things up. Sometimes you’d rather have what mom and dad have (cell phone, remote, newspaper, grocery list, bottle/glass of water), instead of your toys. Everything goes straight to your mouth.

Also this month:
you’ve found your toes,
started drinking from a glass (with help),
started petting Jinx when he gets close enough,
learned to clasp your hands together,
and you love to touch faces, hair and jewelry.

I know you’re going to keep learning more and more each month. I can’t wait to see what you learn to do next!
Love you bunches,
Mom

Sam,
“You are such a good baby!” Dad and I find ourselves saying that over and over to you and to each other. An example: Today you sat with me through a 2.5 hour meeting at church and barely made any noise. I fed you a bottle, you played with your duck toy on my lap, then you took a nap in my arms. When you woke up you looked around, then let Chris hold you for the rest of the meeting. You are so happy most of the time, and can be easily soothed when you get upset.

This month’s biggest milestone was you rolling over from your tummy to your back. You’ve only done it once – while Mimi and I were playing with you on the floor. I spent the next 15 minutes recording you with the video camera, but you didn’t didn’t want to roll over again. I’m trying to give you more tummy time each day….you’re getting used to it now, but at first you really didn’t like it!

Solid foods are now a part of your diet – once or twice a day. You really love to watch us eat and have even taken a sip out of my water glass. So far you’ve had rice cereal, green beans, cantaloupe, and carrots.

Your newest trick is blowing raspberries (I’m not sure why it’s called that). You will do it over and over to entertain yourself (and anyone else who’s watching). It’s pretty cute, except when I’m trying to feed you carrots….

You’re getting so much better at reaching for and holding onto your toys. Your hands go where you want them to most of the time. You like to hold onto the arm of whoever is changing your diaper or giving you a bath. You’re so sweet, Sam!

Love you,
Mom

We spent Memorial Day weekend camping with the Petersons and Dupriests. It’s been an annual tradition for them for nearly 20 years, and we joined them for the first time 4 years ago. We had to buy a bigger tent this year to accommodate the pack ‘n play!

We borrowed a baby backpack from the Petersons and took you on two short hikes. On the first hike, you were smiling so big and looking all around at the trees and the lake. I think you already enjoy being outdoors! Our second hike was later that afternoon and you fell asleep with your head resting on the side of the backpack.

You took several long naps on a pallet of blankets because it was too hot to put you in the tent during the day.

We tried to keep you in the shade as much as possible. I covered you with sunscreen and I think that helped keep the mosquitoes away from you, too. We went swimming and gave you a bath to keep cool! Since the campsites had electricity, we also had a box fan blowing on us most of the time! We weren’t truly roughing it…..

We gave you your first solid food this week – rice cereal mixed with apple juice. In the past week you’ve really been watching us when we eat. You didn’t really know what to do with the new texture of the cereal, so you pushed most of it out with your tongue. The second day was a little better, as you opened your mouth when you saw the spoon heading towards your mouth!

We’ll keep trying and in a couple of weeks we’ll move on to veggies. I’ve been reading about making baby food and I think I’d like to give it a try! Maybe not for all of your meals, but at least some of them. We’ll go buy some fresh fruit and veggies from the Farmer’s Market and let you taste some Arkansas-grown produce! Maybe this will encourage mom and dad to eat more veggies, too!

You received a good report from Dr. Sanders at your 4-month check-up! You were “talking” to the doctor while he was giving me advice about sunscreen, upgrading car seats, tummy time and starting solids. You now weight 18 lbs, 2 oz. and are 25.75 inches long. You were not happy after your shots, but I was able to calm you down pretty quickly in the doctor’s office. The rest of the day you had a fever and were feeling pretty bad. It probably didn’t help that you had a little congestion, too.

Sam,
Once again, it’s hard to believe you’re another month older. These past four months have flown by and in the last month you’ve changed the most – being more aware of your surroundings and interacting more with people.

My favorite thing you’ve learned to do is giggle. Dad and I have each heard you laugh once – the first time dad propped you up on the pillows in our bed, while I was in the shower, and you thought it was so funny. I couldn’t believe I missed it! Then last week I had my turn, you and I were swinging on the front porch and Jinx was flopping over on my feet. You let out several hearty laughs when you saw Jinx flop over. Every day we wait for you to do it again, but you must be saving them up for something truly funny!

You’ve discovered your hands! You’re learning that you can use your hands to bring things up to your mouth. You have a duck toy that is very easy for you to grasp and put in your mouth. If that’s not available, you will chew on your bib, burp cloth or even your fist. We think that you might be teething soon because you’re chewing on everything and drooling a lot. You’ve learned to stick your thumb through the loop of your pacifier and pop it out of your mouth, but haven’t mastered putting back in the right way! That makes you upset when your paci comes out, but you never want to let go of it so I can put it back in your mouth! Another cute thing you do: extending your arm straight out and resting your hand on the side of your carrier. We’ve also seen you rest your hand on your knee – it’s too cute! You’re our little man.

You’ve discovered your voice! You like to shriek when your happy and excited! It’s so fun to watch you make noises and then listen to yourself. You like to see how loud you can get and sometimes I think you surprise yourself with you vocal abilities!

We go back to the doctor on Monday for more immunizations. I know you won’t like that, but I am anxious to talk to him about starting you on rice cereal. I initially thought we’d wait until around 6 months to give you solids, but I think you’re ready!

Love you so much,
Mom