Cereal Killer

Mr. Sam tried rice cereal for the first time today .. he was super excited about trying food. Once he had his first taste .. he was straining to get at the spoon.





The mess afterwards ...



Anna and Mommy also had some cereal today in our matching pj's.

Sad Stella

Anna's newest idea is to feed her stuffed Pluto dog. She gets a bowl, shakes Stella food container, and sits Pluto in front of the bowl. When Anna shakes the food .. Stella comes running. For a little fat beagle this might be the cruelest game in the world.

Five Months

I can't believe Sam is already five months old. This past month he has truly started to become more relaxed. He is a lot calmer, smiley, happy .... such a difference from a few short weeks ago. Even when his sister paints all over his head he seems unfazed. Still has a sparkle in his eye. He adores his sister ... is totally into watching her, following her voice.



* Wearing size 3 diapers.

* Clothes are 6-12 months (wearing lots of overalls, his tummy is pretty round and the waistband of his pants sometimes hurts him).

* Still nursing. We are going to start rice cereal in a few days to see how he does.

* We are starting to get some sort of sleep routine going. He cries when we put him down, but it is not the 3 -4 hours that it was taking. He will go to sleep and sleep a 2-3 hour stretch which is great!

* He talks lots and lots - rolling r and g sounds and lots of other different sounds as well. He will make a sound if we aren't looking at him and he wants some attention - I am thinking Sam is the most vocal at this age.

* New car seat

* He's moving and curling from side to side - the beginnings of wanting to roll over and doesn't mind lying on his tummy as long as it's not to long -- and loves it most when Anna will lie across from him so he can watch her face. He forgets about being on his stomach then.

* He's grabbing onto things and will pull toys to him.

* Laugh's. Has one of the sweetest, full body laughs around.

Hop's Bedtime

First he gets a little bath,



then he get washed under his chin,



dried off,



off to bed with a blanket,



and finally a little night time snuggle with his mommy.



When asked why Hop doesn't get a story before bed, Anna's response was "rabbits don't like books."

Mommy I'm So Sorry You Hurt Me ... A Lot

First thing Anna's said to Charles this evening. Yikes!



This morning while pulling up her pants, Anna slipped on the title floor with her socks, slipped out of my hands, and landed on her face. She had quite a bit of blood on her lips (turned into a fat lip by the afternoon) and a little black eye ... totally feel like the worst parent ever.

Then this evening, Anna was bouncing on the bed (while signing the monkey song) and then over jumped. She landed on her face ... big goose egg on her forehead, nose, cheeks, ect ... I do not need more confirmation.

The Room Is Getting Smaller

Anna's has "funny feet" on today.

Another Monday Benefit

When I get home from work on Monday afternoon's it is always fun to hear what Anna, Sam, and Nana were up to for the day. Nana is good about trying new things with Anna, usually stuff that I have not worked on or just hadn't thought of. Today Nana and Anna were practicing making letter shapes. Anna has been telling me that an "A is circle with a tail."



This weekend we were all about the fort.



And if we didn't have a fort set up Stella's kennel worked just great. It was even better when you can share a fort with the baby puppy.

Everyone Likes A Blanket

Anna has been into having her "friends and babies" take naps. And with naps for Anna means .... blankets. She is pretty funny with what she chooses to use washcloths, dish towels, cloth diapers, paper towels, ect.



She has also been pretty excited about playing tea party. I have to warn everyone not to drink the "tea." Her source of water is either the toilet or dog bowl .. yuck.

Update From The Phone

Hey! I found another reason to love my phone ... Thank you Anna for dropping the old one in the potty.

With A "V"

Anna really likes my friend Valerie .. but she still can not get a grasp on how to say her name. She was telling Charles last night that "Balorie is very nice" ... who??? ..."you know Balorie" ... who??? ... "BALORIE, BALORIE, WITH A V!!" I thought it was pretty neat that she knew it was Valerie with a V since I tell her she is Anna with an A.

Inauguration Morning

Anna, Sam, and I watched the inauguration this morning. I would have liked to say that we watched the peaceful transfer of power peacefully; however, some of us were really, really, really mad that Dragon Tails was on at the same time.



I think the new President would be OK with this tantrum. I remember during the campaign process when he ran all the 30 minute advertisements on network TV during prime time and it was reported that his daughters were upset that it might interfere with there television watching and his quote was .. "we didn't advertise on the Disney channel."

Playing With Baby Dolls

Can you find the real baby in this picture?



We are trying some new things to get Sam to sleep ...

Boxes and Dog Wash

The best part of getting new car seats is the large boxes that Dad makes into a tunnel to play in!



Anna helped me wash Stella today. We had a lot of fun, Stella did not have fun.



I love this photo because she was dramatically telling Charles how wet Stella really is and how we are going to blow on her fur to "make her puff up".

Not Sleeping

Sam is a terrible sleeper. At four months the only way I can even remotely get him to sleep is to lay next to him (very close with one arm warped over his head), stroke his eye brows with the other hand, and make shuss noise until he falls a sleep. He sleeps in 15 to 30 minute increments. Sometime he will fall a sleep in the car, swing, or in the stroller. With the swing gone ... I am not sure how I will be able to get him to take indoor naps. Charles has never been able to get him to sleep and Nana has some way that only works for her. The Nana way involves holding him and then somehow getting him off her lap and sideways onto a chair. I have not really been able to replicate this. I have tried making him cry it out .. he can outlast me by about five hours. Anyway I am hoping that someone will have a good suggestion that may work for Sam ... because he is living proof that you do not need sleep to grow.

Sam's New Seat

Sam has new new car seat, well technically he is going to use Anna's old car seat. The seat it's new to him and Anna got a new car seat (two technically) today. Nana, Anna, and I went out to Beaverton and bought new car seats and ate hot dogs at Costco.

Playing Dress Up

Around here, when we play dress up .. everything gets a crown.

Vitamin D

When Anna saw that it was sunny outside today, she said .. "let's go outside for some vitamin D!" I think this must be something her teacher tells them on nice sunny days. We went on a long walk and got a few books at the library.

Maybe Watching Football Last Sunday Paid Off

I left Anna and Sam alone for about 1 minute today ...



(the only good thing about this is that at least Anna picked the color's for University of Oregon and not Oregon State!)


I had a tough day with Mr. Sam. He is just to big for his swing. His weight is keeping the swing from .. well swinging. Sam LOVES his swing and takes his naps in it. Today I tried to get him to take a nap in his bed and 4 1/2 hours later he took a 20 minute nap in his bed. (Anna calls it "Sam's big boy kitty bed." I hope tomorrow will be better.

Busy Weekend

Pop pop's came over to watch a little football with Sam.



Anna spent a lot of time this weekend playing with her velcro blocks. She made cars, marry go rounds, and "fuzzy towers."



Anna has started to bring Sam toys ... It is nice to watch how kind and attentive she is to him.



Guess who has a new box of animals soaps ... they last a lot longer than you would expect. She carries a soap around in her purse and makes anyone who asks what she is carring to sniff it.

I'm A Mermaid

"I'm a mermaid but I a scared of sharks. They have too many teeth!"

Preschool Party

We went to Anna's preschool party potluck last night. These photo's are not the best; however, you can see that Anna had a great time.

Sam's Overalls

Nana brought over some soft new overalls for Mr. Sam. He has a round tummy and currently pants with a waist band press in a little too much. Overalls are a great solution and he look super cute in them!

The Official 4 Month Checkup

Sam had his official 4 month checkup this morning. He is currently weighing in at 16.14 lbs (90%), 27" (97%) in height, and 41.4 cm (30%) for head circumference. Dr. Bangston thought he was doing great, "a very big and happy boy." He also did some muscle tone checks, Sam check at extremely strong. I did not remember these tests from Anna's 4 month appointment a few years ago. Sam was giving the nurse his best smiles until she gave him the shots ... I think if he could have taken them back he would have.



His poor little swollen legs for the shorts today. I am really happy that they have the Space Snoopy band-aids back in the office.



These are Anna's swollen legs from her 4 month appointment in June 2006.