I forgot to mention that Sam got his first tooth on Saturday! He was such a grumpy boy for like three days and then a little tooth poked up through his bottom gum and we were so relieved that we would't have to sell him to the gypsies after all.

So last night was the big night. Sam's room is finished and he got to sleep in his crib all by himself.

Look how much fun he's having. He has no idea how his life is about to change.

The hardest part of letting him cry himself to sleep is not knowing if it is really the best thing to do. I'm not sure I completely trust Ferber. The idea is to establish a good evening routine and then put him to bed sleepy, but awake. He is supposed to learn to fall asleep on his own. We let him cry for 5 minutes and then visit him for 1 minute to reassure him, but not pick him up. Then he cries for 10 minutes and we come back for 1, and then he cries for 15. The rest of the night you can go back in every 15 minutes if he is still awake, but eventually he is supposed to fall asleep. We did this for an hour and a half last night and then he did fall asleep, but he was very sad. Then he woke up 30 minutes later and we had to do it all again. This time though he fell asleep after the first visit. Then he woke up again at 1:30 and 2:30. He looked so sad and I felt like the meanest meany. But he slept the rest of the night and I had to wake him up this morning at 9:00. At nap time I put him back in his crib and he fussed for about 5 minutes and then slept for an hour and a half. It is more convenient for me, but I hope it doesn't scar him for life. I can hear it now: "Yes doctor, All my insecurities in life began the night my parents made me cry myself to sleep."
But this morning as I look at him he seems a little different to me. A little older maybe, he isn't as clingy and he lets his Uncle Andrew hold him and play with him. We'll see how it goes.

Uncle Andrew is home from Brazil!

We're a little behind on posts because we've had a lot going on. Andrew came home from his mission on January 19th and quickly found himself a resident of Provo attending BYU. He and Sam have become buddies. Andrew has been staying with us while he gets settled.

We got new carpet a few weeks ago and we are so excited to see progress on the house. Unfortunately we found that we have to replace a wall in what is supposed to be Samuel's room so that sets the finish date back again. Daniel thinks he can get that all finished this weekend and then we will be able to use every room in the house. Exciting!

Sammy is such a mommy's boy! Look how sad he is if he doesn't get his way.
Who are we kidding? When doesn't he get his way?