Sam is getting to be so mobile. He can pull up in his crib. Scary!

Sam scoots around the floor army style. He goes backwards better than forward sometimes. The other day I was putting some laundry in the dryer and I heard some frustrated noises coming from the living room. I went in to check on Sam and he had gotten everything but his head under the couch. He was very annoyed that his round little head didn't fit. It was pretty funny.

Sam and I are so happy because our friends The Raybacks moved to Provo. We have had so much fun the past few weeks with Ashley, her husband Mat, and their baby Gabriel. Gabriel is 7 months older than Sam and they have had fun playing together. Gabe shares all his toys with Sam and Sam thinks Gabe is very entertaining.

We got to play with Gabriel this afternoon for a few hours while Ashley got her hair cut.

Sammy and Uncle Pablo. Sam is wearing some of Pablo's bling.

Here is Sam with Daddy. When Daniel comes home from work Sam gets so excited. He says "Dadadadadada"

Look what a mess I make with my teething cookies. You have a problem with that?

I love them. They are so tasty.

Want a bite?

Here I am doing the world famous excited arm shake. If you've seen it you know it.

Bath time!

Sam and his Uncle Andrew are getting to be good buddies. Sam likes to give kisses that Andrew calls "Mr. Peepers kisses" (ode to SNL). Here Andrew is giving one to Sam.
Sam was starting to look like he had the same hair dresser as Donald Trump. This would be okay if he had the same income, but alas, the comb-over had to go.

Dad gave Samuel his first haircut on Saturday.

How do I look? Is it fabulous?

It is fabulous! I am one handsome kid!

Sammy just can't stop admiring the new do in the mirror.

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?

Sam loves his frogs.

Activity Island

Sammy got an Activity Island for Christmas. The first half of the clip shows when we first put Sam in it. After about 2 weeks he learned how to move around. He enjoys running around the little Island and playing with it.

Sammy talking

At about two and a half months Sammy started to try to communicate and talk to us

first video of Sammy

First video of Sammy (English version)

Sammy loves to play with his cousins. Here he is with Jaden my cousin Amanda's little boy.

When we got back home Sam got to know his cousin Adam. We had fun visiting with Nick and Cassi and were sorry to have missed Chris, Lindsay, and Madison. It is so fun to see these babies together.

Speaking the universal language of babyhood: "AAAhhh"

Adam smiles on cue! What sweet kids.

Boys being boys.

Sam got to open one of his Christmas presents early. This activity table is from Grandma Hobbs. Sam can walk all the way around it. It plays music and makes noises. He loves it.

We spent Christmas with my parents. Sam wasn't sure what it was all about, but he enjoyed himself. I think his favorite part was the wrapping paper.

This is Sam opening a present from Uncle Pablo.

It's a walker and scooter to ride on when the weather is a little nicer. Sam was very excited.
This is a drum from Mom and Dad. Sam likes to be noisy. You should hear him squeal and say "bla bla bla"
This is an alphabet finger puppet book from Grandma. Sam got lots of great presents.
A sleepy Christmas baby.