Our First Mother's Day - May 13, 2007

I was watching Sam this evening as he was splashing around in the bath tub and realized that Mother's Day has a whole new meaning for me (and it should) but I was also thinking how sad it is for all those children who are living in orphanages around the world who will never know what it is like to experience taking a bath and splashing the bathroom and the parent sitting there watching them. It made me smile knowing that we were able to give Sam the opportunity to splash in the tub, to hear the birds sing, to hear the dogs barking (which he doesn't really like - it's scary to him), to play in the sand box at the park, to eat new foods, to get hugs and kisses, to be tickled. To do so many things that we never think twice about.

It took us a long time to get our family but now we have a great one!

Most of the time I can't complain - my biggest challenge right now is what to feed Sam for Lunch and Dinner. He is really picky about eating chicken and beef, he prefers to eat cottage cheese and yogurt. He seems to have slowed down in his progression with his vocabulary, we are getting less words at once now. He also seems to have slowed in his weight gain and I think he is a little short for his age as all of his 18 months pants are too long on him. But all in all he is doing great! He even likes playing on the grass more and a friend of mine who I grew up with sent him a really cool gift - it is a Fisher Price Harley Davidson three wheel motorcycle that's battery operated and we took him out on it earlier this week, he was definitely having fun.

April 2007 - Recap

First since everyone has been asking, we have uploaded a ton of new pictures of Sam, just click on the link below to see what he has been doing. . .

We have now been home for 3 weeks, although it seems a lot longer then that. Sam has been adjusting very well to his new routine (probably better then Mommy and Daddy have adjusted to the routine). He usually gets up around 7:30 - 8am, and has some breakfast. The mornings vary but all include mostly play time. Once a week (on Tuesdays) we go to the local Baby Gym and play, along with trying to get to the park as much as possible now that the weather is turning nice. Other days we simply play around the house with all the wonderful toys people have sent. (A special thank you to Jessica and Jeff and family for the great car that Sam loves to drive around the living room on). Lunch is usually around 12 noon, and then a little play before his nap from 1 - 3:30pm. He then gets up and has some more play time around the house or in the back yard, followed by dinner around 6pm, then bath and then "Night, Night" time.

Sam is doing very well developmentally. He continually amazes us. There is no doubt he understands us, and while he only says a few words, he definitely lets us know his opinions of what is happening and he lets us know what he wants. We had his first doctors visit and he did very well, considering they took 4 large vials and one small vial of blood. He had to be stuck twice, but considering everything he did really well. He did have an ear infection in both ears, so he is now on an antibiotic for 10 days, but all things considered he is a very healthy boy. We can tell that he is gaining weight. First we are feeling it in our arms, and second we are seeing the baby fat on his legs and face.

Sam has met and spent time with Bubby and Zeyda, Sabba and Safta, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Moss, Aunt Christen, and Cousin Cami. He has also gone to his Great-Great Aunt Sylvia and Great-Great Uncle Nate's house a couple times to say "Hello." Sam also made his first appearance at Daddy's work, and even tried his hand at a little TV engineering, so we are training him so Daddy can retire. He made his first appearance at Synagogue too, and even managed to trick the Rabbi into giving him a lollipop, while still avoiding going on to the Bimah with Daddy. (He chose to stay in Mommy's arms.)

Here are the pictures.