Round of Applause Please!

Sam and I were in the play room after daycare yesterday and he put some blocks in his cookie jar and then clapped! He has never done that before! I have tried to get him to clap previously but then just let it go. I was telling the teachers at Sam’s school and they said everyday they do circle time and they clap – ahah! That is where he picked it up from! Now that he figured it out he does it all the time. This morning while nursing he just started clapping! LOL

Waiting 4 daddy....

Sam likes to pull up to the window and look outside - too cute!

Canines have arrived!

After the last bout of teething - talk about a nightmare - Sam's canines are almost fully descended! His right canine is peaking thru the gum and the left should be out within a week!

Wacky Wednesday

Who has more hair... Mark or Sammy?

Sam's new swim suit!

Thanks to Grandma (Daddy's mom) for Sam's fabulous new swim suit! He wore it to water play last week and all the teachers said how cute he was =)

I guess I can tell you now.....

I didnt want to jinx myself so I kept it hush but Sam STTN (slept thru the night) 3 nights in a row - Tues, Wed, Thurs - it was great! Then it was over! haha Oh well.... nice while it lasted! Fri and Sat he only woke once though which is fine with me and actually Friday night/ Sat morn was awesome! He went to bed at 7pm and woke at 3:30 to nurse - then went back down. I woke up and looked at the clock - it was 7:55!!! I got scared for a minute because Sam has NEVER slept that long nor stayed in his crib very long after waking - So, I ran in his room and he was just sitting there with Nelson and playing with his new crib toy (see pic to right) !!! He gave me a big smile and we stareted our day! Then he took a nice 2 hour nap for mommy too! He has been taking 3 hour naps at daycare all week.... must be a growth spurt!

So, the STTN was short lived but much enjoyed.....

Ketchup!

Ketchup makes everything taste better, right? We all do it... put it on your eggs, burgers, noodles, chicken, whatever you please... so I figured eventually Sam would do the same thing... just not at 10 months! Tonight for dinner he had vienna sausages and green beans and beans - he ate the beans but wouldnt touch the green beans or the vienna sausages - I was eating meatloaf and it had ketchup on it, so to be funny I put some of the ketchup on the "hot dog" and he ATE it! LOL So, I gave him more and he ate all of it with ketchup. Then I put some on a green bean and he gobbled it right up! LOL

See! Everything does taste better with ketchup!

Families are like cookies

You know how when you haven’t had a cookie in a long time and so your thinking, eh, it’s just a cookie, I’m not missing much – but then you have a bite and you realize how good the cookie is and how much you missed them…. That’s how I feel after this weekend, I miss having cookies.

We headed to Altoona and Portage, PA for the Vandzura Family Reunion. Mark’s brothers (Boone and Matt) flew in from Yellowstone with their wives and kids, and his sister Becky came up from Greensboro with her family. Then add in all the aunts and uncles and cousins and we had a house full… or three! Mark’s family is spread out across the country so we pretty much see everyone once every 2 years and so you kind of get used to it. But then you all gather together and see how grown up the kids are, see the newest additions, hear about jobs and news, and dance recitals that you missed and your heart sinks…. You realize just how much you have truly missed everyone =’(

We had a blast! Lots of great food, beer, wine, stories and of course no reunion would be complete without a few rounds of Bare Foot and Wild (card game). The reunion is usually a week long but with everyone’s schedules it was only Friday thru Tuesday (for most people), a few of us left Monday. So, we made the most of our time and took about 1000 pictures – lol. I was excited to show off Sam to all his aunts and uncles and extended family – most had never seen him in person and Sam did pretty well. He is getting a touch of stranger anxiety and wants to stay with his mom or dad most of the time – the rest of time he wants to be on the floor crawling, checking things out!

Here are a few pictures from our visit.

Zac, Patrick, Boone, and Hart

Elle, Boone, Karen, Mark

Group shot - the silly one!

The outcasts! We all married into the Vandzura Family

Billy, Jan, Karen, Gina, Polly, Jean, Bill

Group shot with Grandma Toncler

Evolution..... Mark, Josh, Jonah, Sam

Cousins

Jacob, Hart, Elle, Jonah, Zac, Sam, Patrick, Sarah, Josh

Monday afternoon we said our goodbyes and as we drove away my heart ached – not sure when we will see everyone again and Sam is too young to remember his cousins, aunts and uncles – I wish we all lived closer and could see each other once a month rather than every year or two. For now I will show Sam pictures of his extended family so he can learn who they are and know that he is loved very much.

I think I am going to go have a cookie…..

Wacky Wednesday

I like to call this one, Elvis: The Early Years

Sam is one sweaty kid! He had just woken up from his nap and his head was soaked and mark ran his fingers thru it and this hair-do came to be - lol - then I saw his lip curled up and thought "Elvis"! haha

Today was a big day!

We arrived in PA for the Vandzura Family Reunion and stopped at Mark's grandmother's house. Sam was on the floor and we were trying to get him to crawl for his great gma - Zac and Josh were tossing a bottle back and forth trying to entice Sam and then wouldnt you know it..... he crawled!! On all 4's this time - not the army crawl - it was sooooo cute!!!! A few moments later I was tickling his belly and he threw his head back and I noticed Tooth #8 has broken thru!

Today was a big day for Sam!

I look 27, no wait , make that 16!

Sam and I were sitting in the rocker in his bedroom and in comes my 4 yr old nephew, Jacob.

Jacob: Whatcha doing?
Me: Trying to get Sam to sleep, what are you doing?
Jacob: Oh, nothing. Whats this?
Me: That’s an elephant
Jacob: Oh, whats this?
Me: That’s a monkey
Jacob: A monkey??
Me: yep!
Jacob: oh….. I was watching veggie tales
Me: Oh yeah, do you like that show?
Jacob: yeah, I was watching it with your dad
Me: With who?
Jacob: Your dad.
Me: You mean Uncle Mark?
Jacob: (confused look)…no, your dad!
Me: I don’t think you know my dad…oh wait you mean Uncle mark, I mean Uncle Spark
Jacob: yeah, your dad!

LOL LOL LOL

This was just after last week when Zac thought I was 27!

Ah, I feel so young….. and apparently look it too!

Hahaha

I am still cracking up at the thought of Jacob thinking mark was my Dad! hahahahahahah

Perfect Vision!

For as long as I can remember one of Sam’s eyes would cross in photographs – but apparently in newborns its very common so I didn’t worry about it. However, here we are at 9 months and it’s still doing it. I read a lot about lazy eye and they say if you catch it early it can usually be corrected with a patch or surgery, so I made an appointment with the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia with a pediatric ophthalmologist.


First let me start by saying the waiting room had THE coolest toys! Sammy had so much fun! We get back in the exam room and Sam is on my lap – you know that paper that they put on the table to make it “clean” for each new person…. Well…..Sam proceeds to unroll it – it’s fun, its crinkly, and makes noise…..ha-ha…. I roll it back up and he quickly unrolls it – time to move the chair =)

Dr Arrington comes in and Sam of course gives him a big smile. He has lots of great toys and lights to occupy Sam while he checks his eyes. I brought some pictures in as well so he could see how his eyes turn in toward his nose. After the exam he tells me Sam has Pseudoesotropia, which is when it looks like your child’s eyes are crossed, but they really are not. The false appearance of crossed eyes is caused by the combination of a wide nasal bridge and a fold of skin on the inside corner of the eye. He will outgrow by the age of 4. If you look at the picture below you will notice that the light reflecting in his pupil is in the exact same spot even though one eye is turned in – if he truly had a crossed eye the light in the pupil would be in a different spot on each eye.

I knew this was a possibility but I was trying to not get my hopes up in case it was worse. Since we were there he wanted to go ahead and dilate his eyes and do a full exam. I had heard that this can be very painful for kids and was worried for Sam – Dr Arrington said it would not be. They put one drop in each eye (Sam fussed for about 5 seconds) and then we waited for his eyes to dilate (about 25 mins). He did an exam and Sam sat there so still – I was amazed since he is such a squiggly worm these days! Dr Arrington said his vision was perfect and he had no concerns – whew!

Happy July 4th!!

Sam and I headed to DC this weekend to visit family and friends - after a LONG 4.5 hour ride in heavy traffic and taking a few breaks for dinner and snuggles we finally made it to my moms.... both exhausted! Mom was at the beach and Mark wasnt coming down until Saturday so Sam slept with me so we could get some sleep. Friday we went and saw Sam's Great Gma - he was all smiles for his Nana and loved her nose and eye glasses!

Later that day we went to my sister's house and went swimming and played with his cousin Hailey. We had lots of fun!

Chelsea with Sam and Hailey

Saturday we headed to Lynsi's annual Fourth of July Birthday Bash! We had a great time as always!


This was the best we could do - Sam would NOT look at the camera! lol

All the Dad's with their babies

You have how many?

This morning's teeth check yeilded a new tooth! Lucky number 7 is poking thru the gums - its his bottom left - so now we have 4 on the top and 3 on the bottom..... wonder how many he will have a 1 year!!

Why I HATE the internet!!!!!

Last night was hard night for me but I convinced myself that Sam was fine and this morning we were all happier since we ALL slept!



Then I find this:



What experts say about the mutual agony of “cry it out”:


“A child cannot comprehend why you are ignoring his cries for help. Ignoring your baby's cries, even with the best of intentions, may lead him to feel that he has been abandoned. Babies are responding to biological needs that sleep 'experts' either ignore or deny. It is true that a baby whose crying is ignored may eventually fall back asleep, but the problem that caused the night waking in the first place has remain unsolved."


“Babies are people, extremely helpless, vulnerable, and dependent people. Your baby counts on you to lovingly care for her. When she cries, she is signaling — in the only way she knows how — that she needs you to be with her. You know what it feels like to cry in fear or distress. It feels terrible. And it's no different for your baby. When your baby cries he experiences physical changes. His blood pressure rises, his muscles become tense, and stress hormones flood his little body. "


“Babies who are subjected to 'cry it out' sleep training do sometimes sleep deeply after they finally drop off. This is because babies and young children frequently sleep deeply after experiencing trauma. This deep sleep shouldn't be viewed as proof of the efficacy of the [cry it out] method but rather evidence of one of its many disturbing shortcomings.”



ugh! now I feel HORRIBLE!!!!



I hate the internet!



How am I suppose to let Sam cry after reading this......

31 Minutes

It’s a L-O-N-G thirty one minutes when your child is crying and wants you to hold them

I have been reading about sleep training your child and they say the best time to do this is between 9-10 months –and since my good little sleeper has gone away I figured it was time! I had my mind set before I went to sleep that I would nurse him upon his first waking and then I was going to have to let him cry. In the past I would always pick him up and soothe him repeatedly, not tonight I thought – I need to be quick and not upset him more than I have too. A method I read about which lots of girls on the parenting boards swear by is to go in at intervals, each a little longer than the previous one and simply tell them its bedtime and pat their back one time and LEAVE!

So, Sam woke at 11pm. I went in and nursed him and when he was finished he fell asleep – so I walk to the crib and as soon as I lay him down he sits up and starts crying. I tell him its time for sleep, I love you and leave. Clock says 11:30 on the dot.

11:35pm – I wait 5 minutes. I walk in and he immediately stops crying, actually I turned on the bathroom light so I could see and he stopped crying – LOL – little stinker he KNEW I was coming! He is sitting up so I lay him down and try to give him Nelson (paci) he doesn’t want it – I tell him its time to sleep and that I love him – I leave

11:42pm – This time I wait 7 minutes. I walk in, again he stops crying, he is sitting up again, I lay him down, try to give him Nelson, tell him I love him and its time to sleep – I leave

11:51pm – This time I wait 9 minutes. I walk in, again he stops crying, he is sitting up again, I lay him down, try to give him Nelson, tell him I love him and its time to sleep – I leave

11:56pm – It gets quiet for a moment and I think ok, 26 mins, not TOO bad, then he starts crying again. I will next check on him after 11 mins, so 12:02am

12:01am – Quiet

12:03am – I decide to go check on him one last time and I see that he has fallen asleep sitting up and his head is in the bumper – scares the crap of out me even though I know he is old enough to move his head if he cant breathe – I move him to his tummy, he fusses – OH CRAP! – I shove Nelson in his mouth and he goes to sleep.

6:20am – I wake Sam for the day and he greets me with the biggest smile…. He still loves me ♥