I know...

I'm way behind! Of course I have excuses like always. :) My current excuse is that we've been in Pennsylvania for the past week. CHOP (remember? My old hospital?) invited me to come and speak at a conference they were hosting. So of course, we turned it into a big vacation and are spending a few days with Daniel's family, too. Yesterday we had Sampson family pictures taken. Let me just say, we think they are adorable. Want a sneak preview? Okay, twist my arm.

Now you want to see more, don't you?? Well, wait a couple of days and the session will be posted online. We'll give you the link and you can ogle to your heart's content. If you want prints, let us know (we have the CD) or you can order directly from the site (I think) when the link goes up.

I'll try to catch up and post more pictures from our trip soon!

Cuteness

We've been enjoying our walks in the nicer weather! All the older ladies we meet on our walks comment on how cute he is in his sunglasses. 

This boy loves music. Anytime music comes on the TV he turns immediately! 

Do you think it's too soon to teach him to put a toy back when he's done playing??

Playing football. He pulled this out of the toy box on his own and would get so mad when it fell out of his hands!

8 Months! (Seriously?!?!)

Little Guy is so much more active than he used to be! Some of our monthly shots aren't as cute as I would have liked them to be (so I kept taking more and more), and he was so busy talking we didn't get many smiles, but I thought they needed to be shared anyway! (I may have overdone it...)
Happy Birthday, Handsome!

This one might be my favorite. :) Love his personality! 

Updating

I guess you can tell we've been updating our blog! Daniel added videos (make sure you see both posts) of Noah learning to share and the videos that haven't worked in our previous posts.

We've been really busy! Grandma Shoemaker came to play with Noah while I worked this week, which both of them loved. (Noah has hit the separation and stranger/new people anxiety stage, so he wasn't too excited to see Grandma at first, but by the end of the weekend he couldn't get enough of her!)  Noah even played so hard he slept through the night Wednesday! It didn't last through Thursday, but it was nice for one night. Ryan, Danielle, Brooke and Levi came to visit over the weekend, and the six of us went to the Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage seminar while my mom and Noah got in more play time. We all recommend the seminar if you get the chance to go sometime!

We are finally feeling better in our house. No more breathing treatments and no more stuffy noses! Do you know what that means?? I finally got to meet Mr. Cole!! My mom and I went over to Mark and Emily's when she got into town and got to share some cuddles. He is just precious! Of course I didn't think to take my camera, but thankfully Mark and Emily were thinking and snapped a picture of me with their little guy. Maybe they'll share a copy with me??

Noah has been perfecting his tricks. The nursery ladies even told us he had them all fake coughing with him at church this morning before he busted into fits of giggles. He is reaching out for Daniel and I to let us know who he wants and is giving kisses when I ask for them. He is chugging from his sippy cup and is self-feeding pieces of food like a champ. He is just adorable! We can't get enough of him!

With Cousin Ry-No. Probably the only time you will see him in Royals gear! (Don't worry, we didn't let him out of the  house in it...)

Little boy. Big spoon.

Cute overalls, Bubby! 

Beating up on Daddy. 

He'll go this far!

Laughing at Mommy doing a workout video. (I was trying not to get a complex...)

Just for Dave

These are the videos that we tried to show in our previous posts, but weren't working. Hopefully this way works! Now we know we can't do them from my phone anymore...

Manners can never come too early!

Fun with our son!

More pictures

For some reason that video in the previous post doesn't always work...I don't know why. So sorry! 

Now I don't think he "can't" roll over, I think he "won't"! If he can twist this far, he can get all the way over! 

Happy Leap Day! 

Enjoying some sunshine on a warm March day.

My pants are too short, and Mommy made me wear them anyway. 

We love care packages from Grammy and Papa-roo!

Pictures

I've just recently joined the world of smart phone users. I know...years behind my time. I've gotten one twice before and then had buyer's remorse and I return or sell it and switch back to a ghetto flip phone (no offense to all you other late smart phone bloomers). I just could never justify the extra expense and never really liked being that attached to other people with Facebook and email and calls all in one spot. I'm not sure why I feel differently now, but I'm loving it. Anyway, all of that to say that it's easier to snap some "in the moment" pictures of our little guy without having to first figure out where we last left our camera. We've been depriving you of pictures lately so here you go. (This part of the post was also typed out on my phone which is much trickier than a regular keyboard, as I'm still getting used to it. Hope you enjoy!)

In health related news, we had his checkup at the pediatrician this morning. He's much better but still wheezing, so we have to continue breathing treatments for a while. At least he tolerates them pretty well! The worst news was that he's still considered contagious for at least another week, which means we don't get to meet Baby Cole for at least that long (but probably longer!!) So disappointed, but we definitely want to keep the Riley's healthy!

He's doing so much better with tummy time! 

Good morning!

A breathing treatment. I'm not actually strangling him like it appears...

Play time!

Relaxing with Daddy on a "not feeling so good" day.

First time sitting in a big boy high chair at a restaurant!

Yum! Blueberries!

He thinks panting with Daddy is so fun right now. Strange child. :)