READ THIS!

My friend Erin (Hi, E!) just posted this on Facebook. If you are a parent, or are EVER around children, you need to read these short articles. If you are not ever around children, you need to read and share with people who are. Love your little ones!!

http://www.handsfreemama.com

http://www.handsfreemama.com/?p=3213

Big News!

Well, we have a very big announcement to make. We have a LOT of friends and family so please don't be upset if we didn't personally tell you our news. Things are going to change in the Sampson household. Some people might be surprised, while others have seen it coming. Some might think it's too soon; some will say, "It's about time!" Are you on the edge of your seat? Want to know what it is? Okay. I'll tell you. First I'm going to make you look at pictures to build up the anticipation of the moment. :)

So much for establishing the "head" of the bed...

Cooling off with a frozen teether on a hot day.

Noah sat with his hand like this while I read his bedtime story one night. It was adorable and made my heart melt.

We gave a thank you note to our next door neighbors. Noah helped sign it. His first signature! Daniel told them they should probably hang on to it...might be worth something someday! 

So excited to be helping with laundry!

 

 

 

Okay. As promised. Here's our news. I'm going back to work!  Full time! (Ha! You thought I was pregnant, didn't you?!?!) St. Louis Children's Hospital had an opening so I applied and got it! This is a decision we prayed about a LOT (and I'm still not quite sure about it!). I'm incredibly thankful to my awesome hubby for working so hard so that I could stay home with our sweet boy these past (almost) 10 months, but we really think this is the best thing for our family right now. I'm excited about the job, but not so excited about leaving my little man all day five days a week. We're going to start Noah in part time daycare next week to have a little bit of a transition period (for him and me!) and then I start in two weeks! We would appreciate some prayers if you think of us. That this wouldn't mess up Noah's sleep (we've been sleeping through the night for two weeks!!!). That he would drink his milk at daycare (he only drinks a couple of ounces all day long when I leave him...). And that we would all adjust easily! Yay for big changes! 

Fun in the Sun

One of my favorite things about being a mom: all of the "firsts". I just get so excited with all of the "firsts". Yes, big things like bringing the baby home for the first time, the first time you spoon feed, the first smile, those are all very exciting. But even the little things are really fun for me. Today for instance. The first time in a "pool". We loved it! I found this little mat that you hook up to the hose. It sprays water up around the edges and then makes a really shallow pool in the middle as it collects. It was only $10, and worth every penny! Noah wasn't too thrilled when I first put him down, but he quickly got used to it.  Enjoy the pictures. :) WARNING: There are a lot! I have some videos too but I'll have to wait for Daniel to help me figure out how to get it uploaded (he's out camping with some buddies tonight).

He kept trying to lean into the sprinkler to get a drink. It was adorable.

Videos

This is what Noah does when we stand him up...I guess we're skipping crawling AND walking and going straight to running?

 

Noah loves playing catch with Daddy! (Daddy loves it, too!)

Sometimes I have Blog Envy

Yes, I'm turning my blog into a confessional. It's true. Sometimes as I read blogs my friends write, I think, "They are so witty and entertaining. Me, I just post adorable pictures of my baby." But I'm not witty and entertaining. So just enjoy stories and pictures of my sweet baby. :)

I know my updating has gotten more and more sparse as time has gone on...feel free to sign up for email alerts instead of having to check back at intervals. (Just enter your email address into the box at the top of the page and click submit. The posts will get sent to your email when there are new ones.)

I don't think I made a big announcement when Noah finally rolled over onto his stomach. Well, he did it! And promptly burst into tears. It was pretty humorous, actually. Then he waited another three weeks to do it again, and burst into tears. But we know he can do it. Earlier this week, I put him down for his nap, listened to him talking to himself for a while, and then heard a shriek. It was a shriek that said, "Something's wrong!" Not a, "I don't want to sleep right now" shriek. So I peek in the monitor, and see my little guy on his stomach. Being the wonderful mom I am, I decide to go flip him over (thinking that way he wouldn't escalate and never settle down for his nap), walk into his room, and see his leg sticking out the slats of his crib. Poor dude. But yes, I laughed at his expense. I'm only a little ashamed.

We have only owned three pacifiers in his short life. And have miraculously kept track of all three...until this week. We've lost two in two days! Do we take this as a sign that it's time to break him of the pacifier? (He does only use it to sleep...) But no, we buy more. See, my baby is finally sleeping! In the past week, we've gone from waking every 4 hours, to sleeping a 9 hour stretch! Hooray! We decided to attempt cry-it-out one more time...after crying for 3 hours the first night, each night after that got progressively better. And we are so thankful!!! So no, we are not breaking him of the pacifier right now! We're also almost off of Zantac, and we're off of Miralax, so we're pretty happy these days. :)

I also want to say, "Welcome to the world, Braelynn!" Yep, Noah has another cousin. Well, technically a second cousin (I think) but we're so excited! Congrats, Megan and Sam!

Playing in his room on his own.

Lunch time!

Play time with Daddy.

Playing in the grass.

 

9 Month Update

So I posted pictures, but didn't really give you any news. Noah had his 9 month check up last Wednesday. He is weighing in perfectly at 21 pounds, 8 ounces and 29 inches long. The pediatrician wants us to start weaning his Miralax and then his Zantac. We'll see how that goes! Noah is still waking up every four hours (and that's a good night...) but his doctor doesn't want us to push it or try to Ferber right now. (We've tried several times but it doesn't seem to work for more than a couple of days.) The pediatrician is hoping it's "just a phase" and told us to "let him win this battle" for now, thinking it will work itself out--sooner rather than later?? Other than that, he's doing great! He's eating a lot of table foods (usually he's more interested in our dinner than his!), waving bye-bye, giving kisses, and is just stinkin' adorable! Enjoy more pictures. :)

He finally found his foot! This has been on his developmental questionnaire for three months! 

Daniel planted maple trees in our yard.

Noah and I cheered him on.

After.

Smiley boy.

Playing the drum.

Yummy graham crackers!

Nine months!

Just a couple days late...I was working this week so we didn't get pictures taken until yesterday. His hair is getting a little out of control...it just adds to his character! :)  Love this little guy more every day!

Shhh!!!!

Baby Cole (and Mark and Emily) came to play. Noah was getting some big smiles out of Cole (they just didn't get captured on film, of course)!

101!

The previous post was number 100 on Life of a Sampson!!! And I didn't even know it in time to celebrate it or make it a big deal. So yayayayay for number 101!!! :)

There are a LOT of pictures for you. They're out of order because I'm uploading from both of our phones, plus our camera, plus some from email that people have sent me. And for some reason, when I type in the caption, it moves the picture to a random spot in the post so all the pictures without captions are at the bottom. I know you won't mind too terribly!

Can you see this link? It is a whole slew of pictures from our visit with the Putmans. Love them!

I promised the link to the rest of our family pictures. Here it is! If that doesn't work, go to searsphoto.com. The session number is 122029. The password is HJVSC. If you want to order some, let me know.

Enjoy! (As always, you can click on a picture to make it bigger.)

Easter

A present from Grandma Shoemaker. We're hoping it still fits next winter! :) 

Playing peek a boo with the stuffed bunny.

Petting a horse at Aunt Sally's.

Enjoying nice weather on the porch with Uncle John.

Playing "night night" with Grandma Sampson.

Sleeping in the hotel.

Hanging out with the Putmans. The boys finally got to meet each other! 

We got to meet Miss Gracie! Love the shirt, Girl! :) 

First "ride" on a Harley. Thanks, Aunt Sally!

Fun with Grandpa Shoemaker.

Easter Sunday.

Easter with Cousin Matthew.

Easter with Cousins Addie, Matthew, and Brody. Four kids in one chair trying to smile all at once = madness. :)

Nap time at the hotel in Philly before the conference.

Making fun faces with Aunt Sally.

Hugs.

Checking on Baby Gracie. (This was adorable. She was fussing a bit in the bouncy, and Noah kept leaning forward as far as he could to see her.) 

Yay for hanging out with Christian! 

First bus ride in Philly. Noah loved looking out the window (but the cars driving past made him back away quickly! )

Playing peek a boo with the teether on the long road trip home from PA. 

Fell asleep with sippy cup in hand.