Summer Fun!

Summer is finally here and we are loving it! Sam loves being outside, swinging on the swings or taking walks. He is getting such a cute personality - he is a big flirt and smiles at everyone who talks to him. It is so fun to hear him discovering his voice, he "talks" all the time and laughs and giggles at things. Every day brings another delight for him, it's just a fabulous thing to see!

Sam finally got to meet Auntie Cristy, Uncle Jack and cousins Lexie and Ally a couple of weeks ago when they visited from Arizona. He spent Thursday afternoon with Auntie Cristy and they are now fast friends! He loves playing with Lexie and Ally and Lexie has promised to help babysit next year when they come to visit!

Last week I had a conference in Grand Rapids for four days so Sam came with me along with Veronic to serve as a babysitter. It worked out really great, and they had a really good time together. Even though the weather didn't cooperate too much, we still got some walks in and they had a great time playing together.

This past weekend was Matt's family reunion and Sam made some new friends. He got to spend a lot of time outside and played with the cousins. He also spent some time with grandma while Mom & Dad when fishing in the evening.

Just within the past week, Sam has been really doing well at sleeping through the night, now going to bed between 8 and 9 and not waking up until 6 or 7 for a feeding. It's still really weird and I still wake up around 2 or 3 expecting him to be awake! Sometimes he'll get a little restless during the night, but he calms really quickly and goes back to sleep. It's awesome!

The other big news this past week is the presence of two new teeth! The first one came through on Wednesday afternoon while we were in Grand Rapids, and the second just made it's way through yesterday at Grandma Erickson's - which explained the no napping and crankiness at bath time :)

It's such a fun time in Sam's life - we can't get enough of him!

5 Months - Wow!

I can't believe how fast the time flies by - Sam turned 5 months on June 1st, it feels like it was just yesterday when he was a tiny little bundle who cuddled and slept most of the day. Now, every day brings something new in his life, it's just amazing!
Some new current fun things that he is enjoying include his exersaucer (thanks Heidi, for borrowing it to us!), he loves to make the spinning toys go and thinks he's a big boy when he's playing in it. He has the same saucer at daycare so I think he really enjoys it. He's also liking sitting in the bumbo and playing with his toys on the tray - he loves to be upright so he can really look around. Hands continue to be a favorite plaything, and just this past week he discovered that he can reach his toes with his hands - and now every time he's on his back, the feet are up to the hands, it's so cute!
Last weekend was our annual "girls' fishing trip" so Matt and Sam had their first overnight alone on Thursday night. Everyone did great and Sam loved getting the chance to spend a few hours on Thursday and Friday night with Grandpa and Grandma Erickson. I swear he grew three inches and five pounds from when I left on Thursday until I got back on Friday night! Saturday, Sam got the distinction of being the first male invited to the fishing trip, and he hammed it up big time smiling and flirting with all the ladies. He even got to spend a couple of hours with Aunt Barb, Maggie and Veronica while the rest of us went golfing.
A big milestone this week was trying our first solid food. Sam had his first cereal on Sunday and although he wasn't initially thrilled, a few pointers from Grandma Goble on Monday have helped and he's downing like a champ. Tonight he even smiled after almost every bite - I wish I had four hands so I could have snapped a photo of the cereal smiles, but we'll get them next time.
Stroller rides are a daily event and with the nice weather it's been a fabulous time to get out and walk - Sam loves looking around at everything, but usually falls asleep during our strolls.
The biggest change is that we're really missing Daddy this week since Matt is gone to Canada, and I'm sure he's missing us too. We can't wait until he gets home on Saturday!