Samuel is 1!

My little boy is growing up. Yesterday was his birthday and all day I kept remembering what I was doing at that moment a year ago. Samuel's grandparents (Erica's mom and dad) were able to come visit for his birthday so he got extra spoiled and didn't have to go to Miss Amy's house for a few days. For his birthday we had some friends and family over for some cake and ice cream. We watched him play in/eat his cake and attempt to play with the gifts he received. He was so sleepy by that time, there were about 2 that he was fascinated with. All in all, it was a great time. Thanks to all who could make it or otherwise shared in the celebration.


On his big day, Samuel figured out a new way to get to things he's not supposed to have. We have a lamp and some glass coasters on a table in the living room. He's not allowed to play with these things. Yesterday, Samuel figured out how to get to them in a new and exciting way: go the back way. This is him leaving the scene of the crime.


Today I saw the funniest thing. I saw a Hawaiian surfer on a John Deere tractor being attacked by a bear! Who would have ever thought?


I have finally uploaded some pictures from recent trips or local adventures. Tennessee was great and the photo ops were plenty. Some of my favorites: our golf trip.


There is a local farm, Schnepf Farms, where we took our youth group a few weeks ago. If you are looking for some great entertainment for your family or group, I highly recommend it. There are so many things to do there for all ages: rides, corn maze, train rides, hay rides, food, pig races, petting zoo...so much to do. We got started a little late but still enjoyed ourselves. Just get your tickets at Fry's Food first and save $2....always important.


Samuel has been doing great at Miss Amy's. No more tears all morning like the first few days. He's got some great friends over there in Delaney and Timmy. The other day Timmy even got up from Dora to welcome Samuel there for the day. I can already tell a difference in how he interacts with other kids, even though those 2 are older than he is. He's doing very good and I'm very proud of him.

It's Monday

My first day back to work. It was a good day for me. I started working again. I am officially a "working mother". Not to say I wasn't before...aren't ALL mothers working? At any rate, back to the office I go. Not such a great day for Samuel. He stayed with his friend Delaney and her mommy, Miss Amy. Poor Miss Amy. Samuel cried for most of the day, wouldn't eat, refused to sleep, and from what I understand, made the other kids cry too. Is it possible Samuel will be asked to not return? Never. Delaney loves "her Samuel" too much. :)

Just an update on Samuel's health:

Last week he had a fever (see previous post). He had a chest x-ray. On Saturday evening I got a phone call that I wasn't prepared for. The technician and doctor had found something in the upper right lobe of Samuel's lung and they couldn't explain what it was. Something was there, whether a mass of tissue, fluid, or pneumonia. After worrying a little and praying a lot, we met with his pediatrician today. Doctor says his chest sounds great! And he suspects, even though he hasn't seen the x-ray, that the mass/haziness in his lung is just pneumonia. He was treated for pneumonia last week so we are already half-way through that treatment and Samuel seems to be doing OK. He still has a cough, which I am expecting him to have that for a while. Thank you Jesus! Silly as it may sound, I'll take a diagnosis of pneumonia over a "mass of tissue" any day!

I realize I've not posted new pics lately. It's not that I don't have them...We got wonderful pictures in Tennessee! Just, the camera is downstairs and the computer is upstairs and, I think you can see where I'm going with this. Maybe tomorrow.

Thanks for checking in and praying for Samuel!

Week in review

As I write this, I can hear Kevin saying "You need to go to bed!" but he isn't here tonight so I stay up and blog. :) I'll pay for this later...

I'll pay, mainly because sleep has been elusive this week. Monday and Tuesday mornings, Samuel woke up early and the only consoling he would accept was to lay in the family bed, between us. OK, fine. We just got back from a trip, I thought. He should be over this soon. Right.

Tuesday afternoon I was playing with him in the floor and when I picked him up, I immediately noticed his back felt very warm. I took his temperature and he had a low fever. I figured it was because he is getting a new tooth (#2). Being like most other moms, I gave him some Tylenol and took him to the grocery store. Later that evening, after the pediatricians office closed (it always happen like that!) his fever was higher, like in the 102's. He was really not himself and just miserable. Kevin and I struggled with the decision: do we wait until the morning and call his doctor or do we take him to urgent care? I waited until Kevin was in bed to decide that we needed to go to the clinic. Really, I didn't but it just worked out that way. Sorry, Kevin.

We got there around midnight and after 2 pukey shirts, 1 chest x-ray, 1 throat culture, 1 mid-night call to the PCH pulmonologist and a prescription for antibiotics, we got to go home. It was about 3 am. Wednesday was miserable as I struggled to give him enough fluids, clean up those fluids when they came back, then try to feed him and keep him comfortable. It's heartbreaking when he looks at me, crying and says, "ma-ma-ma-ma".

BUT, his fever broke last night, thanks to many prayers of our friends and family! And today, he's back to his old self: digging through the cabinets and climbing the stairs. In fact, today he made it all the way to the top and half-way to the office when I caught up with him. When he sees me coming, he crawls as fast as he can like he's running away. As funny as it is to watch, we are really trying to discourage that behavior for when he starts walking. I can hear you all saying "good luck" with a sly grin on your face. Thanks. Thanks a lot.

Special Release: The time has come

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What's new with Samuel

Someday soon, too soon for me, Samuel will figured out he doesn't need to hold on to the couch to get around. He's already mastered crawling and is quite comfortable climbing the stairs. Scary. (I'm sorry this is sideways - I can't figure out how to fix it. It's not long so you shouldn't get too bad of a neck cramp.)



We'll call this one "Not too big for his britches". I had put him in a new pair of jeans the other day and I went to see what he was doing...his britches were falling down! He ended up getting down and crawling right out of them! I have a nudest. He crawls away mid-diaper change as well. He's such a stinker!

Lately, Samuel has been making this funny noise with his mouth, smacking his lips sorta. The other day after lunch I thought I'd take a minute to record him doing it. He did for a little while but he got distracted and had other tasks to do. It begins at about 1 minute and I'll let you guess what it is. :)



Usually Samuel enjoys bothering Lucy and she usually leaves him alone. Sometimes they play together and it's so cute. And USUALLY, Lucy doesn't like Samuel to get in her food and bones. However, she is learning that he is very generous when handing out bones (1 for you, 1 for me) and sometimes they share food (YUCK!). But Samuel has recently started reaching for things higher in the pantry. The other day I had the door closed but not all the way. It didn't take too long...

And then...

One last thing. I finished "The Book"! It's not the best work I've ever done, but it's finished and Samuel likes it. He drags it around on the dirty floor! But I'm so glad it's finished. I'm so proud. I'll have to take a picture of it and post it.

Thanks for checking in. I'll update later in the week as we have Samuel's "CF Annual Visit" tomorrow.