This month has been BUSY! Mostly, it’s been busy because of you. Right as you turned 11 months old, you learned to stand up on your own. Your first time standing was using the side of the bathtub, but you use everything – chairs, couches, the coffee table, a leg, Charlie, a drawer handle, and lately even a flat wall is enough to help you stand up! And within a few days of standing, you started walking around hanging onto furniture, so a lot more things are within your reach now. You love this! Mommy and Daddy… not so much.

You are into EVERYTHING! After raising your brother, who never got into anything besides his own toys, doesn’t like dirty hands, and won’t put anything in his mouth that’s not food, Mommy and Daddy were NOT PREPARED for you! You are into everything. I know I already said that, but it just seems like I can’t say it enough! If anything at all is within your reach, it’s going to end up in your hand. You will crumple or crush it if it’s noisy, and if it’s not noisy, it goes in your mouth. Noisy stuff eventually ends up in your mouth too, though. You don’t care what gets on your hands, and before Mommy can clean them you often wipe them all over your face and through your hair. I can’t count the number of times we’ve had to wipe oatmeal out of your hair!

Speaking of food, I wonder if you think that everything is food, or if you just really think the only way to discover something is to taste it. Mommy has pulled so many gross things out of your mouth – dirty socks, shoes, the broom and/or dustpan, paper, toiletpaper/Kleenex, a giant dust bunny, chunks of dried mud, grass and the classic every-baby-except-Zane-must-try, dog crumbles. You seem to like everything, no matter how bad it is. You can have the most disgusting thing in the world in your mouth, and you’ll be perfectly happy about it – and rage when I take it away. And your rage – that’s a topic we’ve covered before. Let’s just say that the festering ball of anger that lives inside you (for reasons we still haven’t discovered) is alive and well. We’ve joked that you’re bipolar because you can be SO HAPPY and then throw such a HUGE FIT all within a five minute span.

I think you’re going to be our clingy child. You always want attention, cuddles, and to be picked up and held. I’m OK with it, because sometimes Mommy feels pretty neglected with your big brother being SO independent. I can always get down in your face and have a little visit, and you’re always SUPER HAPPY and excited to see me. You can’t get enough of people, and as social as you are now I just can’t imagine you ever being shy. I’m sure it will happen but it’ll be hard to get used to! The clingy part can get a bit overwhelming though, like when you’re pulling my pantlegs when I’m trying to do dishes, or crying on the floor because I’m not looking at you every second, or freaking out because I have walked out of the room without picking you up and taking you along. Mommy needs to be patient with your neediness though, because it will be over all too soon!

You were extra needy for a bit this month, as you and your brother both had terrible ear infections. You even had an awful-sounding cough – Mommy took both of you to the hospital when we realized what was going on, but I felt so guilty because it had gotten so bad before we realized. We’re so used to being sent home with “it’s a virus, gotta wait it out”. Zane told us his ears hurt during the night, and the next morning Mommy noticed you slapping yourself in the head and pulling on your ears. You had a bad ear infection in both ears – your first real sickness, which is pretty good for almost 1 year old! The chiropractor was able to help you to stop hurting though, and the antibiotics had you all turned around and cleared up in a few days. Mommy HATES it when you’re sick, especially when I think that it was worse because I didn’t notice it in time. One plus side of you growing up is that you’ll be able to tell me what’s wrong!

The last and biggest event for you this month was your birthday party! We celebrated your birthday and Zane’s on the same day, the day before you turned one. You got to see all your grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, and even some of your second cousins – what a houseful! You slept through the first hour or so, and when you got up you were the quietest we’ve probably ever seen you – what were all these people doing here? None of them were there when you went to sleep! You stuck your fingers in Zane’s cake, tried to grab the flame of your candle and then stuck your fingers in your cake, and ignored your presents while tearing up tissue paper and wrapping paper. All exactly as we expected. The highlights of your day were receiving Auntie Carolyn’s old cell phones (now that was a savvy gift!) and smearing cake and icing into your eyebrows, ears, hair, and up your nose.

You are your own person, Samuel. You are loud, sometimes even obnoxious. You scream. You freak out if you don’t have what you want, NOW. You never stop moving, even when you’re asleep. You get into everything, constantly try to touch things you’re not allowed to have, pinch and bite and pull hair, pester the dog, and make MESSES! And we wouldn’t change a thing about you. You are our happy, energetic, curious little ray of sunshine. We love you just the way you are, and hope nothing ever happens to hurt your happiness.

Your measurements at 1 year:

• Weight: 23 lb 8 oz
• Height: 31 inches

It sure surprised Oma, but that wasn’t the first time you’d rolled over! On August 27 you rolled for the very first time. You were under your western hangy-toy-thingy (do they have a proper name for those?) and you were on a folded up blanket. Well you rolled off that blanket and then were stuck on your face. Don’t feel neglected when you hear Mommy’s reaction; before rescuing you, I pointed you out to Daddy and we had a laugh. When you have kids someday you’ll understand! Besides, the MINUTE Mommy turned you over, you rolled right onto your face again! You were determined to get somewhere that day, although you weren’t successful.

You are trying to get around in a lot of ways this month. When Mommy puts you on your tummy, you HATE it. But for the few minutes that you’re there, we watch your arms and legs and it really looks like you already know how to crawl! I’m pretty sure if you could get those flailing little limbs UNDER you, you’d just motor all over the place. You’re also starting to do a lot less cuddling and a lot more sitting up and wiggling around when you’re being held. Remember, Mommy wants you to learn to sit up so you won’t be so bored… but… you can take as LONG AS YOU WANT to start crawling!

This month we also decided to feed you your first solids! All the guidelines we read say nothing but breastmilk for 6 months. But you were determined to not wait! This month, you’ve been a holy terror when we’re trying to eat. If you get left on the floor or in your swing when we eat, you scream bloody murder loudly voice your displeasure at the situation. You want to be at the table NOW. If you are sitting on someone’s lap while they’re eating, you follow every bite. You crane your little face right back to watch the food go into their mouth, and sometimes you even open your mouth at the same time. You’ve put your hands in our plates and tried to grab our forks. And EVERYTHING you touch goes into your mouth if you can get it there! Plus, you were getting up four times a night to eat now. That’s like, every two hours all night. And you were eating every hour or two during the day too! So we decided it was time. Hang the recommendations, you were ready!

September 7 for suppertime you had your very first taste of ‘solid’ food. Of course, calling it solid is a stretch since it’s pureed mush. Anyway, we gave you sweet potatoes yams. (Why does everyone confuse sweet potatoes with yams anyway? They don’t look the same OR taste the same, and they’re even different colors inside!) Your Daddy HATES yams. He says he has to try really hard not to puke just from the smell of them. Now Mommy doesn’t really believe that because your Daddy peeled and started blending the yam Mommy cooked so that you could have your food on time, and he was JUST FINE. Anyway, at first Mommy was worried you didn’t like yams either! You had some pretty priceless looks on your face. I think now that it was more about the unfamiliarity of eating, because you did finish the whole helping and then the next night you INHALED the yams! You started sleeping better right away, too. Yay food!

September 8 you started your day out with bananas for breakfast. You loved those too – just a note for later!

The last big thing we did this month was to get your four-month immunizations. We were late, just like Mommy ALWAYS is with your letter – you were supposed to be immunized when you turned four months, but you got your immunizations the last day of your fifth month, right before actually turning 5 months old! You had two shots in one leg and one in the other leg, and you SCREAMED. Daddy heard you out in the waiting room where he was waiting with Zane, and he knew it was you by your cry. You had a BAD next day – you had a bit of a fever, you were up all day, and then you got up several times in the night. We gave you Tylenol and it just seemed like everything was wrong – sore legs, a headache, who knows! You were a real trooper though. Every time Mommy or Daddy came near you, you were all smiles. You knew we would be there to help you through it, and that was all that mattered to you. And we plan to keep your world that safe and secure, for as long as possible! We love you, our sweet little guy.

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This month we took you camping for your very first time! We didn’t go far away from home, in case it didn’t go well… but our fears were unfounded. You were such a good boy the whole trip, for FIVE nights in a tent! You slept through every night, waking around 5 am to eat and then sleeping for a few more hours. And every day you slept in Oma and Opa’s trailer for like 4 hours! Daddy was worried you were sick or something, but you were definitely NOT sick. All that fresh air just wore you out. And made you hungry I might add… you ate nonstop that week. We were a little afraid you’d outgrow all the clothes we brought for you before the five days was even up. (You didn’t of course, but our fears about you are always exaggerated). Now, whenever you don’t sleep, the household joke is that we are going to set up a tent in the backyard and put you out there to sleep!

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When you aren’t sleeping, you’re up and about – a happy little baby, maybe the happiest we’ve ever seen. You are fussier than your brother was, and louder and needier, but you are SO HAPPY and so friendly! You have a smile for everyone, and a little belly laugh if they please you enough. Which is all the time – you’re pretty easy to please. Everyone loves you. You win new friends just by looking at them with your big blue (gray?) eyes. And as soon as you get a little bit of attention, you crack a huge grin. You grin when Mommy or Daddy talk to you. You grin when Zane sticks his face right up in your business, although Mommy and Daddy would have thought that would be annoying. Even when Zane shoves toys (his or yours) right in your face or puts his bubby right on your face, you just grin and love every minute of it. Mommy and Daddy are so, so blessed to have you in our home, and we feel like there is more love here every day because of you!

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Sleeping in the living room. You don’t do this very often anymore – you’re becoming high maintenance!

Well Sam, Mommy is proud to say that she is writing your letter on time. You turned 3 months old two days ago… already! Mommy and Daddy can hardly believe it – it seems like you’ve grown 10 times as fast as your older brother did. You eat nonstop, you no longer sleep much during the day, and you’re already sleeping 8 to 10 hours at night just like an older baby! You’ve even grown too big for the baby bathtub already! Every time we turn around we feel like we’ve missed something important – especially Daddy, since he is always at work! At least Mommy is always around to give Daddy a first-hand account of your day. You have changed SO MUCH this month. I just hope Mommy can put everything into words… I will just have to try.

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Grinning your face off in the tub!

We are pretty sure that this month you got about a thousand times cuter than you already were. You were pretty cute when you were born, so that’s quite an accomplishment… but somehow you managed it! The first thing we noticed this month was that you were starting to smile without having a fart or a poopy diaper behind the expression. And your smiles, when you started giving them out, were so winning… no one could possibly look at you smiling without getting a little happier. Toothless, and so wide sometimes you have to tip your head back just to get the full smile in. Some of your first big smiles were in the bath – you LOVE your baths almost as much as you love your meals! You smile through every bath, and when Mommy washes your face you grin and push your face into the washcloth.

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One of Mommy’s favorite photos, because of the adoring expression on your face. Who says a baby can’t show love?

You also started talking this month. I think this is Mommy’s favorite part of babyhood, when you start trying to join a conversation. You talk to anyone who talks to you. All we have to do is look at your face and say anything, and you start to spill all of your stories, emphatically and happily. When you talk, Mommy can hardly listen to anything else because all I want is to keep listening to you. I have no idea what you’re saying, but you’re talking to me and you’re enjoying it. I need to enjoy it while I can, because all too soon you’ll be talking in complete sentences just like your older brother and Mommy and Daddy will have a hard time remembering what you were like at this age!

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Chilling in your stroller. As long as you have someone’s attention, you’re happy!

Just in the last couple of weeks, you also started laughing! It’s still a little hard to make you laugh, but usually playing with your feet or your cheeks will do it. You are a nonstop ball of happiness but your giggles seem to be reserved for very special times. When you do giggle, it sounds like it’s coming from way down in your belly – I bet you’ll laugh that way when you’re older too. Mommy and Daddy will bend over backwards to make sure you always are happy enough and have reason to smile and laugh, because your happy face makes our day. You are happy and interactive even when you aren’t being held. When you are crying, you stop as soon as Mommy walks in the room and you just follow me with your eyes. You are always in a good mood as long as you’re around other people, and I know I’m going to have to protect you later on because I think you’re going to be a really friendly and social little boy.

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The bouncy chair… you just started enjoying this seat, but nowadays it almost looks like you’re too heavy for it!

You are starting to really know and love your big brother too. Zane has been really good with you right from day one – he’s hurt you a couple of times, but we are pretty sure he just doesn’t know how to play with a baby because he’s always concerned for you. One day a couple of weeks ago, you were on Mommy and Daddy’s bed and Zane was sitting by you playing with cars. You were cooing and kicking like always, Mommy could hear your satisfied noises from the bathroom where I was cleaning. When Zane got up and came to see Mommy for a minute, you cried as soon as he left! That was when Mommy knew you already love him and you will be the best of friends when you get a little older. Whenever Zane gets in your face now, you just stare at him and you often have a smile ready for him. When you’re older and the two of you fight, Mommy will be sure to remind you how much you loved each other right from the beginning.

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Your camera face – deer in the headlights.

Sam, we want you to know the last three months have FLOWN by and we can’t believe what a big boy you are already. We are already having all the mixed feelings every parent must have about their babies growing up – we are so proud of you, so happy and excited about every new milestone, yet we’re a little sad that it’s happening so fast. We want you to be our baby forever, and you’re already well on your way to being our little boy! We will love you forever, no matter how fast you grow up you’ll always be our baby!

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One of the first photos we have of you, still all red from being born.

Samuel, this is Mommy’s first letter to you, and hopefully the first of many. I was supposed to be writing a letter every month for your big brother Zane and I haven’t done very well… I wrote to him every month for the first year, and then I kind of let things go after that! I guess I will try to do the same for you, every month for the first year, and then fairly regularly (at least every few months) for both of you after that. I am off to a poor start writing your “welcome” letter when you are already two months old, but I will try to write as if you’d just arrived!

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You were just like your big brother all through Mommy’s pregnant months. You seemed to want OUT from a very early date – kicking so hard Mommy had bruised ribs, pushing down with your fists and head, and giving Mommy nonstop heartburn! It was actually worse this time around because you were actually positioned properly for your exit, so Mommy was waddling like a fat goose! We had you scheduled for a C-section, so when we got close to our chosen date (April 16) Mommy was basically just sitting around at home trying to relax enough that you would stay in. We ate from the freezer, the house got messier and messier… and it didn’t even work!

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In your bassinet next to Mommy’s hospital bed. This photo was really dark so it doesn’t look very high quality, but Mommy LOVES the peaceful look on your face after a hard day of being born.

On April 13, Mommy and Daddy were at home when you decided you would wait no longer. Daddy was cleaning the carpets so that you’d be able to come home on Tuesday to a nice fresh house, and Mommy and Zane were eating sandwiches at the kitchen table. Suddenly Mommy felt a POP almost like you’d punched really hard, and the next thing we knew, you were on your way! I went into labor FAST… you wanted OUT and you weren’t going to wait for any surgeon!

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We left Zane in the capable hands of Auntie Carolyn, and Daddy and Mommy rushed in to Red Deer hospital. We were planning to have you in Lacombe, but since you decided to come on your own, they sent us to the bigger hospital because Lacombe didn’t have enough staff! I was in full-on labor by the time we got there, but we decided to have a C-section anyway because it was already planned. Just a few hours after Mommy’s water broke, you were free, and glaring and screaming at the new world around you!

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A much clearer picture of you in your bassinet.

I remember every minute after the doctor took you out… Daddy got to show you to Mommy just for a second – not enough, because you were held so close that you were blurry – and then they took you and Daddy away to get your tests done and Mommy was whisked off to recovery. It seemed like I was in recovery forever… and it WAS almost two hours! Way too long to wait to see you, all I wanted to do was hold you and get a look at your face when I could SEE YOU PROPERLY. I’m told that while you were waiting for Mommy, you cuddled on Daddy’s bare chest quietly for almost an hour before you started screaming again. It was good to know that you weren’t screaming the whole time I was gone, because when they brought me up to our room, I could hear you all the way down the hall!

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Mommy fell in love with you immediately. All the doctors and nurses used words like “big” and “heavy” and “sturdy” to describe you, and I guess you weren’t exactly a small baby, but to Mommy and Daddy you were TINY. We kept feeling like we were going to break you! You loved to be curled up with your legs all folded under you, which made you look even smaller. And Mommy was excited to see your BLOND hair and BLUE eyes, because you actually had Mommy’s coloring! You had a lot of hair, but not near as much as your older brother had and yours was finer (again, like Mommy).

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It was almost suppertime when you were born, so that evening the only visitor you had was Auntie Carolyn. She had to go back home for work the next day so we let her stop and see you before she had to leave. Mommy was barely awake for that visit, but Auntie Carolyn LOVED you. You’ll love her too, when you’re older! The only sad thing about having you in Red Deer hospital was that Daddy wasn’t allowed to stay with us in the hospital room. He had to go home that first night, not long after Auntie Carolyn left, and we were on our own. Oh, we had nurses to help us, but it was not as nice as it would have been to have Daddy there every minute! On the first night, we had an easy time. You slept the entire night except for a half hour of nursing a couple of times. Unfortunately, Mommy didn’t get to sleep at all because our roommate’s baby was up ALL night! Daddy was the lucky one, being able to go home and sleep in a quiet house.

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On your second day in the world, Oma and Opa brought your big brother Zane to meet you.

On your second day in the world, all your grandparents and aunts and uncles came to see you. Daddy told everyone to come at the same time so that you and Mommy would have most of the day to rest. You see, you weren’t even a day old and Daddy was already looking out for you. We had to move our little party down the hall to the atrium because there were too many visitors for our room, but it was worth it since the rest of our day was nice and quiet! Your Grandma and Grandpa were the first ones there, and Uncle Garry and Auntie Melina, Katie, Ashley, William, Uncle Tom and Auntie Penny, Mack, Tissie and Keenan all came soon after. Uncle Reuben, Auntie Monique, Noah and Jaiden came too but not till supper time. You were passed around to a lot of pairs of hands that afternoon, and the owners of those hands all loved you. A bit later that day your Oma and Opa came to visit, and you got to meet your big brother Zane! I have to tell you, once he saw you, he barely even noticed that Mommy and Daddy were there. He kept coming over to look at you, and learned your name in about five minutes and was telling everyone else “that’s Sam”. We just know you and your big brother will be best friends when you’re older.

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Our second night in the hospital was hard… you were getting hungry for real milk and Mommy didn’t have any quite yet, so you were up ALL night nursing. You wanted to eat and eat and there was nothing there so you cried to nurse every five minutes! Mommy was starving too, both of us snacked all night! Eventually the nurses actually had to carry you around in the hallways for a little while just to let Mommy get a little rest. But your hard work paid off – the next morning, Mommy had milk for you and you were able to eat your fill and get a good sleep… and let Mommy have a nap too! Our roommate had gone home with her baby, so at least we didn’t keep anyone up that night.

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Holding Mommy’s hand for your very first car ride.

On your third day in the world, we got to go home! After lunch, Mommy and Daddy packed up all our things and the doctor came to look you over. She said you were doing great and that we could go home, so around supper time, we did just that! You didn’t like the car seat and cried at the top of your lungs right from the moment we put you in the car. Daddy finally pulled over and Mommy climbed in the back seat and held both of your hands all the way home. Once you had Mommy’s fingers in your grasp, you fell asleep right away and when we got home, you kept right on sleeping while Mommy crawled into bed. Oma brought Zane home and he was SO excited when he saw you sleeping in your cradle. He climbed up in bed for a picnic with Mommy and every time someone came into the room, he pointed you out and told them your name. He already loves you so much!

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But no matter how much your big brother loves you… Mommy and Daddy love you even more! Our little family is even more amazing now than before. We are so happy and excited to have you home, and so blessed to have such a(nother) wonderful little boy in our lives. We can’t wait to watch you grow up. We both love you so much!

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Your measurements when you were born:

• Height: 20 inches
• Weight: 8 lb 13 oz
• Weight on going-home day: 8 lb 6 oz