Crecent Bar, Birthday Parties and Summer Cake

 Eli after Silas and Luka's birthday party at EC Hughes Park. Looks like he just got back from Disneyland

 Our one rose in the yard that blooms once a year.

 Our Strawberry Summer Cake that we love and eat for breakfast lately.

A little bit of sweetness between the Potty on the top, the pump, cake and Eli's sweet face :) Our car was packed tight for our Summer vacation we took to Crescent Bar.

Bromance

 Eli has to have his bromance time. In this picture they decided to include Daddy! This is the look that Samuel has for his Dad all the time. He is constantly staring at him. I think it’s because Brian picks him up a lot quicker than I do. The doctor told me it’s because his Dad is funny looking.  His comment made me feel a little better, he responds like Brian is his sole caretaker.

Sam’s 4.5 month doctor check-up...Big Day for Sam. He got two shots and two Bugs Bunny band aids.  Eli was right there to comfort him, hugging him saying, “It's ok lil brother, I’m here” it was just pure sweetness.  Eli was very happy and vocalized he didn’t get shots.  Sam also started rice cereal two days ago, just one meal a day, dinner.  He started waking up more at night and non-stop nursing so it was a huge sign he needed more food.  He also has conjunctivitis in his left eye; he has had it since he was born.  We’ve had drops, antibiotics and now he is on eye ointment.  It seems to be working.  If it doesn’t we are going to try Vijamox?  Sam's stats: Height: 26.5 inches (88.45%), Weight: 17 lbs 4 oz ( 82.51%) HC: 17.4 inches (88.09%).  The doctor also said that his heart murmur is getting softer and thinks it is getting smaller.  This is the first time the doctor has said it was softer, it has always been really loud.  Hopefully it is closing up, we'll know for sure when he has an echo at six months.
 

How did my kid end up with every color of shoe and I have hardly any shoes?  I guess we need to invest in Croc stock.  I guess that's what happens when you have kids, thankfully Sam will be able to get wear out of them too.  Anyone need any for the summer we have size 4-5 Blue Generic, 6-7 Yellow, 8-9 Green.

Sam's 4 months Old!

Sam finds his toes! Eli did not find his toes this early however he had teeth and Sam has no teeth yet...no rolling either.  Eli accomplished that at 5 months we'll see if Sam can keep up.

 

Sam after bath time and Eli looking for baby starfish in the bird exhibit at the Aquarium.  I was stunned to find that the parking under the viaduct has gone up to $16.00 a day for four hours!  It was more expensive for me to park then for us to go the Aquarium (with prime card discount).  Next time we will have to take the bus.  Today we are off to low-tide.

Morning Time

Our morning ritual of rocking in the rocking chair with each other.  Every morning Eli wants to cuddle and rock with baby Sam.  Once I've had my coffee they get to rock together.  I think Sam usually enjoys this more than this picture shows and Eli is usually all kisses and smiles when rocking.  However this morning, Eli is in mid yawn and Sam I think he's thinking, "this again?"   

Hee Haw! Shite?

Eli finally wears his Woody hat, that he got for his 3rd birthday.  He runs around the house saying Hee Haw! Ride em cowboy!  His other favorite thing to do lately is finding snails, potato bugs, spiders and lady bugs.  No matter where we are it's an easy way to keep a kid occupied, and he relishes in it every time, (bug pictures to come). This kid has some serious speed too, you can tell he plays chase a lot.  I think he will be in track when he is older cause he loves to run.  About two weeks ago we went for a summer night walk and he ran pretty much all of Greenlake.  He is really comfortable on big toys and zips around and hangs like a monkey all the time now, shouting, "look at me mama!"  I love every time he talks as talking has been slow for us.  He is however improving more and more everyday.  I feel like we are finally at that place where he just starts repeating everything we say.  One of the words he has learned from his Dad is shite a kid version of shit.  Really?  I tell Brian and Eli not to say the word Shite.  Of course they both want to say it even more and they both think it's funny.  It really sounds like the German work for shit and I'm sure everyone hears through the word shite and thinks we are horrible parents.  I'll take the shite over the shit. I can't wait to spend this summer with him and Sam, so I can teach him more, hopefully less swear words.  I sometimes feel like he is really a two year old in a 3yr old body since he only started hearing well, when he got tubes at 2.  Eli also loves his Sam time, it is sometimes the carrot that motivates him.  You'd think it was candy.  On the Sam front he is awake a little more now that he is getting bigger and lately has discovered his toes.

Sam's 3 months old!

Sam is now weighing in at 15.7 lbs as of last week so I'm sure he has reach almost 16 lbs and is thriving.  He has also grown over 3.5 inches since he was born.  Simply amazing! So far his cardiologist has said that his murmur is closing and shows signs of being a healthy boy! We go back at 6 months to do another echo cardiogram. I find his personality to be quite serious,  however he did just have his first laugh.  One of the best things about life are baby laughs! Gotta love those gummy smiles!  Sam is getting out and about with us quite frequently starting to lose his hair a little and talks quite a bit when he is the only one in the house.  Eli is really embracing his new role as a big brother and snuggles, shares toys, and occasionally picks on him.  They wouldn't be brothers if he didn't right? We are finally finishing the initial first meets with friends and local family.  Takes a little longer with the second one since we got two kids to handle and usually the older one needs the attention.  Eli has scored with tons of gifts on the birth of his new brother.  I dont' think the newness has wore off yet.  One of the gifts Eli received was a doctor kit and his new thing lately is to take baby Sam's temperature, give him shots, check his ears and bandage him up.  Simply adorable!

Our New Addition to Our Family...Better late than never

Our first picture of Baby Sam.  Not even an hour after he was born.  As you can see from the clock behind Brian.  Baby Sam weighed in at 8 lbs and 13 ounces, measured 21 inches in height and not sure of the head size but over average.  This was the hour I was in recovery from our schedule c-section.  Sam was born at 8:39 am and overall the process was much better than it was with Eli.  The Spinal Tap was Amazing and I didn't have to labor for over a day.  Sam is now almost 12lbs and not quite two months old.  More recent pics to come.