One Year Ago Today

One year ago today I was a childless woman. Yes, Sam was very much alive inside of me, and I loved him already, but practically speaking, I was still childless. I did what I wanted, when I wanted, because I wanted to. I thought that I was very considerate of my husband, friends and coworkers, and I really was. But still, it was my life.

One year ago today I planned my day around conference calls, gym hours and tv shows.

One year ago today I attended a quarterly finance meeting and built some spreadsheet model.

One year ago today I was well-rested.

One year ago today my life fit neatly into lists and spreadsheets, and all my ducks were in a row. For the most part, everything went according to my well-laid plans.

One year ago today I went to my 39-week OB appointment and was told I'd made no progress from the week before. My doctor offered to schedule an induction for me, which I politely declined.

One year ago today as we were climbing into bed I told Chris that he was wrong, we weren't going to have an April baby after all...

What a difference a year makes!

Sneak Peak

We had some family pictures taken last Saturday to mark Sam's first year. Here's a sneak peak at a few from the photographer's blog. Enjoy!

The Birth-Week Begins!

Today we helped my friend Betty use her gift card for lunch at Buca Di Beppo. When we sat down our placemats announced to us that anyone dining within 7 days of his birthday would receive a free cupcake. We enthusiastically notified our server that Sam qualified for the birthday freebie. "Does he eat cupcakes?" server man asked. "Yes!" we both replied. "Alright then, frosting as big as your head is coming your way."

We thought he was kidding.
"Aunt" Betty, who doesn't limit herself to one day in June but celebrates a Birth-Summer, was quite pleased to realize that this early treat meant that Sam would be celebrating a Birth-Week rather than just a Birthday. Let the festivities begin!

By Thy Mercy

A message regarding Sam's Great-Grandmother:

Today, April 22, 2010 at approximately 7:30 AM Joyce Hunniford went to be with the Lord Jesus in Heaven. At the time she was surrounded by her loving husband Ted and her three sons and their wives, who cherished the moment to share their appreciation and love for her as she was greeted by her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We are grateful that she has been healed and delivered. We appreciate your prayers and thoughts during the coming days. The Hunniford Family.

Sam was blessed to have spent time with his Great-Grandma Hunniford during our visits to Florida. While we mourn her death, we also rejoice in the knowledge that we worship a risen King. "'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 15:55-57)

In the weary hours of sickness,

In the times of grief and pain,

When we feel our mortal weakness,

When all human help is vain.

In the solemn hour of dying,

In the awful judgment day,

May our souls, on thee relying,

Find thee still our Rock and Stay.

By thy mercy, O deliver us, good Lord

By thy mercy, O deliver us, good Lord, good Lord.

Stacking Video

This is, by far, Sam's favorite toy right now. If you watch closely, you can see how he holds his mouth open when he's working really hard at getting the ring onto the stick. That's his concentration face - isn't it cute?! Please forgive the lack of pants, we were working on getting into PJs when he got distracted by the rings.

My Friend Miles

Over the past 10 months, Sam and I have come to love to spend time with Julie and her son Miles. The boys are exactly 2 months apart (Sam is older) and its been fun to watch their development mirror each other. It has also been a true blessing to have a mommy friend with whom I can share the joys and struggles of adjusting to parenthood. And the final bonus: our husbands like each other, too!

Last weekend they were kind enough to keep Sam company while Chris and I went to a wedding. How cute are these two boys together! It makes me happy that, even at such a young age, he has a friend!

Mr. Methodical Makes A Move

In the past week Sam has become Mr. Methodical. Everything he does is thought out and has a purpose. He now likes to put items into containers, and then take them out again. And then put them back in. And on, and on. Sometimes this means putting the plastic fork (that fell on the floor and has now been claimed as a toy) in and out of a compartment on his activity table with the left hand, then the right hand, then the left hand, etc. Sometimes it means moving balls in and out of the ball popper. The past few days its meant mastering the ring stacker - all the rings on, then all the rings off and to the left. The on again, and off an to the right. Then repeat, for 10 minutes. All by himself, without anyone in the room with him. Its fascinating to watch the level of concentration as he manipulates the items around him.

All of this concentration has lead to an increase in his stability. You see, it takes two hands to play these games. He's quite confident about standing "hands free" now, so we knew that more was coming soon...

On Sunday Sam was standing holding onto a bench at church. Daddy came down to his level and Sam let go to reach for him. While leaning towards Chris, Sam took two steps without holding onto anything! Of course he did it knowing he'd fall right into Daddy's arms, but he did it!

Then today he let go of the coffee table. I watched him from across the room as he eyed the couch. I could see his little brain thinking, "how far is it really? How many steps would it take? Can I do it?" And then he started...he took one big step and fell on his bum. And I got a tear in my eye, because baby boy took his first intentional step.

Easter Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend to celebrate Sam's first Easter. Saturday we had BEAUTIFUL weather (I might have a small sunburn to prove it), so after morning nap we took Sam on his first bike ride! I got my bike as a gift for my 25th birthday - it arrived at our home about 6 days before we found out I was pregnant. I rode it regularly until I was about 6 months. Chris got his bike for his 26th birthday, about 3 weeks before Sam was born. So he and I had never actually been on a bike ride together! We needed to fix that! I got a front mounted bike seat from another mom in the neighborhood, and all three of us really loved our first family ride - many happy sounds coming from my squirms, and many smiles from those we encountered on the trail. We are fortunate to have a wonderful new bike trail in our neighborhood and we can now get all the way downtown on our bikes! We're looking forward to many more rides this summer.

After a wonderful church service in the morning, we had a relaxing afternoon while Sam napped. In the late afternoon we had some friends come over for Easter dinner. They have two sweet daughters, 14 months and 3 years, that our little man had a great time trying to keep up with. He found them so entertaining that he didn't even notice that mommy and daddy were busy having adult conversations!












And finally, this morning after I finished brushing my teeth I realized that it was quiet in my house...too quiet. I went to look for Sam, and found him standing at our little end table. My mind quickly thought through what I could have left there that would be intriguing him so much when it hit me: the black jelly beans. My little man had eaten 3 of the 5 discarded jelly beans that Chris and I refused to eat. I didn't think he'd be able chew them, let alone like the taste. Live and learn!

Uncle Geo's Baseball Game

Last weekend Sam and I traveled up to Ohio to visit with my family and celebrate Uncle George. George, my sister's husband, played baseball for Miami University in college and he was honored as the team's honorary captain for the season at their Military Appreciation Day. Fortunately they were able to fit the celebration into the early part of the season, as Captain George is set to deploy to Afghanistan at the end of April. Chris had to stay home to study for a test he has to take this month, but Sam and I spent a wonderful 5 days in Ohio.

The trip marked several milestones for Sam: First hotel stay, first baseball game, first REAL snowfall (yes it was the end of March, but its Ohio!), first introduction to Tori Minder. We were fortunate that some of the Ferguson crew was able to join us for the game on Saturday! Oh, and Sam and my parents' cat Dan got along surprisingly well. They had a very healthy respect for each other! I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story:

Grandpa took Sam out in the snow for a few minutes...in Daddy's snowsuit!

George throwing out the first pitch:
Sam and Hayden Minder got along pretty well:
We had an open seat next to us on the way home and Sam napped almost the entire flight in it. I even got to read a magazine!