New Decade - New Joys

I used to dread the idea of turning 30 or actually leaving my 20's, but it came this week and it was one of the best ever. I can truly say with all of my heart that I am the happiest I have ever been. My birthday was filled with friends, family, Ben and the greatest new joy in my life Samuel. Ben really made this day special, by doing things not from him but from Sam, it was so sweet even though he had no idea he was doing it. Here is a cute picture of the these special guys.

I also got to go to the Black Eyed Peas concert with friends and it was a great show and a fun night out with the girls. If these first few days of my 30's are any indication, I think this may be the best decade yet! Thanks to all the ladies for making this a great day.

So back to Samuel, since thats what this blog is all about. We had our 2nd parents as teachers appointment this week and it went great. Samuel is right on track, and doing lots of things that I would not have noticed. It is great that she is able to identify things that to me don't seem like they are anything and she can say that they are beginnings on him talking, standing and rolling from his back to his front. She also gave us some great advice in planning for our trip to the Bahamas. I know she has only been here twice but I am already considering calling her our little angel. Sam got a new play gym for his 3-month birthday and as you can see he is still trying to figure it out.

My mom also came down to visit this weekend, it was a great visit. Each time she leaves it is harder and harder to say goodbye. We have always known that our dogs loved Grandma more than us, but it seems she has a new big fan in Samuel. She brought him this cool new book that has 16 books inside of it each one its own nursery rhyme, and she must have read it to him a hundred times. He loves watching her because she talks to him non-stop, about everything and he just eats it up. Here is a cute picture of all of them sleeping together.

3 Months and Moving On Up

Samuel turned 3 months yesterday! I can't believe how quickly this time has gone and that he is now a quarter of a year old. At times when I look at him I can't believe he is 3 months but when I hold him he feels like he is 6 months or older. He is really starting to explore. This picture shows the way we try to hold him so he can see out and everything around him. He loves it.

He always wants to see what is going on around him. And even though we look at the same things in the house for the 30th time, to him it all seems new. I have begun to take him to the gym with me to walk on the track and he loves it. He stares at everything for about 30 minutes and then passes out from exhaustion. The doctor told us they would like to see Sam double his birth weight by 4 months but we are pretty sure he has already passed that mark.

Ben and I decided since my maternity leave is starting to wind down and Samuel is three months old and too big for his bassinet we needed to make the move from our room up to his own room. I have been dreading this day for a while but knew it needed to happen. Putting him in his crib he looked so tiny in comparison. The past 3 nights have been filled with mixed emotions. The 1st night there were multiple factors that happened including an alarm that went off at midnight playing nursery rhymes, and let me tell you if you are sleeping and woken up to nursery rhymes playing in the dark it is very unsettling. Sam has made the transition as well as can be expected, with a few extra wake ups at night. I hope over the next few weeks we work those out because I don't think I can handle these sleepless nights while working. Overall he seems to be adjusting well and enjoying his own space!

Here is a picture of Samuel doing what he loves, sucking on his hands. Anything you put within reach he loves to suck on these days. Its so cute.

Dad's Looks and Mom's Personality

When people meet Samuel for the 1st time or haven't seen him in a while the first thing they normally bring up is who he looks like. About 99% of the time they say Ben and as he gets bigger I see it more and more. People ask if I am sad or bummed that he doesn't look like me, and I am definitely not I think he is so cute just the way he is. But each day as we learn more about his personality, I see he acts just like me. He talks non-stop (definitely a Frigo trait), loves to meet new people, but most of all he LOVES his schedule. Sam is a really happy baby that loves to do just about anything as long as it doesn't mess with his schedule. Even daylight savings yesterday threw him for a loop! I am excited that he has both of us in him, and I pray that he becomes a little more flexible as he grows (for his sake.)

This weekend we spent a lot of time at home with Samuel, and ran some errands for him too. We had thought his first trip was going to be to Seattle in July, but he is now going to the Bahamas with us in April. To go to the Bahamas you need a passport even if you are 4 months old. Ben and I aren't sure what he could do but instead of protesting we went and got Samuel's passport, his picture turned out so cute, and then we went and got him his first swim trunks, sun hat and other clothes for the trip. Samuel loves baths so I can't wait to see how much he will like the pool and the ocean. We had to get him some bigger onesies too, he now wears 6-9 months.

Finally, its Samuel's Papa's (My dad) birthday today, and he is in France so we wanted to wish him a very Happy Birthday and hope he has a great time with the family.

I included some funny pictures of Samuel's morning routine.

Samuel 1st thing in the morning.

Samuel smiling that he gets to get out of his tight wrap!

Samuel stretching for the 1st time in the morning,

so happy to have his arms back.

Sam staring at his black and white pictures in his bouncy

while I work out. He doesn't let us leave him here long,

he wants us to play with him if we are around.

All about the ladies

We are really excited that this year 10 of our friends are expecting and 7 of them are due in July and August. So these few weeks are when most of them can find out what they are having and the ladies are the sure victor. This week alone we have had 3 friends tell us they are having girls. Congrats to Erin, Jamie and Angela three girls that I would be thrilled for Samuel to date some day!! Maybe we can talk arranged marriage?? When I was pregnant I felt it was all boys and now are the girls. I can't wait to meet each one of them.

Next, surrounding the ladies, I have a question I wish I knew the answer too. Since Samuel was born there have been multiple people that have told us he is so pretty he could be a girl. Now let me ask, what in the world does that mean? So does he look like a girl, are boys ugly? I believe in my heart that they think Samuel is a good looking boy, but seriously boys are cute and girls are cute. In my mind you don't need to be cute to be a girl. So if you have heard that and know an explanation I am all ears. Does this face look like a girl?Last, I have been a worry wort of a mom about my son and him rolling over. I used to believe in "knowledge is power" but when it comes to a baby that is far from the truth. I worry if it says he should be doing something for his age and he hasn't. Really, rolling over doesn't need to occur until 3 months according to "What to Expect in the first Years" but that is only 2 weeks away for us. Well all worries aside Samuel rolled over 3 times today. I think I pounded my chest a few times, when it had nothing to do with me at all. My good friend reminded me that no one will ask him at his first interview when he rolled over and that is what really matters. I am going to try and stop stressing and let Samuel be Samuel and save my Type A personality for work and not for raising my child!!

Happy Birthday Jiji

We wish we could be in Omaha today, to celebrate Jiji's (Ben's Mother's) birthday with her. But even though we can't be there Samuel wanted to wish her a very Happy Birthday!!

Here is another picture of Samuel from today. We are trying to capture him smiling but are learning that it is very challenging to catch the smile and take the picture at the right time. So far we haven't done well, and he doesn't seem to like the flash. Hopefully we will get better.

One More Catholic in this World

That's right, there is one more Catholic in this world. Samuel Joseph had his baptism this past Sunday in Sioux Falls. To begin the weekend we traveled 5 1/2 hours to get to Sioux Falls and Samuel did a fantastic job (he slept 5 hours and was wide awake when we drove into SF's.) Ben and I can't begin to describe how much snow Sioux Falls had. My mom and friends had talked about all of the snow but I still couldn't believe it when we saw it. The drifts and piles of snow were all taller than our car, and the ice under the snow made it tough at times to walk. But the great thing was that SF's had one of its warmest days in a while on Sunday. Samuel was able to meet new family and friends this weekend and then on Sunday it was a day to celebrate Samuel. He attended his first mass on Sunday and was cute as can be. This was his 1st outfit with a belt and button down shirt, he looked like such a little man it was precious. After mass we changed him into his Baptismal gown (no it was not a gown but a white jumpsuit) and held the Baptism at the back of our church. Father Krogman did the Baptism, he was the same Priest that did Ben and I's wedding 5 1/2 years ago and also the same church I was Baptized in almost 30 years ago.
Christy Prendergast a great friend and her fiance Wade Nedved are Samuel's Godparents and they were there to help us celebrate Samuel's day. Sam was great during the Baptism, but started to cry when he was blessed with the Holy Water I think it was a shock. After the Baptism we all went together for a celebratory brunch. It was great to have all of our family together to celebrate Samuel. I think everyone was able to hold Sam even if just for a moment, he loved meeting all of his family and new friends.
After brunch we went back to my mothers house to open gifts and spend more time with Samuel. It was really nice of my mother and Denny to have us to their house so people could hold Samuel for a little while longer. Samuel's godparents Christy and Wade had a book made for him that is all about Samuel. The book is printed just for him, including his birthday and each page starts with a letter of his name. This was the neatest thing and I can't wait until Samuel can read it to us some day and know that the story is all about him. Ben's parents were also able to come over to the house and spend some time with them before they needed to head back to Omaha.

The ride back was great Samuel again slept the entire way. I was really nervous about how he would do in the car and on his 1st roadtrip, but he was a trooper. He slept well at my mother's house where he has his own crib and when he was awake he was a trooper as we had all 4 pugs at the house with him!!

Samuel is doing really well. He seems to be smiling more each day, babiling a lot throughout the day and has begun to push himself up into a standing position when you have him on your lap (he has really strong legs.) We are still waiting to see him roll over again, we can see he wants to but just hasn't gotten the moves down just yet.

Here are some pictures from our weekend home.