First stairs, next Mt. Everest

Samuel loves to climb on everything and this week he mastered climbing stairs. So if you put him down and he can see stairs he is off. It is so funny to watch this little man that thinks he is invinsable. He just goes at the stairs with no fear, and it is really cute to watch his chubby legs bend and push up onto the next stair. Then when he gets to the top stair, he has nothing left to hold onto so he flops his belly and wiggles to the top. Ben and I have spent most of our weekend on the stairs or chasing him around the house. With this attitude we think Sam may take on Mt. Everest next. He seems to be fearless and I think that is pretty normal but it is great to watch, and love him trying new things. As a mother I love watching him explore new places, and seeing his eyes open wide and get very focused on learning everything about what he has found.

Sam excited about going up the stairs, AGAIN!

Sam almost to the top where Homer and Otis (Samuel's target) are waiting.

So, Monday came and Samuel started daycare. Ms. Carol was so great, she really made me feel at ease as much as that was possible. Sam went right to her and really hasn't looked back. Every day I went to get him he seemed really happy, playing with friends/toys or even sitting in Ms. Carol's lap having a bottle. I was worried he wouldn't sleep, wouldn't eat and would be upset when I left, but none of these things happened. He takes his 2 naps every day, eats better at daycare than at home and seems comfortable when Ms. Carol comes to take him. We can also see the changes at home, he crawls better, talks more and seems really tired so starting to sleep even better. I am so glad things went so well, even though a lot of tears were shed by me this week it has been worth it.

While everything with daycare has been great there have been some firsts that were not so good as well. On Wednesday, Ben picked Sam up and just as he got there, they were calling us to let us know Sam had fallen off one of the mats and bumped his head on a toy and had a big egg size welt on his forehead. The ladies said he cried, but was just fine as soon as they picked him up. This is the first of many bumps Sam is going to get, but it was so sad to see our little man with a big bruise on his forehead. Then, on Thursday when I went to get Samuel they told me he had a temperature of 102!! WOW, Sam has never even had a cold and now 102, I was freaked. We got him right into our pediatrician and they confirmed he had a virus, but the bad news was that he just had to tough it out, no meds (how is that possible a drug pusher thought!) While, I never want Sam to be sick I loved how much he wanted to be near me. Ever since he became mobile he has pretty much been Mr. Independent but on Thursday and Friday it was a different story. Sam snuggled up to me all day and night, just like when he was a baby. I was in heaven. I am glad he is feeling better, but I have to admit I liked him having the virus so he would let me hold him for more than a few seconds before he was off to something else. Finally, the pediatrician did weigh Sam and he now weighs 21lbs! My mom had told me she thought he was thinning out, but by the signs of the scale Sam is still our little Chunky Monkey!!

Sam sad and not feeling well, snuggling with Dad!

The Boys are off to School

Today was the last horah for Ben and Sam. Ben starts full-time into his new job at Blue Valley High School and Samuel starts daycare/school. Ben and Sam had such a great time together this Summer, going to the pool, reading hundreds of books and of course playing Sam's favorite game peek-a-boo!

I am so sad it has to end, but the great thing is they get to do it again next summer! Samuel starting daycare is a day I have been trying to prepare myself for, for months. On one hand I am very excited for him to go to have the interaction with kids, which will challenge him and also expose him to some great new things but also sad that I can not walk out of my office during the day and see our little guys smiling face trying to crawl up the stairs or reading a book with dad. With everything, this will get easier with time. I went into his daycare on Friday to bring his things ahead of time and workout his schedule with his teachers and Sam loved being with the other kids. He jumped right in and I think may already be smitten with a little girl in his class. This gave me a good piece of mind that everything will turn out great.

This weekend my mom and Denny came to visit and as usual Sam had a great time with them. We are so glad that they made the trip down to see us, and my mom got to see Sam in the pool and she agrees he is a little fish. Denny and my mom also babysat for Ben and I so we could have a date night which was long over due. Usually, when my mom and Denny come down she spends a lot of time reading to him, and showing him different things, but this trip he was ready to show off all of his new tricks. Sam showed Grandpa and Grandma that he can stand on his own, pull himself up, feed himself and now is trying to get to the sitting up position from his stomach. We were sad when they left but already looking forward to their next trip.

This week I was able to meet Emily Ann, Angela and Clint's new baby girl and she is a sweetheart. We can't wait for her and Sam to get together. Sam also had another new friend born today, Josie Ann, congrats to Jamie and Joe.

Here is Sam's new smile, its like he is trying to smile soooo hard he begins to grind his jaw or something. So cute!

Mr. Adventure and the Imitator

Each day with Samuel is an adventure but over the past few weeks Samuel has turned into Mr. Adventure. Sam has to touch everything, crawl to anything that is in the room, pull himself up where possible and now he has begun trying to stand in his crib and in the bathtub. Sam has learned to stand up alone when he holds onto something and he thinks its the greatest thing. I love that he likes to try new things and it is so cute when he gets frustrated and knows its possible but can't seem to get it. At times I get nervous and try to help him or not let him fall, but I am trying to let him do it on his own so he can learn. I think this is just the start, boys love to try anything and everything. I can't imagine the things he will try when he can walk and run, but it is so much fun.

Samuel had a good week, but yet another week with a lot of time inside. The weather here has been so warm that we haven't been able to go to the park, pool or our daily walks which is a bummer because those are some of his favorite things. I hope it cools down soon so we can get back to our activities. But we have decided to make sure regardless of the weather, Sam is going to get to swim. We are signing him up for indoor swimming lessons, the class is called "Seahorses" that will be twice a week for 2 months. If what we have seen is any indication, we think he is going to love it.

Over the 4th of July one of my friends noticed that every time I fed Sam I would open my mouth to try and get him to imitate what I was doing. After she brought this to my attention I began to pay attention to it and now realize that I do it all the time. If I want Sam to smile, I smile big, if I want him to open his mouth I do it. Every time it happens now I start to laugh and then Sam starts to laugh, (is it possible he already knows how crazy his mother is?!) So, if you are lucky enough to see Sam while he is trying to eat, you will also get a free show to the imitator.

Sam tried fruit for the 1st time this week and we finally have a winner, he ate the entire bowl with no frowns or tears. I think he is a sugar fan just like his daddy!

I had to include more bath pictures because they are so cute, and really his favorite time of the day.

Sam loves trying to kick and being on his stomach in the tub

Here he is contemplating how to get out of the tub, what you don't see is that after the picture he tries to take his arm and grab the side of the tub, misses and then splashes into the water, and then repeats the entire process.

Sam has 2 new friends this week, Luke Paul Allen and Evelyn Beninato. Congratulations to both families such exciting news!

20-20

Today, Samuel had his first eye exam. In Missouri (and probably everywhere else) you can take your child to get an eye exam between 6-12 months of age and it is free. To be honest I was a little nervous about this appointment because sometimes his eyes seem to go in a little bit. They shared with us that babies eyes are almost their full size at birth, so you see a lot less of the eye when they are young and so it often looks like they are looking in when they are not. After all of my worries, Samuel passed with flying colors and has great eye sight (whatever that may be at 7 months.) This picture is a month old when I went in to get my new glasses we tried some on Sam, and even though they are adorable I am happy we won't need them.

This weekend was a fun one for Sam, he got to play with his buddy Luke a couple of times, and meet a new little lady and he was smitten with her. Harper was an adorable little girl that we met through Luke's parents and our little shy guy was not shy around her. While all of the

kids were playing on the ground she got a little sad and so Sam put his hand on her shoulder to let her know it was going to be okay. I can't believe I didn't have my camera it was really cute. And so our little shy guy was just fooling us, if this is a sign of what is to come, we are really in for it.

Then on Sunday, we went out to our friends lake home so Sam could have some pool time with Luke. Luke is about 6 weeks older than Sam and crawling everywhere which seemed to puzzle Sam. Anything Luke would do, Sam would try to do too which we think is great for him to push himself. Unfortunately, as Luke crawled out of the pool Sam could only hold onto the rings and watch from the sidelines. This makes me excited about daycare where kids will be older/more advanced than Sam, so it will push him to try new things.

From the lake, to the pool to his own bathtub Sam loves the water. Every time he gets in he gets just a little bit more adventurous. Two weeks ago we started putting Sam in his own bathtub alone and he thinks its great. He stays in there as long as we let him, and comes out looking like a little prune. We are glad that he loves the water so much and can't wait to take him to the activity center pool at our gym we think he is going to go crazy with all of the activities. Here he is just hanging out in the bath.

Sam giggling in the bath after he splashes himself!

Sam just chilling with his toys.

And as a food update, Sam tried peas and didn't seem to be to upset. We also tried organic baby food for the 1st time and he really seemed to like it. HELP, why does my child not like my food! But what we know will never fail is still the pickles, he would love to eat them all day long. We are going to start fruit this week as well, keep your fingers crossed that he likes this a little more.

Pickle Man

Not much new around the Levy house this week, which has been really nice. We were able to do the simple things, see some friends and go to another wedding. A friend of ours got married last night, and Sam had a great time and as usual was a trooper. Everyone is obsessed with the little tie, they can't believe they make them that small. We were doing really well with him leaving it alone, until someone showed him last night that he could eat his tie, and now that he knows that it is just part of the mix, from his thumb, sophie (his toy giraffe), or straws.

For a little over a month Sam has been trying different types of vegetables, some days we think he may be beginning to like a vegetable but no sooner than we think that, he lets us know he doesn't. We have tried, potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, and corn with no success. Sam however loves oatmeal and rice cereal and could eat it endlessly all day. We can't seem to figure out why he doesn't like anything with flavor, but today he showed us. We were at lunch and as usual Sam was grabbing for any and everything on the table and so to appease him I thought I would let him try sucking on a pickle thinking he would taste it and push it away, but instead he wouldn't let go of it and sucked it so long I had to ask the waitress to bring us another one. So, today we learned Sam is a pickle man and potentially a salt man. Here he is sucking on the pickle.

Even though things here are pretty quiet, we have a lot of friends around us are having big events. So we want to wish all 6 couples due (with their 1st or 2nd baby) in the next 3 weeks best of luck, Sam can't wait to have some new buddies and/or girlfriends to hang out with. And a special CONGRATULATIONS

to my mom and Denny on their 1st Wedding Anniversary.

We are so happy you two found each other!

6 States in 6 Months

This past weekend we took a trip to Seattle, for a family wedding on Ben's side of the family. This made the 6th state Sam has visited in 6 months. This was also the 1st time Samuel got to meet a lot of his extended family, and he definitely turned up the charm. Sam was named best dressed of the weekend, kept everyone entertained and was a trooper even though we were on West Coast time. When I realized we were going to the west coast and Samuel's bedtime was now going to be 5:30, I wasn't sure if we were going to spend the majority of the time in the hotel or would he be okay, and he definitely exceeded our expectations. He would fall asleep wherever we were at 5:30pm each day for about 20 minutes and then he would be up for the evening. Here is a picture of Sam passed out on his dad's head as we were walking towards the Safeco field for the baseball game.

We had a great time in Seattle, it was the 1st time any of us had been out there. We went to the Space Needle, saw the fish market with them throwing the fish, went to the Aquarium, saw the Olympic sculpture tour, Sam had his 1st baseball game and a lot more. But we really enjoyed seeing the family. From talks with all Ben's Aunt's Sam really dose look like his dad and their side of the family. Sam was a happy camper the entire trip, and full of smiles and giggles for everyone. Everyone was telling us how glad they were we were able to make it out for the wedding and how great it was we were willing to travel with having a 6-month old, but we told them we were the lucky ones. He is such a great little guy and so easy going it makes traveling (which we love to do) possible.

Ben's cousin Sarah got married, and the wedding was beautiful, and they are such a happy couple. The wedding was outside on the bay an hour north of Seattle with the mountains in the background. The day was perfect, for them, and wish them all the happiness. On Sunday, the entire family got together and watched the World Cup Final together (its amazing to me, how many people cared about this match when people could care less about soccer the other 364 days of the year.)

We came home on Monday night, and this is officially our last trip until Labor day and that feels so good to say. We have been traveling so much that having some time at home will feel really great, and be good for Sam, he starts daycare in just 4 weeks. Tomorrow are Sam's 6-month photos, yes we know we are late but glad we are getting them done. I will post some once we get them back.

Sam is already 1/6th the length of a sixgill shark!

Sam with his Jiji and Papster

Sam with all of his Fasy Great Aunt's and Uncle's

Sam with all of the Fasy's that were able to come to Seattle

2 Is Better Than 1 for the Levys

For as long as I can remember I have been a pretty independent person (type A) that can handle most things thrown my way, but these past 2 weeks really put me to the test. As I wrote on an earlier post, Ben spent the last 2 weeks in Europe with some buddies. This was a great trip for Ben and I am so glad he had the opportunity to do this with his friends, and it made me see appreciate even more all he does for Sam and I. Sam and I had some great bonding time, did really fun things, and Sam slept through the night with no night wakings for half of the time Ben was gone. But, I also want to give a SHOUT OUT to all the single mothers out their raising a child or children, holding down a job and doing so much more everyday, YOU AMAZE ME! I don't think I ever appreciated enough what my mother did and so many other mothers do every day, I am in awe of how they do it all. So having the 2 of us is always better than us going it alone, and Sam's 2nd tooth was easier than the 1st! Here is a picture where you can see the two teeth peeking out.

The 4th of July 2010 was very different from years past at Okoboji for so many reasons. Last year I was dancing on a barge doing "La Bomb Shots" (mine was water!) and the year before dancing on what seemed like a Yacht with all my girlfriends to "Lollipop and I kissed a girl" over and over. For as long as I can remember I have been going to Okoboji for the 4th with friends and not having a care in the world, going anywhere, staying out all night and doing it again the next day, but this year I was in bed every night by midnight. How different life has changed in just one year with our little bambino, but I wouldn't change it for the world. It was just as great to have the kids over to our house and have a BBQ at home. Two of my friends that came are currently expecting and so it was a great night to sit outside have a good meal and spend time with catching up with everyone.

Sam tries to copy everything big kids do it is so cute!

Isaac is such a sweet boy, he gave Sam hugs and kisses all night.

While it was a great trip getting there was less than enjoyable. Sam no longer likes to be in his car seat, because I think he gets too hot and he can't see anything because he is leaning back so far. So needless to say the 5 1/2 hour trip took us 7 hours and Sam didn't sleep until the last hour. So I thought I would share, that while I was about to pull my hair out because I couldn't do anything to help Sam on the car ride, Ben was at the Clifts of Mohr overlooking one of the most beautiful places! (Where is the justice in that!)

The real reason I made the trip to Okoboji this year was for Papa and Nana to get to spend time with Sam. Soon (my step-mom) hadn't met Sam yet, and it had been 3 months since my dad had seen Sam. They had a really good time together and I think Sam did all he could to make them come visit more often. Sam loved the boat rides, getting the wind on his face and little splashes of water on his face too. I think he is a natural and going to be spending many future 4th's here in Okoboji!

My dad and Sam watching a soccer match, they were both glued to the screen.

Sam sitting on the boat ready for a ride.

Sam in 1 of his 2 life jackets that he hated, he used this one as a chew toy!

His other life jacket that tipped him over it was so heavy and went right up into his cheeks.

Papa with his co-captain!

3-generations of Frigo's

Nana playing with Sam

Sam with his Nana and Papa