Copycat

Samuel is a true copycat. I know people have told us that they will try and copy what you do, but Sam takes it to a new level. If we are eating something he wants to try it. If we are drinking something he wants to try. If you are holding it, he wants it. If I yelp, he yelps, and if I bob my head he does it too. This weekend my mom was visiting and she played a copycat game with Sam at the back door. Wherever my mom put her hands on the glass Sam would do the same, and this went on forever. But then she tried to kiss the glass, and that he did not copy.

Then today Ben had gotten all of us Starbucks and Sam thought it would be fun to take my cup and try it (thankfully by that time I had already finished.

We had a great time with Grandma this weekend. Stranger Danger happened again, but ended quickly, when silly grandma was around. It is fun to see them together, my mom has so much energy but I think this weekend she may have met her match. Our little mover and shaker kept her pretty busy. Here is a video of Sam moving around the house.

Godparents got Hitched

This past weekend, Samuel's Godparents got married outside Vail, CO. It was an amazing wedding and so much fun to get together with everyone. Christy and Wade looked great, and there day was perfect. There was even an Elk that walked behind them during the ceremony, CRAZY!!

Samuel also had his 9-month check up today and everything went great. He weighs a whopping 22lbs and 3oz. (75%) 29.5 inches (75%) and 94 head circumference (90%). We also had Linda our parents as teachers advisor to the house on Monday and we had a great time. She brought tons of toys and Sam couldn't wait to dive in and play with them all. Sam had stranger danger for the 1st time when she arrived, his bottom lip quivered and he got down and crawled over to me. I felt so bad, but also couldn't stop laughing because it was so cute and unexpected. She gave us some great advice about feeding and what to expect next for safety proofing our house. Finally, she gave us some exciting yet scary news. She thinks Sam may be walking by Halloween which is crazy. Whenever it happens, mom and dad's world as we know it, will change dramatically again!!

Sam's 1st track suit. We love that we live in a city where we can wear red for all of our favorite teams. Don't the stripes make me look tall??

Here are some pictures from the wedding. Congrats Christy and Wade you are an amazing couple.

Finally, I got to meet Luke Allen this weekend, Katie's new little man. He was such a sweetie, and so cute. He has a good mix of mom and dad, and barely even made a peep. Samuel can't wait to meet his buddy over Christmas.

He even gave us a smile before we left. Here he is with his dad.

9 Months!!

Samuel turned 9-months yesterday. The last 3/4 of a year has flown by, and if its possible each day gets better and I love him a little more. Walking into his room every morning and seeing him standing in his crib with an ear to ear smile melts my heart. No matter how tough a day Ben or I have it all disappears the minute we see our little man. Here are some pictures of him using his new walker to move around the house. He is really interested in walking but I am not sure his feet agree.

Sam hasn't figured out how to walk through walls!

Sam has his doctors appointment next week to see how big we have gotten, we will keep everyone posted!

Sam celebrating the Huskers 2nd win of the year!

Samuel hanging out with our friends, who are going to have a baby boy on Sam's 1st birthday (expected).

He thinks this is the best gift ever.

Seahorses

Last Saturday Samuel started swimming lessons at our fitness center in Lee's Summit. His class is called Seahorses and it has been a lot of fun. Many of the activities are pretty basic and really for kids that have not had a lot of experience in the water which is not our little fish, now seahorse. Samuel loves the water and is loving swimming classes. On the first day of class they asked all of the kids to pick a duck that they would use for the next six weeks and no surprise to us Samuel picked a little baseball duck. In the class they are working on kicking, splashing and trying to blow bubbles. We can definitely do the first two but blowing bubbles hasn't worked so well. Each time we try to put him down with his mouth in the water he just tries to drink it and then when tons of water goes in his mouth, his eyes get huge and he pops up out of the water. Even though we can't do bubbles it is really cute to see him try.

Last week Ben went in the water with him and this week I did. We have four more weeks and we look forward to every Saturday morning and our Seahorse class.

Samuel selecting his baseball duck

Sam trying to catch his duck

Samuel listening to instructions from the teacher

Samuel making his 1st attempt at blowing bubbles

Samuel's 2nd attempt at blowing bubbles

Sam and I working on kicking

I am including these extra two pictures of funny things that are now happening at the Levy house. 1st is a picture of Samuel holding onto a puff (food) in his hand, which the dogs have now learned that if they come up and lick his hand he opens up his hand and they can eat the food. Samuel hasn't figured out where the food went, but he doesn't really care because he is so excited that the dogs pay attention to him! The second picture is of Sam with one of the dog's bones. Lately Sam goes no where crawling or standing without something in his hands, and no matter where we put them he loves to carry the dogs bones. He hasn't put them in his mouth, but we are guessing if he tries that he may be picking another toy to carry around with him.

Sam is such a sucker for his buddies!

Comedy Central

Two weekends ago we all took a trip to Milwaukee to see Ben's best friend get married. John is a comedian and their wedding was such a hoot. I love going to weddings when the wedding displays exactly what the couple is all about. The wedding was all about humor and love. We are so excited for Erin and John and wish them all the happiness. Here are a few pictures from their wedding and Samuel's trip to his 8th state!!

Into the Wild

Two weeks ago Samuel and I went to Minneapolis to spend time with my Dad, Samuels Papa. We decided to fly there, since the last long drive Sam and I took alone didn't turn out so good, and I am glad we did, it was a easy and quick Sam slept on both flights. We went a day early to spend some time with Samuels godparents. Sam showed Christy and Wade all of his tricks and even tried to show them a new trick - standing with no assistance. He can stand for about 5-10 seconds at most and then he realizes he is not holding onto anything and falls flat on his butt. It is really cute to watch and even funnier that he gets up and does it all over.

Sam got a fun new toy from Christy and Wade and I want to thank them, as it gave him hours of entertainment on our ride into the wild (Northern Minnesota.)

My Dad invited Sam and I to go to Northern Minnesota with him on an award trip he won with his work. Soon was unable to go, and we were excited to fill in for her. Because of their hotel my dad doesn't get a lot of time to come down and see Samuel so this was a great opportunity for them to get time together just the two of them. We went on a boat ride, golfed for the 1st time for Samuel and my father, and even got to see an Elvis show! It was great to see the two of them together and I think it was really hard for my dad to drop us at the airport.

Samuel so happy to be with his Papa.

Elvis!!

We have been really busy and while we were on our trip Samuel got very little sleep and we learned our little guy needs his sleep. Since Samuel was born he has been such a good little boy and rarely makes a peep and even when he does if you pick him up he has always stopped. So last week when Samuel cried 3 separate times and nothing soothed him I knew we had a problem. We learned that Samuel was experiencing night terrors. While these rarely occur in kids under a year all of the symptoms matched it perfectly. I feel awful that he has these and the doctor told us there is NOTHING I can do to help them, and I should only make sure he doesn't hurt himself. But as much as I can't help him, I have learned that sleep deprivation can cause these, so we are really focusing on Sam getting enough sleep. And sure enough once we got home and back on his schedule, no more night terrors YEAH!!

8 Months Old

This Saturday, Sammy turned 8 months old. I can't believe how time has flown by with our little man, and how blessed we feel each day to have him in our lives. Family and friends constantly tell us how happy we seem and that we have a glow about us since Sam came into our lives and while we don't see it we definitely feel it. This little guy brings a smile to my face just thinking of him! Samuel grows with each day both in his personality and his actions. He now distinctly says Ma-Ma and while I know he has NO clue what that means its very exciting for me ( and I think Ben is a little jealous that ma-ma came before da-da. Sam babbles a lot more and gets really proud when we talk back, its almost like he thinks he is making sense, its really cute.

This Saturday was also Ben and I's 6-year wedding anniversary. We had a great day and got Samuel a babysitter so we could share some adult time out. Milea is a great babysitter and Sam really seems to like her which makes it easier for us to leave. While the 1st 5 years and 4 months were great with Ben, the last 8 months have been even better. Ben has never been a guy for many words (unless he's heckeling someone about something he finds humorous in his little world) or emotions, until Sam. As the saying goes your spouse brings out the best in you and Ben does that for me and makes me a better person every day, but I think Sam has brought out the best in Ben, and it is awesome to see! I have always felt lucky to find someone like Ben (yes, its true!!) and as the saying goes it gets better every day!

Finally, Samuel had a great week. Only 1 accident at Daycare (climbing up on a table,) his Jiji and Papster came through town today on their way to Omaha and he loved showing off. This little man loves showing everyone what he can do. And when he does something he makes this silly face and breaths through his mouth really hard its halarious. Then while he was standing today Jiji asked him to dance to the music, and all of a sudden he started bending his knees and moving his head. He looked like he was trying to headbang, really funny. Today, we found out that even though Sam doesn't like a lot of food, he loves finger foods. Anything he can pick up and put in his mouth is fair game. We tried crackers, bread, avacado, meat (yes 1st time) and a banana and he ate them all no problem. Maybe he just isn't a fan of the puree!!

Sam's new best friend. Sam loves this pug, because he doesn't run away every time Sam pets him.

Sam likes to dig in the drawer and take everything out one by one. Guess he hasn't found the movie he is looking for.