Talk...Talk...Talk

Samuel with Nana before she had to leave.

Samuel has become quite the talker. He has developed a pretty good repertoire of signs (eat, more, please, thank-you, drink) and has continued to say more and more words. So far he has dada, mama, hi, bye-bye, car, dog (gog), this (for anything he wants), please (bus), yes (es), duck (guck). There are also a few more, but only recognizable by Mike and I. It is really cute when he really wants something because he will both sign and say please. He has also learned to change his inflection at times. It is amazing to watch his little mind work and see what he comes up with.

This is a video of him wanting to open his water bottle. When I ask him if he wants help he says yes and is shaking his head. He then signs and says please (sign is a circle on his chest). The second time I ask him to say please he pauses to pass gas then proceeds with the sign and word! Yes, he is his father's son!

Last Weekend

This past weekend we ventured back out into the wild. Since camping went so well the first time we decided to try it again. We headed back to the same campground, Gold Basin off Mountain Loop Highway. This time we went with our good friends, Jon and Annie. I have to say that this was probably one of our best camping trips. We were all so bummed be forgot the cameras.

We headed up Friday evening and spent the night setting up camp, eating dinner and hanging around the campfire. Mike and I spent a good two hours trying to get Samuel to go down for the night, but once he was down he was out. Saturday morning we enjoyed breakfast and Samuel had a nap before we headed out for a hike. We went on a pretty easy trail out to Lake Boardman. It was beautiful. Mike, Jon, Samuel and Bailey headed into the water while Annie, Montana and I sat and enjoyed the sun. Samuel loved playing with the rocks and small sticks at the waters edge. I think we could have left him there all day. After awhile we headed back. Jon, Annie, Mike and Samuel headed down to the river when we got back while I elected to rest around camp while they were gone. Saturday night dinner was fantastic and Samuel went to be very easily! Sunday we cleaned up camp then headed over to a swimming hole for a few hours. It was a bit of a challenge to get to the hole, to say the least we were all wet despite not having on swimsuits, but enjoyed sitting and relaxing.

Hopefully, we will have one more trip in us this weekend. Kate and Addison are coming up and we would love to take them out and explore. Hopefully the weather will be kind and we will be able to find a campsite over the holiday.

This is a video from our first camping trip...

Nana's Visiting

Samuel's Nana is here to visit for the few days. He of course is on his best behavior and proving mom and dad wrong right and left! Yesterday, we took Nana to one of Samuel's favorite places, the zoo. This time he actually loved the petting zoo. He chased the goats, stepped in the food dish and even kissed one on the back! He was also very interested in the lady with the poop scoop and the wheelbarrow full of it. Nice!


We also went out to dinner last night at the 5 Spot up on Queen Anne Hill. Nana and I had some fantastic fried chicken. Mike had fish and chips which must have been good because there wasn't a bite left. Samuel loved the green beans and french fries.

Sick Little Boy

Well, we had quite the weekend around here. I was gone most of the weekend at a leadership retreat for Mars Hill (I will tell more later) which left Mike home with Samuel. Little did we know he would be a sick little boy...

Thursday afternoon, Samuel woke up from his nap with a pretty high fever. We gave him Tylenol right away which seemed to help for a short time. He was also running the classic cold symptoms (runny nose, cough, clingy, whiney). Since Mike had practicum until 7:30 and I had the Leadership Retreat starting at 7:00, I took him with me until Mike was finished. Everyone noticed he wasn't himself. He laid in his stroller, drank water and drifted in and out of sleep. That night was the start of hell. We were up and down all night with him between trying to break his fever, control his cough and sooth his molars which are breaking through!

Friday morning, after very little sleep, he headed downtown with me for the retreat. Mike took a half day and picked him up so he could come home and rest. He seemed in much better spirits in the morning, but still was fighting the fever, runny nose and cough. By this point he was also very picky about what he would eat which were blueberries only! Mike controlled his fever all day and finally got him down for bed late that evening. He was up and down again all night.

Saturday morning he woke up and didn't have a fever! It has disappeared as quickly as it had come on. He still was fighting his runny nose and cough but seemed to be on the up swing. He spent most of the day down and out. Lots of sitting on dad's lap watching cartoons. Saturday evening we spent three and a half hours awake with him until I finally put him in the car and drove around for an half hour to get him too sleep. To say the least Mike and I were running on empty as Sunday morning came.

We figured we had battled the hard part and how it was just getting back to normal. That was until he woke up for his nap with a rash all over his stomach, back, neck, and face. Mike quickly gave him Benedryl in case it was an allergic reaction. I got home shortly after lunch and called the nurse hotline at the Children's Hospital. The nurse spent a ton of time with me and diagnosed him with a viral infection. There is nothing we can really do but wait it out! Great!

So, Samuel has the viral infection called roseola. There is really no way we could have prevented it and really no way to treat it. The rash will probably continue for another day or so then he should be on the upswing. In the meantime he gets Benedryl and hydrocortisone cream to control the itching and cough medicine at night so he and we can sleep. He is drinking plenty of fluids and is staying hydrated. From talking with others, I guess it is a pretty common childhood illness that has to take its course. Oh! The joys of parenthood!

13 Months

Samuel is officially 13 months old. Hard to believe. We finally got around to taking him into the doctor for his first year appointment. As we all know, he is perfect!

Here is the latest...
Height: 32 3/4 inches (97 percentile)
Weight: 24 pounds 6 ounces (60 percentile)
Words: Dada, Mama, Hi, Bye, Dog, Car, This
Signs: More, Please, Eat, Thank-you, Drink (sometimes)
Teeth: 8 complete, 1 molar almost done, 1 molar just starting
The doctor said he looked great and appeared to be hitting all his milestones perfectly. I guess we will keep him!

Here is a picture of Samuel watching the garbage truck. He is fascinated with cars and loves to point them out to us. Whenever he hears the garbage truck he stands at the window and cannot be distracted for at least 10 minutes! Maybe he will be a garbage man?!

Camping

Last weekend, we ventured out to Gold Basin Campground in the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest for Samuel's first camping experience. We arrived Friday afternoon and had a chance to set up camp. We were joined by a few friends of ours and ended up occupying two campsites right next to each other. Friday evening we sat around the campfire, made smores and chatted.


Saturday all the guys went on a hike up Mt. Pilchuck. I guess the hike was pretty strenuous, but the views were beautiful. The girls had the joy of sitting around camp and trying to occupy four children while keeping them away from the hot fire! Not fun! Next time the guys will be on kid duty and the girls will get five hours to play. Saturday night we enjoyed a great dinner then everyone but us decided to leave for the night.


Sunday morning, Mike and I got up, had breakfast and packed up camp. We then went to the Big Four Ice Caves. It was a pretty easy mile into the caves. They were awesome. Samuel loved walking around and picking up rocks. He wasn't so excited about the snow though.



Overall it was a great weekend. We were all a bit tired coming home and enjoyed a good night’s sleep back in our bed. Samuel seemed to love camping, especially the dirt! I guess we will be planning a few more weekends soon! I will post more pictures on the website as soon as I get them all uploaded!

Barney!

Samuel doesn't slow down for much, but Barney has stopped him in his tracks. The other day he watched part of Elmo's World then found a car to occupy him. When Barney came on he quickly set the car down and planted himself in front of the TV. He watched for a good 15 minutes before he got bored and moved on. It's like he knows how much daddy dislikes Barney!