i know, i know....

what's the point in having a blog if you don't update, right? i really can't believe it's been as long as it has but since it has been a couple of months i'm going to blame it on the holidays and the pregnancy! :)

sam turned one on december 17. matt and i are still in shock that he's a year old! it's crazy just how quickly time passes by. his birthday was lots of fun! we actually had his party the day after because matt and i both had to work the day of. we just had a little family get together. he totally enjoyed it and you could tell that he kinda knew that it was all for him. i looked at matt the other day and said, can you believe that we only have 17.5 more years until he heads off to college?? matt just looked at me like i was a moron but that's ok.....

our christmas was wonderful! we had such a good time! santa came to visit sam and although we know he doesn't 'get' it yet, it was so cute to watch him playing with his new toys. the problem is that everyone got him so much stuff that we now have nowhere to put all of it in our house! our house is not that big people! we're tripping over toys everywhere we turn! we also talked to sam about what christmas is really about. it's so neat to start our own family traditions. who would have thought having kids would be so much fun?!!? you get to turn back into a kid yourself at christmas!

i have some pics from his birthday downloaded onto my computer. christmas pics will have to come at a later date. i promise not to wait too long! in the pics you'll see the little 4 wheeler he got from a few family members, he's already learning how to ride it, it's hilarious!!! oh, and he had a blast with his smash cake! i wish i had pics of him opening his presents from matt's family. they couldn't be here cause they live in texas but they sent a giant box full of gifts just for sam! we skyped them and let them watch him open them. i was so focused on skyping them though that i totally forgot to get the camera out! sorry!

oh, and yes, his cake says 'happy birtday sam'....i used to say birtday as a kid so since i made the cake i wrote that, just a little 'amy humor'.

guess i should also throw in a quick update on the baby! we are almost to the 3RD TRIMESTER!!!!!! this pregnancy has totally flown by! who would have known? we have less than 13 weeks left until we meet this little guy. we know this much cause he'll be a scheduled c-section. by the way, trying to name your second child is near about impossible! with sam we of course made our little list and added and crossed off names. truth be told though, i had alway loved the name samuel and matt really like cade. it just so happened that they matched up perfectly. therefore samuel cade came into our lives. this time however....totally different story! everytime we came up with something, someone had to put in their two cents. i will add that we didn't always ask for people opinions but we got them anyway. oi! we really thought we had it narrowed down a few weeks ago but the problem was that i just LOVE the name cole....and while we really really liked the names we had narrowed it to, we just didn't love them. all parents out there know exactly what i'm talking about. so, i told matt i really want cole to be part of his name...you pick out the rest. matt wanted this one to have another strong bible name with meaning so he finally came up with.....wait for it.....are you ready.....judah cole!!!!! and finally we are happy about a name! it means praise! we had actually discussed the name awhile back but just weren't sure until now. so, judah cole will be here at the end of march!!!!!!!

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and we are so in love with this little guy! he is just perfect! he was moving all over the place! he weighs 9 oz and his heart rate was 156 bpm. they said he is growing perfectly on target!!! the tech laughed because she didn't even need to try for a 'potty' shot because he was showing off all over the place! he seems to be a little exhibitionist!

sam's first dentist visit!

well, sam had his first dental cleaning this past week! we were slow at the office and were curious as to how he would do so i plopped down in the chair with him and our hygienist cleaned the two teeth that he has in his head. it was so funny! he did great although he hated the suction!!!! he loved the taste of the prophy paste and he also loved when she would squirt water in his mouth. these pics aren't the best cause they were taken with matt's phone but it was all we had with us at the time.

sam is also eating anything and everything he can get his hands on, including dog food....which resulted in me in the bathroom with my head over the toilet. gotta love that pregnant gag reflex! he's pulling up on everything but hasn't actually gotten the nerve to let go just yet. he's very good at entertaining himself and his favorite place to play (besides the kitchen) is his bedroom. he loves to pull out every toy in there and then crawl to another room to detroy it as well. it blows my mind at just how fast these little ones can move while crawling! he knows if we're headed in his direction that he needs to just crawl faster. it's so funny cause he will just laugh and kick it into high gear. the problem is the bigger i get, the slower i move!

i'm doing really well. we're both in shock that this pregnancy is passing by as quickly as it is. we find out what number 2 will be next thursday at 9 am! i'll be 18.5 weeks! of course, that appt doesn't seem like it will get here quick enough! i go back and forth on what i want and matt has gone from saying it's a boy to saying it's a girl. neither one of us have a clue but we'll be happy with whatever God decides to give us. we'll keep everyone posted! so look for our big announcement next week!!!!

just saying....

i know i really need to update this! i'll be back later to do so! haha!!!

sam's newest accomplishments!

sam now has two teeth (both lower centrals) and they are too cute. you can see one of them pretty well when he smiles big but other than that it's somewhat difficult to get a good view of them! he has also learned his first sign. he now signs for milk and it's so cute to watch! i really need to get it on video. we are so proud of him! he is also moving ALL over the place! he doesn't do a 'true' crawl but instead does more of an inchworm move. however, he still gets to where he wants to go and we have to watch him like a hawk now! he's also started to realize that he can grab onto objects like our coffee table and is attempting to pull up. this guy is definitely keeping us on our toes!

i've been doing pretty good. the nausea has officially started and i have both good days and bad days. we have our next appt in just under 3 weeks. we are still in shock over knowing that we are pregnant!

OUR BIG NEWS!!!!!

sam is gonna be a big brother!!! yes everyone, we are pregnant AGAIN! i am 7 weeks and we feel so overwhelmingly blessed right now and are so excited. sam and baby scopel will be 15 months and a little over a week apart! we had our first visit at the doctor's office today and our little bean is growing right on target and had a heartbeat of 146 bpm. everything was great! i've been a little sick off and on....and tired....but other than that, i'm doing great!

back from the doctor!

and sam's white cell count was down to......drum roll please......12,000. so, much better! he is doing great now. he hasn't had a fever since yesterday and he slept pretty good last night. he only woke up once, took a bottle then went right back down! yay sam!

houston, we have a problem!

oh nono?! nona?! ....this would be a great time to come offer some aid! your help is needed and i know how much you would love to cuddle with our sick little sam! so, if you would like, go ahead and pack your bags then head east!

yes, our poor baby is sick. he was fine and then last night our world turned upside down. he woke up screaming and this pattern was repeated throughout the night. it was very tiring for all involved, including sam. he couldn't sleep and we didn't know why. there are so many things we have yet to learn as new parents.

by the time our pedi's office opened this morning we (the parents) were in a frantic state. there is nothing worse than knowing that something is wrong but not knowing what or how to fix it. i called and booked the first available appointment of the day and matt took sam....i met them there. the verdict was soon returned and little man has an ear infection. they also did some tests and his white cell count came back at 19,000....it's supposed to be 10,000. now the pedi is wondering if he might have a bacterial infection which would make the ear a secondary problem. after a shot and finger prick we left and headed home with our groggy and feverish baby.

we have to return to see the pedi tomorrow morning so that sam can have his finger pricked...again. i'll update you on the white cell number when i know something. as of now, my poor husband is trying to rock our desperate child. he had been much better this afternoon but every parent knows that night is the worst time for any sickness.

so, nono, nona.....you are more than welcome to come love on sam in his time of need. i know that his dad and i would love the help! actually, we'll take help from anyone! stace, i think you're the closest. kim, erin, c??? anyone wanna hop a plane? shannon? come on girls...i'll bleach your teeth for free! jen? jenna? anyone? i'll let jamie and dawn slide...for now!

swimming....

so yesterday we took sam swimming (along with the rest of my family) at my aunt and uncle's house and things started off a little shaky but it didn't take long for sam to adjust. he fussed right at first so we put him in this little boat floaty and put some water in it for him to splash around. he loved it! then he started eyeballing the big pool outside of his little floating paradise...kinda like he thought....hmm, i could make some big splashes out there! then suddenly, he just jumped (as well as he can) out of his little boat into the water. of course i caught him mid-dive and he just laughed then started splashing like crazy! he had the best time! it was so cute! he then finished his day with a cookie that aunt tina decided to give him....i think he liked it even better than the pool! by the way, for anyone who doesn't know...emily, ledge and jeffrey are my brothers and sister. alicia is ledge's wife and maegan is jeffrey's finacee.

the tooth!

i was finally able to get some pics of the tooth! yay! sam wasn't the biggest fan of this process though....can't say that i really blame him! it's still kinda hard to see but this was the best we could do! enjoy!

in case you hadn't had enough....

my friend janna is a fantastic photographer and took some pics of sam. she just finished editing the rest of them so of course i had to post them for you. she does such a great job! WE LOVE HER! just click on the link and it will take you to her site!

http://www.candidcreationsbyjanna.com/-/candidcreationsbyjanna/gallery.asp?cat=93263&pID=1&row=15

isn't he a doll!!!!!

sam loves to take his bath. i think it's his favorite part of the day. when we are finished with bath time everything in a 3 foot radius of him is soaked! the funny thing is that today we tried putting him in a kiddy pool with my brother (jeffrey, my 22 year old brother, got bored and filled up the little pool my sister uses to lay out in so that he could 'play' for awhile) and the child screamed bloody murder! he then proceeded to get so worked up that he threw up....all over my head (don't ask how he got above my head) and all over my scrubs. it was so nasty and it smelled horrible! amazingly enough though, it didn't bother me all that much. i always wondered how i would handle spit up and poop and other wondrous glories of motherhood and to be quite honest....it was rather easy.

i also threw in a pic of sam trying his best to get to mia. she would lay just out of his reach and when he got close she would scoot back. poor baby just wanted to play with the puppy. she is really good with him and he is 100% fascinated with her. i love watching his face light up when she comes around. too cute!

a dentist dream....

ummm, not so much actually. after feeling around those little gums and watching the drool and the runny nose i finally stuck my finger in sam's mouth (we all do it) to find a most delightful present....a teeny tip of a tooth! of course i was elated! i called everyone i could think of to tell them that my baby had a tooth! what a huge moment! sam and i did a little dance, hugged and sang. i don't think he really understood the magnitude of this slot in time. well, little did i know the terror that would evolve over the next few days.

the night of my little discovery was wonderful. he went to bed at 8pm and woke up at 9am....just like he used to. the following day though was horrific! see, this whole first time parent thing is one ginormous learning experience. simple little dental me very innocently thought that because a portion of the tooth was out (and sam had done really well up until this point) that the worst was behind us. boy was i wrong! that whole next day i could not wait until matt got home just to obtain some relief! and then that night......ugh.

and to think.....only 19 more baby teeth to go! yippee..........

i caved.....

okay, so i finally decided to jump on the blog train and can i say that i'm a little overwhelmed?? facebook is so much easier people. you just jump on your profile, check out the pics, see what everyone has planned and how they are feeling, posts some nice comments on other's walls or photos and then boop, you're done! so easy.

any advice from you avid bloggers out there is more than welcome. poor me, i'm gonna have to spend tomorrow trying to figure all this stuff out.

this whole blogging thing could have a little something to do with that cup of coffee that i drank...which has kept me up until now....3am! i remember when i could drink coffee then head straight to bed. obviously that isn't so any longer. no wonder adults drink this stuff in the morning! i guess this is what happens when you become a big girl! caffeine acts like it's supposed to!