Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Has it really been that long since I've been on here?! A lot has happened since the last time I blogged...Samuel turned 4 months old and had his well-baby exam, James turned another year older, Samuel experienced his first pumpkin patch AND taste for solids, the three of us spent another day up in Atlanta, and we went to a Bible study for the first time since moving here (big step!). So much to talk about, but not enough energy to do so. It was definitely a great week overall.

I have one minor vent from the last week that relates to our grief -- resulting from attending that Bible study -- but I'll save that for another time. It'll just make me mad all over again and that's not the best way to start a new day. I will say this...I miss our old Bible Study in WA! While we still had similar struggles and, like this one, it was hard to attend after Olivia died, the study was MUCH more in-depth!

Okay, enough about that. Perhaps one day soon, I'll elaborate on my frustrations. Until then, I will continue on about how wonderful the last week was for our little family. First off, yesterday was the hub's birthday. Seeing as how he doesn't care for celebrating birthdays at ALL, he took the liberty of changing his birthday on Facebook and then proceeded to hide it so no one would wish him a Happy Birthday. He knew no one here locally would know about it and most would forget if they didn't see the little reminder...strange, I tell you. Not that I want ridiculous amounts of attention on mine, but I won't go out of my way to avoid it, ha. Either way, it seems as though he had a good day. I mean, after all...he had little Samuel here to celebrate with him! That's much better than years past! Having a birthday over the weekend gave us the horrible excuse to eat out more than we should and shop. Good times. Happy Birthday, Jamie!!

I suppose I can't forget about the fact that on James' Birthday, Samuel had his 4 month well-baby exam. The poor boy...he was fine until he got those evil vaccines. I still can't get over how BIG Sam is! He is now in the 75th percentile on height and weight! Geez! Here he was in the 50th percentile at 2 months and now even higher than that -- our pediatrician said that, considering he was a preemie, he definitely caught up and THEN some! Here's all 14lb 12oz and 25in of him...

His 4 month chair picture...

A boy and his dog...

What'd you say???

Love the little half-smile...

Watching Obadiah's every move...

On another note, our Atlanta trip was fun. We hit up Flip Burger again. If you're in Atlanta and you haven't been, you're missing out! I think we had our daily calorie intake in one meal, but it was worth it.

Waiting for our food...

Okay, a little bored while impatiently waiting...

But it was worth the wait. After we devoured our gourmet burgers, we had to get dessert. We typically never order dessert when we're out since we never have room left, but we couldn't resist. Who can say no to a 'Burnt Marshmallow and Nutella' or 'Key Lime Pie' milkshake? Heaven, I tell you...absolute Heaven!

After lunch and a little shopping, we checked out Piedmont Park. We've made the attempt on previous occasions, but it always ended up being gloomy or rainy. Luckily, the sun was shining this time, so we got a couple pictures of the family minus Oba. Oh, poor Obadiah...

Towards the end of our walk through the park, we found a swing in front of a peaceful lake. Samuel enjoyed his time on the swing by chewing on his new favorite toy -- James' finger. That's right. When Sam is in James' arms, he always grabs James' finger as a teether...

It was soon after our time in the park that we decided to head home and save Obadiah from the cage. Of course, we jumped right back up the next day and took Samuel to a local pumpkin patch. I have to say, they're much different in the South! Instead of walking through the field and picking your own pumpkin out, they're already stacked up on tables ready for purchase. Where's the fun in that?! Oh well. It's at least fun to walk around and get pictures of the little man surrounded by the seasonal decor. Granted, I didn't realize until we got there that my memory card was in the Mac, not the camera -- total bummer!! Here's Sam via my cell phone...

With a memorable holiday weekend behind us, it's now on to creating more baby food! During Sam's well-baby exam, our ped recommended that we start introducing solids -- both cereal and veggies. So...we went grocery shopping...

Let the fun begin. Samuel's first sampling after rice cereal ended up being sweet potatoes...

I think it's safe to say he liked it!

Sweet Oba doing his own thing while we watch Sam react to his new food...

Well, now here I sit...Samuel is officially 18 weeks old today and we're just four days away from the official Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. What will you do to honor and remember our sweet angels? If interested, check out www.iamtheface.org to see how you can show your support...