A Growing Boy, Balloon Release, And Promotion...

What a week! I'm just now sitting down to go through bills, photos, blogs, etc. To say that it has been a very busy week is an understatement -- but I wouldn't have it any other way. There is so much to say about this growing boy that we have, but before I get to that, I must mention a very memorable event that we attended this past Tuesday...

After attending a balloon release for sweet little Harper last Saturday, we attended another one on Tuesday for a sweet angel named Cale. How sad is it that in less than a week's span, we honor two angels that should be here with us, but instead are dancing in the clouds with the countless other little angels that are dearly missed. I hate that there are so many little babies that have been taken way too soon, but none of them will ever go forgotten -- Harper and Cale included.

Cale's balloon and butterfly release was absolutely beautiful. It showed the amazing amount of love his parents, family, and friends have for that little man. I'm thankful that we were able to take part in remembering him on his special day. In the midst of those that attended, Cale's little brother, Finley, was there -- a newborn rainbow that, like Samuel, has brought hope. I wish that I had pictures of this event, but Cale's mom, Caroline, had a photographer there so I cannot WAIT to see how they all turned out! It was most definitely a day to remember...

The rest of the week was spent adjusting to life as a stay at home mom with a dad at work. I'm no stranger to being at home, but being alone with our little man is a bit of a change -- a great one, though! With James going back to work on Monday, we agreed that James needed as much sleep as he could get to function during his long days at work. So Sam and I went at it alone at night. Definitely no complaints on this end, but it was definitely a bit of an adjustment. Samuel's new interest in food has resulted in long nights. While that has left me with very little sleep, I'm so glad that he is eating more! We used to have to wake him to eat and now he's demanding it in 2-3 hour intervals without question. Part of me wishes we had another ped. appointment soon so I could see his progress in the weight department -- considering that he's beginning to scarf down his meals now. Yay for a growing boy!

Aside from how hungry our little man has become, he has also continued to show us how active he's going to be. I think I already mentioned how he figured out how to roll over...well...now he can do it both ways -- from his back to his stomach and from his stomach to his back. Did I mention that I'm not ready for him to be this active? He's only 3 1/2 weeks old!!! Before we know it, he'll be chasing Oba around the house! I'm loving it, but it just reminds me how fast all of this is going to go and that we need to soak up every second...as he won't be this size for long. I mean, I already knew that, but he's continually reminding me of that on a daily (or hourly) basis. Heck, I had better charge that camcorder so that James doesn't miss out on some of Samuel's adventures while he's at work...

Speaking of work...this week was a big one for James -- he got promoted to Captain! We have been looking forward to this for awhile and the day has finally come. On Thursday, I was able to take part in his promotion ceremony, which was great! Due to all of his past promotions occurring downrange (either in Iraq or Afghanistan), this was the first time that has happened, so I was thankful for that. The whole thing was very last minute, so there was no time to shop for an outfit that actually fit with this wonderful postpartum belly. Luckily, I found something that (somewhat) worked in the closet. So next to James stood Sam and I while his Lieutenant Colonel spoke about James, his past experiences, and what his future holds. The speech was so sweet and made James look like a rock star -- gotta love when that happens. It definitely made his little family proud.

Below is the last week in pictures...

With Sam showing interest in rolling around and using his neck muscles, we broke out the tummy time mat -- thank you, Aunt Jen!

While he did push up and check it out for a little while, it wasn't long before he passed out...

On Monday, we foolishly introduced the pacifier. I had read that some recommend that you introduce it between weeks 2 and 4, so I figured week 3 was a good bet. Yeah...he's hooked. I've created a monster! The minute it falls out, he flips out. Not cool...Luckily, he has already figured out how to use his hand to keep it in!

This is what happens when it falls out...

Ahhh...all is good in the world again...

An annoyed, but patient, big brother...

A closeup of Samuel's 3 week picture on the chair...

I finally took the time to switch out the lens so that I could get a picture of the whole chair...

This is what happens when Dad's not home to help keep him sitting upright...

Love that sweet face...

The little man is already outgrowing his going home outfit...

I know these might possibly look like abuse, but I promise they're not. Awhile back, I saw a super cute professional photograph of a newborn hanging out in his dad's ACU pocket so we thought we would see if Sam even fit. The idea was to just test it out and then later do a real shot of it if we knew it would work. In the meantime, Sam told us what he thought of this insane idea, so it's not going to happen. Oh well, it was a cute idea!

Someone fought to get out...

Then found a comfortable position...

Then on to the promotion ceremony...It took place after one of the many AIT graduations (James is the XO for an AIT company so he is in attendance at all of these)...

While shaking the hands of the new graduates, I caught him giving me a goofy look...

Waiting in the conference room for the LTC to arrive...

Slightly bummed that the guy that we asked to take our pictures didn't get any of me pinning the new rank on James, he did catch the LTC as he was telling James congrats and to give the old 1LT patch to a 2LT that he really likes...

A kiss and thank you...

Just as James was starting to thank everyone, Samuel decided that he was DONE with it all and became very vocal...

I didn't really understand James' facial expression here until he told me that the Chaplain said, "Boiler Up!" For anyone that knows the rivalry between IU (our alumni) and Purdue, they would understand such crazy talk would get a reaction, ha...

Super blurry, but it makes me smile. The 1SG and James going in for a big hug...

While James isn't a fan of working in TRADOC, I will miss this company. The CO was AWESOME about letting James off for any and ALL doctor appointments throughout my pregnancy, and the top three (James, the CO, and the 1SG) all got along really well...

Our Company Commander -- such a sweet guy!

And finally...a family picture...

Well...off to go feed the boy and head to bed...

A Weekend To Remember...

This past weekend was bittersweet. It had its joyful moments with Samuel, but it also had its sad moments in remembrance of the angels that are forever missed. On Saturday, I had our monthly Face2Face meeting (for baby loss mamas) and then headed immediately over to a balloon release in honor of a good friend's daughter, Harper Grace. June 25th marked Harper Grace's first birthday in Heaven. The balloon release in her honor was absolutely beautiful. I'm glad we were able to take part in it -- remembering their sweet little girl with them.

For whatever reason, I failed to take many pictures while I was there, so these are the only ones I have...

Samuel and his buddy, Finley -- two rainbows in attendance at Harper's balloon release...

Harper's mama, Rhiannon, loving on Samuel. We continue to hope and pray that Harper's baby sister makes a safe and healthy arrival come September!

Now why I don't have any more pictures from the event? I wish I would've been more focused on getting more, but with that being said...I'm glad we were able to be there and honor their sweet angel with them on her big day!

The rest of our weekend was spent with our very own rainbow, Samuel. I kept thinking about Harper throughout the weekend, leading me to think of Livy and where we were in December during her first Angelversary. (The life of a baby loss family isn't an easy one and the grief doesn't end when you do get that joyous rainbow baby -- it just eases up a little bit.) I kept thinking how thankful I am that Sam made it and would then excitedly think of where our friends will be (hopefully) in September. I absolutely can't wait to hear the announcement of their rainbow's arrival and the pictures after, as they experience what we are now going through with Sam. Everyday brings its own new experiences with this little guy and I'm more than grateful for every single one of them! Heck, Sam has already learned how to push himself up while laying on our chest, nearly dive off the front of the Boppy pillow while getting his picture taken, and he can now roll over to his stomach -- which scares the crap out of me! I'm not exactly ready for him to be this active already, but I'm loving it nonetheless.

With all of his new adventures, he has now graduated to his own bed instead of sleeping in the pack 'n play in our bedroom. If he's going to refuse being swaddled like he does now (I'm definitely taking back the larger sized SwaddleMe's and getting him SleepSacks!!) and roll around like he does, I want him to be hooked up to the Angel Care monitor so that I know he's okay and don't have to check on him every 5 minutes. His big brother, Oba, has already taken on guard duty, as he went straight under Samuel's crib when I put Sam in there. So sweet...

Well, before I head to bed, here are a few of Samuel's latest pictures...

Rather upset about getting his picture taken, he pushed his way right up over the Boppy pillow -- about gave me a heart attack!

After putting him back down, he turned his head -- someone is done with this whole paparazzi thing...

Apparently, he gave up on being mad and faded away into dreamland...

Love these feet...they've already outgrown the sleeper he went home from the hospital in!

It didn't quite work out how I wanted it to, but it clearly shows how tiny he is...

James decided to test out Sam's walking skills -- someone wasn't amused...

This made up for it...

Another chair attempt...

Looks like torture, but I promise it wasn't...

He slid right down, though...

Lastly...among the pictures taken, this might be the winner for a birth announcement? That's assuming we get around to doing them...

Way To Go, Sam!

Today was Samuel's 2 week checkup at the doc's and it went great! After having dropped a lot in weight at the first checkup, we've been having to supplement his meals with formula meant for preemies that need the extra weight gain, etc. With the assistance of that and forced feedings (the poor guy is just too tired half the time to have any interest in eating!), he spiked up in his weight which made the doc happy. He weighed 5lb 8oz at birth, 4lb 11oz at the first checkup on June 13th, 5lb flat at the second checkup on June 15th, and 5lb 10oz today. We were more than relieved to see the progress that he has made in his weight gain! With the good news, he now gets to sleep as long as he wants overnight -- no more waking the poor guy up when he doesn't want it. The doc said that now that he has caught up and passed his birth weight, we can just follow his lead more than a forced schedule -- we'll probably fall under a happy medium of both just to be safe.

With that being said, he doesn't have to go back to the doc until his 2 month checkup -- ironically falling on our anniversary. Here's hoping the little guy stays healthy and happy until then!

Below are a few pictures from today...

Samuel patiently waiting for his name to be called at the doc's office...

Looking for comfort after being weighed...

Recovering from a long morning out and about...

VERY alert throughout the rest of the evening -- we're loving it!

Two Weeks...

It's crazy to think Samuel is two weeks old now! We've definitely enjoyed every second of it and look forward to each day as it comes, as we watch our little guy grow even more. A lot has happened over the last week -- Sam has become a bit more alert and interested in his surroundings (assuming he's actually awake!), his little umbilical cord stump fell off, two of his aunts and four cousins came for a visit, and we finally set his room up. What a week!

We had a great time with family in town. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of Sam with his cousins, so I HOPE to obtain some from my sisters once they get home and load them on their computers. It was so so sweet seeing the boys with Samuel. They all anxiously wanted to hold him and get a closer look. In fact, our nephew, Josh, said to me, "Aunt Priscilla, can I have that?" -- pointing at Samuel. That sweet boy.

Of course, while they were here to meet Sam, our other three weren't forgotten. All four boys are very aware now of our three angels and gently held the Molly Bears with care. At one point, Josh thought we were talking about Livy and when he heard us mention the living room, he thought we said "the Livy room." He ran up and said he wanted to see "the Livy room" with much curiosity. We finally cleared up what he was saying vs. what we were saying, and got a kick out of the sweet boy and his interest -- it made me want to hug him all night!

Oh, and how can I forget Obadiah? The boys went nuts with wanting to play all sorts of games with him. Ben, the oldest of the nephews, took Oba outside to play...later coming back in a bit discouraged saying that Obadiah didn't do anything. The poor guy...Oba's an old man now and lacks the energy to go crazy outside. Prior to that attempt though, they definitely wore him out while getting all of Oba's toys out and getting him to play tug of war and fetch. It's too bad they don't live closer so that they could wear Oba out on a daily basis!

Below shows the last few days in pictures...

Oba's new hideaway -- under the crib...

Sam and I -- bright 'n early, ready to start the day...maybe...

Samuel is sporting a bib from his older cousin, Alex...

So content after a bath...

One of his favorite ways to hang out -- legs straight out in the air...

So cozy. His Uncle Nate said it looked like he was wearing a coat from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe...

Vegging out in his Little Brother attire...

Sam's room as you walk in -- LOVE the butterfly painting my sister, Rachelle, got us!

A closer look at the sweet painting...

The rest of his room. It's about as done as it's going to be while living here...

Oba had to check out what I was doing...

Samuel is, of course, going to use my childhood lamp. Who didn't love The Care Bears in the 80's?

Quality time with dad...

And Oba...

Sharing dad's love for music...

The next day was spent in the shade with Aunt Rachelle and Aunt Jen while we watched the boys soak up the hotel swimming pool. Did I mention that Sam's aunts adored holding our little man and didn't really want to give him back? Aunt Rachelle kept offering to feed him, walk him while we were out, etc. Samuel sure is surrounded by love!

Our nephew, Josh, taking a break from the pool...

All four having fun...

Cute Judah jumping in...

Alex taking a break -- not sure what Josh is doing in the background...

Sweet Benny...

Posing for the camera...

The next day was spent at the National Infantry Museum. Uncle James with the nephews as they waited their turn in the simulator -- they loved getting to try out the weapons that Uncle James uses in his job...

Judah's ready to go!

They're so stinking cute!

The cute boys didn't hit any of the targets, so the volunteer -- using the voice of a drill instructor -- told them to go to school and get a job as a banker, but don't EVER join the military! My sister laughed and asked if he could repeat that one more time -- can't ever remind the boys enough to finish school!

After trying out their skills, they got to try on some uniforms...

Alex went to James with his uniform and said he should get the help of someone who knows what they're doing...

Judah's uniform was a bit large...

So sweet...

All ready to go...

Josh looked a bit unsure, ha!

Alex was the only one that was serious about the salute...

The next drill instructor, Benjamin...

Yeah, Josh didn't put much effort into the role...

The boy cracks me up!

As we were leaving the dressing room, this is how I caught Sam. James said he was giving us his best "Clint Eastwood" impression...

The volunteer offered to take our picture...

Two proud aunts...

After a short, but awesome visit, the family headed out. With it being officially two weeks since Sam was born, I later made the attempt at a picture of him on his chair while James took a nap. Yeah...it wasn't much of a success so we'll have to try again soon...

Blurry, but amusing...

Before we know it, this boy will be talking!

Now on to week three with our little man...