Dear Binki,

Ever since the day I discovered you, we have been inseparable.

I haven’t been able to get through a nap, night time, sacrament meeting, or dinner at a restaurant without you. You have been by my side since day one.

I remember having to sleep with 3 of you in my crib. I wasn’t happy unless I had one in my mouth, and one in each hand.

You were there for my first haircut.

But…

Today is a sad, sad day.

I lost you.

It was in nursery. I walked in with it, and walked out without it.

We knew it was coming.

Mom said she wasn’t buying any more binkis. And that last one has lasted for a long time.

I will miss you, binki. It will be hard the next few nights, but it will be better for all of us.

Love,

Sammy

Sammy’s life in Pictures

Because I am an awful blogger, but have really been making an effort to be better.

Because I am kinda having issues with the fact that my baby is not a baby anymore.

Because I was looking through pictures and I know I haven’t shared as much as I should.

Because of all those things, I thought this might be fun.

Maybe more for me than for you.

But its my blog.

So there.

July 2009

August

September

October

November

December

January 2010

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

January 2011

18 Months

This is my baby:

But, my baby is not a baby anymore.

I can’t believe it, but my baby is now officially a toddler.

I can’t believe I took him to the doctor Tuesday and he weighed in at a solid 30 lbs and measured 34 inches tall (90^th percentile, heaven help me).

I can’t believe that my baby is done with his bed time bottle.

I can’t believe I am thinking about taking him out of the crib and into a bed.

I can’t believe that his little personality is shining through. He is sweet, stubborn, funny, adorable, happy, polite, and patient.

I can’t believe how much better and brighter my life is now. How much joy and happiness and laughter I have experienced in the last 18 months.

I love you Sammy!

(Even after this)

What!?

Look! No Hands!

Lauren the Grad!

Its official- I'm old! My baby sister graduated high school today. Not only did she get her High School Diploma, but she also graduated with her Associates Degree. Congratulations Lauren!

Oh- and this picture of the four of us? This is the first time my family has been together in over 2 years! It was a great day!

Memorial Day

We had a great Memorial Day! Justin was lucky enough to have the day off, so we were able to take it easy and enjoy our time together as a family. We decided to take advantage of the sunshine and go hiking! We found a great little hike up Logan canyon. It was high enough that there was still snow on the trail, and even though we found ourselves in knee deep snow at times, we had a great time!

As we were walking and Justin was pretending to be Bear Grylls, we found this tree. I couldn't resist taking a picture. There was a little plaque by this tree describing how it grew this way. It said that most of the tree must have died from snow or something, but one of the branches kept growing. This makes me the biggest nerd, but I find that completely amazing!

Sammy

Our "do nothing" Day

I have gotten to the point where I look forward to Sunday's more than almost any other day of the week. Its the one day that we get to hang out at home or with family and I don't have to feel bad about not cleaning and being lazy. I love that we are never rushed and we can just take it easy and play together. Our new tradition, as the weather gets warmer, is to take walks around our neighborhood. Sometimes we visit Justin's brother, his wife and their son (who is just three months younger than our Sammy) and other times we find ourselves walking along the Logan River Walk just a block down the street. Its great to get out!

I am amazed at how time has flown by recently. I guess time seems to pass us by a little bit faster when we are busy, but I can't believe my Sammy is almost eight months old. He is doing so many exciting things right now, and everyday he comes up with something new. I love being a mom and watching him grow and learn and take every single thing in. Some new things in the past little while:

Sammy loves the solid foods! His favorites are sweet potatos, peaches, avacado, green beans, and the occasional cracker

Sammy now weighs well over 20 lbs. He was 19.8 lbs at his 6 month appointment, and when he was sick a few weeks ago he was 20.5 lbs. That means time for a new carseat. Mom just needs to decided which one..
He rolls and rolls and rolls and rolls and rolls. He loves it!

Sammy has a tooth! We noticed it last Saturday. One of his front bottom teeth finally came in, and I think he is working on one up top too.

Besides a couple nights when he was sick, he is now sleeping through the night. It is great!

Have you seen the hair? Its just like Justin's- curley! The faux hawk is our new favorite thing!

Sammy is so curious. He has his hands on anything and everything, and more often than not it ends up in his mouth.

He has also become a pro at finding his binki and putting it in his mouth by himself.

We are so proud of our Sammy and love watching him grow and grow and grow! Everyday is a new adventure and I love every single minute of it!

Had to share....