Off-The-Charts

He just keeps on growing...

Samuel had his one-month check-up today. Doctor G. was very pleased with his health and his growth. He's now 9 pounds, 15 ounces (the nurse weighed him twice because she thought that couldn't be right!), has a head circumfrence of 15.3 (that's in the

90th

percentile) and is 21.8 inches long (80th percentile). One nurse commented on how long he looked, laying in Daddy's arms - she said he looks like a 2-month-old! Wonder if this means he'll be tall like Daddy. He had to have a vaccine shot today, and screamed like crazy. But only for a short while. Once Daddy picked him up he was all better. I think his neat-o Tweety Bird band-aid helped make things better too.

*Sara

Today You Are One Month

Dear Samuel,

Today you are one month. Needless to say, it's been a very busy month for you, little boy! During your first month of life you...

got a little stuck on your way into this world, but made it eventually

impressed the doctors and nurses with your newborn-handsomeness

slept a lot...and now sleep very little

had your first bath

visited the doctor...

three times

make that four times...

learned how to eat (and taught Mommy how to feed you)

practiced lots of faces - smiling, frowning, scowling,

had the hiccups almost everyday

went to Gram and Pops' house for the first time

learned how to follow your rattle with your eyes

met lots of people (and your doggie)

practiced grabbing with your hands - mostly grabbing Mommy's finger

took your first walks around the neighborhood in your stroller

received lots of exciting gifts

grew and grew and grew

gained lots of neck strength

spent lots of time on Daddy's lap "just chillin"

spent lots of time in Mommy's arms "just cuddlin"

brought everyone much joy and happiness!

Can't wait to see what the next month brings, little man!

*Mommy

Sneezy

ahh...

ahh...

ahh...

A-CHOOO!!

Chunky Monkey

Samuel had his 2-week check up today. His doctor was super pleased at how much weight he had gained, and Mommy was super relieved! Samuel had

lost 10% of his birth weight by the day we were discharged from the hospital, taking him from 8 lbs 4 oz down to 7 lbs 7oz, which was a little bit of a concern. He got a little dehydrated as well once we were home. We were told that this might be due to the fact that he was born "tongue-tied" which was making feeding difficult.

A little snip-snip of the tongue at the doctor's office and here we are, two weeks later, and Samuel has more than gained his birth weight back - he's now 8 lbs 11 oz! His head is almost 1 inch larger in diameter and he's grown 1 inch for a grand total of 21 inches! What a big boy!

*Sara*

As We Enter Week Three

Here are a few sweet shots from Samuel's second week. He's had another couple of baths and continues to love to snuggle with Mommy and Daddy on the couch or in the rocker. His favorite activity seems to be to practice making faces - smiling, frowning and scowling, often going from one expression to another in a matter of seconds. He's working on this mischeivious-looking one-sided smile, which makes it look like he's up to something!

He's such a good baby - he very rarely cries. "

Is this a good indication of what his personality will be?"

we often wonder aloud. My parents remind us that I talked non-stop until the age of 5, and Andrew was a calm, quiet baby so, based on that information, I'm not sure we can accurately predict his future personality based on his behaviors these first 2 weeks... ;)

Today is the first day of his third week. His first official check-up with his pediatrician is Wednesday. We might also have a visitor or two this week. Other than that, this week will be much like the last week - all about eating and sleeping, eating and sleeping!

*Sara*

Sam's First Week

Well, I'm finally getting caught up on all of our pictures. We took so many there at first, it's been tough getting them all downloaded and organized!

Follow these links to a couple of slideshows on Flickr:

Sam's Arrival

and

Sam's First Week Home

*Sara*

Coming Home

These videos were taken only a short time ago, and yet Sam's changed so much already. I haven't figured out if it's possible to combine video clips into one longer stretch, so in the meantime, here are several clips from Thursday, February 26th, the day Sam came home from the hospital. (Thanks to Pops for filming and helping us pack-up...)

Happy First Week

We are so in love with this baby boy...

Happy First Week, Samuel.

Samuel James Straka

February 23rd, 2009

8 pounds 4 ounces

20 inches