Keeping Up with the Kramers

Sam turned two months old last week and is weighing in at 13 pounds 7.5 oz. He's grown to 23 1/4" too. That means he's in the 90th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height! What a big boy! He did really well with his first set of immunizations. He cried of course, but was easily settled with some hugs and kisses and some time with his pacifier. In other developmental news, Sam is very curious about his surroundings and holds his head up pretty well now. He's still not completely mastered it so we have to be careful of accidental head butts when we're face to face. He started smiling back at us late last month and continues to offer us plenty of hilarious expressions, making up the "many faces of Sam."

Serious face

Giggly face

Sleepy face

Happy-to-see-you face

Sam spent more time with family and friends these past few weeks. He got to see the Shenks during their Florida trip and picked up some sun poolside at their vacation condo. He was a guest of honor at Grandma Ewen's birthday party where was loved on by all the party goers. Sam was also visited by his Great Aunt Linda and cousins Becca and Sara.

Hanging out with Aunt Jill and SBJ

Partying with Aunt Holly, Aunt Kim and Grandma Ewen

Visiting with Aunt Tammy, Aunt Linda and Olivia

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a concert performed by the Orlando Philharmonic in downtown Winter Garden's Newton Park. It was a gorgeous night and we think that Sam is already a big music fan.

It ain't easy wearin' green!

A Night at the Pops

My first St. Patrick's Day at Lake Apopka

Sam also had his first road trip to Palm Harbor to visit Aunt Kath's house. He got to spend time with cousins Lis and Lleyon, Aunt Kath, Uncle Mike, Audrey and Aunt Shell.

Sporting my "Future Purdue Band Member" in honor of my first road trip to Aunt Kath's

Snuggling with cousin Lis

Loving my Aunt Kath

You know how much hair this kid had when he was born, so it won't surprise you to hear that he got his first haircut, courtesy of Grandma Ewen, just before he turned 8 weeks old. He didn't really seem to mind it at all.

The results!

Check out our March Picasa album full of more fun Sam photos that are just too cute not to share!

Sam is 6 weeks old today and growing like a weed! We've noticed some changes in him that definitely signify his beginning the newborn to infant transition. We knew it was inevitable... we just didn't want it to happen so quickly!

First, his weight has increased to nearly 12 lbs and he has stretched to 22 inches! Sam and I attend a nursing group each Friday now where the mommies are able to weigh their babies before and after nursing to see how much they are taking in. Sam eats about 3.5 oz. per feeding every three to four hours. He's wearing 0-3 month clothing as well, which the cloth diapers help fill out nicely.

Speaking of cloth diapering... it's is going really well. I love the way they look on him and on the drying rack! They are like a little rainbow on the drying line. They are very easy to care for, wash up nicely in the machine and they contain the messes pretty well. We've had a couple of small leaks, or "security breeches" as I like to call them, but mostly due to us not getting there before the absorbency capacity ran out. We are laundering them every other day or so. We do use the disposables too for nighttime and when we are on the go.

Rainbow of cloth diapers and shark wet bag

Just in the past week, we've noticed Sam has become more wakeful and less sleepy during the day. He fights sleep pretty hard now so he's more wakeful at night now too. He's stirs a lot during the night hours, fussing and looking for that pacifier. Sadly, almost as quickly as we return it to his mouth, it falls out and the fussing starts all over again. So in the next few weeks, we are going to be working on keeping a sleeping baby asleep!

Hanging out with my beloved Boppy and pacifier

"Whose that handsome baby?" "Hello? Grandma? Is this thing on?"

We've started to try to implement some sleeping habits by introducing a bedtime routine. We are trying to put him down around 10 p.m. (give or take a half hour). Before nursing him to a drowsy state, we change his diaper, put on a onsie and then read a storybook. Our favorites right now are "I Love You Through and Through" (thanks to Cousin Olivia), "I Love You Stinky Face" and "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb" (thanks for Aunt Jill). When he's awake, we like to sings songs like "Jesus Loves Me", "Zip-A-Dee-Do-Da", "Old McDonald" and "BINGO."

Singing songs Catching some Zs after a long night Here are some other fun photos from the past few weeks including ones taken at the first birthday party Sam has ever attended. He was a hit at our friend Andrew's third birthday party. He slept, he ate, he watched as the other children bashed a pinata... it was a good time all around!   Enjoying Andrew's birthday party in the park on a chilly day

Baby Burrito

New friend, the seahorse