Keeping Up with the Kramers

A few weeks before Sam's second birthday, Heather and Sam were playing on the neighborhood playground together. Sam asked Heather to go down the slide with her, and Heather innocently agreed not knowing that this trip down the slide would result in Sam's first broken bone. Heather noticed at the end of the slide that his foot had gotten stuck up underneath him. He didn't cry very hard at all, but we knew something wasn't right when he refused to be put down and couldn't put any weight on his right foot.

We took him to the urgent care pediatrician who said a fracture was very unlikely at his age. She recommended ibuprofen and some rest, but to see an orthopedic specialist within 24 hours if he was still  limping. When Sam still couldn't put any weight on his leg the next morning, we decided not to wait any longer. We made an appointment that morning at the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children Center for Orthopedics. There we learned that Sam had a hairline fracture in his right tibia. Our hearts were heavy for him when we learned that he would have to wear a cast for three weeks and stay off of his leg completely for the first four days. "Plenty of snacks and TV", the doctor ordered and Sam wasn't complaining a bit.

Baby's First Cast

After a few days of lounging, we could tell that Sam was ready to get up and go. He cautiously started putting weight on the leg and when he realized it didn't hurt anymore, he was off and running. He got around really well in that full-leg, red cast. He walked at first and then quickly learned to limp/run. He drew sympathetic looks every where we went. And people were always very surprised to see how little the cast slowed him down.



He had a great attitude about it the whole time. And when it was finally time to have the cast removed, he sat bravely while it was sawed off and promptly said "get down" when it was off. The staff had warned us that he might not want to walk on it for a couple of days, but he wanted to walk on it immediately.  His first few steps in the doctor's waiting room must have created a ticklish "pins and needles" sensation in his leg, because he giggled and looked up at Shawn saying, "it's sweepy, Daddy, it's sweepy"!  His sore knee and some numbness made it a bit difficult for him to get around at first, and he limped a little bit for a couple of weeks after the cast was removed, but now he's completely back to normal. Thank goodness!

Sam turned nine months old on October 25. We visited the pediatrician and our boy weighed in at 21 lbs, 14.5 oz (85th percentile!) and 28 1/4" long (50th percentile). Dr. Gordon is pleased with his growth and the milestones that he's reached... of course, we are on Cloud Nine that we've raised a happy, healthy boy thus far.

Sam is taking two naps a day, lasting 1.5-2 hours each. He has five teeth - two on bottom and three on top. He now eats a full menu of solid foods including strawberries, squash, chicken and Gerber Graduate Puffs! And best of all, he has finally learned how to drink from a sippy cup! We've been offering it to him for a while, but he just couldn't figure out how to get the liquid out.  Then one magical day a couple of weeks ago, we heard him drawing the water out of the spout! Three cheers for Sam!  And cheers, Sam.  Bottom's up!

He loves taking baths, swinging in the swing at the park, crawling around on the floor and going for walks in his stroller. And he enjoys watching TV - Sesame Street, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Handy Manny are his current favorites (along with the dark drama of Purdue football). He seems to really love being outdoors so we take him outside as much as we can. He adores dogs, especially his "big brother" Teddy, and is completely fascinated by other kids.

Hanging out in the back yard with Teddy

With his friend, Reese (these two were born only two days apart)

At Sam's six month well visit, he weighed in at 18.9 lbs (70th percentile) and 26 3/4". Our pediatrician says that six month olds are the perfect children because they stay where you put them, don't talk back and they eat everything. And we agree! Sam is delightful! He's a happy, energetic boy.... very curious, talkative and has a happy disposition. I use to ask him if he was happy when he was a newborn and hadn't yet figured out how to smile. Now we know he's happy because he gives us lots of smiles every day. He is tons of fun!

Six months old today!

We also celebrated my birthday on July 27. Shawn took me out to the Chef's Table in Downtown Winter Garden to celebrate. If you've never been, please go! The food is incredible! The menu is created based on what's in season, everything is locally sourced and prepared to perfection. They are one of the few places in Orlando to cure their own meats too. We had been hearing great things about this special occasion experience and we were not disappointed. They even have what they call The Tasting Room portion of the restaurant that is more of a bar and tapas experience. It's also fantastic and a perfect spot for a date night! I enjoyed the day very much and getting to spend a romantic evening out with my sweetheart! And I especially enjoyed the dinner leftovers for lunch the next day!

On the weekend of my birthday, we also had Sam's six-month photo shoot with our friend Kristen from Ella Lu Photography, the same photographer who shot his newborn photos. Despite the weather being hot and muggy already by 8:30 am, we had a great time and Sam did very well. We shot the photos in the Downtown Winter Garden area, which has a great small town feel with rustic looking walls, vintage tile fountain, and tree-lined brick streets. We also visited our favorite lakefront park to snap a couple of shots with the beautiful green grass and tall oak trees. We took tons of photos of Sam and even squeezed in a few family shots. Here is our favorite picture from the shoot. You can see the rest of Sam's six month photos here.

Super boyyyy, da-da-da-dat-da-daaaah!

Since the weather had been so warm on the day of our photo shoot, we decided it would be a good time to get Sam into the  swimming pool for his first real dip! So, along with my sisters, brother-in-law and niece, we got into our bathing suits and headed for the community pool. So far, Sam seems to really like being in the pool. He splashed around and enjoyed being pulled through the cool water. We sure hope he enjoys swimming, because he will be learning infant water survival and swimming skills in a month or so!

First time in the pool!

Sam's Olympic rings. Could he be the next Michael Phelps?

Our little boy is growing up and doing all kinds of new tricks! He's discovered his feet and learned how to hold his bottle all by himself. Since Sam started eating solids, we decided to make our own baby food with the Baby Bullet. Sam's been offered homemade sweet potatoes, peas, pears and bananas. He loves the fruit and doesn't really like rice cereal or the vegetables. But we're going to keep working on him. Neither Shawn or I can blame him on the rice cereal - bleck!

Holding his bottle like a big boy! He's watching TV at the same time... multi-tasking

Sometimes he improvises

Holding his feet, but they haven't made it to the mouth yet

First batch of homemade baby food - pears, peas and sweet potatoes

We had a really nice first Father's Day. We started the day with a homemade breakfast casserole and we all enjoyed a meal at the table together. Shawn had been pretty attached to the hospital bracelet he wore when Sam was born and was sad when it finally broke apart and fell off. So for Father's Day we got him a sterling silver ID bracelet with Sam's full name and his birth information engraved on it. I also got him a picture frame with with an American flag design and the words "Future President" and put a photo of Sam in it! Shawn really liked his special gifts and I think he had a nice day with his family.  Shawn is also looking forward to many a Father's Day to come when Sam is a little older and can sit with us to watch baseball and eat popcorn and apple slices, in honor of his sweet Grandpa Kramer who will certainly always be watching over Sam from Heaven.

Shawn and his dad, the unforgettable Raymond L. Kramer (aka, "Grandpa Fuzzyhead")

Happy Father's Day! (June 2012)

Look how far we've come!  (February 2012)

Hanging out with Grandpa Ewen

Grandpa Ewen loves talking to Sam and making him smile

We've had a couple of doctor visits this week. This past Monday, on his five month birthday mark, Sam came down with a fever and wasn't eating well. He'd been suffering from congestion for the past couple of weeks - remnants of his first cold - so we suspected an ear infection. We decided to take him to the late-night pediatrician, but the doctor really couldn't tell us what was wrong with him. By Wednesday morning, his lack of appetite was still really concerning, so we took him to his regular pediatrician and learned that Sam had viral throat infection that included three ulcers. Dr. Gordon said that Sam was one tough kid because he expected him to be more uncomfortable and upset. But Sam was his usual happy self - smiling, trying to grab the stethoscope and playing with Dr. Gordon's fingers. Unfortunately, since it was viral, all he could recommend was plenty of rest, a cold drink and acetaminophen (Tylenol). Sam wasn't really interested in cold water and we didn't want to offer him juice yet, but he loved cold bananas and pears! It's Saturday now and Sam is in much better spirits! His appetite has finally started to return and he actually slept last night waking only two times, which was a nice change from waking every 45 minutes or so all of the other nights this week. If you're curious, Sam weighed in at 16 lbs 11 oz... right on track!

He loves to stand and play with the toys in his Jump and Play Frog

Although we can't really blame daycare for all of this illness, we suspect it's a contributor. So we've decided to take a break from daycare and hire a babysitter to stay at home with Sam three days a week. Luckily, Grandma Ewen still watches him the other two days. We hope that he builds a very strong immune system...we're just going to let him start doing it a little later in life.

Check out more photos of Sam in our June album.

Things have gotten pretty busy around here since Shawn and I are both back to work full time. With that comes business trips for Shawn and daycare for Sam.

Daycare has been quite the adventure so far. When he's not with Grandma Ewen two days a week, Sam spends three days each week at the YMCA Family Center at the Walt Disney World Resort. Pretty cool, eh?? Sounds like Mickey Mouse swings through once a while for a meet n' greet. That's not really the case, but it is fun to have Sam right there on the Disney property, just minutes away from our offices. The women who care for Sam are super nice and they have all taken an instant liking to him. They say that Sam is one of the quieter babies in his room - appropriately named the "Cuddlers" room - and that he is very sweet. He is also quite the flirt with his caregivers, as we've witnessed. Maybe that's his strategy to make sure he's first in line for a bottle!

Who could resist this charm?

Shawn and I have been so impressed with how well Sam has adjusted to being in a bright, noisy environment all day at daycare. We were worried that napping might be a challenge, since there's so much stimuli.  But he generally takes three 45-minute naps each day, thank goodness! And he comes home completely wiped out from the activity of the day. Most days, after dinner and his bedtime routine, we are just getting Sam into the crib as he completely passes out! That part has been a difficult adjustment for Shawn and I. Since it's sometimes a mad dash to get him home, fed and settled for the night, we really don't get to spend a lot of time with him in the evenings...so we really miss him. We often say to each other, "I miss Sam," after he's gone to bed for the night!

Sleeping so peacefully in a baby burrito

A few days after starting daycare (and no surprise to us), for the first time since he was born, Sam woke up with a fever. Of course we were quite worried about him, but he handled it like a champ! He didn't cry or fuss too much, even as his fever climbed close to 103 degrees. It took about a day and a half for the fever to subside and then Sam was back on his feet, so to speak. Soon after, he developed a raspy voice which the pediatrician says is just a little upper respiratory irritation, probably the low point of all of this. It doesn't seem to bother Sam at all, but he sounds just terrible when he cries or tries to babble.

This is just the beginning of building Sam's immunity and we know it won't always be this easy for him to power through illness.  But we're so relieved that his first bout wasn't a total whopper.  We can say that this time, as new parents, Sam being sick was definitely more troublesome for us than for him.

In other exciting news, Sam started eating solid foods this week. So far, we have only offered him rice cereal with apples, and he seems to be okay with it. At first, he looked pretty disgusted when we put the cereal in his mouth, but eventually he figured out that he might want a little more of that stuff! He's still not super excited about it - it is rice cereal, after all - but he's getting the hang of eating from a spoon and figuring out what to do with the mush on his tongue. Sometimes he even wants to feed himself, but we have to be careful not to let him gag himself with the spoon!  We're excited to introduce Sam to more yummy tasting foods very soon. Bananas are next on the list. If he's anything like his daddy, he's really going to enjoy that! Does the Baby Bullet make banana pudding?

"What is this???"

"I can do it!"

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!