Quick on the Piggies..

They are made from finely ground oreos and cream cheese frosting to hold them together. I got the "recipe" from Mom Burkinshaw. Usually you use cream cheese, but these weren't going to be refridgerated. I still don't know how they taste because I haven't felt like trying them! :-P The ears are those little mint things, you can find them at Candy Craze? I don't know where else. I used an M&M for the nose and pushed it into the cookie ball. I put the sticks in them and put them in the fridge. Then I dipped them in the already colored "almond bark" pellets. I tried regular almond bark and put in colored/ flavored red syrup and it seized both times I tried it (even though it had worked a few weeks ealier). Then I just stuck them in a foam block to let them dry after putting on the ears.
There were so many problems with this project, and all on the night and morning of when they were supposed to be handed out. If you try it, give yourself a few days, they last for a while once they are coated!

Little Piggies and more Sam

Because I spent so much time with them, I thought I should say something about my invitations for our most recent Relief Society Meeting. I saw this cute idea online somewhere, and got it into my head that I needed to do it too. Our meeting was about the Little Piggies that went to market (the stock market), who stayed home (to organize and cleaned up ), who had roast beef and then none (of course food storage) and the Wee'ing piggy who could have avoided the Wee'ing by taking time out to relax. I will not go into all the problems I ran into trying to make these, but if you have any questions as to how it was done, I'll let you know. Otherwise I will let them remain mysterious and thereby making me look very creative! :-) Hopefully you can tell what they are!

I know all moms think they have the cutest baby, but Sam really is quite a cute little kid. He loves to talk. He loves to be around people. When he eats, talks or get excited about anything he starts wiggling his hands and his feet at the same time.

One of his favorite things to do is roll under the coffee table. He likes playing with the drawer and putting his feet on the underside. He actually likes putting his feet on anything. Usually it's me when we're sitting on the floor together. He loves to roll around, and is starting to get an idea that he might be able to move some other way.

He now has his two bottom teeth, which he won't let anyone see unless he's smiling really big. He was such a trooper when they came in. Just a little fussing here and there, and waking up a few times at night. It could have been much worse.

Overall, we are just loving having him in our family. He does the sweetest things, and makes the sweetest little noises. We can't wait to see what the new baby will be like. He will be such a great big brother!

Sam under the table with his foot on the couch.

Some News and cute pictures of Sam

So for those of you who don't know yet, Sam is going to be a big brother come the middle of October! Doing the math, yes that means they will be 15 months apart. We are as surprised as you are! But also very excited! No Doctors were involved this time, except for the one who let me hear this new little baby's sweet little heartbeat. Hopefully Mr. Sam will be walking by then so I'm not carrying around at 15 m/o and an infant carrier! :-)

On to other cuter Sam things. This is what Sam was doing before he found his knees. He must've been watching his daddy work out doing planks or something. He apparently is a very strong baby. He definitely takes after his dad!

Here Sam is working on trying to crawl. He can't quite figure out how to get his hands to move when he is putting his weight on them. He can sit back up from being on his tummy though, so hopefully a crawl will be soon. He will be a much happier baby.

Sam's dad likes to do tricks with him. He thought it would be funny to get a picture of Sam flying through the air. Sam loved it, and John thought the picture was hilarious, so you get to see it too. This is the way we get him to settle down for bedtime. ;-)

Sam got these cute glasses from his baby shower, and I'm afraid we missed the window where he could wear them. His head is a little too big, so they don't fit quite right, but that doesn't stop him from enjoying them. As soon as he gets them off, they go right to the mouth. Plastic is apparently very tasty.

Sam decided that our Family Home Evening lesson was not as interesting as sleeping at the time. It is very unusual for him to just fall asleep, not in his crib. He must've been very tired. And then his dad didn't want to put him to bed, because he has discovered he likes cuddling with Sam. It's very sweet to see the two of them sitting all snug together. :-)

Spring and New Life

So I haven't posted in forever, and Spring is as good of time as any for a fresh start. :-) Sam is still a wonderful happy baby most of the time. In the last few months he has had his first ear infection, first stomach bug and at the same time got a new tooth! Poor little guy had a rough few weeks. For a while he was sleeping through the night! From 8:30 until about 6 or so! Since he has been sick and cutting teeth, not so much. He enjoys waking every 30 to 45 mins. and screams at the top of his little lungs, which is quite loud. (He will most likely be a singer when he grows up).
Anyway, he has been trying some new food. He is eating his "breadstick" in the picture below. He eats it pretty well, has the chomping motion down and everything. By the way, his shirt says "short, bald and handsome"! Thanks Grandma Roberts!

Here we have Sam who just stuck John's Raspberry Milano cookie in his mouth. John got some from my parents for his birthday and once Sam got a hold of it he knew just what to do. He stuffed the whole thing in his mouth before we could stop him. No, we did not let him really eat it, but we thought the chocolate mustache was pretty cute!

My parents came to visit during thier Spring Break, and can you believe it, this is about the only picture I took and it was the morning they left! Sam was still in his jammies.

Sam doesn't quite get a thrill from swinging yet, but he has a smile on his face pretty much anytime his dad is around. He really is a daddy's boy.

Sam likes to stick things in his mouth. I think it's the funniest when he sticks his socks in there and then just leaves it hanging out. He does this with his burp cloth now too. What a goofy kid!

Here is Sam giving what I call a kiss. He gives the sloppiest kisses, and I don't think he quite knows what it is, but it reminds me of the story John reads to him sometimes, "Where the Wild Things Are" the part where the Wild Things say, "We'll eat you up we love you so." Sometimes Sam just can't contain himself. :-)

Here he is eating his daddy's nose. He does this often too. Sometimes without really thinking he'll just turn open mouthed to him and try to eat whatever is closest.

In the last month Sam has discovered his tongue and likes to stick it out. I worry that his lips will get chapped, but so far he has been fine. This is from the first day he started doing it. He has a long tongue!

Sam likes to eat and sometimes he gets a little over excited and tries to eat his lip. I thought it was so funny we got a video of him!

Enjoy!

Some cute pictures of Sam with a few captions

Christmas was almost a month ago, and yes, I am just updating our blog! In that time a few things have happened. John and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary by going to A&W and getting a burger and some cheese curds. John was willing to take me someplace nicer, but I wanted it to be on record that I am easy to please and not high maintenance. The food was good, and some guy a few booths down from us kept talking to us, so it was definately an evening to remember.

Sam has also reached the half a year mark! Very exciting! Here are some good picks from the Holidays and a few extra.


Grandpa Roberts has said when you are unsure of what you should get someone for a present....socks and a toothbrush are always needed. So in his stocking Sam got a toothbrush from Grandpa Roberts, and I must say, although he has no teeth, he did a great job brushing his gums!

Sam got a jumperoo too for Christmas. He opened it before Christmas though because his mom was just too excited for him to try it out! His little legs don't always touch the floor yet, so he uses one of the Old Testament Student Manuels to stand on.

We went to Osage Hills for a night and John started the fire with just one match...and no lighter fluid. I thought it deserved some blog recognition. Sam also thought the fires was something special. He kept staring and talking to it. It really must be a guy thing.

Sam was contenplating eating that pokey bow and would have succeeded if it weren't for quick hands. We can't blame it all on him though because we put the hat on and put the package in front of him thinking it would make a cute picture. What do you know...it did! :-) He's wearing his Christmas jammies because it is Christmas morning.

This is Sam playing with one of his Christmas toys. We are not sure if he's laughing or crying so we'll just say laughing. :-)

This is the picture I sent in for the Gerber Beautiful Baby Photo Contest. He was 6 months old on Sunday and was simply adorable in his little blue Sunday shirt. Hopefully the judges will agree. :-D

John thought this one looked like a thoughtful model picture so I included it in his blog portfolio. He was such a good sport!

If the video ever gets running, you will get to see how cute Sam is when he's happy. He was doing this for several minutes before we started recording. This is also a good demonstration of how well he sits on his own. The pillows are only there to soften the landing, not holding him up.

We hope you enjoy the new pictures of our little Sam! He is growing up so fast! His Dr. appointment today said that he is 26" long (25%-50%) and he's 15 lbs. 3 oz. (10th%) and his head is 44 cm around.

Cold Weather and 5 Months Old!!!

John started putting pictures up the first week of December and keeps asking me when I am going to finish it! This is me finishing it. Not very creative, but you'll get the idea. :-)

You may not be able to see past the wet pavement, but if you look closely you can see that it was snowing! Big fluffy flakes that did not last. I believe we got snow before OK this year!

This was the frost on the ground the next morning. By that afternoon it was all gone and I believe it was in the mid 60's.

So We have been trying Sam on solids lately. He does a great job eating! He opens his mouth for the spoon and even helps it in a little. He's just getting so big!

Sam does a pretty good job of holding his head up. He's very strong, and can roll over from his stomach to his back. (He has for a while now)

Of course we have to have a picture of Sam being thrown in the air. That's what Burkinshaw's do! We have gotten good pictures of babies in the air the last few years, however, there are a few more babies and we may not get all of them in the same picture this year.

What can I say....he's a handsome little dude!

Sam is very energetic when John gets home from work. This is what he does when we're eating dinner. He usually faces John because I think he gets tired of looking at me by the end of the day. Enjoy!

Progress Report - Four Months

Sam gets more interesting all the time. He's finally old enough to throw around and still small enough that he can go pretty high. Emily hates it, but Sam loves it. And we really don't get too crazy with it.

We gave Sam his pacifier his first night when we were still in the hospital, and it has always been a great comfort for him. Lately, however, he has discovered that chewing on his fingers is more effective in drool generation and dispersion so he will often discard his pacifier for efficiency's sake.

Sam is getting stronger all the time also. He needs help of course, but he likes to stand up and we catch him straining in his car seat trying to sit up. Our friends the Bergers gave us their Bumpo (they have two girls, which is why it is purple) and Sam is pretty stable sitting in that already too. And he loves watching tv, especially OU or BYU football on weekends or Food Network during the week.

Sam no longer fits in any of his 0-3 month clothes, so I see him in new outfits regularly that we got from baby showers that he now fits into. In fact we went out on Saturday and found him some new church clothes. Pretty stylish, eh?

Emily mentioned in a previous post how difficult it can be to get Sam dressed because he grabs at anything that comes close to his head and tries to stuff it into his mouth. I was getting him dressed this morning and he kept doing that so I couldn't get his arms in and he was laughing at me as I pulled his hands away from him. We weren't quick enough to get all of that on camera, but he was still in kind of a giggly mood afterwards so we got some good laughs on video here.

Speaking of stuffing things into his mouth, Sam was getting a little fussy during Sunday School today so I took him out and decided he could use a diaper change. I put him on the little changing table and when I got his used diaper off I just set it down for a moment up above his head. So of course Sam rolled right over, grabbed the dirty diaper and stuffed it in his face. Fortunately the back side was facing him rather than the inside, but it was still a little gross.

So that's Sam at four months. He's a very happy kid most of the time, and always entertaining.