Samuel Teddy Bear~3 months

Sam is three months old! And I swear these pictures were taken at the same time, he just looks chubbier with his legs pulled up and a straight face. He likes to have his legs curled up and has become quite the kicker and wiggle worm when laying down. Sam also loves to suck and chew on his fist, in particular his first knuckle and thumb. I think it would actually be kind of cute if he became a thumb sucker. He loves to smile especially in the morning and when getting his diaper changed. He loves being naked. Lately he has found his voice and will tell anyone who listens all sorts of stories. The kids love when he "talks" to them.

This face just kills me every time and I pretty much kiss it all day long. But come on...how could I not?!?!

Soren's First Derby

Soren got to participate in his first Pinewood Derby on April 17th. His car came in second for two of the runs and third on the other two but he still had so much fun and was so proud of his car.

Funny kids eating the refreshments...a banana car with marshmallow wheels.

While sitting waiting for the race results, I looked at my kids and realized all three of them had holey knees in their jeans. My goodness when does that stop happening?!?! 

Soren won for best carved. I need to get a picture of the car because Ben carved two little seats into it. 
Oh the joys of having boys...only 5 more derbys left.

A Blessing Birthday

On my 32nd birthday this year, I got the best present. I was surrounded by my family and watched my husband use his Priesthood to bless our sweet baby Samuel. Due to crazy schedules and our ward having it's ward conference we blessed Sam at home. And since his uncle Randall is in our ward's bishopric he presided over it. We sang "I am a Child of God" and "Families Can Be Together Forever" and then the men gathered around my little boy. To make the day even better, my parents and grandpa Waters made the trip up and were there with us. It was extremely special to have Samuel's namesake in the circle. My great uncle Bob was in it too along with Jay, Steve, Grandpa Rob, Mike and Randall. Such great men and strong Priesthood examples. I felt so much love from those who were there and from those who weren't.

My little brother Trevor was there too and got Sam completely dressed in his outfit by himself. Stryder followed him around the whole time and just idolizes him. I hope Trevor knows how much this family loves and misses him. He's such an awesome uncle.

This is 4 generations of my Waters family. Pretty amazing if you ask me. And I'm so grateful that Grandpa made the trip with my mom and dad.
 

Isn't my dad so young and handsome?! No way this is his 9th grandbaby.

I love my parents so much and there wasn't anything I wanted more than to have them there. It was all the present I needed.

Later that evening, we walked to the park so my mom could do an Easter egg hunt with the kids. She sure loves to spoil her grandkids.

I love my family so much and I can't even put into words how happy it makes me knowing I will have them for forever. That was a birthday I will never forget.

Samuel Teddy Bear~2 months

I'm pretty sure this is the cutest baby on the planet right now. He continues to pose like his bear and grow bigger and bigger. It's sad to see him get so big but I've learned from the other three kids to just cherish every phase. And Sam sure is getting into a fun phase. He loves to smile, especially when he first wakes up in the morning. He knows who his momma is and will settle with me and has more patience with me if he's hungry than with his daddy. His brothers and sister have come up with all sorts of funny noises in hopes of getting a smile. At his 2 month (and 2 weeks) appointment he weighed in at 12lbs 12oz. Only in the 50th percentile but definitely packing on the chubs. I still get teary eyed when I look down at his precious perfect face and can't believe he's here, my little miracle baby.

"Oh I just want to eat you, I love you so."

Yes, I Have Other Kids!

This blog was starting to look like the Sam show, so I need to share what my other three older kids have been up to since Samuel was born...

 They attended their Aunt Jana's wedding and looked quite handsome too.

 Soren aged 92 years for the 100th day of school.

 We treated them to Waffle Love waffles.

 They sported mustaches to school.

 They hold Sam and put him to sleep or make him happy.

 They had a dress-up days at school. Stryder sang at the 6th grade Renaissance Faire, Shelby is a Greek goddess and Soren is Marty McFly.

 We took them to the zoo.

Did I mention they hold Sam? They are loving that he smiles now and it's a huge contest to see who can make him smile the most. They pretty much love him a lot and we are all really happy to have him around.

Samuel Teddy Bear~ One month

Time continues to fly by and I can't believe Sam is 2 months old already. I'm still trying to get my blog all caught up so here's Samuel at One month old. He's so small still in these pictures and it cracks us up the way he poses like the bear. Oh man I sure do love this little bear of mine.

And who doesn't love a baby dressed as a bear? Thanks to his amazing Aunt Rachel for making the crochet beanie, Sam could look like one of the bears too.

A Meet and Greet

Living in Utah, miles and miles away from my family, has been hard. I was made hyper-aware of this after Samuel was born. I wanted all my family to meet and love on him but that's hard when we are a state away. Gratefully, my dad recovered quickly and they made a super quick trip up just to meet Sam. We felt so loved and special that they would be willing to drive up and back down in two days time just to snuggle with their littlest grandbaby. (My parents are probably going to hate me for posting these pictures but it was the first time they got to hold Sam and I'll hold these close to my heart for forever.)

But luckily we managed to make a trip down to Henderson before Sam was a month old. He got to meet my sisters and their families and my brother. Speaking of meeting my brother, I wish I had had my camera at the ready but I captured the picture mentally of my not so little brother holding and rocking Sam much like Ben used to rock him. The moment was made all the more sweeter by my dad coming over and peeking in on Sam in Trevor's arms. I could just feel the love these two amazing men have for my family now including my little Samuel and my heart about burst.

And some how we managed to get a picture of these three cuties all together. Katie's Layla was born in March, Lauren's Cheyenne was born in November and Sam was born in January. So my parents had all three of us girls have a baby in a years time. It would have been pretty cool if I had had a girl as well but my little guy will be the perfect balance to these two drama queens. I hope they are the best of friends.

One of my most favorite moments while we were in Henderson, was having my grandpa hold my Samuel. Sam is his 13th great grandchild and the first to have his name. I knew from the second I knew I was having a boy, that he was going to have either Mac or Teddy as his middle name. My grandpa's name is Teddy Mac. Mac was the early pick but once we settled on Samuel, Teddy was the perfect fit and I couldn't love his name more. I love how all my kids' names have such special family meaning. But seeing my little miracle Samuel Teddy being held by Grandpa Teddy truly was amazing.
Also while we were down south, Sam was loved on by my cousins, several ward members, and my dear friend Liz and her family. It was so special to have so many people who witnessed or were a part of our fertility struggle love on my baby. I can't wait to visit again.