Introducing Noah Jax Samuel!

Please join us in welcoming our newest addition to the Samuel clan:  Noah Jax Samuel - born on Jan. 15, 2012 at 12:04 pm.  He weighed in at 7 lbs 7 oz. and was 20 in. in length.  He is such a beautiful baby and we are enjoying every second with him.  Its been 11 days since we had him and he is slowly gaining his birth weight back and getting rid of his jaundice.  He left the hosp. at 6 lbs 13 oz.  and 9 days later is at 7 lbs 1 oz. 

We had a crazy couple of days leading up to Noah's birth.  I felt abdominal pain on Thu. Jan. 12 and decided to go into work, finish my paperwork, and make it my last day.  Got everything done in 4 hours and decided to eat lunch with Steve at Cheesecake Factory since I got antsy that it would be the last time I get some good food for a while.  Had our 38th week appt on Fri. in which we found out Noah had turned breech, hence the pain on Thu.  We decided to do the manual version where we would check into the hosp. on Sat.  Our Dr. explained that she would probably induce if she turned him.  So we went home and got everything ready and explained to Joshua that he might be a big brother tomorrow.
Long story short, the Dr. turned Noah within 5 seconds but was not able to induce due to hosp. policy saying we had wait until 39 weeks unless it was a med. emerg.   So that's the story of how Noah was born on Sun. Jan. 15 (Martin Luther King's B-day)

Joshua has been sick for 3 1/2 weeks with a heavy cough and congestion so we have to limit how close he can get to Noah.  However, Joshua has been so sweet to him, kissing his feet and letting us know everytime he cries.  He hasn't shown any jealousy signs most likely because his schedule has stayed the same.  He still goes to Grandma and Grandpa's house during the week and so he gets lots of attention.  We have noticed that he is acting out a little more, like going back to throwing food and talking and yelling to get our attention.  Hopefully, that will pass soon.:)

Here are some pics:

One and a half weeks left! (At 38.5 weeks)

It is getting harder and harder to work everyday.  This was the time I had left when Joshua was induced so it feels unreal that I am still carrying this baby.  And its so funny how we are so unprepared for this one but not in the least bit stressed out about it.  And when I say unprepared, I mean we still need to wash bottles and get his changing pad out and swing from the attic.  I guess the rest will just come back to us.  Hopefully.

I meant to put some pictures up of the ultrasound we had at 36 weeks.  He was very active that day and the US tech said he was already breathing so well.  At that point he already weighed 6 lb. 9 oz.  I think this one's going to be a big one :)

I am going through cedar fever right now since the count in Austin is sky high and of course Joshua has been sick for the past week and a half with a bad cough and congestion.  His runny nose is slowly going away.  We really hope he gets better before baby #2 arrives!  Going to be hard to keep Joshua away from his brother!

Enjoy the pics!

Mad about something!

                                                                   He's giving us a good smile!
       

                                                       The tech said he was blowing kisses at us!

Christmas Day 2011

We had a great Christmas day here in Austin!  We all woke up at 8:00 (and that means Joshua woke us up since he ends up in bed with us every night) and slowly started our morning routine.  After breakfast together, Steve read the Christmas story to Joshua and we said a prayer.  Then we let Joshua open presents.  Except he still didn't really grasp the opening presents part so I helped a lot.  He absolutely loved his recorder and school bus and stared in amazement at the tool bench box and race car apparatus that Uncle Scott and Aunty Betsy got him.  He also loved the fast cars that Uncle Ben and Aunty Abby got him.  He definitely liked playing with the wrapping paper and thought it was funny to watch Steve and I open our presents.  Christmas is so different when you see it through a child's eyes.  We had a great time throughout the season singing Christmas songs, turning on the lights every evening, and finally getting to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus on Christmas Day.

Mom, Dad, and Sunil came in from Dallas around noon and Joshua was entertained the rest of the day.  He had a great time showing everyone his golf moves and playing with toys.  Then we had Mom and Dad from Austin come over and we had a tasty Christmas dinner with a Smokey Mo's turkey.  We were all full by the end of the night.

21 months today with 5 weeks left!

I can't believe that I've neglected this blog for almost 2 months!  Joshua turned 21 months today and he is just so active and verbal these days.  He repeats a lot of what we say (sometimes we have to really watch it :)  and he's connecting 2 words pretty easily now.  For instance he'll say, "Mommy cooking,"  "Daddy vacuuming", "Grandpa putting" - meaning golf.  He is obsessed and I mean obsessed with golf.  We actually bought him real clubs and he will hit golf balls inside and outside the house.  He's got a pretty good swing - much, much better than Steve's :)

We've done so much in the past month or so.  We went to Dallas for Thanksgiving where we had a great meal and had lots of family over.  Subin arrived from Afghanistan the week prior and we were able to spend Thu - Mon with him.  We also hung out with Julie and met her parents for the first time.  Julie and I got up for after Thanksgiving sales on Fri.  

We also were able to catch up with Susan, Ash, Sheba, Johnsly and Shirley.  They had a lot of family over Fri. night for dinner.  Was nice to finally meet Aiden.  He's a cutie. 

We met up with our friends Jason, Shawn, Reena, and Anil on Sunday.  Can't believe the Jacobs finally moved back to Texas.   Great seeing all the kids and also seeing Sigy and Jaya for the first time.

I personally feel like a penguin now - weighing in about 138 pounds.  I didn't even weigh this much when I gave birth to Joshua.  And I still have 5 weeks left!  Looks like I'll be working out pretty hard - especially since my brother's wedding will be in Hawaii in June!  This pregnancy is definitely harder than the first - can hardly bend down, lots of acid reflux, unable to sleep comfortably.  It's also funny how little you prepare for the 2nd one.

Also hard to believe that we have 1 week before Christmas!  And like always, I have procrastinated on gifts.  I think I do it on purpose - just for the rush of trying to fit it all in.

I'll try and do better about updating the blog.
Enjoy the pics!

Halloween pics - 2011

 

Weekend in Dallas!

We just got back from spending a weekend in Dallas with Ammachi and Appachan.  Joshua had lots of fun getting spoiled and receiving constant hugs and kisses.  We took family pics at Central Park in Frisco and we are excited to see how they turned out.  The cold front came through Texas on Thursday and it was in the 60s during the day and the 40s at night.  We're finally getting into fall after having one of the worst summers in Texas history!

Joshua is in that stage where he repeats everything he hears so we have to really be careful what we say. :)   The other day he was crying in his crib and when I went to get him I said, "It's OK"  and he repeated "Sokay, sokay" while he was crying.  I couldn't help laughing. 

He loves to point out and say "school bus, po (police), ambus (ambulance), and so much more.  His vocabulary is getting bigger by the day. 

We took him to a pumpkin patch in Frisco on Sunday and he loved playing by the tractor and throwing hay around everywhere.  He threw his mini fit when we had to leave :) 

I also was able to spend some girl time with Reena on Sat. night.  Was nice to relax and have my fav. apple caramel streusel cheesecake and hot chocolate.  I have really neglected you Cheesecake Factory!  Never again :)

We went to Joshua's 18 month appt last week and found out he had not even gained a pound since his 15 month appt.  So now he weighs 21 pounds and 8 oz. and is now 31 inches.  One skinny little boy!   He is so active at this time - running away from us every morning when its time to brush teeth or change his diaper.  He thinks its so funny to have us chase him around.  Still walking and running on his toes, which of course drives me crazy but I have put off calling a ped. PT :)

He is adding to his vocabulary everyday.  New words include oopas (toothpaste), ope (soap), bapple (waffle), bacuum (vacuum), bocooli (brocolli), outside, booby (blueberry), dark, apple, juice, chicken, book.  He constantly says Mommy and Daddy and is always asking for the one that's not present.  He can even say Ammy (Ammachi) and Appacha. 

I have been so late with this post that we've now come to his 19 mo. b-day!  He is still adding to his vocabulary.  Now he can say monkey, airplane, bapack (backpack), Grandpa, school bus.  I still think he's one of the smartest kids around!

I keep thinking he's going to stop running and walking on his toes but I think I'm going to have to swallow my pride and schedule an appt. with a pediatric PT. 

We still have problems with Joshua throwing his food at mealtime when he doesn't want it or gets bored with it.  We have tried sternly scolding him, popping his hand, and  now we are turning his chair to face the wall everytime he throws.  We'll see if that works!

He still prefers his milk from a bottle though we tried many times to give it to him in a sippy cup.  He just stops drinking milk if its not offered in a bottle.  At least he drinks water and juice out of a sippy cup.  Oh well, I just want him to get his calcium and Vit. D so I just gave up somewhat on that.

He's still a very loving and affectionate boy.  He loves to get kisses and hugs from us and he likes it when Daddy wrestles with him.  He likes to run back and forth on the couch and still loves us to read his Bible Book.  We also read Goodnight Seattle every night before bed and he just recently started watching baby shows like Brainy Baby and Baby Einstein.

Joshua's little brother is getting bigger every day - I'm now 26 weeks pregnant and the baby should weigh about 2 pounds.  I definitely feel heavier and I just started wearing the belly band to work.  I have to eat small meals or I feel like I'm going to bust.  I have gained 19 pounds now and have about 3 months left to go!!