A new "old" chair for Sammy!!

We were at a consignment sale a few weeks ago and I spotted an old little rocking chair just like one I had as a little girl. Sammy was taken with it and how he could scoot his little bum right into it. I remembered that my Mom had saved the chair and we put it up in our attic a few years ago. I had Dave climb up there and get it down for me to makeover...

The before...it's beautiful isn't it?!?!
After a coat of black spraypaint and some new fabric...

It's great for reading his books in...

...and watching Baby Einstein in...

He LOVES it!!!

My littlest LOVE...

I caught this sweet picture of my littlest lovebug on Valentine's Day soaking up the warm sunshine...LOVE him SO much!!!

"Gotcha Day" Anniversary

Yesterday was a very special day for our family...the one year anniversary of Samuel's "Gotcha Day"...the day he became a McClard!! I thought I would share some pics of that special day with you!

Our first few minutes together...

Brand new big brother & sister...yup, lots of happy tears that day!!!

Feeding him his very first bottle...

Our first photo as a family of 5!!

...and now for some pics of this year's "Gotcha Day!"

Morning tickles & snuggles in Mama & Daddy's bed...

We took him to Build-A-Bear to make his very first animal!

He chose a soft monkey...which Nathan & Emily have named "Mr. Monk-a-Monk"

Watching the lady stuff his monkey...

Watching Baby Einstein with Mr. Monk-a-monk later that day...

We're so thankful to have had our sweet boy for one year already!!!

FIRST Birthday Party!!!

Whew, what a fun day!!! Some pictures of a very special first birthday party for our sweet boy...

Happy Birthday Samuel!!

What a great first birthday Samuel had snuggled at home all day in the ice storm!! He brings so much fun and laughter to our lives and we are so blessed to have him! We're looking forward to celebrating with family & friends at his party Saturday!

One Year Ago!!!!

One year ago today, a very special woman gave birth to our son...I hope she knows how much we think of her and the special place she will always hold in our hearts. We are so grateful she chose life for Samuel and us to be his family. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMUEL!!! You have brought our lives more joy than we ever could have imagined!

and he's off!!!

I promise I'll get some Christmas pictures up on this blog soon...but in the mean time...LOOK WHO'S WALKING!!!!

Brothers...and other stuff!

Watching your children bond with each other is one of the sweetest gifts a mother can receive. I've noticed over the past few weeks as Samuel has become more active and is crawling everywhere and developing his own little personality that we all love so much that he has grown quite close to Nathan. It's so sweet to watch Nathan play with his baby brother and much Samuel lights up when they are together. They were playing on the floor the other night and Nathan got up and sat on the couch, Samuel crawled over to him, and reached up for Nathan to hold him, as soon as he picked him up he curled up on him and fell fast asleep. So precious and so thankful for the bond God has created in my boys!

It's hard to believe our little guy turned 10 months old last week! He weighs 19 1/2 lbs and is 30" long...he's going to be a tall drink of water!! He crawls at the speed of lightning, is creeping between the furniture and getting very sturdy on his feet. It wouldn't surprise me if he walked by Christmas! He's babbling lots of sounds, learned to clap his hands, and loves to dance!

Happy Halloween!

Better late than never...Happy Halloween from our little monkey, cupcake, and soccer player!

Vote!!!

Have a few seconds?? Would you click this link and vote for Samuel?? You can vote every day!!! Help us win a Gap gift card!!

http://www.gapcastingcall.com/GapCastingCall/EntryDetail.html?id=19822

Funny Guy

So, Dave and I both admit we had totally forgotten how much fun babies are!!! This sweet little guy has brought more laughter into our home than we ever could have imagined. Here are some funny moments from the past few weeks...

I also seemed to have forgotten how incredibly messy those teether biter biscuits are...
Sometimes lunchtime can be exhausting!!

Swinging outside is one of his favorite things to do!

He really does not like this rug!!!!

He loves to share with Princess...and she doesn't seem to mind at all!

This Week...

How is September already almost over??? Can't believe how quickly the days are passing...it's ironic how they seemed to drag on while we were waiting for Samuel yet now they are moving so fast! It's hard to believe we just finished week 4 of school...we studied the Vikings this week and the kids made this model ship. This little guy got to try some Cheerios for the first time and loves them!

He got the hang of them real quick!

He turned 8 months old last Saturday and is BUSY...crawling everywhere!!

On the Move...

Look out world...Samuel is on the move!! He's been scooting for a few weeks now but this past week switched to full on crawling and boy is he fast! He likes to crawl over to his jumper and pull himself up on it... He's searching for just the right toy!

He's excited for socccer season to start too...

and loves to swing outside in his baby swing...

Happy September!!