Halloween Firsts

Sam was a cute little pumpkin for his first halloween. He had so much fun! We went to our wards trunk or treat and we all had a blast. There were a ton of people there. It must be a whole neighborhood thing. Sam was having a lot of fun seeing all the kids in their costumes. He was laughing and smiling the whole time. He was so cute!

We then went to go visit Grandma and Grandpa so they could see Sam. He was showing off his rolling skills and had Grandma laughing at him. Then when Grandpa was holding him, Sam decided he really liked Grandpa and gave him 5 kisses in a row. It was adorable. Grandpa sure appreciated that. Sam also showed a new trick of his. He has learned the concept of crawling. He still prefers rolling, but he'll show you he can do it. :)

After Grandmas and Grandpas we went to Taco Bell for their Black Jack Taco and that was delicious. Then off to home and the moment we got home and sat Mike was out like a light. I guess he was tired from our fun Halloween day. So overall Halloween was fun for us and we had a lot of firsts.

Gut Splittin' Laugh and Other Life Updates

So, the other night Sam was refusing to go to bed (what's new) and was making some funny noises. I decided to mimic him and he thought it was hilarious. It was probably the hardest I have ever heard him laugh.

The next night I was making the same noise to him and he still thought it was funny. I started adding other sounds in and he just laughed twice as hard. We ended up getting a video of it, but I guess it's too big to post on here. We ended up posting it on Facebook instead so please run on over there and watch it. How can you not laugh when watching that video?

In other news, life is as busy as ever. I'm back in school being busy, busy and Amanda is still working (not as much) and loves spending so much time with Sam. He's growing soooo fast. It's strange to look back at photos even from the summer because he looks so much younger. His personality is really coming out. He's a fun-loving boy that enjoys spending time with his parents. I love coming home from school cause when he sees me, he gets the biggest grin.

His newest development is transportation. No, he can't crawl, but he'll roll with the best of 'em. We'll put him on the ground and the next thing we know, he's rolling across the floor trying to get something he sees on the other side of the room. Wow!

Finding Wii Controllers

Getting comfy & cozy

Sleeping in random areas

We also had our first bout with illness. A couple of weeks ago, Sam came down with croup. Talk about scary! It's never fun to wake up in the middle of the night and find your child struggling to breath. He ended up getting it twice, but he's now healthy again. Thank goodness!

Another piece of exciting news is that I'm for sure going to Israel with my choir next May! Wow, what an opportunity. I'm excited for the musical experience that it will be, but even more than that, excited to be able to spend some time in the land where Christ lived, where His miracles were performed, and where he wrought the atoning sacrifice for us. I've heard so many good things about that area and can't wait to experience it for myself.

Among everything that is going on right now and the many amazing things that are to come everything still seems the same. Although it does change everyday with having a child. We feel very grateful for everything we have, and just want to say thank you to all those who have helped us in our recent times of need.

Some Pictures

Here's the family on the morning that Sam was blessed. Isn't he adorable?

We caught a picture of him while he was sitting up. He's slowly mastering that skill as well.

Sam enjoying some 4th of July fun. He was sooooo happy that day!

ROLL-OVER

So about a week and a half ago Sam finally decided to roll over. It was actually pretty funny because when I went to get Sam out of his crib he was just lying on his stomach. I thought, "Well how'd he get there? I didn't put him there did I?" So I just thought nothing of it and just went on with the morning. But then later when he was just hanging out on the floor he rolled over. I was so excited that I put him back on his back to see if he'd do it again and sure enough he did. He ended up doing it two more times after that and on the last one ended up getting his arm from underneath him.

Today he has pretty much mastered this skill. I was at work today and I had him on his blanket and he kept rolling over and eventually was off the blanket and he would get all dirty because of course it's really hard to keep that floor clean. Anyway he just loves rolling over now and he can really get around. Not very far, but small distances with rolling and kind of scooting. He'll push his upper body up and then tuck his legs in and let go and voila he's moved a little bit.

It's so exciting to see him learn everyday. He's just so big and I'm loving every minute of being a mother. Hopefully I can keep everyone up to date more often. I've just been so busy. Being a mother keeps you very occupied. So mom, I want to say thank you for all those years you were occupied with me and for still being occupied with me. I LOVE YOU!!! I'm forever greatful for you. :)

Laughter

So, I must say that this was one of the greatest Father's day gifts I could have ever received: hearing my son truly laugh for the first time. I hope everyone finds just as much joy in this video as Amanda and I do!

Updates!

WOW! It's been awhile since being on here. I was just reading the singers blog and it seems like they are having a lot of fun. Oh how I miss Mike. At least I know he's having fun and is still alive. :) Not that I have anything to worry about.

Samuel continues to amaze me everyday. He loves to smile and he's starting to make noises and even kind of giggles. Oh it's so fun! I'm so glad I decided to have him now in my life. I'm glad I didn't wait. The past 6 weeks have been unbelievable. He is getting so big and he's just my joy!

Mike is in Europe and having the time of his life. He's had many concerts and MANY rehearsals so they can be ready for the competition. He's seen many great places and taken a lot of pictures. I can't wait to see them and hear the stories. I guess they are being received well though. Lots of people go to their concerts and they have many encores because people keep clapping and clapping. I'm glad he has this opportunity, but boy do I miss him.

As for me and what I'm doing. I'm just working and trying to stay on top of that, taking care of my beautiful boy, and spending lots and lots of time with my family. I absolutely love them so much. They have been such a support to me not only now, but have always been. I want to give a special thank you to Cherie for calling everyday and making sure I'm taken care of, doing good, and have a meal for dinner. I love you! Also to my mom for always hanging out with me and making sure I've got the things I need to keep Sam and I going. Thanks for the little play gym. He loves it! I love you mom.

So now I just get to wait everyday to talk to Mike over webcam and then anxiously await his arrival home. JUNE 3rd seems so far away, but it will come. At least it's less than 2 weeks. YAY!!! And when he gets home we get to have a birthday party for me and then we get to bless our little man on Sunday. It will be a great week and I can't wait!

Again thank you everyone for helping me out through this time. It means so much to me! :)

Samuel Joseph Mills

This is our new addition to our family. He entered this world on April 10th at 11:18 PM. He weighs 8 lbs 11 oz and is 20 inches long. I'm so happy he's finally here. :)

hmmm

So I'm just sitting here at the U waiting for Mike to be done with class. I'm at a loss of what to do. Since I've stopped working I've tried to keep myself busy. I've cleaned, read, played sudoku, surfed the internet, gone to Liz's house, and sometimes have just sat and stared at the walls. I think I've come to a standstill of what I can do now.

I've finished the series I was reading. I've run through all my sudoku books (plus I got tired of it), I'm sick of cleaning, you can only surf the internet so much, and staring at the walls, well you know how boring that can be. Going to Liz's hasn't exhausted its limits yet luckily.

But I guess that's why I tried coming up to the U today to have a change of scenery. Granted I'm still just sitting around waiting, but at least here I can watch people and make fun of them in my head. ;) Too bad Mike isn't here to join in the laughter. :) It's pretty hilarious what some people will do when they think no one is watching.

Anyway it's kind of ironic when you sit down and think about how much waiting we do in life. Not only am I waiting for my little Samuel to finally make his GRAND entrance into this world, which I'm sure that's what he's waiting for, but I wait for my doctor appointments to arrive, and then you wait in the waiting room, in the grocery line, in traffic, for a new movie or book to come out, for an event to start and last of all I always wait for yet another contraction to come on. In the midst of all this waiting we find things to entertain ourselves with. You've already read my list of what I've done, and yet we still get to wait and we always get through it. That waiting period always ends sometime for that certain thing, but then it starts all over again with something else. So since I've been waiting all my life with many things, then of course I'm going to be able to wait for my beautiful baby boy to be in my arms.

Oh how I LOVE these waiting games.

Update

I was just thinking about putting a picture up of what I look like. I was going through my pictures and just laughing at my progression. I used to be so SMALL!!! That ain't the case anymore, but it's all for a good cause. I wouldn't have it any other way! :)

The Waiting Game

So I've been getting contractions every once and awhile since Friday the 27th. My due date isn't till April 9th, I went to the doctor today and everything looks really good. He says, "Well, you could have him tonight or even in two weeks." Boy is that encouraging and discouraging. I wish I could just walk in there and say, "Take him now!" No, I'm not really that way, but I just get so anxious to finally hold him in my arms. I feel so close and yet, I have no idea when he will decide to come.

So I sit here playing the waiting game. Waiting to hold him, waiting to kiss his nose, waiting to hold his little hands, waiting to look at his face, and of course waiting for the contractions to get closer and closer and obviously more and more painful.

So, since I have no choice, I'll just sit here and continue playing my waiting game of seeing my son.

Will This Ever End?

I keep getting bigger and bigger everyday, but alas my little one is still not here. I still have 2 more months of growing bigger and bigger. I guarantee I probably wont fit through the hospital doors, which means I wont even fit in my own car, which then means I guess I'm having my baby at home! :) nah, just kidding. I'm not that big, but man I feel so big. I don't remember Liz ever being this big with Ansley. And Erin? Yea right. She was a little twig the entire time!

I was just thinking about it today because my dad walked by me and said, "WOW! You're looking really pregnant!" Well duh Dad, that would be because maybe just maybe I am. So then he goes on to say, "I'm glad it's you and not me." Well I think I'm glad it's me and not him either. I don't know if he could handle it. He wouldn't be able to run, or travel a whole bunch, and it would honestly be weird to see him with mood swings. haha :)

Anyway I just wanted to write out some of my feelings about my pregnancy. I have loved every minute of being pregnant, other than the times I've been in the hospital, but still I love the fact that I'm pregnant and I'm going to be a mommy soon. I love feeling him move around, which he does nonstop, and I'm beginning to think I've been feeling his foot and elbow a lot lately. He likes to play games with me. You've heard about some of them in previous blogs. He will punch away, and I'm sure he's doing it just to get my attention, because once I put my hand on my belly he'll stop and be content. He just wants to know I'm always thinking of him. ;)

The things I will not miss though would be:

1. The bathroom breaks about every hour.

2. Back pain.

3. Restless Legs.

4. Not sleeping (feeling tired).

5. All day sickness (1st 4 months).

6. Feeling a little queasy in the mornings.

But you know honestly those things aren't that bad when you know they're just temporary and so these things will not keep me from wanting more kids. Yes, I said it. I want more kids. I don't want just one child.

So, I anxiously await April 9th, that is if he comes then, so that I can finally hold my baby boy in my arms. I love my little guy!

Baby Rhythmic Dictation 101

As Amanda and I are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little Samuel, we have discovered a way of "interacting" with him. A few months back, Amanda was really excited to tell me that, as she was laying in bed, she poked her belly and Samuel kicked in response. She tried again and received the same result.
Well, this morning I was in the living room working for a few hours before taking off to school. I then heard a little giggle from the bedroom and shouted back to Amanda to find out what was going on. A few seconds later, she came out to where I was with a big grin on her face and proceeded to tell me the source of the giggling. She was playing her little game with Samuel and got an idea. Rather than just poking once, she tried poking twice. Surprisingly, he kicked twice in response! She then poked again 4 times in a rhythmic pattern and, once again, he responded in the same pattern.
What can I say? Gotta start that musical training early!