all about sam

It's been brought to my attention that I have not posted a whole lot about Sam lately and some pictures of him would be appreciated. And I think I owe it to Sam's grandparents to be more diligent, particularly to my parents who are on the other side of the world from their newest little grandbaby. Mostly his hobbies include playing on the floor, rolling over, and being held, so a lot of the pictures are remarkably similar. But I do not have the discerning eye of the deprived grandparent! So, without further ado, some pictures of Sam:

Playing with his favorite toy, the Jingly Cube. Thanks, Alison - he loves it!

You can really see the family resemblance here. Especially in the intelligent expressions.

Or, based on the size of his ginormous forehead, perhaps we should point the finger at my family. Hi, Mom!

Woah, I look really tired and haggard here. But I sure love my baby!

His usual grinning self.

A few funfacts about Sam (in bullet form, because I love them so:)

• In my head, I think of Sam as my best baby. Always, always happy. Never, never fussy.
• It's funny that I think of him this way, however, because I don't think he is my best sleeper. Mostly, he is just really unpredictable. Maybe he'll take a three hour nap or maybe a 35 minute one. Maybe he'll sleep from 8 to 8 and wake up once to eat or maybe he'll get up every three hours and need snacks and cuddles.
• But I shouldn't complain. He does just fine and has a very nice daily routine that I can rely on. Maybe he's my best baby in part because I've learned to embrace all the unpredictability.
• He still sleeps swaddled up tight. When he wakes up, he flails his arms and usually gouges huge chunks out of his face, so he's usually sporting a few good scratches.
• He likes to suck on his hands when he's awake, but hasn't figured out how to use them to soothe himself back to sleep. He refused a binky, despite my valiant attempts. I've never had a kid like this!
• He loves to roll. And roll and roll. Sam figured this out about a month ago and will now roll all over the living room. Eve is often telling me that Sam has wedged himself under the couch or, yesterday, rolled himself head first into the wall. Where is he going? I don't know, but he loves getting there.
• His favorite toys are the squishy type, like the Jingly Cube (see above), the teddy bear from my Aunt Julie, and his lion rattle. He loves to squeeze them tight and lick them. Yum!
• Poor Sam has a bit of a problem with eczema that can make red rashy spots on his face and scalp. Because of it, he tends to be on the flaky side. I always regret when I wear black! We treat it with hydrocortisone and by rubbing his head with a brush and liberal amounts of lotion. Also, Head and Shoulders! Poor kid. It's sad to see that soft, perfect baby skin all red and irritated so we try our best to keep it treated.
• Sam is our drooliest baby ever. The front of his shirt is usually soaked and he is often blowing big juicy raspberries.
• He is super smiley and often tries to smile while he is crying. Confused boy!
• He doesn't seem to prefer one parent over the other - he generously aknowledges our efforts to keep him warm and well fed. He adores his sisters, however.

I just tried to post a movie of Sam rolling but I seem to be having technical difficulties. Hopefully, the pics will keep the grandparents satisfied for the time being!