Spook Baby

Our little spook baby enjoyed his very first Halloween. I'm in the process of uploading a ton of photos to kodakgallery.com/grandsboy. You can just click on the link at the top of this page and go directly to them.

We had such a big night. Grand prepared a delicious meal that we enjoyed together at the funeral home, and then Sam got dressed in his costume. I mean, seriously, is that not the cutest little bear you've ever seen! As you know, Sam growls all the time - except for tonight when he was dressed as an animal that growls. He barely made a sound the entire night. I think he was a little overwhelmed with everything. He went trick-or-treating at Mimi's and Pop & Gracie's. He had fun, but he was done after that.

And, of course, you know what he did as soon as we got him home. Yep, growled like crazy!

New Photos

There's new photos on kodakgallery.com/grandsboy. Be sure to check them out!

Happy Halloween!

More Playtime

A little video from yesterday's playtime outside.

Picnic from amber Dicus on Vimeo.

Playtime at Notta

It was such a beautiful afternoon yesterday at Notta, so Sam and I decided to head outdoors to play for a while. Check him out in his adorable new umbrella stroller, a baby shower gift from the Wynne's that he's just now big enough to use.

Notta Gets Rolled

Look what Sam and I found when we arrived home on Sunday - our yard had been rolled! Isn't it awesome! My wonderful husband set it up as a surprise for me. I've always wanted my yard rolled, but no one was ever willing to drive all the way to the lake to do it. He had some friends do it while we were out of town over the weekend. I just love it!

Big Weekend

Sam and I took our first little road trip together this weekend. We headed to Columbia to see Poppa, Nana Beth and Aunt Selena, while Ash went to Maryville for homecoming. Sam had such a huge weekend! He attended his first high school football game Friday night, where he got to see Aunt Selena dance and Cousin Will play in the band. Aunt Lori and Uncle Jim sat with us, and Poppa and Nana Beth got to introduce Sam to several of their friends. It was a little chilly, but Sam stayed warm and cuddly. He even got to stay up way past his bedtime.

Saturday, Sam played with Poppa and Nana Beth all day. His Poppa had him giggling all through dinner that night. Sam discovered he likes high school girls after meeting several of Aunt Selena's friends over the weekend. (He asked me to send them a special shoutout on the blog, but I told him he's way too young to be doing that.)

Sam had a great weekend, but was so excited to be reunited with his daddy on Sunday. He's got a big week ahead of him too - his first Halloween! I'll be sure to post lots of pictures.

Monkey Child

We often jokingly refer to Sam as a monkey child, and here's some video that proves it. He was going crazy in his activity center yesterday. Grand and Granddaddy bought us some beautiful new doors and screen doors as an early Christmas present. Sam loved having the door open so he could see everything that was going on outside. My little monkey child!


Monkey Child from amber Dicus on Vimeo.

Jumpy Jump

Ok, so this is so much more fun than unpacking. I decided all that can wait, so here we go. Sam is finally starting to enjoy his jumper from his Aunt Lori and Uncle Jim. He was hilarious growling and squealing in it. And yes, I'm pretty sure every home video we have includes Chloe barking in the background. What can I say? This is our life. Watch the video carefully and you'll see Sam waving at Chloe.

Untitled from amber Dicus on Vimeo.

Beach Cabana

Sam got to use his beach cabana on this trip. He loved it! As you'll see in the video, he can sit in there and just play. He's well shaded from the sun and protected by a mesh front that zips (so no flies could get in there with him). And yes, I really do fit inside of it. That's about as close to camping as I'll ever get. (Please note my fancy editing skills.)

Cabana from amber Dicus on Vimeo.

Back at NottaFarm

We made it home last night with no problems. Sam did great traveling. Here's a cute picture from the beach. I've posted lots of pictures on www.kodakgallery.com/grandsboy so be sure to check them out. I'll try to get more on here later today. I've got some videos you'll enjoy, but I've got to get some unpacking done while little man is napping.

Bye Bye Beach

We are headed back to NottaFarm this afternoon. We've had a great week at the beach. Well, the weather didn't cooperate the whole time but it was wonderful to get away. Sam's had a wonderful time. He's been sleeping on his belly with his little butt in the air and he's now waving. It's all just too cute. I've got lots of photos and video to post, but we've got lots of cleaning and packing to do now. I'll try to do it over the next few days. He's always pretty needy when we return home, so be patient with me.

My Day

This video gives you a little glimpse into my day. I swear all I did was put him in his activity center so I could fix his dinner. This is a nice mixture of Rippy/Dicus/Skillern/Hunter/Halfacre temper. Wow!

Big Winner

So last night Sam attended his first Rotary BBQ, and it seems his Granddaddy's good luck has rubbed off on him. Check out the pictures to see Sam's big win from the raffle. The teddy bear is huge! Ash has named him BOB, big ol' bear. Actually, we really won a country ham. Ugh! The very nice lady who originally won the bear was more than happy to trade with us. It seems she wasn't too thrilled to lug home a huge stuffed bear. So yeah!

Sam loved all the people and the noise. And the clapping absolutely delighted him. He was fired up, bouncing around in Ash's lap and yelling. He had a ball and totally exhausted himself. John was the emcee for the event, so Sam thought that was fun seeing his Granddaddy up on stage and hearing his voice through the microphone. And Pop (Buddy) was happy to abandon his duties for a little while to show off Sam to everyone there.

Needless to say, the little man is thoroughly exhausted today after Gagie & Pa's yesterday and the BBQ last night.

Busy at Play

Check out the little man from this morning. He was busy, playing hard. Isn't he doing great sitting up?!? That's really improved in the last week or so. He's had such a big day. He and Ash headed to Manchester early this morning to go play with Gagie & Pa. I think they had lots of fun on their first boys-only outing. Apparently Sam loved playing Gagie & Pa's piano.

We've got a little family outing planned tonight - the Rotary BBQ. Both Granddaddy and Pop are involved with it, so Sam will be showed off to everyone who walks in the door!

We've got lots of packing to do tomorrow. We're headed to the beach house on Monday. A little getaway to help everyone get rested before the holiday season gets started.

Thank you!

Thank you Poppa & Nana Beth for the adorable Halloween treat bag. Isn't it cute! It's personalized with Sam's name on the back, so this is something we'll use every year trick-or-treating. Sam is now all set for his very first Halloween. I posted pictures of him in his costume at kodakgallery.com/grandsboy several weeks ago.

What a Cutie

So here's a couple of photos from yesterday and today. Such a cutie. There's lots more at www.kodakgallery.com/grandsboy

A few quick Sam updates: Ash and I took him for a ride on the mule the other day. He seemed to like it. He just kept his arms out straight the entire time. He is now officially weaned! I should probably feel guilty because I didn't breastfeed for the entire year, but I just had my first glass of milk today in over four months. It was delicious. Sam has enjoyed his carrots for several days, so tomorrow we move on to green peas. Wish us luck!

Baby DJ

Here's a little video from yesterday. Sam is playing baby dj and spinning some of his favorite tunes for you to enjoy.

Rubber Ducky

Here's some video from last night's bath. Since Sam is doing so great sitting up, he got to move to the deep end of his tub. He had a lot of fun splashing around and playing with his new friend, the rubber ducky. Enjoy!

Roll Sam Roll

Sam was on quite a roll tonight - literally. We had just finished our bedtime stories in the den. (Yes, we read bedtime stories in the den on the floor because Sam doesn't like to be held and read to. He's Mr. Independent!) So we were trying to get him settled down for the evening when he started rolling across floor. He rolled halfway across the room. It was hilarious.

And he was trying his hardest to crawl. He got his knees up under him, but couldn't quite figure out what to do next. Life is seriously about to get more complicated.

Big Boy

Sam had his 6-month checkup this morning, and everything went great. He weighs 18 pounds, 13 ounces and is 26.5 inches long. Big boy! The doctor gave us the ok to start baby food, so Sam got his first taste of carrots at lunch. There were a few gags but he did pretty good with it. Dinner didn't go so well. He refused to open his mouth when Ash tried to feed him. Crazy little man.

And I was wrong. Sam doesn't have a tooth coming in. He's actually got TWO teeth coming in! Good times ahead.

You can check out all of the pictures from today's special lunch at kodakgallery.com/grandsboy

New Favorite Toy

Sam discovered a new favorite toy this morning - the colander.

Good Boy

I've got some new video for you today. He actually performed while the camera was rolling, which is very rare. He's been saying "mama" for weeks now, and I think this is the first time we've gotten it recorded. You get a little bit of everything in this video - talking, rolling, growling. He's showing off all of his tricks. Enjoy!

First Tooth

I swear something new happens with Sam every day. It's unbelievable. Nanny noticed today that his first tooth is coming in! He won't stay still long enough for me to look at his gums, but I can feel a little tooth starting to poke through. He was rolling all over the den tonight while I was cooking dinner. He can flip onto his stomach with no problem now. This kid will be mobile very soon. And he's doing great sitting up by himself. He loves to sit up during his bath and play the entire time. It's adorable. I tried to take some video of him tonight, but he freezes as soon as a camera of any kind is pointed in his direction. You wouldn't believe how loud he was (happily) screaming while Ash and I were trying to eat dinner, but didn't make a peep once the camera came out. I'll try to get some photos on tomorrow.

Fussy Fussy

Check out this little video I took this morning. Someone is learning that he doesn't like the word "no." Doesn't he look a lot like his father when he gets all fussy?

Happy 6 Months

As promised, here are a few pictures from our little celebration this morning. I'll try to post the rest of them on kodakgallery.com/grandsboy today.

6 months

Sam is officially six months old today. Wow! He's been with us half of a year now. That doesn't even seem possible. We decorated the dining room for the special occasion, and I made cupcakes for Ash and me. We gave Sam a gift this morning, which he loved unwrapping. I can only imagine what Christmas will be like!

Ok, so I'm just learning how to do all this, but I'll try to post some pictures and possibly some video later.