Sam received the cuttest gift from some friends for Valentine's Day this year...it's call a Prayer Pal. He really enjoys snuggling with his new friend and pushing its tummy to hear the good night prayer. This is what his Prayer Pal says... 
Sam is going through a Good Night Moon phase! He loves this book and will read it with anyone willing to listen, including furry stuffed animals :-)
He points to his favorite pictures in the story which include the fireplace, kittens, moon and red balloon. 
Maybe it's the teacher in me, but I think these are the cuttest pictures! I am so happy that Sam is fascinated with books. We read together all the time but I think it's so important that he enjoys "reading" independently too (or with Tigger!). 
This is why I absolutely love being a stay-at-home mommy...I get to be apart of all of Sam's 1st's! Well, except for the walking 1st...oops! On Super Bowl Sunday I went into the kitchen to get a drink and according to Craig, Sam took 5 steps all by himself in hopes of catching me! I was sad that I missed it but he's made it up to me by showing off his walking skills lots and lots over the last few weeks :-) So last week we had a crazy mini blizzard for about an hour in the morning - Sam woke up and couldn't take his eyes off of the window since he had never seen snow before! He was babbling to the window and trying to touch the flakes, very cute! He stayed at the window until the blizzard stopped and within hours the snow was gone and the temperture was back up into the 50's...love that midwest weather! 
A few silly family shots!
Sam ate SO much birthday cake - I think he takes after his mother :-)
Mommy & her little helper :-)
Yesterday, on Jan. 28th, I celebrated my 28th birthday :-) It was a really important birthday for me since it was my first as a mommy. Sam was mesmerized by the birthday candles and cooed along with Craig as he sang Happy Birthday...it was so cute! Craig made my day so special. He made a delicious dinner for us (homemade pizza is my favorite!) AND baked the yummiest birthday cake! He even surprised me with the peacoat I have been wanting...I am nominating him for Husband of the Year, haha! Thank you Craig for making me feel so speical on my birthday - I love you, I love you, I love you!
Oh my goodness - we have such a busy boy! Sam is 9 months old and is in to EVERYTHING! He is so curious about every little thing and must touch any and everything that peeks his interest :-) These last few weeks Sam has become obsessed with our mini dirt devil vaccum...he drags the thing around with him all over the house! He also loves to open and close doors, cabinets, and play with the window shades. Hopefully this last picture won't get us into any trouble - we do not crate our child, I swear! Sam loves to crawl in and out of Gus' crate. We only locked the door to take the picture :-) PROMISE! 
Sam and I now start each day with a little Sesame Street :-) He LOVES it!!! Sometimes he'll sit in my lap but usually he insists on watching while holding on to the tv stand - I'm sure it's excellent for his eye sight! He coos and laughs at the different characters and bounces around when there is music. I have to admit, I really enjoy watching with him...makes me feel like a kid again :-)