Welcome to Sam Marks' page!

9/12/09: It's been a busy couple of months! We've been traveling some to Nashville and to Orange Beach, and PDO has started back up for the Fall (yay!). Sam has absolutely loved summer - he's spent so much time outside, and loves having a neighbor who's his same age - they play together several nights a week after dinner. He's gotten several battle scars this month - the latest is a huge scrape in the middle of his forehead accompanied by a couple of matching skinned knees. He didn't know to let go of the push toy that his buddy was riding on when he fell down. I think he had fun getting that battle scar, though!

It took some time, but Sam has finally warmed up to the idea of pools and beaches. Thanks to much patience by Grandmother Marks, he finally was willing to sit on the steps of the pool and the edge of the ocean. Hopefully he'll remember he likes these things next time he goes back!

I've added some pictures from the last couple of months - I've gotten really bad about remembering to take them. I didn't get my camera out once while we were at the beach (bad mom, I know).

7/1/09: Wow - I've been really bad about updating this site! Sorry! It's been a busy few months, which we love. We don't do bored. :)

We've gotten to see both sides of the fam in the last couple of months. We headed down to Atlanta for Memorial Day and enjoyed a few days there, and then spent part of last week in Nashville. Sam loves all the attention and I get the feeling that the grandparents enjoy seeing him as well! We also survived a week of VBS - I was with the 3 year-olds, and Sam got to hang out with his buddies each day. He'd be thrilled to do that every week if he could!

We're at such a fun age where he picks up something new every day. His current words are banana ("balala"), cracker, all done (for real - not just the sign), block, ball, car, kitties, baba (which is Baxter, which is also what he says for "dog"), bye-bye, mama, dada, and airplane (neither of us taught him that, so it cracks us up). He's also learning his animals, letters, and colors. We have a long way to go on all of those, but it's fun to see him connect the dots and figure things out.

He's still doing 2 days of PDO a week, which seems to be a good fit. He loves being there with all the other kids - he jumps out of my arms and runs into his room. The other day, I looked at the PDO calendar and noticed that the activity for the day was stretching like a giraffe. I randomly asked Sam how to stretch like a giraffe, and he actually did it! I wasn't really expecting anything, so it was too funny when he stood on his tippy-toes and stretched up to the ceiling.

He's eating everything these days - the kid even loves asparagus (seriously, what toddler likes that??). Much of our day revolves around eating, and I've learned not to leave the house without a snack and sippy cup.

We had his 18 month appointment yesterday, and he's looking great! Still around the middle of the chart for weight, has a huge head (90th percentile), and is on the short side. Given how small he started out in life, he's doing amazingly well! We go back to the orthopedic dr. in August to determine whether or not we'll need to brace his legs. He still walks kind of funny, and it is keeping him from really being able to run, so we may have to do that. But, his leg definitely seems like it's gotten straighter over the last couple of months, so he may be doing well by this time next month. Either way, if this is the biggest issue we have to deal with, I'm not complaining! We continue to be so thankful and so amazed at how well he's done given his start in life!

4/21/09: It's been an exciting couple of weeks! The biggest event was my sister's wedding this past weekend - congrats MW & Blake! It was great to see family from all over the place, and they are such a cute couple! We're so happy for them!

Sam had a blast this past weekend with both of the dogs around. He also enjoyed being spoiled rotten by grandparents and other family, but I think the dogs were probably the highlight of his weekend. I'm still staying strong on not getting a dog yet, but I'm beginning to consider it.

He just continues to be a barrel of laughs all the time - he's always doing something that cracks us up. He's definitely heading towards the terrible 2's - he's getting good at throwing tantrums and he throws his toys when he doesn't like the way things are going. We're working to break that habit. I guess it's time to really start deciding what our discipline habits will be - he's all about asserting his independence! Some of the bad things he does are hilarious, though, so I've gotten good at stepping away for a moment to laugh and then coming back with the stern face.

We're going to an orthopedic surgeon next week to have Sam's legs looked at. His right leg is noticeably longer than his left leg, and he's definitely limping/compensating. His right leg is bowed out, and it's getting worse. Not sure if they'll do anything at this point or if they'll wait to see if it corrects itself.

I had planned to sleep in this weekend, but I think we'll do the March for Babies Saturday morning. March of Dimes works hard to research and hopefully prevent the number of premature births, and we missed the walk last year because it was too cold. We're also hoping to take Sam for his first strawberry-picking experience Saturday afternoon - we'll see how that goes!

3/30/09: Today was Sam's 15 month check-up, and we got a great report! He's now moved into the 50th percentile for weight (little piglet), the 75th percentile for his head circumference, and unfortunately, he seems to have my height genes, because that's the 25th percentile. :) All in all, he's caught up quite nicely and looks great!

He's walking everywhere now, and I'm sure running will be here before we know it this summer. Basically, I spend my days following behind him to catch him and make sure he doesn't do anything dangerous. And feeding him. He constantly makes the signs for "eat" and "milk" - as much as he's on the go, I guess he needs a lot of fuel!

We spent a great weekend in Nashville while Dan was on the men's retreat. He was spoiled rotten and had a great time with Baxter and Divot (my sister's westie). I think we're destined to get a dog - eventually.

That's about it for now. We're spending most of our days playing outside or at the zoo. This weather has been fabulous, and he's to the point now that he constantly wants to be outside (even when it's pouring rain... we're still working on that one).

2/27/2009: Sam is just so much fun these days. It seems like he learns something new every day. He definitely learned the sign for "milk" - it's nice b/c he can tell me that's what he needs without having to cry. Still not too interested in "all done" and prefers to just start dropping food on the floor or throwing his cup. We're working on breaking that habit. It's tricky, because if they know you react in any way to what they're doing, it can encourage them to do it more. He definitely responds to positive feedback, though, so when he does do what he's supposed to, he gets lots of praise.

He's also able to follow a few basic commands. He can bring you a book if you ask him to, he can show you his paci/cup/food, he'll roll the ball if you ask him to, and he'll walk to you if ask him to. He'll also wave now, but still no clapping. He also mimics sounds, and has learned how to click his tongue. That one can get kind of annoying pretty quickly, but we just laugh with him. :) He still loves walking around, and even walked a good bit of the way down the hall with me at church today. He gets a little too excited when he holds your hand, though, and tries to go too fast.

His new favorite thing is the panda bear. There is a picture of one in one of his books, and I didn't realize how much he had really paid attention until we were at the zoo yesterday. There are lots of signs around the Memphis Zoo for our panda exhibit, and every time we passed one, he would squeal and point. Since it wasn't busy at the zoo yesterday, he got to sit in front of the panda and watch him eat and walk around. He just kept squealing and pointing. So, I felt like I should give in and get him a little stuffed panda. He held onto it the whole way home. He also loves the langur at the zoo - it will come up to the glass and just ham around and play with him - it's hysterical. We're really enjoying the zoo during these slow months when he can really get up close and see things without tons of people around.

That's about all that's going on around here. He's getting over an upper respiratory virus, and Dan and I are just starting to get it, so we're hanging out around the house this weekend and hoping to rest so that we don't get sick.

2/12/2009: Well, we're off to the races around here! Sam is in major walking mode, and can get all the way across rooms now, and only picks up speed with each new trek. We went to story time today, and he had a great time walking around with some of the other big kids and playing with the train set!

He is quite smart and strong, and keeps managing to destroy or bypass our babyproofing measures. Help! I guess I'll just keep moving up to the next expensive product each time he does this... Some of these products are so strong that I can't get into them - I'm hoping we don't have to go that far, but if we do, we do.

He's gotten another tooth, bringing the current total to 5. He's also got another one about to push through, which I hope happens soon - it's not making him happy.

The ear tubes are working wonders. He's made it to PDO 4 whole weeks in a row! He's never done that before! Since he's staying well these days, we bumped him back to 2 days a week at PDO - he loves being there and loves being around the other kids, and I love having the time to cook, clean, and grocery shop. Yesterday, his teachers commented on how much fun they had listening to him giggle while he was playing. It really is entertaining.

We're still working on sign language, but he's really not that interested. We've been doing the "all done" sign since around 6 months, and he much prefers to let us know he's done eating by throwing his milk or dropping food on the floor... Hopefully he'll learn soon! We've only been working on the sign for "milk" for a couple of days, but I think he's getting that one down. I guess he learned with that one that he actually got something when he did it!

He's just so much fun right now. We've been blessed with fantastic weather for the last week or so, which has meant walks in the wagon and trips to the zoo. If he takes a short nap today, we'll head back to the zoo - he loves to see the sea lions, polar bears, and monkeys. I can't wait for Spring! We'll be outside as much as possible!

1/25/2009: It's been a busy month around the Marks household. A couple of weeks ago, Sam got ear tubes, and he's been a new kid since then. He's made it to church and PDO two weeks in a row! And also survived a bunch of extra nursery time for other things this weekend. It's a good thing he loves the nursery and seeing all his buddies. He's started to giggle when we get out of the car in the parking lot at church. He just loves to be there!

Sam also had his first real accident last weekend. I was baking cinnamon rolls, and when I was taking them out of the oven, he crawled up behind me and put his hand on the oven door. We rushed to the pediatrician (sooooo, soooo thankful for a ped who has Saturday office hours - saved us a trip to the ER). It's really not that bad, although it about gave both of us a heart attack. It's healing well and it hasn't slowed him down one little bit.

He's taken a couple of steps on his own, but is still content to crawl and walk behind toys. He's very fast at crusing, though, and stands a lot more these days, so I don't think we're too far away from walking.

He's gotten another tooth, and two more ready to pop through at any moment. He loves eating, and is gaining weight quickly for this stage of development. There have been a couple of meals where he's eaten more in one sitting than I could!

12/31/2008: Sam had a fantastic birthday, and this Christmas was so special for us all! We continue to be so thankful for how amazing our little guy is, and he's so much fun!

He had his 12 month appointment on Monday, and the Dr. continues to be amazed at how well he's doing and the progress he's made. He doesn't expect him to be totally caught up in every aspect of development until around 2, but he's doing very well. He's still on the lower end of the growth chart - just under 20 lbs, but that's still great considering how small he started out in life!

He's scheduled to get ear tubes in January. The ENT Dr. didn't take 5 minutes to determine that that was what he needed. So, we hope that this will make him feel a lot better!

He continues to be on the move. He got a walk-behind toy for one of his presents, and he started taking steps behind it that day! He's been trying to stand without holding on to anything occasionally, but he's still not really sure of himself. He's cruising around tables and other things now, so I guess we don't have too long!

I'm super-thrilled that we have ditched the bottle! I've still given him a little formula the last couple of days because we have it and it's so expensive that I can't bear to throw it away. :) But, he's loving milk, can't get enough of it, and he's eating everything in sight. It's so much fun to watch him.

12/21/2008: It's so hard to imagine that Sam will be 1 in just a few short days! I know I say it all the time, but time just flies by. It feels like just yesterday we were bringing our little 4 lb baby home with us.

He's now standing on his own, which is fun - he'll pull up to stand on anything, including us! He's also really beginning to pick up new things - we're working on waving, putting blocks back together, and using a spoon to feed himself. Speaking of food, he has decided that he is done with baby food. He does not want to be spoon-fed anymore - he wants to do it all himself.

He'll eat pretty much anything you give him - fruits, veggies, bbq, baked beans, scrambled eggs, banana bread, cereal bars, ravioli (LOVES ravioli), Cheerios, yogurt bites, puffs, crackers, and whatever else we'll let him have. He's still getting 3 bottles a day, but I'm going to try to drop the mid-day one at the end of this week. We're going to try milk to see how he does with it. My goal is to be bottle-free by the end of January! No clue if he's going to cooperate.

The ear infections won't seem to go away, so we're meeting with an ENT specialist this week. Hopefully we'll get the go-ahead for tubes so the little man can get some relief! Fortunately, he's a pretty good sport - unless he's just feeling really yucky, he doesn't let much of anything bug him.

This season is a time of such thankfulness in our house - first of all, for Christ. We're also thankful for our families and friends, and of course, for Sam and how well he's done - we're still in awe at his progress and his overall health. Thank you again for all of your prayers, support, encouragement, meals, cards, gifts, and everything else during this last year!

12/1/2008: I can't even believe I just typed a December date! I think back to this time last year, and it all is just a blur. Time is flying.

This past month has been one of lots of changes. Sam is all over the place and he is fast. There is no longer getting any work done while he sits somewhere else. If I need to get something done while he's awake, he has to go in the Exersaucer (which he's becoming bored with) or in "baby jail". I waited as long as I could to actually buy baby jail, and we only use it when absoutely necessary, but it gives him a safe place to play with more room than the pack 'n' play. He's also beginning to stand on his own while holding onto something. Last night, we were amazed at how long he just stood and played. It seems like he develops a new skill every day!

He's also been quite chatty lately. I have no idea what he's telling us, but he loves to talk! Saturday during naptime, he sat back there and just talked to himself for a good 30 minutes. We were cracking up listening to him.

We enjoyed the last week with both sets of grandparents and aunts and uncles. They loved having a chance to see Sam, and we loved having a chance to just breathe for a few days! It was nice to have extra hands to help take care of him and to just be able to relax with family and friends for a few days. I am, however, paying for this now - he's still expecting attention every single minute of the day. We're slowly getting back to normal. :)

We have another physical therapy appointment this week. Since he wasn't crawling when we went last month, they wanted to follow up with him this month to make sure he picked up that skill. No worries there. I didn't even have to do the exercises they gave me for him - he picked it all up on his own!

He now has four teeth - his top and bottom middle ones. We think he's working on some other top ones - he's started drooling a lot again, and is back to gnawing on whatever is in sight. He's also super-protective of his mouth (moreso than usual), so we'll see if something new pops up in the next few weeks.

11/16/2008: Well, we're on the move over here. In the span of about 12 hours the other day, Sam went from still scooting and rolling around to turbo crawling. All over the place. He's loving his newfound skills, and enjoys putting them to use whenever possible. Needless to say, we're a lot busier around here trying to keep up! He also started pulling up yesterday. I can't believe he's going to be 1 in a little over a month!

He has another ear infection, which hasn't really slowed him down too much. He's napped a little longer for the last couple of days, but that's about it. Even though this is only his second ear infection, both have been with ruptures of the eardrum, so tubes have already been mentioned. I'm not excited about that possibility, and will try to hold out a little bit longer - I know it's considered "routine" by a lot of practitioners, but it's still a procedure, and I don't want to jump the gun if we don't have to. So, hopefully this one will heal and we won't have any more for a little while!

10/30/2008: Wow - another month has flown by. I can't believe I have a 10 month old! Sam now has 3 teeth! And, boy, has he let us know. The bottom two were no party, but these top ones are really giving him a hard time. On top of that, he has some sort of little virus that's caused a fever for the last few days. So, he's been a tad cranky. I love whoever invented Tylenol and Advil - they've helped make him a little more comfortable.

Still not interested in crawling, and I'm beginning to wonder if we're just going to skip it all together. Who knows? He's now started to do the bottom scoot to get around.

The plan for his Halloween costume is to be a sock monkey, but I don't know if he'll get to go to Fall Fest or not - hopefully, he'll be fever-free all day tomorrow so he can!

Other than that, he's just talking up a storm these days, and says "da-da" a lot - I'm not sure he has any clue what he's saying, but it's cute. He's also gotten to the point where he really knows when Dan gets home in the evenings - he gets sooooo excited to see him! It's super-cute!

I can't believe that this time next month we'll be past Thanksgiving and thinking about Christmas and his first birthday. Wow.

10/7/2008: Today was Sam's 9 month check up, and he continues to do amazingly well - the Dr. is always just thrilled will how well he's growing. Today's stats: weight - 18.6 lbs (25-30th percentile), height - 27.5 inches (25th percentile), head circumference - 46 cm (50-55 percentile). All of these percentiles are for his actual age, so for his adjusted age, he's right on.

We're going to start exploring more table foods and really work on the sippy cup. I haven't been terribly consistent with the cup or with solid foods, so we're going to focus on really getting into a routine over the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping to get him to where he eats 3 times a day, with snacks in between. As of now, we're still having to do 5 bottles a day, but I think he can start drinking more per bottle and he'll be getting more solid food, so I'm hoping to drop a couple of those. Table foods he's tried so far are puffs, crackers, and some Hawaiian bread. I promise that I won't give him any Coke or coffee - he'll have to develop those addictions on his own. :)

As far as the teeth go, they're thisclose. The Dr. said to expect them any day now (both bottom and top - he's really been pushing on his top gums in the past few days), so hopefully that will happen soon. These teeth have been bothering the poor guy for such a long time now! You can see all 4 of them now - they just need to make that final push through.

He's decided to become an early riser in the last week, which just doesn't fit with my schedule. So, one of us is going to have to make some changes. I'm really hoping it's him, but I'm betting that I just need to stop staying up so late so that I can get up earlier with him. He woke up starving this morning around 4:30, and after trying everything known to man to calm him down, we finally gave in and fed him around 5. I'm hoping that didn't start a trend...

He's also become quite chatty in the last couple of weeks. He says "bye-bye" and "hewo", although I'm pretty sure he has no idea what he's saying. He can stand up holding onto something for short periods of time, but you have to put him there. Still not pulling up, and still not crawling. He has adapted the donuts he does on his tummy into this scooting motion, though, so he's quite adept at getting around quickly.

We're getting his first professional pictures taken next Monday - I'm so excited!

9/23/2008: I can't believe it's been almost a month again, and I definitely cannot believe that Sam is 9 months old on Thursday! Where has this year gone??

This has been a month of just hanging out at home. That was not our plan for the month, but everyone has been sick. Sam picks up every little thing at PDO, but I figure that's par for the course at this point - I know he'll eventually stop getting sick every time he goes and he needs to build up his immunity, so I take him whenever he's well!

His last cold (which he actually got from me, not at PDO) got down into his lungs and we had to do breathing treatments. It was really not a big deal, except that he hates having the mask on. Putting him in his high chair in front of the TV does help. But, he's well now, and planning to go to PDO tomorrow. He's such a social fellow, so hanging around the house with just us is not his idea of a good time! :) I predict we won't see much of him once he hits the teenage years...

That's about all that's happened this month! He's still not crawling - much happier doing the rolling thing, but he's fast - we can't believe how quickly he can get around. He has started doing donuts on his tummy, and gets into the crawling position more often, so I'm guess he'll start sometime around 10 months.

Still no teeth. The drooling and chewing on things has subsided some, but we can still really feel one of them (the bottom right middle one). Who knows when it will eventually pop through, but I'm just happy he doesn't seem to be too bothered by it right now.

He had his first biter biscuit this weekend, and he loved it, and it definitely made a mess. I'm going to start giving him little bits of table food to see what he thinks. We're also working on the sippy cup. My Christmas present to me will hopefully be no more bottles! :)

We're hoping he stays well throughout October. He has lots of nursery visits this week, though, so I'm not making any plans for next week! :) Hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised and he won't get sick this week.

8/26/2008: Wow - it's been a busy month, but lots of fun. For one thing, Sam started PDO last week! Even though we haven't made it back yet (between travel and him having a little bug), it was great for him (he's quite social) and I loved having the day to get things done. Hopefully, we'll be back to normal by next week and he'll be going on Wednesdays and Fridays.

He is just growing and growing - he's getting close to 28 inches long. I'm not sure when it happened, but one day, I looked at him and realized he had gotten longer. And fast. He's getting into some 12 month clothes because he's getting so long. Still on the lower end of the weight scale, so it looks like he'll be tall and skinny. Wonder where he gets that...

He's been sitting for a while, and is on the verge of crawling. He can do the legs, and do the arms, just not together. However, today, he's pretty much decided that he no longer cares about this whole crawling business, and has gone to rolling everywhere he wants to go. He's fast, so the days of being able to leave him sitting somewhere are gone.

In the last month, we've left him for two weekends. The first weekend in August, we headed to officer's retreat for church, and my mom (Mimi) came and stayed. This last weekend, we headed to Bristol for the race and left him with Grandmother Marks. I'm pretty sure the kid never missed us! He had a blast both times.

His little personality is developing by the day - he does something new every day, and is so much fun right now. He's so laid-back and easygoing - I'm so thankful for that! Also, at our last visit to the physical therapist, they consider him to be caught up, so from here on out, we're just continuing to watch him to make sure he hits milestones as he should. There are a couple of things where I can tell he's still between his two ages, but for the most part, he's a normal 8 month old. We're so incredibly thankful for this progress.

I'm sure I'm forgetting things that have happened over the last month, but this is all I can think of right now. Thanks for checking in!

7/20/2008: I just realized how long it's been since I last updated - we've been so busy around here!

The week of the 4th of July, Sam and I took off to Nashville for a couple of days, and then headed to Atlanta (with a quick stop in Chattanooga for lunch with Jacks and Amber) for the weekend. Dan flew in to Atlanta and met us there - we had a great time! It was fun to hang out with the fam, and we got to leave Sam with his grandparents and Uncle John to go to a Braves Game on the 4th.

This past weekend, I went out of town without Sam for the first time - I was a little sad at first, but it was so nice to be away for a couple of days. I did miss the little guy (and Dan, of course), but it was refreshing to have a good night's sleep and conversation with adults for a couple of days! I was glad to get back home, though. Eve came and stayed with Dan and Sam, and I can tell by the length of Sam's nap today that he had a great time! Dan and I are both going to be away for a couple of nights in a few weeks, and my mom is coming to stay with Sam. I think he'll do just fine.

Sam is now an independent sitter! I still stick the boppy behind him in case he falls back, but for the most part, he's got it down. He's also beginning to scoot when I put him on his tummy - he doesn't really get anywhere yet (thank goodness!), but I can tell we don't have too much longer before he's mobile!

I know a lot more has happened this last month, but that's all my brain can think of right now! We continue to try to find as many things to do out of the house as we can - we love story time at Davis-Kidd! He loves all the songs they sing, and he loves being read to. He doesn't really have a favorite book at the moment, but he has a couple of songs that he just loves for me to sing - "The Grand Old Duke of York" (loves me standing up and sitting down) and "Where is Thumbkin" are the current faves.

We're counting down the days until Parents Day Out starts (August 18th - wahoo!) - he's such a social guy, so I know he'll enjoy being around other kids 2 days a week. I'm getting pretty boring. :) I know I'll enjoy the freedom to run errands during the week. He had a trial run at TOTS a couple of weeks ago, and he did fantastic. He has another TOTS day next week, which I'm looking forward to. We're ready for the school year to start and for everything to get into full swing again. No more sitting around for us!

By the way, congrats to my little sister, who recently got engaged! We're so excited!

6/29/08: Sam had his 6 month appointment on Friday, and had another great check-up! The Dr. is very pleased with his development - he is beginning to sit (still not totally on his own yet), but he said he would even give a term baby "a pass" who was doing that well, so he was thrilled to see Sam getting ready to sit pretty close to on time. It seems like he's learning new things every day. Right now, he's learning to use the sippy cup, and he's doing pretty well.

He's also showing the signs of teething - the Dr. thought he felt something under his gums, but couldn't be sure. However, Sam has been somewhat cranky, drooling buckets, and is chewing on everything in sight, and will even chew on his bottom lip if nothing else is available! Let's hope this isn't drawn out over the next couple of months. Who knows, though? He could have a tooth tomorrow, or it could be September before we see it.

He weighed in at just under 16 lbs, so he's jumped up to the 25th percentile for his actual age. That's amazing, considering that when he was born, he wasn't even on the preemie growth chart. We continue to be so thankful for his growth and development - he's done better than we could have ever asked or imagined.

He's getting over a little cold he started this weekend. Since he's only had one other little virus since he was born, I would say we're pretty fortunate to have made it to 6 months before he got another one! I figure this is pretty much par for the course for, oh, about the next 10 years... :) Kids are great little disease-spreaders!

He had a big week - last weekend, all of the grandparents were in town for his baptism. I was afraid he was going to melt down while we were standing up there, but he did fine. It was such a special time for us. On Tuesday, we made our first trip to Davis-Kidd storytime with the playgroup, and Mrs. Marjorie is a fantastic storyteller! He paid attention the whole time. I was amazed. Storytime happens three days a week, so I have a feeling we'll be back there a lot! He also went and played with Jake on Thursday while I got to go have a root canal - I'm thinking he got the better end of that deal. He had a blast with Jake - he had been fussy for me all day, but he did great for Lauren (so she says, so I'm going to believe her!).

Other good news this week - he visited the pediatric ophthalmalogist for his 6 month check-up, and he's doing great. Still no preemie issues, so unless he begins to have any issues, we don't have to go back for a year. We're so pleased with that report.

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