Celebrating Samuel's Parents

Samuel had quite an eventful day today.  Today was his most responsive day so far.  He kept us on our toes all day after keeping his eyes open for about five minutes this morning.  While, we have seen him take a peek everyday off and on since his birth, it has only ever been for a second.  The odds of getting those beautiful baby blues on film was just about as good as winning the lottery.  However, Samuel surprised us all today!  Once he opened his eyes and we could tell he was going to keep them open, the rest of immediate family came running in to the room to check out his new trick. I'm sure the other people in the hospital thought that there was something wrong.  It was the best five minutes we have had so far.  Many pictures were taken as well as some video.  After some very long days at the hospital, Samuel gave us just the push we needed to keep going.

As you can tell from the pictures, Samuel is looking very handsome in his new clothes.  After going so long without being able to wear anything except a diaper, it is nice to see him wear some of the outfits he received from so many people who love him.  He was even able to wear the shoes that his parents bought to help create the photo that announced his existence to the world. 

Many visitors stopped by for their first, second, or third look at our Super Sam.  By the third day of visitors, we finally got smart and started taking pictures of all the people who have made a special trip to the hospital just to see Samuel.  Unfortunately, I know there are some people that we might have missed.  For that, I apologize.  Melissa and Jeremy have been amazed at all of the people who have come to see Sam and they truly appreciate your visits. 

We had a joint Mother's Day and Father's Day celebration today.  Melissa and Jeremy are two amazing parents who have put their child first throughout this entire process.  Samuel is very lucky to have both of them as parents and we wanted to help Samuel celebrate them today.  After all of the visitors had left, the immediate family came together to celebrate their special day with gifts and dinner from Swensons. 

Even though we were celebrating Samuel's parents today, we were still able to squeeze in the resurrection eggs for Easter.  This was something that Melissa, Jeremy, and Reese did this year and were really looking forward to doing next year with Samuel.  I'm so glad they were able to do it today.  We also celebrated Samuel's Pop Pop's favorite holiday, Groundhog Day, by reading a story about a groundhog that has some trouble sleeping.  Samuel did not seem to be experiencing that same problem and slept throughout the story. 

Tomorrow will just be a Samuel day, our favorite kind of day.  While celebrating holidays is fun, any day that we can be with our Samuel is a great one! 

Merry Christmas Samuel!

Just like any Christmas Day, today was very busy and eventful. The morning began very quietly with just the immediate families. Both sides brought in Christmas decorations to decorate Samuel's room and I think Samuel was very pleased with the end result. We listened to Christmas music and read "The Night Before Christmas," from the book that has been used by the Pressdee family since Melissa was very little. Jeremy's parents brought some Charlie Brown Christmas movies for Samuel to enjoy as well. There was even a special Elmo decoration brought by Samuel's cousins Magnus and Amelia. Ugly sweaters were worn and even though Samuel had his very own ugly sweater, Jeremy still won for the ugliest sweater. If you don't believe that the competition was fairly judged, check out the pictures of Jeremy's sweater below, I don't think you'll have any trouble finding it.

Melissa and Jeremy took time today to show Samuel some pictures from the pre-Samuel days. It's hard to believe that there were ever any days like that. It seems that Samuel has always been present in our lives. He was able to see pictures from their wedding, the home they have shared since they were married, and even stayed with the theme and was shown some pictures from their first married Christmas. While Samuel seemed impressed with the pictures, I think he was excited to get back to his Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. Those books are hilarious and I think we all enjoy hearing about the crazy antics of Greg Heffley.

By noon, Samuel's visitors quickly came trickling in. That little boy sure is loved! By evening, his room was filled with lots of "Christmas" presents just for Samuel. The waiting room was pretty much full the entire day with people anxiously waiting to get their eyes on our sweet Samuel. It seems that at first glance, many people are surprised at how little Samuel really is. Apparently, many people think he looks much bigger in the pictures on this blog. He might be little, but he has made a big impact on a lot of people's lives.

Samuel got to take a break from his visitors so he could make molds and ink prints of his hands and feet. Our Super Sam has the longest, skinniest feet and they definitely needed to be recorded. I'm so glad that Nancy from palliative care was able to come and help his parents make these mementoes that they will treasure forever.

At the end of the day, all of the immediate family was able to come into Samuel's room and celebrate his first Christmas celebration. Jeremy read the Story of Jesus' birth aloud for all to hear and Magnus sang Jesus Loves Me. It was complete with a video message from Santa (Melissa's Uncle Bob from Florida) and Christmas sugar cookies (specially ordered by Samuel's Great-Grandma and Grandpa Pressdee). So many people went above and beyond to make this a special day for Samuel. It was truly apparent that Samuel loves Christmas because he had his eyes open more today than any other day so far.

Tomorrow, we will be celebrating both Mother's and Father's Day. While anyone is welcome to visit Samuel tomorrow, Jeremy and Melissa have asked that visitors come before 2:00 tomorrow. Thank you for respecting their wishes and giving them the time they need to enjoy Samuel.

Baptism Day

Today was an extremely special day in Samuel's life. Today was the day that his parents had him baptized by the same pastor that married them. Both mom and dad were able to help get him dressed in his baptism outfit. Samuel was surrounded by his parents, grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. As you can imagine, it was quite an emotional moment for everyone in the room.

Samuel had several visitors today including his cousin Heather who helped deliver Samuel into this world. I think Samuel will always have a special spot in her heart. Pebble, the creator of the now famous grandfather quilt, also came to visit. As much as I would love to list all of the people who came, there are far too many to name. Samuel is so blessed to have so many people who love him.

Samuel enjoyed listening to books read to him by his cousins Reese and Magnus. His parents started reading him the next book in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The nurse told them that his heart rate improves whenever one of them is holding him and he is being read too. Clearly, Samuel enjoys this!

As soon as the clock hit 7:30 pm all visitors had to be out of the room. It was time for Jeopardy. Samuel and his dad had some bonding time while trying their best to do well. Unfortunately, Jeremy let me know that Samuel was not much of a help since he just had a shot of morphine. They are going to try to improve tomorrow night.