Thanksgiving

From SAM I AM

It's Thanksgiving! Seems like a good time to reflect and think about all we're thankful for, right? First and foremost, I (and I'm sure I can speak for Steve) am thankful for the joy that is Sam. He is healthy and happy (except for the current snotty nose). He's turned into this little person with an actual personality. I remember people used to say how serious he always looked (see Team Martz Christmas card 2011). He's now a smiley, funny little character. He is sometimes so sweet. Especially when he puts his little arms around my neck and hugs me tightly. I'm not sure there's any better feeling in the world. I still feel this way when he's driving me insane. His hug (and sometimes some wine) makes all the frustration disappear. Watching him learn new things is equally heartwarming and entertaining. Last night, I was sick and exhausted and he was refusing to eat, but then he tried to say blueberry and I just cracked up! Everything he says sounds so dang cute.

In addition to being super cute, he is also super smart. And I'm not just saying that! Before we went on vacation, Jr. had his check up with the developmental specialist. He was 14 months adjusted age at the time and was expected to test out at that age. Well, he far surpassed that. His language expression skills are that of a 19 1/2 month old. In almost every other area, he was testing closer to his chronological age of 17 1/2 months old. Impressive! There are a couple areas where he's still closer to his adjusted age. For instance, he is not wanting to transition to a sippy cup so much. I think we've bought at least 5 and he doesn't really like any of them. He's more interested in turning them upside down and shaking them. I learned this the hard way after giving him a sippy cup of milk in the car. However, I'm long past stressing about that sort of thing. I know he'll get it down in his own time.

Sam loves to dance. CUTE! He loves to clap his hands. CUTE! He is now an expert at what I call the bashful look. CUTE! He's a huge flirt and is always saying hi to random women wherever we go. He will come to us saying, "Book!", while trying to climb into our laps. Oh yeah, he's climbing like a monkey and likes to do things like jump up and down on the couch like a maniac before I can stop him. He says Dad and Dada all the time and knows Steve is the guy. Though it usually requires some prompting, he says Mama. He knows that's me, but for some reason just doesn't say it much. When he does though, it melts my heart. He knows who his Grandma is. When we were down south, I'd ask him, "Sam, can you say Grandma?" He wouldn't say it, but he'd crane his neck to see her wherever she was.

The not so cute stuff? Well, he's doing that fake whining/crying thing now. He'll sometimes cling to us saying, "Up!", then when we pick him up he wants to get down. He will do this over and over again. He also likes to have spaghetti legs and just fall out on the floor in tantrum mode. He is willful as all get out and gets a huge kick out of testing limits. He sometimes throws food and and likes to make that pbbbbtttttt sound that sends spit flying everywhere. This had me busy with paper towels and a bottle of hand sanitizer cleaning the waiting area at a recent doctors visit.

Despite all that, he is our perfect little boy and we are so very thankful for him. He brings his special brand of happy to our lives and we love him more than we ever could've imagined. I'm regularly astonished by how far he's come.

Baby boy, you are and will always be what we are most thankful for. We love you so much!

Happy Thanksgiving!

From SAM I AM

Fruit didn't fall far

So funny, just had to post. Do they not have the same exact expression on their faces?? Those are my boys!! Lol!

From SAM I AM

And Sam just looks insane in this one:

From SAM I AM

Family Vaca Down South

Just back from visitin' our kin and BOY, did we have a great time!  First off, it was awesome for Steve, the boy and I to have that family time together. Secondly, Steve's family is just awesome and it's always so wonderful to see them.

We stayed with Steve's Aunt Diane and Uncle Dave. Let me tell you, nicest hotel in all of Northern Georgia. The hills of Hiawassee, to be exact. They always make us feel so welcome. Amazingly, of all the places we went, they had the most baby proof house and Sam ran WILD there. No pitter patter of little feet.  Straight up STOMPS.

They have 3 rescue dogs, Annie, Maddy and Sable. Annie and Maddy were all over Sam.  He positively shrieked with delight when they tried to get kisses in. Annie in particular became very attached to Sam. Very protective. If she perceived me being mean to Sam, (saying BOO, or ROWWRR),  she got very upset and barked at me. Scared the crap out of me a couple of times, but it was still sweet. Some nights, when she escaped Dave & Diane's room, I could hear her lay down outside our bedroom door.  True love, I say. Maddy does the funniest thing. She actually smiles! It's so freakin' hilarious! I tried to capture it on film, but it just looks like she's angry and about to eat someone. Anyhoo, that is one happy doggie!

From SAM I AM

As usual there was a whole lotta great food consumed. Uncle Dave was a breakfast makin' fool. French toast and pancakes seem to be his specialty.  One day, when we knew the weather was suppose to be crummy, we stayed in and Steve, his Mom and Aunt D cooked up a Polish feast Mom/Grandma would be  proud of.  There was always plenty of wine flowin' and we never tired of just sitting around chit chattin' and enjoying each other's company.

From SAM I AM

Here's the view from the house, btw, though the picture really doesn't do it justice.

From SAM I AM

Next up, Sam got to meet his Aunt Lynola and Uncle Erik in North Carolina! They have 2 cuties of their own, Lukas (age 6) and Miss Emma (age 3). You'd think the big kids wouldn't be that interested in playing with a little guy like Sam. I was so wrong. They were having a blast together. And Lukas told us, "Don't worry. I'll take really good care of him." Seriously, how cute is that? They tore up the kids' room together and ran amok. We had a great game of hide and seek too! Oh, and it was my first time meeting Steve's brother too. It was both cool and weird to see this whole other adult human that looks so much like Steve.  Sam took to Erik instantly and Erik seemed completely smitten with his nephew, who he always calls Samuel :)

From SAM I AM

I swear, I think Steve's Mom could've just burst with happiness to have her 2 boys and all her grandchildren in the same room. It was a sight to see. Heres's a family shot.

From SAM I AM

From SAM I AM

The kids all got together again at Grandma's house and were all sad to say goodbye. I hope it won't be so long until Sam gets to play with his first cousins again. And yes, this is how they roll at Grandma's. She let's them stand on stuff! Lol!

From SAM I AM

Next stop, Rogersville, Tennessee! Time to see Team Siclari aka Aunt Teeny, Uncle Les and cousins Megan and Derrick! They have a whole bunch of acres in beautiful country. I looked up when we arrived at the house and thought I was in a scene from Little House on the Prairie.

From SAM I AM

Such a great, old house. Here Sam got to sit on a horse AND tractor! The sheep (which he calls baaaaas),wouldn't have anything to do with him, but that didn't stop him from chasing them. Curiously, we were initially listening to Led Zeppelin and classic rock in the kitchen while we broke out more wine and had another feast. Cousin Derrick came over with his new wife, Jordan. And Cousin Megan, who I've gotten to know on Facebook, arrived later. It was a great night of laughin' and talkin'.

From SAM I AM

The next day we made it over to Derrick and Jordan's for lunch and ATV ridin'!! Wooooo hooooo! So, yeah....Sam got to sit on a horse, a wagon, a tractor AND an ATV. LOL!!!! We were definitely doing it country style! Steve persuaded me to get on. I mostly just drove in a circle. I finally got up the courage to go down a hill on their land by the main road. Some people drove by and probably thought they were imagining things seeing me riding an ATV. LOL! Pretty funny.

From SAM I AM

From SAM I AM

Sam go to play in a big ol' pile of leaves and loved it! I was sure he'd be so bored when he got home. No dogs, no horses, no piles of leaves. Just a lazy, yowling cat. Poor kid. Anyway, he enjoyed it while it lasted.

From SAM I AM

Derrick is 20 years Steve's Jr. and just got married a few months ago. Check out their wedding rings:

From SAM I AM

Crazy coincidence, huh?? And yet another family photo

From SAM I AM

After our whirlwind visit to Tennessee, it was back to the house on the hill. We did so many things during our visit. True to form, we hit a winery in Hayesville, NC. We visited Mercier Orchards, http://mercier-orchards.com/ . Lucky for us, they'd just opened up a tasting room where we could sample their hard cider. Seriously, wherever we go, we always find the booze! The week went by way too fast. We were exhausted but happy when we arrived home (traveling with a toddler and all his crap on a plane is a story for another blog). Wonderful connections and memories made. Martzes, Siclaris and Baggetts, we love you so much! Can't wait to see you again!!!

We're Baaackkk!

Hey there! It's been awhile, hasn't it? I cannot BELIEVE what a slacker I have been in maintaining this blog.  As you can see, it's been moved from it's original location.  That took awhile. I obviously haven't moved all the previous posts, but I'll get to that.  For now, I'm going to focus on doing a quick catch up titled What Team Martz Did This Summer.  And Fall.

A couple of major happenings. First, Sam is on the run!  He started taking steps around 11 months adjusted after a month or so of solid cruising.  Check him out:


It's so funny to see him go from those tentative steps to this:

So, there's that.

The 2nd major happening....Sam was transitioned from nanny to daycare on August 1st! He had the best nanny on the face of the planet, but it became clear he was needing some socialization. He was always so curious with other kids and had great fun hanging out with them.  I gotta tell you, the first few weeks were BRUTAL.  Sam always does so well in social situations. He's always happy to be held by just about anyone for long periods of time.  But I guess it's different knowing we're not near by.  Steve drops off and I pick up.  As soon as Sam spotted me in the afternoon, he'd burst into tears, walking toward me with outstretched arms. It was absolutely heart wrenching.  His eyes were red, so it was evident he was crying and unhappy during the day. I felt like crap for doing it to him. He settled in after about 3 weeks.  I would show up and peek through the window to see what he was up to.  You know what he was up to? Playing his arse off! He was having a blast! Great for him to be in an enviroment where he can just rage, run, jump and climb stuff.  Occasionally, he'll still cry if he sees me and I don't get to him quickly enough, but now I think it's because he doesn't want me to know just how much fun he's having.

Other fun things this summer..Team Martz went camping! Yes, you read correctly.  Steve was quite the camper before me. I hadn't been in ages. I was tentative about taking Sam, being so little and all, but our friends totally talked us into it. I'm glad they did. We had such a great time! Sam loved getting in the lake to float around.  The boat wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. He also had alot of fun romping in the tent too. Good times! We also got up to Chalet Sommerfield in Arnold for more boating adventures. My favorite part of the day was late afternoon when we were just cruising around the lake. Sam fell asleep in my arms and we just snuggled for a good, long stretch.  Normally, I'm trying to get so much done while he sleeps.  Having that time with him was so sweet.

From SAM I AM

From SAM I AM

Next up, Halloween! Here's our little guy at Webb Ranch Pumpkin Patch and dressed as the scariest monster ever!!

From SAM I AM

From SAM I AM

He had his choice to be a monkey, pirate or monster and he chose monster, so there you go.

Oh! We also went to the NICU graduation party! How could I forget that! That was an awesome day. We got to see the amazing Dr. William Benitz. He was the first doctor we had contact with in those first few critical days. He told us Sam was doing remarkably well, all things considered. He asked a couple times if we were sure about the date of conception. Um, yeah. After all the orchestration, we were sure. But I digress. He tried to assure us the frail little creature we were hovering over was a fighter. He was right.

From SAM I AM

This is our favoritest nurse, Cara. She was Sam's guardian angel. Some people are just meant to do what they do. Cara has this deep love for these little beings that is just otherwordly. We love her dearly.

From SAM I AM

And this is Patty! When Sam made it to the step down nursery, Patty was his primary. Boy, do we love us some Patty. She was so good to Sam and so kind to us. She really showed us the ropes as far as learning to do the basic things we'd need to know at home. Patty had to work the day of the party, so we brought Sam to her.

From SAM I AM

From SAM I AM

It was the first time I'd been at LPCH and didn't have that feeling. I don't know how to describe it so well. I guess it feels kinda like someone has my heart in their hand and is squeezing it. I feel anxious and a little short of breath. And on the verge of tears. Hopefully, that means I made it to the other side of sadness and grief that wracked me for so long. It wasn't an easy road, but with some help, I just may have made it there :)

From SAM I AM

From SAM I AM

Took a quick trip to the coast to meet up with friends in town from the UK. This is quite possibly one of the most beautiful pictures I've ever taken.

From SAM I AM

They look like they're the only 2 people in the world, don't they? I could see and feel the love between them so strongly in that moment.

There are many more things to cover, but unfortunately, most of them have fallen out of my brain :-/ Proof positive why I need to keep this blog up. When my toddler-addled brain is failing me, I can always refer back here. So, I'll see you again soon! No more slacking! Oh, hey!  Forgot to mention....Our new email addresses have been up and running for a few months now, which most of you know.  We can now be reached at stacey@teammartz.com , sam@team...you get the picture. Sam loves to receive email, by the way.  He broke the R on my laptop keyboard in excitment over an email from his Auntie Ann.

Okay, that is all.  Til next time.