Word on the Streets

decent exposure. . .

one of sam's most favorite times of the day is bathtime. with the warm water and a bathtub just his size [thanks aunt julia] he stretches out and takes a deep breath and then relaxes like an old japanese man in the bathhouse! it is like he has found his little portion of heaven here on earth. when mom however pulls out her camera to capture his moment he turns on the personality and gives a look that seems to say, "check me out ladies! nothing but pure kissable chub here...and in a few mintues i'll be dry and lotioned up so come and get me!"

oh sam, atleast you are not indecent for the photo!

we have a one month old in the house. . .

some little big man named sam turned one month today! we all cheered for him and he did a little happy dance himself.

a 75 year old to celebrate and a 2 week old to name. . .

the weekend of November 19th was a big one for our family. my dad turned 75 years old on the 17th of november. so for his birthday we did what we knew he would love---have a party that he himself could plan. dad is a people person and he loves food so we brought those two things together on the saturday night. so many of his friends from our old neighborhood and others from his new neighborhood came to celebrate with him. chris herrin catered the food and made my dad a hugely decadent chocolate cake. it was just so fun to see my dad have such a great time with his friends and family. it was adult only and all of my siblings were in town to celebrate with him. it was a great time together!

we got all of the dad's from the cul-de-sac together for a photo. these are all the men who built homes on our cul-de-sac and raised their families together. the group is just missing pete burnson who passed years ago. it was so fun to see these men together again. there is a lot of history with the four of them together. each has a plethora of grandchildren and in some cases great grandchildren now! what a wonderful night to spend in celebration of my dad's 75 years! it was a party to remember. 

then sunday was the day we had sam's baby blessing at church. sam was only two weeks old and i was so happy because almost all of my brothers were there with my dad to participate in his blessing. my dear friend up in vancouver specially knit a blessing gown for sam. she had done two gowns for my older boys when they were babies. i emailed to see if she would do one for sam so that he could have his own to pass down to his family. she had the same pattern and put her love and attention into such wonderful details of it. she sent in down to us just in time for the weekend! thanks, kirsty! this gown is a treasure! i have it hanging in his room! it was a good thing we blessed sam at two weeks old! he arrived with so much weight on him at birth that by two weeks he was a snug fit in the gown through the arms and chest. i was such careful try and avoid him spitting up or vomitting on the dress. we were successful with that and i think it will preserve nicely. so sam was blessed and given his official name to be known on the records of the church: samuel hudson streets.

my dad and brothers sort of made fun of it but that was only because it was brand new and not 100 years old that had come across the great waters of the atlantic. i told them that someone has to have those antique gowns first and start the traditions--that is what i intend to do with these blessing gowns--have them pass through the generations of our family for years to come. i want to start a chain of history right now. this weekend was full of momentuous celebrations. i'm so glad that we could all be here for both special occasions. 

big brothers adjusting. . .

many people have asked me how jack and morgan are adjusting to having baby sam around the house. i suppose for people who have toddlers and then they bring home a baby there would be some serious adjustment that the toddler would experience. but for jack and morgan there has been nothing but happiness. they are eight years old and just thrilled that there is one more brother in the house. he is sleeping much of the time so far and when he is awake they kiss him and hold him and watch out for him. they love to feel like his bodyguards! they are gentle with him and don't smother him and they never try to pick him up without my help. each boy has responded slightly different to sam but both are just as in love with him and rod and i are. jack is a little more demonstrative with his wanting to be near sam and help feed him or burp him. morgan is a little more reserved and i find him sneaking over to give sam a kiss when sam is alone sleeping or by himself awake. morgan likes to be more discreet where jack is the type to wear his emotions on his sleeve. i'm not sure everything in life will be this way for them but this is how they seem to be handling sam's arrival. 

i know that they are just fine with sam coming home. they have each other to play with if i am busy with sam. and it really helps that they get to go to school all day. these two school boys--i would say are adjusting just fine to having a little brother in the house!

my mom's heaven. . .

this is the first time my mom has held one of my babies under two years old! when jack and morgan were born she was in serbia and didn't get to come home until they were 18 months old or so.

one of my greatest joys in having sam is having my mom come over and hold him as often as she wants. we are all in love with this little man but i am in love almost more with glimpses of my mom in her own heaven with my son. then chloe, the dog, sidles up next to her feet and my mom is in pure heaven--newborn baby in her arms, sitting in a rocking chair with the dog at her feet. yes, she is in her own heaven and i am in mine for seeing it.

we have wolves in our house. . .

we have a pair of wolves now in our home! jack and morgan finished their bobcat requirements for cub scouts and this meant they got to go through the painting of the face ceremony at pack meeting and become wolves. grandpa harris was game to go and participate. each boy was as excited as could be to get to paint grandpa's and dad's face. morgan painted rod and jack painted grandpa. they each did a great job! then grandpa painted jack's face and rod painted morgan's face. this was a big night for our new little wolves. 

reality images. . .

when sam was born he was swollen up like a juicy roasting chicken. his first couple of days home he kept that look. this photo is from our first night home together.

recovering from surgery this time meant dealing with swollen legs and feet. this was so painful! it hurt to stand and limited my walking around the house. it lasted for about four days! sam was swollen and i became swollen--like son, like mother.

this is sam at the 2:00 am feeding! lovely to hear at 2:00 am.

all images taken at night with my phone. just to keep it real!

to sam with love, momma. . .

dear sam, 

i worked for over a year to get you! now you are here and it seems like a mighty miracle. your name means "God has heard" in the hebrew language. this is your name because your existence is an answer to so many people's prayers. your father and i had been praying for a few years now that we would be able to have another child. it was not until our prayers were answered by your grandparents that we began to really have a vision of how having you could be possible. with the help of your grandparents we were able to go through two rounds of in vitro. with the knowledge our doctor had and his faith and prayers coupled with the rest of our family's prayers, we were able to make good decisions for you and you grew and came to be! what a complete miracle you are to us! we have watched you grow and be from the moment you were. your first nine months we've seen you only on a computer screen. and now here you are! born a 10 lbs. 9 ozs. boy on 11/8/11 was more than we could have hoped for a few years back. you are born into a good family. you have wonderful older brothers who have also prayed for you nightly before they rest their bodies in bed. they watch over you and care for you to make certain you are comfortable. your father takes you when you are fussy and is patient with you and careful not to jostle you. he has a great amount of patience with you even well into the late night hours. he is a good man!

i love you more than you will ever know, my dear little big man. you are the good thing that has come to those of us who have waited!

love, momma

*thank you erin for these images. they are also answers to my prayers! you are a true and genuine friend and fellow mother of a new little one. [erinfonnesbeckphotography.com]

 

first day home with sam and our family frozen in time. . .

i was lucky enough to be discharged from the hospital on thursday. the nurses were in a panic because the next day was stacked full with people planning to deliver their babies on 11/11/11. though that was my due date i had heard how busy the hospital was going to be and decided not to push my doctor to let me delivery on that day. it was going to be waiting line only and i am not one for loving a crowd. so on thursday 11/10/11 i was able to be discharged and go home around 1:00 pm. it was so nice to be out of the hospital and back in the sunshine on the drive home. when we pulled in the garage my cleaning ladies were just finishing up their work at my home. i was able to come home to a completely clean home! jack and morgan were at piano lessons with my mom so it was just rod and i at the house for an hour. it was heavenly. what a gift to bring our sam home to a quiet and clean house! 

dinner came that night from a friend of ours and i about cried while i ate. the food was delicious--such a nice change from the unrecognizable hospital food! our home was full of wonderful food, a new baby and our new family of five plus my parents. it was thick in the air with joy. 

on friday, 11/11/11, we were so blessed by having brooke of brooke ashley photography come to do a photo session in our home of life with sam. i had asked brooke months before sam arrived if she would come and be a fly on my walls for an hour and shoot my family with sam the first day home. she was on board with me and was so patient when she came. she is a calming influence and i knew i was going to love anything she was able to capture. i was not disappointed! her photos are some of my most treasured things. this was something i could not capture myself. her talent and eye caught things i could never have gotten for myself with my own camera. i wanted to be in the photos this time--present with my family. i wanted an outsides vision. brooke gave me a gift that i knew would be amazing but i just didn't really know how amazing until i got my cd with the finished images. thank you, brooke!!! these images make me relive that first full day home with our entire family. i get all choked up looking at these photos and i'm sure i will continue to each day he ages! i'm so glad she caught not only sam but also jack and morgan with my parents. it will be priceless to see what life with my parents around my little children was like when my children are all grown up. 

* i need to repost these photos--something happened in the upload and they all look compressed and funny to me. not sharp.

some of my favorites from the hospital. . .

there are many photos of sam with us at the hospital but i have a few favorites.