Another Addition to Our Family

Andrea Aguilar, Sam's nanny, is the newest member of our family. She joined us earlier this month when I went back to work and she's terrific -- she comes early, stays late and showers Sam with love. We broke her in when Sam caught a virus earlier this week. We figure if the screaming and puking didn't scare her away, nothing will!

A Day at Grandma and Grandpa's

Between going back to work and making an unexpected trip home to Minnesota, life's been a whirlwind! Sam continues to grow at lightening speed and is delighting us with lots of smiles and chitter chatter.

While we were home we caught up with cousins Claire and Meghan. Meghan wasn't sure what to make of the babies, who seemed to get along swimmingly.

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On to the Next Chapter

My maternity leave is quickly drawing to a close! The last 12 weeks are a blur at best, filled with long days of juggling the new demands of motherhood. I learned how to do almost everything one-handed – from picking up the house and preparing meals to typing email and surfing the internet. I also learned how to shower in record time and be a somewhat productive human being on little to no sleep. I figure the latter will come in very handy as I head back to work tomorrow.

Here’s a peek back at the last 12 weeks:

Day one:

A morning stretch during the early days:

Cuddling with Dad:

Sam's first Christmas:

Hanging out at home in recent weeks:

Dance Party USA

Back at St. Ben’s my friends and I used to end our evenings with dance parties in our living room. We’d order pizza and sing and dance until the delivery man showed up. We had a long list of favorite songs and to this day, we’ve been known to take over the dance floor. Now that I’m in Mom mode, I’ve rediscovered the joy of a good dance party – I just have a new (and very small) dance partner!

They say classical music is best for babies, but Sam and I like to mix it up a little. To keep it educational, I choose songs from all eras – 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s. "Boogie Shoes," "Walking on Sunshine" and "Rock With You" are some of our favorites, and when we want to slow it down a little, we move to "Tupelo Honey" and "Your Song. "

My hope is that someday Sam will give all of the Bennies a run for their money on the dance floor. Perhaps at his wedding. I guess we’ll have to wait a few years to find out!



My first dance partners (notice I did not say "former"):

My newest dance partner (and the love of my life):

A Snowy Detour

Grandpa Boylan took a very long and snowy detour on his way to Lake Delevan, Wisconsin so he could stop in to see Sam . We spent the afternoon drinking coffee and playing with Sam before sending him back out into the winter wonderland.