Photos

Bath Time
Sampson is just starting to show interest in mirrors. I don't think he knows that the image is himself, but he does smile when he sees the "other guy." He really enjoys bath time and loves to kick his legs and use his arms to splash Oma. The only part he doesn't like is getting out of the water and into the cold air! He requires lots of snuggles right after to warm up.

Special Onesie
This onesie was hand decorated by one Mr. Tommy Landers and as you can see,
Sampson loves it!

Suspenders
We have an adorable dress outfit consisting of dress pants and suspenders which Sampson was planning on wearing around the holidays (you know, office parties and family get-togethers) but I was worried he would out-grow them by then! So we took an afternoon to dress up and have a little photo shoot. He looks rather dapper if I do say so myself!

Sweet Pea
For Halloween, Sampson dressed up as the sweetest pea ever. I actually purchased the costume before he was even born... because I knew he'd have the cutest little face. I love vegetables!

Oma
I realized that since I am usually the one behind the camera, there are no photos of us together. Auntie Colleen was kind enough to take some pictures of the two of us before he got in the bathtub. Can you see a resemblance?

Green Days

Organic Sweet Pea

It's been sometime since I've had a good healthy blog post! Today, Auntie Colleen is rocking Sampson for the afternoon so I can run around the house like a mad woman and clean. Now that the shower is de-scummed, the carpets are vacuumed, and the sheets are changed, I can sit and enjoy some blogging. I've been wanting to post about our efforts to protect and save the Earth. We try to be a green family as much as possible. We believe that the Earth is a gift and we must take care of it and give back what we can. We're certainly not living in complete harmony with Mother Nature, but here are some little things we're doing:

energy efficient light bulbs cost less too
Nalgene bottles instead of disposable water bottles
bringing a coffee mug to Starbucks instead of those green and white paper cups (sometimes they take off $.15!)
on-line bills and bill-pay mean less paper
bringing a canvas sack to the grocery store
bamboo sheets (a quickly renewable resource and antimicrobial to boot!)
organic garden costs less than the grocery store and eliminates the need to ship it across the country... or around the world

and this brings me to the Great Diaper Challenge
I had great guilt about using disposable diapers. " For every baby diapered with single-use diapers for a 2 1/2 year period, over 2 tons of waste is generated. Disposable diapers make up the 3^rd largest single consumer item in our waste system – following newspapers and beverage containers. They account for nearly 4% of the total amount of solid waste, and 30% of the non-biodegradable waste. It takes 500 years for one disposable diaper to decompose. Yes, while a cloth diaper, if it is ever thrown away, will become one with the earth within 6 months, a disposable diaper will just sit there and do what it was made to do: absorb." Which means not only will it sit there for 500 years, but it will take up even more space as time goes on! Yikes!


So as an alternative, we have implemented three tactics:

1. cloth diapers
We have been using two different kinds of cloth diapers. The first is regular prefolded cloth diapers with a diaper cover. Diaper covers are no longer the plastic pants that our parents used on our little tushies. We have cute little puppies on our waterproof cloth diaper cover. The other type is a lovely collection of flannel diapers that my mother and I made right before Sampson was born. Instead of pins, we use Snappi Diaper Fasteners which pose no risk of hurting le bebe. Here are some photos of Sampson modeling said diapers.

2. gDiapers
I've written about them before, and we use them when go out. They have a cloth outside with flushable inserts. The insert is made of paper and a substance that dissolves in water. You tear the soiled insert and flush it down the toilet. This way, there is nothing to throw away. Check them out here. This is the pumpkin colored gDiaper:



3. EC: Elimination Communication
Well you might not believe this one, but we've potty trained Sampson. When they're this little, you can teach them associations for their um, business. It's called Elimination Communication and it has taught us to be very in-tune with not only his digestive system, but also his expressions and body movements. For one weekend, he wore only cloth diapers with no lining and when he peed we made a certain sound, and when he pooped we made a different sound. We were worried that we kept missing his pees because it took a second for it to soak through the diaper so we could see it. But the third day, we decided to go for the gold. I fed him, we waited 25 minutes and then sat him on his little potty. I made the psssssssst sound, and HE PEED! OK, so the first time, perhaps it was just coincidence, but then we put him on an hour after he ate and it happened again! Later that day, he was alternately squirmy and calm and he was making a poop face. So we put on him on his potty and make the poop noise. And he had such a big poop! I was glad it was in the potty and not in a cloth diaper! So EC has really worked for us and we are amazed at how smart the little one really is. We're down to using 4 or 5 cloth diapers a day and one disposable at night. Yes, we understand that it's basically conditioning our baby's bodily functions but we are conditioned to do many things in our life. Even we, as adults, are conditioned to go pee and poo in the potty. If we weren't, we would just go whenever and where ever. We'd be happy to answer any questions about EC if you leave comments and in the meantime, here is a photo of Sampson on his potty which I'm sure will embarrass him later in life...



AND SO, friends, if I have not lit even a tiny green spark, check out these websites to see if they inspire you to hop on the solar-powered band wagon: The Lazy Environmentalist, Green as a Thistle, GreenFaith

Grady Matthew

Welcome to Grady Matthew Shea! Born October 23, 2007 at 3:52am, 9 lbs 1 oz, 20.5 inches. Congrats to the family.. especially the big sisters!

This means three little boys born within three months of each other in our family. With Tommy leading them around, I'm sure they'll be causing loads of mischief once they're mobile! Here is Judy with her fourth grandchild. She's so proud!

Special Request

Hello friends and family! A special request for this photo was made by guess who... the Grammy of course! I have so much to post here on the blog, but Sampson has been awake more during the day which means I have less time to do anything else. I must report, however, that there has been a new addition to the family. Congrats to proud parents Matt and Jenn, and big sisters Samantha and Madison! I'll be sure to post details and photos as soon as I can.

Weekend Fun!

Hello from up north! It's cold up here in New York this weekend! Despite the chill, we've managed to have lots of fun with family. Saturday turned out to be a sunny day... perfect for apple picking adventures.

We went to Lindsey's Orchard in Clifton Park with the entire Landers clan. It has a huge orchard of full-size apple trees of many varieties. There are ladders throughout the orchard so that pickers can get reach the apples at the very top. We "picked at our own risk" as the sign said! Tommy and Emma were the only ones old enough to experience the glee of apple picking.

OK, I guess Jimmy experienced the glee as well. Though skeptical at first, Jimmy found himself running through the orchard like a kid in a candy store. He'd eaten about 4 apples before any even made it into the bag! Thanks to Tom, Jimmy is now well-versed in the many species of apples. He especially liked the Northern Spies and Empires. He had to climb several trees to ensure my supply of Golden Delicious. Now he's looking forward to the baked goods the apples might morph into...

Even Nana Jo wanted to see the treetops!

Sampson enjoyed the outdoors by taking an afternoon doze. He loves the Maya wrap for naps while I walk around. I know he looks so squished in there, but he loves to feel snuggled.

We ended up with 7lbs of apples. Not bad for a first family picking. We didn't want to go overboard! The Powers family went home with about 20 lbs, and the Landers should be supplied all winter with their 30lbs.


After the orchard, we got the little ones together for some pictures. It's so wonderful to be able to share baby experiences. And I'm so glad the boys have Tommy to teach them how to be good little boys...

Mamas

Second Cousins

Nanas

At the end of the day, Sampson needed a bath to relax. Nana Jo gave him a nice bath in the sink like she used to bathe his Oma.

Bath Time and Play Time

I'm sorry I've been a slacker blogger, but this past week has been very busy (I posted two this week to make up for my tardiness)! We've traveled up to New York for a while since Jimmy has to travel for work for a few weeks. We left Mom Vee to look after the house... I bet she's having a party right now...

The trip up went smoothly thanks to Aunt Laura. She stayed down in Delaware with us for a few days so I would not be alone with Sampson. Then she rode in the back with him all the way up. She played with him when he was awake and made sure he had something to suck on when he was upset. I am certain the trip would have been more stressful in her absence.

Here are some photos of the fun we've been having for the past week:
Sampson loves bath time! He hated it when he was first born, but now it calms him and he's just learning that if he moves his arms it makes a delightful splash. The part he does not enjoy is the getting dressed after the bath. So we usually hang out in our robe for a while and warm up before attempting to put an outfit on. I think he looks like a little old man in this robe!



Mornings are Sampson's happiest time. He wakes up just once during the night and takes his fill of breast milk before nodding right back off to sleep. Believe me, I know how lucky we are! I really only lose half an hour of sleep in the middle of the night. He wakes up every morning around 6 and we have breakfast and a diaper change. Sometimes I even manage to put the (decaf) coffee on and eat a Luna Bar. Then, we put on Baby Einstein Playtime music and dance and sing and do some exercises. He loves loves loves moving around to the music! He also loves watching someone else be silly. Aunt Laura dancing around to the William Tell Overture was apparently very amusing for this little boy.






Sampson is a well-rested little one. He takes lots of naps during the day and is much happier when he does so. Too much action during the day makes a cranky baby in the evening. He can pretty much sleep anywhere once he is in his deep sleep. He falls asleep in funny positions, usually with his arms flailing somewhere. In this case, he clearly had a rough afternoon and needed to rest his head.



Sunday is usually a family day for us, a chance for us to catch up on our rest! On this particular Sunday, the men were resting while the Oma was folding laundry! Like father like son.



Sampson also enjoys a bit of television. He likes to put on his pirate pants (see below), have a tall glass of milk, and watch a little Sunday football. Thursdays, he watches Grey's ( of course), and he just started watching new episodes of Jon and Kate Plus 8 on Tuesday nights.