Sam - 7 weeks

Wow, do we love our little baby Sam!  He is 7 weeks old already.  He is fairly similar to his older brother and sister so far-  nothing new to figure out, thankfully.  He's been doing a GREAT job sleeping - the last five nights he's had 8-9 hour stretches between feedings!!

Sam's first bath - he didn't like it at first, but now he really enjoys his nightly bedtime baths.

Sam's first bottle - he DRAINED it.  We still need to get him used to bottles more, but I think he's going to do just fine.

Madeline and Henry love to hold their baby brother, even when he's not cooperating!

Madeline's first homework assignment...

...was to make a giant cut-out of herself. These pictures of all of the kindergartners are hanging all around the hallways in the school.  She did a great job!  She had fun adding little beads and gems to make her fingernails and facial features. 

Overall, Madeline seems to enjoy kindergarten. I'm so impressed with all of the creative activities that the kids are doing.  The biggest change I can see in Madeline is that she wants to write all of the time. She constantly has a pen and paper in her hand, loves to make mini books - complete with staples, and she always asks us to help her spell a word.  It's fun to see her excited to learn.

The cutest thing she has said to me so far...  I asked her what her favorite part of her day was, and she said she got to walk to the library with some other kids WITH NO TEACHER.  She was little Ms. Independent!

Madeline's first day of kindergarten

Big Change #2 in the Knutson family happened this past week.... Madeline started Kindergarten on Tuesday after Labor Day.  Leading up to her first day, she said she was nervous, especially about meeting new friends, but you'd never know she was nervous as we walked to school.  (Yes, we live ~4 blocks away from her school and we get to walk her to and from school.)  She is in AM kindergarten.  Her first day must have gone well, because she was mad at me when she got home, saying "I don't like it here at home.  I want to go back to kindergarten."

I think getting dressed is going to be a big challenge.  She picks out the craziest stuff. And I don't really care if she matches or not, but I don't like her "wear only leggings" phase that she is in!

She also gets to pack a snack each day.  On her first day, she requested yogurt, an apple, and carrot sticks.  Whew - big eater!  I have to convince her each day that only one item is necessary.  :)

Sam's first 3 weeks

The first three weeks of Sam's life have been busy and so much fun!

Week 1 - Sam got to cuddle with Mommy and Daddy on his own!  Madeline and Henry stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Schwartz for 4 days and then with Grandma and Grandpa Knutson for 5 days.  They had a great time with their grandparents, and I think they were so disappointed to be back to the grind with us.   We were so grateful for the 1-1 time with Sam!

Week 2 - Grandma Rita visited us from Indiana, and stayed with us for a week.  She kept Madeline and Henry busy with trips to the pool, the maze, and the park.  She had a great idea to throw a Green Eggs and Ham breakfast party, in honor of Sam (who is the main character in that Dr. Seuss book. )  My mom always is a HUGE HELP whenever she visits - laundry, grocery shopping, more laundry, ironing, cleaning, cooking.  I was so sad to see her go....

Week 3 - My sisters and their families visited us.  Between the three of us girls, we have 6 kids - and all are ages 5 and under.  It was a busy week, and we didn't really do too much during our visit.  Just played with the kids and went to the candy shop.

So, how is Sam doing?  He is a GREAT eater, and always wants to eat every 2 hours or so (even in the middle of the night.)  But overall, everything seems pretty textbook with this little guy, and we're grateful for that.