Dancin' Sam

I was otherwise preoccupied the other day when Bill and the boys were playing with Sam. Later in the day, I was talking to one of the boys, Kevin, and he showed me a video he had taken. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did (though I wonder what they didn't get on film!).

Naked Baby Sam

To quote Raffi:
The water is fine fine fine, the soap is mine mine mine, scrub 'n shine shine shine - it's my BATHTIME! The water is nice and warm, makes me feel at home, like a baby whale, it's my bathtime!

Bathtime is now funtime in our home. The weather is warmer, the water is warmer, the baby is warmer - it's an all around pleasant experience. Sam's hair has grown so long that it won't stand up anymore when I shampoo it. Pretty soon I'll need special shampoo for hair only and not this baby hair and body shampoo.

Sam is sitting on his own and loves to roll over repeatedly from his belly to back and back to belly. He is very handsy too and loves to suck on everything. Only two nights ago I got up at 3:30 to check on him and he was gripping the slats of his crib for dear life while sucking the wood. It took me almost a minute to pry his hands off of the bars.



The good news is that he is falling asleep in his crib on his own. He is also maintaining the 5:30pm bedtime. At around 8:30pm Bill and I realize we miss Sam. He's so much fun these days and we are SO excited to introduce him to our family in the States. I cannot wait.

Bill took some photos of Sam after his bathtime today and they honestly look professional. Bill has such a great eye for these things.









We'll be home in a matter of days! I hope jetlag doesn't affect Sam too much!

Sleep

Who sleeps for 13 hours in one chunk?! I am still getting used to this parenting thing and Sam keeps doing what I think are the oddest things. First, he put me on a schedule. I haven't been on a schedule in who knows how long. Second, he started saying, "Da da" at only 5 months old. Third, he fell asleep last night at 5:20 and woke up this morning at 7:10. Who DOES that?

I couldn't believe it when I realized Sam was "down for the night." He was still wearing his "street clothes." I wasn't prepared at all - since we have this nighttime ritual of reading two books and singing and then going to sleep. He totally missed his storytime.

Please, don't hear me complaining. I am thrilled that I got almost 8 hours of sleep last night. Around 9pm, I realized that I needed to get to bed as fast as possible, in case he decided to wake up at 3am and stay up. He woke up around 10pm for a "dream feed." And then again at 3:30am, but it wasn't until 7:10 this morning that he woke up for good.

On another, slightly different note...we went to the zoo on Friday with the Mowery famiy, minus Monty. We had a great time and I got a fantastic sunburn. Bill took some beautiful pictures too. I've only posted what I think are the best. I really love this one of the baby monkey snuggling up to his mother, probably nursing. Do you notice she has a chain on her neck? Many of the monkeys did, since there's a spot near the monkey exhibit where you can get your picture taken with one. I hear this zoo is one of the better in Yunnan.



Here is one of the lions resting in the afternoon sun.



The red panda exhibit made Bill smile. He said one of them was crawling around and having fun in the tree house made for them.



And, the only animal Sam actually noticed: the zebra! I guess the contrast of black and white drew his eye. Plus, there was only a fence separating us, so I walked Sam right up to it to see them.



The picture at the top is Sam in a stroller for the first time. We borrowed one from a friend and he really seemed to enjoy himself. He's sitting up now too. And rolling over. What's next? No nighttime feed?

Cats and Curls

As we are approaching our return to the States, I wanted to show my support for my alma mater, NC State. My brother sent me this picture last week. I can only hope it was his cat he coerced into wearing the wonderful red and white of State.

Go State! (Look away Mandy!)



A friend of ours, Inez, told me that her son had perfectly straight hair until she took him on a trip to Missouri to see her family. While they were in Missouri, his hair curled a bit and after they returned home, it was never straight again.

I am wondering if Thailand's humidity did the same for Sam. When we took him to Thailand, he had perfectly straight hair, but the sea air altered it, perhaps permanently. This morning Sam woke up with a beautiful curl on the top of his head.



I wanted to take some pictures of Sam this morning and found the camera had some strange settings on. This is a continuous struggle that I face - I do not like change when it comes to electronic equipment. I wish Internet Explorer had never upgraded and moved their buttons around, I hate it when I look at my computer desktop and can't find the icon I know I put in a particular spot, and I hate finding out that I've taken several pictures on the wrong setting.

Our new digital SLR is a wonderful investment, but I need to take a class on how to use it. Bill knows just what knobs to turn and ISO to change and whatever else needs tweaking, so I am absolutely dependent on him to help me. Actually, I think he does it on purpose, so I will always need him. That's what tell myself anyway, since it seems like a sweeter sentiment than the plain fact that I am not well-versed in everything. (I should be using the word "ignorant," but I can't bring myself to do it.)

Here is an example of the differences in our photo-taking. This one is mine - and while it's sweet, in general, it's out of focus and not composed well. But, the idea that I was going for is to show you what Sam does with his hands when something tickles him. Isn't that sweet?



Of course, here is Bill's obviously well-composed, beautifully-clear photo of Sam. His eyes are reflecting sunlight in just the right way and his skin is perfectly shaded with light. And, as is my father's favorite part, the foreground is in focus and the background is out of focus (i.e. narrow depth of field - I had to ask Bill what that was called while writing this. Ignorance isn't always bliss.).



Enough of my rant. On to more important things - like my child. He is doing this very funny thing lately where he latches on to my cheek when he is tired. We finally got it on camera and I was surprised when I looked at the photo that it looks like he is licking me. Just don't blow the picture up too big and you won't be too grossed out. Anyway, I guess what they say is true, "mothers only see the good." Because I don't even mind that he's licking me.

Go State!

Bragging Rights

Can I brag about Bill for a bit? He has been so busy with one project in particular, that he hasn't been able to rest for a couple months. That being said, while we were on vacation, he got some much needed relaxation. He is quite handy with his camera and I want to share some of his photos. Mind you, I haven't edited them, so he may not be happy with me, but I think the raw footage is beautiful.

They were both taken at Rayong Beach. We weren't extremely thrilled with the location, but when Bill went out with Steve early one morning, he apparently found a lot of beauty in the area.



Now, I know what these houses looked like in person, so I can honestly say I wouldn't want to live there. However, Bill's photo makes me want to move in right away. How beautiful.



Moving on to the other Klear man...He learned to suck his thumb this week. He shoves his entire fist into his mouth, then fishhooks his cheek with his thumb, then sucks.

I have a theory about thumb sucking. I think an infant will suck the thumb of the hand they will favor. I sucked my left finger and I am left-handed, but my twin brother sucked his right finger and he is right-handed. I have more evidence to base this theory on than just my brother and I, but it's still a work-in-progress. I'll let you know how Sam turns out. I'd love for him to be left-handed, since I am the only one of my blood relatives who is (there is a rumor that my great-grandmother Mama Nannie was left-handed, but I haven't confirmed it yet).



And, finally, I wanted to post this picture of our family with the Mowery family (minus their daughters). This was taken on the day we dedicated him with our friends over here. Judah, the other little one in the picture, is three days older than Sam, and we anticipate them to be great friends as they grow up together. Sam slept right through the entire ceremony and apparently Judah was none-to-thrilled about having his picture taken. The parents are thrilled though - what a blessing to be able to promise to bring up our children according to His Word. And, what a blessing Sam has been to us. I have two great men in my life now, and I feel so content with both.

Growing Sam

Here is a video Bill made of Sam. Let me know if you can't see it. Bill does such a great job with things like this - and he is using Raffi's song "Everything Grows." Thanks, Germaine, for suggesting Raffi, we love him!

Chin-nose-eyes

I often wonder who Sam looks most like. He definitely has his daddy's hair - except for when we were in Thailand and the humidity allowed it to curl. Here's what I've come up with (of course, I know you'll correct me where I'm wrong).

It is almost impossible to tell who a baby most favors. Everyone says, "He looks just like you," or "He looks just like his Daddy." Most babies just look like babies, as my friend Erica recently reminded me. There's just a quality about them that is kind of...well, "baby-ish."

One of the more interesting comments I get about Sam (consistently, I might add) is that he looks like an grown man stuck in a baby's body. His facial features are a little mature for his age, I suppose. That being said, I guess he does tend to favor certain family members.

My older brother, Seth, keeps telling his wife that the Gilbert genes are strong. After looking at a picture of Seth when he was Sam's age, against what Sam looks like, I am inclined to agree. Now, that is not to say he does not favor Bill's side of the family at all, because I do believe that he does. When it comes to Sam's chin, I think there were too many strong chins on both sides. Bill's family call it "Gaga's chin," after Bill's grandmother. My family calls it the "Crawford chin," after my paternal grandmother's side of the family. Whatever the case, he came by it in ernest.

Here is a picture of Seth when he was Sam's age.



Now, let's move on to noses. It appears that Sam's nose comes from my side of the family. But, then again, don't all babies have the same nose? I always thought that until I saw a baby on TV the other day whose nose took up 90% of her face. I was taken aback at the size of the schnozz and even gasped a little. But, I do think that for the most part, all babies noses are the same. So, my nose, Bill's nose, Seth's nose...everyone can claim this one without being wrong. Here is a picture of me when I was little.

Please note that I look like the general "baby" that is so common in this world, at least the caucasian part.



Eyes are another factor in Sam's facial features. We're not sure how he came by the deep blue, but the shape of his eyes are clearly Bill's. Click on the picture below to see a larger view of Bill's eyes and Sam's. They both look so serious.



Next we come to clothes. This really has nothing to do with heritage, except the lovely polyester suit Seth is wearing and the identical outfits Adam and I are in have to do with my heritage. I think my mother's side of the family enjoys being "in-fashion," no matter what the cost to the poor children involved. I love your wide lapels, Seth. Very stylish. I only wish my mother kept the suit so Sam could wear it one day. Hint hint, Mom.




Moving back to present day...Sam has a nice little booster seat that we set up today. He is always trying to grab at things on the table as we eat, so I thought it might be nice to have him sit there with us. He's such a big boy. Look at those great facial features, very Gaga-Crawford-Gilbert-Klear-ish, with style (thanks, Mom).

Nap time isn't fun time!

Have you ever wondered what was lurking in the water?



We have so many wonderful photos from our trip to Thailand. I'm at a loss as to which ones we should post! Once we returned home, we realized that Sam and I both have colds. Bill seemed to be doing fine until yesterday afternoon, when he came down with a bad case of (what we call) die-flu-gas-of-the-you-gag. We went out for grilled stuff-on-sticks on Friday night and Bill ate the goat meat. It's the only thing I can think of that was different from what I had. Since Sam and I aren't sick with any stomach stuff, we're pretty sure that Bill has food poisoning. He's finally out of bed today, but he is still very weak and hasn't eaten anything in over 24 hours. It's very different trying to care for him and Sam at the same time. I'm sure Bill misses the love and care I usually give him, but my hands are full for the time-being. If you're wondering how I have time to write this blog - Bill is watching "Chronicles of Narnia" and Sam is having his afternoon nap.

Speaking of naps, I am having a very difficult time trying to convince Sam to sleep for more than 40 minutes at a time during the day. He takes about four short naps throughout the day. I have tried and tried to convince him that one or two hours is best for both mommy and baby, but he refuses to listen. How can I reason with a five-month old? If you have any suggestions, I'm game to hear.


We'll be heading back to Raleigh at the end of the month. Bill has made me promise that I won't count down the days (though secretly I am). We have so much to do before we go, and I'm pretty sure Bill will be too busy with work to help me with packing up the house.


Another piece of good news is that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel with regards to our adoption! We're just about finished with all the paperwork. Thank goodness. It has been a long journey. Once the paperwork is in, we'll probably wait about 10 months to receive our little girl. I can hardly wait! Sam is in for a treat early next year.

Thailand is Fun-land!

We had an awesome time in Thailand! Sam made tons of new friends. We got to see doctors in Bangkok for physicals and learned that Sam is quite little. He is in the 5th percentile for weight, but 50th for height. The doc said it was because he doesn't take long naps every day, because he is nursing, and also because we live in a high altitude. We just got back today and I weighed him - he seems to have gained two pounds over the last few weeks. I guess the warm weather and low altitude improved his weight. He IS developing well - so no need to worry. He is rolling over a lot now.

We went to a town called Rayong for the last leg of our trip with some good friends. Sam made friends with Anna, the Webel's youngest daughter. One of the above pictures is of him holding hands with her. We also got to visit a nature trail (the sign says "Nature Trial" above) with Erica and Elizabeth. It was so hot! But, an elephant walked by and we got to feed it, so we were thrilled with the circumstances.

Sam loved the beach, he loved swimming even more and he really loved the women who cared for him the first week we were in Thailand. They we especially kind and we were blessed to have met them. Thanks Linda and Emaleen!

I'll post more pics later!