Wow, what a year! 2008 came in like a bang, or more like the bang, bang, clang from the workers in the basement, and is going out like a whoosh, or more like the whoosh of air as Sam walks/wobbles past you on his way to the living room from the kitchen.
This was a year of big changes for Sam and the entire Jones family. And it was fun, exciting, wonderful and eventful throughout. The year started with a visit from Grandma Debby so she could meet her first grandchild. We all stayed at Grandma Pat and Grandpa Ron's because our basement was being redone. Sam was just a little nugget of guy back then, but he was aware of his surroundings and taking it all in.
February brought the smiles out of Sam as he began to let his personality out a little more. It was a special time for Mom and Dad as they go to know their little guy better with each day.
By March, Sam had become much more self aware and was interactive with Mom and Dad as well as Grandpa Jerry who was able to visit for a few days from California. He liked to stand up while holding on to Mom or Dad's hands and stomp his feet - foreshadowing his love of walking to come later in the year.
In April, Sam took his first road trip down to Kansas City to see Grandma Debby, Great Grandma Ann and Great Grandpa Dick and the whole Gray clan. He slept nearly the entire time in the car making the trip much easier on Mommy and Daddy.
In May, Sam was really coming into his own. He liked to make faces and laugh and play with toys. We were fortunate to see our good friends Cory and Rachel as they celebrated Cory's premier movie, Graduation. Over Memorial Day, our great friend Jeana also came to stay for the long weekend. We had fun playing in the yard and enjoying the outdoors. It was this weekend that Sam really started pushing up with his arms and sitting.
In June, Sam got tired of laying on his back or sitting and was ready to move. By the end of the month, he was crawling up a storm. Just in time for our trip to the Rollins Farm with some good friends from Mnpls. Sam loved crawling in the yard, but was unsure about the lake. It proved to be good practice, though, as we traveled to Door County, WI for a Jones/Gray family reunion and there the lakes and beaches were much bigger (and more fun).
This was also about the time where Sam started eating solid foods. Starting with avocados and moving to bananas and sweet potatoes, Sam was in hog heaven. However, we quickly discovered that Sam had some skin sensitivities to citric acid and wheat so we had to watch his diet closely.
Over Labor Day weekend we took another trip to the Rollins Farm and took in the annual Steam Festival. Sam was excited about the tractors, however, was frightened silly when a steam engine blew a gasket and let out a deafening whistle that I think I can still hear. The rest of the trip was fun with the family.
In October, we took another trip to Kansas City unexpectedly as Grandma Debby had to undergo heart surgery. We stayed for about two weeks and Sam was an absolutely perfect little guy, even though he had to deal with a lot of new places. He was busy crawling and exploring and was curious in just about everything. It was during this trip that Sam weened himself off of breast milk and moved entirely to solid foods and formula.
In November, Sam started taking his first stand alone steps, 1 or 2 then a tumble into Dad or Mom's arms. He was also babbling and letting out the occasional "dada" or "mama". We returned to Kansas City for Thanksgiving. Grandma Debby was back home and we were joined by Uncle Grand and Aunt Shana (who same met the month before). We stayed with my Uncle Tom and the Gray family and had fun with Sam's 1st cousins once removed(?).
December was a busy month, as can be seen from the posts below. Sam got his first haircut, started to walk in earnest (he can now walk uninterrupted from one side of the house to the other), celebrated his first birthday and had his first real christmas with tons of family (entire Rollins clan plus Grandma Debby, Uncle Grant and Aunt Shana came up here).
All in all, 2008 has been a great year for all. Can't wait to see what's in store for 2009!
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