2 More Pounds

Sam has grown 2 pounds since I last posted! He is now 11 pounds and 4 ounces! He continues to grow at a rate of about 1 pound per week. We have had a lot of fun this past week. Being back at home with him has taken some getting used to, but I'm loving every minute. I can't believe school is out for the summer. The school year went by so fast. Here are some new pics:

Sam and Laine. 1st pic together...not her first time holding Sam. This is the girl who comments to all my posts. She is such a loyal blog follower! :)

Sam and Robert (Laine's husband).

Uncle Austin came for a visit. This is the 1st time Austin ever set eyes on Sam.

Sam and Aunt Linda. 1st pic together...not her first time holding little man.

Sam and Daddy....big boy!

Sam and Uncle Patrick.

Relaxing after a big bottle of milk. Look at my big legs. :)

Today with Grandmother. Do you like my muscle shirt?

Eating a bottle from Grandmother. Do you like my new shoes? :)

More Pictures

To see the rest of the photos taken by my friend this weekend, go to the following site:

http://lilachillphotography.com/index2.php

Click on Sessions at the top.

At the bottom of the page, next to view gallery, enter the password...Levin...use a capital L.

Click on Sam.

Enjoy! :)

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For those of you who would like to order some prints , please contact Rachel at: lilachillphoto@bellsouth.net

Big Growing Boy!

I almost forgot, yesterday I took Sam to the doctor. I about fell out when they put him on the scale. He now weighs 9 pounds and 4 ounces! What a big boy! He was 20 and a half inches long. Since birth, our little guy has grown 4.5 inches and 5 pounds and 12 ounces! Wow! Samuel is so blessed to have people praying for him daily. Everything checked out great at the doctor. The pediatrician was very impressed with all the things Sam can do: track/follow faces, hold his head up and turn it from side to side, smile, and coo. What a little miracle!

More Pics From the Weekend

I have done a pretty good job so far snapping pictures of Sam with people holding him for the 1st time. I did not get a picture of Sam and Aunt Linda last weekend or a picture of Sam and Rachel this weekend. :( Sorry girls. I'll have to post a picture of you guys holding him the 2nd time. :) Here are some people who held Sam for the 1st time this weekend.

Aunt Kathy and Sam

Uncle Ron and Sam (couldn't get this pic to rotate)

Sam and Uncle Devlin

Sam and Papa

Sam and Granny

Sam and Pop(couldn't get this pic to rotate)

Sam and Nana

Great Weekend

We had a great weekend! I'll post more pictures later today, but I had to get these up for everyone to see. My friend Rachel....who is such a talented photographer.....took pics of Sam this weekend. Check out her site: http://lilachillphoto.blogspot.com/

The rest of the pictures will be on her site soon.

10 Weeks Old Today!

The past 10 weeks have flown by! Today is Friday.....yippee! I made it through a whole 5 days away from Sam. I know my mom has been taking good care of him. I am so glad she is able to get some extra bonding time in with Sam. Tomorrow we are traveling to Dickson to see Nana & Pop and Sam will meet Granny and Papa for the first time. They made a trip from Georgia. They are Samuel's great-grandparents....and great they are! :) My friend Rachel will meet up with us to take some professional shots of Sam. I can't wait! She is an amazing photographer. I will post photos of the weekend as soon as I can.

Some Pictures

Okay, I've made it to Thursday....only 2 more days of school until the weekend. Working and having a baby is hard work. I don't know how people do it. What a whirl wind! The whole day and night go by so fast. I feel like I'm running a race....there are so many things to do but only a certain amount of time to do them. We don't have much time in the evening before getting ready for bed. The time we do have with Sam in the evening is precious though....quality over quantity I guess. Last night Nick and I gave our little man a bath and read him some stories. He is so alert after a bath. He just looks around and takes everything in. I swear he's listening to the stories we read to him. He loves Daddy's deep voice. His neck muscles are really strong. He can turn his head from one side to another and hold it up when on his belly. The pediatrician said he has the neck muscles of a 4 month old....and this was said when he was only 7 weeks old! We gave Sam gas drops for the 1st time last night. They gave him immediate relief....poor little guy. He's gassy like his Daddy. :)

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Taken after his bath and stories and playtime. What a cutie huh!

My Due Date!

Today is the day I was originally due to have a baby. Wow, was that day off! Sam was just ready to get here. The doctors never were able to determine why our little guy came so early. On my future pregnancies I will be labeled as "high risk." I will have more doctor visits, more ultrasounds, more testing done, etc. I will also have to do injections to make sure I do not go into labor. As much as I loved being pregnant, for financial reasons, we are a ways off from planning another baby. :) We will let you know when another Levin in on the way. :) Speaking of finances, most of you know by now that I will not be returning to the school I'm at now for the coming school year. Babies are expensive and medical bills are high....I have interviewed with Shelby County Schools which are able to pay their teachers quite a bit more. It will be so hard to leave such a wonderful school. I'm trying to stay positive about the whole thing....this will be a whole new adventure for me in the fall. If any of you have any connections at any of the SCS, please let me know. :)

Back at School

Well, I went back to school today. I am surviving. I miss Sam A LOT, but I feel good that he is at home with my mom. Mother's Day was wonderful yesterday. Nick made me feel super special. We had a nice relaxing day with Sam. My kids are at lunch right now. It was great to see their smiling faces this morning. I didn't realize how much I missed them!

Sam weighs about eight pounds now! I'm not sure exactly how much. We'll have to make another visit to the NICU to see for sure. :)

Almost 9 Weeks Old!

We visited the NICU on Monday and weighed Samuel. He is 7 pounds and 6 ounces! The nurses could not believe how much Samuel has grown. They were so happy to see us. He just might reach 8 pounds by my due date....May 13th. Nick, Sam, and I are really starting to get used to our schedule. It seems like we've been doing all this forever. We love Sam so much!!! Can you believe Sam will be 9 weeks old this Friday. Thank you for continuing to pray for us. Here are some cute pictures captured over the last few weeks. Enjoy! :)

Big yawn! :)

Sweet Samuel!

Hehehe...morning shot of Sam and Daddy. :)


Quiet....I'm sleeping.

Mommy and Sam just lounging away.

Daddy and Sam sneaking in a quick nap. :)

Sam in his bouncy chair....not happy. He wanted his pacifier. :)

What's up guys!

Sam all wrapped up in one of his new blankies.

Getting ready for a bath. Raise your hand, raise your hand if you're sure. Sam is sure! :)