Schools out Cruise Recap - symphony of the seas

Over Memorial Day Weekend (also officially the first weekend of Summer) we took the girls on a surprise trip on the Symphony of the Seas Cruise. It was the Royal Caribbeans newest ship and I have never seen anything like it. The ship usually only does 7 day itineraries, but for their maiden voyage they did a 3 day and a 4 day. So we jumped at the opportunity to go on this amazing boat for only 3 days. (Lets be honest, Dave would never be able to do a 7 day cruise) 

So we drove to Miami and went to Nassau and Royal Caribbeans own private island Coco Cay. The ship had so much to do we didn't even get off the boat in the Bahamas. We swam, did the flow rider, merry go round, rock climbed, played in the casino, watched shows, had 2 date nights while the kids were in the kid zone, and went to the private island's water park. We ate more ice cream than I'd like to remember and we surely got our moneys worth on the all you can eat and drink package. I would 100% recommend this boat. It was so nice and clean. The shows were phenomenal and there was so much to do you never felt like there were tons of people on the boat. It was well worth the 5 hour drive to Miami and we will be going on this again! 

  

I even got to facetime Sammy quite a bit on the cruise so we didn't have withdrawals too badly! :)

Samuel's Baby Dedication

Samuel had his baby dedication with his cousins Caleb and Rush on April 27, 2019. It was a lovely Saturday morning where all the families enjoyed brunch and read our family covenants that we had created. Then the families prayed over all the babies. I can't wait to see what God has in store for these little boys lives! World Changers right here!

Samuel's 5 Month Update

Height: about 28 inches
Weight: about 17 lbs
Head Circumference: about 17.5 inches
Vision: You are really loving TV these days. Especially your sister's cartoons. We don't let you watch it, but you seem to somehow move around to get a good view of the TV. LOL
Movement: You are a rolling maniac! Still mainly from your back to your stomach. You have only gone from your stomach to your back a few times. You love bouncing in the exersaucer and are starting to use your hands very well. You reach up for me which I love and you have officially found your feet and weiner. LOL
Eating Habits/New Foods: You are  eating about 4 ounces of milk every 2.5 to 3 hours. You take the bottle like a champ now and will even take it a little bit colder than the usual piping hot! We are almost to big boy food so this category is about to be lots of fun!!
Sleeping Patterns: You have hit a 4 month sleep regression. It is a very common thing and you are following along with majority of babies haha. You roll on to your belly and sleep and then can't roll back over. You are getting up to eat 2-3 times a night which isn't horrible but definitely not as good as once a night! Your nap times have gotten much better though. You will nap in your crib now and it usually is twice a day. More like 10-11ish and 2-4ish. Naps are usually between 1 and 2 hours.
Sounds/Words: You are a talker and love to blow bubbles and drool everywhere. No words yet but you say baba all the time so I am working on Mama to be your first word.
New discoveries/accomplishments:
-We left you for 3 days with Gram and you did great with the bottle!
-You got your 1st cold so we had to push your shots back 2 weeks. It wasn't too bad, just a runny nose and cough but no fever.
-You roll to your stomach all the time
-You love going out on the new boat!
-You can use your hands much better to grab things.
-You laugh all the time now!!
Places you went/Adventures: It was the last month so school so you were dragged from event to event all month. You went to Seaworld for the first time and did great at the hotel down there. You loved swimming in the pool, Aunt Mary Beth and Collier were in town for a week so we played with them, Dad got a new boat so we went out on that 2 times this month and you loved your swing we connected to the T-top, went to lots of swim practices and a meet, and had a 3 night sleepover with Gram and Pops while we went on a cruise.
Clothes: Still in size 3 diapers and are in clothes 3-6 months!
Sisters update: The girls love playing with you and holding toys in front of you. It is fun now that your can use your hands better so give you toys and watch them go straight to your mouth. They try to hold your hand everywhere we go, which is almost more like they are ripping it off so we have to give lots of reminders to be gentle. You don't seem to mind though. You love laughing at your sisters and think they are so funny!

Month 5 was another on the go month and I was so worried to leave you for 3 days but of course you did great! Gram loved spending the time with you. We missed you lots and can't wait for a cruise where we can bring you!