9 months

Holy cow!  Somehow, Sam is 9 months old.

Sam:

• took his first trip to Phoenix, this month and (once again) did awesome on the plane rides.  He is quite the little traveler.
• is a big fan of our new (to us) piano.  He likes sitting by Daddy while Daddy plays and chiming in every now and then with a few notes of his own.
• is a big fan of feeding himself and is getting better at it all the time. 
• really likes playing in/splashing water.  He likes to play in the tub and we sometimes fill up the sink after we wash his hands and let him splash away.  It makes a big mess, but it is so fun to see him smile and laugh.
• rolls all around and spins in circles on his tummy, but hasn't started crawling.  
• had one day (a few weeks ago) where he didn't spit up a single time.  Mama and Daddy are anxious for more days like this! 
• doesn't like anyone to take his toys away from him.
• likes to shake his head "no" - although, I don't really think that he knows what it means.
• likes grabbing Mama's glasses and pulling her hair.  
• has a new favorite book - a nonfiction book about dogs borrowed from his cousin, Ava.
• likes to play peek-a-boo.
• is getting more hair and it is finally starting to thicken up a bit in the back.
• likes his Daddy to swing him back and forth through the air.
• rolls all around when we try to change his diaper or clothes. 
• is loved!

8 Months

  

At 8 months, Sam:

*really likes to show people his tongue.

*is very sporadic in his napping.  One day he will only sleep 25 minutes and the next day it will be 4 hours.  We haven’t figured out any sort of pattern to his daytime sleeping habits.

*still does an awesome job of sleeping at night.  He usually sleeps from 7:30 or 8pm until 5 or 6am.

*has two bottom teeth.

*likes to be the center of attention.

*likes things with a predictable pattern.  He likes to be tickled on the count of three.  He likes to play “eyes, nose, mouth, kiss!”  When we read “Five Little Monkeys” he looks up to watch Mama or Dad shaking their finger when the doctor says, “No more monkeys jumping on the bed!” 

*likes to play peek-a-boo.

*started turning the pages for us when we read him books.  

*is a big fan of Mabel, car rides, the outdoors, books, walks and being out and about on the town

*sits up pretty well, but still falls over occasionally.

*rolls all around and spins around on his belly.

*painted his first picture.

*brought home his first craft project from daycare (a mini-pumpkin that Tara helped him color.)

*is much more interested in things if they are not toys. 

*is an awesome little eater.  He just opens right up and will eat anything you give him. 

*thinks his daddy is really funny. 

*likes to play with (and attempt to destroy)  his mama’s hair and glasses. 

*is a weird mixture of a tiny little boy and a giant baby.  Sometimes I look at him and just can’t believe how big he is and other times (especially when Brian is holding him) he still looks so tiny and baby-like.

7 Months

Our baby is 7 months old today.

Here are his weekly photos from this past month:

At 7 months, Sam:

• is a good little eater.  He'll eat whatever you give him and keep opening his  mouth for more.  No need to play the airplane game with this fella.
• really likes Mabel.  She might be his favorite.  He smiles and laughs whenever she is near.
• still likes to roll onto his belly and now has figured out how to roll himself back over.
• can pivot around on his belly.
• likes to talk a lot.  His most recent favorite phrase is "i-dot."
• thinks it is funny when people say "knock it down!"
• still likes walks and time outside.
• has one bottom tooth.
• still likes book reading time.
• spits up a lot - still - and with the addition of food to his diet, it has become quite colorful.
• is getting better at taking naps.  He has started taking two naps, most days.   
• sleeps through the night and has finally graduated out of the need to be swaddled.
• kicks around and splashes a lot in the bath tub.
• is loved. 

6 months

Our Samuel is 6 months old today!

Here are his photos from weeks 1-25 and below is this week's photo.

At six months, Sam:

• loves walks and books more than anything else.  If he is upset, these things are sure to calm him down and if he is happy, they will just make him happier.
• is also a big fan of chewing on things.  He's not particular.  Nom.  Nom.
• likes to lay folded in half - with his feet up by his head.  And then he seems to think, "Hey! My feet!  Those look good for chewing!" Nom.  Nom.
• is very easily distracted and seems to get full pretty quickly.  The result: a lot of unfinished bottles around our house.  Also, it is rather difficult to feed him because he is busy wiggling, kicking his legs and moving his head all around to see what's going on in the room.
• still spits up quite a lot, but not as much as he used to.
• only rolls in one direction (to the left) and only from his back to his tummy.
• seems to reflexively chew the air as soon as you sit him in his high chair.
• has had some tastes of banana, pear, a carrot, sweet potato and a pork chop.  I think that he has actually swallowed a total of about two bites, but he does seem to like to suck/chew on them.
• enjoys watching Mabel and doesn't seem to mind her kisses.
• is interested in our telephones and started to pay more attention to the people on the screen when we Skype with Nana Karen and Grandpa Mac or Auntie Pril and Uncle Jason.
• is loved!

6 Month Photo Shoot

Sam will be half a year old on Monday. 

Craziness!

In honor of this event, we filled his crib with balloons and had a fun time taking photos.  He wasn't in an overly smiley mood, but I still love the way they turned out. 

5 months!

Holy cow! It doesn't seem possible that Sam could already be five months old.  Here are his weekly photos from this past month:

At five months old, Sam:

• is rolling!  He really just got the hang of it last weekend and he smiles like he is so incredibly proud/surprised each time he does it.
• has been on his first trip outside of Nebraska and first few airplane rides.  
• spent his first day at daycare.  He will officially start daycare in the middle of August, but we had a trial day this past week.  He did great!
• has had his first dip in a pool.
• wants to put anything and everything into his mouth.  If something is within six inches of his mouth, he will open up wide and see if it will fit in there.
• really enjoys book reading time with mama and dad.  We spend a lot of time reading each day and I am still so amazed at Sam's attention span.  
• has transitioned from full night time swaddling to just having his torso and legs swaddled while having his arms free.  
• had a rough little patch of night time wakefulness (well, it was rough for mama and dad, anyway), but seems to be back on a regular sleep-through-the-night schedule.
• is a really ticklish little guy.  His back, his inner thighs, his tummy and his feet all seem to be sweet spots.  His armpits, too.  Hmmm.  I guess you could say that he is ticklish most everywhere.
• really likes to sit up (with support) and look around.
• likes to "stand" in his Johnny Jumper. 
• is a great giggler/squealer/snorter.  This little guy really knows how to have a good time!  
• likes to pull on mama's hair.
• enjoys mirror time and thinks that he is pretty interesting to watch.
• is wearing a combination of 3-6 and 6-9 month clothes.
• is loved.

4 Months

Sam's weekly photos from this month:

 We are just loving this little guy up!  At 4 months, Sam:

• just barely fits into his swaddlers, but still sleeps best when he is all wrapped up.
• averages about 10 hours of sleep per night.
• is very sporadic in his napping. 
• went to his first Annevar Parade - although he missed the carnival.
• made his first trip to the farm.
• has rolled over once, but hasn't made any signs of doing it again.
• is growing, growing, growing.  By bathroom scale estimates, we think he is about 16 pounds, but we are waiting for official results from the doctor's office next week.
• really likes his Sophie the giraffe teething toy.  
• really likes to chew on most anything within his reach.
• likes to be propped up so that he can look around.
• is getting better at tummy time, but still isn't very excited about it.
• drools when sitting up.
• smiles, coos and "talks" a lot. 
• likes to read books and study the pictures.
• likes to study his hands.
• is becoming more and more observant of the world around him.
• knows his name.
• is loved.

3 months

Sam is three months old today!

He:

• is a great little sleeper! He sleeps from about 7pm to 4am, most nights.  He has had several mornings where he made it to 5am and just yesterday he slept until 6! 
• still likes to be swaddled when he goes to sleep, but is doing better at staying asleep during the night even when he escapes the swaddler.
• started giggling.  It is the cutest thing ever. 
• seems to be a ticklish little guy and sometimes giggles when he is tickled.
• loves, loves, loves to read books.  His attentiveness to and interest in the pictures amazes me.  He will often let us read to him for twenty minutes at a time.  
• is starting to get a little pudge on his legs.  His chubby baby thighs are so sweet.
• really likes his (actually Willa's) IKEA baby gym.
• is wearing 3-6 month sized onesies and 0-3 month pants.
• likes going for stroller rides around the neighborhood.
• is getting more and more hair all the time.  It is a light brown color, but looks blonde in photos.
• is loved!

2 Months

Sam is 2 months old today!

He:

•  is now sleeping in his own room - we moved him in there about a week ago.
• usually wakes up once during the night.
• still spits up a lot.
• still does not like to be burped - - as soon as you put your hands under his little pits to pick him up, he starts screaming. 
• started smiling!  Sometimes, he just smiles randomly at the room or the ceiling fan.  Other times, he smiles at us as we sing him silly songs and such.
• lost a lot of his "old man" ring of hair, but still has a weird patch of long and dark hair on the back of his head. 
• has an ever thickening/growing layer of light brown fuzz on the rest of his head.  
• still sleeps really well when he is swaddled.
• has started to like his swing.
• really likes to lay on the floor and look around/squirm.
• lets me read him lots of books and will now sometimes look at the pages.
• is growing like crazy - he is too long for a lot of his 0-3 months clothes, especially the ones with feet.
• goes to the doctor on Monday.  We are anxious to see how much he weighs and how long he is.  We are less enthused about his shots.
• is loved!

Here are his most recent weekly photos:

One Month!

Our sweet Samuel is one month old, today.

When I look at his first four weekly photos, his face doesn't seem to have changed that much, but I can really tell that he has filled out.

At one month, Samuel:

• loves to eat.
• hates to be burped.
• spits up a lot.
• weighs somewhere around 9lbs 13oz.
• likes his woombie and sleeps really well when he is swaddled.
• is starting to get more hair on the top of his head, but still has a definite old man hair style with most of his hair concentrated in the ring around his head.
• likes sitting in the bouncy chair.
• will tolerate the swing, but only if he is asleep when you put him in it.
• likes to give us "kisses" as we burp him.
• likes to look at himself and others in the mirror.
• can hold his head up really well.
• is happiest on his changing table, after having his pants/clothes changed.
• has peed on us/himself several times.
• looks adorable in his cloth diapers.
• makes a sweet coo-ing sound as he is eating.
• falls asleep best for Daddy (aka the baby whisperer).
• flails his arms around a lot. 
• has inspired several new songs around our house.
• is loved.