Little Mischevious One

Sam is into everything!! He has boatloads and boatloads of toys and yet he still goes after all the "off limits" stuff! I heard that once he starts crawling I will constantly be on my toes and isn't that the truth! He's cute, though. His poor little head! He's always bonking it into something or losing his balance and then, "Tiiiiiiiimberrrrrrrrrr!" He cries for a second and then is fine. I try to distract him with toys but it doesn't keep his attention for long! I was trying to clean and organize the office and little monkey was taking papers out of the trash can and getting into all kinds of mischief.

He knows his name now. I will either say "Boo Boos" or "Sammy" (or any variation) and he will come crawling over. The other day I came home from an errand and he seemed so happy to see me and was even crawling in my direction, but then I saw what he was going for...my water bottle!

It's 3am...

It's 3am and I should be sleeping. I made some errors in judgement and am now paying for it. Number One Error in Judgement: I let Sam take a longer nap today. He usually takes a 2-3 hour nap around 11-2 and then a 1-2 hour nap between 4-7pm. He then goes to bed for the night between 8-9pm and will usually sleep until around 7am. I was busy getting stuff done and let him sleep longer. He didn't have a late afternoon nap and then around 7pm I noticed he was showing his fussy "I'm tired" signs, so I put him to bed. I didn't go to bed until around 1:30am because Travis and I were up watching American Idol (we DVRed it -- it's nice to be able to fast forward through all the excess stuff). Well, we went to bed and around 2:30am Samuel started cooing and babbling. I had a feeling he was probably sitting up in his crib talking to his reflection in the mirror (we put a mirror on the wall behind his bed). Travis went to go check on him and that was exactly what he was doing! Very cute if you ask me. But not sooooo cute when it's 2am and you want to sleep. Then for awhile after that he started to cry and fuss. And next, I committed one of the no-no parent moves. I picked him up, and rocked him while feeding him a bottle. Now maybe this is not so horrible but from what I have heard and read it is a bad move to make because then the child will want a bottle in the middle of the night all the time (I still do it occasionally, though). I just loved looking down at him even after he had finished his bottle and was staring back up at me with a look of, "What are you staring at, mommy?" He then started to grab and pull on my hair which always makes him smile to watch mommy try and free her hair from his iron grip. When he started getting more animated, I thought, "Oh-no, he's getting more and more awake now" to which I then put him back to bed. I can hear him still making noises in there and I'm betting he's looking at himself in the mirror.

Earlier today he would dump his bucket of blocks over and then grab each block and examine them. I would pick up a block and say its color and shape and then put it back in the back in the bucket while saying, "put it back in the bucket." He would pick up a block and put it in the bucket or sometimes he would just dump the bucket over or put the block in the bucket but still have his hand rested on it for a few moments. I would try to encourage him to follow mommy's directions by then clapping my hands and saying "yaaaaaay" when he followed my command. He's also beginning to understand "no" more because he will start to fuss. I love watching him start to understand the world around him more.

He's got those two teeth next to the two front teeth coming in now (can't remember their name). By far his favorite hobby is grabbing onto mommy's hair.

He's finally quiet. Maybe mommy can go get some sleep now (it'll be one of those accidentally putting formula in the coffeemaker and coffee in the bottle kinda mornings).

Assume the Position!

Sammy has slowly been trekking around the house. He's getting the crawling thing down but does take breaks here and there to rest and "swim". And isn't it funny, he could have a million toys around but what he goes for is the tv plug and speakers. Yep, it's time to baby proof the house!

Well, it must be 8:30pm and I am so tired! Think I will call it in early night! We drove to Napa to visit my longtime friend Meghan and her daughter Serene. She is due within a month and I wanted to make sure to get some of Sam's old clothes to her. She's having a boy too and I'm excited for Sam and her son to get to an age where they can play together. So much fun!

More Awe-Inspiring Than an Olympic Athlete

So, two nights ago I was in the kitchen chopping lettuce and talking on the phone to my cousin Wendy. Sam was in the livingroom (within view of course : ) ) on a blanket playing with his toys. During the conversation I glanced over at him and...he was crawling!!!! Of course he was moving toward a box that needs to go up in the attic instead of any of his many readily available toys. I started yelling, "Travis!!!He's crawling!!" Travis comes running in and we marvel at our child and his new accomplishment. Nothing compares to seeing your child crawling and I hear that walking is even more miraculous to watch. I don't think I have seen an athlete on tv or in person who has made me as in awe as I was in that moment. Of course I took pictures and videotaped him. I keep meaning to post them but it has been busy-busy-busy around here.

Sam had a checkup at 7 months (we were unable to get an appointment for the normal 6 month checkup) and doctor says he is looking great! He weighed 19 lbs. 13 oz. His height was 27 1/2 inches. Of course the circumference of his head was in the 95th percentile (big noggins in our family) and his height and weight were both in the 75th percentile.

I've started to allow him to use a sippy cup once in awhile. He's slowly starting to get the concept but still LOVES his bottle. I'm sure it will be difficult to break him from his bottle someday. It's so cute to watch him knaw on teething biscuits. It's not so cute when I have crumbs on my mouth but on him it's freaking adorable! : )

Other things about him: He doesn't know what to think of dogs and gets scared if they get to close or start to bark at him. He loves books just like his mommy! Anytime the tv is on he will twist, turn and crane his neck to watch it. He loves mirrors. When he's really tired he will get super hyperactive and kick his legs against the ground or crib mattress, move his arms around, giggle uncontrollably, roar, and just be a complete nut. He loves bananas the most. He loves long hair and grabs and pulls on mommy's hair with an iron-grip multiple times a day (mommy has figured out why a lot of women cut their hair short after they have kids). He squirms and tries to get away anytime he is being changed. He always flips himself over on his stomach when it's time to sleep, tucks his arms in and sticks his butt up in the air.