11 Months (almost 12)

Hey baby boy,

Your daddy has been very busy lately, so this entry is actually being written only 10 days before your first birthday! So, sorry about the lateness, but it gives us a lot to talk about!

Let's see, where to start? You are a hard guy to keep in one place these days, you crawl like the wind, and also enjoy pulling yourself up on anything or anyone handy, so you can walk around holding onto something. You also love taking walks while holding someone by each hand- you can do this for hours. Four days ago you actually stood up on your own at the beach for about 10 seconds! Your dad saw it, but your mom was busy boogieboarding.

You also got a yellow shovel at the beach which you now carry everywhere. Crawling? Yellow shovel. Riding in the car? Yellow shovel. Nursing? Yellow shovel. It's a very versatile tool.

You are also eating more and more actual food now: cereal, sweet potato, yogurt, tofu, chicken, blueberries, strawberries, kiwi, pear, squashes, and a whole bunch of stuff I can't even remember. You've taken after your dad in that vegetables are not really your thing, but we find ways to sneak them down anyhow.

So, your dad has a bet that you will walk before your first birthday, and time is getting short. So Wednesday when you are home with dad, it's a training day- no excuses! Happy 11+ months little boy!

10 months!

This entry is actually only 2 weeks after the previous entry, instead of a month like usual, but things have really been happening around here!

The big excitement is that within the space of 24 hours you went from sitting up in a stationary manner to being totally mobile! On Tuesday you crawled a couple little shuffles forward, and by Wednesday afternoon you were both trucking across you floor with your tongue hanging out and pulling yourself up to a full standing position on various unsuitable objects. Things will never be the same!

We took you to the beach yesterday, and you used your newfound mobility to cover yourself from head to toe in sand while your dad surfed. You seem to like the beach- you stare at the waves a lot, and like smushing the sand between your fingers. We've been to the beach a few times this spring and summer, and it's good that you like it, since we'll be taking a vacation at the beach later this summer with your cousins!

Happy 10th month kiddo, you're closing in on your first birthday, and it's been a whirlwind!

9 Months!

Well, hopefully this entry is better late than never.  You just had your 9-month doctor's appointment today, even though you are really 9 1/2 months old.  You are healthy as a horse and little as a button: you've fallen off the chart, at below the 5th percentile for weight and length.  As the nurse said, you're a peanut.  Neither of your parents are really surprised, considering that we were both small when we were young.  We expect that a growth spurt is around the corner for you.  And if not, we have a family farm with lots of horses, so we can begin your jockey training at a young age.

You are terrifying your parents by getting closer and closer to the crawling stage now.  You spend all day rocking onto your hands and knees, then your stomach, and trying to move and only moving backwards, which drives you crazy.  The harder you try the further away your goal gets!  We have done zero baby-proofing, so we do not mind your lack of mobility so far.  You, on the other hand, are impatient to get a move on.  You also love standing up with help, and even can pull yourself up into a standing position with the right object to hold onto.  Life as your parents know it is about to end.

You do not use any words yet, although we think you make the sign for Milk when you are hungry.  You like to babble and talk a lot, when you are in the mood, but other times you can spend long periods being totally silent.  You've changed our lives in amazing ways, and continue to be the center of our universes.  Happy birthday, baby boy, we're so glad you are here!

8 Months!

Dear Sammy,

Your 8 month birthday came on a Monday night, so no wild party for you.  You keep getting bigger and better every month, and everywhere you go you get comments on what a handsome and good baby you are.  Two weekends ago we went down to Chester for Passover, and you got to have a part in the Sader dinner.  You even slept the entire way both down and back!  Your mom fooled a lot of people on April Fools day by posting on her Facebook page that she was pregnant with twins.  Will Facebook even exist when you are old enough to read this?  Probably not.  

Your favorite things lately seem to be playing with your giant bouncy ball, going for walks, and EATING!  You've been an eating machine, known to throw down jars of apples, sweet potato, and squash, all in a single day.  Bananas, rice cereal, mango, and plums are also high on your list.  Peas, not so much.  We've been making all your food ourselves, so our freezer is full of tiny jars of mush that all look vaguely the same.

Well, who knows that the next month will bring.  You are showing more and more signs of interest in some sort of stomach-based mobility, so we may be in for a real shock when you take off one day!

7 Months Old!

Hi Sam,

Your 7th month birthday fell near St. Patrick's Day, so here's a picture of you all dressed up in green.  On the 17th we took you for a walk down to the Barley Pub and had a quick pint of Guinness, while you checked out all the sights to see inside.  You have started on kinda-solid food, and so far your favorite is rice cereal, followed by bananas.  Peas are not a big hit so far, which is too bad because we made a huge batch of peas, even putting it into little jars to freeze for later.  So, you had better change your taste!  You can sit up really well on your own now, which makes play time even more interesting.  Finally, you and Jess have started taking swimming lessons twice a week at the Dover Indoor Pool.  You've taken to the water slowly, but you're getting more comfortable every class.  Happy 7 months!

Six Months Old!

Hi Sammy,

Friday the 13th is usually unlucky, but it just happens to your half-year birthday!  We would have gotten you half a birthday cake, but you don't eat solid food yet.  However, you are doing some pretty fun things instead, so here, for your 6-month birthday, are your Six favorite things to do:

Talking (sort of):

Rolling Over:

Sitting Up (kind of):

Laughing (a lot):

Skiing (with help):

And finally, Playing!

Happy Birthday!

Happy 5th Month!

Hi Sam,

Yesterday was your 5-month birthday! We are trying to write a blog entry on your birthday each month, and take a picture of you with the frog as well. You are certainly growing up fast- you're not an infant anymore, you are definitely a baby. Your new favorite activities are grabbing your toes and cross-country skiing.

Skiing seems very relaxing to you, as you tend to sleep through an entire outing. Not that you would know it from the above picture. It has been a very snowy winter already, so your parents have been skinig as much as they can, with you riding along snug in the Baby Bjorn.

We are all getting into a pattern now, with your mom back to work 2 days a week, your dad taking care of you one dat a week, and your Ceci and Papi taking care of you the other day. It seems like the highlight of their week when you show up on Monday mornings to spend the day on the farm. You're also sleeping through the night (mostly), and rapidly outgrowing clothes. You are a very agreeable baby, you love to sleep in the car on long drives, play with toys, go outside, and chew anything you can grab. I'm sure the same description will be true when you're 16!