8 Months

Eight months finds Sam as an exceptionally happy baby. He laughs all the time! He's developed a good, deep belly laugh that can be brought about with simple peek-a-boo, funny sounds, or something falling off his head. It makes Mommy pretty happy to hear it, too.

It was a big month for our little man, what with it being his first Christmas and all. Meeting Santa, seeing family, LOTS of pictures, and new toys. I think he liked his first December.

Once again Sam has some new skills that he has learned over the past month. He is a much more stable stander, thanks mostly to his interest in the Leap Frog Activity Table. He'll stand in front of that thing banging on everything for 30 minutes! Sometimes he forgets that he still needs to hold on, but reminds me loudly that he doesn't like it when he falls down. He can pull up, but doesn't too often because he can't reach most furniture. I told him that he was crawling on his hands and knees it would be easier to reach, but he still isn't interested in that. I guess that's because he is so fast at crawling on his belly. You should have seen him chase after his grandmother's cat! I'm thinking he might just skip the traditionally crawling style, as he is now also making progress towards walking. He will take enough steps to get across the room if you are holding his hands and walking with him. His balance isn't great, but he's getting there!

Oh, and he learned to shake his head "no." I'm not sure he knows what it means, but he thinks its hilarious.

I think Sam is weighing in somewhere between 16 and 17 pounds this month. We haven't been around a scale that's accurate in smaller poundage in while, but I should have a more accurate update for next month after his 9-month check-up. My measurements put him at 27.5 inches long.

Likes:
Mommy to hold him after a nap
Eating
Throwing things
Assisted Walking

Dislikes:
Having his face wiped/cleaned
Cottage Cheese

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Love,
Chris, Lindsay and Sam

A Mother's Instinct?

Almost 3 years ago when I was moving into our new kitchen, long before we seriously or practically thought about having children, I dumped all of my tupperware into a bottom cabinet without thinking much of it. Deep down somewhere I must have known that I would want it there someday. The other day, when Sam was done with his exersaucer but I was not done in the kitchen, I was glad that I had. We have a brand new source of entertainment while Mommy cooks and cleans!

Unfortunately, the cabinet wasn't nearly as interesting once he had successfully emptied it. Guess I'm going to have to keep my floor extra clean so that I don't have to rewash all that stuff every day!

Finger Foods

I've been trying to get Sam to begin with finger foods for a few weeks now. For the most part, he hasn't been interested. But he's been going through a growth spurt this week, meaning he's extra hungry and will eat anything. So we've made some progress! He's not too coordinated with the Puffs or Cheerios, which I guess shouldn't surprise me - we never let him play with anything that small! But he is making an effort to get them in his mouth. However, he's very successful with a cracker - and he loves them! Too bad, the puffs are much cleaner...

Hello, Santa!

Who are you?

ITS SNOWING!

Right now, as I type this, its snowing outside my window. Not flurries, or "mixed precipitation," but actual, large, pretty, abundant snow flakes. And its sticking. My grass and roof are turning white. Its so pretty.

It makes me SO happy that my baby boy has seen snow during his very first Christmas season, even though we live in Houston. I'd like to take him out in it, but my mom (in Ohio) has the snow suit that would come closest to fitting him. We'll have to see what we can do...

Meanwhile, you'd think that another hurricane is headed for Houston. Sam and I went to the grocery store because we tend to do that on Fridays. The manager was working my checkout lane and said he had been slammed since 8am. He was running low on chili...ha ha ha. My party for this evening was canceled, and schools are letting out early. Do you think I should tell them that its too warm for the roads to accumulate snow, let alone ice over? Naw, I'll let them have their fun.

And I'll post pictures when it stops coming down. Because I may have seen a lot more snow than this, but its still special to see your Houston home covered in snow in December!

7 Months

Doesn't 7 months old sound like a bigger, more capable baby? I feel like when I picture a 7-month old my image is closer to toddler than newborn. Looking at Sam, I guess that's probably true - he's been up to a lot this past month!

After getting sick, the poor little man wasn't feeling himself for the better part of a week. Unfortunately, he also got BOTH mommy and daddy sick as well. Chris and I have never been sick at the same time before, and of course it had to happen when we had a sick, clingy infant. Chris got the sore throat worst of all three of us and didn't return to 100% for almost 10 days. We are all well now, thankfully!

Chris spent a week (Sunday night through Friday afternoon) out of town for work. Sam and I stayed busy with playdates, meetings, etc. I didn't realize just how much Sam and Mommy time we had, though, until Chris returned home. His clingy-ness to me had increased to the point that he whined if the three of us were in a room together and Chris was holding him instead of me. Not good! He seems to have rebounded well, and I think that our trip for Thanksgiving helped him to bond with Daddy again.

Sam has developed a dislike for diaper changes and getting into his PJs at night, but I am attributing both of those to being tired. But other than that he is a very happy baby. He laughs a lot, sometimes just at the air. He's experimenting with more sounds, blowing bubbles, and doing "motorboat" with his lips. He has become an unpredictable napper, but he's sleeping wonderfully at night.

For those keeping track, here are Sam's stats: 15 lbs 12 oz and 27 inches long.

Of course Sam's big accomplishment for the month is his new-found mobility. He loves to pull himself along on the floor to get to a toy, computer, or into mommy's lap. He now even tries to follow me when I leave the room - poor little guy starts to cry when he can't keep up.

And finally, this month's likes and dislikes...

Likes:
Computers
Cell Phones
Remote Controls
Crawling
Pears

Dislikes:
Pacific Time
Cold Water
Not being able to see (bad view in the stroller, etc.)
Wind