6 months with Sam

6 months! Half a year! Can you believe it! Sam's half birthday came and went with little pomp and circumstance... but I may have gotten a teeny bit choked up once when I thought about the past six months and how much our life has changed and how richly our life has been blessed by this perfect little boy.
Here are the det's* on Sam at 6 months.

*I am mostly uncertain how to type most slang. But I still use it, because I want to sound like the cool kids, right? So that was my attempt to say det's (you know, the cool kid's shortened slangy term for 'details'.) Though I am not sure it was a successful written interpretation of the word, here goes my reasoning for spelling it as I did: in grade school when learning about contractions, you learn you should put an apostrophe where letters have been omitted (do not becomes don't, substituting an apostrophe for that superfluous o), then later you learn when shortening words or using slang you can also use an apostrophe for the ommitted letters (until becomes 'til and old becomes ol'). Using this method of thinking I surmised that the shortened slang form of details would likely be det's using the apostrophe to replace the omitted letters, but visually it doesn't read exactly like I thought it would. So who knows. Any English buffs or slang buffs out there want to tell me where I went wrong?

Sam @ 6 months

Weight:

at birth: 9lbs 2.7 oz

  at six months: 17 lbs 10oz

Length:
at birth: 19.5 inches
at six months: 26 inches

(Sam is in the 25th percentile for length, the 50th percentile for weight, and... the 94th percentile for head size. Short and stout-- with a GIANT head. That's my boy!)

Eating

BLW is a wonderful thing. When we sit down for meals I take a few things from my plate and put them on Sam's and he eats happily. He had his first meat on Father's Day-- A meatball with Grandpa! That moment warmed my heart, beauce we all know how much mama loves meatballs. :) Sam seems to really enjoy eating and happily tries every new thing placed in front of him. Watermelon is the new fav. He sucks down a chunk of water melon in no time flat, then throws the rind on the floor and screams for another piece. Yum, watermelon!

Also he still has several milk feedings a day, usually before naps and before bed.

Sleeping

Still a pretty good sleeper. Sometimes you sleep through the night... sometimes you need to wakeup for a snack to get you through, and who can blame you? 

Daddy was gone for a couple days on a trip last month, and you had a really hard time getting to sleep while he was gone. I would take you upstairs to start the bedtime routine, and you knew it was bedtime, but you kept looking around for daddy. Then you would yell in protest when I tried to put you to bed. You were trying to tell me: I can't go to bed! Daddy is not here! I don't go to bed until Daddy gets home! And we had several really rough night, but as soon as daddy was home again... you cooed and played at bedtime then rolled over and went to sleep right away. 

Also, you sleep on your tummy these days. That's how we know you are tired, we lay you down on your back in bed, and you immediately roll to your left and pull your knees up under your behind. You might wiggle around a bit to find just the right spot on the mattress, but you sleep in that exact position every single night... and naptimes too.

You are a morning person, Sam! Wake up every morning between 7:00 and 8:00 and you coo and play and laugh and have the time of your life until about 11:00 when you take your first nap. And it's not that you are unpleasant in the afternoon and evening-- but mornings are your time.

Likes

Watermelon.


Wi-wi and Cha-cha. Your doggies--or anyone's doggies, really--are soft to touch and fun to watch. Bonus points for grabbing the tuft of hair right on the top of the doggie's head, right?


Swimming.

Grandma and Grandpa. And Grandma and Grandpa. (thats right, they are all grandma and grandpa in this family. No Mimi or Nana or Poppa or whatever. We grew up calling both sets of grandparents Grandma and Grandpa, and there was never any confusion or emotional scarring for anyone, so if it's not broken...) Grandpa (S)'s favorite thing in the world is that you will reach out for him when you see him. Oh, man, you've never seen a man beam like he does when your tiny arms go up in the air asking to be held. You love all of your grandparents so much and squeal and play and charm and giggle whenever they are around. 


Carpet. We don't have much in our house, but you love rolling around on the carpet at Grandma and Grandpa's house. That's likely where you will learn to crawl.

Dislikes

Cornmeal pancakes that I made. I don't want to talk about it.


Evening nap time, inevitably there is someone over or something you are afraid you are going to miss.


The bouncy seat. We got one of those hang from the door jamb bouncy seat things that we thought you would love, and we try to put you in there, and you just don't love it. You tolerate it for a few minutes to appease us, then you scream because you are done and it is no fun and we are jerks for forcing it upon you.

Firsts

Sitting! You can sit now and balance yourself for several minutes. You are so big!

Swimming! (Which looks mostly like sitting in a small inflatable pool kicking, but you couldn't love it more.) You are the next Micheal Phelps. 

First Father's Day! And Daddy was out of town having a guy's weekend away in St.Louis. What a Bum. We gave him a hard time, but celebrated when he returned, and gave him awesome handmade gifts and concert tickets.

Special talents

Rolling across the room at warp speed.

Drinking from a straw. Sippy cups are not your gig. Straws are what the cool kids are using these days. Oh, didn't you know?

"Arms up!"  and both your little arms go up by your shoulders so mama can safely install your highchair tray without pinching your sweet little chub.

Singing. When mama is singing, you love to sing along. It's fun when we are at home, cute when we are at church-- and hilarious when mom was at musical rehearsal singing 'As if some tiny person were calling for help...' and right on cue, you belted out Waaaaaaaaaa!

It was awesome.

Things I don't want to forget

The way you explore everything by 'scratching' it. You love to scratch new surfaces and textures. You are very tactile-- just like mama! ;)

You waking up Daddy. Sitting on his tummy playing... with the morning light glowing behind you. It's the perfect, sweetest picture every time, and I adore that moment.

The sounds you make to yourself... low then high, then loud and chesty, then quiet and squeally, then blowing air through your wet lips... you are learning all about your own voice, and I love it.

The chub. (Scroll back up to the second picture where Sam's legs are straight. Go ahead, I'll wait.
waiting...
waiting...
OH. MY. GOODNESS. The rolls, right? I love love love the chub on those chunky monkey thighs. LOVE IT.


That day in the park. With perfect sunny-cool weather. That's exactly how I always imagined us. You (in a clean shirt) playing happily in the shade on grandma's old quilt. Daddy close by (recently shaved) pointing out birds and squirrels, and smiling at me-- with my shoes kicked off (and having a great hair day) laying next to you laughing contentedly at my boys, with a forgotten book laying nearby. And it was like that for about 47 seconds, and then you started crying, and I realized I had forgotten a bottle and this was real life-- but that 47 seconds was perfection that I promise I will never forget. SIGH.

And here's some footage of you at six months old.

 

Happy half birthday, Samuel Ellis!

Need more Sam? You can read about
Sam @ 5 months
Sam @4 months
Sam @ 3 months
Sam @ 2 months
Sam @ 1 month

Baby Pops

Because I'm all about sharing recipes this week, and because it suddenly got so dang hot out... here's a recipe for Sam's favorite treat.

Sam's Mango Pops

(this is a tough one guys, it's really going to test your culinary skills...)

1 Mango

1/4 cup plain organic yogurt

Cut up mango into chunks and puree in a food processor (or blender), add yogurt and continue to puree until all combined. 

Spoon into popsicle molds, freeze. 

Pop them out on a hot afternoon, and it a nice cool yummy snack for kiddos and mamas alike! They are sweet and cool, so teething Sam loves sucking on them. They are also a lovely yellowish-orange color, so they are pretty to look at. No added sugar or dyes or preservatives. Just cool yummy goodness for my baby boy. We love it!

*I found these Popsicle molds on amazon:

 The loop on the bottom make them easy for baby hands to hold, and they are small enough that it is a reasonable serving size for the little man. They work great! I totaly recommend them!


*I don't buy organic mangoes. All my other fruits and veggies I have given Sam so far have been organic, but Mangoes are #7 on The Clean 15 list... and they are difficult and expensive to find organic... so I am not as concerned about getting them organic as I am say... Strawberries (#3 on The Dirty Dozen! Yikes!). Not sure what the heck I am talking about? Dirty Dozen/Clean 15)

Do you have any cool summer treats you like to make for you or your kiddos? Any healthy frozen treats to share? Any special pops you like to enjoy on a scorching day? Please share.
Stay cool! Happy Summer! :)

Oh hey, Pinterest! Whats for dinner?

I like Pinterest. It's a really helpful creative tool for me.
I don't like people who bemoan pinterest saying it takes away creative originality, or is a huge meaningless time suck. Like most things in life, pinterest (or all kinds of social media, really) is about what you do with the resource. If you get on pinterest and start pinning stuff thats meaningless for hours that you should be doing something else-- yeah, it's going to start to seem like a giant meaningless time suck. I try not to do that. I like to use it for inpiration when I am working on a specific project or need some ideas. Sometimes I get around to using the ideas, sometimes I don't, but I rarely feel as though I have wasted my time, or that pinterest has in some way cheated me out of creativity or time. Anyway, use your time and resources wisely and stop blaming social media when you don't. End of rant.
And moving on.
I pin a lot of recipes on pinterest trying to find something-- or a version of something-- that I can make for my family. When I get bored with our 10 meal rotation of stuff Z will actually eat, I sit down at my computer and ask Pinterest-- what should I make for dinner tonight?
And I have recently come across a few winners I thought I would share. 

Source: shine.yahoo.com via Valerie on Pinterest

The Perfect Meaty Balls! My Dad loves meatballs more than any other food, so I am always on the lookout for a great meatball-- this recipe was fantastic. Really tasty, and a lovely, firm texture without being hamburger-y. (You know what I mean???)  ...these meatballs were also the first meat my son ever tried, and he quickly devoured his. It made my meatball-loving-heart so happy.
*I added a little italian sausage to my beef, because thats the way daddy likes it.
*I used my stand mixer to mix it, even though it says to do it by hand, it was easier and I thought gave the whole thing a nicer, even texture.
*You can use a cookie scoop to get uniform size meatballs.

Source: thepioneerwoman.com via Valerie on Pinterest

This Chicken Bacon Ranch Panini is a new favorite for dinner at our house.  What's not to love?
*I often will use leftover grilled chicken from a previous night's dinner. Be good to yourself, make it easy.
*Z likes to use chipotle cheddar on his... adds another layer of flavor.
*I often serve it with oven fries-- seasoned with smoked sea salt. It's a great accompaniment.

Source: melskitchencafe.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Cheesy Basil Stuffed Chicken. You had me at Cheesy. But then there is basil, garlic, and crispy crunchyness and roasted tomatoes! OMG, the roasted tomatoes! I promise you this will be a crowd pleaser.
*I used panko breadcrumbs to coat my chicken-- because it's what I had-- but it made it extra lovely and crispy.
* Sam went nuts over the roasted tomatoes. Seriously. He thought it was the best dinner ever.
*I served it with pasta and made a simple alfredo sauce for my tomato-fearing husband. It worked well with the alfredo too... as long as you are not prone to cheese overload.

Source: cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com via Valerie on Pinterest

Z was never happier than the day I started making bread for us. This Easy Bread recipe makes a lovely crusty, chewy round loaf.
*You can add any manner of herbs, cheeses, dried fruits, etc. to this bread. I will share my recipe for Z's fav, Asiago Peppercorn, soon.
*I usually serve it torn into chunks with pesto dipping oil, and everyone loves it.

Source: ittybittykitchen.com via Valerie on Pinterest

These Lemon Meltaway cookies are amazing. A slightly lemon-y shortbread with lemon buttercream? Yes, PLEASE!
*You'll want to make your cookies smaller than you think. And no more than about 1/4 inch thick-- otherwise the sandwhich gets difficult to eat.
*When making the frosting, start with about half the lemon juice and add a little more if needed, I had too much lemon juice, so I had to use twice as much sugar to make the butter cream.
*Also please use fresh lemon juice-- none of that bottled stuff that tastes like acid-y water. blehck. Thank you for your cooperation.


So thats whats been on the table at our house... maybe you should try a few new recipes this week? These are a great place to start! If you want to know what other junk I am pinning you can follow my food board here and my bakery board here.
Happy pinning and have fun making yummi-ness for your fam! :)

Race Bib and Baseball Display (FATHER'S DAY!!!)

I know I am a day or so early here, but I wanted to share with you the father's day gifts I have been working so hard on the past couple weeks.
I think I have mentioned before that my husband is a runner, and my dad has recently (within the past two years) really gotten into it. In the spring and fall (not the hot summer-- yuck.) they like to do road races together... 5K, 10K, and their longest race was the half marathon last fall. In some races they got finisher medals, some races they placed and got medals, and in every race they run, they get a race bib (number). It's fun to keep them, but they start to pile up fast, and it's hard to know what to do with them.
So I made both my dad and my husband a race bib holder for father's day this year.

I like the way it turned out. He has a spot to put the most recent race bib on the top of those hooks, and the ones along the bottom can hold his medals. I looked around online and didn't find anything purchase-able that I liked, so I made my own. My dad really like the two-tone wood thing I did. Here's how it was done:

I started with a board-- 1x12x14 inches. I sanded reall well and used a wood prep... then I painted on a thin coat of a light stain. I used Minwax PolyShades (color: light oak). I

I let  the stain/poly finish dry for 6 hours, as recommended on the can). Then I flipped it and stained the back and sides of the board. After another 6 hour drying time, I sanded it very lightly with a high grit paper. I used my silhouette machine to make a vinyl decal that said RACES and placed that that the top.

Then I used a second darker stain (color: Honey) and painted right over the top of the vinyl and the entire piece.

 Then I let it dry for 6 hours and did the back and sides, and another 6 hour dry time... and then I peeled of the vinyl... leaving a two toned wood look.

Next I measured a race bib and measured and centered and marked everything on the board, then I drilled pilot holes for my hooks. I used small, right angle hooks that screwed into place.

I also put hardware on the back to hang it with.

And here is the completed project. Then we ganked Dad's race bibs and medals from his house and hung them on there when we gave it to him, he seemed pretty excited to receive this gift:

Oh, and that race bib on the top there? Is actually not from a race... rather it's a father's day card I made to look like a race bib:

I used publisher to create the text and banners, put the number in (the number... 61712 (June 17, 2012??? Father's Day?!?! My mom recognized it right away, we had to explain it to both my dad and Z... oh well) and then we put sam's footprint on the left there. It made a unique fun card.
Z got one too, although he was involved with the creating process (or at least watched me do the whole thing) so gifting it to him wasn't an exciting surprise and I didn't even think to take a picture. But anyway... They look really nice hanging on the wall, and my husband was especially happy and proud to have a place to hang all his medals.

________________________________________________________________________________

Z's dad is not much of a runner, but he is a huge baseball fan, so we decided to make him a little gift that combined his two favorite things: Baseball and his grandson.

These are pretty self explanatory-- so no fancy tutorial here. But we took a baseball, and used normal ink to put Sam's handprint on it. (I did not have a black ink pad, only grey, which is why it is a little light but it doesn't look too bad in person.) Then I just took a regular ol' sharpie and wrote a message on the back (there are two becuase we made one for daddy while we were at it.)

Z wanted to make a stand for it, so he got a board, cut it into squares, then he and my dad disappeared into Dad's shop for a few minutes and came back with decorative edges and a nice hole in the middle for the ball to sit on. (I can't tell you how this was accomplished other than... if you have the right guys and the right tools around... things happen.) Then I stained the little wood stands and tied them up with a pretty ribbon.

 

(I always have this problem trying to figure out ways to package or giftwrap things to give to guys that doesn't look too girly. Z always says it doesn't matter he doesn't care, and he doesn't need bows and frills... but it matters to me that it looks nice. anyone have any great ideas???)

_______________________________________________________________________________

So there you have it... that's what Father's day looks like for us this year. Well, there are a few other little surprises in store still... but SHHHHHHHHH! It's not QUITE father's day yet!

The fathers in my life are truly remarkable men. My Dad, my father-in-law, and my husband are all strong, generous, loving men and fathers. I am blessed to have all of them in my life.

Happy Father's Day!

A promise

This above picture is extra scary (so I made it extra big for ya'll). That is a picture of the first time I wore a bathing suit after giving birth to my son. We were going to play in the water, so I put on my bathing suit (my maternity bathing suit, but who cares?) and looked at myself in the mirror... and I choked a little bit. I hated the reflection and I wanted to take it off. I almost did. And then I remembered if I took it off becuase I was worried about what I looked like, I would miss an opportunity to play with my son. I would miss his first time 'swimming'. I don't want Sam to have memories of his mom sitting off to the side and missing fun stuff because she didn't like herself in a swimsuit, she was dieting, or she was afraid someone might get her bigger-than-she-likes-it bootie on camera. I looked at myself and said-- I am doing this because I want to play with my son, not because I look awesome in a bathing suit. And I left my inhibitions in the bathroom mirror... and we went swimming.
My mom was running the camera that day, and she graciously considered my plight and attempted to only photograph from flattering angles (Thanks mom! You're the best!) But regardless of how awesome or not awesome I looked, we had a blast playing in the water. I am thrilled I was there to play with him, and I am glad there are pictures of it--and even pictures of me-- to remember that day. I came so close to bailing because of my own vanity and bathing-suit induced terror... how sad.
So here is a promise I made to myself, and my son:  
I promise I won't miss any moments because of my own vanity. I don't care if I look like a fool or feel like a whale, being your mama is more important than any of that.

Sponge Bombs

Back when I was in high school and college I spent my summers nannying for a couple little girls. A couple 'little' girls who are now in high school-- yikes! One summer, we did the following project and it was loads of fun. But I had all but forgotten about it until just the other day a friend had pinned the same thing on pinterest (by the way--I was a pretty awesome nanny... we did all kinds of creative fun stuff. But nannies these days have resources. I would have kicked SERIOUS nannying bootie if I had pinterest at my disposal. Just sayin'.) and I got really excited! They would be perfect pool toys for the little man.

 So here we go... sponge bombs. Good clean fun.

 You need a package of sponges, a pair of scissors, and some string. (I bought my package of sponges for about $2)

 Cut your sponge into strips. (mine were thicker than I wanted, so I halved them again.) don't they look like carrot sticks? cute!

 make a little pile of 8 sponge sticks, then tie your string tightly around the middle.

 VIOLA! Sponge bombs.

Get them wet and have a good time. When I was a nanny we would dunk them in water and use them instead of water baloons for water fights in the back yard.
Which reminds me of when I was a kid. My sister and I had summer birthdays and always wanted to have water parties. we'd have water gun and water balloon fights in the backyard, and it would kinda be a mess. But think of how much fun it would be to give each kid a package of sponges and tell them to make their own ammunition. And then send them home with all the little party kiddos as favors too. Craft project, game, cleanup, and favor all in one. How sweet would that be?
Anyway, we didn't use these for a water fight...

 But they made awesome pool toys for the little man.

He played and played. Great fun for only a 2 dollar investment. Sounds good to me.

So what are you up to this summer? Playing any water games? Making any fun toys for/with your kiddos? Swimming and trying to stay cool? Whatever it is I hope you are having a good time!

(Marriage Saving) Menu Board

This is a really easy project that I bet you have need for, supplies for, and skill set to create. All at your fingertips! How's that? You're welcome.
Perhaps 'marriage saving' is putting too much on the shoulders of this menu board, but it has saved us from quite a few arguments and quiet angry dinners where my husband scoops the food I made into the trash because he's " just not feelin' it tonight". The unfortunate truth is we always have and always will fight about food in our house-- but having a menu written out has made a huge difference. Everyone knows what to expect on the table that evening and the picky members of the family-- who shall remain nameless-- can mentally prepare themselves to try something new, or at least sit at the table next to something new and resist the urge to throw away my food.
(BY THE WAY... if you really want to get Valerie boiling mad fast, start dumping food I've prepared in the trash. YAAAAARRGH!!!)
Anyway, back to the project at hand... I used it for a menu board, but use it for whatever the heck you want. Because tell me a room in your house where you WOULDN'T find a dry erase board useful??? You can't think of one can you?
Because you started to say-- why would I need one in the bathroom? And then you were all... oh, I totally thought of something I needed to write down the other day while I was on the toilet. And you know that dry erase board would have been handy.
Wow am I talking about things we do while on the toilet on my blog now? Things are going down hill.
SO back to the project at hand: A dry erase board!

I received this picture frame as a wedding gift. It's a lovely frame, I am sure a lot of people would like it-- but the whole 'bless this home' quote and the style are not really my gig. So it sat unused in a tub in my basement for almost two years. Then I was digging through stuff one day looking for something entirely different and saw it sitting in the tub vertically-- and I went, HUH. I've never looked at it like that before.
So I pulled it out of there to do something with it. Originally I thought I would put some cute pattern scrapbook paper behind there, but I didn't have the right size, so I grabbed a chunk of burlap and stuck it in the frame behind the glass. Then I took it upstairs, propped it against the wall, and wrote on it with a dry-erase pen, and there you have it, a Menu Board:

You could really do this with any photo frame (that has glass in it), any size, shape, or backing you like... so go make it happen.
Who knows, it could save your marriage too!

Summer Hat!

**Admittedly, this post is more about gratuitous pictures of a baby in an inflatable pool than it is about the project... but come on, that kid-- and those toes! Ohmygoodness, I melt.

The other day I was at walmart (groan) with my husband (double groan) (not about the husband-- we like him, but about the husband at walmart because our bill triples everytime he is there with me. urg.) And we were on our way to the paper towel aisle when we passed that dangerously colorful seasonal aisle and Z was all-- OOOOH! And I was all, NOOOO! And we ended up in the aisle and an inflatable pool ended up in our cart because apparently we have no will power.
Anywho... Sam was going swimming. He has trunks, and a sun shirt, sandals, sunglasses... everything except something to cover that bald little head of his. The kid is going to need a hat, I said to myself. It was 9:00 p.m. and Sam was just put down to sleep, and the day of swimming was tomorrow... so I plopped myself in front of the computer hoping I could make something happen... and within 10 minutes I was in front of my sewing machine going to town.

I found a free online Oliver+S (LOVE!!!) pattern for a bucket hat. Apparently this pattern was released online when they were introducing their book, Little things to Sew (which is totally already on my wish list, in case you were wondering.) and I am even more in love with Oliver+S than I was before. Adorable classic designs, beautiful pictures, easy to follow instructions... yay! Anyway, enough free advertising for Oliver+S (I was not enticed or compensated in any way for this review. I am just an over-enthusiastic blogger. Oliver+S has no idea who I am. It would be awesome if they did though...)

So I dug through my stash (yay, stash-busting!) and within an hour and a half I had a sun hat for my little man's bald-y head. I used lightweight cotton, blue on top and large green plaid on the inside. Green contrasting stitching on the outside of the hat tied the two together oh-so-nicely. (It's also reversible, which is way fun!)

After playing in the hot sun for a while, I took the hat and dunked it in the water and plopped it back on the boy's head. He laughed as the water ran down his face, I bet he enjoyed the coolness. The fabric dried quickly enough that I did it a again a little while later and it didn't take long to dry after we were out of the water, so it was the perfect sun hat for pool day!

 

Perfect for splashing in the water.

Perfect for playing with toys.

And perfect for lounging about poolside, even in the sun.

 Oh goodness! Look at those wrinkled piggies! It's time to get out!

It was a pretty quick and easy project, but one that could easily be customized... add decorative buttons, add a pocket on the side, or a big flower for a girl. Pattern sizing goes from 6month-8years, so there is sure to be a size to fit your favorite kiddo this summer. Make one! Make a bunch! It's a fun summer project, and looks dang cute on the little man-- if I do say so myself.

Hijacked love letters

Memorial day found us strolling about Loose Park while Z and Grandpa ran an 8K. We found many awesome things in the park-- a pond, a rose garden, ducks and turtles-- but the coolest thing we stumbled upon was this love note someone had left. What a lovely surprise! I snatched the boy out of the stroller, because I could think of no better photo op than hijacking someone else's love letter. Turns out, it's one of my favorite pictures with Sam!

 

Sam @ 5 months

Okay, here it is... finally five months, before he is 6 months! HA!

Sam @ 5 months

Weight:

at birth: 9lbs 2.7 oz

  five months: 16 lbs 11 oz

Eating

Exciting news! You are eating solids! I know, you are so young... everyone tells us. But you would freak out every time we ate, because you were not. It didn't matter if I had JUST FED YOU, you wanted to eat with us. So I threw a toasted bread crust at you one day and you happily gnawed on it for a while, then at 2 more pieces of bread. Okay, then. Since then, we have given you mostly fruits and veggies-- cucumber, zucchini, green beans, asparagus, sweetpotato, apple, pears, (your favorite) mango, yogurt, and applesauce. After a lot of research, we decided to go the Baby-led weaning route with you, and it seems to suit you. We love watching you feed yourself and discover new foods. I don't think anyone is more delighted than your Grandpa S-- but I ma sure that shocks no one. Your very favorite thing in the whole world to eat-- Mango yogurt popsicles that mom created special just for you!
You are still taking formula feedings 6-8 ounces about 5 times a day and once in the middle of the night.

Sleeping

As soon as you hit 4 months old you went... um... I think I would like an early morning snack to get in more calories. So you only slept through the night for about a month and now we get up once in the night around 3:00 am and you suck down formula and fall immediately back asleep.

You've also got on a somewhat consistant nap schedule. About 45 mins at 11:00 a.m., about 2-2.5 hours at 2:30 p.m., and about 45 mins at 7:00 p.m. It's nice and predictable during the week when we are home most of the day-- weekends anything goes.

Likes

EATING! You squeal and laugh and throw things and enjoy your food thoroughly.

Sleeping on your tummy. You can roll wherever you want now... so the tummy it is. You could not be more pleased.

Bath time... you figured out how to splash. Oh my goodness is that a good time.

Your dogs. Your eyes are glued on them whenever they enter the room. they are fascinating, huh buddy? At night when you are trying not to go to sleep, mama plays with the dogs while daddy holds you, and you watch intently. And you giggle.

Sophie. Sophie the giraffe just might be your very favorite thing ever. She is so delightfully gummy and squeaky, you can't get enough of her. The girls you love in order go like this: Mama, Sophie the giraffe, grandmas, Aunt Melodie, other babies. Somedays... mama and sophie switch places on this list, huh?

Dislikes

Hot car rides. It's summer, it's getting hotter, and our cars don't have awesome airconditioning. You fuss in the car now (you used to love it!) because it's hot, and then we feel awful and try not to take you anywhere unless it is cool morning or cool evening.

Dirty diapers. You let us know, the instant that thing is dirty you want it off.

Going to bed... you've figured out the routine and hold your eyes as wide open as you can to avoid bed time. You eventually give in, but you hate going to sleep-- like you are afraid you might miss something.

Firsts

We are rolling for real now. All the time. All over the place. Front to back, back to front, left to right, right to left...

Solid food.

First Mother's day. It was such a special day for Mama. Last year on mother's day we announced to everyone you were coming, can you believe that? This year you were here with us, and everyone enjoyed you.

You were also dedicated on mother's day. Which was awesome. More to come on that...

Special talents

Eating popsicles. (everything else is hit and miss-- but the popsicle never misses your mouth. Hmmm...)

'Talking' about your day. You get chatty in the evenings, and can spend a good hour ya-ya-yaing and ma-geeeee-ing all about everything that you saw that day. It's entertaining especially because you respond to prompts, so we call people to share your conversation. :)

You respond to your name now. If you hear someone say "Sam" you turn your head and smile. Smart baby.

Things I don't want to forget

The way you straighten your legs and rotate your ankles when you get excited about something.

The happy squeals and the way your face lights up when the door opens and Daddy comes home. 

The sound of your giggles. The sound of your playing with daddy. The joy on your face and everyone else's when you start laughing that big fat belly laugh.

And here's some footage of you at five months old.

 

It is such a joy to watch you grow, Baby. We regularly stop and say to each other, look at how big he has gotten! Can you even believe it? We can't believe it. We had no idea how awesome you were going to be, Sam. You bring so much JOY to our lives. We love you so much.